China Update #9

Good morning to you! It's Thursday eveninghere.

This morning Andrew and I awoke with a gameplan. We were determined to make Operation Breakfast a success since meal times are kinda tricky.  We decided to tag team our trips to the hotel buffet and bring food back to the room for Levi.  We're still figuring out what he likes to eat.  Rice and noodles are generally his favorite.  But his caretaker had said he also ate steamed egg, congee (picture a rice pudding/watery oatmeal dish made from rice) and bun. But he hasn't been interested in any of those items.  I brought him a mixture of food and hoped he'd be happy with something.  The plan went off pretty well: let's just say I'm glad we didn't take him into the restaurant.  The first little bit in the morning while he's groggy he's pretty mild but then it's like he realizes where he is and feels the need to begin testing the boundaries.

This morning I stopped saying "boo" (no). He seems to think its funny when we say it and doesn't oblige at all.  So instead as he squirted his milk container (like a juice box) all over his lap I just calmly told him that wasn't a good idea and asked him to hand it to me.  Obviously I said that all in English.  And even though he couldn't understand my words he responded much better.  He actually handed me the milk.  I continued throughout the morning to use gentle words to correct the behavior and didn't have any super tense moments.  Thankfully he is also easily distracted

The zoo was really great!  There was a ton of monkeys.  Levi loved saying "hello monkeys!" in English.  It was a great bonding experience as we were able to enjoy and laugh at the animal antics together.  A few times we even let go of his hand.  There was a small playground and after a few times on the slide with daddy we let him do it by himself...and he didn't run off! Victory! As we walked along looking at the animals Levi started asking our guide tons of questions about the animals.  His questions were really good ones.  It really showed us that a good bit of his acting out is probably also just frustration of not being able to communicate.

After the zoo we returned to the hotel and gave him a quick lunch then tucked him for a nap.  Once again, the transition into bed was very smooth - we are SO thankful that he is eating and sleeping well as those are the two areas that are often very difficult for adoptive families.  After a good nap we played for a bit and headed out for a short walk near some shops.  We bought him his first pair of shoes that are truly his and they are bright orange- which totally fits his personality.  There was literally a crowd of 8-10 people watching us through the shop window.  It's amazing the freedom people here feel to stare.  This city draws very few American tourists and now that we have Levi with us we are even more of a curiosity.  On the first day I asked our guide about the Chinese perception of American adoptive families.  She said that largely when she is with a group and someone stops them they will ask if the child is biological of the family because they don't look Chinese.  She said knowledge about adoption is not widespread.  When she explains the situation they usually give a thumbs up to say its a good thing to adopt.  So we figure mostly people are staring out of confusion.

We went back to the hotel room and played for a bit until we met our guide in the lobby for some more paperwork.  I'm sure glad she knows what it's all about cause we are clueless.  We just sign and thumbprint wherever she says.

We met another family for a walk in the park then ate dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Dinner went exceptionally well.  Levi tried several new foods including dumplings which he was eating off of April's plate - pretty sure he ate 4 of them! He's taking after his Aunt Anna.  The end of dinner got a little rough but all in all it was great.

This evening we were finally able to introduce Levi to Wade and Chloe.  Everyone was excited! Levi even ended the conversation with a "we love you" to Chloe. We are so excited for them to be home together!!

Since he napped this afternoon Levi took a few minutes to fall asleep. As he lay in the bed across the room I heard a little whimper.  Laying down next to him he began to cry.  In our hearts we immediately knew that in the dark and quiet room he had begun to think about life back at the orphanage.  We lay with him and held him for about 10min.  The crying never got intense - just quiet tears.  He eventually moved my arm and motioned for us to get up.  At that point we lay down in the other bed and just prayed silently that sleep would come for our sweet boy quickly.  And that with sleep would come with sweet and comforting dreams.  Thankfully he fell asleep soon after. We expect this to happen again and probably with more intensity at other times.  You can be praying for his heart.

Well, Andrew and I are about ready to call it a night.  Best day yet I'd say! Thanks for all your prayers!

Tomorrow evening we fly to Guangzhou. I think the flight is maybe 2hrs.  We are very excited to get there!

Love,

A & R