Luke gets his smile back

Well the long dreaded dentist appointment happened today and I could not report any better news! No cavities! no issues and a little work with pumice and a pick removed most of the brown spots! What a difference it made as you can see in his picture. The best part was his behavior. He actually fell asleep while the dentist was busy scraping his teeth. They spent over an hour cleaning, x-raying and scraping and he just kept his mouth open wide and watched what was going on. I highly recommend child style dentist to anyone in the Springfield area, the staff and Dr. Carie are so kind and patient and great with kids. Luke is now a member of the cavity free club and got to ring a cow bell. I had visions of high dentist bills and many trips but we don't have to go back for 6 months. They cannot do anything for the missing front tooth but the dentist says the adult tooth will come in fine. It looks like he had trauma to his mouth at some point as there are chips on several teeth as well as the missing one. Poor baby! We celebrated with a yogurt parfait at McDonald's and some new sand toys from toys R us.

Lily's gymnastics

Lily has been taking gymnastics at Springfield gymnastics for the past year. Yesterday they called and asked her to be on the pre-team. This means she will be in an advanced class two days a week and will compete in monthly meets starting in October. It seems awful young to be starting competition but in gymnastics, the younger the better. She just has the body (and genetics I believe) for the sport and has done very well. She will be with 4 and 5 year olds. She loves gymnastics so was pretty excited when I told her she had been selected. If I could select the sport she was to excel in, it would be gymnastics-no hot days in the sun at ballgames or cold fall mornings on the wet grass at soccor games-it is inside and I love watching the sport. I can't wait for the Olympics to start so Lily can see what it is like at the top.
Luke is at Carol's today for a half day. He looked so sad as I was leaving. He continues to make improvements every day. This morning he clearly yelled out "Bye-bye Lily!" as she was getting in the car to go to school. Last night he kept repeating the word "tramp-o-line" while jumping on the trampoline. He can now climb the ladder into the tree house by himself and runs across the swinging rope bridge after Lily. His coordination and balance have improved so much. I will probably start him in a gym class sometime this summer.

Party Boy

Luke had a wonderful time at Princess Jada's birthday party. When we drove up to her house and he got a glimpse of all that was waiting for him, his eyes lit up. There was Ronzo the clown on site to make balloon figures of just about anything you could name, a train, a blow up jumping house and the frosting on the cake was the two horses who showed up for "pony rides." Luke had choice anxiety in a big way and hopped from one thing to another. He watched the horses intently and I could tell he was picturing himself up in the saddle and trying to decide if he could do it. The first time John tried to get him on he immediately shouted, "No, No, No" quite adamant about his decision, but he continued to watch the other kids ride. Finally John tried one more time and this time he did it get on and looked so proud while in the saddle. The attendant walked the horse down to the end of the property and back and Luke held on bravely the entire way. I don't think he will forget that anytime too soon. I have some pictures taken during the party and may be tempted over the years to tell him this was his birthday party (since it really was his birthday) but all the princess garb would probably give me away eventually. We did celebrate his birthday at dinner with a chocolate cake and candles and he did get excited and seemed to understand that it was his special day.

The second party of the day did not happen for us. Miss Lily decided to have a melt down after we got home and I decided it was better for her to take a nap than to be rewarded for her behavior by going to a party. She slept three hours!

Sunday was a beautiful day here weather wise so John and I took the kids to the park. Luke has come a long way with slides in one week. The Sunday before we worked on him to teach him how to go down the little inside slide in the nursery room at church. He was actually scared to do it but the high school girls who were babysitting that day made it so much fun for him that soon he didn't want to stop. This Sunday he was climbing the largest slide in the park all by himself and going down into the arms of Ba Ba at the bottom. He has gained so much confidence over the past week that now I have to be careful he doesn't take on a challenge that is out of his league.

Today Luke went to Carol's house for two hours. I was able to get a few things done at home that don't get done with a new four year old in the house and Luke apparently had a good time playing with the other kids. Wednesday he is going back for a few more hours. He is hardly coughing at all now and has only two more doses of antibiotics to take so is on the mend. Not looking forward to the dentist visit on Thursday.

