Weekend Fun with Friends - March 12th 2010 weekend

This will be our first post which includes video of Isaac!  We have taken a fair bit but nothing yet that has been uploaded and made it to a file.   Thanks to our friend Jason H. who took this and then sent it to us as well - that second step is crucial!   What a great weekend we had.  Our friends Jason and Shelli came into town  from Michigan with their girls Rou Rou and Hui Hui.   We were so excited to see them again and to have them meet Isaac.   On Friday afternoon they came over and the children played.  Then we left for an early evening dinner at a great That place where we met up with Laura Beth and Adam and their girls Maya Mei and Eliana (we were just in China with them for the adoption of Isaac and Maya Meil and then did all our wonderful post adoption travel to Beijing and Xian with them).  We had a great dinner.  It was very difficult to get good photos of the whole group of kids - Isaac, in particular was not keen to pose with the others (although he is getting better about that now).  After dinner, Shelli & Jason and David and I, with our kids, went to our temple for a special 20 year celebration of our rabbi being with the temple.  

On Saturday we spent the whole day at Laura Beth and Adam's house.  Jason and Shelli came over with their girls too and so it was all of us hanging out together.  Even Joannie, who we know through LB and Shelli, brought her kids over for a while (Rou Rou adores Zach, see picture).  It was a super day and wonderful of them to have us so long.  Ben, Laura Beth and Adam's son, even treated us to his beautiful piano playing - what a treat.  Remember, Isaac likes men, so he really loved Jason.  We started out with breakfast/brunch and seemed to continue munching throughout the day.   We really had a super time and all the kids played really well together and had great fun in the playroom.  Laura Beth was even brave enough (or crazy and tolerant enough) to let them all play with play dough in her kitchen - quite a mess was made, but a good time had by all.   As you can see, Isaac was quite the party door, jamming down in his sunglasses and clapping.  It was hilarious. It was so nice to be back with LB and Adam who we now think of as part family after our China experiences together - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I think we finally left by 5ish.   Isaac took a mini power nap while there but Indigo, who still usually naps, was exhausted and really kind of fell apart for the whole rest of the night.  She fell asleep on the way home and we tried to just transition her to bed but then she woke up, severely on the dark side, and it was a long, long recovery.   We should have just stayed even longer and come home at bedtime.

On Sunday we met up at an indoor pool with our friend Tricie and her girls, Anna Kate and Louisa.  Anna Kate (the sweet little red head), also had her friend along.  It was Isaac's first experience swimming and he loved it.   He did not want to get out of the pool.   Later, our friends Susan and Gary and their girls Emma and Lillian also came to the pool.  Such fun, especially since it was a gray rainy day.   It was great to know that Isaac liked the water because we do a lot of swimming in the lake in the summer!   The only reason we left earlier than closing time was because Isaac started to get really cranky from being hungry and I had not planned sufficiently in the snack department.  The kid does not seem to be able to go two hours without eating!   Probably for the best as it was a school night and so we got them fed, bathed and off to bed.  What a great weekend with good friends.

A Boy's Accessories and Brookside Gardens March 11, 2010

Rock and rollin with the blog here!  I think this will be the third post completed this weekend and I am really trying to work hard to get to the point where we are caught up to current day.  Isaac is fully embracing all of Indigo's accessories as shown in the photo above.   He was so cute and so proud of himself in his necklace and with his purse.

