This week marked the end of Lia's first year of preschool. I was sad to say goodbye to her wonderful teachers, her speech therapist and her PT for the summer. Lia has truly blossomed under their care and their dedication to her success has been truly above and beyond what I expected. A real blessing. Here is a pic of the mini rose bushes we took to each of them on the last day of school:
As mentioned in the last post, Lia, my mom and I traveled to Nashville over Memorial Day Weekend to see the director of Lia's first home in China - the
Starfish Foster Home. Amanda is currently undergoing cancer treatment in Nashville, so about 25 families made the trek to Tennessee to get together that weekend. It was great - and very emotional - to finally be able to give Amanda a hug in person and thank her for all she did for Lia as a tiny, fragile, cleft baby. As in China, Lia was an amazing little traveler and did well (better than her mama!) on all the bumpy airline flights to and from Nashville. She slept on most of our five flights, or watched her portable DVD player.
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| Lia and Grandma on the plane |
Unfortunately, I think the reunion itself was a bit too much overstimulation for our girl. Not sure whether it actually brought back memories for her, or whether being around that many people just caused some general anxiety, but she had a tough time during our stay. Shockingly, the one highlight for her was the hotel swimming pool! I wasn't sure what to expect, because during our China trip, Lia had zero interest in going in the swimming pools. But this time she was very brave, and with the help of mama and arm floaties, she practiced "swimming" (kicking her feet and dog paddling her arms). It was very cute!
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| Swimming with Mama |
Today is Father's Day and unfortunately, Steve had to work. We will be celebrating my dad at dinner this evening, and then will celebrate with Steve once he gets home a little later tonight. His current commute is less than ideal - about two hours each way - which makes for some long days for him...and us. Hoping to find some better solutions for this during the summer. Below is a photo I just love of Steve and Lia. It pretty much sums up what a great daddy he is for our little girl.
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| Daddy and Lia playing dress-up! |
