Happy 2-Year Referral Day!

Two years ago, we received and accepted Amelia's paperwork.  It was so fun to tell Amelia the story of how our case manager, Karla, called us with the good news while we were at work.  Amelia LOVES to come to work with me, so she seemed to understand who was involved in making sure I had a quiet place to talk to Karla and covered my students while I ran out the door.  It was a great day to reminisce about an event that is so vividly in my mind. 

It as also a bittersweet day.  As we were celebrating Amelia's Referral Day, we were also missing our precious Bailey.  He would have turned 14 years old.  After Amelia's first swim lesson, we took her to the restaurant, Stone's Throw, that we visit every year on September 26th.  They allow dogs in their outdoor seating, and we always took Bailey there to eat for his birthday.  Two years ago, we took Bailey to Stone's Throw and discussed Amelia's file.  We knew that she was our daughter and made the decision to submit our Letter of Intent to China.  This year, we were missing one of our family members at dinner.  I admit that I did teared up a little.  I miss my boy.

Here are some pictures of Amelia's Referral Day, first swim lesson, and dinner.

Happy Referral Day Pictures

Can you believe how much Amelia has changed?!  Yes, she requested to wear the tutu and chose to stand in her room in front of her books.

And she requested one in her swimsuit...

 First Swim Lesson

Amelia was VERY excited to wear GOGGLES!

 Dinner at Stone's Throw

Happy Referral Day, Amelia!  You are the best decision we every made!  We love you!

Meet the Teacher, First Day of School, and Beginning Ballet

During the rough week of losing Bailey, we attended Meet the Teacher at Amelia's school.  Amelia was placed in Ms. Kelly's class.  She was VERY happy to have Ms. Kelly and to have one of her sweet friends, who also happens to be one of our neighbors, in her class. 

While attending Meet the Teacher, we were able to sign Amelia up for BALLET!  She is EXTREMELY excited about attending ballet classes.  

Amelia made sure ALL of the paperwork was in proper order for her ballet classes.

We prepared for ballet by purchasing leotards, tights, and tutus (all in the required ballet pink), but we had not been shoe shopping  yet.  Fortunately for us, Mrs. Laura came prepared with sample shoes, and we could order Amelia's shoes through her.

Our BIG 3-year-old is ready for school!

We prepared for Amelia's first day of 3-year-old preschool.  I had my phone out to take pictures of this momentous occasion.  Amelia wanted her pictures taken in front of the flowers at school.  I took 7-8 pictures and dropped her off.  After school, she wanted to see her pictures.  I handed her my phone and when she gave them back, there was only 1 picture left!  Amelia had DELETED all of the other pictures!  Of course the only one saved, she has her eyes CLOSED.  Here it is:

Anyway...Let's get excited about BALLET!  Amelia had her first ballet class this week.  Here are some precious pictures of my little ballerina.

This sleeveless leotard is Amelia's favorite.

Practicing her moves at home

Ready for class!

When I asked Amelia if she liked her ballet class, she immediately said, "It was good!  I had fun!"  I'm so happy to know she loves it so.  She also got a sticker.  When I asked why Mrs. Laura gave her the sticker, she said, "I obey Mrs. Laura".  That's my girl.  She knows how to obey and uses it in her vocabulary.  Can you tell we've been working on this?

Overall, it has been a great beginning of the new school year for Amelia.  She loves Ms. Kelly and is looking forward to more ballet classes with Mrs. Laura.  She is also about to begin swim lessons, so our schedule is getting busier!

Trip to Chattanooga

This past week was tough for our family.  Losing Bailey has devastated us.  David and I realized that we needed to get away for the long weekend and do something fun to help with the depression.  We decided to head to Chattanooga and take Amelia to the Tennessee Aquarium.  Our first thought was to go to the Atlanta Aquarium, but we quickly realized that traffic would be a nightmare because of the Alabama game.  Chattanooga turned out to be better than we thought.  David and I loved the downtown area and ventured across the river to try some local restaurants as well.  Amelia had a blast at the aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum.  It was exactly what we needed as a family.

Amelia has a love for seahorses.  She was really surprised to see that they were so tiny.

Amelia chose a pink seahorse for her souvenir.

This is Amelia's favorite exhibit.  They are upside down jellyfish.  She stood here watching them for a long time.

  The Creative Discovery Museum was a last minute decision while we were in Chattanooga.  We decided to try it out since Amelia is still a little young for See Rock City and Ruby Falls.

Amelia slid down the slide MANY times.

She loved every bit of it...

and Mommy did, too!

We had a great time and will definitely be going back to Chattanooga!