Bike Buddies

We got a bike buddy for Abigail.  Well, and for me.  It is fun biking with her this way, though I am afraid she isn't getting as much exercise as when she rides her tricycle.  But on the other hand, it doesn't require bucketfuls of patience to take her to the neighborhood playground when she rides this instead of a vehicle that maxes out on a 4-inch pedal revolution.  

First Day of Junior Kindergarten!!

Our big girl started Junior Kindergarten this morning.  She has been excited for weeks, although we know she was a little nervous because we would find her asleep in our bed in the evening after she was tucked into hers or because she would ask questions about it or because we would say "In Junior Kindergarten, you will have to do X thing by yourself" and she would reply "I don't want to talk about that right now."  But we also know she was excited because she has been asking "do I go to school today??" for the past few weeks and when we drive past the building in the car, she always wants to point it out and have us stop and drive around the back to see the playground things.  I can't wait until she gets home and we find out how she does!

(And let me tell you, next week, when she gets to ride on her first bus and go on her first field trip, when someone else is driving my baby around in a bus on a field trip away from school everyone will need to be asking me how  I  am doing!!!)

One Week Past Surgery

Abigail playing with her cousin
the weekend before her surgery

One week ago, we were at Children's National for Abigail's lip and nose reconstruction surgery.
She had an initial surgery sometime between 5 months old and 8 months old when she was in China and, although it was done by an American surgeon who was on a mission trip there, it was a functional fix but not an aesthetic one.  Our amazing surgeon at Children's National said he does similar trips and often gets only about 20-25 minutes per cleft kid, but in America, he spends 3 hours on such a surgery to do A+ work.  

Two nights before her surgery, Abigail
was wound up at bed time and insisted
I take a picture of her.

The goal of last week was to give Abigail some symmetry to her already adorable and beautiful face.  I'm not going to blog the details or post pics until her stitches are out in order to protect Abigail's privacy.  (However, if any other parents of CL/CP kids are going to be facing a reconstruction surgery, please feel free to PM me.)

So it has been a long week, but kids are so resilient and Abigail is doing great.  Kids just go through things way more easily than adults do, I think.  Abigail is so brave and spunky.  I have been so proud of her this past week.