[Mshel]

I know how you feel, and I know it's not easy. I bet your FF is having a party though! Can you contact them? You may be surprised to find out the day was very special! After our daughter's 1st birthday I woke up to a email of pictures from her party! I am still waiting to bring her home, but found comfort in knowing she had a great birthday! You are so close, have a party when you get home!!!! Hugs, Michelle

[JillnChris]

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Brayden, Happy Birthday to you!

Here is to the many birthdays he will celebrate once he is home with his family!

[brink]

I also know how it feels to miss many milestones, waiting for each of our four for more than a year and a half (at least). We missed our son's 4th birthday by one weekend and our daughter's 11th birthday by nearly a month. But as others have suggested, I realized it was important for them to spend that day with the people they knew and loved. In our case, our kids were much older, so it made more of a difference to them than it will to your young child. But I also treasured the photos they took at the orphanage of our children and their cake and friends. I can't really explain it, as it was hard for us, but it meant that later they would have those photos and memories, one more special day to tie them to their birthcountry, if that makes sense. We all say that Guatemala is very important to us, and later down the road and looking back, those times they were able to have in their birth country become more important to them and to us.