new home in vergennes

It's been since February since I last wrote! I have wanted to capture all of the things Dalia has been saying and doing as she grows - but time is truly so limited. I usually fall asleep when Dalia does, at 8:30 or 9; get up at 6, and the days begin again.

No surgeries for now... We are working on her speech, pronunciation. I have been practicing Fs and Ss -- plugging her nose to teach her not to let the air out of her nose, but through her mouth instead, when she makes these sounds. She is getting speech therapy and occupational therapy -- though she is doing fine on her own. It may be that she will need another palette surgery soon.

Over time, she will need a lot of oral surgeries... but that won't be for a while. The past few days, she's been saying, "Mama, touch my teeth." So cute! She has all of her baby teeth except for 3.

Her vocabulary is off the charts. She says "Do you like to eat crustaceans?" (We read a book about them). Long, full sentences, "I was reaching for a toy in my Mama's car and my finger got caught in the door." (This happened yesterday.) When we read about any animals, for example, a unicorn, she starts to call me that animal. I have been: Mama hyena, Mama unicorn, Mama elephant, and first - Mama bird.

What have we been doing between February and now?

We visited Grandma and Grandpa Ginger and Ralph in Atlanta, along with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Pete. The Solomons in Macon threw a little party for Dalia, with a delicious lunch on a gorgeous day at Nan and Peter's house for family and friends. Peter said grace, with everyone holding hands, welcoming Dalia into the family, and blessing her. I still cry when I think of it.

Time passes and the hours and free moments are few to write thank you notes. Thank you Birdseys and Solomons - Dalia's southern relatives! - for the love and warm welcome to her.

We visited Grandma Patty in California, along with cousins Vivian and Peter, and Uncle Adam. Vivian and Dalia ran "up the mountain", i.e. the perfectly groomed mound on the golf course outside Grandma's door. We swam, went to the Living Desert, on the Merry-go-round, had a visit from cousin Barbara, played and played with Peter and remote control cars, Thomas trains. We fed the ducks and the turtles and soaked up the desert sun.

I traveled to Asia again in May -- Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong -- and both of Dalia's Grandmas came to help. Dalia's Ayee (auntie) Renee also was very helpful. 10 days is still too long to be away, the recovery difficult. Skype helps, as does email. Dalia had an ear infection the whole time -- she was in many good hands. I hated being away. Though still feel very very fortunate to do what I do, to be able to go and come back. In Hong Kong, I saw my good friend and roommate from Beijing in 2000, Mancy. As I became a Mom, she is getting engaged and moving to the U.S.! Dalia will have another Aiyee.

In June, more travel - to Minnesota - annual trip to Bob's Cabins on Lake Superior to watch the marathon. We watched the start of the marathon up on the Scenic Highway in Two Harbors and Dalia was riveted as we watched the runners and the wheel-chair races at the start of the race. Now, she play acts "I"m going to win the marathon!"

June 27, home to pack up the house on Drew Lane... and then moved into our new home, on the second floor of Mark's house on Green St. in Vergennes.

It was an exhausting move - physically and emotionally. Six weeks later, I am finally feeling more settled. We share the house with my old and good friend, Mark, who has two dogs -- Copper and Smokey -- and a cat named Juicy. We have a large balcony/deck, we can walk to the playground and to the wonderful town pool -- both in front of the elementary school. The pool is open until 8 pm -- and has been a godsend in this heat. Come home from school, play for a while, then off to the pool to cool off, late supper then bed. Ahhhh.

I really love living in a neighborhood right in town like this, rather than having to drive to the playground. The architecture of the homes, churches and buildings is interesting; as is the layout of the town, with a river and waterfalls and a dam on one section, huge fields in another, and other roads that lead us to Lake Champlain via two points -- Button Bay State Park (near Basin Harbor Club) or Kingsland Bay. I am doing and seeing things here that I haven't ever done since I moved to Vermont.

We also visited cousin Barbara and Bill in Amesbury, MA. Thank you, Barbara!! We stayed in a nice hotel, with a pool... Barbara took good care of us, fed us very well at home and out, gave Dalia her very own Lego animal set and ice cream when needed. Bill drove us all to Plum Island for Dalia's very first swim in the ocean! I will never get her huge smile and unstoppable laughter running into and out of the crashing waves. What a memorable visit.

Playlab is going very, very well still. I am SO grateful to her teachers from last year. I realized that her teacher, Haley, was the first person other than Dalia that I saw and spoke with all year. I really miss her now that she is back at the Parent Child Center with her own room of babies. Howdy is still her lead teacher -- along with Christina, who is "on it", and Shelly, who is great. Dalia is now one of the older kids, and a "language leader" for them, according to her occupational therapist, Sandy.

Tonight, Dalia is with Lenox, MA with Ginger and Ralph, visiting family... her first overnight away from Mama or Baba!