Looking back, looking ahead

Today I walked into my bank lobby and it struck me like a ton of bricks how much my life has changed in the past year. A year ago this week, I was in the blur of receiving my Travel Approval for WeiJ and our Consulate Appointment confirmation, purchasing tickets to China and arranging our rough itinerary. At the time I only had a few outdated photos and a full heart... today I have THOUSANDS of photos and a constantly overflowing heart. I could never have even come close to imagining what my life would be like, not in my wildest dreams! This was the same bank lobby I walked into 343 days ago to collect my crispy new bills for travel. And today I walked in to get a cashier's check for almost an identical amount. Crazy full circle stuff.

Why was I getting that cashier's check? Because today I closed on our beautiful new house!! :) I think all the moving arrangements are done - unless I remember something else at the last minute of course - and we should be all set to move into our new digs this weekend. So just like this time last year, it will be a frenzy of sorting and organizing and packing, getting ready for a giant step to a new beginning. I wonder what August 2010 has in store?

Safe at Home

Well, we're home and trying our best to settle back in to the boring old routine after 2 weeks of go-go-go fun-fun-fun. I have to say WeiJ was an absolute trooper with the flights, even better than I would ever have hoped for. At 2 he's a seasoned pro!

We have an extraordinarily busy week ahead of us....ok really *I* have an extraordinarily busy week ahead and I just hope he continues to be his usual adaptable self while I muddle through it all. I'll post more about it when I come out on the other side - and for that matter I'll put together our vacation highlights then too - but for now the chance to sleep in my own bed is calling me loud and clear.

For all you family we just left yesterday, you should know that WeiJ has been calling for each of you individually in his roll call every few hours. He was ready for "more byebye" this afternoon and was sorely disappointed that there were no more airplanes today. We will see you again soon, but not soon enough for him!

More Beach! More Wawa!

Yeah, Hawaii's kinda OK

Little Scholar

I've always heard that foreign language acquisition is so much easier at a young age. Combine that with WeiJ being an absolute sponge (sometimes for good, sometimes not so much) and you can imagine what he might be capable of.

Clearly, he's picking up English like nobody's business.

But he also speaks a little Mandarin. He says "good morning" - zao shang hao - complete with the sing-song tones....so what if it really sounds like wahwahWAH. It's still cute as can be! :) He also mimics some of the words on Ni Hao KaiLan, which is kind of fun to watch. It's just not so much fun when he laughs out loud at my attempts too.

He also apparently speaks a little Spanish. He was watching Dora the other day, and I heard them ask if the "cocodrilo" (crocodile) was "arriba or abajo" (up or down)....and without hesitation WeiJ said abajo! I was floored that he copied it so well, but then I looked and holy cow he was right, too! At this point I wouldn't be surprised if he's saying other things in Spanish all the time and I've just not watched enough Dora to have learned them yet.

So - English, check. Mandarin, check. Spanish, check. As of this weekend, he's added a 4th language. After umpteen viewings of Finding Nemo, he has picked up the ability to speak...WHALE! It was so hard not to crack up uncontrollably but it was so darn cute!

OK lest anyone think all he does is watch tv, I also bought him a new shapes/puzzle game. Basically there's a plastic mold with indentions for the shapes to be put together to form pictures, and cards for him to match up shapes with the pictures on the cards. Then the card also shows how the shapes can be rearranged to form other shapes. I know, he's only 2 - but I thought it would be right up his alley and I was right. He can sit completely engrossed in that activity for quite a while, and the first time he tried he almost got the whole puzzle finished with very little help. Brainiac!

Life's Pretty Good

A lake, a bubble machine and a life jacket -- what more does a boy need?

OK, the doting audience and good food were icing on the very fun cake.

Some Kid

Watching the daily changes in this child is really something else. Sometimes all I can do is shake my head, and sometimes all I can do is try not to fall over laughing.

At our visit to the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago, she asked if WeiJ was dressing or undressing himself yet. At that point other than pulling socks and shoes off, the answer was pretty much no across the board. Well that was sooo last month. It's June now so of course he's almost ready to cross another developmental milestone off his list. WeiJ's been practicing taking his own clothes off, sheer delight on his face when he finishes each new accomplishment. The shorts are easy of course, but oh so much effort goes into getting those shirts off! And every night now he's doing most of the work putting his pj's on - I just start the shirt coming down in the right direction and get the shorts pointed the right way, and he yanks everything into place. He just works so intently at it! I was right though - as soon as he figured out how to get clothes off, the diaper wouldn't be far behind. It's definitely one way to make me jump up wide awake when he comes in my room bare-bottomed...wide awake and hoping, hoping, hoping he hasn't been that way for too long!

His vocabulary seems to have vaulted to the next level all of a sudden. He's been picking up new words right and left, so many that I can't keep up with a count anymore. He's stringing words together in 3 word sentences, and his pronunciation is getting better and better. It's a little bittersweet to hear his pronunciation become more like ShuShu and less like FooFoo or Foof or WooShu...but it just goes hand in hand with the rest of the progress. The other day I couldn't believe my ears when he said a perfect sheep - with a hard p at the end and everything. I think my squealing fuss over that has convinced him to try for that reaction now with every word that ends in p -- now he's throwing extra emphasis into other words like cup or chip. He's such a sponge lately for new words and pronunciation that I keep finding myself doing doubletakes, wondering if he really just said what I think he said. Just imagine if he hadn't had a 15 month delay on learning English!

And the sense of humor on this kid! *Daily* he does something that has us both laughing hard. Whether it's silly faces or wild games of chase or whatever cheeseball antics he's up to for the day, there is no shortage of laughter in this house. In fact I'm pretty sure he feeds on it and amps up the ham factor as soon as he has a willing audience (which is oh, always). One of our newer books - the one we call The Oops Book - has a silly turkey that puts his clothes on wrong, and each time it's his turn the book just says, oops. Last week I was getting WeiJ dressed and he pulled his shorts onto his head and said...yep...oops! He caught me off guard with that one and we both pretty much dissolved into giggles. Silly boy!



Best of all, the tantrums are much better now than we were having last month. It's so good to have my sweet boy back! Monday he was getting ready to go leave with ShuShu and came to give me a squeeze first. That's always good for a smile of course. But this time he kept walking away a bit and then come running right back to give me another one! Those 4 more unsolicited hugs and smooches were priceless. I missed my little snugglebug and am loving having him back!!

Road Trip!

Today was one of those days that made me sit back and say wow, I can't believe we're finally here. And I can't believe it's even better than I pictured it would be.

