On Our Way to Maryland!

We are really excited to be leaving for Maryland tomorrow. Maya loves the airplane and her family members in Maryland, so she is super-excited for the trip. Shayne is so excited he is about to explode. This year Maya is a lot more interested in playing with other kids that she was last year, although she played with Sydney and Jonathan pretty well at the beach a few times last year. Anyway, when playng with her, there is no doubt that her cousins will notice that she is a little different, even if they didn't last year. This is mainly for Alison, Tammy and Sarah...if you want to maybe mention to your kids that Maya doesn't talk much, but she likes to play still, that would really help. Tell them that just because she isn't saying much doesn't mean she doesn't like them or isn't having fun. Also, if they want to play something specific with her, showing her what to do instead of telling her what to do usually helps. If she starts screaming and hitting herself, which we are really hoping she doesn't (she didn't last year), and any of the kids see her, it can be upsetting. You can just say something like, "When Maya doesn't know how to say what she wants, sometimes she gets really mad. Her mom/dad will take care of her. She will feel better soon." Again, we are hoping to avoid any of those episodes, and really hoping she develops her social skills a little more with her cousins this year. Thanks again for all of your interest and support with us and Maya. We are so excited to see everyone!