I can't tell you how much Jiliang loved her Kai-Lan Cake!
We love our back yard, but our house is basically a shoe-box. We planned for an outdoor party, and ended up blowing out the candles in the garage - due to the weather. :) However, the rain did not damper anyone's good time. The kids played in the rain on the four-wheeler and the adults hung out in the house and outdoors.
We released butterflies later, and yes, that's the terrarium from our wedding. :)
Pretty much, Jiliang dislikes new crowd situations. She has anxiety in crowds, unless she has been-there-done-that in the same situation, and knows that the end result is: going home at the end of the day. I can't say that I blame her.
Her Birthday Party on 8/21/10 (exactly 6 months from Gotcha Day) was met with fear and shock. She still fears that someone might take her from us, but I honestly think that when several people come to HER house - even people she really likes and adores - she wonders if they are coming to move in and take over our house. We are trying to explain to her that we are her forever family of four - and that this is our house alone - and that visitors are not going to knock her out of the pecking order.
When everyone gathered around her to blow our her candles, she totally froze up. Opening presents was obviously very peculiar to her as well. All of the things that we take for granted: candles, cakes, plentiful birthday gifts. My four year old, who is extremely witty, sharp, and charming was possibly thinking, "Why are they all looking at me?" and "What are they going to do to me next?" I take for granted the lengths that we go to in America for Birthday traditions - something that she had never experienced in her 3 1/2 years in an orphanage in China.
At her Birthday Party, she came out of her shell as soon as the crowd thinned out. Nonetheless, they are still precious pictures to me of her first birthday celebration - age 4.
Jiliang's Real Birthday ~ August 26, 2010
Jiliang had a pretty low-key Birthday - smiling and hoola-hooping in our back yard.
Ooh, I still love hula-hooping. Sorry that the party brought her so much anxiety. Aidan still gets nervous in strange places-he wants to know where I am, make sure he can get out, etc. Sometimes I just remove him from the situation. Eventually he will have complete faith in us and his permanency with us, but all in his own time.
ReplyDeleteSuch sweet pictures. Continued blessings.
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