So sorry for not posting sooner. We received your letters and gift for Isabella. What beautiful and thoughtful letters! Isabella LOVED the necklace! I am posting a picture here of her wearing it. Her exact words were, “It’s so beautiful!” She also really loves dolphins and animals in general so it was such a perfect gift!

We showed her the picture of the cat and she had a few thoughts. She said that if it’s a girl you should name it Mia, Emma, or Emily. If it’s a boy she liked the name Whiskers, Chester, and Harold. Chester and Harold are characters from her favorite book, Bunnicula.

A little note about how we handle adoption with her…

From day one we have told her that she is adopted. We have celebrated it as something that makes her “extra special” and she truly sees it as that way. She knows that being adopted means that she was born to someone else and not the two of us. Our general philosophy has been to always be truthful to her but to also be respectful of what she is emotionally ready to handle at different times. We feel that her questions will generally tell us when she is ready for new bits of information. We have friends and family who are adopted and we regularly talk to them about when is the right time for different types of information. Additionally we have spoken with therapists about the same, with the goal being that she will internalize her adoption as something that is overwhelmingly positive. At this point she has never asked specifically about who her birth family is. But just this summer she told us that she feels lucky because she has “two families… my parents and my birth parents”. We were so happy to hear that she has that positive perspective and we will always stress to her that her adoption is something that came about because she was loved so much and that it was truly an act of love.

We feel really fortunate to be able to keep in touch with you because we know that as she continues to grow and mature she will continue to be able to see adoption as a special experience that shows just how much she is loved. And know that we will always hold onto our adoptive experience as the most selfless act of love that we will ever know. We are so very blessed to be her parents and for the gift that you gave us eight years ago.

I am posting a picture of her below wearing the dolphin necklace. Additionally I am posting a few other recent pictures as well. I will try to update again in a couple of months. She is heading into a busy time… she started 3rd grade last week, she is taking five dance classes (ballet, lyrical, hip hop, acro, and jazz), she is returning to soccer after a couple years off, and this week she is taking her first piano lesson. She really has a life filled with all sorts of experiences. But above all she is thoughtful, creative, caring, funny, independent, and smart!

It sounds like the past year and a half has been really tough. The world has been really insane! Please know that you are never far from our minds and that we are sending love and positive thoughts to each of you! Stay safe and healthy!