Dripping Hot Day

What's better on a hot summer day than a popsicle on the porch? Here's some video of Beatrice today cooling down and showing off her newest trick: when I ask "How old are you?" she raises her pointer finger straight into the air showing "one." She's also learned to show or point to various body parts, and is starting to answer questions with sounds as well as nodding. You can hear her version of "yes" and "no" is something like "note" "note" "note." Today she said "mawwwww" as she signed "more."

We are incredibly excited as our friends are coming out tomorrow from Pennsylvania with their adorable 16-month old son Jonathan, adopted from Vietnam about six weeks before we got Beatrice. They came out to spend time with us over New Year's and now our two completed families can finally be together and our babies can meet. We had dreamed of being in Vietnam at the same time, but fate had it otherwise. They got their referral just hours before we did last July and it's strange because they were expecting a girl and we were expecting a boy. We are headed to the Newport Folk Festival on Saturday and other than that will probably just hang out, chase kids, stay up late, eat yummy food, and act like middle schoolers like we did in January.

Phun with iPhone

Anthony's latest toy is the new iPhone which, I have to admit, is pretty amazing. He has a ball practicing voice commands, dowloading apps for just about everything, and watching the maps turn red with traffic checks.  About the only thing it can't do is get us over the GWashington bridge on a Sunday night in less than three hours! Today he downloaded some videos and pics from our trip, and there was some good stuff that I'd forgotten about.  Here are some highlights:

Enjoying the ocean in the evening

Mama and Beatrice's sandy footprints

First carousel ride at Rehoboth Beach's Funland

First amusement park ride ever with Daddy and Truman.  Mama stood by and sobbed with pride of her little trucker.

This is my "never say never" shot.  In the Children's Place outlet, Beatrice was strolling along silently when all of a sudden an arm flew out of the stroller and grabbed these pants off the rack.  She refused to let them go and she is now the proud owner of a pair of size 12 mos. camouflage pants. (we had a gift card we had to use, so what the hey?) Yes, her parents are in Amnesty International, organize the local Peace Day celebration each year, and are vocal antiwar activists. We decided to get this hat too to complete her "tough guy" look.  I actually LOVE the hat on her....it's very Eponine from Les Mis.

Here's a clip from her first few moments in the water.  Within minutes she was racing into the water and she got more daring each day.

We finally caught on film (briefly) what we call her "spin" move in which she pivots one foot and circles around. She sometimes does it on command now. I've never seen or heard of any other baby doing this until a couple of weeks ago when my cousin told me his 11- month old daughter does the same thing:

Fun in the sand with a bucket of ocean water and cousin Raina:

Random shots from our getaway

Reading a story at the beach house with Hank, Auntie Louise, and Truman

Hanging out at the Ocean City Boardwalk

Showing off her swimsuit

Trying to get a pose with Raina and Linden, in their "triplet" shirts from Lola

Getting some practice in at Tito Tony's house

Beautiful gift, handmade from Tita/Ninang Lucy

Visiting cousins Nate & Yuen, parents-to-be in September!

Stopping by Old Maryland Farm, right next door to Lola and Lolo's house

Underwhelmed in our nation's capital

Eating egg drop soup in Chinatown

Vacation within a vacation

We arrived home at 3 a.m. this morning with a killer 12-hour trek from the beach, including a nearly 3-hour delay over the George Washington Bridge. We had a fabulous vacation in D.C., VA, and MD, and Beatrice had a ball with all of her cousins, her Lola and Lolo, and other family and friends. She sprouted tooth #9 yesterday morning and I think a few others are close by. She's standing for many seconds at a time but still not walking independently. Her bottle from the orphanage, which was her water bottle during the day, has bit the dust and she now drinks water from a cup or from a sippy cup. Beatrice is signing and nodding frequently, understanding more and more every day, and enjoys pretend play. Pretend eating, as well as real eating, is one of her favorite pasttimes now. It is so great today to see how happy she is to be home. This clearly is her home and she is rediscovering her toys and the rooms with wide smiles today. I will post a bunch of photos once I catch my breath, but for now here's one that I just took after laying her down for a hopefully very long afternoon nap on a hot muggy afternoon. Sometimes her beauty overwhelms me.