We had planned a short road trip to get together with another family we met in China, but unfortunately that had to be rescheduled. But since we'd all been looking so forward to it we decided to hit the road anyway. The idea of Korean food and a great park were just too tempting, and the chance for a mini-escape was a much needed bonus. It was also sort of a test run to see how WeiJ would handle being cooped up for a couple hours of travel. I'd say he passed with flying colors! (Apparently the key will be to wear him out during layovers.)

I clearly remember the last few times we ate at that Korean place, I sat there wistfully daydreaming about bringing my child-do-be with us someday and planning outings to the park. Today that day finally arrived! WeiJ sat through the drive pretty well and then through lunch. He even successfully ate a few things with chopsticks - well, chopsticks that I didn't break apart so they were still attached at the top. He was pretty pleased! I think the biggest hit (and I've also mentally filed it away as a ploy to pull from the bag of tricks when I need to distract him in restaurants) was a "lemon pop" - aka a lemon wedge on the chopsticks.

As soon as we got to the park I remembered just how much I liked it and all the reasons I couldn't wait to share it with him. Right now I think the fact that it had water, rocks, and a playground are all he really cares about...but there's so much more for us to explore. I definitely see return trips in our future! We headed for the playground first, and once we dragged his attention away from the little rocks on the ground he was ALL ABOUT the playscape and slides. He's gotten so big and independent that now all I had to do was help him up the first part of the steps and then he was off across bridges to whichever slide destination he wanted. Well, that's all *I* had to do. ShuShu may have been put to work pulling him up a slide or two as well. :)

He had a great time and I was just happy watching him be so happy. It was only interrupted once...right about when I discovered that Mama Bear doesn't ask my permission first, she just acts. I/She *may* have yelled at some kids to stop throwing rocks after WeiJ and I got hit at the bottom of the slide. In hindsight yes they were groundcover pebbles and yes they were more nuisance than real danger...but like I said, Mama Bear didn't ask what I thought before she opened her mouth. She just knew that her cub was in the line of fire and she snapped. Seriously, it was like someone else was speaking. And then inside I groaned, oh no, am I *that* mom on the playground?? Oh well. At least no more big kids were throwing rocks in the little kids' area anymore and we got to play in peace.

Anyway, we walked along the springs for a while and watched kids and dogs and boats and birds before heading back out. We did stop for snow cones that tasted extra wonderful on such a hot day. WeiJ was definitely a fan. He was so wiped out by that point that he actually sat still on my lap while we all ate them. Does it get better than sitting in the shade at the park, eating snow cones?

A Special Note for LaoLao

For the past few weeks we've been trying to use any opportunity to help WeiJ understand that he's going to be going on a big trip to visit LaoLao. Any chance to talk about airplanes, beaches, water...everything is about going to see LaoLao this summer. If we see something about a beach, it's "oooh, we're going to see a beach when we see LaoLao!" His new book from ZaZa has photos of an airplane, so it was "hey we're going to get on an airplane when we go see LaoLao!" So now whenever he sees a plane, he says "NaNao" (his attempt at LaoLao)...and for that matter, he says NaNao at the picture of the helicopter and hot air balloon too. I suppose we're building it up sufficiently because the last couple of weeks anytime we go anywhere he thinks that's where we're going. I think if he had the words to put together he'd be shouting, "enough with the build-up already, lets get on a plane and go!" :)

So this afternoon WeiJ brought me his little wooden boat (that he got to paint yesterday at the park with the other families with kiddos from China) and said, "NaNao boat." I asked,"are we going to see boats when we see LaoLao?" and he *shouted* "UH HUH!!" When I said yes I'm sure we'll see boats, he said "NaNao squeeeeeeee" and wrapped his arms in a hug. So NaNao, I think there's a hug coming your way....

Miss Us?

Eeks! Two weeks! I didn't realize it had been that long since I wrote an update. It's partly because it's been a stressful month, and partly because I woke up one day to find I'm a mama to a full-fledged 2 year old with attitude who is into everything. His recent growth spurt means he can reach up to grab things on countertops or the top of my dresser. I've been waking up to find my glasses missing, my Kindle being banged repeatedly on the side of the bed, or a snacktrap's worth of Cheerios dumped in my bed...and best of all, I've been locked out of the house while he gleefully mimed my gestures on the other side of the glass door.

On the bright side, it is still mind-boggling how smart he is. As of a few weeks ago he'd been saying his numbers out loud from 1 to 5. I had no idea he knew his numbers past 5 until I bought some fridge number magnets. I also didn't know he knew the word "magnet" until he was jumping up and down shouting "new magnet! new magnet!" when I pulled them out of the bag. Lo and behold, when I put the numbers in line, he listed them off one by one all the way up to 9. He gets a little stuck on 6 and 9 sometimes, but that seems understandable to get those mixed up. I guess since he's all of two and two weeks, I'll cut him a little slack.

WeiJ is also reading more and more. For his birthday, one of the books I got him is now called "the Oops book" and he gets a kick out of reading it himself. I tried to get video Monday but he was too amped up to sit still long enough to finish. Guess I shouldn't have told him about going to Sea World before that. He also likes reading the 2 alphabet books. H and J are still a little tentative but he's so confident now of the rest of the letters that he barely hesitates anymore. For just about every book we read now, he's filling in more and words by himself.

WeiJ's also getting more specific when he asks to eat. It used to be just "eat" - and sometimes still is - but now he will tell me more specifically what he wants. The other morning it was "eat...nee baba" which translates to "eat green apple," and for lunch it was "chss...breh" which is cheese and bread, aka a toasted cheese sandwich.


Little toot is also a funny little guy. Since he got here I've been telling him that the outlet covers on the wall were a no-no to touch, that they'd give him a bad booboo. I figured that would be easy enough for him to understand. Well, he came running up to me one day saying, "ohhhh, booboo" and offering me his finger to kiss better. Then he'd say "ohhhh, booboo" and give me the same finger on the other hand. Then he'd run off giggling, and come back in the room saying "ohhh, booboo" again and repeat the process over and over and over. He thought it was hysterical. So finally I followed him to the other room...and there he was, squatting in front of an unused cable outlet - touching it with each hand to give himself "booboos" to have me kiss better. Just a hunch, but methinks this one will be testing everything for himself instead of taking my word for it. Stinker! ;)

And finally, today was his 2 year old checkup with the doctor. He only had to get one shot (bad enough but better than the multiples we were doing when we started playing catch up last Fall) and the doctor still says she couldn't be happier with his progress. He's just a fraction below the 90% mark for both height and weight! I'm assuming his growth chart will start leveling off at some point but he hasn't been showing any signs of slowing down just yet. 36" and 32 pounds -- a far cry from the little one who I once worried might be tagged with a "failure to thrive" label if he slipped any further down the charts. HA. At least that's one worry I can cross off my list once and for all!

