Playground fun in Chicago

This past weekend, we went with my brother and sister-in-law to Chicago. We ate lunch in Chinatown, and did a little shopping there. We bought Nathan some chopsticks, and Avery a starter set of chopsticks. Nathan saw a candy store, and immediately walked in. The kids got some yummy treats - Thanks again Aunt Elaine!

We then headed to Millennium Park and walked around. We enjoyed some ice cream as well. We were on our way to the lakefront, when we spotted a park. The kiddos had a great time. Our two kids were tackling their dad (as usual), when another little Chinese boy spotted them attacking Eric. So this little boy joined in the fun...cracked us up!

We made it to the lakefront, and Nathan was amazed at the size of some of the boats. I said to Avery, "Look at the size of that boat!" The girl wasn't impressed. Guess that's one of the many differences between boys and girls. So thanks to Joe and Elaine for a wonderful day, and the beautiful pictures. They are priceless.

So, we are getting more and more settled day by day. Can I tell you that these days just fly by? I am thoroughly enjoying my time off with the kids. I will never get these moments back, and I do cherish them.

Nathan is understanding more and more English each day. He is picking up some more words (socks, shoes, drink, hungry, upstairs, downstairs) and he is even saying small sentences and is able to get his point across. He just told me, "Meow is sleeping." Meow is what he calls our cat Abby. The other night, Eric was upstairs with the kids - they were all watching SpongeBob, and Nathan came downstairs to me and said, "Mother! More SpongeBob! Mei Mei bed! Father bed!" Eric and Avery had drifted off to sleep and he wanted more SpongeBob! It is amazing to continually witness his growth with our culture and language. And I can tell that he is comprehending more by what I tell him and ask of him. This is amazing stuff....

Next time I will post some pictures of the kids in our pool, (and Nathan's first time in our pool) along with a very interesting picture of Nathan, involving the way he ate a smore.

The weather here in the Midwest has been beautiful. I have two great kids, a wonderful husband, and great family and friends. Life is good.

A day in the life

The kids are doing just fine. They amuse each other, which is good for their mama. They like to watch TV together, chase each other, and ride bikes in the house together. So, in a way, it's a little easier on me.

On the other hand, I have one person calling me mommy and the other calling me mother quite a bit. I have told Avery she is going to need to be less dependent on me, since she is getting older and cannot get my undivided attention anymore. It is hard for her, but she'll conform. She has often been challenging me (not in a good way) and has spent some time in her bedroom for bad behavior. I wonder what her brother is thinking when she is throwing a 3 year old tantrum - screaming at the top of her lungs and flailing. She pushes the limits and he is rule follower. I am a rule follower as well, which is a trait that I love in him. But, I am fond of Avery's leadership qualities, and the fact that the girl knows what she wants. It is very challenging at times to discipline her given her specific personality. God broke the mold when He made her. Seriously. Love that girl to pieces though.

Now let's talk about that boy that I love.

I took him to his new school yesterday that he will attend in the fall to fill out paperwork. Then, I happened to meet the ESL (English as a second language) teacher, and she seems very dedicated and really nice. I was completely impressed. Nathan will be in first grade in the fall. He will be in the regular classroom most of the day, and he will get one hour of one on one time with the ESL teacher. We ended up going on a tour, and he got to see the library, art room, computer room, and the gym. Also, Eric's aunt works at the school, so we saw her and her classroom. Her students had been following our journey while we were in China, so they were excited to see Nathan (and Avery!) in person. I think he liked the visit.

He is saying in everyday conversation: hot, cold, drink, water, milk, open, chocolate, yes, no, Avery, Nathan, mother, father, thank you, you're welcome, hello, bye bye, please, TV, noodle, fries, pizza, take a shower, brush the teeth. He knows up, down, hold hands, wash the hands, stop, lay down, and come here - and more I'm sure that I am probably forgetting.

We are calling him Nathan now and he is responding, although sometimes we forget and call him Guohao.

So I must say that life is not as overwhelming as I thought it would be at this point. I am a very lucky mommy.

One more thing - Avery just asked him for an M&M, and he said, "Hold on!" I love it!!!

Sweet siblings

Nathan Guohao is doing well. He is getting along fine with his sister, and has just begun to harass her a little today, with a little mimicking as they were shooting some baskets in our indoor basketball court. You know - that good old fashioned boy fun. And by indoor basketball court, I am talking over the door Nerf basketball in the foyer. I know that he is becoming more comfortable with her. He does have a joking personality, which is subtle in his own way, but adorable too in my eyes.

Please note in the first picture Avery is not too thrilled. This was the first night home, and she was trying to figure out what she had gotten herself into by volunteering to be a little sister. But when Nathan Guohao starting blowing bubbles for her, she was completely convinced that she just might keep him around for a few days.

He is saying regularly "take a shower", "brush the teeth", and this morning he told me, "Mother, eat noodle!" He learned the word noodle yesterday - it is his tie to his homeland and his familiar food that he needs right now. He is eating Chinese noodles by the truckload, and that is okay with me.

Eric was in the basement tonight with the kids, and they were giggling together - that kind of pure fun that a child has, that seems to diminish as we reach our adult years.

A brother was exactly what Avery needed. Although she is realizing that the world does not revolve around her anymore (the nerve of us), she does know that she cares deeply for her brother. She told me today, "Mommy, I love Guohao." It was honest and sincere. And that makes me so happy.

We are home!

Just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know we are home. I am having some major jet lag and hope to become more human in the next day or two.

I have to say that the kids are doing extremely well together. It was adorable to see their first hug, and hugging my sweet Avery was indescribable.

