Monday, May 26, 2008

First Full Day with Our Son



What a great day! For a little boy facing so many changes, there were only a few meltdowns. Periodically, JunJun (aka, Addison) would put on his backpack and say over and over in Mandarin, "I want to go home." Heartbreaking. On the plus side, though, by the end of the day, he began to let me comfort him by rubbing the back of his head and back. It didn't make him stop crying, but he was much calmer. I think he's doing fantastic.

We spent the day doing paperwork, as you can see in some of the photos. We went to the notary and the police station, which was very interesting. I asked if we could take a photo of the police man who was doing Addison's paperwork and got a big N-O.

We spent the afternoon at Super Walmart (yes, I said Walmart) getting a few necessities and then we hung out around the hotel while our guide took care of more paperwork. We were all a bit tired, so this was just fine. (By the way, a Walmart in China is not exactly the same as a Walmart in America. For example, last I checked, ours doesn't have a "spicy stand" with fresh food such as chicken feet, pigs feet, tofu and curd, etc. Much of it looked a bit, well... icky, but it smelled great. Also, you don't see large packages of anything like you see at home, but this makes sense as many apartments are about 400 - 500 square feet and might have a husband, wife, child and grandparents.)

Addison loves bathtime, although he was very unsure at first -- not wanting to even sit down all the way. When I poured water over his head to rinse the shampoo (which his foster mother said he didn't mine), I was convinced he had not completely experienced this before. He did not care for it at first, but by the end of bath time was dumping water over his head himself. :)

We heard his first two English words today: "Tigger" and "Car" All boy!

Other great news: He hasn't had the pacifier in 24 hours and we replaced the violent Kung Fu show with Winnie the Pooh. We didn't show him any tv in the morning and he did not have a meltdown. In the afternoon, we watched Winnie the Pooh together and he laughed (see pic of him with an open mouth of french fries - he was laughing hard) and laughed. Ironically, he laughs at he parts that upset Kate - when things crash, spill, when characters fall from a tree, etc. Should be interesting to see them together.

What Addison loves:
1. Cars - we bought him some little plastic cars at Walmart and he was thrilled for hours. He even took his cars to bed with him.
2. Sweets - foster mother gave him chewy, hard chocolate candies on a regular basis and his teeth show it. I think yesterday was the first time he's experienced a toothbrush -- I only got one swipe, but we'll get there.
3. Climbing
4. His backpack - this seems to be his comfort item right now.
5. Forks - we gave him on for the first time and he LOVES using it and is quite proficient. He uses it for EVERYTHING.
6. French fries, rice, watermelon.
7. His new papa - in the pic of him laying on Scott's chest, he initiate that. So very, very sweet.

Interesting details about our boy:
1. He's got some funky feet. Anyone ever seen something like this? I wonder if it will be something that requires surgery....
2. His head is flat in the back like Kate's -- it must be a Southern China thing.


Thank you SO MUCH for your comments, emails and prayers. We were pretty nervous about this new adventure and felt / feel your love from across the globe.

Thank you Cindy and Russ for taking care of our baby girl -- the pictures and stories made our day. Scott and I think you need to start being a little mean to her or she's not going to want to come home!

To see pics and stories of Kate, go to http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kateathome.
And many, many thanks to our parents who helped make this possible. You've got a grandson you are going to adore -- although get ready to say "No, please don't climb on that" or "We don't hit when we don't get our way." His winning smile is worth it all, though.

Scroll down later for a post about our first day in China. I'll be adding it. I've included a few pics especially for Viera High School - included a jade hawk that I think is out of our budget and a "squatty potty" that I've told my students about. They're not as bad as they look.

And for those of you anxiously awaiting some pearls of wisdom from Scott, be sure to stay tuned for "The Beer Post." We'll also be adding photos and stories about Guiyang - a place we love for its character and quirkiness, not to mention the makeshift barber shop and open storefront dentistry.

With love from Guiyang,

The Lucky Ones

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Soooo cute. Bonus that he is potty trained, proficient with a fork and likes to laugh! What about size? He appears to be about Kate's size. As far as the toes are concerned, do you think it could be from crowding his toes into shoes that were too small? That's the way it appears. But, certainly, something that can be easily "repaired" in the states. Look forward to more posts and more pictures.
Hugs, Mom

Karen BeTheChange said...

What a GREAT post! Addison could not be cuter... I'm so relieved to hear things are going pretty smoothly for him and for you. Much love from Florida.

Patricia said...

LOVE HIM!!!!! Sounds like he's got a wonderful personality! And I'm glad that things are going relatively smoothly!! Our prayers continue from NYC!!
Love ya!!
Patricia/NYC

Patricia said...

Oh! Don't know about the toes, but guessing that his shoes may have been too small? And btw, Kiara also has a pretty flat head in the back...no need to worry AT ALL!! :)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great day! We'll show Kate the new pictures in the morning. I'm off to post some pics from our beach day!
Give Addison a big hug from his Aunt Cindy! (Put in a good word for me before Kate tells him about Uncle Russ!)

The Lewises said...

He's definitely adorable! Love the photo of him on Scott...too precious. Glad you don't have to deal with "it", but won't you have to make sure "those" are clean after a, um, bm? Hey, that's what the dads are for...go for it, Scott! :D Caroline

P.S. Dunno about the feet. Want us to ask around?

bamboosprouts said...

The lucky ones indeed! Congratulations on your handome little guy. :)

Anonymous said...

Looks like a super boy,we are going to get along just fine.
love Opa

The Book Divas said...

He's darling! And he sounds like such a BOY! I'm so glad things are going well!

The Lucky Ones said...

I am so very excited to meet Addison.We are Sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for more pics. Words(maybe your words)can not express the joy you are sharing. His toes look like boy toes. Remember they are froma different planet!
Love ya Michelle

Barbie said...

He is adorable and seems to be doing so well! He has the cutest smile! Our Ryan is ALL boy too but with lots of sweetness.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

Karen said...

Congratulations on your beautiful son!

Karen

Laurie McLean said...

Melanie, I think he looks PERFECT! Adorable, wonderful, fabulous and Perfect! (Again!)

As to the funky feet...Caleb has funky toes. It's like his little toe and the toe next to it are reversed. So he has a big little toe...does that make sense. His doctor has never commented on it, and I have mostly hoped that he would not have trouble with shoes at some point. I think Addison's feet are too cute!

Laurie