Thursday, October 16, 2008

A 3-year-old Banana

Every year on our middle kids' birthdays, we write letters to their birthmothers highlighting that child's activities and development. We also include a dozen or so pictures of the child for her to see. The adoption agency keeps these letters in a file and passes them along if the birthmother asks about them. We have letters for all three kids from each year of their lives saved for them to read someday. They are also fun for keeping family and friends up to date about how much each child has grown and what they are doing. Since today is Banana's third birthday, I decided to post her letter here, along with some of our favorite pictures.

Dear Birthmother,

We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits. It’s hard to believe another year has passed, and that Banana is already three years old. The “diva” of the family has been growing up fast, both physically and mentally. She is very tall for her age – about 3 feet and 3 inches – and she weighs 32 pounds. She has a head full of dark curly hair, which she can't stand having combed. It is darling when she lets us take our time with it. She already has strong opinions about her shoes and clothing, and she can get dressed almost all by herself too.



Banana started going to preschool this fall. She is enjoying the days she is at school and asks about going even on the days she isn’t scheduled to go. She already knows a lot of her letters and some numbers too. She loves the singing and dancing they do at school and always brings home at least three art projects that she has made for us.


We would no longer describe Banana as a good eater. While she eats a huge breakfast and has healthy snacks and lunches, she rarely eats dinner with the rest of us. She will sit and say the dinner prayer with us, but she will be “all done” before much of anything is actually missing from her plate. This might explain why she has such big breakfasts!


Banana recently moved into a “big bed”. She still takes a nap most every afternoon and she sleeps very well at night. She is always up early enough to see the three older kids off to school. She loves waving to them from the front door as they drive off with Dad. She always says, “They’re funny!” as they wave to her from the car.


We mentioned in our last letter that Banana would be a big sister. Well, her little brother Mr. H arrived in April and things haven‘t been the same since. We were wondering if there would be any jealousy issues. Fortunately, since the new baby turned out to be a boy, Banana maintained her “diva” status in the family. She is a good big sister. She holds him, gives him his favorite toys, and makes him laugh all the time. Then she tells him, “You’re funny, Mr. H!” She thinks everyone is funny.
Since three of our five children joined the family through adoption, it is something we talk about a lot in our house. We want Banana to know about her adoption as well as her birth family. Any information you could give us about yourself or your family would help us to share more of the “Story of Banana” with her.

We hope that you recognize what a special gift Banana is to us. Because you have touched our hearts with your gift, you are continually in our thoughts and prayers. We hope that you are both happy and healthy. We will be keeping in touch as our little diva continues to grow.

Sincerely,
Banana’s Mom and Dad



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing. She is our sweetheart.

Unknown said...

That is awesome! Thank you for sharing that with us.... :)