Welcome Party for Maya - part 1

On Saturday, August 30th we had a welcome come party for our new daughter. It was time that our family and friends meet Maya and that she knows how big a support she and we all have. She is realizing it's a big family, I'm sure a lot bigger than anything she's experienced in China. And our family keeps growing. Of course we only have one grandchild right now but hopefully there will be many more to come from our kids, our niece and nephew, from our cousin's kids etc. She has no idea yet that she also has family in Croatia, Germany and Australia. I've told her mom and dad were born in Croatia and I've shown here where it is on the map of the world and that co-incidentally all three countries that our involved in our lives start with letter C - Croatia, China and Canada; the three Cs, lol.

We got dressed in our silk outfits for at least some of the day before we made ourselves more comfortable as the day became very hot and humid. It was suppose to rain but we lucked out. There was only a sprinkling in the morning and the rest of the day was beautiful and full of sun, perfect for the kids to run around in my parent's beautiful backyard and park, not to mention the bouncy castles we got for them as well.

In hindsight we should've put Brandon in his silk outfit too which is just too cute. We will have to remember it for next party. Here is a little peek at it again.

We had a lot of food that included some Chinese food as well for everyone to enjoy. Almost everyone invited showed up which was very nice to see. We hope to have another party for those who were not able to make it this time. I explained to Maya before hand that she will meet many people and that she could shake hands with them and say Hi, how are you; she knows that well and she knows how to answer. That's one of the first things she learned.

Just love this photo of the two little ones running to the park. I mean what does a kid want to do more than play on the swings and slides but it reminds me of what I have missed with Maya that we hope to make up for.

Maya and her friend from China enjoyed the park too and started to open up to each other again. At first we didn't really know if the the two really wanted to connect as they would not say much to each other but soon things changed and they started to realize that they were once friends and they could be again even though life changed for the both of them dramatically. The friendship is now in a strange land but it could still be good, they can still keep in touch.

  

  

Friendships sometimes span time and land. We hope that these two will see a lot more of each other and continue to be friends for many years to come.  We also enjoyed the company of the rest of her friend's family. They are wonderful people who are great as parents and as new friends we were lucky enough to meet.

With her daddy's help Maya opened up lots of presents which she quickly learned how to display so everyone could see what she will enjoy. At times she was overwhelmed saying So Big, also meaning so much and not sure if she knew right away she was taking it all home but she was patient as she looked at cards and presents in front of her. A quick selfie here with the pink roses we received from my aunt who follows my blog :)

  

  

Our family and friends were very patient as we muddled through the party first with greetings and meetings then serving dinner, having coffee and cake and opening presents. I tried to have as many chats in between as I could but for the most part I was very busy making sure everyone had food and drinks. I hardly ate myself but I wasn't feeling hungry at all because I was so excited that we were actually here at home with our girl and our lives with her has begun.

  

Here are our photographers at the party, Holly and Tanner so stay tuned for lots more photos to come each and everyone a precious and wonderful memory of this special time. Thank you to the photographers in advance.

  

Borrowing a selfie from my sister Susie of the her and her new niece, love this picture, both looking so happy.

  

Here is my youthful mother who will soon have a very special celebration herself, turning 70 in October. She is still so active and so involved with the family that it hardly seems that much time has gone by. I'd like to thank my parents at this point for allowing us the use of their beautiful premises for Maya's party. We certainly enjoyed it all the more because of this beautiful scenery. The kids especially enjoyed the yard, the playground, the meadow and the creek nearby.

Our beautiful daughter Kristina standing nearby to watch her little sister clean up in the present department. Our other daughter Sherie was busy with me serving food and watching out for her little son Brandon who is just too quick on his feet and keeps his mom busy making sure he does not get into trouble.  I'd like to thank Sherie for all her help in planning and executing this party.

  

I see now that I have a whole block of photos I've not processed yet plus the photos from the photographer so I'm afraid this post will still go on for at least one of two more parts.  However I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the family and friends who came by to help us celebrate this very special occasion of welcoming our daughter Maya Lanlan Josephine into our family and to show her just how much she we hope that she accepts us as much as we accept her. Thank you for the presents, the support and your company on this lovely day of August 30th, 2014.

More to come.