couldn't resist

14 months old + 1 day.....and counting

Just an update with (sorry) no new photos. Life has been so, so busy that I haven't even been photographing much lately. It's too bad too because Beatrice has revealed an even deeper, wider, insanely rip-your-heart-out smile the past week or two. My brother compared it to Julia Roberts. She bites her teeth down together and just rolls those cheeks back as far as possible. This week she has been to her first wake, her first funeral, (my cousin's 97-year old grandmother died) and entertained people wherever we've gone, including the judge at probate court this morning who "authenticated" our adoption so that we can obtain a certificate of foreign birth which will eventually enable us to get her a social security card. The weather has finally been beautiful and we have enjoyed walks and hikes together in addition to the daily grind of errands and work to be done. To say my daughter is the joy of my life would be like saying winning the lottery would be "good." There just aren't words in my vocabulary that express it. Tomorrow we leave for 10ish day trip to Maryland during which she will grace our nation's capital with a visit, meet and re-meet many Foronda family members and friends, help her cousin Linden celebrate her 4-year birthday, and spend some time at the family beach home in Ocean City. My brother and his family expect to meet us for a few days there so we should have some great memories of taking a 3, 2, and 1-year old to the beach. We plan to leave tomorrow evening, arriving in the wee hours of the morning, and hope she sleeps most of the trip. We pick up the rented mini-van tomorrow at noon so it should be nice to not have to crowd all of us and our belongings into Anthony's Celica for a change. I do feel like I'm packing for Vietnam though and I'm sure that we'll use every inch of space. I posted this old photo from Hanoi to remind me that with a little creativity and determination, we will fit everything just fine. I'm a bit nervous about changing her routine and I can't imagine how she'll do all night in a pack-n-play or go to sleep without a rocking chair, and I hate to think of her "winging" naps in the car or sling for 10 days, but I'm sure she'll be fine. Beatrice turned 14 months yesterday. She's still not walking unassisted, but she's crawling at lightning speed, eating great, sleeping well, "talking" constantly, shaking her head yes and no (with "no" meaning "yes" most of the time), holding one finger up when asked how old she is, pointing to several body parts on command, and finally, maybe, outgrowing some of her size 2 pairs of shoes which have fit her since April.

Maine-iac

Last Tuesday we took a day trip up to Ferry Beach Maine to visit my cousin's home on the beach, the exact spot we were married almost four years ago. It was a cloudy and cold July day, but Beatrice still got her first glimpse of the ocean and feel of sand under her toes. Thanks to budding photographer Kristin for taking these shots! Thanks also to Kristin (not really) for introducing Bizou to the world of cell phones. Kristin thinks B. is already a great texter. As for me, I still haven't gotten used to the word "text" being a verb!

7/11

Our social worker came to visit this week to see how things were going. She asked how parenthood was, etc. It's funny but when everyone asks how long we've had Beatrice and how things are going, all I can think about is how it doesn't feel like my life has changed all that dramatically. I think that's because the real shift in my life came one year ago today, July 11, 2008, the Friday morning we received our Child For Consideration, Ngo Minh Hanh, a 2-month old girl in an orphanage in Bac Ninh. I remember that phone call so clearly. I remember hearing "she" and I interrupted and asked to repeat because we had been told from the very beginning that a boy was much more likely. "A girl?" "We have a girl?" "Yes, a baby girl." "Only 2 months old?" I never imagined we'd get a referral for a child so young, and I recall thinking even with the WORST case scenario we would be bringing home a 6 or 7-month old (little did I know). I remember being concerned about a referral coming from Bac Ninh since babies had hospitalized with pneumonia and some died there recently and I was so afraid for her health. We were reassured she was healthy and fine and pictures were on their way. We didn't get the medical report or anything else before we'd committed our hearts and minds and lives to this baby. We had waited so long and been through so much that we felt that whatever child came our way was meant to be and, one year later, there's no question that that is the case. We had a daughter and I became a mother. From that morning until the afternoon I held her in my arms nearly nine months later, my daughter was with me in mind and heart every second. I was constantly agonizing about how her health was, dreaming of our future together, and plotting as to how we could get her home as quickly as possible. Then, on April 8, 2009, she joined our family physically, at long last. Here is a photo of her last night signing and mouthing "more" in reference to reading another book, as well as the first photo we ever saw of her. Anthony and I both smiled and laughed at first sight at her wild hair. We knew then she was our Beatrice, our voyager through life, and we've been grateful ever since for the miracle which allows us to witness and share in her trip.

