A Li'l Bit of Li'l Dude

If you happen to be stalking my blog (hi, Dad!) you might have worried that I didn't post yesterday because I was completely and utterly overwhelmed.  

Ummmm...I was.

And, while I am still never-ever-ever-ever going in public again, today has been a much better day.  Our Li'l Dude is slowly coming out of his shell.  (Can't get enough of this sweet face!)

For the last two days, the tiniest things have caused him to fall apart: diaper changes, people, touches.  There have been some very scary moments, and I definitely cried last night after watching him bang his head against the bed to soothe himself to sleep.  He woke up sobbing this morning, and I thought we were in for another very challenging day.

But Li'l Dude surprised us.

Around 11:30, I took him up to the room alone.  He got down on the floor and starting playing - by himself...without crying.  He looked at himself in the mirror and got out some toys.  When we headed out for Li'l Man's TB test check (which was fine, BTW), he waved and said, "Bye, bye".  He talks!  He was happy and quiet while we drove around and finished our appointment (and then another appointment).

This evening at the hotel, he laughed.  No kidding.  A real giggle.  And he laughed because I turned him upside-down.  The little guy who didn't want you to sneeze too close to him yesterday is laughing when we flip him upside-down.  Where did this silly boy come from?

It's truly amazing to see our Li'l Dude coming alive.  We have a long road ahead of us as we bond and attach with both of our boys, but yay for progress.  

Our tiny peanut might survive in our crazy family after all. :)

A Family of 5

Yup, that's us: Daddy, Mommy, Li'l Miss, Li'l Man, and Li'l Dude.  A family of 5.  
(Yes, Li'l Dude is completely sad and terrified in this picture.)

This Gotcha Day was very different than last week in Shanghai.  We met Li'l Dude at the Guangdong Province Civil Affairs Office.  There were 18 other families there adopting children from different orphanages in this province.  We got there first and were able to meet Li'l Dude before things got really crazy.  (Thank goodness for our guide, Becky, who is the Punctuality Nazi.)

Here's Li'l Dude coming out to meet us with his nanny.

Even though I've only known him for about 7 hours, I can tell that our Li'l Dude has had a rough start to his life.  He's tiny.  He'll be 20 months old tomorrow, and they brought him to us in a sleeper that is size 6-9 months.  As you can see, it fits him just fine.  He's also sick.  He has a fever of 100.8, and he was crying and miserable when we got him this afternoon.  

We met the director of Li'l Dude's orphanage and one of his nannies.  He comes from a small orphanage about 4-5 hours away from the provincial capital (where we are staying).  We were able to ask them some questions before they left to return to the orphanage.  Jeremy asked if Li'l Dude received affection - hugs, kisses, cuddles - in the orphanage.  They said, "No."

Break.  My.  Heart.  How could someone not want to cuddle my sweet peanut?

They also told us that Li'l Dude doesn't take a bottle but can eat from a spoon or cup with no problem.  We discovered that our little guy doesn't seem to know how to eat.  He opens his mouth so you can dump food in but doesn't close his mouth around the spoon.  Once the food is in his mouth, he just sort of swishes it around and swallows.  

We're giving Li'l Dude a bottle because he needs the nutrients (and the cuddles).  We had to cut a bigger hole in the nipple because he was struggling to suck anything out.  We put a washcloth over his chest, and Jeremy half squeezed the formula into his mouth.

It's scary to be handed a child that is teeny and terrified and feverish.  But I have no doubt that Li'l Dude belongs to us.  I have no doubt that he will grow and thrive and reach his fullest potential because he's part of a family now.  He's a son, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin, and a little brother.  He is loved.  He is ours.  Forever.

I can't tell you how thankful I am that our Li'l Dude will never sleep in an orphanage again.  I wish we could have come for him months ago.  I wish he had never been without us. 

There are 49 other children living in Li'l Dude's orphanage.  No one came for them today.  Meeting Li'l Dude makes me want to start this whole crazy journey again tomorrow.  I hope it makes some of you want to do the same.

And, yes, Li'l Dude does have a name.  (You totally thought I forgot, didn't you?)  Our baby boy is officially Hudson Gabriel.

Li'l Man's Medical

Our son officially weighs 15 kg (a.k.a. 33 pounds).  Told ya' he was heavy.

He also has pink eye.

Boo.

Our Trip: Halfway There

Naptime and internet: what a blissful combination. :)

Yesterday we flew from Shanghai to Guangzhou, where we'll meet our second son and go to our appointments for the U.S. Immigration side of our adoption.  Leaving Shanghai was bittersweet.  (We LOVE you, New Harbour Service Apartments.)  Our stay there was awesome, and it will always be a special place to our family since Li'l Man was born and spent the first two-and-a-half-years of his life there.  Plus, they make super delicious steamed dumplings.  (If you notice a little pooch around my waistline when I get home, please pretend it's because I got overly attached to my money belt.)

Guangzhou has been lovely so far.  We're staying on a beautiful little "island" with lots of gorgeous buildings, shops, and walking areas.  The weather is nice (70's-80's during the day), so I can finally pull out my T-shirts and flip-flops.  That's a really good thing, because I was starting to feel like the one hoodie I brought was going to become permanently attached to my arms. 

Li'l Man is doing awesome.  He's curious, silly, and cuddly.  He repeated his first English word on Monday and his vocabulary has taken off ever since.  He now says his sister's name, hi, bye-bye, no, and what.  He thinks the word what is hilarious and screams it randomly while riding on my back in the Ergo.  He's also picking up some signs.  He knows please, more, and all done.  (Mostly more...and more...and more...this kid can eat.)

