Although we thought we were done with The Year of Firsts, we took the kids to their First Amusement Park this weekend! If you haven't been, I highly recommend Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, Connecticut for families with little ones (or a mix of littles and bigs).
Daniel spotted the roller coaster from the parking lot, and immediately this became his favorite place ever. He went on every ride (we'd let him on), and some twice. Then we went to the water slide area, and he was in 6 year old boy heaven. Standing under a giant bucket that randomly pours a ton of water on your head, the force of which knocks you to the ground? GREATEST THING EVER!!!! He would have stayed there for the rest of his life.
It turns out that we have two little daredevils on our hands. Two-year-old girl looooovves the kiddie roller coaster and the "frog jumper" and the train going through the dark tunnel and the helicopter that flies up, up, up... she was squealing and clapping her hands all day. More! Faster! Higher! More! More! Daniel went on the roller coaster with the only adult who could stomach it (thank you Uncle Lee!), and I've never seen him grin wider.
There is a funny internal debate that most adoptive parents do constantly. It is kind of like the nurture/nature debate, and similar to the "She's more like you! no! She's more like YOU!" thing that all parents do. We adoptive moms and dads are always asking ourselves, is this behavior or personality trait just them, or is it inherited from their first family, or is it because they were adopted?
Is Lily an outgoing, curious, sensory seeking child because of her early deprivation and adoption as a toddler? Or not? Is Daniel a brooding, curious, non-stop question-asking kid because of his early trauma and then adoption as a young boy? Or not? Are the like their first parents in these ways? Would they be daredevils if they still lived on a farm in Africa? Or is that kind of risk taking behavior normal there? After all, they have to learn to be independent much earlier than most American kids.
Once during our weekly dinner at Ghenet an older Ethiopian man who was eating with the family of the owner started to play and talk with Lily. When I came by and started swinging her up to the ceiling (to her squeals of delight), he shook his head and said, "oh no, no, no, we don't play with girls like that."
So would Lily be brought up to be a quieter, more inhibited version of herself if she was still with her Ethiopian family? (Would her first mother be aghast at her antics here!?)
Silly, un-answerable questions. Even Daniel can provide little insight. Although he did once tell me that in Ethiopia, no one was "the boss of him." The grass is always greener, kid. The grass is always greener.
Daniel using the phrases "My First Family would never make me do this!" or "I want to go back to Ethiopia!" to try and distract from a consequence or chore is a whole other blog post!
We're already looking forward to next year's trip to Quassy (aka, Paradise). Next weekend, we'll be hitting Coney Island. I'd better buy some Dramamine.
Daniel spotted the roller coaster from the parking lot, and immediately this became his favorite place ever. He went on every ride (we'd let him on), and some twice. Then we went to the water slide area, and he was in 6 year old boy heaven. Standing under a giant bucket that randomly pours a ton of water on your head, the force of which knocks you to the ground? GREATEST THING EVER!!!! He would have stayed there for the rest of his life.
It turns out that we have two little daredevils on our hands. Two-year-old girl looooovves the kiddie roller coaster and the "frog jumper" and the train going through the dark tunnel and the helicopter that flies up, up, up... she was squealing and clapping her hands all day. More! Faster! Higher! More! More! Daniel went on the roller coaster with the only adult who could stomach it (thank you Uncle Lee!), and I've never seen him grin wider.
There is a funny internal debate that most adoptive parents do constantly. It is kind of like the nurture/nature debate, and similar to the "She's more like you! no! She's more like YOU!" thing that all parents do. We adoptive moms and dads are always asking ourselves, is this behavior or personality trait just them, or is it inherited from their first family, or is it because they were adopted?
Is Lily an outgoing, curious, sensory seeking child because of her early deprivation and adoption as a toddler? Or not? Is Daniel a brooding, curious, non-stop question-asking kid because of his early trauma and then adoption as a young boy? Or not? Are the like their first parents in these ways? Would they be daredevils if they still lived on a farm in Africa? Or is that kind of risk taking behavior normal there? After all, they have to learn to be independent much earlier than most American kids.
Once during our weekly dinner at Ghenet an older Ethiopian man who was eating with the family of the owner started to play and talk with Lily. When I came by and started swinging her up to the ceiling (to her squeals of delight), he shook his head and said, "oh no, no, no, we don't play with girls like that."
So would Lily be brought up to be a quieter, more inhibited version of herself if she was still with her Ethiopian family? (Would her first mother be aghast at her antics here!?)
Silly, un-answerable questions. Even Daniel can provide little insight. Although he did once tell me that in Ethiopia, no one was "the boss of him." The grass is always greener, kid. The grass is always greener.
Daniel using the phrases "My First Family would never make me do this!" or "I want to go back to Ethiopia!" to try and distract from a consequence or chore is a whole other blog post!
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| "You are the best Dad ever!" " I feel a little sick, son" |
We're already looking forward to next year's trip to Quassy (aka, Paradise). Next weekend, we'll be hitting Coney Island. I'd better buy some Dramamine.
You have inspired a trip to Ct. Really interesting questions.
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