Happy Birthday Jubilee

Today was Jubilee's first birthday in the US. Birthdays can be a difficult time for newly adopted children, so we were prepared for a less than perfect day.  It turned out lovely I am happy to report.  Our family birthday celebrations are pretty simple.  We don't do anything fancy, and we try to keep the gifts simple as well.

Jubilee got to choose what she wanted for dinner and dessert.  She told me she didn't know what she wanted, so I made the few Ethiopian dishes I know how to make, and we had sundae's for dessert.  I had told her what I was planning a few days ahead and told her if she wanted to change any of it to let me know.  She was fine with all of it.

We spent a good part of the day at the pool.  Frankly I think we were all worn out and a little crispy by dinner time.  We had dinner in between sports practice, and then watched a movie.  We got her the Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I have to say was pretty funny.  She also got a Justin Beiber poster, much to her sister's chagrin, and candy.  Tomorrow we will take her shopping in the big city while we pick up her siblings.  It wasn't exactly the party that you see on the Disney movies, but she seemed satisfied.  She also got several phone calls from friends, which was probably the best gift anyway.