today

Well, I found the cure for insomnia. During life before Moses, I had to fight to make myself go to bed at midnight. I'm just a high-energy person who normally hates to sleep. But now, I'm looking at the clock at eight, wondering if it can make it until ten.

Don't think I'm complaining. I actually LOVE this! I have so rarely felt tired in my life, I am amazed by how sweet rest can feel when you're totally zonked. It's almost as good of a feeling as a productive blowing of your nose when a really bad head cold starts clearing. (And with that word picture, Mom is REALLY wishing she hadn't shared my blog address with all her friends.)

The days here are busy but sweet. Moses is coming more into color every day.

I took him to the bookstore yesterday. I was a little scared about how it might feel to be the only Chinese kid in a totally white kids' section. I shouldn't have worried. He found a boy about seven years older than he was looking at a book. He snuggled in right next to him, and started asking questions (in Chinese) about what he was reading. Totally confident. Totally expecting that big kid to have nothing better to do than humor him. And the older boy loved it.

JD's late soccer games in the heat are tough. He gets wiggly and tired. But he's still a very good boy, and he's doing WAY better than I had imagined he would.

It's interesting to see him deciding that he doesn't like certain foods. This is a change from the compulsive, ravenous sort of eating he did the first week or two. He now seems to realize that more food is coming his way, and so he can be a little choosier. I stifled a giggle when he shut his lips tightly against a spoonful of baked beans tonight. I don't want him being defiant, but I'm so thankful the desperation of hunger is becoming a thing of the past.

His favorite foods? Green beans are a huge hit! (He says, "Green greens.") He loves fresh tomatoes. Zucchini, squash, broccoli. Meat (if it is soft). Rice. Fruit snacks. Skittles. Pizza. Candy. Yogurt.

Dislikes? He can't understand why we eat so much bread. He's not a huge fan of super sweet desserts like cakes/brownies. Milk.

Better run. Daddy is done with his bathtime, and I need to kiss him goodnight. I'll try to add pictures soon.

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leftie rightie

‘Just a moment to update.

We started home-preschool this morning. It’s my first experience teaching a “leftie”, and I’m surprised by how much difference it makes when you’re holding a child in your lap drawing together. I can write a little bit with my left hand (thank goodness), so I finally just switched and did my best on the awkward side.

Moses loves to learn, but it seems that he hasn’t done much one-on-one school up to this point. We did a few interactive papers on the number “1”, circles, the letter “A”, and basic handwriting motions. He’s still learning how to make a crayon go the right direction, but I feel like his mind grasps most concepts easily, especially considering our language barrier. I wish I knew how to translate more of what I’m teaching into Chinese. He is picking up more than his share of slack, though, learning English quickly.

Leaving the kids at school has been hard for him in the mornings. He doesn’t cry, but I can tell he’s wondering why we would drive all that way to just leave two of our favorite people in a building for eight hours. (I have the same question, BTW.)

One of the things I appreciate about Moses, though, is his trust. He’s been through so many transitions, and his world is totally new now. But he already loves us deeply, and he seems to believe that whatever we have in store for him is good, even if he doesn’t understand it. I wish I could download that sort of faith. It’s a hard concept for a worst-case scenario, control freak to grasp. Especially in the midst of chaos.

I was reading something in The Gospel Primer (Milton Vincent) yesterday about how understanding the depth of God’s love for us could free us from self-love-based fear. (When Moses goes down for a nap, I’ll try to remember to find the actual quote and add it.) I see that freedom lived out in this little guy. I wonder if they make spiritual jumper cables?

Better run. It looks like we’re playing Bananagrams next... :)

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kipper

The big kids are at school all day today, so it's my first day at home alone with Moses. It's gone really well so far. We got some housework started, and we played with some toys. Then, we found some good videos to watch and games to play online.

We didn't watch a lot of TV with JD and Clara when they were little. But since Moses is needing to learn a new language, certain kids' shows seem really helpful. Particularly, we are loving Kipper the Dog. The pace of that show is slow and calm, a lot of the action takes place to music (so he can infer what is happening without words), and there many simple phrases spoken one at a time.

Little Bear was my favorite when the big kids were small. I can't find those programs online anywhere, so if someone knows the answer to that, I'd love to hear it.

Better run. Moses just finished his fish sticks and apples. Time for a story and nap. He just crawled up in my lap and said, "Night, night!" Haha!