So, I was discovering that it is a whole lot easier to be outside with two kids than it is to be inside.   Indigo is in school Monday, Wednesday and Friday so on those days, Isaac and I stay home and then go together to get Indigo from school and then go to Jessie - Indigo's nanny, who we share with another family in the neighborhood, and Jessie lives with them.  Some days we were having lunch with Jessie and playing a while so that Isaac could become familiar with Jessie for my return to work.  However, Tuesdays and Thursdays are called "mommy days" and those are our really fun days where we usually have a good outing.   Our friend Susan's reduced schedule usually means that she is off on Thursdays and so we went to meet her, her husband and their twin girls, Emma and Lillian at Brookside Gardens.  It had been a while since I had been there with Indigo and it's a fabulous place.   The kids all had so much fun there.  Isaac is still very clingy when we go out and likes to be holding my hand all the time (nothing that I am going to complain about) but he is very happy to walk all about as long as he can hold my hand (a few months later, he is sometimes becoming more independent and we encourage that so that he is walking under his own steam and improving his balance and stability).  The children played in a children's garden area, with a little tree house and loved running on the trails, climbing through a big hollowed out log and checking out the geese - Isaac is fascinated by geese.   We're still working on getting Isaac to look at the camera for photos (and hopefully crack a smile too) so Indigo had started to "help" by holding his face.  Of course, this usually means that either her hand is now covering his face, or his is not too impressed with her grabbing his face, but we have multiple photos where she is holding his face.  This has lessened now but our new problem is that from us telling him to look up - he now actually looks up so you're getting a picture of his neck instead of his face, uggh, the challenges of taken photos of such precious beings.

After a wonderful time outside, the kids were all hungry and we had lunch at a wonderful peruvian chicken place where the owners just fawned all over the kids.  It was a great day and I had sleeping babes in the back by the time we got home.  

