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.