Buttonwood Farm

It was our second annual trip, last year with Lolo and this year with Pepere, and it did not disappoint.  Once again, we were treated to a fabulous sunset, despite the rainy/cloudy day which preceded it, and we even saw an incredibly clear full rainbow on the way home, which unfortunately B. missed due to being conked out in her carseat.  I love how the darkness gives B. that Phantom of the Opera look! (and it hides the black raspberry leftovers which encircled her mouth)

Peeking into the sketchbook

Beatrice kept busy at church today, sketching and dancing that is. The dancing I put a stop to, but the sketching we allow because it keeps her still and quiet.  I glanced over a few times and realized her sketches have really changed, getting far more complex and expressive.  When we got home, I peeked through the book. I almost felt like I was looking into her diary since it is clear these are her deepest thoughts:

Sometimes she invents things, like this "dress boat" above;

More often she is a Jr. Degas with her ballerina theme, and here is  one is "dancing very quickly!"

Here's a horseback rider.  She did this one while looking at a statue in a piazza in Florence, Italy. 

Perhaps my favorite, and clearly inspired by her dad, these are "hands reaching for mayonnaise."

Above is a wedding ceremony (check out that ring!!!)

                                                            

                                and the bride and groom sealing the deal with their "married dance."

                                                           
This was done in church.  I thought it was random lettering, which often accompany her sketches of late, but instead she asked me to "clap this beat" so I realized she'd written music down.  So we have three notes, a rest, end of a measure, rest, and end of a measure again.  Yesterday, during her piano practice at home, Anthony and I were amazed to learn that she's truly starting to read music.  She's got notes C and D down pat.  Blew us away.  She's had five lessons. Good job Auntie Nicole!

And here's the inside cover of her sketchbook which she told me is "two friends having lots of fun-ness."  Funness it is!

Quiet(ish) Week

The past several days have consisted of getting over jet lag (she and I had a few 4:00 wake-up times which have thankfully ceased), lazing around home, and resuming our pre-trip summer schedule which included a little bit of "school time" most days.  I bought Beatrice a big preK workbook just to maintain her skills over the summer and she loves doing it.  That is, as long as she gets to pick which pages she does.  :)  She begged me to bring it to Italy, but it's thick and heavy enough that I resisted.  Well yesterday she found it again and decided she has lots of lost time to make up for, so I think she did 10-15 pages.  Just because she'll hopefully read this blog some day, I'll note that her favorite activities at this point are mazes (which she is incredible with), find the hidden letters, finding how pictures match or are different, and, very recently, dot-to-dots.  She also is great at things like "circle which pictures show a set of 4."  Her number sense and early math skills kind of blow me away, although I'm equally blown away at the difficulty she then has with recognizing her numbers.  She clearly gets the concept of an "8" for instance, but still can't consistently name it or even pick it out of a group of numbers.  I'm sure this will come with time. She avoids coloring, although I know she's good at it based on the daily schoolwork she brought home all year.  Yesterday, I finally got to see her color and I think I learned why she avoids it.  She is so perfectionistic and careful that it takes her forever! She also avoids writing letters, but again I know full well she can do so competently. She can name about half her letters on straight recall, and get almost 100% at letter recognition if you give her a group of 5 or 6 and say "find the G" for instance.  ( But I've learned that if food is offered as a reward, she knows them all and essentially becomes brilliant at almost anything.  Sad, but true! :)

And, oh yeah I almost forgot, we did a quick run to New York City on Tuesday afternoon/night to visit  Tito Nate, Tita Yuen, and cousin Dominic, who live in Florida and whom we haven't seen in over 18 months. It was insane to toss this into our week of recovery, but it was a chance that just couldn't be missed.  Beatrice had a blast with almost-3-year-old Dominic and was very strangely familiar with Nate & Yuen too, who she's probably seen 3 times in her whole life.  Anthony has said this before and I've denied it, but now there are too many examples for me to deny:  Beatrice is much quicker to warm-up to Asians, both children and adults, but especially with adults the difference is glaring.  She has always been remarkably aware of differences of people in terms of skin color, etc. and has initiated heart-breaking conversations with me about our differences, hers and mine, and it is with such sadness in her voice that we can never be "the same" in this way.  I knew said conversations would come eventually, I just didn't think they'd start at 3-years old and reach the depth that they have.  She shocked everyone in Italy at the pool when she came over and showed her arm and exclaimed "look, I have more melanin coming out! Are you getting more, too????" Her identity, racial and otherwise, and her journey to find her place as an adopted child in a multi-racial family is just beginning, but it indeed has begun.  I'd be lying if I didn't say I was scared to death that it will someday create a chasm between us, so for now I'll just keep savoring and  enjoying this time of life when my girl  is so close to me that it appears she'd crawl into my (pasty white) skin if she could.