We took the kids to the park today, and they were chasing their daddy around and then jumping on him, squealing with laughter. Avery is loving her big brother, and I still can't believe I have two kids! They also ride little tricycles around the house together and play nicely together. Hmmm.... I hope that will last.

Our sister-in-law has been such a help speaking Mandarin to Guohao. She told Guohao today that he has an American name (just like her) and we want to start calling him Nathan, and he told her, "No thanks." So she told us what he had said, and we started chuckling. I started a song with the kids in the car today: "Avery, Mei Mei, Nathan, Guohao" over and over. So we are starting to call him Nathan Guohao for now and eventually we will drop the Guohao (although it is part of his middle name). I'll keep you posted on that.

So Nathan Guohao is adjusting well to life here at the house. He is very excited about everything here, and went to bed last night with no problems. Now if I can just get one very stubborn little girl to follow suit, I will be in business.

I will post pictures with the kids together next time.

Last post from China!

Hello everyone. After having some technical difficulties with attaching pictures yesterday, we (insert computer savvy husband) have solved that problem.

Here are some random shots from the past few days. The boys are like peas and carrots. They actually have many similarities. They both enjoy eating fish, racing each other down the hallway to the hotel room, playing video games together, and just being boys. They are also both very meticulous (yikes) and it appears that we have another history buff in the family. Guohao is glued to watching war movies on TV.

Yesterday, we took our oath at the American Consulate. It went smoothly, but not so much on the way there. Our van broke down. In the fast lane of the expressway on an overpass. Something about the fuel gauge. So the driver was rocking the van side to side every five minutes, to Guohao's delight, and was continually unsuccessful in getting the van to start. The video game Frogger kept coming to my mind, as cars were flying by us, with an occasional honk. Like we planned on sitting in the left hand lane of a busy expressway while approaching rush hour. They immediately called for another van to pick us up. Now mind you, this is the one appointment that you cannot miss/be late for. The travel home could be potentially postponed. So, needless to say, I was praying (hard) for two things. One - please don't let us get smashed on the highway on the other side of the earth, and two - if we survive, please Lord get us to the Consulate on time. My prayers were answered!

Take note of the picture with the bugs. Those are water beetles. And yes, you can hand pick which ones you would like cooked and served to you. They want it to be fresh you know. Eric got scallops - Bill surprised him, but we found out later that they were fresh from the tank. Eric absolutely loved them, and I think he loved them even more when he found out they had been live creatures about 15 minutes prior to being in his belly. We really enjoyed that restaurant. There were fish in tanks that were just huge, and a live lobster that looked like it was on steroids.

This boy of ours makes messes. Here is a picture of the table after breakfast this morning.

Here are the pictures of our cute (in our biased opinions) kids on the red couch - a tradition amongst the majority of American adoptive parents.

We leave for home tomorrow. We are so excited. We are actually 96% packed already. We have had a wonderful trip here, with the other family, and with Bill. But the best thing of all is that we have a son.

Boy, will I miss Bill. And he is best buddies with Guohao. I asked Bill last night if any adoptive kid has ever talked to him so much, and he said no. (Guohao is the oldest child, and the first older boy that his been adopted through our agency.) He said that he is really enjoying Guohao. We can tell by the way that they interact, and the way Guohao will grab for Bill's hand sometimes when heading out the door. I am getting sad for them to leave each other as I type this. I told Bill I will email him pictures of Guohao growing up. I may just stuff Bill in our suitcase and take him home with us. If only it were that simple.

So, thanks to everyone for following our journey. We love you all, and you have been nothing but supportive of us. Adopting an older child is always filled with a fair amount of uncertainty, and God has given us a beautiful child. Again. I am forever grateful.

Sheri

"Mother, eat!" "Father, eat!"

Food is on this boy's mind 24/7.

I think it is a combination of the lack of food that he got, and the new taste of things and unlimited amounts.

Almost every hour or two, Guohao is saying, "Mother, eat!" or "Father, eat!"

It didn't take him long to learn that word.

He loves to drink milk. We have cut him off of sugar - he goes into hyperspace with it. Absolutely nutty, jumping around with endless energy and uncontrollable giggling. He is high enough on life as it is.

Today, Bill went to the American Consulate to process Guohao's visa, so that he can travel home to America.

Tomorrow, we go to the American Consulate to take an oath, a swearing in of sorts.

Friday, we pick up the visas, and Saturday we head home.

We are ready to come home. It seems as if we are almost living a different life here.

We were forced to move rooms two days ago - there is major construction going on on the island (they are preparing for the Asian games this fall), and they had to change the window in our old room. Our old beds were really comforable. The new king size bed is the equivalent of laying on a 2X4. I never thought it was possible for a company to manufacture a bed that hard. Only three more sleeps, and then we start the journey home!

Orphanage visit

Today was a special day - one that I will always remember.

We had the opportunity to visit Guohao's Social Welfare Institute. He was there the first four years of his life, as well as the month prior to his Gotcha Day. When we were walking up to the grounds, there were already kids yelling his name from a window up above that recognized him.

When we arrived to where the children were, Guohao was able to pass out some cookies that we had brought in with us to his little friends. The children were excited to see him, and to also get a treat. The children are preparing for an International Children's Day, so we got to see them perform a short skit using sunflower props as a cheerful song played in the background. It was precious.

We found out that there is a girl a little younger than Guohao, who he was good friends with while he was there. We were able to get some pictures of the two of them, and we did find out that she was being adopted as well to a family in the U.S. She was just as cute as a button.

He was happy to see everyone again, and seemed proud to show the children his new mama and baba. It was a nice visit.

I will be forever grateful to God, as well as the foster care director and Guohao's foster family for loving our son so much. It has made his transition to us practically seamless.