It’s been eight weeks since we last updated this website. Tia
has grown by leaps and bounds during the last two months! She is
filling our lives with much joy and loads of energy. She loves
to be around people, especially children. Tia gets quite a bit
of attention from Kassidy’s friends while we are at the pool and
attending Kassidy’s sports events. It seems that she’s always
has someone’s attention wherever we go.
We recently had a follow up appointment with Tia’s pediatrician.
She has grown over two inches in the last four months! She’s
also much stronger and this time she didn’t even cry for the
doctor. What a change from the previous experience! Tia is now
mostly feeding herself at mealtime and she can be neat when she
wants to. She wants to climb the steps on her own but we still
like to be there to make sure she’s safe. She’s also becoming
more independent with her playtime at home. We had experienced
several months where she would follow me around the house
wherever I went. That is improving and I am enjoying being able
to accomplish a few more things during the day. Tia is now
willing to go to her 2 yr. old Sunday School class on her own
without Mama. That was a huge accomplishment! We are finding
that it is easier to get away for a date night as well.
Kassidy is now home from school for the summer and the
transition is going very good. Tia just loves having her around
during the day. We’ve been busy swimming and enjoying other fun
summer activities. Tia’s speech is slowly coming around. She
always knows what we are saying to her but sometimes has trouble
communicating her needs to us. We are going to observe until the
fall and re-evaluate at that time to see if she would benefit
from speech therapy. With all of the milestones that she is
reaching she may be further along by then.
When our neighborhood held our annual garage sale, Kassidy was
selling baked goods and lemonade. She was quite the salesperson
and Tia wanted to help as well. They sold all of the cupcakes by
8:30am! It was so fun to see them working together.
We had the opportunity in May to visit with two of the families
that traveled with us to China. It was a wonderful evening of
catching up and enjoying time together. I really enjoyed
watching Tia interact with her Hunan “sisters”. They have all
changed so much in the several months that we’ve been home. To
any of our other travel families that may read this... We miss
you and hope to get together soon!
We have a few beach trips coming up this summer but for the most
part we have spending time at home. We’ve enjoyed visiting a
children’s museum, family bike rides, picnics with family and
friends, roasting smores , playing in the sandbox, jumping on
the trampoline and most of all spending time as a family of
four.
Our lives have been so enriched by having Tia join our family.
I’m always at a loss for a way to describe how adoption has
changed our lives in such an amazing way. Thank you God for
giving us this precious gift.