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garden tomatoes and octopus legs

I'm still getting over jet lag, so here's another brief post. Hopefully the photos will make up for what I'm too tired to type.

Highlights from today:

1.) One good thing is that Bobby found the cooked octopus leg JD had tried to save from the pineapple rice we ate at the Thai restaurant in Guangzhou. A bad thing is that he found it in the DRYER. (Apparently the spin cycle takes the little sucky cups off octopus legs. Those are yet to be found.)

2.) Moses is really enjoying all of the fresh food available here, and he adores tomatoes. He helped us pick garden vegetables that are just getting ripe, and he was so proud to help us bring them in the house. He ate a few before they made it inside... and a few more before they made it to the kitchen counter.

3.) I keep falling asleep at random times. I was trying to tuck Moses down for a nap yesterday and ended up falling asleep in his bed. I had this super weird dream that one of those lizards with massive flappy ear-things that runs on hot desert sand kept smacking into my face and sticking like one of those jelly-hands you get from a quarter-machine at cheap pizza places. When I woke up, I realized Moses hadn't slept, but he was kissing me on the cheek. Smack. Smack. :)

4.) I tried to give Moses a haircut tonight. I cut Bobby and JD's hair, so technique wasn't a problem. I did learn not to let the 3-year-old hold the buzzers while I grab the comb. (Stupid jetlag mistake.) Of course, he tried to help me finish the job. Thank goodness, I caught him after just a tiny notch had been taken out of one side, but we almost had a skinhead baby.

5.) Moses still adores JD. You can probably tell from the photos that he never wants to leave big brother's side. JD is being so patient, too. I bet it's going to be tough on the little guy when school starts. :( I am NOT looking forward to that.

OK, too tired to write any more. Thanks for keeping tabs. Night night!

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at the park

'Too tired to write tonight. 'Just going to attach some photos of our day at the park.

My house is a wreck. My flower beds are overgrown. But I can't resist watching him explore a whole new world outside.

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful boy. I'm so happy to be a part of his life.

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meeting people

The kids had orientation at school last night. JD and Clara really wanted to take Moses so they could introduce him to their friends.

It was pretty crazy. Moses was tired because he’s still recuperating from jet lag, and he was also overwhelmed with all of the excitement. So many people have been praying for him, it was beautiful to see all the rush to meet him. I so wish he had the capacity to understand the love behind the joyful swarm of faces that were so new to him. But he’s only been on the ground a few days here, and I think he just wasn’t sure what to do with it all.

He didn’t understand the language, the body mannerisms, or the hustle and bustle of attention all focused on him. This is a child who has normally had to share one adult's attention with a ton of other kids, so having a whole bunch of adults interested him at once is very new. He’s never had that experience of being taken places and “fussed over” by doting grandparents, friends, etc.

He wasn’t really “bad”, he was just overwhelmed. He was arching his back, avoiding eye contact, wiggling, and generally not sure what to do with himself. I finally took him out to the playground to just give him some room. Then, some people who wanted to meet him came out there. That was a MUCH better dynamic than asking a tired three-year-old to be quiet in a crowded hallway.

SOOOO, if I had last night to do over again (for those of you who are going to face similar situations soon) I would have started out by finding a safe place like the playground where Moses could just play while people met him.

Now, I need to think through how to apply all this on Sunday morning. I know a lot of folks will be eager to see him then, too...

Hmmm...

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Splash Park.

'Not much time to write today, but I wanted to share some photos of our first day at the splash park. Moses was scared at first, but then he LOVED it. It was so cool watching him play in the water and sun.

Making slow progress on fear of dogs. He watched them out the windows for maybe an hour total. Touched Betsy (the golden) once. The mini-schnauzer still freaks him out. That makes life complicated temporarily, but we're trying to give him time to adjust.

JD made the Duplo bass. Very cool. Kudos to him on that. Best big brother on the planet.

Finished off the afternoon with a soft serve from Mc Donald's. My house is a wreck. We're all tired. But it was a great day.

Tonight at dinner, JD asked, "Is getting a new kid always this much fun? I feel so proud of my little brother!" Clara agreed. We were prepared for all sorts of emotional trauma and a long healing period. I almost feel guilty for how much pure joy there is. It's not at all like I thought it would be. Sheer, unadulterated FUN. We thought he needed us, but now we are seeing how much the four of us needed him.

P.S. Moses ate his first fresh tomato off the vine today. LOVED it.

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