Myah's 2nd Birthday

Our precious little Myah is now two years old! When we became Myah’s parents last June 6th we had just missed her first birthday by five days. Our intention was to have a party for her when we arrived home to introduce her to our family and friends and to celebrate her belated birthday. When we received Myah we knew right away that this little girl was going to need some extra special time with us before she was ready to be thrust into the limelight. That was fine with us, we had studied up on all of the attachment books and had received many tips and learned about how important it was to keep others away until she was ready. I can honestly say I still am not sure she does really well in a group of people. She can interact with many people during the day and seem just fine, but at night she is very restless and wakes us up many times in the night crying. She has a difficult time with being overstimulated. So when it came time to plan a coming home party, we decided that for her sake it was best to wait. So you can imagine how excited I was to finally have a party here in her honor…. a year later. It was very hard to narrow down our guest list but due to her personality we felt it was best to only invite our closest neighbors, friends and immediate family, people who she is most used to seeing. She did very well, considering about 50 people invaded her territory. We decided to do a bonfire, cookout setting for the evening. We were so grateful for the outpouring of love that our guests showered Myah with. She knew the day was all about her from the moment she woke up. We had celebrated Daddy’s birthday the day before so she was already in the party mood. We woke her up by singing to her, she rubbed her eyes and then sat right up smiling. She said “I two” while holding up 5 fingers. We gave her our gifts before Dayton left for school. We bought her a little stove/sink from Pottery Barn and she just loves it! We also gave her a pretend Dr. kit, some books, a puzzle and a silk outfit that we had bought for her while we were in China. We also bought her a pillow with her initials on it. When we were in Florida she slept with a pillow and just squealed when she saw it! Something so simple. She has enjoyed playing with many of the gifts that she received, it is nice to have some new things in the house. She loved having everyone sing to her, she tried to blow out her candles but we ended up having to help her finish the job. We had such a nice evening, the weather was hot, reminded me of China! My thoughts all week kept turning to Myah’s birthmother. I kept wondering about the circumstances leading up to her birth. The setting, was she in a hospital? Her home? Was she ashamed, scared, or torn with the decision of wanting to keep her little girl. I just can’t let my heart go there. I keep thinking about the night Dayton was born. The celebration of the first grandchild, great-grandchild, nephew, and son. A whole waiting room at the University of Michigan filled with family members just waiting to hear the first wails come from my room (not from me, but the baby ha ha!). Not knowing if we had a son or daughter. Either way in our world it didn’t matter. A Bailey or a Dayton. We were just praying for a healthy child. I remember the flood of family, camera flashes, everyone dying to get their hands on him, our little boy. I keep thinking, if Myah had been a boy, we would never have met her. A thought I just can’t even let my mind or heart imagine. Her birth family would be proud of her, would not have to hide her, or worst yet, have to abandon her. Sons are so important in China. I know that Myah is our special gift from God, just as Dayton was. On June 1st, we celebrated her life, in every way, for surviving against all odds, and for sharing her life with us. We find it appropriate that June 1st in China is National Children’s Day. While we were in China we asked our guide to tell us more about this holiday due to the fact that it is also Myah’s special day. She told us that there is no school that day and that employers give gifts to the children of their employees. Parents usually give the child a gift of money as a token of their love. We want to thank everyone for the love that you have shown towards Myah and our family this past year