It's a girl thing!

No shoe is safe in our house. Take off your shoes at your own risk... Miss Kavanna Lin will find them and wear them. And she walks in pumps with surprising ease.




She looks equally good in Ariel's jelly flats.

Or Ariel's old cowboy boots, bought in Dallas many, many years ago.

"These boots are made for walkin'......"

Shoes are the ultimate accessory.

Kavanna is talking!

Kavanna is always in motion, even while wearing Mommy's flip flops!

So cute!
Kavanna has been talking for a while. Some of her words are absolutely correct and some of them are hilarious interpretations.

Her first word: Ariel (pronounced "Ay-el")

What she says perfectly: mommy, dada, more, no, hello, apple. And did I mention her favorite word, "no"?

Also:
A cow says "booooo" instead of "moo".
A cat says "now" instead of "meow"
Juice is "jew" (well, when she yells "Jew" in our house she's always right!)
A phone is a "hello"

A puppy is a "buppy"
When something falls, it's "uh-oh!"
A bottle is a "baba"
Her blanket is "nana"
Best of all, "I love you" is "Ah luh ooooo"

She has created her own sign language.:
An attempt to snap her fingers means, "put on some music"
Pointing to a couch or a chair means, "sit here, now"
Making a sign for milk, followed by touching her ear means she wants her formula, as opposed to milk. She came up with this at 12 months. She has a bottle at night which David would make and bring into the bedroom. I'd wait with her and put my hand to my ear, telling her, "Let's listen for Daddy".
One day she was signing for milk so I gave her some milk, which she rejected. She made the milk sign, followed by touching her ear, to let me know exactly which kind of milk she wanted. Brilliant!

See this happy face?

Kavanna was not so happy last Sunday when we went to the Bastille Day Festival.  Everyone parked at the stadium and big white vans took us to the festival.  As soon as we got into the van Kavanna started to tremble and look frightened.  We think that the day her foster mom took her to the orphanage, a white van drove her and the other babies from the orphanage to Nanning, where she was placed into our arms... We think she remembered the van and was afraid her life was about to change again.   We just hugged her and told her we were all going to stay together.  She clung to me in what can only be described as terror.  Later, on the way back to the parking lot, she was much more relaxed.
She is a happy girl, very smart, very joyful, friendly and outgoing... but the past trauma is still there, and unpredictable things can trigger it. 

Happy Bastille Day

Ariel and Kavanna dancing in front of the crowd as Ariel's friend Ariana sings at the Bastille Day Festival over the weekend.

It's Africa hot but Kavanna still must bring "Nana" (her blanket) everywhere she goes.

She loves to wear shoes... other people's shoes, that is!  The adorable tie-dyed outfit was originally Ariel's.  I'm so glad I saved it!

These flipflops are almost as big as she is!

Got shoes... and she's on the go!

Great weekend!

(this is a photo from April that I never posted but I love her pensive cutie-pie-ness)

These are just some photos from my phone... .more to come.  We had a wonderful time with Di and Dave, and their friend Renee who was visiting from Philly (I say that as if I'm comfortable with the term "Philly", although to be honest I've never been to Philadelphia - Pittsburg is as close as I've gotten - and never had a cheese steak sandwich, either... so there you have it), and our friend Val, with her sister and kids.

Kavanna was not too sure about the fireworks :)

The dress is a gift from my parents, who just got back from a holiday in Malaysia.  

Ariel spent the weekend at a friends beach house in Malibu.  She's living the life!

Hope everyone had a great Fourth!

Trying to fill Ariel's shoes... literally

Look, Ariel's shiny, pretty green patent leather shoes.  I want to wear them!   I want to be a big girl.  I have my "purse" (a small shopping bag) and I just need some cool shoes.  Then my look will be complete.

Ta da!!

And Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there...!!

It's a good thing she's cute...

...because she doesn't sleep and she occasionally poops in the bathtub (that's Kavanna I'm talking about)!!   It occurred to me that seen through the lens of this blog, our lives seem effortlessly blissful.  Truth is we do have our moments of bliss, but parenting a teenager and a toddler has its challenges as well as its rewards.

I don't have to be a political prisoner to know that sleep deprivation is torture.   Tomorrow is the seven month anniversary of Family Day and we've slept through the night exactly.... once.  That would be our first night with Kavanna when she actually slept through the night (probably from sheer emotional exhaustion).   Currently she's teething in a bad way, four molars and four incisors and she wakes up every twenty minutes howling in pain.  The rest of the time she's kicking me in the head.  She starts off in her crib and ends up in our bed... 

I am living on caffeine.

Ever notice how much the subject of poop gets discussed once you become a parent?  What's that about?  Kavanna now informs us when she needs her diaper changed by patting her tush and announcing, "Poop."  

As for the bath incident... ah, there are no words.  I just try to keep my sense of humor, and a bottle of 409 cleaner, close at hand.

Daddy & Kavanna get ready to take a walk.  Nice shades, dude!  Nice shades, dudette!

Kavanna loves her Daddy.

Kavanna loves Ariel but she gets squirmy when it's time to sit still for a photo.  Kavanna doesn't like sitting still.  Why sit when you can run and jump and whirl like a dervish?

Kavanna gets a big kiss from a very big and very sweet dog named Max.  
 

Topanga Days

We had such a fun Sunday... dim sum with our friends Di & Dave  (who bought Kavanna a toy panda bear that she absolutely loves) and then we went to the Topanga Days Festival, which meant stepping back into time back to the 60s or 70s... Ariel took off her shoes, bought a pair of fairy wings, put a flower in her heair and we all danced to a Grateful Dead cover band.     Kavanna pet a three month old pet piglet and had a grand time.  Life is good!

From Oprah.com

8 Things Never to Say to an Adopted Child

By Elizabeth Cuthrell

Most likely, no one who has approached my family and asked us personal questions has meant any harm, but they do assume that an adopted child's background is available for public discussion, and not subject to the same sensitivity or restraint due any child. My girls are not immune to the self-consciousness all children feel being scrutinized. The best expression of support for my family is to respect our differences by not calling attention to them. There are many adoption agencies and adoption Web sites with tons of information. Unless you are a friend or relative of an adoptive family, it's best to look there for answers. 

Someday, I hope, we'll live in a world where racial or sexual or familial differences don't matter because we'll have achieved the understanding that one kind, or one way, is not necessarily better than another. As for now, I fear we routinely call unneeded attention to these differences. For example, why are Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise's kids described as their "adopted kids"? Why aren't they just identified as "their kids"? Or why did the press write that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were expecting their first child when they already have a son and a daughter? What's next? "Angelina and Brad's biologically born child joins their adopted son and adopted daughter." Or "So-and-so's donor-egg-born son joins their gestationally carried, IVF-born daughter." We don't refer to how biological children become a part of their families, so why do we point out adoption? 

There are exceptions. A few weeks ago, Willa was a flower girl in my sister's wedding. At the beauty parlor where the bridal party was having their hair done, I introduced Willa to the hairdresser. She looked at my daughter and said, "Hey, Willa, are you adopted?" 

Willa answered, "Yes, from China." 

I touched Willa's shoulder protectively to remind her that, if needed, I was there to help navigate the encounter. 

"So am I," beamed the hairdresser. "Isn't adoption the coolest?" 

Willa looked at me and smiled. "Yep. It's totally cool." 

Elizabeth Cuthrell is a screenwriter and producer living in New York City.

Bikini weather!!

Always apply sunscreen before the pool!

And drink plenty of fluids if it's hot outside!

Ooooooh, the water feels fine!

Kavanna didn't want to get out!