Sara Met Tia

My sister flew in for a quick visit this weekend.  She was the last of the immediate family to meet Sara.  I knew they would love each other!

I had a hard time getting Sara to go to bed after we picked Tia up from the airport.  

On Saturday morning, we got all dressed up for a wedding and then went to pick up Sara's new glasses. 

Silly Tia!

Waiting at the eye doctor.

So cute!

Not quite the reaction I was hoping for but we'll keep working on it.  

Then it was off to lunch on the way downstate for a wedding.  

Someone had the wrong time and the wrong address for the wedding.  We ended up being VERY early so we went to the McDonalds playland to burn some energy before the wedding. 

Sara is in the pink.  

This scene made me very nervous.  I was afraid they were picking on her or something.  (I may be hypersensitive.)  When the kids finally came down, they were all talking about the little girl that doesn't speak English and how cool that was.  Big mommy sigh.  Sara really does charm people everywhere we go.  

She did a pretty good job during the ceremony.  She loved watching the bride walk in.  It was pretty short so she was able to sit pretty well.  

She LOVED the reception.  There aren't any good pictures because she never stopped moving.  She is definitely a dancer!  She's not shy and has no problem dragging random strangers onto the dance floor.  (Yes.  We need to work on stranger danger and social boundaries.)  She had some crabby moments---usually when I had to get her off the dance floor for things like the bride and groom's first dance.  Overall, she was great and had a blast!

She even got in a dance with the bride and groom.  

Janelle and I had some fun with her this weekend.  Every time she said "Tia" Janelle responded and I ignored her.  It frustrated her a little bit sometimes but she hasn't really called me Tia since then.  She seems to have settled firmly on "Papa."  She can say "Mama" now but thinks Papa is much funnier.  

She was not happy when we took Tia to the train station on Sunday.  We'll get to spend a whole week with her in July!  

Eye Update

We went back to the eye doctor today.  Always an adventure with this little one!  She wants to comply but her eyes just seem to be very sensitive.

Her eyes are still irritated but the doctor was able to get a good prescription.  She's definitely going to need some glasses.  We tried on a bunch of frames.  She really seemed to like the pink ones but threw a pair that weren't pink.   (They got to see a bit of the personality that she manages to hide from most people.)  I wish I had taken a picture with some on.  She looks so grown up!!!  I'm really hoping that she buys into them once she realizes how well she can see with them.  Right now, she enjoyed trying them on but wanted to put them all on her head like I do with my sunglasses.

I can't say enough about Meyer Eye Care.  They did a wonderful job with Sara and all her little quirks.  After trying on countless glasses, I asked if they had heard of Specs 4 Us.  They are glasses made specifically for kids with Down syndrome and their tiny noses.  They immediately called the company and have four samples on the way.  What great service!  So, we are going to wait until those come in before we make a final decision on frames.

She does have a congenital cataract in her left eye.  At this point, it's hard to tell how bad it is.  She didn't think it looked very thick and Sara can't tell us how much of her vision is impaired.  The plan is to visit a cataract surgeon for more information.

They dilated her eyes to get a better view.  They gave her some disposable sun glasses but she wasn't interested in them.  As soon as we got in the car, the light began to hurt her eyes.  I gave her my sunglasses but she threw them.  She also threw her snack cup, both shoes, and her socks.  By the time we got home, she was inconsolable.

She tends to call me Papa because she struggles to say the letter M.  In the midst of her wailing in the car, she was definitely crying Mama.  Not the way I wanted to hear it for the first time.  Fortunately, she settled down as soon as we got home.  She's now napping under her comforter.  It's nice and dark in there.