Sunny Smiles

Here we are in sunny Florida - the weather has been great and Ariana has been charming everyone here. Everyone, except for the nasty woman in the pool who made her way over to us just to say "you know children aren't allowed in here".

Now, we have been going every day since we got here - Ariana laughing and splashing and having a fine time; the residents laughing and splashing and commenting on just how cute she is. Not once did I hear anything about her not being allowed. And I said as much to the woman in the pool. Nicely. She replied "Well, those are the rules". "Really?" I said, "I don't see that posted anywhere". "Well, I know" she replied. I ignored her. She continued "this is for adults only". Oh just shut up (no I did not say this out loud, because I am a nice person).

We made our way to the other end for awhile and then got out as planned. As we walked towards our towels, she commented on how cute Ariana was. I didn't reply. She didn't deserve it.


While we have spent most of the time here visiting with grandma, we did visit with new friends Glenda and Samantha yesterday. One of the many wonderful aspects of adoption, in particular Chinese adoption, is this amazing network of people all over the world. Through Families with Children from China, a worldwide organization, I was able to connect with Glenda. We spent the morning at a little water park and then had lunch and ice cream. It was nice Ariana and I got a chance to play with people our own ages.

Ariana has made friends with two of the residents here - Sydney, who she now calls "my boyfriend" and Dorothy, a woman who gives her rides in her wheelchair. In the dining room, she travels between them and her plate, keeping the waiters and waitresses on their toes. She is warming up to Basil and Dorothy, my mother's table mates, but they are not quite as much fun.

We leave tomorrow to meet baba in Washington, where she will have a whole new group of people to charm. I know she is up to the task.