I remember that day vividly.
This year, for the first time, Lily asked me A LOT of questions about our Referral Day.
I guess I should have expected it. Lately, Lily has been asking me A TON of questions about how we became a family, about her first parents, about her time in China, and more.
Many of the questions Lily is asking I don't have the answers to. That's hard...for both of us. It was fun for a change to be able to answer almost every question Lily asked!
Lily wanted to know specifics. She wondered what Daddy and I thought when we first saw her picture, which picture was our favorite, who did we call first to tell them we had her pictures, why was she wearing that outfit, where was she when the pictures were taken, why wasn't she smiling, and the questions kept coming...and coming...and coming. Seriously.
It was fun reliving that day with Lily. From stalking the Fed Ex man, to finally seeing Lily's sweet face, to the flowers and bottles of wine from my sisters, to the dinner out with the family to share the wonderful news and pictures...it was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
If you want to take a little stroll down memory lane click here to see our initial referral announcement, click here to see our first anniversary, click here to see our second anniversary, and click here to see our third.
Lily and I talked a few times during the day about taking our annual picture with her holding her referral photo, but somehow we...as in me...kept forgetting.
Luckily, as we were upstairs getting Lily ready for bed I finally remembered...again. I like this little tradition and want to keep doing it as long as Lily is willing. So, I ran downstairs real quick and grabbed Lily's referral photo and the camera.
Lily was a good sport about having her picture taken...even though as she reminded me...it was bed time.
As you can see, I got some sweet and some silly pictures of that precious little cutie who stole my heart 4 years ago.
2 comments:
Congratulations on this very special anniversary! I believe you are doing the exactly right thing by sharing her story with Lily. Adding details as she becomes ready for them is fine. One day she may well express some grief over her birth family and orphanage. I believe this is perfectly normal. I would certainly do so in that situation. All we adoptive parents can do is hold our children, comfort them as best we can, and remind them that they now have a forever family. I would rather have my child feel safe in expressing to me grief, curiosity, anger, etc. about his or her beginning in life than to have my child repress all those feelings which will ultimately result in an explosion or other kind of injury somewhere down the way. In my humble opinion, you are doing just fine with telling Lily her history as you know it. As for not being able to answer every one of her questions, that can apply to any parent in any type of family! I know I prefer an honest 'I don't know' in such situations and it is certainly recommended by the experts when dealing with our kids. Keep up the good work, T.J. I think you and Tony are doing a great job! Love, Cousin Eileen
Thanks, Eileen!
I always appreciate your feedback and encouragement.
TJ
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