Woohoo, WeiJ's TWO!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, WEI J!!

So...I'm not quite sure if I'm going to find all the words I want to find today. I'm a little jumbled and overflowing with so much that I can't really describe it. I'll start with the easy stuff, recapping our weekend and see where it goes from there.

On Saturday, WeiJ and I went to Ayi's graduation - I was hoping I could start planting some of those summa cum laude seeds but he only held out through the Masters' degree announcements before he crashed sound asleep on my lap. But boy, did he cheer those first dozen or so with gusto! He clapped and cheered for each one, silly boy! Even when he was asleep, at one point he managed to jerk upright and clap -- without waking up! He slept right on through to the end of the ceremony and woke in time to wave at Ayi as she filed out. We headed to eat afterwards, and all told he was fairly confined for about 6 hours or so but held up like a trooper. Makes me think we might survive a long flight we're going to take in July...knock wood!

The Brainiac Pose

I didn't plan anything big for his birthday today, just a series of things I knew he'd love. I blew up balloons last night so he could wake up to a bunch of them on the floor in his room. (Lesson learned: leave a path for him in case he wakes up crying in the middle of the night so he doesn't fall with a THUNK when he gets out of bed. Sorry, kiddo!) He did love throwing the balloons around this morning though! I made him a breakfast of mini blueberry muffins and blackberries on the side. It was a pretty plate, that's for sure! I think the swinging legs and mmmmmm meant that he enjoyed them a little bit. :) Then after breakfast I gave him his gifts - the coolest trike I've ever seen, and a set of new books. He's pretty obsessed with both, so I think I chose well. He helped me put sprinkles on the cupcakes, then we went to go read his new books - twice each. I went to get dressed, leaving him on the couch flipping through the books. It was such an eventful morning that he fell asleep sitting right there, at 11:30. Once we were ready to go an hour later, I was afraid I'd wake a cranky boy. But all I had to do was softly say,"Are you ready to go see some ducks?" and he was wide awake and ready to go! We went to lunch first, at WeiJ's favorite bbq place (ok, so I haven't taken him to THAT many, but still) and he was pretty much beside himself with giddy joy. Seven adults, all attention on him - he was in his element and clearly a happy boy!

Basking in Happiness

We made it to the park and he finally got to see that "duck wawa" that he's been asking for every single time we get in the car. We fed the ducks a couple loaves of bread, and he managed to not fall in the wawa. Oh, and yes he actually gave ALL the bread to the ducks this time instead of hording it for himself. After we finished the bread, it was time to open presents. Such thoughtful gifts & he loved them all!

Big boy with his first backpack!

And no doubt about it, I can't imagine anything better than seeing this face for Mother's Day:

Tickle Attack!

WeiJ loves to watch this one over and over -- and will even start to pretend-tickle himself at the same time. :) This is pretty much what it sounds like in the evening around here...he'll either invite this game or a game of "RAAAAH!" which is basically chasing each other around the house and then jumping out and surprising him around a corner. He must love the adrenaline rush because he asks for the game by either running up to me and growling "RAAAH!" or asking for "more RAAAH?" Silly boy. He's so much fun!

Things are bananas at work but hopefully soon I'll have a chance to play catch-up here. But this weekend I should definitely at least have some pictures - someone's got a big birthday coming up this weekend.....

Uh oh, Mama has a new toy!

I've been looking at these Flip video things forever but could never quite pull the trigger. Thanks to a very very nice sale price, I finally broke down and bought one. My excuse was I needed to capture all of the cuteness going on before he outgrows things and moves on to whatever next cute thing he'll do.

From my test runs today, I got a couple things I'd hoped for. Here's not only his affection for M&Ms (or MnMnMnMs), but also his sweet manners and how hard he's working to put multiple words together.

I also got his Cookie Monster imitation. Fortunately I caught this when I did - already he's gone from sounding way too cute to ... well, sounding a little demonic, actually.

Random Updates on Boy Genius

These past couple of weeks, WeiJ has been pretty consistently trying to use 2-word combinations. Everything has been "more milk," "dog nightnight," "kick ball," "gray shorts." His first 3-word combo came a couple of weeks ago: "more chocolate milk." That was the only 3 word string I've noticed until today - he shut the door and matter-of-factly told me "door no dog." He closed the door because he didn't want the dog following him in the room!

He's also gotten his colors down pretty solidly. Blue, red, green, yellow, brown, purple, gray, white, orange, pink...there may be more but those are the ones that come to mind. He loves to point them out and announce them, too. I got a Peter Rabbit coloring book for him and he loves carrying that thing around to "read" the story almost as much as he loves coloring.

The latest thing he's started to take an interest in is numbers. His favorite must be 2...he loves to use it. At first he pronounced it like he was French, but deux has become more like dew. This morning instead of asking for "more eggs" he picked up his plate after the first one was gone and said, "dew egg." Then after he said "booboo" and I kissed his finger, of course immediately he grinned and said..."dew booboo" and offered me his other hand.

He's doing GREAT with the transition to his own bed. He hasn't been waking up as often in the middle of the night, and when he does he still goes back to sleep in his bed. In fact it's been a few nights now that he has woken up and cried for less than a minute before going back to sleep on his own without me even going in there. Such a big independent boy!

A Year and a Moment Ago

One year ago today, my world spun.

One year ago today, my hands shook.

One year ago today, I couldn't think straight.

One year ago today, I was completely dazed.

One year ago today, my dream had a name.

One year ago today, I held my breath when I opened my email... and then laid eyes on this face for the very first time.

Happy Easter!

He did it!

Guess who slept in his very own room in his very own new big boy bed? Yaaaay, WeiJ!

I converted his crib to a toddler bed this morning, and he was very interested in that whole process. Once we got all the stuffed animals out and brought in his pillow, he was very excited to find out that he could climb in and out of it by himself. In fact, he shakes his head pretty adamantly when I ask if he wants help getting down. He sat in there for about 15 minutes just playing with the stuffed animals while I finished rearranging. I had planned to move the bed into my room so he could transition to a separate bed but still have the security of being in the same room. It would have been cozy but I figured it would be less traumatic. Before I got his bed moved though, he said he was hungry so we stopped for lunch. When it looked like he was about ready for a nap, I asked if he was ready to go to sleep and he nodded yes. I asked if he wanted to sleep in his new big boy bed and he RAN to his room and climbed in. :) I tucked him in like always, kissed his forehead and said goodnight....then held my breath when I walked out. I think I was more worried about him getting up to play with his toys instead of napping than of him being anxious. He only fussed once and got quiet when I said nighnight from the living room. He slept his whole two hours just like it was nothing. Yaaaay, WeiJ!

