To look, to see

We've been spending a lot of time in the garden during these perfect-weather days, and Dessi -- who generally has a pretty short attention span with her toys -- can spend a solid minute inspecting a piece of grass or the inside of a rose. Here she is, on her way outside



and here, pulling on a stem of basil.



Have you ever spent more than four seconds with a rose? There are so many colors in there!! (All those greeting cards speak the truth!)



She loves to smell them, too. She loves to go to one of every type of flower in the garden (and there are a lot), smell each one, and then smile or sometimes clap her hands (although the hand clapping has fallen out of the repertoire lately, I'm not sure why).

Merry Christmas!

Here we are at the mall. Ho ho ho!

Spirit

It's a little weird, living in a Muslim country for Christmas. There are no Yuletide songs or decorations in our little shops --although people are shooting off fire crackers for "the Noel," as they call it. Love that.

For our part, we've decorated our tree and wrapped the presents,



(note the cat, laying in the pot), but the season lacks the hustle-bustle, the stress, the gift giving and the money-spending. It's perfect!

(We did see a street salesman with a ton of gaudy, gold and green metallic tinsel draped around his neck while lugging a 4' fake Christmas tree down a dusty dirt road -- these guys go car-to-car and cater to people stuck in traffic. It was so funny I had to really concentrate to not let him see my face; it was so incongruous, such a hot day, poor Muslim guy, and my God that tinsel was so tacky. He looked generally completely demoralized, but then he saw me laughing and he started laughing back.)

Anyway. It is hard to be away from our families, but otherwise we have everything we need for a great holiday.

Only thing is . . . Christmas dinner. That should probably be special. The OTHER only thing is, for the past two months I have been feeling increasingly that eating meat just does not jive with my values. So I've been serving up a lot of dinners that look basically like a series of side dishes: Dahl and roasted eggplant. Squash and a salad. Risotto. Eric's been a pretty good sport, but nonetheless he hinted that for Christmas maybe we should have a "nice" dinner. (His words.)

So, chicken with tarragon curry, roasted in banana leaves it is! And here is the very beginnings of it, defrosting in my sink this morning. I had set it to defrost on its other side, and when I flipped it over, this.



Do you see that? That there? That chicken head folded over with the BEAK and the EYE? (You have to look for it a little bit. If you're so inclined. The head is about 1/3 of the way up; the beak points to the right, to about 2:30, and is very big!)

So, I will do this. We will have chicken. But I am blogging about it this morning because ... I'm out. I'm out!

Maybe for Christmas I am getting a vegetarian cookbook.

Mamadadadada

Here's a random 30 seconds from today.

Saint Louis

My adventurer-husband recently discovered that, if one departs an hour before low tide, one can drive peacefully along the beach all the way to Saint Louis (4.5 hours to the north), thereby avoiding the bottleneck that is the town of Rufisque. So, this past weekend, that is what we did.





So. As we were driving along at 50 mph with the ocean to our left, our left front wheel went into some water of underestimated depths -- instead of 1/4 inch, it turned out to (probably) be more like 2". So, that slows your one tire down, and the others continue their momentum and circle the car around and into the ocean. It all happened so fast, but I would say for about 3 seconds we were driving straight into the sea. All you could see was water. All you could hear was water crashing. Then, we turned the car parallel to the beach again and continued on our way. I have a very peculiar habit of laughing when I get nervous. I was laughing.

It was Dessi's first time forward-facing in the carseat, too! I wonder if she was thinking, 'Man, is this what ALWAYS happens up here?'



After two hours, we reached our beach exit and had to drive about 300 feet in deep sand to get back onto a road, and so we got a little stuck doing that. I pushed the car (Eric is a better driver) so that we could return to the hard-packed beach; the second time we went much faster (it felt really, really fast!) and that way you just sort of fly right over the sand without giving the wheels a chance to sink in. I suppose that's the logic, anyway. At any rate, we made it!

After the beach, we bumped along dirt roads, where little children stopped their games to run alongside the car, waving and shouting Bon Jours. As usual, lots of women were out, chatting and walking together with broad loads piled on their heads, and other Muslims returning from prayers (almost everyone is Muslim in Senegal). I don't normally photograph people -- it always feels inappropriate to me -- but these women created a sparkle you could see a mile away! I don't know what's up with everyone having the same outfit, or the glitter. School uniform? (But it was a Sunday.) Got the material wholesale? Don't know.



In Saint Louis, we decided to try Langue de Barbarie, a 600-mile preserve that stretches into Mauritania. This is a good time (winter) to see lots of birds as they migrate through Senegal, and we wanted to kayak around on our own versus using the motor-powered Pirogues that are required to see the better-known Djoudj national bird sanctuary, which is also in northwest Senegal.

