Eastertime!

Easter was quite an event for Anya. There were several weeks of rehearsal to be able to sing two songs in church and a loooooong rehearsal on Saturday. She handled it the best she could, but it was just too long and too noisy so she had to be taken home by her brother so I could stay and finish.

She had to wear a dress and that was an issue too. After learning her teacher said she had to dress nice for Easter and talking about how bodies change from girls to women, she decided she would acquiesce. So, off to Kohl's we went...again. And that same black polyester skirt was there. I had some "Kohl's cash" and was bound and determined to have her choose a dress there. I pushed her in a stroller/cart and she asked or rather directed me to push her around all the dress rounders. Aha! The yellow one with the butterflies was what she wanted. The largest was a size 6X, probably too small, but I took it off the rack anyway and threw it into the basket.

Next order. "Mama," she directed pointing to the left, "the shoes." Man, they learn quickly. She spied a pair of sparkly flip flops on the way in and wanted shoes to go with her new dress.  At home, we tried the dress on and I couldn't button up the back. Her waist is tiny and there was no problem with the button there, but forget the buttons on her back. The length was really good though and there was a pattern on the bottom. If you hem those details, you lose them. Good length is hard to find for a dwarf. I decided I would find a way to make it work rather than take her back to the store and try to get her to choose another dress. Luckily, I found a camisole that I pinned the open parts of the dress to since they flopped back and forth in the open position. 

She even let me dry and mousse her hair as well as put a bow in it. She was so thrilled with the way she looked and many, many people commented to her about how great she looked. She sang with all her heart and soul and was wiggling those hips during the non-singing parts. It was so sweet and all that enthusiasm she has for life just burst forth in song.

We decorated eggs and had an "egg game" (the egg hunt) which she LOVED! She looked gingerly at first then began running around looking high and low for all the eggs. She isn't a big candy person, so I filled many of the plastic ones with money. She liked that idea.

Much healing and growth has been going on with Anya for the last month since beginning counseling, but so much of it is private. It is exhausting us and I don't want to lay her whole life out in front of the world, as it is her story and when she understands the ramifications of a blog, she may not want everyone knowing all the details of her inner life. So, with what energy I an muster and with the situations that are somewhat light, I'll keep posting!!

~Monica