Happy Birthday Luke!

It is Luke's birthday today. We are keeping it low key since he really does not understand it at this point and he has been getting presents all week so presents today do not seem so special. Actually the kids are both going to a birthday party for Jada Jones, another Fulinger (just like Miss Lily) I know the party will be lots of fun with outside games and crafts, Lisa always throws a great birthday party.
At 4:30 we have another party to attend through our families of international adoption group. It is celebrating kids from South America and the party is at a gymnastics facility so the kids will be highly entertained.
I added some short videos from our China trip. If they don't pop up when you click on the you tube, go to the videos titled: Lily tries to take over, Musical trio, Ghongzhou China and Lily and Luke dance. My sister had a hard time getting to them since it wants you to have an account. I know it is a pain in the you know what, but the videos are worth it. The Lily and Luke dance is especially cute.

Luke had his first medical check up yesterday. I was so glad to go to the doctor as he has been coughing all week. She put him on antibiotics as there was some crackling going on in one lung. John and I are both fighting the same kind of bug. Dr. Andrews pronounced Luke to be in good health. He is 40" tall and weighs in at a whopping 30.5#. He's in the 50% for height and 10% for weight. Turns out he is 3/4" taller than Lily and weighs the very same. I could have sworn he weighed more, guess the weight is just distributed differently. They did a blood draw and that was a bit unpleasant. The first stick resulted in no blood so they had to go to the other arm. He cried but the tears quickly subsided when I handed him a sucker I had prepared just for the occassion. We go back in two weeks and at that time she will start his shots. They basically ignore the shots he had in China and start the kids over to make sure they are protected.

This week we went over to meet the babysitter. Carol is getting ready to retire Sept 1 after having a home daycase for over 30 years. She is down to only 6 kids and this will be a great place for Luke to start out, kind of quiet but yet kids to interact with. Lily was with Carol for two years and it worked out just great. Luke went to the playroom and started playing with the kids right away. The other morning as everyone was leaving Luke told Yue Jia in Chinese that he wanted to go to school too. I guess staying home with Mommy is not all that exciting! He is going to start slowly so on Monday will go for 2 hours. He is used to being around other kids during the day so I know he will have a great time. His behavior has changed so much in the past two weeks, no more hitting, no more running away. He comes up and puts his arms around me, asks me to hold him....it is such a great change to see.

Ok, time for a lunch break, the crowd is gathering in the kitchen. More later.

More Photos

Luke and Lily blowing bubbles in the park across the street from our hotel in Urumqi


Lily in her new family reunion day outfit purchased at the bazaar in Urumqi


Open food in the bazaar in Urumqi


Scarey food prepared outside, no refrigerators or hot holding in sight!

