Sisters

 I'm so thankful that the Lord chose these 3 to be sisters! Watching their relationships blossom is such a beautiful thing! I'm thankful that through adoption they've not only found us (and we-them), but also that they've found one another! My 3 beautiful girls' hearts are growing inseparable! 

Sesame Street Live!

 We took the girls to see Sesame Street Live! A wonderful friend of ours (who used to be IN the show!!) arranged for the girls to be able to meet some of the characters before the show! You would have thought they were in heaven!!! It was such an amazing opportunity and we are so grateful! Zoya had the shock factor going on for quite some time...she looked as if she was thinking, "You've GOT to be kidding me, I've waited my WHOLE LIFE to meet these guys!" Mila preferred to visit from the safety of our arms (and try to poke Rosita's eyes), and Sofia-well she shocked us all by LOVING the characters and going right to them. We had to pry her out of their arms when it was time for the characters to get ready for the show!!!! 

Pre-Show pictures :) All 3 of these shirts were Zoya's at one point :) Zoya and Mila are about in the same size shirt these days ;) 

Uncle Bub (yes he rocks!!!) made the drive again to keep our successful 1-1 ratio going :) 

The first character they met was Rosita!! She was Zoya's favorite...and Mila's (if she had to pick a favorite to save her life anyways LOL)

Elmo and Cookie Monster!!!! Zoya just stood and stared at Elmo for quite a while! 

And Sofia fell in love with Cookie Monster...she only had eyes for him! She seriously could have snuggled him all day long if we let her!!!! Something about feeling safe in the arms of a big blue furry monster!!! We were shocked with how well Sofia did with the characters because she is usually VERY HESITANT around people other than Shawn and I!!! I think with her sensory seeking tendencies, Cookie Monster was the perfect sensory input for her! I asked our occupational therapist if she could come to the next session dressed as cookie monster but she didn't take me up on that! 

Zoya and Cookie! 

Buddy Check! 

Zoya had the time of her life, bustin' a move! 

Mila was really into the show! 

And Sofia pretty much did not move from this position or gaze! She was mesmerized! 

World Down Syndrome Day: First Mini Family Vacation with 3 Little Bees in Tow!

Since Sofia came home we haven't braved a family overnight trip anywhere...with 3 little people, we knew it was going to be difficult! We heard International Down Syndrome Coalition was having a "Kick off to World Down Syndrome Day" party at all the Great Wolf Lodges across the US! We threw caution to the wind and signed up :) About a week after I booked our hotel I called Uncle Bub begging him to take some time off work and come with us because I clearly had a momentary lapse in sanity with the thought that Shawn + Me + 3 very active little Bees + water park was a good idea! Of course because Uncle Bub is awesome, he took time off to go with us! So then my next thought was 6 people in one hotel room...hmmmm...should be interesting! 

This is how excited Zoya was when we pulled up! This picture makes me laugh!!! 

And Mila checking out the huge lodge from the car! 

And Miss Sofia cheesing away!

I should have taken a picture of ME wedged between the two little ones and their carseats! 

So a lot of thought went into our sleeping arrangements. Zoya can sleep just about anywhere because she's used to her twin bed at home. The two little ones are too big for pack n plays but too small to sleep on a bed without rolling off. I thought about just making some sleeping pallets on the floor, but they'd probably roll off them at some point and that didn't sound safe to me. Enter: mesh tents and toddler air mattresses!!! 

Best. Idea.Ever! Both of the tents we took fold into small flat discs and pop up into their form! 

The girls thought the tents were so much fun!! For Sofia, they proved to MAKE this mini vacation SUCCESSFUL! Sofia has sensory processing disorder which, for her, means she can get overwhelmed very easily in new environments. All on her own, when we came back from playing in the water park, Sofia would climb into the tent and just relax for about 5-10 minutes...it's exactly what she needed to regroup! 

Sofia with her weighted vest, binky, and tent = sensory heaven! 

She was just chillin' after a long day at the water park! She put herself here :) 

 The three girls decided to climb in together :) Mila is holding the ipad while Sofia and Zoya watch LOL! 

Okay, so now that you think I ONLY took pictures of the tents during our vacation.....HA! 

Here are the real pictures! 

We had to child proof the room ASAP! 

Darn tissue holder at toddler height! 

The offender...

Tissues for everyone!!! (Shawn is taking the tissues OUT of the tissue holder)

Make sure the phone is unplugged so you don't incur outrageous room charges! 

Ready to swim! 

Sofia giving the stink eye! 

Not a lot of pictures the first day of the two little Bees! Although the picture doesn't look like it, Mila had a lot of fun! She was the first one in the water and SO SO excited to sit and splash and watch the other kids play! 

  

 Sofia stuck close to Dada! She was a bit hesitant in the beginning! 

Snack break! 

Sofia loves being a big girl and drinking from a juice box....a treat for her ;) 

Night 1 :) 

I've seen this look on Mila before...usually means she has an idea brewing! 

Uh-oh, indeed she has a plan! 

TIMBER!!!!! 

 Back to the water park! There aren't a ton of water pictures just because keeping up with these 3 was a full time job! 

 This is my favorite picture from our trip! LOL! 

More snacks....swimming makes them hungry! 

Buddy Check! 

 On Saturday night we attended an IDSC pizza party and met some new friends (I won't post their pictures here since I don't have permission!) Mostly we just took pictures BEFORE we went to the event since wrangling these 3 is all consuming (see a theme here?) :) 

We learned that Mila thinks basketball is absolutely hillarious! She stood there cracking up for a good 5 minutes! 

I know she's THREE and all now, but sheesh she looks HUGE here! 

Aaaaand stretch! 

A decent picture of all 3 is nearly impossible, but we still try :) 

Merciless Mila strikes again! 

Seriously if we just stayed in the hotel room they would have thought this was a great vacation! 

Gotta get the silly faces in :) 

All in all, it went far better than we anticipated! Travelling with three little people is tricky...travelling with three little people with their very own unique special needs is even trickier, but I'm so glad we decided to go and make some memories and meet some new friends!!! Maybe one day we'll be brave enough to take a trip longer than 2 and a half days :)