Our second year with Anjali was amazing and hard. One thing for sure, Anjali is without a doubt one of the bravest people I have ever met.She continues to carry herself with an infectious joy and excitement despite all that she has been through. It reminds me how lucky we are that this beautiful little girl is ours. Raising her has not been hard, but watching her suffer through the unexpected pain and sickness that this year brought has probably been one of the most difficult things we have had to do.When your child is sick and suffering, all you want to do is take all the pain for them. As I write this post, Anjali is attending her first day of kindergarten which is a huge win for our family, but reflecting on this past year begins in August 2016 where she was making huge improvements in her recovery from her major surgeries in the spring of 2016 and starting school for the very first time.
August 2016
This month started with a nice family getaway at the Outerbanks.We stayed at a fisherman's house in Hatteras from August 6th-13th.It was a much needed relaxing time where we alternated between lounging at the beach house, going to the beach and going kayaking. It was Anjali's first real trip swimming at the beach and she had a blast. She loved playing in the waves, building sand castles and collecting sea shells. Anjali was able to try out some of her new found swimming skills she had learned in swimming lessons this summer. We got to take a Ferry to Ocracoke and she got to hang out at a bar and listen to live music and the band leader even gave her a CD. When we got back from our trip, there was only a week left until school started. Her recovery was going well. Her appetite was improving and she was making a lot of progress with her physical strength with the help of her physical therapist, Abby at Abilitations. I was nervous, but also very excited to have her start at Arts Together, a very special preschool that has been a wonderful start to her school education.The school focuses on the creative arts and students attend dance, drama, and art classes daily. I met with the preschool director and lead teacher before school and they were wonderful about getting to know Anjali and being sensitive to her needs. I knew that Anjali would be just fine after meeting with them. She was so happy to begin school.
September 2016
September involved establishing comfortable routines and enjoying life together as a family. The funnest thing we did in September was to attend the Family Services Picnic and go to the National Folk Festival in Greensboro. The picnic was sponsored by Family Services who is the local adoption agency who helped us with our adoption. It was neat to see families who we met during trainings and to see their children. It was also wonderful to introduce Anjali to all the people who helped with her adoption. We headed to the Folk Festival after the picnic not really knowing what to expect and were pleasantly surprised by the diversity of music showcased and all the hands on activities for kids. Anjali danced so much. It was great to see her so active and happy. Highlights included a Trinidadian carnival parade, jump roping crews and of course the headliner, Grandmaster Flash. We also went on our very first camping trip. We went close by to Falls of Neuse. Anjali loved it. She is a true camper.
October 2016
There was a lot of excitement in October with a planned trip to Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival for Grandma Pixie's birthday. It was a fabulous trip. Anjali had a lot of fun with all the family especially her cousins Gemma and Giselle and the Balloon Festival was incredibly fun. Of course, the highlight was riding in a hot air balloon which was simply spectacular and not at all scary. We made it to Santa Fe for a day as well and the highlight for Anjali was getting turquoise jewelry from a local vendor. Then, of course, there was Halloween. At Arts Together, the students got their pictures taken in their Halloween costumes by a professional photographer from New York. Anjali was a beautiful peacock. Her photos were absolutely stunning and she got lots of compliments Halloween night. Anjali's second Halloween was a big success! October marked 1 year in the U.S. for Anjali.
November 2016
November started out with a Anjali's first trip to the voting booths. It wasn't exactly the best lesson in your vote counts, but an important step for Anjali as a citizen of the US. Anjali also had a big Thanksgiving Stone Soup celebration at her school. The kids made their own placemats, headbands, name cards and clay pots. It was our first time getting to come to her school and meet all of her classmates and celebrate the Fall season. Then we headed to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving and Anjali got to meet the newest member of the family, Sheba, her Aji and Ajoba's new dog. We had a wonderful time preparing and sharing our Thanksgiving meal. It was nice to relax in Las Vegas. We took many trips to the playground and headed up to Red Rock canyon where Anjali impressed us all with her rock climbing skills.