Tuscany

 We are back from a magical week in Lucca, Italy, where we stayed at an enormous 5-star villa to attend a dear friend's wedding.  I babysat David and his sibs from the time he was a toddler, and have been blessed with  a 25-year friendship with his parents John and Mary Jane (my colleague whom B. refers to as "Jay Jay). The week was picture perfect in every way:  weather, travel, surroundings, food, company. Beatrice remains an incredible traveler.  Her ability to stay up until nearly midnight, catnap in our arms, try new foods, be pleasant with various adults, and to spontaneously compose/direct/cast and choreograph a 4-scene play with the crowd (long, but true story) astounded us.  Here are some of the shots that highlight the week:

Playing hide-and-see during a 6-hour layover in Heathrow airport

Daddy downloaded an Angelina Ballerina movie onto the iPad for the trip

On our first full day we took a 90-minute train ride into Florence.  Uncle John captured B's imagination (or rather joined it) by playing "Rock."  This game where various characters are formed with an talk to fingers lasted on and off all week.  By the end, we had ROCK, ROCK'S SISTER, MOLLY ROCK, HENRY ROCK, and SARAH ROCK.

B's sketches have become fabulously detailed in the past few weeks.  She often asks for her sketch pad and she and Anthony sat down numerous times during the week, inspired by the sights.  Here they are at a piazza in Florence.

Anthony and I had been to Florence to visit the groom David there 7 years ago, when he spent a year there as part of a Master's program.  What a beautiful city.  I should note that we forgot the stroller back at the villa that morning and B. hiked a good 3-4 miles that day.  She is a trooper!

The original DAVID cannot be photographed (although we snuck one 7 years ago and it hangs in our bathroom).  This art deco version now sits outside the gift shop.  Beatrice, here with Joseph, the groom's baby brother, thought "pink David" was a hoot!

                                                The coach on this carousel couldn't be missed!

The weather was just perfect.  Just when it got a little too hot, a beautiful breeze came up for a few minutes.

Here's one picture of one of the courtyards in this 12-bedroom villa.  We told Beatrice it was a "castle" ahead of time, and it was easy for all of us to believe that.  It was built as a hunting lodge for the Tuscan elite in the 17th century.  Amazing place.

There were various metal animals in the yard, including this elephant which provided many "rides" during the week.

In downtown Lucca, a walled city, Beatrice enjoyed a gelato or 2 ( or 3, or 4.)

                          Here she is down in the nearby sitting room, getting ready to go out for "ladies night"

                                          This girl sure loves her Jay-Jay!

One other child was among the guests, 18-month old Luisa, whom Beatrice decided needed to learn ballet.

This 24-chair dining room was not ever used by the gang this week (35 people attended the wedding) but Bea had fun sitting at the head of the table and pretending.

This was taken on a stroll outside the villa. The background at any time looked like a movie set.

One afternoon we enjoyed some "quiet time" in our room and B. sat quietly on the extra bed and sketched.

The rehearsal dinner was held at a nearby restaurant.  We sat outside and it was sunset so the views were incredible.

                                             The light was a photographer's dream!

Happy, happy couple Meaghan and David:

Did I mention that the villa had an ENORMOUS pool on the grounds? That was one of highlights for this girl almost every day. With her floaties on, she swam all over the place, as well as attended "mermaid school."  Depending on the moment, she was either teacher or student.

 Downtown Lucca had another colorful carousel. What a difference from 2 years ago in Paris when she tried 3 carousel and had to be removed from 2 due to screaming her lungs out.

                                    Lucca's play grounded provided a quick play break:

                We rented bicycles and rode up on top of the wall of Lucca one day.  Beatrice has claimed that this was her favorite part of the trip.

              We ate our fill of Tuscan bread.  Here we are doing "cheers" at a Trattoria.

                      A Tuscan bean soup tasted better on top of the bread, B. decided.

 My girl is a sucker for a bookstore.  She bought 2 sticker books with her own money and you would have thought she got herself a new car.  We had trouble getting her out of bookstores in London (at the airport), and Lucca. Also, during the "ladies night" which I mentioned above, the restaurant had fake bookshelves filled with fake books painted on the walls and Beatrice thought that was about the best idea in the world.  She spent the evening, after eating, running back and forth to the wall, choosing a pretend book and bringing it back for me to read.  "This one's a mystery" she would say, or she would walk back clumsily, pretending to hold a pile, uttering with effort "I have a ton of books and...they're very....very...heavvvvyyyyyyy!"

Finally the big day, or evening, arrived, and Beatrice played her part very nicely.  If you click on this and see it larger, you'll see her "embarrassed/proud" smile that we get from her during performances of any kind:

I cannot believe that these three "babies," who I babysat, vacationed with, and attended college orientations with, are all grown up.  The part that is NOT a surprise is what kind, brilliant, fun, successful adults they have become. That I can now share my daughter with them, and that each of them has a special bond with her, is beyond my wildest dreams.

 I think Anthony snapped this picture from the outdoor bar.  Beatrice enjoyed the orange juice and mama enjoyed the green one which was apple juice with some alcohol in it that I don't remember the taste of but which went down very, very easily....

Bread and cheese (and pasta of course) are among B's favorites, so it makes European eating no problem whatsoever:

 I couldn't get a great shot of the bride and flower girl, but this one isn't bad.  Meaghan is a dream!

 Here we are in Lucca on the last night, just before heading to a concert of Mozart and Puccini opera (Lucca is Puccini's birthplace).  While waiting for our pizza and gnocchi, the sketchpad came out once again.

                         It was a sad goodbye the morning we had to leave!

Here's the world traveler, who secured her blanket down and pulled her suitcase herself the whole time.