One Month Later Update - Cherry Blossom Turns the Big 3!!!

I am so thankful that we were able to spend our daughter's 3rd birthday here at home with us.  This meant that she only had to celebrate one birthday in an orphanage.  (She arrived at the orphanage when she was 1).  We tried to make this a birthday she would remember.  The poor thing has been given so many presents since arriving home she probably did not even understand yet another celebration. 

We decided that her party would only be family since we did not think she was ready for a big celebration.  That will be next year!  Mama decorated the house with Chinese Lanterns and pictures of her in China.  We had Chinese food from Fulins, which was amazing!   Mama loved the Sweet and Sour Chicken, but that is one of the few things that I do eat from a Chinese restaurant.  The Rock loved all of the food and Cherry Blossom loved the noodles and the rice. 

Some of Cherry Blossom's favorite things is bubbles and balloons, so our party would not be complete without those.  We had bubble guns outside for her cousins to play with and balloons all over the house.  She was so surprised when she woke up on her birthday to see the house decorated just for her.  We had to take pictures of the balloons!  She had to wait to play with them until the party. 

That morning we went to church where she was able to show off her cute "Birthday Dress" that mama found on sale after Easter.....again bargain shopping is great!  We were able to get some amazing pictures in that dress.  She tried the nursery class for a few minutes at church, but did not stay more then 5 minutes, we would try again next week!

After we got home from church she rested until the celebration would begin. When she woke up she got to put on her special Chinese dress for her party.  She was so excited to see all of her family, especially her cousins! It was a beautiful day outside so we were able to enjoy the weather and have fun. 

Her cake came from one of Murfreesboro's famous bakeries,  Julia's.  Let me just say that they make an amazing cake.  They made her a beautiful Cherry Blossom cake and even allowed me to get a smash cake for her if the cake said Happy 1st Birthday.   All I had to do was scrape off the 1st and put a "3" candle there and we had a free cake for her :) 

She received so many new toys, clothes and books!  It was like Christmas!  The gift she went crazy about was the big giant bag of shoes that her cousin Morgan handed down to her.  These had all been Morgan's shoes and they were sizes 5-7.  Our little girl LOVES shoes!  She constantly wants to rearrange them in the closet. 

Overall it was an amazing day spent with people that have wished for her, prayed for her and have loved her for over a year! Happy Birthday Cherry Blossom!

In her Cherry Blossom dress we bought her in China. 

She has one in every size until she is 10-12 years old.  Of course we have matching shoes too!

 
 
The house all decorated!!

With all of her Cousins!!

Worn Out!!!

Waving at everyone as they leave!

 

 

Happy Birthday Cherry Blossom!!!

 

 

One Month Later Update - When Mama is off from work, we play!

So this mom my has returned to work, which of course has been very hard.  Today was actually Cherry Blossom's first full day at her baby sitter.  I think I was more upset then she was!  Her daddy takes her in the morning because he won't get really upset when she cries like I would!  I get to pick her up in the afternoon!  Today we celebrated her first day of day care with a Gigi's Cupcake!  She  loved it, but she loves all types of cake!  Mama left her phone in the car so we didn't get a picture of the cupcake we ate, but here is a picture of the cupcake we brought home for daddy - ours was the wedding cake with white icing Yum!!

 

 When mama was off from work we were able to go do a lot of fun things together.  We went to the Zoo with our cousins, we went to Maggie Moo's for our .30 scoop of ice cream, we went to the park, had play dates and of course we went shopping!  Cherry Blossom loves to shop, but mama spends a lot of time putting things back.  She constantly says "Mama" and if I hand the item she points at to her then she throws it into the cart without really looking at it.  Her Grandma got to experience this the day after Easter when we were shopping for bargains.  Grandma ended up buying a lot of things that were Disney Princesses!  Her other favorite place to shop is Yard Sales!  She loves to go with her mama and daddy to yard sales and convince them to buy her things.  Our first big buy was a Little Tykes Picnic Table that she loves to sit at on our back patio.  We only paid $10 for it!  Score! The problem is that Molly and Maggie also think it is for them so they love for her to sit at it and drop food to them! Cherry Blossom does not like any type of doll still, but likes some stuffed animals.  She is all about blocks, balls and things that play music!  She used her Easter money to buy this one keyboard toy at a yard sale and she loves to torture mama and daddy with it!

 

Trying to figure out the stairs and where they go at the Castle Playground.

Cheese!!!

                I am practicing my angry face!!

 This is my scared face,  no practice needed!

 She loved the slide and stairs but would have nothing to do with the swings!  Baby Steps!

 

 



 Showing her skills with Air Hockey at her Uncle Brad and Aunt Shandy's house with her friend Lily!




                                               A Day at the Jungle Gym at the Zoo with Mama

                          

Who needs a spoon?!?!

Worn out from all of the shopping and hanging out with Mama!

One Month Later Update - HOPPY Easter!

Our Little Cherry Blossom got to celebrate her first Easter with us!  She woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had left his paw prints behind with little messages written on each one.  Believe it or not his paw prints led her to her Easter basket(s).  She was so cute in her little Bunny ears and pajamas!  She could not get down the stairs fast enough!

The Easter Bunny brought her more Play-doh, Little People and of course candy.  Her mama and daddy were excited to see the Reese Peanut Butter Eggs! After her excitement of her Easter basket she got to wear  her special Easter dress to church.  Of course it was purple, her mama's favorite color!  She was really good in the Easter service and really got into the music.  She was singing along with us, of course not in English but in her own babbling language.  She got to meet many of our friends for the first time and even though she is still a little shy around adults, she loved the attention.

After church we headed off to Nana's house for Easter Dinner.  She was even more surprised to see another Easter basket as well as a stuffed bunny and duck!  She had so much fun playing with her cousin Morgan and posing for pictures.  She tried her first homemade dressing and baked ham!  She loved all of the food!

Our final destination was Grandma and Grandpa's House!  When we got there she discovered that Molly and Maggie had been dropped off there while she was napping earlier in the day!  She was so excited to do her first Easter Egg Hunt with her cousins Miranda, Julie and Jodie!  Since it had been raining outside Julia and Cherry Blossom got to hunt for their eggs inside the house while the older girls went outside!  Of course the dogs had their own area for their eggs too!  Cherry Blossom had helped me fill some eggs for the hunt the night before so she was excited that some of the stickers, candy and money were coming back home with her!  After a yummy dinner of lasagna, another first, she went home with a basket full of eggs and treats!  What an exhausting day with all of her family!



 

Even the dogs were exhausted!

 

We cannot wait for her to understand the meaning of Easter one day!  In the weeks to come she will be going to Sunday School where she will be learning about the Awesome God we pray to every night!  She is so cute folding her hands and then saying "Amen" at the end!  Her English is still coming along , but we definitely can make out that word!