Early Summer Fun

My cousin Margo is in town with her 4 cuties from Idaho and B. had a ball with them on Saturday and has been visiting them at the lake daily ever since. I am STILL in school-tomorrow is IT- but have been living like it's vacation for the past few days:

I'm not sure Bea realizes she's photographing herself in this shot.

Hugging cousins Lacie, Sadie, and Bea

This was the best pose I could get of the clan

Eden's a great reader and Bea is an attentive audience

Race!

Getting ready to tell fortunes????

Remember this record player from the 70's? My aunt keeps EVERYTHING! and it still works!

B. was more interested in ring around the rosy than roll down the hill.

She slept 11 hours that night, much more than in many weeks. Sunday we were off to the Asian festival in Worcester, an annual event that we attended with Beatrice for the first time.

Viet Proud!

Beatrice loved the emcees' beautiful outfits

This Vietnamese "rice dance" was a crowd pleaser

This was either a Burmese or Bhutanese folk song.

B. couldn't resist sitting next to some of the Filipino "big girls"

The Cambodian Monkey Dance, which was a combo of "monkeys" scratching flea bites and break-dancing, was my personal favorite

Even Jimi Hendrix made an appearance!

B. wanted her hand henna-tattooed and she was careful as could be, even asleep, while it was drying! Saturday she got her first-ever face painting (a cupcake) and I was doubly shocked when she went for 2 decorations in 2 days.

I Am B.B., Hear Me.....

When we went to PA a few weeks ago we visited an amazing exotic animal rescue site and were treated to very up-close visits with a variety of beautiful creatures, including these two lions, who bellowed at just the moment we arrived to their area. I truly had never heard such an impressive sound in my life and we were all aghast at what we were witnessing. We've talked about it to many people and showed this video clip taken with Anthony's iPhone, which is, I think, how we've created our little monster's newest "habit:" ROARING at a person when she is frustrated with him/her. If you're lucky, she'll try one or two verbal stabs at getting what she wants or dealing with the conflict, but then she resorts to looking right at you and roaring her loudest roar. She does it with us, frequently with Nicholas, and resorted to it with Rachel a few times as well. I made the huge mistake of accusing her of "growling" but she quickly clarified "I not growlin', I ROARIN'!" Between my horror and Anthony's laughter, we've been reinforcing the heck out of it too. So now this school counselor who runs conflict resolution and social skills groups, will spend my summer vacation attempting to rid my daughter of her antisocial behaviors before she starts preschool.

Rachel Visits!

We were so excited to have a third visit with Beatrice's orphanage sister Rachel this weekend, and it was a special landmark since it's was B's first overnight guest. It's pretty ironic that her first sleepover was with a person with whom (we assume) she shared a room or even crib for the better part of the first year of her life. The girls had a ball laughing, playing, imagining, building, donning princess shoes and tiaras, hugging, sleeping just a little, and yes, bickering and in some cases even growling and roaring at each other too. These dramatic and giggling girls had the three adults in stitches most of the 24 hours.

Awaiting her guest...here she is "reading at the beach"to pass the time.

Fun in the sandbox.

Finally she has someone her size on the other end!

Smiles and giggles were on the agenda all through the visit!

They tired of being photographed way too early on and would "hide" when the cameras came out.

Strawberry lips!

First sleepover demanded new "twin" jammies...

Pretend ice cream for breakfast

and then real breakfast. It was the only quiet 5 minutes of the day!

They definitely both love a good book!

Time for the traditional B/Rachel + Mommies pictures

Who's going to ring the windchimes????? "Me! No Me! No, I do it! My turn!"

Even princesses have to say goodbye....

See you again soon friends. You weren't even off our street and Beatrice started with "I miss Rachel and Martha, Mama. I miss them toooooooo much!"

Come back soon!

NYC

We went to New York last weekend and spent 2 days in the city. The camera battery died after just a couple hours, so we're left with cell phone photos. B. had a blast visiting with David and Meaghan, riding the ferris wheel in the Toys 'R Us store in Times Square, meeting Elmo on the street, getting a serendipitous Hello Kitty umbrella in Chinatown, visiting a playground on the Upper East Side, and eating her way through Manhattan. She especially liked the dessert shops, and the fact that she got to "eat Ping," as in duck with noodles at Hop Kee, and as in one of her favorite books "The Story of Ping." Sorry T&B!

Dirt Devil Strings at Dusk, and a checkup by our resident nurse

Any videos over one minute long are a pain to download and put on blogger, so I procrastinate. Here are two sewn together: one from a couple of months ago "reading" a book from storytime at the library, and the other taken one May morning when she was "dancing" before heading out for the day. She's really into dancing lately, although I'm more comfortable putting that verb in quotes. Her moves are kind of a cross between me and Elaine Benes. Any Seinfeld fans out there???

Up Through The Atmosphere, Up Where The Air is Clear....

I have more than 3 weeks left of school before vacation, but yesterday I got a taste of summer in my mouth and now I'm really afraid the days will drag. Our adoption agency sponsored a kite flying picnic at a state park on the coast and the weather could not have been better. The beach was the perfect place for chef B. to whip up some of her famous "pine cone pie."