We took our leaky little rented boat across a small inlet



walked around,



and were back in Saint Louis in time for lunch. We saw zero birds. Not one. Not even a seagull! As usual in Africa, the adventure was in the journey.

Cat Love

Dessi and Francie totally love each other. I have never seen a baby be so gentle and sweet with animals, and Francie for her part is either affectionate right back or at the very least she's pretty darned tolerant. She seems to LIKE Dessi's pat-pats, and sometimes she will put her kitty nose right up to Dessi's nose and squint her eyes in the totally affectionate groove usually reserved for her most special person. (Me.)

And also, LOOK!!! It's on video. I took this from my camera -- totally have given up on the camcorder.

Dessi Runs!

Dessi has decided that going faster is worth the downside of falling down faster and more often. Pretty darned cute. She's always been a bit of a daredevil -- even at 6 months old, I would put her in her bouncy seat and go all rodeo on her and she would just laugh her tail off. She loves the beach, getting thrown in the air, she doesn't ever mind loud noises or big trucks driving by -- she's really been in a lot of nutty situations, and she hasn't shown outright fear yet -- just some very prudent occasional hesitation.

Here she is, picking up some speed.



And then after the fall, just resting.



I have to say, she falls a LOT and she has possibly cried about it maybe four times. Maybe three. It is just amazing. I have seen her a few times after a tumble sort of think things over -- Do I hurt? Do I feel sad? -- and then either cry or just get on with her day. We consciously choose not to gasp or fuss over her falls (we figure, she's learning to walk, so of course she's going to fall), and we leave it to her to tell us how she's feeling or if she's hurt. As adoptive parents, you're always looking for ways to comfort your child, and I've read that we could use these falls to cuddle and bond, but we want her also to feel confident in her abilities, not to set it in her head that falling is a scary thing.

Here is Dessi and her most favorite person in the world, her daddy. (BTW, she only says dada. Dada, dadee, dadoo, dat. You name it. When I try to prompt her with a 'mama,' she responds with a dada. I'm just on the brink of not thinking it's funny anymore!!)



And finally, here we are choosing a Christmas tree!! (Doesn't Dessi look like she's having a blast?!)We chose a Norfolk pine from the nursery (it's the one right next to me). Oddly, this is the same species that my family always has had as our Christmas trees in Florida -- my mom never wanted a fake one or a dead real one, so we would buy a potted Norfolk pine and then plant it outside after Christmas. Which is what we're going to do with this one; they grow really well here.

Eid-al-Adha

Today, Muslims celebrate the story of Abraham and Isaac (where God as a test asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, but then at the last minute said he could switch him out for a lamb). To commemorate Abraham's willingness to obey God, any family that can afford to sacrifices a sheep and shares the meat with family, friends and the poor.

The holiday has different names all over the world. In West Africa, it's called Tabaski. The names all roughly translate to 'The Festival of Sacrifice,' and in West Africa it's a really big event.

Which means that every sheep that is fit to be tied, umn.. IS.











We were on the road for about two hours yesterday, and the photo ops just went on and on. While I would never begrudge anyone their holiday meal, I will say I was starting to feel pretty sorry for the little guys.

November

We've been in America again!!! First, to the homeland (Florida), where we spent a few days in Orlando (no Disney World for us -- that seemed like it had no potential for good, really). We DID hook up with my old college friend Smilee, though!!



And then onward to Hudson, Florida, where Dessi's grandparents live and where she met for the FIRST TIME her uncles, Dave and Mike, and her Aunt Liz,



We also got to reconnect with my brother, Uncle Kevvie -- whom I dearly miss hanging out with -- and his great family. Dessi's little cousins played so well with her, grandma and grandpa cheered her every move, and I really felt that she was just surrounded by so much love and adoration for the whole week. I think she felt that, too. It was great.

After Florida, we packed (and bundled) up and headed to Georgetown for a week of ... well, strolling around, mostly. We had lists of favorite restaurants we wanted to revisit, but as it turns out, that's almost impossible to do with no babysitter. We still had some fun, though! And the last night we did find a recommended sitter, so we got started at 5:30 pm and went to THREE restaurants (a drink and a snack at each one). That was a really nice date.

Here is Dessi in DC, trying to stay warm and not look too humiliated in this sweet little getup



Or in this one.



We actually bought her the hat and sweater because we are a little tired of people asking if she's a boy. I mean, yes. She has very short hair. But look at that face! She is a stunning beauty! (Am I biased?) I've always thought it was funny that parents dress girls in pink, boys in blue. But fergodsakes, this must be why.

