Help please, agua.

We returned to the water park this afternoon. SS was not pleased about the hat I made her wear. It covers her neck and ears, and that is what matters to us. She tried to take it off the entire time we were there. Unusual for her, since she loves hats. Sure take it off, then we go home. SS had a great time in the lazy lagoon. We had a double inner tube, but she enjoys being in the water. P and I sit in the inner tube, and we take turns holding her in front of us. Every so often, we take turns with her in the water. She spent close to 45 minutes in the water, kicking her feet, blowing bubbles, floating on her back (with her PFD, of course), and pretending to be a shark, attacking her Mama. After some slide and pool fun, we returned to the lazy lagoon for an encore, sans inner tube.

It is remarkable how inconsiderate teens and adults can be. People did not care that a little girl was in the water and would try to plow over her. P and I had to push several inner tubes and glare at swimmers. You know, that "don't you dare get close to my child or I will kill you" look. SS took matters into her own hands. I do not know what was the trigger, but at a point, SS yelled at some teens in an inner tube "HEY, NO!" The teen girl was stunned and it seemed she was going to respond, when she met my glare. Problem solved. Later, just before P and I could put our hand out, SS pushed and inner tube and said, "GO." Do not invade SS's personal space. She is no longer on Chinese boundaries, she's got her new home's boundaries down.

We did not reprimand her for speaking up. Yes, we were pretty surprised, since SS was the smallest child in that lagoon. It takes guts to stand up for yourself when everyone around you outweighs you, and towers over you. Plus, it was darn funny. SS will have to deal with being the smallest child probably 98% of the time. We want her to find her voice and be confident. Let's face it, children are cruel creatures and bullies abound. Girls are the worst offenders, as they not only bully physically, but also emotionally. While most girls will be participating in gymnastics and dance (nothing wrong with that), SS will be learning martial arts. Watch out world.

SS surprised me by using her first English-Spanish combo. I was holding her in front of the inner tube, and I lifted her half-way up. She squirmed, then stunned me by saying, "Help please, agua." My little girl wanted me to drop her in the water. I was so excited, and know I made a fool out of myself, by congratulating SS on her word choice. SS already has down ojos (eyes), ombligo (navel), coco (coconut), pelo (hair), manos (hands), and is not as clear on many others, like arroz (rice). She can repeat much of what we say in Spanish.

I did not know that becoming an adoptive parent causes deafness. We were getting ready to leave, when a woman very close to us noticed SS and alerted her friend. No biggie that we clearly heard her say, "Look, hurry, look at her, the cutest Chinese girl." The friend looks, and they gush, yeah big yawn. Then the second woman turns to her friend and asks, "Well, what's the deal, is SHE (me) the mother?" Oh, wise, loud woman, here's a bit of advice, your friend knows as much as you do about us. If you are so interested, asks us, not your equally loud and equally clueless friend. Also, we are adoptive parents, we are not deaf. For the record, we were not signing to SS at the time. Even if we were, we always sign and talk.

OK, I'm ready to hit the water.

Wiped out after swimming her tiny buns off. We rewarded her with a nutritious meal of french fries and a vanilla shake. The sad part is that we are not kidding.

Happy after inhaling her fries and shake.