YouTube - My Videos

YouTube - My Videos

Adjustment period

We have now been home for five days and I see the routine is starting to settle in. It has been a real struggle to get all four of us off "China time" and get back to US time (13 hours difference) I think Luke has adjusted the best. If I tell him it is time for bed, he crawls in kisses me good-night, turns over and goes to sleep. In the morning he wakes up all smiles and ready to go. Miss Lily is completely the opposite. She tries to stay awake until she just drops in her tracks, fighting the whole way. In the morning she is a bear to wake up. It has not helped that the weekend weather was cold and cloudy. My plans to get the kids out into the fresh air and sunshine fell a few sun rays short. Monday meant Lily went back to pre-school and meanwhile the weather improved dramatically so that today, Tuesday, she is pretty much on schedule. I had both kids bathed, books read and asleep by 8:40pm, a record for me.
Daddy, Luke and I have all developed a nagging cough, kind of like the one I had when leaving for China. Today Luke woke up from his nap all flushed and he indeed had a fever of 101. It went right down with Tylenol and has not returned. I'm trying to hold off on going to the doctor because he already has an appt. scheduled for Friday. I will have to see how he does in the morning. Lily seems to be the only healthy one at this point. I'm sure our immune systems hit an all time low during this busy time of travel and time changes.
Luke is changing day by day. The first day we gave him a wooden alphabet puzzle, he just picked out all the letters and proceeded to throw them around the study. When I tried to show him how they fit back in it was clear he didn't understand how to turn the pieces around to get them in. After a couple of days he is now turning the pieces and actually getting them to fit( most of the time). He is so proud when it works and his face just lights up. I think a lot of this is new to him and it will just take some time to reach his potential. He does on occasion get frustrated with me when I don't understand what he is saying but we have not had any melt downs for a couple of days now. I took him to the nursery at church on Sunday and stayed in to watch him with the other kids. There were 10 kids in a small room and he behaved himself just fine, he never hit or tried to take away a toy from someone. He enjoyed going down the slide with the high school girls throwing him up in the air and played with many of the toys.
When we went shopping at Walmart he started pointing with excitement when we were in the aisle of children's clothing. I could not figure out what he was pointing at except a row of ball caps, then it hit me, he was pointing at "his" hat as he has one exactly like it at home.
Lily has a play microphone with speakers and he loves singing songs in Chinese into it. I'm still working on teaching him proper pet etiquette. He is no longer terrified of the dog but delights in hitting him or kicking out at him. He told Yue Jia (in Chinese) that "dogs bite" so it may be that he had a bad encounter with a dog. Tobi is very tolerant (thank goodness) and has not nipped at him, but I can tell he is close to the breaking point. I just try to reinforce that Tobi is our friend and we must treat him kindly.
So Friday is the doctor's appt and next Thursday is the dentist appt. I don't think I mentioned before but his teeth are terrible. He is missing a top front tooth and the other front teeth have brown lines running through them. I hate to say it, but they look like the "hillbilly teeth" Lily picked out as one of her prizes at incredible pizza. The dentist has talked about sedating him to do the work but will know more once they see the damage. It leads me to believe he never had his teeth brushed at all. He will let me brush them although I can't say he likes it. Lily has never liked having her teeth brushed and fights me everyday over it.
Time for bed, the rest of the family is already asleep. This is my only quiet time of the day for now at least.

Photos

These photos tend to skip around a bit so I will try to describe:



the view from our window at the White Swan, we lucked out and had a view of the Pearl River!
This is Elsie, our wonderful guide from CHI who was with all four families the entire trip.
Lily had a special drink at the local thai restaurant just down the street from the White Swan in Ghongzhou

On the rock at Heavenly Lake outside of Urumqi
Luke gets his mini physial in Ghongzhou
The kids enjoyed the pool at the White Swan, the water was cold!

Infamous red couch photo
A funny translation at Heavenly Lake
Lily does her gymnastics at the park in ghongzhou
A frozen but Heavenly Lake
The kids ride the animals at the park across the street from the hotel in Urumqi

Heaven Lake near Urumqi

Home at Last!