My view from behind the stroller

We ~heart~ cherries!

Can a baby eat too much fruit? Based on the three diapers I've changed this afternoon, I think the answer is "yes" if the fruit in question is blueberries. Beatrice LOVES fruit. We haven't met one yet that proves that statement wrong: bananas, apples, pears, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, kiwi, avocado (is that a fruit?), pineapple, tomatoes (which technically are fruit I think), watermelon, honeydew, canteloupe, and yesterday we introduced cherries, pit-removed of course. It was love at first taste and she grunts loudly as soon as the bag comes out of the fridge. One of the things I looked forward to when waiting for Beatrice was introducing her to fruits and vegetables during summertime since she could get a lot of variety and have it be fresh and tasty. I am so, so, so happy that she enjoys produce, and I only pray it doesn't change like many people tell me it will. I never liked veggies as a kid, I think in part because most of what we had was canned, and and my mom never bought much variety of fruit, so I was limited to apples and bananas for the most part. One teacher's salary feeding a family of seven in the 70's doesn't necessarily afford for loads of fresh produce. I do remember loving fresh green beans from Farmer Joslin's garden in the summer and I would eat them until my mother made me stop. I can't help but wonder if things would've been different had I been offered fresh fruit and veggies. We are off to the farmer's market where we go once or twice a week to "see what the farmers grew this week." I really hope that Beatrice develops into a lifelong healthy eater.

**UPDATE** Add raspberries to the list....she snagged three of them right out of the container on the way in from the car.

Summer Afternoon

Bizou inherited this red push car from Truman and Hank and she absolutely loves it. I'm optimistic about her future driving skills since she placed her hands right in that perfect "10 and 2" position on the steering wheel. She is really loving sliding down the slide and it's amazing how fast 18 1/2 lbs can go on that thing! Here she is in "big finish" mode, which actually is her turning around to try to crawl UP the slide. It's amazing at how innate that desire really is.

My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time....

Who remembers that embarrassing Eddie Murphy song/video from the 80's?????????Beatrice went to my cousin's daughter Angela's 3rd birthday party today and it was complete with about 15 toddlers, a bounce house, and a pony for riding, which unfortunately we missed because we had to head home early. Beatrice wanted no part of the bounce house upon first placement but, about 20 minutes later, thoroughly enjoyed crawling around and having her sense of balance messed with and getting stepped on and pushed on like the rest of the kids. Her cousins Truman and Hank were there and stayed right by her side as her "bouncers," no pun intended. She shocked us today when I let go of her hands while she was standing and she remained on her feet for 5-10 seconds. She did this several times today but of course never when the video was running. She is walking really quickly when her hands are held, and Truman had a great time escorting her around the yard. It's amazing that those size 1 feet can hold her body up. Now that the beautiful weather has finally arrived, she's had lots of time to enjoy her swingset this weekend, feeling very comfortable in the bucket swing, loving having her body held as she races down the slide, and really thinks she's "all that and a box of chocolates" when sitting up in her playhouse. Anthony and I were both with her for nearly an hour yesterday, he sitting in there right beside her and me outside playing peek-a-boo through the wooden slats. She was so, so happy and Anthony got overwhelmed with emotion seeing her act like such a typical joyful child. We will never forget Thanh's words to us about the fate of an orphan who doesn't get adopted in Vietnam which, needless to say, is not good. It is an incredible gift to see the world through her eyes, to watch her enjoy every simple thing and see her eyes brighten and widen over each not so simple thing. Beatrice has so few expectations and her disappointments are fleeting. These are two of the many fine qualities we hope she can somehow hang onto throughout her life.