I know the attachment process will be a long journey, but Li'l Man seems to be starting to attach to Jeremy and me.  He gets upset when one of us leaves the room.  (He's pretty darn scared of being left, period.)  He comes to us when we call and gives hugs and sometimes kisses (if you're really lucky).  He thinks Jeremy is his full-time playmate; he yells "Ba-BA" and points to his stacking cups about 47 times a day.

Li'l Man is a good sleeper (8:30pm to 8:00am last night), but he doesn't want to sleep on his own.  Jeremy and I lay with him until he falls asleep at naptime and bedtime.  We're going to have a full bed if Li'l Dude wants to sleep with us too.  Bathtime is not a favorite either.  He's only been bathed in a sink, so the tub and shower look terrifyingly huge to him.  His first bath brought on a total meltdown, but we managed a shower with only a few tears today.

Don't hear me say that things are all butterflies and rainbows.  I don't think I will ever go out in public again.  (And this is after only meeting two of my three children.)  Li'l Man is fast and strong.  Today he stole a D*ove Chocolate bar from 7-11 while on my back in the Ergo.  I noticed him chewing on something after we left the store.  Ummmm...no candy bars for lunch for you, you little klepto.  (We may or may not have wiped off the wrapper and put the candy bar back without saying anything.)

Here are a few things I've learned about my son...

-He wears 2T clothes and size 7 shoes.
-He sucks the first two fingers of his left hand and twirls his bangs when he's tired.
-He likes congee and steamed dumplings and dried peas and chicken and chocolate and...
-He SOOOOO-PER ticklish.
-He's all boy.  He loves being thrown on the bed, flipped upside-down, and running.

We have a busy day tomorrow.  Li'l Man has a medical appointment in the morning (part of the U.S. Immigration process), and then we meet Li'l Dude in the afternoon around 2:00pm.  (That's 1:00am EST and 10:00pm Sunday on the West Coast.)  Tuesday we'll have several appointments to finalize Li'l Dude's adoption.  Please keep us in your prayers.  I'll do my best to post pictures of Gotcha Day #2 ASAP.

Hugs!  

Oh yeah, and pictures...

As you can see, I've totally been stinking it up when it comes to taking pictures the last few days.  Thankfully, my mama is more than making up for my slackerly-ness.  (Definitely a word.)  I promise to upload some of her pics and post more soon...if I have extra time after breathing and peeing once I have three kids, that is.

Pajama Party

Catching both kids smiling...

...and looking at the camera...

...is a pretty good reason for a blog post.

Don't ya think?

A Note from Me

Dear Ch*na,

I've been here a week now, and there are a few things I think you need to know.

1.)  I <3 your food.  Every meal I eat here makes me want to stay forever.  Even Li'l Miss is starting to like it.  She asked for duck for breakfast yesterday.  Seriously.  Please teach someone where I live to make steamed dumplings.  And if they could sell them for $0.40 like you do, that would be simply awesome.  Thanks.

2.)  TP is not optional.  Nuff said.

3.)  The fact that all your signs are written in Chinese and English is oh-so-convenient. I love that we could ride the subway ourselves on our very first day in Beijing.  It's so easy to find things.  Plus your translations make me laugh.  Like the sign at the Great Wall that said, "No Naked Flames".  Or the one outside our hotel pool that says "Disinfected Pond".  Or this one.  (I promise I resisted the urge to pull out my matches in the fire-forbidden area.  Truly.)

4.)  I'm not three months pregnant.  I swear.  Wearing this stinkin' money belt just gives me a lovely little pooch.  Everywhere I go.

5.)  Those lines in the road?  And those red and green lights?  They're kinda' important.  Really.  I'd get a lot less carsick if your taxi drivers would at least take note of a few of them.  And I'd feel better about my kids not being in carseats...or wearing seatbelts.

6.)  Paper products are really not that expensive.  You could be a little more generous with your paper towels and your napkins.  Especially your napkins.  Eating with a four-year-old and a two-year-old usually necessitates the use of one or 200.  And the kind that are a little thicker than Kleenex are nice.

7.) Thank you for my son.  He's incredible.

Hugs,

Tonya

And since you all came for pictures, here you go...

He's Ours!!!

I am beyond thrilled to introduce you to our son, Isaiah Matthew.

Our Gotcha Day was awesome.  Isaiah cried a bit when his nanny left the room, but he let me hold and comfort him.  He's curious, ticklish, and loves his big sister.

The nannies said he has been doing very well.  He eats everything.  (Something we quickly discovered at lunch.  Bean sprouts.  This child likes bean sprouts.)  They said he has been attending preschool at the orphanage for two or three months and is well-liked by the teacher.  The nannies said he is healthy.

He understood everything our guide said to him and wasn't scared by our trip to the gigantic supermarket after we left the orphanage.  He's very curious.  He says baba (daddy), mama, and jie jie (big sister).  When we got back to the hotel, he and Li'l Miss played for a while and really enjoyed each other.  He likes the toys we brought, especially the stacking cups.

He's a lot bigger than I thought.  I was scared for a minute that the 2T clothes I brought were going to be too small, but I think they will work.  This boy's daddy is going to have to carry him in the Ergo, though.  

It seems unreal that Isaiah is finally with us.  He and his big sister (aaahhh...big sister! :) are upstairs napping now.

Alright, I'm going to run before the internet kicks me off.  Thanks so much for praying for us today.  We can't wait for you to meet Isaiah in person!