Ok, we made it home in record time, 26 hours! The return trip went very well. I was feeling much better at the end of the trip and that certainly helped. We left our hotel at 6:30 and our flight left for Beijing at 9:30am. We had a four hour layover in Beijing but it ended up not being much time. When you get to Beijing you have to go through immigration, go pick up your checked in luggage,go through customs, go to United and get your boarding passes, recheck in your luggage and then take a train to your terminal and hike to the gate. It seems the international flights are always at the very end of the terminal. Traveling with four carryons, three large suitcases and two small children is a bit of a challenge. The kids were great on the long flight and both slept quite a bit of the time. The flight left at 4:10pm China time so by 9pm they were both asleep as usual. I wish I could say the same for Mom and Dad. I think John got quite a bit of sleep but I had trouble sleeping. The guy behind me kept grabbing my seat and pulling back. Once the person in front of you lays their seat all the way back (practically in your lap) and the guys behind grabs your seat, there is just not much room for anything.(including knees) The area around Chicago was experiencing lots of high wind so the last 30 mins was kind of rough. It doesn't bother me, kind of feels like a roller coaster but lots of other passengers felt differently and people started getting sick all around us. The flight attendants were keeping quite busy passing out the air sickness bags. It was not a pretty site. I really feel for the flight attendants and the cleaning crew.
We had to do the whole routine all over again in Chicago, collect our luggage, go through immigration ( as a visitor since Luke was on a Chinese visa) recheck our bags, oh and don't forget about security. I was worried that we would miss our connecting flight but we made it with 20 mins to spare. We arrived in Springfield on time at 8:07pm. Steven and Whitney were there along with Jessica and Yue Jia. I wonder just how many of these arrivals Jessica has attended?
When we got home Luke just wanted to roam the house. He kind of freaked out when he saw Tobi and hid behind me calling, "Ma Ma, Ma Ma." He seemed ok with the cats and meowed at them. He loved Lily's room and the two of them began to play. We expected them not to be tired so let them play until 11pm and then went to bed. John took Luke with him and I had Lily. She continued to play princess dress up while I crashed on her bed. I woke up at 2am and could not go back to sleep. John was already up and working on the 150+ emails he had waiting for him. I started unpacking and doing laundry. By 3am the kids were both up too. We just played until around 6:30am and then all went back to bed again. I got back up around 10am and feel pretty good. the kids are still asleep but I need to get them up if we hope to have them sleep tonight.
I'll post a few pics here that we didn't get a chance to post on the trip. Hope you enjoy!

Last day in China

It is our last day in China. We all took a bus to the pearl market. Prices are not nearly as good as three years ago and very little room to bargain. Jeannie we got you a string of pearls that I hope you will like. We found some knock off crocks for $2 for Luke, he does not like to wear shoes period and frequently kicks them off. These looked comfortable for the long journey ahead. We found a candy store, kind of a Mr. Bulky's kind of place and I bought a wide assortment of candy for the trip home. Nothing like a bit of sugar to add life to a plane ride. We had lunch at KFC, the name is really about the only thing in common with the states KFC. This afternoon we head to the American consulate to swear in and get Luke's visa so he can legally leave China. Tonight is the big farewell dinner with 25 families that are here with Children's Hope. It is not the same place we ate at last trip but our guide promises it will be even better.
Last night we took a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. The buffet dinner was, well, interesting. I could not identify most of the food and stuck with the rice and what vegetables I could find. There were many meat dishes and I could not tell you what animal they came from. One person in our group said the only thing she could find to eat were the store bought looking cookies. The trip on the river however was very beautiful and the shoreline was all lit up with neon. I took some video footage and I promise to post photos and video once we are home so you can enjoy them too. Please pray that the journey home goes fast! I have some benadryl just in case. Luke had to take it one morning because he broke out in a rash and welts and it made him very sleepy, so as a last resort we can get him to sleep. Miss Lily is another story all together. They have had some very fun times playing together and are warming up to each other quite well. Lily told us Luke was her boyfriend, so maybe they are warming up too well! John got Luke to count to 30 in Chinese and he is singing several Chinese songs. Everyday a little more information comes out of him and we see a little more of his personality. He is good at sports. We played a game of soccer in the play room this morning before anyone else arrived and he did pretty good kicking the ball. He is also a very fast runner as John and I can testify having to chase him down several times.
Ok, time to go pack and get ready to head out. Steven, it sounds like things are going well at home. Lisa, Lily and Luke would love to come to Jada's party on the 19th (that is actually Luke's b-day) I think his birthday will be low key this year and party time next year.
See everyone soon. We are flying in from Chicago on United and will arrive in Springfield (hopefully) at 8:07pm.

