I will try to blog once every single day of this month to raise awareness about Down Syndrome and at the same time, to introduce you to our newest addition, Tiana Joy! I know I've already announced her arrival but now that we've had her home for two months, we know so much more about her and would love to share what we know! (This is for you, family and friends faraway! And of course, for everybody else who is curious too! :))

This year, the 31 for 21 challenge is celebrating its' 7th birthday and I'm so thrilled to be able to participate this year! You can find out more information from http://mdbeau.blogspot.ca/2013/09/7th-annual-31-for-21-blog-challenge.html?showComment=1380593464115. I only found out today, so I will blog twice today to get caught up! :)

So... Two beautiful months with Tiana flew by so quickly! We actually met her at end of May but were not able to start visiting her on regular basis til July. Before July, we only had her "stats". Girl. 6 months old (at the time). Deaf in one ear. Inconclusive hearing test from other ear. Down Syndrome. Native and Korean. Birth name (we cannot share). Born early. Heart condition. Nygastamus. Low muscle tone. etc etc... It was frustrating for us because we really wanted to know more about her. What was her personality? What was her likes and dislikes? What facial expressions does she make? What is her disposition? How does she really look like in real life? What would it be like to take care of her, to raise her every hour of the day for rest of her childhood?

Finally, in July, we had the opportunity to do just that! We were able to stay in a hotel nearby and visit her at her foster home. We were able to take her out for the day and return her to the foster home at end of the day. Most weekends, we were there. Sometimes through the week, we would make a day trip. We really gobbled up every moment with her, we spent each single second getting to know her, enjoying her, and showering her with love. Throughout the month of July, we were able to introduce her to her new big sister, Jada. They were instantly in love and their faces just glow when they see each other! Jada really enjoyed playing with her, feeding with her, cuddling with her and just looking at her. It was a match made in heaven! For James and I, of course, we were immediately in love! We knew it would be so natural, just as it was with Jada four years ago. It was no different this time, we knew in our hearts, souls and minds that Tiana is our daughter in every way.

Then finally, finally, finally! On August 1st of 2013, we finally went to pick her up and bring her home! Driving away from the town she was from, James and I looked at each other and said "wow, they are letting us just take her home?!". It was surreal, just three of us (Jada was at camp) driving together on way home and nobody driving by us would ever know that the baby in back was only "few minutes old" to our family!

Two months with her at home is just a joy. Simply, purely, amazingly a joy. I'll blog more about that today! :)
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