Alexis is THREE!

Even though this is our "adoption" blog, I still had to post a special memory that we made this weekend....Alexis turned THREE!  Despite the fact that Jason and I came down with miserable stomach viruses on Friday and Saturday, we managed to have an otherwise wonderful weekend with our little girl!  It has really hit me lately that she is no longer a "baby," even though I still like to call her that - and probably will for a long time!  We had a Tinkerbell/Peter Pan-themed party for her at our church.  We enjoyed the day with several of her church friends, family friends and family members.  Everyone had a great time and the birthday girl was so very excited!

Jason and I gave Alexis an American Girl doll named "Ivy."  Our social worker had suggested that we read Alexis books and give her opportunities to be immersed into different cultures, so that she will be more accepting of a sister that is of a different race.  Ivy is a Chinese girl, and Alexis already said "she looks like she is from China - she is like Annabelle!"  She loves her and has quickly added her to the ever-growing baby doll collection.  As young as she is, she will be accepting and love Annabelle without hesitation (although I know there will be certain amounts of sibling rivalry); however, we want to encourage her to accept her sister - and others that she meets - openly and lovingly no matter what their physical appearance may be.  It will also be beneficial for Annabelle to see that Alexis has dolls, books, movies, etc. about little girls and boys of different ethnicities.

After Alexis' party, we were cuddling with her in bed and showing her pictures of the day she was born.  She looked over at me and said, "Mommy...there are 1-2-3 people here...and when Annabelle comes there will be 1-2-3-4!  I will make sure she eats her food and doesn't make a mess!"  We hadn't mentioned her sister that day at all to her, so it was neat that she thought of her in reference to our family.

We have loved every minute of our family life during the last three years.  It is hard to believe that on her next birthday, she will likely (hopefully) be sharing it with a little sister!  I am excited about the changes and experiences in store for Alexis, and our whole family throughout the next year.

We are now working on completing our petition to the U.S. government to adopt a child internationally, the I-800a form.  Once we receive our written and notarized home study (which is ready - we just haven't received it yet), we will be able to file the form.  This week we are authenticating our dossier documents at the Hardin County Clerk's office and plan to make a trip to Frankfort to authenticate them (again) at the Secretary of State's office sometime in March.  We are looking forward to taking Alexis with us to our state capitol building for a memorable and special family trip!