Visiting Tonya!!

There were so many highlights of our American trip but one of the major ones was definitely visiting Tonya. When we found out Theo had dwarfism at his 20-week scan, it was Tonya's blog - and the delightfully cute pictures of Knoah - that convinced us that everything was going to be ok. We've communicated a lot over the last year but it was an amazing experience to finally meet her and her family face to face.

I can't believe that anyone reading this blog doesn't know who Tonya is because she seems to be the social and information nerve centre for so many people who have kids with dwarfism. But in case you haven't heard of her...

From left (going clockwise) we have Will, Jacob, Tonya, Knoah, me and Hannah

Here's Knoah again!

Clare and I arrived at Detroit airport and found a welcome committee waiting for us.

Tonya's family live in Monroe, Michigan which was about a half hour drive from the airport. They live in a lovely house which Clare and I decided was typically American... all that was missing was the swing-chair on the front porch.

The first evening was spent at their favourite restaurant (excellent Italian food!) followed by a Jazz festival which was running over the weekend we were there. Much to my delight, we ended up at a lovely ice-cream place where I enjoyed what I thought was the best ice-cream ever (my opinion would soon change when we went to Maggie Moos the next day!)

The next day, we were lucky enough to have a party to meet lots of other people who we've met via the blog and who have supported us tremendously over the last year. I'm not going to say anything more about that... it's the subject for another post!

After the party, we went to the ultimate ice-cream experience! Maggie Moos serves the most amazing ice-cream ever. They make it on the premises and you can choose not only which flavour you want, but also from a whole array of sweets and goodies to have with it. I eventually decided on Peaniut Butter fudge with pieces of Reese's peanut butter cups and snickers. Definitely a peanutty extravaganza!

During our time in Monroe, we got to know the family really well. It was fantastic to finally get to meet people we had been emailing for so long. The experience was every bit as amazing as we thought it would be. Even though we were only there for a short time, we found a really close bond, especially with Tonya and Knoah.


How could you not love Koaah? Here he is doing "Monster Baby"!

I think this video captures the essence of Monster Baby a bit better!

Overall we had an superb time! Both Clare and I had a little cry once Tonya and Knoah left us at the train station. We missed them already! But I don't want to end on a sad note... tune in next time for details about the fantastic party Tonya organised for us where we got to meet even more people we had made contact with through the blog!

If you want to see more of our time with Tonya, check out the pictures here.