tuesday in ghangzhou

Yesterday we took the kids to the zoo. It was awfully hot and humid (I talk about this a lot) but the kids had a good time. We had Pappa John's pizza delivered to the hotel for lunch (sounds very American) In the afternoon the kids took naps and we ate at the thai restaurant again for dinner. Luke was like a bottomless pit and ate the spicey dishes too without batting an eye. We strolled around the streets and watched the night life last night. they have a big laser show over the river at night and speakers are blarring out patriotic music. I labeled it the "Branson of China!" John needs the computer a minute to check the score of the KU game. Oh no, they are 4 points behind with a little over a minute to go. John has tried his best to keep up with the playoffs while in China. It's a real bummer that our laptop bit the dust.
Today we take the kids photos on the infamous red couch. Later we are taking a dinner cruise in the river. Tomorrow we head to the pearl market and also some other shopping area where our guide promises good deals. We are about maxed out on suitcase space so probably won't buy much more. Last night Lily got a ladybug dress and John bought some DVDs with children's music. We are having a great time but are counting the days to come home. I just wish we could skip the 28 hours of travel that are ahead of us. We will all be ready for some rest when we get home. Hope the house is in one piece Steven and that all the animals survived. Steven we will call you when we arrive in Chicago to let you know if our flight will be on time. Hope to see lots of green grass and tree leaves by the time we get home, I have no idea what the weather has been doing in Springfield.
Luke continues to pick up words here and there. He says "thank you" and likes to give kisses to Ma Ma, Ba Ba and Lily. We continue to work on the bad behavior. I don't think he has had much discipline up until this point. He plays well with other kids in the mattel playroom here at the White Swan. We just have to correct him when he hits. He still likes to play the game of keep away so must hold our hands at all times or ride in the stroller. If anyone has ideas on how to get him to stay with us, it would be appreciated. He has no fear so John and I have already talked about how we will need to add some safe guards at home. He and Lily interact well and she tells us she enjoys having a little brother. Well John is back to check on the game so it's time for me to go. We will see everyone soon. I'll try to post again tomorrow and then we head out very very early on thursday for home.

Hot days

Hello from Ghongzhou! It is very hot and muggy here. The clothes I hand wash just never seem to dry. Yesterday we enjoyed shopping in the small stores around the hotel. We found squeaky shoes for Nicholas and lots of other little goodies. We had a very late lunch at Lucy's, a cheese burger and french fries for me. I am tired of Chinese food but I think John could eat it everyday! Luke enjoyed the spaghetti. We took the kids swimming later, the water was very cold but they insisted. Luke kept watching a little girl swimming under water and before we knew it he had toppled over head first into the water. It was the kids area of the pool so very shallow but he gave us a scare. He cried but must have held his breath as he did not spit out any water. John was sitting right next to him so it was only a matter of seconds that he went under but it seemed longer. After a minute of crying he was right back in the water, so no long term fear. It is very tropical and beautiful here but the humidity is hard to get used to. We are looking forward to going home (not the plane rides!) and introducing Luke to the house and backyard. We have met many nice people including the lady who cuts Landyn's hair (hope I spelled that right Fran, I'm a terrible speller) Their baby looks a lot like Landyn I think, very thick hair. Today we are heading to the zoo, it should be a good time for the kids. More tomorrow.

Sunday in Guangzhou

Hey we made it! The flight was long but Luke handled it well, I wish I could say the same for miss Lily. She was just in one of those moods and there was no way to please her. She finally fell asleep about 20 mins before landing. Luke really enjoyed watching out the window and we had a wonderful view of the mountains. Two hours into the flight we were still over mountains, they just go on and on and on.
We are very happy to be in Guangzhou. Everything is lush and green, the beds are softer. Our room looks out over the Pearl river and we can watch the boats traveling up and down. Last night the whole group ate at a Thai restaurant which was very good. Lily and Luke had fancy drinks that came with orchids in them. Lily spotted Chinese barbie dolls right away and just had to have one. Luke got a pair of shorts as the weather is quite warm here. Everywhere you turn there are Caucasian parents with Chinese children, many families with more than one (like us) Luke is doing very well, this morning he kissed my cheek for the first time. He is a sweet and happy boy, very shy around adults he does not know. He runs to me and hugs me and loves his Ba Ba. This morning there is more paperwork and then Luke has a physical (very superficial). We have many activities planned while here: trip to the zoo, river dinner cruise, pearl shopping! Our computer is still not working but the good news is the memory is still there we just can't see the screen well so at least our photos are in tact. Meanwhile I am having to use the business office computer at 40RMB for 15 mins ($5.00) but I want to keep everyone posted. Of course I am hoping Aunt Sue turns all these posts into a wonderful book for Luke like she did for Miss Lily three years ago. A couple we traveled with three years ago is here getting their second daughter. We finally caught up with Sherry and Roger and Reagan here at the White Swan. There little girl has been sick all week but sounds like she is getting better each day. What a small world it really is.
Well, the kids are playing in the White Swan play room with Daddy so I'd better go catch up. Hope things are going well at home Steven and Yue Jia. We are anxious to get back and show the house to Luke. I think he is going to love all our pets, he seems to be attracted to animals.

