Welcome Home Tia!: March 2013

We were asked to write a story about Tian for Daycare. Here's what Kerry & I came up with...

The Little Princess from the Far Away Country!Once upon a time, in a country far, far away, lived a beautiful little Princess. Named after the heavens, she was called Princess Tian. With black, curly hair and soft olive skin the Princess was not very tall, but she had a great big personality! Princess Tian loved to laugh, draw, run on the playground and give big hugs!

Princess Tian lived with several other little Princes and Princesses in this far away country called China. While she had wonderful caregivers that cared for her and satisfied her every need, she was missing a family of her own.

The dashing King Dustin, his wife, Queen Kerry and heir to the throne, Prince Hunter while very happy with their family, felt they were missing something too……a little princess! They searched far and wide and for a very long time to find the perfect little Princess. Finally, after more than 5 years of searching, they came upon Princess Tian! From the minute they saw her pictures and read all about her, they knew she was just what they had been waiting so very long for!!! However, because Princess Tian was so far away it would be a very long trip to bring her home to their castle in Florida. The whole family set off on their amazing quest and took a big airplane to China, another airplane to Nanyang (where the Princess was born!); and finally a carriage (car) to her castle.

It took them an entire day to get there, but it was worth every minute when they finally saw Princess Tian in person. The King, Queen and Prince all hugged the princess so tightly, they didn’t want to let her go! It had been such a long journey to find their perfect little princess that they couldn’t believe they had finally reached her! They gave her lots of hugs and kisses; so many kisses, they tickled her and the Princess started to laugh! They all knew then that their family was finally complete!

After a few days of visiting with her friends and seeing the sights, they decided it was time to return home to their castle in Florida. The King, Queen, Prince Hunter and Princess Tian are now enjoying the family they had all been waiting for.

They are all now living happily ever after….

Today is March 5^th, our 4 month GOTCHA DAY Anniversary with Tian. Really?! It’s only been 4 months?! It feels like she’s been a part of this family so much longer. We'll save the big celebration at 6 months.

Greetings Everyone! January and February have again worked out to be a terrific couple of months! Hunter and Tian are doing great. Tian is getting caught up on her immunizations. Shots, 3 at a time, aren’t fun. Poor Kerry has taken her to the visits and is temporarily viewed, in Tia's eyes, as the bad parent. hehe. We got great news back on January 9th. We pretty much already knew the answer, but Tia had a visit with the Pediatric Cardiologist and they confirmed that the hole in her heart has closed up. So, no surgery and a normal childhood is expected. Woot!

Tia started day care on January 7^th and in the last two months, the babbling has significantly increased. We are hearing “Hi”, “Momma”, “Dada”, “Bye” and Kerry has been working diligently on apple. “App – Pull”. The teachers send notes home daily saying how sweet and kind she is. That she plays well with the other kiddies and is always, always happy. A couple weeks ago, as I was leaving the room, she got a hug from one of the boys in her class … I admit, this troubled me a bit. But what can I say to a 2 year old Casanova making moves on my 2 year old Princess? It’s funny how great I thought it was when Hunter hugged Julia at that age. The roles have been reversed. The “My Baby Girl” curse has begun.

She’s really soaking things in and understanding so much more. She definitely knows her routine and is 100% pumped about it. She gets excited about getting in her highchair for meals. The kid loves to eat. When we head to school, she nestles into the cars seat and reaches for the belts to help daddy strap her in. At night, I just show her some PJs and she’s bolts into her bedroom to get changed.

We’ve also enjoyed the playset. Tia has no problem climbing the ladder by herself to the second level, then come whizzing down the slide. Ok, she doesn’t “come whizzing”, but it’s fast for her! She smiles, claps her hands and makes a beeline for the ladder again.

Finally, we have seen some fussy behavior that has been a very welcomed sight. She wants up! She wants to be held more often! It appears the “bonding” we read, heard and spoke about is developing nicely. We are basically 4 months in now and so far, so good.

Hunter has been keeping us busy with Soccer and Lacrosse. Hunter’s Soccer team just finished their season. Mostly he played keeper and right forward. The team had more ties than wins, but somehow made it to the Championship, Gold Medal Game. Hunter was in goal the first half when the score was 0-0. Unfortunately they lost 0-2, but as a parent, I saw in him what we all hope for. 110% effort, good sportsmanship and a smile. It was a super year. A great group of kids and excellent coaches.

Official Ball Girl for the SilverBullets.

In February Hunter started Lacrosse. The seasons overlapped for a couple of weeks, so it was 4 days a weeks at the fields, plus games. He always seems to have his gear on. He’d sleep in his helmet and shoulder pads if he could. Hunter is really liking Lacrosse. They’ve played two games. One was in SunLife Stadium which was a great experience for Hunter. Not so much for me. It was 50 degrees, windy and we had to be there by 7am! What we do for our children…

First game against the Miami StoneCrabs.

Position: Middie.

Sweet steal Hunter!

~~Soccer~~ Lacrosse Mom and her kiddies.

At SunLife Stadium.

And finally, Tian Lauren received her Baptism on Sunday, January 27. We were blessed with a beautiful day, a wonderful service with Deacon Frank and surrounded by close family and friends. Tian looked so beautiful in her little white dress, headband and pearls. Thank you and big love to everyone that was there.