Virginia Visitors

My cousin Marianne and her kids Kristin and Erik, who live in Newport News, VA, stopped by last Wednesday for the day to finally meet Beatrice. And I finally got my hands on the Nikon to download the photos from the event! Beatrice warmed up to them very easily and had a great time. We went out for Japanese food and Beatrice enjoyed her first sushi and clear soup. We hope to spend a day with them next week at their beach house in southern Maine. The weather is finally gorgeous today and hopefully this rainy streak has ended and it can start to feel like summer around here. After Beatrice wakes up from her nap, we're heading out with Sula for a long overdue hike.

Thank you Uncle Moe & Aunt Sharon

My brother Maurice and his wife Sharon offered to buy Beatrice a swingset shortly after we came home from Vietnam. We thought it was insanely extravagant, but they insisted. I grew up with a rusty metal swingset that gave me plenty of bee stings, calluses, and entertainment, especially as I'd watch the hunk of ancient cement threaten to uproot from the ground every time I would swing back and forth. Seriously though, I loved that thing and as I aged used to jump off the neighbor's wall just behind it onto the top bar, pretending I was an Olympic gymnast on parallel bars. That's where the bee stings came in because inside the metal post bees would build nests and I landed my palm right on them I don't know how many times. Maurice and Sharon decided Bizou needed something a little more "high end" and here is what got installed on our property this week. Right now she can pretty much just use the bucket swing, but I'm sure before I know it she'll be climbing across the bars on the top of it and giving her parents heart failure.

Our summer is going along wonderfully. We are having great days keeping busy and settling into somewhat of a routine, at least moreso than the past few weeks. Somewhere along the way, this baby of mine has become a toddler. It hit me like a ton of bricks when we were at a restaurant recently and the waitress brought crayons and a coloring placemat and she actually sat there with crayon in hand and colored. She's self-feeding at lunchtime when I give her all finger foods and chewing really well now. She still eats pretty much everything, with chicken, sweet potatoes, cheese, toast, yogurt, mango, banana, eggs, any type of soup, and Kashi crackers being favorites. Strawberries, sushi, cucumber, tuna salad, and lentils are all new foods that she's enjoyed too. I nervously introduced peanut butter and, to this mama's joy, I have a fellow peanut butter lover. She's just started to use a couple of signs that I've been using since we got her, just as I was about to give up on them. She mimics everything. I was tracing a circle on a circle card from a Baby Einstein set she got as a baptism gift and later that day I saw her pick it up and trace it with her pointer finger exactly the way I did. She will sit and listen to books for longer and chooses them on her own to flip through. She loves to blow kisses to people and will do so unprompted, and walking independently is so, so close. She has discovered our old, out-of-tune piano and begs to sit and play and can literally do so on her own for 20 minutes or more, very focused. It was eerie when we watched her on it last night as her face was so serious and she focused on hitting one note at a time with one finger from each hand. I won't go on record as saying she's a prodigy yet, but I've never seen a child that young treat a piano in quite that way. Her understanding of spoken language surprises us every single day and, more important than any of these above things, her attachment to us is incredibly strong. We have no doubt that Beatrice knows we are her parents and, incredibly, she seems very, very happy and content with that.

Tonight we're off to the gallery stroll here in town and this weekend we have my cousin's birthday party to attend and, perhaps, first fireworks. There's been a lot going on in our lives but truly every day is a celebration and something to look forward to even when we just sit home. Life is so, so good.