Off to the Beach

Well blog fans, Brynly and I are off to the beach tomorrow, God willing and the crick don't rise. :)
I will surely have lots of great bathing beauty pics. I will try to post but may not have time between resting and relaxing.:) This and I don'tknow of the condo has wifi.

As requested, I will try to get some video of Brynly saying "no." That is, if my fellow Team Ethiopia mates ever update their blogs. :)

Little Miss No-No

"No" is a popular word in our house these days. I say it at least 10 million times a day when Brynly goes for the dog's food or the electrical outlet, or hands out one of her infamous slaps. But, now, Miss Brynly herself is saying "no." It is her new favorite word. She has the cutest little voice and when she says "no", she purses her lips really tightly, so cute...but I digress.

Brynly is not a baby anymore. Even though she was 10 months old when I brought her home, she didn't walk or talk, or even sit up all that well. She was pretty tiny and was quite babylike. Now she is up to 22 pounds, walks, talks, and is, shall we say, assertive. :)

I am glad I got some baby time with Brynly, but I love that she is heading into little girl stage.

Lovin' Summer

Brynly is an outdoorsy kind of girl. She loves taking walks, playing at the park and swimming. She also is fearless. I had to get her a life jacket for the pool after she dove out of her little boat thing and climbed out of the ring thing. She loves going under and laughs when the boys splash. She is starting to hold her body up and kick like she is really swimming.

Sometimes I think about what activities she might like to do as she gets older. I automatically think first of the things I liked to do as a kid. Swimming was pretty much at the top of the list, so I am happy to see her take a shine to that.

That is my mom in the pool picture. I am sure she will love me for posting it for all the world to see. :) But Brynly was having a lot of fun swimming with her that day and I like the picture.

Hair

Hair has often been the topic of discussion on ET adoption boards, blogs, etc. I am lucky to have my very own African American Hair Consultation Team (aka Dedra and Tia). I am unasheamed to admit that I am lacking in hair doing skills, makes no difference if that hair is on a white person or a black person. My hair often looks a bit crazy and I am not bothered by that. But, I want to be able to do Brynly's hair. Thankfully, Dedra and Tia have set me on the right hair path. We now have a little regimin that is working great. The hair on top has always been pretty soft and curly but the back tended toward the fuzzy side, probably bc it gets rubbed in bed, the carseat, etc. Anyhoo, with our new focus on deep conditioning, the back has curled up nicely. I can't wait for it to get a little longer so I can try some twisties and candy curls.

I appreciate the instruction and I am so glad my consultants and I have the kind of friendship where they can say, "little bit fuzzy, try this..." I'll take all the help I can get. :)

Maybe Baby

Last year, on June 8, I received the first email and picture regarding Brynly. My agency emailed with her picture and said it was an "incomplete" referral and wanted to know if I wanted more information. Well, duh.

I had only a beautiful little face-no name or age or height or weight. But that was all I needed. I was at my parents house at the time, getting ready to leave for the last night of the dance recital. I called them in and oohs and ahhs ensued. I told them not to get too attached bc there were many unknowns with this little baby. Too late, "Maybe Baby" was my kid. I printed her picture and everyoned at the show got a look whether they wanted to or not. That picture was lovingly carried in my mother's purse for over a month before soem fresh ones came along.

So, this is a happy anniversary for us. On this day a year ago, the dream,plan, whatever, had a face. But on the other side of the world it was a time of great pain and sadness. I wonder what she/they are thinking onthis anniversary wherever they are. I have a responsibility to Brynly's first family and to Ethiopia. This child came with the hopes and dreams of her first family and her first country. They wanted a good, happy life for her. It is my responsiblity to make sure those hopes and dreams are realized.

Recital Week

As Diann noted in her comment, it is recital week. I work with a local, nonprofit dance studio in the area and this week is the big show. I love seeing the kids perform and have fun showing off what they have learned. I love seeing how excited they are to get all gussied up in their sequins and makeup. I love seeing them react to the applause. Our studio is a bit different in that we have a program that provides this opportunity free of charge to families who could otherwise not afford it. I especially love watching the kids in this program dance right along side the children of doctors and attornies and knowing that, for that moment, they feel compeltely equal. These are the things I love about recital. It is stressful too, though. I haven't had as much responsibilities this year but it still can be stressful. Everyone is tired and patience wears thin. But, we are in show mode now, so the worst is over.

On a side note, Brynly hung out at rehearsal a little bit and managed to get on the stage and break out a little Chicken Dance. She also came for some of the show last night and seemed to enjoy watching.

Shout out to my sister who is babysitting for the three performances. Tonight Brynly will be having a sleepover there. I have not slept without her a few feet away since November. I am sure she will be fine, we will have to see how mommy does.

Two Great Weekends

Brynly and I have had two great weekends. Memorial Weekend, Brynly had her first dip in the pool and we attended a gathering at my parents house. Brynly liked floating in her little boat. She is not especially fearful of most things, the pool included. She did, however, not appreciate being cold after a while.

This past weekend, we had our Team Ethiopia reunion in Atlanta. This was Brynly's first flight since the mac daddy one from ET. She did great! She slept pretty much the whole time going and returning. I picked up this very cool car/air seat that converts into a stroller-very handy. We had a great time reconnecting with Dedra, Tia and all the kids. My best bud went with us. As I have mentioned, she is in process and is awaiting her referral. It was great to see her interacting with the kids and to know that when we all meet again, there will be one more little Ethiopian princess in the mix.

So, Here is a recap. Friday we flew down and met up with some families in various stages of the process. Saturday we vistied the Yellow River Game Ranch where the kids could see, feed, pet lots of different animals. Brynly and Dedra's middle daughter were fast friends and Brynly had a great stand in mommy for the day. I really think Brynly remembered the girls on some level. She didn't show her usual stranger reaction and readily answered to Birhan. She loved being loved on by all the girls again and seeing her former cribmate. Then Sunday we went to Tia's church. She didn't mention this was a giant church complete with shuttle buses from the parking lot and a restaurant. :) Brynly napped during most of the service which was an answer to my prayers. :)After we headed to have the girls' picture taken. Brynly was not particularly cooperative for this but we did get some cute shots. Then it was off to the ET restaurant. The food was great after Diann and I narrowly avoided ordering a raw meat dish. I also learned that lentils are Misir Wot. I could never figure out why I couldn't find lentils on the menu here in the states. Duh. So, I was also reunited with yummy red lentils on this trip. Monday we got up at the butt crack of dawn to head home. Once again, Brynly was a trooper and tolerated check in, security, boarding and the trip home with ease.

For those of you who wonder how older kids adjust to their new lives here, I can tell you I know several who are shining examples of how successful this can be. Three have been home for six months and two for about six weeks. Although, it is not peaches and cream all the time and there have been (and will continue to be) hurdles to overcome, these kids (and their amayes) are doing just fine.