All's Quiet But For the Snoring

What does a morning at the park with Auntie L do to WeiJ?



He fell sound asleep in his high chair -- mid-chew, his hand still gripping his cup maybe 10 minutes after I sat him down to eat. I hadn't even finished making my lunch when I realized how quiet he was. I reclined the back of his chair to let him sleep and within minutes he was snoring - and not softly, either.

Then when he woke up - three and a half hours later - he had a surprise from LaoLao waiting for him.

Yep, it was a pretty good Friday in WeiJ's world.

Yay! Photos!

So it seems it's been a while since I've done a photo post. Most of these are from today, but I also wanted to share a couple from last month that made me smile.

This first photo was taken last month. For a while he was in a phase where he got a huge kick out of me getting his hair wet and giving him what we called "dink!" hair. I don't know how it started, but with all the spikes I would touch my fingertip to a spike and say "dink!" For dayyys he kept coming to me, pointing to his head and asking for "wawa" or "dink."

This one was last month also, from a trip to the park with ShuShu. It's hard to tell -- but I *think* he enjoys the swings. :)

And the rest are from today. I had already dressed him in his Longhorn t-shirt when he spied my visor and was clamoring for it. I adjusted the band as small as it could possibly go, then let him wear it however he wanted. He started off with it fairly straight and pulled off an almost preppy look I think...
...then decided that sporting it backwards was more his speed.

And just like his Mama used to do, here he is completely engrossed in some imaginary play with animals. He loves this Noah's Ark set and over and over and over again he'll put all of the animals in one by one whether it's by opening the gate or the ramp or shoving them through the windows on the other side...then take them all back out again one by one. I can't wait till he has the words for me to eavesdrop on the dialog that I'm sure must be going on in there.

But why do they have to grow?

WeiJ must have passed some imaginary threshold this week and suddenly become a big boy.

He had his second haircut yesterday. I asked the woman if she wanted me to sit with him on my lap and she almost snorted like that was crazy. She pulled out a foam booster and he sat there covered in a cartoon drape looking a little bit terrified and untrusting of her - neither WeiJ or I got that lulled-to-sleep calming effect that the last guy had. But she was quick and it's definitely a straighter cut than last time. And when he was finished, she asked if she could give him a lollipop. Boy, do I wish I'd had a camera to catch THAT ear-to-ear grin when he tasted it! No, it was more than ear-to-ear. His entire face lit up in pure delight!

When I went to change WeiJ after his nap yesterday, I could swear I was looking at a different, bigger kid - as if during that nap he suddenly became a little more boy and a little less toddler. Definitely not many traces of baby left to be seen. I wondered if it was just his new haircut, but no it wasn't just his face. It was his whole body! How is that possible? No wonder his snaps are all popping loose underneath!

At dinner, I remembered that he had barely been able to squeeze into the high chair the last time we were there. So my little big boy got to eat in a booster - and he sure seemed to notice that difference and think he was big stuff. Perfect manners, yet again - I think I leave restaurants every time a little boggled that he's this easy.

And as if I needed any further confirmation of his growth, I found a couple of really cute pj sets for him. When I held up the 2T, it was clear that he'd be able to wear them for oh, maybe a week if I was lucky. *sigh* And of course there was only 1 set in the 3T but I secretly hoped when we got home I'd find it to be too big and be able to go back for the 2Ts. Ummmm, nope. Last night I put my 22 month old to bed in 3T pj's. *sigh again* I could handle him wearing 18 month sizes when he should have fit 12s, and I could handle him wearing 24 month or 2T when he should have fit 18s. But 3T?? That seems so big. Mama isn't ready for him to be that grown up yet!!

The Week in WeiJ's World

It was another one of those weeks that was just too insanely busy. Fortunately it was Spring Break around here, so WeiJ got to spend a couple of days having fun with his admirers. On Tuesday he got to spend most of the day with Lelo and -- ok, we really need an official name for her but we'll call her Auntie L for now. I could tell WeiJ had a blast with them. He got to go to the park and for a walk in the neighborhood -- those are always sure winners. Even as busy as I was, I couldn't help but to stop and smile at all the chatter and singing I was overhearing from the living room. He fought valiantly to stay awake as long as he could and not miss a minute of the fun, and then when they left he slept soundly for more than 2 hours. And if that day plus our usual Wednesday night fun wasn't enough, he had another special day on Friday with ZaZa.

I'm not sure if it was the guilt or the exhaustion, but this weekend I decided to put off work until Monday (even though I'm still swamped and way behind) and just spend the time hanging out with WeiJ. I'm not even sure I could begin to describe how peaceful it was to be sitting on the couch last night after dinner, reading a book with WeiJ in his pj's lying with his head on my lap. He was perfectly happy to do nothing but fiddle with his little fire truck and let me stroke his hair. He's generally such a little perpetual motion machine that it was that much more touching that we could just sit there together and "be."

Sometimes after particularly chaotic/sensory overload days, even late at night when it's completely silent in the house I will hear echoes of the day when I close my eyes. In Vegas, it was slot machine clinks. In China, it was the traffic sounds. There have been a handful of difficult days when I've heard his cries. But last night when I closed my eyes, it was his squeals of laughter ringing in my ears. How could I ask for a better way to end a week than that?

An Overdue Update

Well I wish I could say that the absence of blogging has to do with me being lost in some more escapist reading. But no, it's because I'm getting slammed from every which direction at work and seem to be flailing just to tread water. I know it will get better eventually, but I'm fried. By the time I sign off at the end of the night, I just don't have it in me to sit at another keyboard or think coherent thoughts. This week was so busy that I didn't even have time to jot down bullets, but I've got a few things in the back of my mind that I can share.

