Nicholas gave his first piano performance in front of a live audience Saturday morning at a Community Center in Santa Clara. He was so shy at first and didn’t want to go onstage, but after one of the teachers mentioned that gifts will follow, that got him inspired enough to go up. Once he was seated, it took him another few seconds to warm up (I think he forgot which song he was to play first). Once his teacher told him, he was on a roll. It wasn’t the best he’s played, but we were all so relieved to see him successfully finish all four songs. This recital is for first time performers only and totaled 14 or so kids from 2 different schools. The kids were adorable and a few of the young girls were quite impressive. Nicholas wanted his Aunt Julia to go to the performance so both she and her husband joined us there that morning as well. After the recital, each kid was given a gift from their teacher and Nicholas got a live concert CD performed by the owner of the piano school who was also on hand to give the kids an inspirational speech at the conclusion of the event. Afterwards, we went for a Mandarin breakfast at a nearby restaurant and Nicholas opened his congratulatory card and gift from his aunt. He actually read the entire card to us and he had a big smile on his face too after that. Alex and I also gave him a gift to reward his courage and performance and I could finally see his realization of this huge achievement in our eyes. What a journey this has been for us.