December 2016
December is always marked with the excitement of Christmas for sweet Anjali. She was very focused on what Santa might bring her. Anjali had her first stage experience in the Christmas pageant at the Church of the Good Shephard where she was an absolutely adorable angel. Then there was a lot of excitement at her preschool as the children prepared for their first production, The Muttcracker. It was super cute production and Anjali had several roles where she showed off her dancing skills. Here's a link to one of her dances: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8XPFMo0PNM8nrJrn2
Adam was in a bad car accident a day before the production which scared all of us, but he still made it to see her perform the following day. We had a low key, but enjoyable Christmas holiday. Adam rested a lot and Anjali was excited to get her first doll house as well as a lunch box and T ball set from Santa. Here's another video of her bringing in the Christmas cheer with her ukelele.
January 2017
January is when things started getting difficult. It was clear that Adam was in for a long recovery from his car accident. Anjali started to have bouts of pain and diarrhea that we could not explain. Anjali's pediatrician wrote it off as a stomach bug, but she was in a lot of pain. Anjali got a nice, long visit with her Nana this month. She attended her first protest. We also submitted our Adoption Dossier for a second child. Anjali is extremely excited about getting a brother, though it will probably be a lot longer than she expects. The weather was chilly and we got our first snow/ice storm. Anjali had fun sledding at various spots in the neighborhood.
February 2017
Anjali got to make Valentine's Day cards and celebrate with her classmates at Arts Together. She made beautiful valentines for all of her classmates with Nana and she had fun sharing them and receiving valentines from her classmates. Here's a video of them singing a Valentine's day song. She had good and bad days, but we still had no answers to her pain. When she was feeling good we tried to squeeze in playdates with her friends. We had lots of long nights with worry and crying. Most of the month we spent laying low, hoping the rest would help her get better.
March 2017
March brought the excitement of Anjali's 5th birthday. She had in mind that she wanted an easel and a watch. We planned a birthday party at Marbles. Also this month Art Walk happened at her school where the students showcased their art work. Anjali made a delightful vegetable garden and of course, there was the full size drawing of her. She missed a lot of school and finally the evening of the Art Walk we realized enough was enough and took her to the emergency room at Duke. Unfortunately, that was also the week of her planned birthday party at Marbles. We had to postpone it, though we did change gears and have a nice celebration at the hospital. Both the doctors and nurses sang Happy Birthday to her. Her classmates sent her this beautiful video. By Friday it was clear we needed to go to Johns Hopkins. After spending a week there that included 5 hours in the operating room, it was confirmed she had a blocked urethra that led to a kidney infection. Unfortunately, even after the diagnosis she was still in a lot of pain.
April 2017
We started April on a hopeful note. All of her friends at Arts Together were so supportive. She received cards and gifts and videos. The school raised money for us and even discounted our tuition. When we stopped by the school to see everybody, all of her classmates got up and surrounded her and gave her a big group hug. It was such a beautiful sight for a mother. She made so many nice friends at the school. Anjali ended up back in the hospital right before Easter, but luckily we were able to get out the Friday before and enjoy Easter at home. Anjali got a big basket and we did a backyard Easter egg hunt. We also had a lovely brunch in the backyard. It was a beautiful, good day for Anjali. Also in April we got to go on a camping trip up in the mountains for Adam's birthday. It was just a quick weekend trip, but a calm and relaxing time for us as a family. Anjali against all odds started ukelele lessons this month. She took them with a sweet French girl named Emily at Notasium. Emily was a little more advanced than Anjali and we got to see her perform at the Spring recital which was motivation for Anjali. Here is a video of them playing together. Arts Together had a fun field day where all the kids and teachers got to play. It was great to see everybody.
May 2017
We were determined to make it through to Anjali's rescheduled birthday party, but the months of Anjali's pain had taken its toll on all of us. She had a really great birthday party (Happy birthday video) at Marbles with her friends then the next day we were back at the emergency room and Anjali was really sick. We got home just in time for Mother's day. We had a lovely brunch outside on our deck and then went for a family bike ride to the Falls of Neuse River. It was seriously the best Mother's Day ever. She had a fun day of strawberry picking with her friends. May also marked the end of preschool for Anjali. They did a big end of the year performance where Anjali was a pirate and a mermaid and combined it with preschool graduation. Anjali informed us during this week that she was marrying her dance partner Mac Cousteau. She also lost her first tooth and was introduced to the tooth fairy. The end of the year performance was wonderful! I was so happy to see Anjali perform and have fun and graduate. A big success for us all. Anjali grew so much at Arts Together this year. It was the perfect place for her to thrive, to be creative, make friends and to start to learn the routines of school.