Unfortunately I have had to resort to a tv babysitter more than I would have liked lately to get us through the gap between the end of his nap and the time that used to be the end of my day (but is now more or less a long dinner break till his bedtime). To ease my conscience, I ordered the Noggin channel -- billed as "preschool on tv." Yeah I know, I'm exactly the kind of sucker they're marketing to. I do feel a little better that he's not watching mindless cartoons - these really do have some value and luckily he seems interested in a few of them, especially the ones that involve some sort of problem solving. Dora, Diego, Ni Hao Kai Lan and Blues Clues, in particular. I guess at least he might come away from this with multilingual skills at any rate! He plays with his blocks and Aquadoodle and whichever toys interest him for the day, and will go watch a few minutes at a time if something grabs his attention. From time to time I'll hear him answering questions and calling out letters he sees. In between shows, they do little puzzles like memory games or "find which one is different." He hears that background music and RUNS to the tv to study the pictures. I can't help but get a kick out of that because I've always gravitated to those kind of games too. Uh oh. :)

This weekend he's been in a limit-testing mood. Exasperatingly so. And about everything. For some reason, this weekend he decided he'd start putting things in his mouth that he's not supposed to -- behavior that he really hadn't displayed at all for the last 6 months. And he's not satisfied unless I know he's done it. He'll come up with a smug little look, grunt and point to his open mouth. An example from yesterday: he was standing in front of me, grunting and pointing to his open mouth. I asked him what he had, and he pulls out a wad of tissue paper. I tell him, "no WeiJ, we don't put paper in our mouths. Paper is not for eating." What does he do? He brings me his dirty sock and puts it in his mouth and looks me directly in the eye with the tauntingest little expression. I was almost successful at not laughing at that, but it was just too ridiculous to see him standing there with that so there look and a dirty sock hanging out of his mouth. Yeah, WeiJ, you really showed me.

And then - and this one made me groan with dread - I put him to bed for his nap today. Not even a minute later, I hear the heavy rapid-fire thuds of his running footsteps coming into the living room. Noooooo! I turned to see his triumphant little face grinning from ear to ear at his accomplishment - he dared to get up off the bed on his own. For 6 months he's been too wary of falling, and I knew I had it easy that I could just put him down for a nap and trust that he wouldn't get up until I came to get him after his nap. But methinks those days are over....

And the last thing I can think of for now is I measured him on Friday. I've been marking his height at the beginning (roughly) of each month since December since the inconsistency at the doctor's office was driving me bananas. So like always, I stood WeiJ up against the inside of the computer armoire door and made a mark. We went to get the measuring tape to see the total and the difference, and he studied everything I did. Ten minutes later, I looked up from doing dishes and saw him standing against a different wall, looking straight ahead and placing a flat block against the top of his head the same way I'd done with the pen. First thought: awww, so cute and so smart! Second thought: hide all the pens!!! Anyway, he has changed so much that I was sure there would be massive differences from month to month...but it's "only" a half inch per month since January. He's now 34 1/4", which still keeps him hovering around that 70th percentile. I should get a scale to track his weight too, but I'm almost afraid to know. This kid is built solid, no doubt.

Monkey walk, frog hops and Edward

It's my fault. I should have known better. But I ordered the Kindle anyway.

That would have been bad enough....but then I started reading Twilight. I couldn't resist the curiosity to find out what the big deal was, what all the fuss was about. I lost an entire weekend to vampires and wolves -- and it was wonderful! I had a ton of work I needed to accomplish over the weekend but I felt that anxiety and stress fall away the further I escaped into the story. Besides being the first thing I've taken the time to read since WeiJ came home, I think these are the first books I've read since late 2006 that didn't have something to do with either adoption, toddler parenting or China. During the wait I threw myself at those books partly as preparation, partly as a way to stay connected to the hopeful dream. It felt like such a luxury to read something just for pure fun!

I can't remember the last time I read a book all the way through, let alone 3 1/2 of them in a weekend. It would have been a complete 4, but I *did* manage to pull myself away enough to enjoy silly time with WeiJ. We ran laps around the house in games of chase (and tickle), and hopped like frogs. We also walked like monkeys (the Mowgli walk) but I get too much of a kick out of watching him do that to actually do much of it on my own. He's getting so heavy that it's hard to do as much of the swinging games he likes, so we just twirled in circles to get dizzy instead. Lots of tickling, lots of flipping upside down, lots of silly infectious laughter.

And last night, on the day that marked 6 months after we met, he blew kisses at me after I tucked him in. *sigh* He's come so unbelievably far and I'm just too lucky for words.

Blogging in Bullets

Things have gotten so busy around here that it's come to the point where I have to jot down bullet points in a draft just to remember what I wanted to share when the rare free moment comes along and I have a chance to write. I know my writing has been a little on the choppy side - that's because I'm writing blurbs at a time and it just doesn't flow. So for today, I'll leave them for what they are - bullets as paragraph titles.

kick! hop!
WeiJ has been jumping incessantly ever since he saw the kung fu demonstrations at the CNY events. He was obviously paying attention (surprise, surprise) and I think is trying to mimic some of the moves. Last week he was throwing his head back as he jumped - maybe a wishful attempt at backflips? He has also been working on the splits, I think. I've caught him a few times letting his feet slide further and further apart until they won't go any further. No doubt in his mind he's trying to figure out how it works. And then the cutest part is he started to mix in kicks among his series of jumps. Better yet, he's vocal about it too! Not only do I get entertained by the nonstop energizer bunny working himself into a sweat, it's accompanied by shouts of hop! kick! (or technically, it's more like HA! GICK!) Just cute as can be!

bottomless pit
Wow can this boy put away the groceries this week! I'm running out of snack ideas and can't seem to keep the fridge stocked well enough for him. After being sick last week, he has been making up for it with a vengeance. He finally has enough teeth to handle some raw veggies so I'm starting to work those into the mix too. It's a little disconcerting to feed him and then have him keep coming back 15 minutes later motioning for more. I know he's eating good stuff, but still - how can that little body process this much?? Full meals, nonstop snacking...I smell a growth spurt!

14 hours of sleep
And if the ravenous appetite wasn't clue enough, then there's his marathon sleep on Saturday. I put him down for his 2nd nap at 5, thinking he'd sleep till maybe 6:30. I was close - it was 7:00...the next morning!

nose kisses
I don't remember which movie it was, but WeiJ and I were watching a cartoon that showed a girl "eskimo kissing." WeiJ thought that was the funniest thing...and even funnier when I gave him one. Neither one of us has the most prominent nose so it's just silly fun to try.

v-day cookies
My little valentine and I made a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies on Valentine's day. Yummy! Or in WeiJ-ese, more? followed by a sweet grin and an even sweeter Thank You!

6-month post adoption report
I can't believe it's already that time - our first post-adoption visit with my social worker. I wasn't terribly worried about it, mostly because I didn't have time to be. But at the last minute, I had sudden attack of the what-ifs and wished I had spent more time scubbing the house till it sparkled. In the end, she didn't even look around much and just wanted to go through a long series of questions. WeiJ slept over 3 hours and almost didn't wake up in time for the visit...and when he did woke up, he was disappointed that the noise he heard in the kitchen didn't turn out to be ShuShu, Ayi, or "Lelo." His little lip was even quivering at the prospect of a stranger in his kitchen! He snuggled on me for a bit before he warmed up but ended up doing just fine. 6 months. 6 months! Pulling out the original paperwork and seeing his mug shots from Adoption Day were a little shock to the system. He has changed so much - but mostly it's the sadness in his eyes that jolt me. Then I pulled out his recent photos to send in, and the side by side comparison made me smile and made my heart happy. I'm so proud to be able to show China how he's thriving. It's unbelievable how much difference there is in what really is a short amount of time. It has flown by!

