Tropical Paradiso

One of bittersweet things about adopting a child past infancy is that you may grieve about all the stages of babyhood that you missed: first smile, first steps, first tooth. To be truthful about it though, I'm not that bothered. I like other people's babies, mainly because I'm not up all hours feeding them and changing their poopy diapers. I enjoy older kids more because they are more like small people. They have their own characters, ideas & opinions formed, and I like relating to who they are in these stages of childhood. The way I see it, Mena is still going to have a lot of firsts with us, because she's never lived in a family before. This is going to make for plenty of fun & hijinx!

Each time I visit I'm sure to bring a small treat for a snack. As I said before, the kids eat pretty good- they just lack fresh fruit & vegetables in a quantity that Canadians are used to, as they are pretty expensive by Ukrainian standards. Hell, many Canadian families don't eat enough either because they are expensive! In any case, I am having great fun watching Mena sample things for the first time. Probably the most exotic thing she has tried so far is pineapple. I bought one in the supermarket, and sliced it I to long sticks that she could hold, and I brought her 3 of them.

When I arrived she made a beeline to my bag of course to see what Ma had cooked up for today. I unwrapped the pineapple and gave her a spear. She took it in both hands and bit into it and got the shock of her life when she discovered how juicy and drippy it was! Juice was going down her front, her sleeves, all over her chin- it made such a mess! Of course Miss Tidy can't stand dirty hands, so she was looking everywhere for a Kleenex.I forgot to bring some so I told her to wait, and asked her if she wanted another which she waved away with her hand like I was Jeeves. Funny!

Yesterday was mandarin oranges. Same drippy experience ensued, this time we were both in stitches laughing and laughing. Then she tried jamming her hands into her coat pockets looking for kleenex- this kid is like an old lady always with the Kleenex, I swear! Again, neither of us had any, so she did the funniest thing: she made this face and shrugged- but she used her entire body to really capture the feeling of futility, and we both just looked at each other and began laughing again. There is something about her that's completely different to any child I have ever met; it's like she has such an old soul in her 4 year old body. Some of the mannerisms she has are really hysterical, and these are the moments I am going to remember forever rather than the "firsts" of babyhood that are missing. I think these ones are so much better, in any case.

And for any who disagree, I have 3 magic words for you: Already Toilet Trained.