Celebrating Sora!

We're not big on big parties around here. Especially for 2 year olds! And since Orin's Star Wars party was enough birthday planning to last me until 2012 we just had a small little birthday celebration with the family and our friends R & M. From the time she got up any time we'd tell her happy birthday or say "Whose birthday is it?" she'd say, "Oll-ie" which is her way of saying Orin. I guess she got it in her head earlier this month that the word birthday only applies to Orin. It wasn't until the evening that I think she finally understood that it was for her too.

A few things about Sora at 2 years:

1. She's CRAZY attached to her HUGE quilt. Not only will she not sleep without it, but she will only suck her thumb if it is by her. It's very annoying because she has no ability to self-soothe unless the blanket is there (I think her foster mother must have trained her in some way to only suck her thumb when she sleeps). I'm secretly plotting how I can get her attached to something smaller.

2. She is a great sleeper. I think a lot of adopted kids have sleeping troubles and I'm so thankful that is not something we've had to deal with other than when she first came home. She takes one nap a day (sometimes 45 min, sometimes 1 1/2 hours) and sleeps about 12 hours at night (from 9pm to 9am).

3. She can throw a mean temper tantrum. She started around 20 months. She'll lay on the floor or run to her room and shut the door and scream. She is NOT quiet either. She's either really happy or crying (which she does A LOT). I think her lack of ability to communicate is a HUGE part of it.

4. She LOVES Orin. Pretty much always likes to have him around. Loves to pick him up from school. He loves her too. He's always kind to her and rarely attempts to tease her in any way. (which I have have a ZERO tolerance policy for)

5. She has a love/hate relationship with Micaiah. He has a love/hate relationship with her. Unfortunately, when she loves him he seems to not be in the mood - and the other way around. He is more apt to tease her and I think he still wants to be the baby...but she knows she's the baby and wants that privilege. But when they are both in the mood to play it's a beautiful thing. I think when she gets a little older and can actually talk to him they will be more consistent friends.

6. She runs EVERYWHERE. In the house, she'll have to go 4 feet away and she'll run full out.

7. She loves to eat and is not picky at all. The only things I can't get her to eat is raw broccoli and dragon fruit. She doesn't really like bananas but she'll eat it if she's really hungry. She's also not big on peanut butter and honey sandwiches (but who could blame her!) But she LOVES anything sweet. Anything.

8. She thinks she's a 4 year old boy. She wants to play with cars and light sabers and do whatever the boys are doing.

9. She does like girlie things too - like having pretend tea parties and giving her baby a bottle. She loves pretending to wash her hands in her little pretend sink. Her favorite toy is a baby stroller that we got for her at Toys 'R Us in Hong Kong. She plays with it all day - although her baby is rarely in it - she'd rather push around her water or books.

10. She touches EVERYTHING! So that means she is destructive even if not purposefully so. Way more destructive than the boys.

11. She HATES being held upside down.

12. She has the strangest hair. The top of it is board strait, but the back is ringlet curls.

13. She'll pick a fight when she is in a bad mood. She'll throw her book on the floor and then cry for you to get it. But then when you get it and try to give it to her she'll fold her arms and scream. Obviously she just wants a reason to cry.

14. She still doesn't really talk. She'll say mama, Nana (means Dada), poo poo, wa-ler (water), ball, and oll-ie (Orin). Sometimes she'll try to say a word if we ask her to but usually it doesn't come out at all like it's supposed to sound.

15. She's recently gotten into books. She'll actually sit for a whole book and will often keep bringing more and more!

16. She loves puzzles. She has a few and will sometimes sit forever doing them. She loves them even more if you do one while she's doing hers.

17. She is still very attached to mommy. Daddy can feed, change, put her to bed and play with her, but if I leave the house she's usually not happy until I get. But she also knows that I'm the biggest disciplinarian and will run to daddy if I punish her.

18. She is very attached to us, but I still don't think she completely trusts us. If a new person comes over she'll often throw a temper tantrum. But as they come more and more she becomes comfortable. She's doing pretty good when we leave her with a sitter (i.e. doesn't cry the entire time) but she pays us back for it for the next 5 hours or even the next day by being in a horrible mood. She definitely feel emotionally rejected whenever we leave her.

19. She is great with a fork and spoon. Probably even better at using them than Orin! And she hates to eat with her hands - she'll try to eat chips with a fork.

20. She still has no interest in TV. I think if we sat down and watched a show with her she might watch for a while but she'd never do it otherwise. I'm fine with that because children really should watch TV before 2 anyway, but every once in a while it would really come in handy!

21. Every morning she runs out of her room and shows Damien what clothes she has on. She just wants him to tell her how pretty she looks.

22. She loves to leave the house. To be on the go in the car or to just play outside.

23. Picking her up is like picking up a ton of bricks. She is SO heavy.

24. She sweats! She sweats a LOT! Mostly from her head. I've never seen a child sweat like she does.

25. She loves to pretend fight with Damien. Part of the while "thinking she's a 4 year old boy." I think it's her favorite thing in the world to do.

Here are some pictures and video of her party. (I love how she's singing in the video)