Little Green Man

*Oops! I thought I published this on Friday after battling with Blogger but I found it still in Draft.**

Sometimes I forget that WeiJ notices everything. And then he'll do something that reminds me that I'd better watch what I say and do, even when I think he's not paying attention. Ever since we were in China, he has seemed to get a kick out of being asked to throw things away. "Can you put this in the trash for me?" is usually met by a grin and the patter of (not so) little feet running to the nearest trash can. It never occurred to me that he was figuring out the difference between what items go in the trash vs recycle based on what I gave him and which trash can I steered him to. Earlier this week, I went to take the bags out for trash day and sitting right on top of the recycle pile was WeiJ's green sports bottle. Apparently it was completely logical to put it there after he finished his water - since that's where Mama's empty water bottles go! Yes WeiJ - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

I'm almost embarassed to admit that one of his new words this week is TV. He LOVES watching Planet Earth, especially any segments involving fish. I do let him watch PBS in the mornings while I come to life. That brought his next new word of the week: triangle! He's even been bringing me his wooden blocks to show me the triangle shapes.

He's such a funny little guy. Last night I decided to give tuna a shot to see if he'd eat some. I tried to make it fun for him and made a cute little plate with the tuna on crackers with spinach and cheese....and it looked like I had finally found a food he WOULDN'T eat. Until I wrapped the tuna in spinach, that is. What other kid in the world would THAT work with?

Some Rambling Thoughts on CNY

The two Chinese New Year's celebrations I attended during the adoption wait were very emotional events for me. It was all I could do not to sob out loud at times when I watched the girls dancing - they were flesh and blood in front of me that represented all of the possibilities that lay ahead. They were all of my hopes and dreams that had yet to come true - not just dreams of the the child yet to be, but such strong hope that she might fully embrace her heritage as these girls do. Obviously she became a he, but the hopes remained the same.

This year, it wasn't the cute little girls that tugged so hard at my heart as they had before. It's fun to recognize some of the faces and realize how much they've grown, and they're just as precious as ever. I used to be moved by the awestruck eyes of the little girls watching the older girls dancing and dreaming of oh if only someday I could dance like that too ...but this year it was the mesmerized eyes of my own son studying the 8 year old boy's kung fu performance and wondering if he was imagining oh if only someday I could move like that too. It was the dancing legs, waving arms, clapping hands, and swaying of his constantly growing little body - it was seeing how this music and dance struck a chord inside him. Today I had to blink back tears again during the lion dance as I wondered if that might be him in there someday.

From the beginning I've intended on holding on to as much of his heritage as I can - I feel like I owe that to him. I know he's only a toddler and he may struggle with where he wants to find his identity later on, but for now we both get to watch the dancers and dream of what someday holds.

For WeiJ, it's boundless.

Spinning

So...after several restless days and nights, the dust at work seems to be starting to settle.
The good news is I'm still employed. Yay!
And I get to continue working from home. Yay!
But after 15 years in the same division, I'm off to new waters and feeling a *teensy* bit of stress over it. I know -- I'm lucky to still be swimming at all. At least I had a couple of months back at work before having to test this whole "life/work balance" thing!

WeiJ's been a little silly, a little fussy, a little under the weather this week. In between testing limits and blowing his nose, he is also apparently working on another vocabulary explosion. Just today, he copied me when I said "blackberry" (and yes, it was the fruit and not the gadget!) and - this one was inevitable - Costco!

Tomorrow we're headed to WeiJ's first luncheon with the group of families with kids adopted from China (FCC). One more chance to dress up in his silks while these still fit, and he'll get to see the lion dance again up close. Should be fun!

Teaser, Part II

OK, major changes happening at work so I'm going to be swamped for the forseeable future. I will keep trying to write as often as I can, but my guess is they might be short and sweet for a while.

I still haven't been able to dig in and edit all of the photos from Friday, but here are a few of me with the squirmer. The rest will probably be on the next slideshow ... which I will somehow magically compile in the next week.

Coming soon...

Photos from a sitting - er, squirming - session with GongGong!

Halfway to Streaker

So I'm adding the last ingredients to our dinner when I hear an insistent "EH!" behind me. I turn around, and there's WeiJ with his socks in one hand (nothing new) and ... uh oh, his PANTS in the other. Guess who has figured out how to undress himself.... I'm in trouble when he starts undoing that diaper!

He's actually been having a pretty good week, mood-wise. He's still a little clumsy and cries uncontrollably at the drop of a hat but fortunately those clouds pass pretty quickly and he's back to his chatty, silly self. He's passed the 100 mark for words and seems to be gearing up for another vocab explosion soon.

We've gone back for our 2nd attempt at a social security card but unfortunately got a very hesitant person who wasn't sure she wanted to accept our paperwork as sufficient for proving his birthdate. I'm not sure if she expected China to publish a birth certificate that looks identical to the state-issued ones here, or what -- but at any rate his case is "under investigation" until she can resolve whatever hangup she has. Frustrating!!

Oh well, no time to linger on being frustrated. There is much too much fun to be had in the next couple of weeks, PLUS we will be doing our 6-month post-adoption homestudy! I guess time flies when you're chasing a toddler! :)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Happy Year of the Ox!!

Our big CNY eveny isn't until next weekend, but we marked our first New Year's Eve last night by crashing in bed waaaay early after a big day. WeiJ got to go to ShuShu and Ayi's church for the first time! He was a little overwhelmed at first but seemed to settle in as soon as he saw familiar faces. He of course had to continually - and loudly - announce that those were his "ZaZa! FuFu!" up on stage and was quick to realize how well his charming antics were working. He had the charm-meter dialed up to high all day. I couldn't believe he sat through the whole service so (relatively) quiet and still - I was fully prepared to have to make an exit midway through. But he did great! I didn't manage to get any photos of his HANDSOME little outfit but a look that cute deserves a do-over. I'll try to get that done this week before his hair grows out much more.

After church, Ayi's mom made us all a yummy lunch of Chinese food and we spent the afternoon at the house and at the park. The fish tank was a hit again, almost as much as the colorful (per-per) goldfish he got to eat. He played hard all day with only an hour nap, so it was all I could do to keep him up until 8:00. After a nice bath and putting on his new dragon pj's, he was asleep almost instantly and slept TWELVE hours. Nice!

