La Ni±a
August 7, 2006
The months leading up to our trip to China seemed to move along at a snail's pace. Of course, it seemed like everything we did revolved around preparing to meet Grace. Writing journal entries was a natural by-product of all of our thought and discussions during those times.
Fast-forward several months and our family is back to "normal" as we plan trips to the pool, participate in church activities, clean the house, cut the grass, and generally try to stay cool (it's been blazin' hot). Next thing you know, a month has passed and I've not written a single journal entry.
July was a crazy month. Tricia loaded up the kids and drove up to New York to spend a couple weeks with her family. They had a wonderful time enjoying many things including a theme park and the county fair. While they were there they celebrated Grace's 1st birthday on July 21. I celebrated back at home by boiling some water and having a Cup O Noodles and a Diet Pepsi. Let's just say it was one CRAZY party at the Brown house as I slurped my noodles, sipped my beverage and watched Hannity and Colmes from the comfort of my recliner.
Grace is still a little behind developmentally, but it is astonishing how fast she progresses in her motor skills and in her social skills. I was commenting last night to Tricia that she is just like Allie was as a baby—you know exactly when she has hit the wall and needs to lay down to sleep. It's nice to not have to guess (provided there's a bed to lay her down in, otherwise it's not so nice).
The other day, I took Grace into Wal-Mart to pick up some milk. There was a Mexican lady with her daughter in the cart and when they saw Grace they lit up and starting talking feverishly in Spanish. I heard the mother, in the middle of one of her sentences, say, "la niña." So, I walked over and said "hola." She must've thought I spoke Spanish—since my greeting was so authentic and my accent so perfect—because she proceeded to talk to me in her native tongue. She quickly realized that I didn't understand a word she was saying as my eyes glazed over and I had that "duh" look on my face, so our conversation instantly moved to gestures and charades. It was fun as the lady pulled the corners or her eyes out and said, "China." She then pointed to me and to Grace as if to ask if she was mine. I shook my head yes, and she gave me a huge smile. It was a nice little exchange.
I hope to be able to post some photos of Grace from her first birthday in a couple days. They are tucked away on a CD at home and I need to pull them off onto my computer so I can put them on the site. In the meantime, here are some recent photos from Grace's first portrait sitting.
