like a da Vinci

da Vinci used mirror writing (writing backwards) in his private writing and notes to himself.  

Abigail likes to write things up-side-down.  Sometimes for fun, we have seen her draw a smiley face or other thing up-side-down and then rotate her paper 180 degrees and exclaim with happiness when it looks "right". She shows of her work that way too:  "look, I did this one up-side-down."

I was sitting to the left on this picture, and Abigail to the right

Today, she asked me how to draw a ghost.  Since we were sitting across from each other on a table, I drew a ghost up-side-down, so that she could see it properly as I drew it.  Then she said "I want to do it."  She proceeded to draw a ghost for me, which was up-side-down for her.  

I hope this shows good spatial skills.

Wordless Wednesday: Puddle Pouncing

Finally! A picture of the elusive Dinosaur.

Abigail's friend, whom we have never met, is Dinosaur.  Dinosaur first came into our lives last fall and was a great companion for our 3 year old.  He enjoyed playing with her, particularly running and chasing games in the basement.  He could make her squeal with delight and giggle like it was impossible to stop.  He kept her company at night.  Sometimes we were surprised to arrive by car to a destination, only to find out that Dinosaur had hitched a ride on the roof or was hiding under Abigail's car seat.  

Recently, Dinosaur's relationship with Abigail has evolved.  While he is still a great playmate, he can also exasperate Abigail.  In the middle of a quiet family dinner, she may suddenly burst out with "DINOSAUR!  You need to finish. Your.  Dinner.  You did not ask to be es'cused!"  Or she may sigh dramatically and roll her eyes "Dinosaur is frustrating to me.  He keeps breaking all of my toys."  And very lately, Dinosaur has taken on the role of Abigail's scapegoat.  When Larry asked Abigail where she hid a package he needed to mail, she didn't even look up from her puzzle to say "You'll have to ask Dinosaur.  He was playing with it last."  Or when I requested that Abigail stop resetting the timers on our lights, she said flatly "Dinosaur did it, not me."

Last night, Abigail was hanging out with her Aunt Kim, using her phone to take pictures.  Among pics of Kim's dog and other household items, Abigail declared that she had taken a picture of Dinosaur.  

Of course we were beyond excited to finally have a picture of this fickle and elusive friend!

Sunday Snapshot: Hanami Day

Abigail and her Aunt Steph

Lar and I tried to get just 1 usable pic
to use in our dossier.  No luck there!!

Welcome to Pandas and Superheros

I have moved all of the blog entries about Abigail and her adoption into this blog.

That way, I can have all of the entries about both kids and both adoptions in one place.

Yes, that's right!  We have begun the process to bring home a sibling from China for Abigail.

The name of the blog refers to the cute animals native to the birth country of my children, and my first child's obsession with superheros!


(picture of Abigail in a very interesting outfit!)

Sunday Snapshot: Bring on the warm weather

Easter and Update

It was a treat that Abigail had her Aunt Steph and
Uncle Jim visit for a large portion of the weekend.
They enjoyed reading "Never Smile at a Monkey,"
which is the most morbid children's book ever.

Some crazy Bunny apparently hid eggs all over the
yard for Abigail to find.  She made short work of
the job before it began to rain.

Abigail, her mouth full of chocolate I think,
with her Mama and Baba on Easter morning.

The egg loot.