June 2017
This month involved several trips to Baltimore and Philadelphia. Anjali finally got her urethra unblocked early in June. Grandparents Papi and Pixie came to Baltimore for a couple of days for extra support. The surgery went smoothly and quickly. Anjali's pain went away, though there was discomfort associated with two tubes coming out of her. There was a big party at the Ronald Donald's House on the day Anjali was released from surgery and she was certain the party was in her honor. The following morning, we headed up to Philadelphia for the Association for Bladder Exstrophy conference. Anjali got to spend the day with kids with her condition and we were able to learn from doctors, parents and adults with Bladder Exstrophy. It was a wonderful two days. We came back and got to celebrate my birthday and Father's day. Aji, Ajoba and Sheba all came out for the occasion and made it all the more festive and special. Then we went back to Philadelphia at the end of the month for a second opinion at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We got to go to visit the Magic Garden, a mosaic museum built by a local Philly resident and walk around Philly a bit. It's a neat city with lots of culture, great architecture and interesting people watching. We then headed back to Baltimore for the annual Johns Hopkins Picnic. Anjali again got to hang out with kids with her condition while we learned from the Johns Hopkins bladder exstrophy community.It was a good few days where we were able to compare the programs in Philadelphia and Baltimore and learn a lot. She also got to continue her ukelele lessons, this time with her good friend Mia B (video ).
August 2016
This month started with a nice family getaway at the Outerbanks.We stayed at a fisherman's house in Hatteras from August 6th-13th.It was a much needed relaxing time where we alternated between lounging at the beach house, going to the beach and going kayaking. It was Anjali's first real trip swimming at the beach and she had a blast. She loved playing in the waves, building sand castles and collecting sea shells. Anjali was able to try out some of her new found swimming skills she had learned in swimming lessons this summer. We got to take a Ferry to Ocracoke and she got to hang out at a bar and listen to live music and the band leader even gave her a CD. When we got back from our trip, there was only a week left until school started. Her recovery was going well. Her appetite was improving and she was making a lot of progress with her physical strength with the help of her physical therapist, Abby at Abilitations. I was nervous, but also very excited to have her start at Arts Together, a very special preschool that has been a wonderful start to her school education.The school focuses on the creative arts and students attend dance, drama, and art classes daily. I met with the preschool director and lead teacher before school and they were wonderful about getting to know Anjali and being sensitive to her needs. I knew that Anjali would be just fine after meeting with them. She was so happy to begin school.
September involved establishing comfortable routines and enjoying life together as a family. The funnest thing we did in September was to attend the Family Services Picnic and go to the National Folk Festival in Greensboro. The picnic was sponsored by Family Services who is the local adoption agency who helped us with our adoption. It was neat to see families who we met during trainings and to see their children. It was also wonderful to introduce Anjali to all the people who helped with her adoption. We headed to the Folk Festival after the picnic not really knowing what to expect and were pleasantly surprised by the diversity of music showcased and all the hands on activities for kids. Anjali danced so much. It was great to see her so active and happy. Highlights included a Trinidadian carnival parade, jump roping crews and of course the headliner, Grandmaster Flash. We also went on our very first camping trip. We went close by to Falls of Neuse. Anjali loved it. She is a true camper.
There was a lot of excitement in October with a planned trip to Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival for Grandma Pixie's birthday. It was a fabulous trip. Anjali had a lot of fun with all the family especially her cousins Gemma and Giselle and the Balloon Festival was incredibly fun. Of course, the highlight was riding in a hot air balloon which was simply spectacular and not at all scary. We made it to Santa Fe for a day as well and the highlight for Anjali was getting turquoise jewelry from a local vendor. Then, of course, there was Halloween. At Arts Together, the students got their pictures taken in their Halloween costumes by a professional photographer from New York. Anjali was a beautiful peacock. Her photos were absolutely stunning and she got lots of compliments Halloween night. Anjali's second Halloween was a big success! October marked 1 year in the U.S. for Anjali.
