It’s been a while since I wrote an update on Anna’s progress but it has been a busy summer. Last month we went to visit the family in South Florida and we had an exciting time.
On the first day there they were pouring the foundation for my mom’s building, and while we were visiting the site, I had the idea of having Anna leave her footprints or handprints in the fresh cement. The cement was setting up (actually, we waited a little too long) so we got the cameras ready. It took two tries, a nice construction worker “erased” our first attempt and the second one went much better. Afterwards, we visited my dad’s office to say “Hi” but he had an appointment so we didn’t stay long. Then we went home and ate.
On the second day we wanted to take Anna to see some animals, which she has been really enjoying. There are a lot of options to go see animals of varying degrees of quality. Flamingo Gardens, Lion Country Safari, Butterfly World, Miami Zoo, Miami Aquarium, I think there’s a Sea World or something nearby. Most of the more “commercial” ventures (the first three above) are priced similarly, but due to distance we decided to go to Flamingo Gardens. We had a nice time and there was certainly a lot to look at. The peacocks were mating and Anna “ooh”ed at their feathery displays. They also had some very old, large tortoises, and lots of little turtles. After a while the mosquitos were getting thick and Anna tired so we went home to rest and eat.
On the third day we decided to take Anna to the beach. We tried to go early before the sun got too strong but by the time we got there Anna was asleep. We waited for her to wake up and we set up towels on the beach. Leigha took Anna down to the water while I photographed and video taped like wanna-be papparazzi. Anna liked the water but the sand sticking to her skin bugged her out. I took Anna down to the water but by then she was over it. We walked to the car and tried to get as much sand off of her as we could. We later learned that there is a great trick with talcum powder, but at the time we just flogged her with towels until most of the sand was gone. Then we drove home and ate.
We decided that Anna need a break from us. Some time to get to know some new people. So we reluctanctly left her (actually we floored it all the way to Orlando). We spent that night and the next day with Vlad and Katie in Orlando. We went to Animal Kingdom, but you’re not here to read about us, are you?
On Sunday we left and got quite the surprise when we got home. Anna was saying “Iaia” and giving her kisses when asked, which was a huge thrill for Iaia. On Monday we took Anna to Roger and Smyrna’s house for dinner. They have a big dog that Anna was interested in but he was jumpy and barky and Anna got scared of him. Along the way Anna “swam” a whole bunch in the wading pool my mom got her. We finally came back on Tuesday from a long and exciting trip to Florida.
Leigha and Renee took Anna to the beach a week ago while I was traveling on business. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to go super well considering the luck we had when we took her to the beach in Florida. However, apparently it went much better the second time around. Perhaps it was the company but Anna apparently enjoyed the beach quite a bit. Leigha said she showed her how to get water and throw it on the sand so she could build stuff with the sand. And they went for a walk along the water with Anna picking up shells (and rocks) and putting them in her little bucket. She wasn’t perfectly behaved, I’m told, but she did enjoy the beach much more than I expected.