The next few weekends look like they might be just as busy with more CNY events and his new playgroup with other toddlers adopted from China. Then the weather should be warming up a little and we can get out to more parks...and then before we know it, Sea World will be back open again. Lots to do -- can't wait!

He's Back

And I couldn't be happier! WeiJ and I had a great day together, including our first "lunch date" and his first...wait for it...hair cut!! I've been putting it off for a while even though it's been getting long because I just knew it would be a traumatic thing. Uh huh.

We sat in the waiting area for about half an hour, and instead of being that fussy kiddo of late WeiJ decided it was a good day to charm the audience. He giggled his way through the wait and I just waited for the eventual melt down. The guy asked what I wanted done, and I was honest - whatever he'll sit still for! I'd have been happy with a trim over the ears and at the back - anything more would be gravy. He had me sit down and put a drape over me, then another one with WeiJ on my lap. WeiJ clearly looked troubled and actually a little annoyed, but wasn't objecting other than a couple of drawn out "nooooooo"s at the beginning. Then the guy got out the little clippers and I just braced for the eruption. About 10 seconds in, the guy says "UhOh" (OH GREAT!) and shows me where he has nicked WeiJ's ear. But no objection?? What?? About a minute later, WeiJ has relaxed and pretty much melted against me, his eyes heavy. Amazing! How did he inherit that from me? I zone out and have actually fallen asleep in the chair before - guess he's the same way. Since he was being so quiet the guy kept trimming the rest - about an inch off all around. I know, I let it get way too long but now that I know it won't be torture I won't have to put it off for so long again. It's not the straightest haircut in the world, but I'll take the good first experience any day! I took my camera with me but since I was holding him, I didn't have a chance to get any photos. I did get a lock of hair to keep for his scrapbook though. :)

Afterwards I took him for fries and chicken strips (corrupting my little vegetarian wannabe) and decided he'd been so good we should eat inside instead of taking it to go. He was so good! None of the yelling, none of the whining, none of the food throwing...ohhh it was so good to have him back!! As we were sitting there it dawned on me that it was the first time I'd done that with just the two of us. I sure must have done something in a past life to get to be this lucky in this one.

Drained

Oh my. Some kind of switch flipped with WeiJ and his whole energy has just been ... draining. He can still be very funny, very sweet, very much the same squishable boy he's been for the last almost 5 months. (Wow, almost 5!) But he can also be a whining, screaming, tantrum-throwing and exasperating child. And yes, that's an AND and not an OR -- the perfect storm. I thought I'd have a little longer before we reached this stage, but I guess we're starting a little early. All I can do is hope he stays on his advanced track and moves past it quickly too!

So on weeks like this, I tend to write less as I struggle to find anecdotes to share. For this week I can share that I *think* he may have started counting! Ayi heard him saying something that sounded like "one, two" as he dropped his blocks into his wagon and I've noticed him touching things in a line as if he was counting them in his head. I think I need to go shop for more shirts with words and numbers on them - that's how he learned the letters T,E,X,A and S ... and he learned 2 and 1 from my Spurs shirt with Tim Duncan's number on it. I guess this also means I need to be careful what I wear since he'll be able to read before I know it!

And finally ... since it's the weekend before Lunar New Year it seemed like the time to go ahead and cut my hair! I've been growing it out since I started the adoption process. It was a way for the months to mean something and end up with some value besides being lost time. It was a visual reminder of time passing and hopefully getting closer to the child who I held in my heart. And it was a way to do something for another child since I couldn't yet do anything for mine. Now that I can finally donate it, the wait will also have benefitted some boy or girl who will be the recipient of my 17" contribution to Locks of Love. When it was all said and done, my hair was 20" shorter than when I walked into the salon! WeiJ hasn't woken up from his nap yet, so I'm still waiting to see his reaction. I should have pictures of us this weekend sometime, so stay tuned!

Ahhh, Long Weekends!

Thankfully, the mood around here is much better - less whining and crying, more squeals and laughs. Saturday he stopped in his tracks in front of the tv, mesmerized by the Planet Earth DVD. I'm not sure which was cuter - his excited exclamations of TURTLE! at the baby turtles hatching and heading for the ocean, or his wide-eyed WHOAHHH! WHOAHHH! at the crashing waves that tumbled those poor turtle babies all over the place. These discs make ME go wow, so I can't even imagine what it's doing to his spongy little brain! I think he (and the cat) could watch the ocean segments for hours on end without getting tired of it. He woke up in another better mood Sunday, too. All morning we seemed to not be able to stop doing the tribal fish chant from Nemo ... ah-oo-ah-e-ah-o-o-o .... And to top it all off, I have my snugglebug back. This morning I woke up with him using me as a pillow, and for 20 minutes he just wanted to lay there and have his back rubbed. Now that's a nice way to start any Monday morning, and the fact that I had the day off just made it that much better! He'd been taking attendance every couple of hours since Sunday (FooFoo? ZaZa? Lelo?...that's ShuShu, Ayi, and Uncle K in WeiJ-ese) so he was happy to get the chance to spend the afternoon hanging out with ShuShu and Ayi. A little lunch, a little shopping, a lot of tickling...a good afternoon all in all.

NightNight, WeiJ...

Where did the week go?? WeiJ has been in ummm, TWO mode all week. Maybe that's why no inspiration has struck about what to write! That is, until I was on the phone with my local Costco store a few minutes ago. Every time I said "thank you," that set off a chain of at least another half dozen "thank you"s from my little sidekick here. I sure am loving that he's taken so well to this particular behavior, and all on his own!

More cuteness: he's doing great at taking his books off the bookcase one at a time, and then - believe it or not - putting them back on the shelf!! There are a few strays here and there, but for the most part he's caught on really well. Now if only I could find a solution for his other toys! I know, I know. He's 20 months!

And even more cuteness: he's been going to sleep on his own for quite a while now. I don't even leave the door propped open when I leave the room anymore. The routine helps, I think. We read a few books, then he gets under the covers and snuggles with the monkey. The last book I just recite (The Going to Bed Book) and he fills in the missing words. He pats my pillow and says "mama" so I can tell him he can lay down on my pillow. He ALWAYS smiles so big at that and burrows in deep. After that I tuck him in and plant a few too many kisses on his giggling head, and as I'm leaving the room I've been singing this silly little "nightnight" song that started when we were in China. Except instead of "nightnight, baby" I use his name instead. He SHRIEKED with laughter the first time I did that! Silly kid. Anyway, tonight I guess I hadn't started the song yet because I was still picking up his clothes, so he went ahead and started it for me. SO cute! And he could do the same tune, too. Awwww. :)

100% Boy

OK, so some photo shoots end sooner than others...