November started out with a Anjali's first trip to the voting booths. It wasn't exactly the best lesson in your vote counts, but an important step for Anjali as a citizen of the US. Anjali also had a big Thanksgiving Stone Soup celebration at her school. The kids made their own placemats, headbands, name cards and clay pots. It was our first time getting to come to her school and meet all of her classmates and celebrate the Fall season. Then we headed to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving and Anjali got to meet the newest member of the family, Sheba, her Aji and Ajoba's new dog. We had a wonderful time preparing and sharing our Thanksgiving meal. It was nice to relax in Las Vegas. We took many trips to the playground and headed up to Red Rock canyon where Anjali impressed us all with her rock climbing skills.
December is always marked with the excitement of Christmas for sweet Anjali. She was very focused on what Santa might bring her. Anjali had her first stage experience in the Christmas pageant at the Church of the Good Shephard where she was an absolutely adorable angel. Then there was a lot of excitement at her preschool as the children prepared for their first production, The Muttcracker. It was super cute production and Anjali had several roles where she showed off her dancing skills. Here's a link to one of her dances: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8XPFMo0PNM8nrJrn2
Adam was in a bad car accident a day before the production which scared all of us, but he still made it to see her perform the following day. We had a low key, but enjoyable Christmas holiday. Adam rested a lot and Anjali was excited to get her first doll house as well as a lunch box and T ball set from Santa. Here's another video of her bringing in the Christmas cheer with her ukelele.
January is when things started getting difficult. It was clear that Adam was in for a long recovery from his car accident. Anjali started to have bouts of pain and diarrhea that we could not explain. Anjali's pediatrician wrote it off as a stomach bug, but she was in a lot of pain. Anjali got a nice, long visit with her Nana this month. She attended her first protest. We also submitted our Adoption Dossier for a second child. Anjali is extremely excited about getting a brother, though it will probably be a lot longer than she expects. The weather was chilly and we got our first snow/ice storm. Anjali had fun sledding at various spots in the neighborhood.
Anjali got to make Valentine's Day cards and celebrate with her classmates at Arts Together. She made beautiful valentines for all of her classmates with Nana and she had fun sharing them and receiving valentines from her classmates. Here's a video of them singing a Valentine's day song. She had good and bad days, but we still had no answers to her pain. When she was feeling good we tried to squeeze in playdates with her friends. We had lots of long nights with worry and crying. Most of the month we spent laying low, hoping the rest would help her get better.
March brought the excitement of Anjali's 5th birthday. She had in mind that she wanted an easel and a watch. We planned a birthday party at Marbles. Also this month Art Walk happened at her school where the students showcased their art work. Anjali made a delightful vegetable garden and of course, there was the full size drawing of her. She missed a lot of school and finally the evening of the Art Walk we realized enough was enough and took her to the emergency room at Duke. Unfortunately, that was also the week of her planned birthday party at Marbles. We had to postpone it, though we did change gears and have a nice celebration at the hospital. Both the doctors and nurses sang Happy Birthday to her. Her classmates sent her this beautiful video. By Friday it was clear we needed to go to Johns Hopkins. After spending a week there that included 5 hours in the operating room, it was confirmed she had a blocked urethra that led to a kidney infection. Unfortunately, even after the diagnosis she was still in a lot of pain.
We started April on a hopeful note. All of her friends at Arts Together were so supportive. She received cards and gifts and videos. The school raised money for us and even discounted our tuition. When we stopped by the school to see everybody, all of her classmates got up and surrounded her and gave her a big group hug. It was such a beautiful sight for a mother. She made so many nice friends at the school. Anjali ended up back in the hospital right before Easter, but luckily we were able to get out the Friday before and enjoy Easter at home. Anjali got a big basket and we did a backyard Easter egg hunt. We also had a lovely brunch in the backyard. It was a beautiful, good day for Anjali. Also in April we got to go on a camping trip up in the mountains for Adam's birthday. It was just a quick weekend trip, but a calm and relaxing time for us as a family. Anjali against all odds started ukelele lessons this month. She took them with a sweet French girl named Emily at Notasium. Emily was a little more advanced than Anjali and we got to see her perform at the Spring recital which was motivation for Anjali. Here is a video of them playing together. Arts Together had a fun field day where all the kids and teachers got to play. It was great to see everybody.
