Sweet Sixteen

Sweet Sixteen

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Nadia's Birthday Celebration-Part 3

Nadia was celebrated and sung to by our small group, was taken out to dinner by her family, and was promised a birthday party to wrap up her 3-part birthday celebration.  However, when the mom got sick, everything that was supposed to happen last weekend got cancelled or put on hold.  Quite frankly, I was feeling so badly that I was leaning more toward cancelling the party rather than postponing it...

 But then I looked at this face and remembered that she has 2yrs. of NOT celebrating her birthday to make up for! 
So...Let's Get This Party Started!!!


We rescheduled, made sure all of the party guests could still attend, got the girls dressed in their matching outfits, ordered a cake instead of making one, and voila...Nadia's party was ready to begin!


Some of you out there who are in their late 40s and mid-50s like Jim and I are might have some trouble coming up with friends who have toddlers to invite to your toddler's party, but thankfully we have a diverse group of friends who are still having children either biologically or through adoption...so Nadia's guest list included 4 sweet friends.

One of whom is cutie-pie Milana who was also recently adopted from Ukraine and only lives 4 blocks away from us!  Josi loves Milana... and her sisters and Momma have become good friends of ours too.


Before the rest of the party guests arrived, Nadia decided to make up her own game...


...I think it's called "Crib Diving".  


She was actually reaching for the shape blocks inside of the crib and kind of fell in (the first time).


She thought it was such fun that she ended up trying it again...and again.


Then more friends arrived.  Atley and her Mommy have been praying since this past January for Nadia to come home to our family so Nadia holds a special place in their hearts. It's amazing to see how God has used our adoption to plant seeds even in the youngest of hearts like little Atley who is now praying for other orhans to find families as well. 


The "theme" of Nadia's party was ornaments so all of the girls got to decorate an ornament to hang on their tree.   The girls also received a Reece's Rainbow ornament so they can be praying specifically for an orphan who needs a family.  (It's not too late to donate to the RR Christmas AngelTree Fund.  Just click on this link and help one or more orphans in this very important way).

This is Kate's 2nd Christmas with her family after being adopted from Guatemala.


Nadia got some help with her ornament from big brother Michael, and cousin Jessica. (The brown theme wasn't planned but it kind of works doesn't it?) :)


Milana's working hard on getting those sequins glued on.


Atley proudly shows her beautiful Christmas tree ornament.


Allen was put on baby rocking duty and although it doesn't look it, sitting on the couch occasionally rocking the car seat was much more of his 'thing' than helping with the craft.


Nadia still doesn't get the blowing out the candle part of all of this...


...but she sure has the smashing/eating part down just fine!


Guess this part comes naturally to all children!


This is Bella, our God-daughter (whose baby sister Allen was rocking).
I think her green lips go quite well with her pink bow and polka dots!


Kate is the only one who missed the class on 'getting messy' while eating cupcakes. I'm sure her mom is glad she was absent that day. ha ha


This is the best shot I could get of the party crowd, which considering they are all between the ages of 2 and 4, is pretty darn good after all!


My Dad asked me how much I thought Nadia 'got' of this being her birthday celebration. I'm not sure of the answer to that.  She still doesn't seem to completely 'know' that we are her mommy, daddy, sister and brothers, BUT based on the blossoming we see each day, I believe she is definitely 'getting' how much we love her and that she is safe and taken care of. 
The important thing is that we get to celebrate with her and that we keep giving her every opportunity to understand how special and loved she is.

Happy Birthday Nadia Irina Ferguson!!!

13 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Sweet Nadia! You got the GREATEST gift of all...your beautiful and loving family!

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  2. Happy Birthday, Nadia and Kristin. Glad you are feeling better:) Celebrations indeed!! What a fun, momentous occasion. Merry Christmas and safe travels this season!!!

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  3. What a great party! Loved reading your story.

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  4. I'm so glad you didn't cancel the party altogether. I know my 3 had a blast. I have to send you the pictures of Josi, Riley, & Peyton with their green tongues.

    Nadia has blossomed so much in the 6 months that she has been home with her loving family. I can't wait to watch her continue to grow and learn. Just look at the way she learned her crib diving game and how much she LOVED it! She is such a blessing!

    Happy Birthday sweet Nadia! We all love you so much :)

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  5. Yes, Kate's mom kept her home the day that "cake smashing" was taught. Instead, I took her to the "How to keep your clothes looking brand new forever" class down the hall. I am such a fun mom. Actually, she just doesn't particularly like getting messy. What a good girl:) We totally enjoyed the party and festivities! Happy Birthday Nadia!!!
    Lisa

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  6. Oh, that looks like so much fun! I wish we could have come ;) You needed a little boy there!

    Allen didn't look too thrilled with the whole baby thing :)

    I love brown, they girls looked so adorable in their outfits, and what a lucky little girl to have such a wonderful party with her little friends! It's just so sweet!

    Oh, and the dogs tail was funny in the one picture :) Shoulda named him Radar.

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  7. Oh friend, you ate tooooo funny with the color coordination thing :) And the crib dive had me totally laughing. Thanks for doing a catch up post---I loved seeing all the beautiful pics.

    Where the heck is daddy....golf? Coffee with a friend? Work? Mmmmmmmmm.

    Happy birthday, princess, you are SUCH a treasure!!! We love you heaps.

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  8. Happy, happy birthday, dear Nadia! Mom, I'm glad you are feeling better.

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  9. Loved seeing all the great pics (and can we give Lisa a bunch of crap about being neurotically clean?) hee! So sorry you were so sick and hope you are all better now.

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  10. Looks like Nadia had a blast, and I love the crib diving game, too funny!! Happy birthday sweet girl!!

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  11. I hope you're feeling better. So glad you were still able to celebrate Nadia's birthday with some little friends. What a precious group of kiddos.

    Oh, my favorite photo is the very last one. Nadia certainly knows who her mom, dad, and siblings are. There's no doubt about it.

    Much Love,
    Kathie

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  12. Nadia so knows you are her Mom!! Love the pics, love the cake, are those real Christmas light bulbs on the cupcakes? Nice touch! Love the crib diving game, she'll be skiing down the steps w/sleeping bags at her next party!! Woohoo!

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