One year on the planet

I started to write this several weeks ago, and I could never find the time to get anything written.

I wonder why?

Also, there were almost no pictures of my dear little girl on the computer. Lost the camera at Aunt Jodi's house, so I don't know when there will be new ones. Wish me luck, cause we all know photos inspire where words fail.

Lulu-B is on the move. She almost walks, just a few steps. Sometimes, she just has to stand up. Say we are sitting on the floor reading a book, she stands up and listens to the story. She and I walked around the house today. Finally, i did a circuit with her 3 times, trying to tire her out for her daddy in the evening.

Lulu-B, it turns out, is a great traveler.

For the week of her official birthday, and Eli's adoption anniversary, we did our annual trek to the Bahamas. 8 years and counting? We skipped the year we went to Guatemala and brought Eli home. I have grown to love it, from the first time we traveled, missing Zeno, to now, when we have our two wonderful children. Eli is a blur in the distance as he gets his time in with his cousins, and grandparents, mamah and Pa, and his aunt and uncle. I am the annoying person who suggests that he brush his teeth or put down his cousin's I-touch. It is a far cry from him being so dependent, now that he is the old man of 6.

Miss B. She really bonded with us, her crazy family this trip. She LOVED having her daddy around 24/7. She woke up every morning and discusses his presence or absence, depending on if Mitch was at the gym or not. By the end of vacation, she was loving it, him and all her relatives. She practically didnt walk a step by herself in the Bahama's, but we we hit NY for the short Thanksgiving stop, she started taking steps - right by Mamah's glass table. All was well. She is a great traveler. Woke up with a smile and rarely was upset. A superstar. I feel so lucky.

One thing we know is that she has been around the planet another year, as of 11/19. I am having a really hard time reconciling not knowing her birthday. It is such a marker in the US. Everyone, including myself, gets a bit gushy around the milestones, and speaking of markers, Lulu is hitting everyone. The pediatrician and I discussed her progress this past week, after we returned from our trip, and she said she is walking like a 13 month old, and interacting like a 15-18 month old.

We laughed about it as I explained my predicament and we agreed there was not a solution. All we can do is to watch dear little Miss B as her life unfolds around her, but the thing that gets to me is not knowing. Is she hitting her milestones early or is she just on target and 18 months old? Is she incredibly precocious, or is she just catching up. She was so small, i like to think her birthday was very close to the day she was found, but we most likely will never know.

Time will tell who she becomes, but she is on fire right now.

She points. She talks, all the time, and most of it is impossible to understand, unless you do deep baby interpretations. She explains things to anyone that will listen. She listens when you explain things. She moves, shakes, drums, dances, laughs. She LOVES her brother. She says daddy ( and she waved a few days later), mama, baby, brother, doggie, airplane, ball, what that ( and points), cat and kitty, and says many many things we dont understand. today, her fathers swears she said open it when Eli shut the door on her. Wow. Open it. Did it. Sometimes is sounds like I did it, which it cant possibly be, as she would be saying I, but she said that phrase, whatever it is, all the time last month when she stood up.

Sentences. Wow. She has been home 6 months and counting. wow. She is on fire. I hope whatever path it is, her commitment to the world, her smile, her determination stays with her always.

Our walking, talking wonder. Usually wakes with a smile, rarely stops moving or talking. What a wild ride. She is still a bit tonic, and has some new found anxiety around sleeping or napping, but she has a voracious interest in the world around her.

She is curious about where the water goes when it goes down the drain. She is interested in what is under the door when the door shuts, she likes buttons, she loves when you notice an airplane she has been discussing. Today, when her new puzzle had a piece fit in a slot, she said, Ummm! with a big smile. She greets each day with a smile. I need to remember that!

Here's to knowing she has been travling around the sun for a year. One year on the planet.

Here is to many more wonderful years filled with joy. I do hope she keeps her incredible smile and happy personality, as well as her very determined drive.

Here's to the B.