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.