Every time I put this shirt on WeiJ, I think back to the time a few months ago when I ended up kicking myself for missing the perfect shot - WeiJ standing in the doorway with his "100 % Boy" shirt on, thumbs hooked on his belt loops and his head thrown back in full meltdown mode. Apparently I just needed to be patient.

I wasn't planning on taking photos today, but he ran back to his room after naptime and came back with his jaunty little hat. I figured he'd had 13 hours of sleep last night followed by a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon - he should be in a good mood to cooperate. The light by the window seemed just right for some nice shots, so I grabbed the camera. He was just too cute not to photograph!

He was happy to oblige at first and I got a couple of ok shots like this one. That's right, 100% Boy - with crumbs on his face, messy hair and a cockeyed hat.

Unfortunately when I moved him to the other room for better light, he stopped to pick up his sippy cup on the way. Still got that Boy attitude, though!

I just like this one - he decided he needed to sit on his "chair" for the photos and was inviting me to sit with him. Apparently the tubs from his Duplo sets are the perfect height and width for him to sit on - or straddle, in this case. 100% Boy!

I got tired of shooting with the sippy cup stuck to his face. He wasn't even drinking from it anymore, just holding it in his mouth. I had the audacity to ask him to take the cup out of his mouth. Look at that expression! Can you see that reluctance to comply??

He handed me the cup and I said Thank You, then put it up on the table behind me. Then apparently it hit him that he wasn't liking the idea very much.

At all.

And then I think my laughter at that look on his face pushed him over the edge.

I know it probably sounds terrible that I love these photos, but I think they're adorable! I promise, I covered him in smooches after I stopped laughing!

Yes, it's true

Yes, I have the perfect kid.

Uncle K mentioned the other night that I must have the perfect kid - loves his vegetables, sleeps through the night, takes his medicine easily...the list goes on. Not that it was ever in doubt that WeiJ is unbelievably easy and a perfect fit, but I think it became undeniable this morning. After sleeping from around 6pm last night until 7am this morning (growth spurt, anyone?), first thing this morning WeiJ was asking for something that sounded like 'bubble.' I didn't understand so I had him take my hand and show me what he wanted. He led me to the tv cabinet, pointed to the closed door and said it again. FOOTBALL!!! :)

Wei J's hit the 2's....kind of

WeiJ is 20 months old today!
Here's this month's edition of his life in pictures: *slideshow*

A, B, C, D...

So what's the verdict on WeiJ's brilliance, you ask? Since today's his last day as a 19 month old, it's time to take inventory of his alphabet recognition.

**drumroll, please**

In the "yes" column, we have....18!
Plus another 5 in the "maybe" column
Leaving only 3 in the "no" column! We're still working on L, Q and R.

Of those maybe's, 2 are X and Z. For Z, he insists on turning the letter sideways and pronouncing it as an N. Kind of hard to argue with that. But sometimes when we're reading, he'll point to the letter Z and say "zuh" or "zoo." And the letter X...well, clearly I am exposing him to the word TEXAS a lot, and clearly that TEXAS is generally accompanied by a Longhorn emblem somewhere... because without fail, when we get to the X he calls it his word for Longhorn (which I can't even try to type out phonetically). So technically he recognizes it, he just doesn't call it an X. Or I could say that he's so brilliant that letters already bore him and he's turning to abstract symbols for code instead. :) K,P and U are the others that sometimes I get the right response for but not consistently enough for me to claim mastery for him. I know - I'm tough, right?

So what does that all amount to in terms of vocabulary? NINETY words if you include names and animal sounds. I don't know if those 5 animal sounds should really count but they're just so darn cute, I couldn't leave them off the list.

Looks like most of you were right on the money with your votes. Guess that bar's set high right off the bat and is probably going to stay that way!

Almost Caught Up!

After Wednesday's pedi visit, WeiJ is almost caught up with all of his shots. He only had to have 2 today and has 2 left -- which the doctor said could wait until his 2-year-old visit. Woohoo! He hasn't grown any vertically since last month, but has put on another pound and a half to put him right at the 30 pound mark. Imagine if I was feeding him junk food instead of what he's been eating...he'd be a tank!

I finally got his book shelf/display in and set up in his room. I decided not to get the traditional kind since he can't read the titles on the spines yet, so instead I got the kind that holds the books with the covers facing forward. It was almost like a second Christmas morning for him to walk into his room and see all of his books displayed! Of course he promptly pulled them all out to look at them and then left them on the floor.... At just shy of 20 months, he has quite a collection of books already. I'm sure that's why his vocabulary is what it is & I love that he's at the point now where I can let him fill in words as I read out loud. It just so happens that the Going to Bed Book is written with a few pages ending with words that he knows and likes to say. So I'll read everything up to the end, then pause and he'll finish off. Like, they hang their towels on the ... waaalllll! Or With some on top and some beneath, they brush and brush and brush their... teeth!

Today I heard his very first "thank you"! He asked for a piece of dried cherry and I think the "thank you" came out before he realized it. He even used the same intonation that I usually do. I asked him if he just said thank you, and he broke out in this bashful little grin like dang, she noticed... and clammed up for a minute before feeling confident enough to give it another try. I made such a squealing fuss over it that for the rest of the night he kept saying it just for the reaction. He's such a fun kid. :)

My Little Nurturer

WeiJ has taken a shine to a Curious George doll that was given to him this Christmas by Ayi's grandparents. He's been exposed to dolls before since I had a ridiculous collection for him, but he never showed any real interest until George came along. I'm getting to see a new side of WeiJ's personality and it's interesting to watch his interaction. (Well I guess maybe interaction isn't really the right word since it's pretty one-sided, but hey.) He's such the little nurturer, hugging George and putting him in the chair to "feed" him. One day I found a cup of packaged noodles sitting in front of George, and the other night I saw WeiJ using a spoon and his empty snack trap to feed him. I asked what George was eating, and WeiJ matter-of-factly told me it was cereal. Today I brought George in the room for naptime and WeiJ snuggled with him while we read and was hugging him with both arms when I closed the door. I'm just not sure it could get any cuter. But it's not just that it's cute - it's that it's one more sign of secure attachment and a reflection of his perception of how he's been cared for in his life. The fact that I get to see more of what's in his sweet little heart is just a beautiful bonus. :)

Sea World Photos

OK I finally made myself sit down and grab a couple photos from Sea World to share. There are lots more that I will probably include in the next slide show, but here are a few for a quick fix....

I love this look of dude, did I really just see that?

Mesmerized by the sea lion show

WeiJ spent much of the day in this pose

By the time we got to Shamu, you could see he had taken in about as much as he could process. Look at those eyes!

What better way to end the show than with a ball and a big fish?