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.