May 2017
We were determined to make it through to Anjali's rescheduled birthday party, but the months of Anjali's pain had taken its toll on all of us. She had a really great birthday party (Happy birthday video) at Marbles with her friends then the next day we were back at the emergency room and Anjali was really sick. We got home just in time for Mother's day. We had a lovely brunch outside on our deck and then went for a family bike ride to the Falls of Neuse River. It was seriously the best Mother's Day ever. She had a fun day of strawberry picking with her friends. May also marked the end of preschool for Anjali. They did a big end of the year performance where Anjali was a pirate and a mermaid and combined it with preschool graduation. Anjali informed us during this week that she was marrying her dance partner Mac Cousteau. She also lost her first tooth and was introduced to the tooth fairy. The end of the year performance was wonderful! I was so happy to see Anjali perform and have fun and graduate. A big success for us all. Anjali grew so much at Arts Together this year. It was the perfect place for her to thrive, to be creative, make friends and to start to learn the routines of school.
This month involved several trips to Baltimore and Philadelphia. Anjali finally got her urethra unblocked early in June. Grandparents Papi and Pixie came to Baltimore for a couple of days for extra support. The surgery went smoothly and quickly. Anjali's pain went away, though there was discomfort associated with two tubes coming out of her. There was a big party at the Ronald Donald's House on the day Anjali was released from surgery and she was certain the party was in her honor. The following morning, we headed up to Philadelphia for the Association for Bladder Exstrophy conference. Anjali got to spend the day with kids with her condition and we were able to learn from doctors, parents and adults with Bladder Exstrophy. It was a wonderful two days. We came back and got to celebrate my birthday and Father's day. Aji, Ajoba and Sheba all came out for the occasion and made it all the more festive and special. Then we went back to Philadelphia at the end of the month for a second opinion at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We got to go to visit the Magic Garden, a mosaic museum built by a local Philly resident and walk around Philly a bit. It's a neat city with lots of culture, great architecture and interesting people watching. We then headed back to Baltimore for the annual Johns Hopkins Picnic. Anjali again got to hang out with kids with her condition while we learned from the Johns Hopkins bladder exstrophy community.It was a good few days where we were able to compare the programs in Philadelphia and Baltimore and learn a lot. She also got to continue her ukelele lessons, this time with her good friend Mia B (video ).
July 2017
We spent most of this month hospitalized in Baltimore. Though it is important to note Anjali was the healthiest she had been all year. It just took longer than expected to get all the pieces in place. The tubes were out, but Anjali had to get comfortable with cathing twice a day which was scary for her at first. We worked with a wonderful behavior psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Anjali also got to ride in an ambulance from Johns Hopkins to Kennedy Krieger which she thought was pretty cool. We did also have some fun in Baltimore. We went to the National Aquarium. Anjali got to go on a pirate ship (video) in the harbor and we had fun exploring the science museum and the Visionary museum. We made it home from the hospital just in time for our two year celebration as a family. We had a nice brunch at a restaurant called Mandolin. Then we headed to Seattle for a vacation with Anjali's grandparents, Papi and Pixie which was definitely the highlight of the summer for Anjali. She got to hang out with her cousins Gemma and Giselle and her favorite aunt, Aunty Tata, and meet relatives who had not met her yet. There was of course, the obligatory trip to Pikes place and Seattle center and then Anjali and family took off to Gig harbor where she got to go whale watching and pick lavender at a Lavender farm. Her grandmother Pixie made this beautiful video about the trip. Unfortunately, our dear sweet Leela, passed away during the vacation. Anjali will miss her first dog very much and was saddened by the loss when she came back from vacation. Anjali's health by the end of July continued to be at its best and we are hopeful the most difficult, painful days of this year are behind us.
Our second year together definitely held its challenges, but we grew stronger together as a family. When I think about how much Anjali grew this year as a person and pushed forward despite the setbacks, I continue to be amazed and inspired by this spirited, beautiful, bright, joyful daughter of mine. Hopefully, this upcoming year will bring us rest, good health, peace of mind, and if all goes well a new member of the family!
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