And then finally, before our flight home, look who we saw in the airport!! I love him!!

Yes We Did!

Wow.

WOW!!!

I'm crying all alone on my couch in Dakar, Senegal. It's 4:17 am here, and Barack Obama has just been elected President.

I am so proud of my country. I am so happy for the world. I remember one of the first times I heard Obama speak - way before he declared his bid for the presidency. I was pretty mortified about the behavior of my country. I respected Obama so much. And as he was speaking, I realized that he sees in America all the things that Americans see in HIM. The poetry of ideals, of principles, of gratitude and grace and goodness. Of yes we can and yes we are.

And, also, phew!

...

On a personal note, here is us, trying to stay awake, with our noisemakers and Obama T-shirts and all-you-can-eat plates of brownies.



Here is Dessi on election night, giving Eric a high five for Obama!!!



Before Eric crashed at 3 am, I actually considered waking the baby up, just so she'd have something to look back on when she's in college -- a picture of herself with her politically obsessed, brownie-buzzed parents all sitting on the couch together the night Obama was elected President.

I have a feeling she'll grow up knowing all about it, anyway.

It's all my fault!!

Watch this! It is just too funny. And yet. And yet. It also made me almost throw up a little bit.

If you'd like to send it to all your friends, here's the link:

http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?nid=CAG2_bd9Nj9JyTa_NV4LhTEyODM4MA--&id=-10899267-I70ZlDx

There are other films on the website, including:
Cheney tapped to lead new Department of Ongoing Illegal Activities
Gore: For the Love of God, did You People Learn Nothing?!
and
Bush: I am Vindicated

I'm sorry, I never meant to have a political blog. But it's time! It's time! It's time!

Saly and Lac Rose

Eric's brother, nephew and mom are still visiting, so we took them to see Lac Rose and Saly.

The hotel in Saly, Les Amazones, rocked! It had a fabulous pool with a shallow end that slanted into steeper waters. Dessi played there all day long. Here she is showing off her balance



and crawling down the incline to daddy



We also had a waterfront backyard just maybe 50 feet from the ocean. Here's Cousin Aksel showing Dessi a thing or two. I believe he actually was saying to her just as this photo was taken, "OK, look at this, Dessi -- you're gonna love this!"



We went to Lac Rose, a shallow lake that turns a deep pink during the dry season (this is not) and at some magic time of day, purported with equal certainty to be morning, mid-day, or evening, depending on whom you ask. Regardless, we've yet to hit it right, but we had a really great time; the adults led the way over some small sand dunes (we had a big ol' truck) while Chris and Aksel four wheeled.



Afterward, we stayed a while at the lake side to watch the men mine salt from the lake bottom (they stand in the salty water up to their chests and dig the salt up with a shovel), and then the women help them put it into piles. Each of these piles is marked and belongs to a specific family.





We bought a 2-kilo bag for about $1.25.

Senegalese Safari

There are supposed to be big game animals in eastern Senegal, but it's a pain to get over there and, for the effort, one would be better served just going to Kenya. But about 90 minutes south of Dakar there is a private park called Bandia; it's probably more like Bush Gardens than Yellowstone, but at any rate you get driven around in a cool little safari truck



and get to see animals that could run away from you if they felt like it. Sometimes, as much as we hate to be a part of it, the tourist thing just WORKS.

We saw zebras



and giraffes (my favorite)



and a white rhino.



The white rhinos are endangered and are deadly animals during the "time of copulation," according to our guide (who was chased by this rhino during said time earlier this year), but this one, as you can see, seemed pretty unlikely even to lift his pretty little head off the ground.

Speaking of copulation, 'tis the season for tortoises, apparently.



This was a strange sight. The male was shouting out what sounded exactly like "WOW" every four seconds for the entire time we were standing there. (Which, for the rest of my family was about 30 seconds, but for me was about 5 minutes. I was fascinated.) The guide said they go on like that for up to two hours. Lordy.

First Birthday

This year's birthday was big for all the obvious reasons, but it also marked the day, six months prior, when we adopted Dessi from Ethiopia. Which means she has now known us for longer than she has not known us. Every day, I count my blessings and give my thanks and hope that I'm up to the task of being a mother to this pure little light of a baby, who has the sweetest, most trusting and open little heart I ever imagined any child could have.

Here she is at her party, preparing to open a present



and waving, as per our request, before very sweetly ripping the hat off her head.