Last night in Urumqi

Today we left the hotel at 10 (8am Urumqi time) and headed for Heavenly Lake. It was a 2 hour bus ride and slow going once we got into the mountains. It appeared that every bridge was being rebuilt and the bus had to go around on rocky terrain. The motion of the bus put Lily sound asleep. The countryside was very barren right up until the park and then suddenly the environment turned into beautiful snow capped mountains with tall fir trees and winding rivers with crystal clear water. Made me think of Colorado. Heavenly Lake was frozen over but it was a clear sunny day and we didn't even need a coat. The kids had a great time hiking all over the rocky ground and we took many photos (just wish I could post them). Afterwards we had a great meal in the park's restaurant. The only bad part was when Lily announced that she had to go to the bathroom. Seems this restaurant does not have a bathroom but our guide told us to follow one of the servers. She lead us outside and down about 50 steps and then pointed to a building. The building however was not a bathroom as she indicated that Lily should go on the ground behind the building. There was plenty of evidence to show we were not the only ones who had passed this way. Lily thought it was an adventure and did just fine.
We didn't get back to the hotel until after 5. It was a holiday in Urumqi and tomorrow there is a small festival going on, celebrating the ancestors. The park across the street was filled with people and they had special children's rides in place. Luke and Lily went on the inflatables and had a great time.
We are packed and ready to go, suitcases to be picked up at 6:45am and then our flight leaves for South China at 9:30. It is a 5 hour flight and a true test for Luke. He is such a sweet boy and lights up like a Christmas tree when Ba Ba comes in the room. He does get a bit upset when we correct him but we are sticking to our guns so he will understand what we expect. Most of the time he is very happy. Ok, time for some sleep in anticipation of that early morning wake up call.

April 2/April 3

Well, the computer is trying to dry out, it comes on but we can't see the screen very well so no pictures for the time being.
Yesterday we toured the Museum in Urumqi. Not real exciting stuff for the 3-4 year olds but very interesting to the adults. There was one room that the kids were both excited and scared about, the mummy room. There are four mummies on display and the oldest dates back 4000 years. Because of the arid climate these bodies were dried out and very well preserved, you could even make out the painting on the faces.
We had free time in the evening and all the families chose to eat at pizza hut. Our vegetarian pizza had corn,mushrooms, pineapple and red peppers. Sounds like a strange combination but it was really pretty good. Luke enjoyed picking off all the toppings and eating them.
All four kids have been testing their new families out in a variety of ways. Luke continues to dash away from us if given the chance and today he has started hitting. I don't think the kids get much discipline and this will be starting all over again. He had another melt down with sobbing but afterwards settled down and watched a video with the whole family. He is starting to understand things I ask him to do like "put on your shoes." He has said "Lily" quite plainly. Lily has had her moments as well. For awhile she hid in the closet shouting that she needed her space. Luke thought she was playing hide and seek of course and would not leave her alone. I told John we have a 6 year old in a 4 year old body and a 2 year old in a soon to be 4 year old body.
Today all the families met to travel to the international bazaar. What a cool place. There are inside as well as outdoor markets selling a little bit of everything. This is where you are able to barter for what you want and that is half the fun. This is our 3 year family reunion day for Miss Lily so she was allowed to pick out a dress and hat. The dress is a two piece number, kind of an I dream of Genie design and the hat is what the Uigher women wear on their wedding day. Luke got a Uigher style hat, I bought a cashmere scarf for myself (about $6.50), John bought, what else, an instrument (drum). We also bought an assortment to gifts for family and friends. We finally found vendors for the Uigher bread and some freshly squeezed pomagranet juice. Observed some very interesting outdoor food preparation going on, a health inspectors nightmare. We worry so much about sneeze guards and of course here everything is out in the wide open, no protection what so ever and the sand and dust blows all the time. Lots of cooked meat outside, no temperature control. So far our stomachs have remained in great shape, let's hope it continues. We try to be careful about what we eat and stick to the "if you can't peel it don't eat it" rule.
Now it is nap time. Tomorrow we are taking the trip to heavenly lake. I hope it is worth the long drive. Maybe the computer will be working well enough to post photos tomorrow.
Oh a side note....John's Chinese has really come in handy this trip, especially in talking to Luke but also in answering people's questions. We attract a lot of attention and people are curious as to why two Caucasian people have two Chinese children. John is able to explain to them that the children do not have a Chinese mother or father. They seem to be happy to get an answer. We get lots of comments about Lily's beauty and I think they are surprised when they here her English.

