Squirmy and Bean Meet Their Sisters

A little over a week ago, Katie and Rosa met two of their older sisters, Maya and Sofia, for the very first time.  Since we were heading to the CHI reunion in Chicago and the twins and their family live in Indiana, we all thought it would make sense to have a couple of extra days added to the trip for the sisters to meet.  Many of you know that the girls have 3 older sisters living with two different families in the states.  We LOVE that because the girls have flesh and blood, true family, that they can grow close to as they get older.  It is such a rare gift, and we want to help them see their sisters as much as possible.

The weekend visit went very well.  Julia and Mark, their sisters' parents, were truly amazing hosts and treated us like family from the start.  Katie took over the place the first night and must have played with at least half of the toys in their playroom in the first hour.  Rosa wasn't so excited and clung tight.  It was interesting to see how everyone reacted.  The twins even had different reactions.  Sofia was more ready to jump into things while Maya sat back and took things in.  But by the end of the trip, everyone was playing and laughing together.  Even Rosa let loose of Momma's tired arm and let Julia and Hannah (their oldest biological daughter) hold her.

Rosa enjoyed the pool!

Rosa being silly at the reunion

The trip was full of fun.  They played at the neighborhood playground.  Katie LOVED this neat slide they had there and went down it almost 30 times!  One activity that Rosa especially loved was playing in their kiddie pool in the backyard and enjoying ice creams on the side of the pool.  The biggest event was the CHI reunion.  While it looked like several kids were enjoying themselves at the reunion, my little Katie had so much trouble with it.  It mainly took place in a small gym with dozens of people filling it to the brim and music blaring.  For a child with sensory issues, this is NOT their cup of tea.  Add on to that the fact that Katie is TERRIFIED of balloons, and there were balloon animals and shapes filling the gym as kids got them made.  Our two families spent most of the reunion on the side lawn of the church where it took place.  I felt bad because I couldn't get to speak with a lot of the families there as much as I would have liked, many of whom are reading this blog right now!  While I could have regretted going, I realized that it just gave our two families even more time to bond.  I did get the chance to catch up with a family we were with in Bogota, and I was grateful for that because I miss them so much.  We will probably wait several years before going to another reunion, but it is such a wonderful thing that our agency even puts these together.  What a wonderful opportunity for families to connect and network!

The birthday cake!

Before leaving, we all celebrated Katie, Maya, and Sofia's birthdays with a great Sesame Street cake.  Then it was present swapping time!  So much fun.  Hannah even got in the fun and got the girls some adorable gifts that they just love. 
The trip was not only an amazing bonding time for the two families, but for me, it was educational.  I learned a lot of tricks from the twins' mom about things to try with Katie for her sensory issues.  I got some great parenting advice in general from folks who have been doing the parenting "thang" a bit longer than us.  In addition, I got some tips on how to handle the curly heads on my children.  "Kinky Curls" is apparently the hair stuff to get - see, I didn't forget, Julia!  I also got some great recipe ideas from them.  Did I mention that Julia and Mark are tremendous cooks?  Yum.  Still miss their great cooking!  I know Katie and Rosa are missing Tia Julia's homemade applesauce.  Katie keeps going, "Apple.  Apple.  Apple."

The two families brought together

Our girls are too young to understand the enormity of what happened on that trip, but someday, we know that they will be so thankful that they have a relationship with their sisters.  This is just the beginning of an amazing adventure!  Hopefully, there will be many more adventures as the sisters grow in their relationship over the years.