I could say that she is walking now (four steps at a time, regrouping, and then four more), or feeding herself or going underwater a little bit in the pool, but really I want to say that she is so, so delighted with the world -- with meeting people and seeing things -- and that wherever she is, the people around her are laughing with her and exclaiming about how they have never seen such a happy baby. She makes jokes (and she laughs at her jokes), she makes a mess (she has recently discovered the bounty of food that we JUST LEAVE THERE IN THE REFRIGERATOR), and she cuddles and hugs and has started doing the sweetest little close-your-eyes-a-little thing where she still is looking at you but squinting and smiling as if to say, "MAN I love you just SO much!" (This is, of course, a mama's interpretation. Leave me be.)

The birthday party itself was a simple affair -- Eric, Uncle Chris, Grandma and Aksel returned around 4 pm from their trip to the northern town of Saint Louis, so we had cake (she's still off of wheat, milk, and egg whites and so had a creme fraiche and egg-yolk-only souffle thing which truly did look a little pathetic, but it had some sugar in it so she was psyched), and she opened her presents of books, a musical bunny, and a hammering toy, but mostly she worked at trying to steal Aksel's matchbox truck (which, who knew? The child likes trucks!)



Now, it is tomorrow. When she wakes up from her nap we'll have a trip to the pool, then lunch, a trip to the beach, then naps, then dinner and bed. A day like any other, and yet somehow, really, it does feel different to me. Even though it's just a technicality -- it's just math -- it feels like we've got some time under our belts now.

Steps

So, it is one week before her first birthday and Dessi has taken a step all on her own. Eric thinks it was two steps but, really, it was barely even one -- she moved her left foot but was already fully on the descent before her right got off the ground. My video camera works great but I've sort of lost interest in it because I can't get anything to download onto my computer anymore, so I don't have any of these mobility milestones recorded. Man, you should see her face, though! Concentration and then delight, time after time (as she stands alone). It's very zen.

In lieu of first-steps footage, I have this, which I just came across yesterday; it was taken last month and shows Dessi with her good friend Zola, who is out of town right now and we miss her!! (And her mom!!) There are always sweet, sweet moments when these two get together -- lots of kissing and eye-poking (gently gently, of course).



HI ZOLA AND AMBER!!!

A Whirlwind Trip Home

We are home!! It is still raining!!

To back up. One rainy morning I rose to feed my crying baby, splashed through the 2-inch puddle that was our foyer, and walked into our living room which, during the night, had been festooned from one end of the room to the other with the webs of five busy spiders. It was weird, and I suddenly was homesick.

So Dessi and I left Eric to work and have been in Whitefish, Mont., for the past three weeks. We had a fabulous, amazing, belly laugh of a trip. We saw grandmas and grandpas, aunties and all manner of friends who instantly fell in love with this new, practically grown up Dessi, and she for her part learned to clap; wave bye bye; stand on her own for five to 20 seconds; feed herself (what a relief!); undo her own diapers (not so much!); and "talk." (She is consistently using particular grunting noises to mean particular things. I count this. She also grew her first two teeth.

What a ham she is! After three days of getting used to her adoring fans, she just started soaking it up. She would clap or wave and then look around to see who was going to give her a cheer for her success. It was really heartwarming, and it was good for her to be around so many other people.

Here she is in our garden





Feeding herself:



Waving ...



Double waving ...



Clapping ...



And being silly.



Here are Dessi and Auntie Cheryl:



We also took a camping trip to Calgary to see this gigantic international horse jumping competition.

One cold morning (it rained both nights. Blech.) ...



With Derreck, after the show ...



Riding a horse! (No jumping yet ...)



And with our friend Lesley ...



The stadium was okay but pretty crowded and challenging for an 11-month-old's attention span. Here we are upon arrival:



And this is after about 20 minutes:



And lastly, Lesley, Jenny and I took a three-day shopping trip to Seattle, where we stayed with the Young clan and ate sushi (at speed-eating rates so as to not interfere with the shopping) and laughed a LOT.

Here is Dessi with Grandma Ginny



And at the Nordstrom's shoe department! Yeah!




And now we're home. Dessi's doing well now, last night was the first night (out of last five) that she slept through the night. This is sorta jetlag, and sorta just because she stayed awake the whole flight and got home and was just ravaged schedule-wise. Which has really sucked for me, because my husband can sleep (and does) through anything; he says I should just nudge him and he'll get up and take care of her, but somehow in the middle of the night I just get bitter about it and storm off to the baby's room. :) It does not serve me well, particularly because he is not awake to see it. Plus when I get up for more than 10 minutes, I'm up for hours. (I can't go back to sleep.) Which has left me reviwing lots of Sarah Palin footage, which is not a sleep-inducer, either. 'Nuff said.