computor problems

bad news, Miss Lily ran the water cooler over and water got in our laptop. We are hoping it will dry out but for now have to use the hotel computor. This means we will not be able to download photos as we didn't bring the software. We are hoping it didn't fry the mother board. Hope you got the post from this morning. I was downloading a video and stepped away from the computor when the accident happened. Opps. Hope the university will forgive us as it is their computor.

Tickle Fest with Daddy!

Day 2 with Luke

Oh my, who's idea was it to have two four year olds at one time? Oh, I guess it was mine! The energy level is running at an all time high (with the four year olds, not the 46 and 49 year old)
Day 2 we went shopping at a large department store. It was not really the Walmart type store we were wanting and prices were as high as home. The exchange rate is not as good this trip about 6.94:1, I think 3 years ago it was over 8:1. We let the kids pick out some toys, Luke chose a truck and car, Miss Lily got a princess set (of course). The rest of the day we just got to spend time together as a family. It was an exhausting time trying to keep the two kids occupied. As John and I watched Luke we were concerned. For one thing he never cried or got upset about anything. I could take his toy away from him when he was trying to hit Lily with it and he just went on his merry way. He also displayed so much hyper activity it was difficult to get him to settle down. When our guides tried to talk to him in Chinese he would not even look at them. Meanwhile the other kids were expressing the desire to return to the orphanage and were drawn to the guides as a resource. The more time we spent together however the better things got. He makes good eye contact and will point at things and look at us and he sings and when we gave him the big picture book we brought he was fascinated, looking at each page and naming the items he saw. When it came time for bed he was not wanting to stay in bed and I had to gently hold him down. Soon the rage turned into full blown wailing with real tears and he went limp. I held him and rocked him as he continued to cry and sob and eventually it turned into a whimper and then he fell asleep in my arms. This morning he is like a different little boy. He hugs us, he sits still longer, he talks non-stop, he laughs, he marches around the rooom. When I leave the room he yells, "MaMa" and comes looking for me. Yesterday Miss Lily got bent out of shape with him when he was pestering her and she yelled out "poopy" (one of her favorite words) Luke yelled "poopy" right back at her.
Although I do think he is developmentally behind about a year, I see real potential for learning. I think both John and I are feeling much better. What a difference a day can make!
Lily has melted into tears a few times when Luke gets aggressive with her or takes her toys but in general she has been very good with him trying to explain things to him in detail. Yesterday at the McDonald's clone restaurant she was trying to explain to him how to go down the slide. I think she will be a wonderful big sister for him.
Last night Luke took a bath first and delighted in the bubbles. When Lily saw how much fun he was having she soon jumped in. They had a great time pouring water over each other and splashing. I feel the beginnings of bonds starting to form.
Today we are going to a museum in Urumqi. It is supposed to be very interesting, I just hope the kids think so too.
I have one video to post of Daddy, Lily and Luke in a tickle fest.

Day 2 with Luke