The interesting things being said in our home - a recap over the past 10 weeks

Some interesting things have been said as we have been going about our business the past 10 weeks at home.  I can't remember now exactly what has been said when, but have kept a few notes.   There is a post below with lots of photos from a March 9th outing, but this is a little recap.   Since Indigo has the majority of understandable language, it's mostly things she has said, although we are very excited that Isaac has picked up many words now and seems to also be understanding a fair amount.  We must say that he is very proficient at shouting "No" and he also loves to sing and will chatter away while looking at books - not anything we understand but he obviously knows what he is saying.   His favorite words at this point are "look, book, car, dog, duck, goose, jie jie, mama, dada, daddy, truck, cookie, turtle, ball, shoes, socks, egg, cat, spoon, hi, bye-bye" and some others.  Not everything sounds exactly right, or may not have the hard sound at the end but these are his very discernible words.  "Look" is shouted all the time, especially when passing cranes and construction vehicles on the highway.  However it comes out as "wook"  He signs for more and thank you but has added his own flourish to thank you by adding a kiss to it.  We have not yet been able to determine any favorite color and are not yet making a whole lot of progress learning ABC and numbers - I guess there is only so much a brain can take in all at one time - it is mind blowing to me how much he can understand in English after three months of being with our family - I surely would not know this much Chinese in this time.   We're also working on body parts -  he is consistent with nose and seems to be pretty sure of eyes, ears, mouth, hair, hands and fingers.   As parents of a now four year old (as of May 15th) who has known all of this stuff and more for so long now, it's really hard to go back and remember to teach it all again and to push yourself to remember to name everything you're seeing and doing.  A baby learns it as they grow with you, but most of it, Isaac has probably never seen, and what he did, was heard in Chinese.  This process is very exciting and rewarding but also frustrating for all parties when you want to so desperately communicate.  Indigo is great at looking at books with him and showing him stuff.   When there are skirmishes between them (and yes, there are) he gets so frustrated and has pulled her hair, grabbed her clothing, pinched, scratched and hit.   We're working on all that and also remind her constantly of family rules - no pushing, pulling, hitting, taking things you did not have first etc.  So, with all that in mind - what have we heard from Indigo since coming home at the end of February - if only we had recorded it all...
Soon after we returned home Indigo asked "when were we going to put him back?"   We asked her where would we put him - she answered "back in China"  This did then lead to her saying she missed being in China and wanted to go back - so hopefully was thinking that if we went to "put him back" then she would get to go to China again - otherwise...
One of our absolute favorites is her introduction of him to people.  "This is my brother.  His name is Isaac.  He likes men!"  This has happened because Isaac does seem to show a preference for going to new men vs. women - this includes strange men we have never met before.  Most have taken very kindly to him running up to them and holding their hands.  So, Indigo has heard us saying "he likes men" and it's now how she introduces him.   We laugh that he will love that introduction later in life - This is Isaac, he likes men" 
On a more poignant note, she has said "If we did not have him, then I would not have to grab" I suppose there is some logic to that.  She does not reason that her grabbing is not nice, but rather that he is responsible for it. 
We're also hearing all the time "it's not fair" whether we're carrying him and she is not being carried, even if they had the exact same thing and amount to eat and she ate hers and he has some left - that's not fair.   He is now getting a skittle when he pees on the potty - that's not fair either, so our girl who has been peeing on the potty for more than two years, now also gets a skittle. 
I loved this one "he poked me first in my eye, so I poked his eye"
Indigo also seems to relish him getting into trouble and always wants to be sure she knows who is getting into trouble so she says "I did not do it right, you're saying that to him, you're not saying that to me" or "look at what he is doing, come and see the mess he made" - yes, she is becoming a bit of a tattle tale, which is actually usually helpful to us when we can't always have our eyes on him.  The tone, however, is hysterical - it has that whole nah nah nah sound to it. 
The other day she told me she can't wait to be my age.  I said "honey, it's so fun to be your age, it's so exciting and you're learning new stuff, making new friends, figuring out your favorite things to do, and what your favorite things are, you're going to get to have sleepovers, you get to play and not go to work etc"  Unconvinced, she responded "but Mommy, I want to be your age so I can tell people what to do, I don't like people telling me what to do"  Yikes!
So far, Indigo mostly says she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, she has also talked about being a chef and lately she keeps asking if one day she can be on the stage.   After her going to bed recently, I was relaxing and watching Gray's Anatomy.  All of a sudden, she comes down the hallway to see me and I immediately pause as it's some gory ER scene.   She asks if she can watch with me.  I tell her no, it's bedtime, and it's a grown-up show.   She says, "But, Mommy, you know I want to be a doctor, so that is why I wanted to watch this"
In a very heart warming sentiment, the Monday after Mother's Day, after I picked her up from school, she said that she wanted to share some feelings.  She said she had two feelings for me, that she loved me always and that I was in her heart - then she wanted to share her feelings for Daddy - that she loves him all the time and even when he is at work, he is in her heart.  Finally, she said she had feelings for Isaac (I held my breath).  She said she loved him very much and he was in our family.  Whew. 
One day our neighbor came round to bring the kids each a small gift.  She asked Indigo "what is the best thing about having a brother" There was a LONG silence and again I am holding my breath.  Indigo says "playing with him" so for all that might be a challenge, they are bonding as brother and sister. 
To top it off, tonight, after a rough week and day (kids have had tummy bug), they were playing on the couch.  There is a reason parents' have said for years, don't play on the couch.  Isaac runs on the couch and takes a thud to the floor.  Silence, shrieking.  Mommy runs to pick up and cuddle.  Tears stop and he climbs right back onto the couch and stands up.  Mommy, in mid-sentence "Isaac, no", reaching over to grab him (unsuccessfully) as he backs up and flips over the end of the couch backwards onto the hard wood floor - it was awful and I was right there and could not stop it.   Isaac really banged the back of his head.  This time the crying is louder and longer and I am cuddling him.   Indigo runs to get the boo boo patch out of the freezer which we hold against his head and the crying diminishes.  I say "Isaac, you really have to be careful, you can't bang your head on a hard surface, you'll damage your brain" Indigo pipes up "and he'll damage the wood floor!"  Out of the mouths of babes.   I have to start taking notes in the car because most of the great stuff is said while driving.

A lovely day at Huntley Meadows - March 9th

I think we were finally starting to feel more normal again and it was a beautiful day.  I decided to pack a picnic and take the children to one of our favorite spots - Huntley Meadows.   It's a great nature preserve area and there are wonderful trails through woods and then a fabulous boardwalk all through a wetland area where you can see turtles, migrating birds (you can see one crazy flock of birds we saw taking off from the trees) etc.   We had a lovely time out together and the kids got to run and enjoy the fresh air.  It's really important for Isaac that he get to move and exercise his legs and develop his core so that he can become stronger - the difference in his physical ability is already amazing.   They played a great game together of Indigo running ahead and hiding behind a tree, then Isaac following after her, with her popping out when he got to the tree.  I love blue sky sunny days...

