Happy birthday, sweet Marella! I cannot believe you are three!! I have no idea where this past year has gone, but it sure has flown by.
A few things about you: you love Elmo, playing outside with Reagan (or doing anything with Reagan), coloring, bath time, your favorite blanket (pronounced banquet) that Miss Angela gave you, and going to church, especially on Wednesday nights when you get to play with Miss Sherry.
Your favorite foods are white yogurt (which you request every morning for breakfast), Skittles, pizza, hot dogs and fruit. But really, you’ll eat anything (except olives). You’re a great eater, and I’m so happy about that, and proud of you for always being willing to try new foods.
You experienced a lot of firsts this year, including your first birthday and Christmas with us. You were sufficiently spoiled by our friends and extended family. Celebrating is a lot of fun through the eyes of a little girl!
It’s been an adjustment for you since Reagan started kindergarten. It’s been an adjustment for all of us, but I really worried about you, since you were used to spending so much of your time with him. But you’ve done great, and are learning to play by yourself while Daddy and I are both working at home.
You pretty much have your own large fan club, both among our friends and at our church. There are far, far too many people you gravitate towards to list all of them, but right now one of your very favorites is Mr. Steve (pronounced Mr. Eep). You also love Miss Joyce, Miss Rachel (who you sometimes ask for when you’re bored, probably because she loves to play with you), Aunt Amanda, Miss Denise and Mr. Daniel, and so many more. You also love to watch the choir sing online, and will wave and say, “Hi Mr. Christopher!” (pronounced Chris-to-per). And you adore your pediatrician, Dr. Pinkley, which is a good thing, because we may be seeing more of him over the next year or two.
The good news/maybe not great news from this year is that we started the process of getting your foot fixed. You have a crooked left foot, which we thought we could just have a surgery to fix. But, when we visited the amazing Shriner’s Hospital, the orthopedist looked at your x-rays and said the bones in your foot to your toes weren’t connecting, so your toes may not be viable. Meaning, our best course of action might be to have your toes removed. But the very good news is that the bones in your legs and feet are straight, so the rest of your foot will be fine, if we remove the toes.
The orthopedist (who had eyes that reminded me of Jesus) isn’t making any decisions yet, and we’re praying really hard that the bones connect so you can keep your cute toes. But, of course we will do whatever is best for you long-term, and will give you the most mobility. We’ll go back in a couple months and get more x-rays done.
This year you’ve really become better at traveling. Our first couple road trips we weren’t so sure, but for our summer trip to PA, you managed to make it the entire 750 miles in one day without too much of a meltdown. I’m sure the constant snacks and endless supply of toys helped, but you (and Reagan) did really well. You had a great time staying with Aunt Dawn and Uncle Mike and Hunter — and now pretend you are riding a motorcycle with Uncle Mike. You also loved seeing Pop-Pop and Nana, and exploring their big backyard.
And of course, you love playing with Aunt Tracy and Poppy and Oma and Daniel and Gran Jan — and you especially loved staying with Gran Jan in Florida a few weeks ago. It was your first time ever at the beach, and I think it’s safe to say you’re a fan! You also loved playing in the pool at Aunt Tracy’s this summer, and proved you definitely don’t have a fear of water!
This year at some point you’re going to start preschool, at Lancaster Christian, where Reagan goes. You were going to start part-time when he started kindergarten, but the timing wasn’t right. I think soon we’ll all be ready.
I love you, Princess Marella. So much. I literally cannot imagine our lives without you. One of my struggles as your mother is trying to be sensitive to your difficult beginnings in this world, while also teaching you what is appropriate behavior, like sharing, being gentle, using your inside voice, and what is not appropriate behavior (we’re still trying to teach you to not bite Reagan). It’s a delicate balancing act that I feel like I get wrong a lot, but I’m still trying.
I get really bothered when people tell us that bringing you into our home was some kind of noble or heroic or altruistic gesture. The truth is, you saved us in a million more ways than we could have ever possibly saved you. You opened our eyes to the orphan problem in the world, and made us become vocal advocates for the more than 153 million children just like you, who just need someone to love them.
You are, without a doubt, the very bravest person I know. The way you came from halfway around the world and just settled into our family, learning a new language, new customs, new everything — many adults, myself included, aren’t half as brave as you are. I am in awe of you.
I love you to the moon and back, Marella Hope Grace Thompson. For all the mistakes I make as your mother, for all my blunders and missteps, know that everything I do comes from a place of trying to help you be the best you can be.
Happy third birthday, Princess. The world is infinitely better with you in it.
