Five Month Update
Tuesday, February 28 2006 Filed in: HuiHui
Updates
We have been home for five months as of today. I've
tried to blog updates on our monthly anniversaries
but have missed a few. Today seemed like a big day in
lots of little ways, so I'm glad I remembered to
write.
One of the parents at pre-school asked me a funny question a couple weeks ago. She asked, "So is it what you expected?"
I know it doesn't seem like a funny question, but it made me stop and realize, I really didn't know what to expect before we got him. I think I was actually afraid to expect anything. Of course I had fantasies about reliving all the fun toddler stuff we did with Cam and Ben, but I consciously prevented myself from creating too many expectations. I do remember being more than a little scared as we boarded the plane out of Seattle. "What are we doing?" I thought. "What if this is a big mistake?" "What if he has serious problems?" "What if he doesn't like me?"
I think if you've been following along on here for a while you probably know that none of these fears were warranted. In many ways it has been like a fairy-tale. Hui-Hui is an amazingly affectionate and joyful little guy. It amazes us how cuddly he is!
I'm not going to tell you that every single second has been sunshine and roses, we do have some concerns. Developmentally Kai has delays, particularly in the large motor and language areas. He still won't eat any solid foods. We worry we don't know enough about his thalessemia. We haven't decided for sure whether or not we are going to have anything done about his hand.
But all in all, things are going well and the progress he has made so far is amazing. The big news today was that he actually used the potty! This was something that we didn't even really try with him at first. We got a potty for him when he first got home, and he knew what it was for, but never produced anything on it. Then tonight when Tina was changing him into pajamas for bed he said, "pee mamma". This is not a routine, we ask him occasionally, but I had pretty much figured we would just wait till summertime and weren't even trying. But Tina asked him then if wanted to pee, and he went into the bathroom. So Tina went in and put the little potty-seat on the toilet for him and sat him down on it. At first it looked like he was just going to sit there and do nothing, but then after a little prompting he peed! Tina yelled for me to come in and we were both praising him big time. Then I said to Tina, "now if we could only get him to go poo on the toilet." And then as if on cue he got that look on his face. Yes, THAT look! And he pooped in the toilet!!! I know this was probably just a miraculous bit of luck as he shows few signs of being ready but it's a step in the right direction!
(for those of you wondering why I don't write much about the older boys on here, they just don't seem to want me sharing these types of details regarding them with all of you)
Now even better than potty achievements, when he and Tina were on their way home from the store in the car, he was chatting away as usual, (he usually talks away about cars, lights, bikes etc.) but he had a funny giggle and was covering his mouth and being silly. Tina asked him what he was talking about. He giggled and said, "Ai ni Mama, ai ni!" and giggled and covered his mouth again!!!! He said, "LOVE YOU MAMA, LOVE YOU!!!" Now, we've cajoled and tricked him into saying Wo Ai....but never Ni! If we say, "wo," he will repeat. If we say, "ai," he will repeat. When we say, "ni" he will just stop or laugh and turn away. And it's never self-initiated!
One of the parents at pre-school asked me a funny question a couple weeks ago. She asked, "So is it what you expected?"
I know it doesn't seem like a funny question, but it made me stop and realize, I really didn't know what to expect before we got him. I think I was actually afraid to expect anything. Of course I had fantasies about reliving all the fun toddler stuff we did with Cam and Ben, but I consciously prevented myself from creating too many expectations. I do remember being more than a little scared as we boarded the plane out of Seattle. "What are we doing?" I thought. "What if this is a big mistake?" "What if he has serious problems?" "What if he doesn't like me?"
I think if you've been following along on here for a while you probably know that none of these fears were warranted. In many ways it has been like a fairy-tale. Hui-Hui is an amazingly affectionate and joyful little guy. It amazes us how cuddly he is!
I'm not going to tell you that every single second has been sunshine and roses, we do have some concerns. Developmentally Kai has delays, particularly in the large motor and language areas. He still won't eat any solid foods. We worry we don't know enough about his thalessemia. We haven't decided for sure whether or not we are going to have anything done about his hand.
But all in all, things are going well and the progress he has made so far is amazing. The big news today was that he actually used the potty! This was something that we didn't even really try with him at first. We got a potty for him when he first got home, and he knew what it was for, but never produced anything on it. Then tonight when Tina was changing him into pajamas for bed he said, "pee mamma". This is not a routine, we ask him occasionally, but I had pretty much figured we would just wait till summertime and weren't even trying. But Tina asked him then if wanted to pee, and he went into the bathroom. So Tina went in and put the little potty-seat on the toilet for him and sat him down on it. At first it looked like he was just going to sit there and do nothing, but then after a little prompting he peed! Tina yelled for me to come in and we were both praising him big time. Then I said to Tina, "now if we could only get him to go poo on the toilet." And then as if on cue he got that look on his face. Yes, THAT look! And he pooped in the toilet!!! I know this was probably just a miraculous bit of luck as he shows few signs of being ready but it's a step in the right direction!
(for those of you wondering why I don't write much about the older boys on here, they just don't seem to want me sharing these types of details regarding them with all of you)
Now even better than potty achievements, when he and Tina were on their way home from the store in the car, he was chatting away as usual, (he usually talks away about cars, lights, bikes etc.) but he had a funny giggle and was covering his mouth and being silly. Tina asked him what he was talking about. He giggled and said, "Ai ni Mama, ai ni!" and giggled and covered his mouth again!!!! He said, "LOVE YOU MAMA, LOVE YOU!!!" Now, we've cajoled and tricked him into saying Wo Ai....but never Ni! If we say, "wo," he will repeat. If we say, "ai," he will repeat. When we say, "ni" he will just stop or laugh and turn away. And it's never self-initiated!
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