Our Little Mermaid

     This little girl has become quite the little fish in the past month!  She likes nothing better than to be in water, any water at all.  (Unfortunately this also includes doggy drinking water and soapy mopping water.)  When we first arrived here in Brazil, she wanted to play in her cousin's swimming pool, but she did not want to wear water wings, or an innertube, or a life vest.  She would have nothing of the sort!  On our last swimming visit, suddenly she decided that the floaty vest had become a necessary accessory, which made us all feel a little more at ease.  What was even better though, was as she continued playing in the water, she wanted to add more and more floaties to her outfit.  As you can see, in the end there was really no way this child could sink!  

     And since I'm on my favorite topic (Lissie, of course), let me tell you a little more about how she is enjoying our new home:  I think one of her favorite new games is "How high can I climb?"  I often find her sitting next to (or in this case, IN) the bathroom sinks.  I think she has decided that since mommy uses these hair products so much, maybe she should too.  She also greatly enjoys brushing her teeth, as many times a day as we let her.  (To be honest, there really isn't so much brushing that occurs, as there is sucking on her toothbrush.  But if it gets her in a healthy habit, I can't really complain, right?)  Often when it is time for her to go to bed or take a nap, she can be heard saying "Brush???  Brush???" and becomes very upset if we skip this very important brushing.  Luckily she has not yet found a way to climb on top of kitchen counters and shelves!

   One of my favorite of her new activities recently has been listening to her sing.  She has always enjoyed listening to music since the day she was born, so it wasn't too surprising to me when she starting singing "Geekle Geekle Tah" (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and doing the "Eency Weency Spider" finger motions.  Now occasionally we hear her practicing some new songs in her repertoire, including the ABC Song, Elmo's Song (the one with all the La La Las), and "Hot Potato" (from The Wiggles).  With her new-found interest in the ABC song, she also enjoys repeating the letters in her first name - "E L....(waits for prompting from Mommy) .... S S S S..."  Yeah she kinda gets hung up on the S's, but it's a start, right?

   It's amazing how quickly she is growing and learning new things, and I am especially impressed at how well she has done amidst so many changes.  She has made herself very much at home in our house, sleeps well at night (with the exception of teething times), and continues to enjoy constantly exploring the big world around her.  No she is not fluent in Portuguese yet, or English for that matter, but we are learning together. :)  My worries about months of sleepless nights have been put at ease, and I am able to sit back and just enjoy watching her grow.  Lissie is awesome!!!