Subject + verb + object. Dalia's got it down. She is speaking frequently in complete sentences. When she wakes up in the morning, it seems that her brain has learned everything from the previous day. And then she comes up with a memory from weeks or months ago. Amazing! Or, as Adam Sandler sings in his rhyming song about Elmo, "Incredibelmo!"
We had a grand adventure of travel and reunion last month. The day of the big blizzard in Boston, we drove to White River Junction and got on the oversold Greyhound bus to Logan Airport. We would overnight at the airport Hilton, spend the day in Boston and take a flight out to MN the next night, and be at Grandma Patty's in Wisconsin by 11:30 PM. Yes, long trip - but cheap flight -- and it would be fun, right? Right! No worry that the airport closed, that we waited over 30 minutes for the Hilton shuttle, which drove right by us. Or that our bags, stroller, and car seat disappeared from the sidewalk while we waited in the warming hut as the thick snow thundered down on... no one ... on this ghostly snowy cold night. "Oh no! Where are our bags??!" Thankfully, after running out into the street, anxiously looking for some sign of humanity or our bags, we saw Dalia's stroller wheels were sticking out of another hotel's shuttle, and the nice driver took us to the HIlton. Dalia loves to replay this scene over and over, "Where go Mama's bags? I dunno. Wheels sticking out. Nice man." We swam in the cold pool while the snow howled. We ate carbs. We walked around and around the airport from terminal to terminal, Dalia dressed in her snow boots, diaper, and shirt, pushing the stroller while travelers smiled. Thankfully, our flight was the first out of Logan in two days -- left 90 minutes late but we made our connection in MIL and to Grandma's that night, Thank you, Air Tran!
Froggie went everywhere with us. Froggie was a gift from Grandma Ginger and Grandpa Ralph ("Right").
We played with Grandma, cousins Vivian and Peter, Auntie KT there, Uncle Adam, Susan and Ned on New Year's Eve -- and later that weekend as Dalia played soccer with a sock monkey and giggled with cousin Sela. Visits with my loving and fun friends Michele, Liz, Kelly, John, Katie, Marc, Linda, Jay, Tam, Judy, Julie, Laura, David, and Danny -- and everyone's kids and dogs -- filled my heart. Dalia is finally having a chance to meet her extended family in the Twin Cities and Wisconsin. Tony and his mustache, Pat's toy animal hair salon... so many generous friends and family that we wish we could see more of in person. Our other friends - we missed you! We will see you in JUNE. For sure, please. Dalia and I dropped Grandma off at the airport on her way to California. As we drove off, Dalia said, "I want my Grandma!" On the way home, we stopped for a few hours in Boston, made a new doggie friend named Lady, played on Newbury Street, and went for a beautiful winter walk on a sunny day down Commonwealth Ave while waiting for our friends to drive us back to the bus station in White River Junction as they continued to Midd.
Dalia is so fun to travel with. On our last flight, Dalia got on the plane all by herself, in her purple snow suit. She walked through first class, saying "Hi" to everyone. The man in the first row said, "She is beautiful. God Bless Her."
Monday the 24th brings Dalia's next surgery on her soft palate. She has a fistula (hole) that needs to be closed. This fistula started as a pin-hole; a remnant from her last surgery August 30th. It has grown into a something easily visible. It needs to be closed to help her speech, so she will learn to make sounds that don't involve air going through her nose. She needs to have "negative pressure" in her mouth so that she can start making more percussive sounds, so she can use her tongue more. And so that food and liquids don't come out her nose.
Even though she's been through this before, it's not a snap simple, easy thing. I have been trying to keep her rested, and less sick for weeks. This is major surgery; an operation on the upper back inside of her mouth - a tiny tiny place -- Dr. Laub will this time -- I think -- be sewing some sort of patch, "alloderm" or something like that - made from tissue... on it . The most common question I hear is " Is this the last one?" The answer is "I don't know." It is certainly not her last surgery, as she will likely have many, many surgeries for her teeth and bones in her mouth, but not til she is 4 or 5. We hope this is her last surgery for her palate. First, she has to get through it.
She had blood drawn yesterday to make sure that her palate count is high enough, i.e. to avoid another incidence of excessive bleeding. See: July 12th surgery, PICU, intubation, terrifying, and mystery.
I will try to post something to the blog when the surgery is over and we are in her room on Baird 5 watching Elmo, Winnie, Mickey Mouse, or Tom and Jerry.
Last - I am getting ready to send a package to Dalia's Orphanage (Tianshui Social Welfare Institute). The package won't be there in time for Chinese New Year... next year I will try to start earlier. I want to express that I am grateful to the orphanage and the nannies there who took care of her. I am extremely grateful to her foster mother, her "Nai Nai", with whom she lived for six months? nine months? We don't know. But Nai-Nai was loving to Dalia, taught her many things, and sent her to us with gifts: a beautiful hand-knit, embellished sweater (see photos), hand-made Chinese shoes, too small now; an gorgeous, traditional red silk wall hanging with a Chinese knot.
Nai-Nai, I love you.
I will be sending some photos, along with the following items. I would really appreciate any additional items from this list to send. I cannot send money. This list comes directly from CAWLI, our adoption agency. If you would like to send something in this package, please send it to me -- email me for my new address.
1) treats ( candies ) and beauty products - like bath and body works and co bigelow that are made in US for the nannies
2) for children send coloring/activity books, crayons, stickers
I think that small, clean, newish stuffed animals are also ok.
Thank you, friends and family for your love and support. I love you!
