The groundhog was WRONG!

Winter is OVER, and the proof is that my family was up until midnight last night giving a tomato juice bath to Sula who got SKUNKED around 10:30 during her last "out" before bedtime. Note the beautiful peachy/pink sheen to her coat! What a mess, and the windows are shut of course, so the house will likely stink until Memorial Day. Who ever heard of skunks being out in February???? First it snows all over the south, and now hibernation is over in New England???? The good part is that we were then wide awake and had fun watching the women's figure skating at the Olympics. Even Beatrice, who had been aleep by 7:30, awoke to our noise and spent an hour or so with us on the couch applauding and "wow"ing these amazing ladies. (I never imagined I'd be a mom who would let her under-2-year-old out of bed to watch TV, but I figure this was a moment we'll always remember.)This morning Sula is still walking with her tail between her legs, fearful she's done something wrong. One of those moments when you're so mad at her but realize that we'll laugh and cry about one day.

ABC's

Language

I find myself amazed by words lately, both those that come out of my mouth, and those that come out of Bea's. Last week, I uttered the sentences "No, we don't wear boots to bed," and "Brush your teeth, not your toes." Here's a sample "conversation" I had with Beatrice yesterday as she said goodbye to Anthony, then sat in my sling as we were walking Sula outside:

A: Bye Bea
B: Buh bye!
A: Have a fun day
B: day....buh bye......buh bye!
B: Dada?
M: Daddy's gone to Boston
B: Bah Bin?
M: yes, Boston
B: Dada?
M: Daddy's in Boston visiting Uncle Mike
B: My
M: Yes, Uncle Mike
B: Wee-Wee?
M: Auntie Louise is at work
B: Woh
M: Yes, work
B: Duh duh?
M: Sula's walking
B: wah
M: Yes, walking, and so are Mom and Beatrice
B: Bebe
M: I like the way you say your name Beatrice
B: Bebe, Bebe! (applauds herself)......
B: Jojos?
M: You want some Joe's O's?
B: eh (yes)
M: How many do you want?
B: doo (2)
M: 3?
B: doo
M: 4?
B: doo
M: 5?
B: sih, gabah (7), eh (8), NINE, deh! (10) (applauds herself)
M: Good counting. I love you Bea.
B; gah wah (love you)
then she leans in for a kiss

Hallmark, eat your heart out....

I just played with some of the photos of Rachel and Bea. Is it possible to NOT smile when you look at these old friends reunited?

R&B

Much of this vacation week's agenda was unplanned, but the one thing I was so hoping would happen did so today, and that's a visit with Rachel, Beatrice's "sister" from Bac Ninh. Rachel's mom was delayed by a couple of weeks getting to Hanoi so, unfortunately, we didn't get to meet until now, yet through our blogs we have kept track of one another and our daughter's lives. I love, love reading Martha's blog because the love she has for Rachel screams out of every post. In real life, it was just as obvious, these two are a match made in heaven, two kind and gentle souls. Martha is originally a New Englander and is in town from San Francisco for a visit, so we trekked up to southern New Hampshire on this glorious day. The girls did a little of staring at each other and checking each other out, as well as a whole lot of parallel play, but I would say they were comfortable with each other. Beatrice was in a bossy mode today, and sweet, sweet Rachel unfortunately gave in to her. There were more than a few tokens of affection and a few "awwww" moments between the two. Eventually, Bea's lack of naps caught up with her and it was time to head out. Thank you Martha and your thank you to your wonderful family for welcoming us into your home! I know this will not be our only visit.

Welcoming the Tiger

Our first Tet party was just incredible. Beatrice and all of our guests seemed to have a ball, eating their fill, playing music and games, and immersing themselves in our new family tradition. I know it was wonderful because we took so few pictures. I was too absorbed in it all get our of the present and pick up the camera, so here's just a few that Anthony snapped. I'm somewhat regretting not documenting it better, but will have to rely on my visceral memory to relay it to Beatrice in years to come, and to help us plan our future celebrations. Our friend Quynh (from Hanoi) came by unexpectedly and I was most pleased that she seemed to feel right at home. She brought Beatrice some beautiful decorations from the northern mountains of Vietnam, and two other Vietnamese families sent her a lucky money envelope. I am so touched that these Vietnamese-Americans recognize, accept, and love our daughter and, furthermore, that they seem to accept and support Anthony and I as her parents.

Monday morning we left for a spontaneous 24-hour visit to Cape Cod. Anthony's client owns three homes there and she wanted us to spend a night in the largest of the homes to get a feel for it. It was a nice getaway and we drove home in a snowstorm, safely thank goodness. Today is a day of rest and catching up. Tomorrow Bea and I head to New Hampshire where we'll meet at least two other Bac Ninh "sisters." I am really looking forward to this, especially to meeting Martha and Rachel who were in Hanoi just days after we left last year. Rachel and Bea appear to have a special connection, so it will be interesting to see if this pans out in real life. Other than that, it's nice to have the week off, to watch the Olympics, eat lots of Tet leftovers, relax, and try to get some reading in.

