What's Happened in Five Years

Celebrating the little and big things kids bring

by Chrystal Ziliotto

To commemorate my daughter's fifth "Gotcha Day" anniversary, I started counting up all the things that have happened to our family in the five years since we brought her home from Ekaterinburg, Russia, at the age of 21 months.

1 trip to Russia
7,300 diapers
42,150 (and counting) wipes
3,152 (and counting) Pull-ups
7,305 (counting still) loads of laundry
20 baby teeth
15 ear infections
2 ear operations
1000s of SMILES
Countless "I love you's"
4 Mother's Days
Learning the ABCs
1 move to the Midwest
100s of Gray Hairs
1,825 Bedtime stories
Asthma
10 family vacations
T-ball
4 trips to Disneyland
86 sessions of Speech Therapy
ADHD
5 Christmases
3 "Big Girl" teeth
5 loose teeth
4 new cousins
Gymnastics
1 EEG
Countless sleepless nights (parents & child)
Learning to ride a bike
1 younger brother born in South Korea
4 Father's Days
Therapeutic riding
5 birthday parties
Epilepsy
1 Brain MRI
Swimming lessons
Kindergarten
32 IEP meetings
Countless hugs & kisses
ONE COMPLETED FAMILY!


[Chrystal Ziliotto, a mother of two, is also a Disability Rights Advocate for families in Indiana.]

Copyright © 2003 by Chrystal Ziliotto