Aria's 3rd Family Day

 Dear Aria,

At the end of August, we celebrated three years with you! It truly seems like a lifetime ago when we were rushing back to Guyana to finally be reunited. Leaving you behind was one of the most difficult things we've ever done. Thankfully we were able to video chat with you during that painfully long 2 1/2 months while we waited on edge for word from Guyana that our adoption paperwork was ready and we could finally have our much anticipated meeting with the Adoption Board. 

On August 8, 2019, we received the news we had been praying for - we were on the schedule for the big Adoption Board meeting at the end of August!! Flights were quickly booked and hotel reservations made. Guyana, HERE WE COME!!

On August 27th, we were once again on our way to the Child Protection Agency (CPA). We had been under the assumption that the CPA would have told your foster parents to bring you into the office, but as we have now come to know, things in Guyana are pretty loosey goosey, and they had expected us to make the arrangements ourselves. Instead of having the Williams family trek across town on a bus with you, we headed to them.

You were dressed in an adorable navy blue dress with white poke-a-dots. Your hair growing out and sticking up all over since having brain surgery just a few months prior. You were all smiles and cuddles. So alert and doing so much better now that your hydrocephalus had been treated. And you had a mouthful of teeth! You had none the last time we had seen you. We were so thrilled to finally have you back in our arms and to never again be apart.  

Your adoption story can only be described as a miracle. It's a miracle we even found you, a miracle we found a neurosurgeon in Georgetown willing and able to successfully treat your hydrocephalus, a miracle US Immigration granted your visa despite Guyana being closed to International Adoptions. You are our amazing little miracle. 

With all the challenges you had been dealt with no medical treatment or therapeutic interventions, you were still a joyful, giggly sweet little peanut. We were so thankful that by the end of this trip, you would legally be our daughter and we would venture home together as a family of 7.

On your special day, we made sure to enjoy some of your favorite activities. First, we ventured outside for a ride on your amazing bike that you got this summer - a Freedom Concepts adaptive trike. It has all the supports you need to keep you safe. You love riding your new wheels and even pedal all on your own every once in a while. Of course, just as I got you buckled up for the ride, it started to sprinkle. But there was no way you were willingly going to get off your bike so off we went in the rain. We walked our usual route down to the end of our road and turned around for home. But every time we got close to our house, you'd ask for more. So more it was! We must have made half a dozen trips back and forth because you were having quite the fun adventure biking in the rain that you kept signing "more, more, more!" We were drenched when I finally had to call it quits so we could head in to dry off. But it sure was a fun bike ride!

The rain finally stopped so it was time for more outdoor fun. We headed to the back yard to swing. You love swinging back and forth and back and forth.  Soon you started pointing towards the pool. I guess you thought it would be a great idea to go for a dip. But the water was way too chilly, so instead we headed inside so you could get the pool off your mind.

We finished out the day of "Aria's Favorite Things" with some time playing with the doors. You have been fascinated with doors for quite some time. You love watching them swing open and shut. You could easily spend 30 minutes or even more playing with the door. You can't quite open it just yet when it latches, so you often call for assistance and I come running. 

Aria, you are most definitely the hardest working 4 year old with a busy weekly schedule of therapy most often 2 - 3 hours a day with a therapist then a couple more hours at home with mom, there simply isn't much time to play. Yet you put a big smile on (at least most days) and do your very best. You love to move and are getting so strong. Jumping and dancing come natural to you. You can't seem to control it. Even when you're supposed to be standing still and steady, those legs just start a-bopping! At therapy, they have a Universal Exercise Cage where you can get all those wiggles out and bounce and bounce to your little heart's desire.

You love to be on the go - riding on your bike or in the bike trailer. We recently upgraded to a Wike bike trailer. There's so much more room for you than in our old Burley that you'll even be able to be pulled when your all grown up. You and Kate sure love the extra space as you whiz down the street in your chariot. 

You're a bit of a seat hog, although I don't blame you as it's hard to sit up straight when someone bigger than you is squishing the cushion and often snoozing away! Your big sister Kate can sleep anywhere!

You love the water. You'd go swimming every day if you could. I know better than to let you see the pool if I'm not prepared for you to get in it. You do not like to hear "no" when your sights are set on water. You are drawn to it like a moth to a flame. You can not resist and the moment you are close enough to reach you will splash, splash, splash. There's no stopping your splashing and your sheer delight being soaked head to toe.

You are one spicy little peanut and always demanding to have whatever your siblings have in their hands. An iPad? You want it. A toy? You want it. A bag of chips? You want it. You may not have many words, but you sure do have a way of getting exactly what you want.

You are 100% a Mama's girl. You rarely leave my side. And when I have to sneak out of your sight for just a moment, you sure do let me know that you are one unhappy camper. If you had your way, I'd carry you along with me every step I take. But you are getting bigger, so it's not as easy to have you attached to my hip.

Every night as you drift off to sleep, you reach out and wrap your arm around my neck. And when you stir in the middle of the night, you do the same sliding your little arm under my neck to make sure I'm still there. You love having your mama close by.

Aria, we are so very blessed to be able to call you our daughter. You are a little light of sunshine with a laugh that fills our souls with joy. A very happy Family Day to you!