Saturday and Sunday March 6 & 7

We were really keen to get the kids outside - Isaac was so much better and the weather was clear, but there was still so much snow on the ground. We tookhe children to the local playground and they had a great time - we even saw a deer in the woods!

All of Isaac's warm pajamas were waiting to be washed so we had to dig out some of Indigo's pajamas for him - he was very happy in her pink pjs.

It was sweet to see our two kids enjoying sitting on the chair together - it was actually sweeter before I was able to get the camera - missed the best moment  but you get the idea.  We're happy for all loving moments between the two of them!

On Sunday we took a walk down to our beach - snow covered beach, but David was so excited for Isaac to see the lake. Once we negotiated the hill, which was a bit icy, down to the beach, we had a nice time. I loved the two kids each having a fun turn on Daddy's shoulders! It will be so fun to be playing on the beach and swimming in the lake in the summer.

Getting into the Groove of Home Life - week of March 1st

At this point, night times were still really rough although feeling more normal in the day.  Isaac was just crying and crying at bedtime but was very happy all day long, although he was not eating as voraciously as he had in China - we figured that perhaps he had kind of stabilized and did not feel the need to cram it all in.  He was still crying when going to bed and waking up through the night.  On Tuesday the 2nd, on the fifth day after going to the doctor, we found out that the poor boy had a massive ear infection!  I had taken the children down to our friend Ellen's house so that she could meet Isaac and so that Indigo and Sarah could be together.  Yvonne, Ellen's mom-in-law was also there, staying with Ellen after the sad loss of her husband Bill, Sarah's YeYe.   It was so nice to see Yvonne and to have her meet Isaac as she had been with us also when we were in China adopting Indigo and Sarah.  Anyway, Ellen made chicken congee for Isaac and he wolfed it - seemed to be saying, thank goodness these people are finally feeding me properly.  Unfortunately, I have no photos of the kids playing - I thought it was a miracle that I got there with them both by myself!  It was my first outing alone with the two of them and in my jet lag state, I was quite impressed.  While sitting with him at lunch, I saw that he had a whole ton of guck in his right ear - his ear drum had obviously perfed.  We felt so terrible for not realizing what had been going on with him, but we just had not thought that since he had already been to the doctor who had said his ears were fine.   We also did not have a history of ear infections with Indigo so no alarms were ringing.  We thought our poor guy was struggling with his new room and waking scared etc.  We just felt terrible.  I was furious at the doctor but then a bunch of the moms at Indigo's school, whose kids have had ear infections, said that they can go to the doctor one day and the doctor won't see anything and then the next day - burst ear drum.   Anyway, the good news is that now he felt a TON better and slept wonderfully and soundly that night.   He was put on antibiotics for 10 days and ear drops for 10 days - yes, putting in those ear drops was a real blast, and you know who got to be the mean mommy who had to do it.   The change was immediate.   All is well that ends well, we just feel bad that he had to suffer and that we were so clueless.

On Thursday the sun was out (oh, it can be so deceiving).   I was very keen to see our horse Dan and so planned an outing to the barn.   Our friend Pam lives close by so I rang her up to say I was taking the kids there and she was able to meet us with her children.    There was actually quite a bitter wind so it was cold and as you can see from the photos - there was still snow on the ground from the blizzard that happened while we were in China.   We still had a great time and Dan loved being fed a whole bunch of carrots and the kids enjoyed running free.    It was a fun time and good to have both children out in the fresh air.  As you can see, bathtime continues to be a much happier affair than those first few baths with Isaac in China.  He still does not love the hair washing but it's much better and he loves the bath.

On Friday, Indigo's class was on the Bimah to do the Shabbat blessings and so I took Isaac to her school and David met us there.   The boy that Indigo is with is Noah - her current class favorite.   After the service we went back to Indigo's classroom while the children were all picked up and Isaac got to play in the classroom.  He will be attending the same school next year so we want him to get used to going there.  Later, when Indigo was with Jessie and Ava, Ava's mum painted her face, hence the butterfly photo.