Getting Ready

This past week has been focused on preparing for the Tet holiday,or Lunar New Year, which begins tomorrow. We have been cleaning the house, buying and preparing food, and reading books to Beatrice about this most special of Vietnamese holidays. We are expecting nearly thirty people tomorrow and will feast on Vietnamese food, play games, and enjoy the company of some family and friends. One of the challenges tomorrow is to speak only kind words to each other. I told my sister this and her response was...."and you invited the Brodeurs?" Apparently everything you do and say during Tet sets the tone for how things will go for the rest of the year, so fingers crossed for a day of happiness and joy! I am trying hard to strike a balance between honoring what I know about Tet and carrying on important traditions, and making it "our own" with our own traditions. I certainly do not want to mock anything about it, but want Beatrice to at least know of this deeply significant and joyful part of her heritage, and for her to know the deep respect and love her dad and I have for the culture of her birth. Beatrice has had a mild cold and cough all week but, despite that, we've never seen her happier and more smiley. Anthony and I have noted it several times how she just can't seem to stop smiling. Apparently she knows that Tet is almost here!

Bed Head

I JUST snapped this shot because I noticed Bea's cute little ankle cross, which has resurrected itself lately. I was quiet as a mouse sitting at the computer in the near darkness (verifying that we really do NOT have a 90 minute delay) with her engaged in her daily morning ritual, but when I was just about to press the button, she lifted her head and gave me her cheesy smile. Not that she gets photographed a lot or anything......

"Naht Naht"

That's how Beatrice says "night, night" and last night she said it to Uncle Dan and Auntie Kathleen, not us. They got us tickets to see The Lion King in Hartford last night, dinner out, and free babysitting, so we headed to their house yesterday afternoon. I was a bit nervous since no one but Anthony or I has ever put her to bed for the night in the ten months she's been with us, but it went just fine by all reports. She played with her cousins for hours, then did her bath and books routine and was asleep between her godparents within ten minutes. We came home around 11:15 and moved her to our bed, which was probably the wrong thing to do, since she had fitful night thereafter. Anyway, it was a huge milestone for her, and for us. It's so great that she's at the age and level now when people tell her that Mama and Daddy will be home later, she understands. The show was incredible by the way, probably the best version we've ever seen. And the restaurant, Wang's Palace in Glastonbury, CT, was up there with best "American Chinese food" ever as well. We just had leftovers for lunch and have another whole dinner for three awaiting us this week.

On another note, here's a shot of her with her best buddy the other day, and a potentially sacreligious photo of Beatrice trying a new activity: sticking uncooked spaghetti in an inverted colander. I got this keep-her-busy-so-I-can-prepare-dinner idea from another person's blog and she had an absolute blast, but at one point I couldn't help but think she looked like she was preparing incense at a Buddhist altar. Coming from the girl who had to kneel on pencils in second grade for playing "body of Christ" with Lay's potato chips, you might understand why this went through my mind.

Leadership Qualities???

The recent camera downloads showed some of the old and new favorite things of B's right now: namely books , pockets, baby dolls, tutus, climbing onto either of our two rocking chairs, 40 beautiful bangles given by my friend Sangeeta, her John Deere tractor boots which she inherited from cousin Truman, and wearing her hat around the house. The other day she wore it for all meals. I considered asking her to remove it, but decided it was a battle that didn't need to be picked. She will frequently dig out a hat and sometimes her scarf, then start handing me my mittens or shoes, etc. The other night we went to my school concert. We sat down, took off all our coats, hats, and all, listened to one song, and the B. gets down from the seat, pulls her hat on, and starts handing me her other clothes and my pocketbook. Clearly she was ready to leave. Fortunately, so far, she doesn't fuss too much when her plan gets vetoed by us, and we stayed for the rest of the concert. I guess you can't fault a person for trying! We've known from our very first days together that Beatrice knows what she wants and is unafraid to ask for it. What a gift! On the other hand, my sister has taken to calling her "Bossy Betty," so this "gift" is something we're trying to "smooth the edges" of. ;)
Sula takes the brunt of our little dictator's, oops I mean director's commands. Beatrice is constantly yelling "no!" "mere," "mon," "dow," (come here/come on/down, telling her where to be, when to sit, what to do, etc. Wonderful Sula is so patient and, don't worry Maurice, we're keeping a very close eye when they're together and giving consequences if B. even threatens to get too rough. She also has taken to shutting the bathroom doors, trapping us all in together and thinking it is just hysterical. We have very old doorknobs and she jiggles them over and over and over again. I have a dreaded feeling that one of these days she is going to lock us in for real. I can't imagine the light emanating from the smile that would bring her!

Skills

Beatrice is cracking us up lately with her fixation on the number nine. (We ate at a restaurant named the Ninety-Nine on Sunday and she said "nine-nine" about a hundred times because Pepere kept encouraging her.) Anyway, here's our ritual... I start off counting "one,", she replies "doo", then immediately jumps to "nine!!!!!" stated with great enthusiasm. So usually I say, "not yet" and keep counting..."three..." "NINE!" again "not yet!" And so on, until the big moment comes, after I say "eight" when she can happily and correctly yell "nine" and then "deh", her version of "ten." Well, I've tried to film this many times, and she never does it the way she ALWAYS does it when I'm not filming, but here's the best I could get. I love to see how focused she is, how she yells "nine" then starts getting excited and then frustrated, then holds back from saying it after 7, says "nine" at the RIGHT time, but isn't quite sure.... The next part of the video is of her "reading" her first book. Note how she immediately asks for "more" and then says "no, no" when I rephrase her suggestion. Yes, she has a mind of her own.