Happy Birthday, again, C!

As I mentioned in our intro, both of our girls have open adoptions, although the degree of openness is quite different. Since C was born locally, we have regular visits with her birthfamily, at least once a year for her birthday. I feel bad that M won't have the same kind of contact with her birthfamily largely due to geographics, but also different circumstances. Hopefully she will understand as she gets older and it won't be an issue. I know I worry too much about things that haven't come to pass yet, but that's just what I do.

I've made a point of discussing adoption regularly with C. We have terrific photos of her birth (C-section) where she can see quite clearly that she is coming from her birthmother's tummy. I have no doubt that she "gets" these things because I've heard her explain them to others. Beyond that, she doesn't really understand yet her relationship to her birthfamily. We refer to everyone by name and I explain all members of the family based on their relationship to the birthmom - her mom, her other daughter, etc. I want to give her all the pieces of the puzzle now, and then as she gets older and can better comprehend, she'll see how the puzzle fits together in relation to her.

Anyway, last night we had a birthday party at McDonald's with C's birthmother and family. We had a pleasant visit while the kids had a great time playing! C came home last night excited about all of her "friends" and the great presents they brought her. This morning she climbed into my bed and asked me to read her a book - "How I Was Adopted" by Joanna Cole.