Gentle Years

The weekend actually began on Friday.  First we went to the doctor's office where Aidan got not one, not two, but three shots.  Reaction and fever didn't set in until later that night, so he was able to play with the kids at daycare where we went for his last pizza day--they have them once a month--and showed up just in time for some sprinkler fun.

It took several days to finish putting my various videos on YouTube (they were scattered in different folders) but here they are.  The first are in China:

And then here we are at home:

We had three days off which was good, since G and I both had flu bugs of different sorts, and Aidan enjoyed the rest.  LB is the only one who wasn't really hit over the last couple of weeks with anything.  Running the wood stove probably didn't help us any, but you can't beat the price of our wood (free).

We weren't too sick to be contagious, so on Sunday I watched BB while our son went to sign papers for a new (newer used, that is) car, and on Monday RB spent the day with us since his mother did have to work.

I am working on hooking videos up to my site, but here are some photos for now:

So here is how our week went:
Monday-I got Aidan up and got him ready to go with PB to daycare, but he didn't really understand.  I called mid-day and he had sobbed most of the morning.  I spoke with him on the phone and in a very trembly voice he said, "Mommy, I go home".  So I left work half an hour later and picked him up.  He had been better because they went outside, which he loves, and he got to play with RB out there, and he then made his family mural with pictures I sent.  He had just laid down for naptime with the other kids but wasn't asleep, so in his mind Mommy comes after night-night.
Tuesday-I got Aidan up and had him watch and help me as I packed his bag for the day.  We talked about how Mommy would come after night night.  I called midday and they said he was having a much better day, though PB said he had told her four times-twice in the car and twice at daycare-that Mommy would come after night-night.  So I left work as soon as I could and picked him up.  He was very excited to show me everything he had done and every place that his picture was (on his chair, in the mural, on the attendance chart), and though he had laid down during naptime, he hadn't slept.
Wednesday-Snow day.  He and RB stayed home with me.
Thursday-Delayed opening for me, but Aidan had already gone to "school".  I then got stuck in a snowbank and didn't make it in to work.  When I picked him up, he didn't want to leave.  We went from there to see the doctor who determined that he had an ear infection and we then got some amoxicillin.  Aidan is so smart that on Wednesday he told me "ear hurt, eat food" at the same time that he pushed his lunch away and pointed to those body parts.
Friday-Had my sister with me (the kindergarten teacher) so Aidan ignored me in favor of her, showed her everything in the place, and then was happy to go home. 

The two boys with their milk jugs and clothes pins

Aidan decided that instead of trying to get the clothes pins into the milk bottle, he should use his to decorate it.  (RB has the solid wood pins, so he couldn't do this)

Proud of his new PJs

Aidan's most recent words have been "excuse me" after burping, "you're welcome" (he used to say thank you, too after hearing thank you) and then with his usual humor, "no hug daddy" or "no hug mommy" which means that he wants to get a hug.  His vocabulary is really very extensive, so the list is long.  It includes whole sentences like, "Mommy, come here, sit next to Aidan", and "I want to go work with Daddy", and then it includes short sentences and negatives like "no go night-night".

We went to visit our travel mate (the grandmother, not the mother and child) at the fire station where she works, he got all excited about having ham for lunch, he checked out every tool in my brother's furniture making shop, he went to his aunt and uncle's 25th wedding anniversary party, visited my brother's garage where one of the caterpillars was inside being worked on (he calls every yellow earth mover a caterpillar), and has generally been very busy.

UPDATE:  As of December 24, 2008 when PSNH closed its operations for the holiday, they announced that 99.9 per cent of the households that lost power in early December had their power restored.  Hopefully that means the people I know are now restored after two full weeks without power.

I know that some of you who read this blog are religious.  If you pray, please pray for the Northeast and especially for the people that I work with and teach.  Last Friday the ice storm hit and still today, Sunday a week later, several families in the district I teach in have no power.  Some have been told that if it is not restored by today, it will be several weeks before it can be.  So I know a lot of people without water, without a primary source of heat, without electricity.  They cannot cook, take a bath, flush the toilet, or do laundry.  Many already have had their pipes freeze and burst.  They cannot buy a tree or get ready for Christmas.  They need all your prayers.

Now, on a lighter note, we all got out in the deep snow today.  LB and Aidan first tried to make a snowman (Aidan loves Frosty) but the snow is too powdery.  That did not keep them from trying to throw snowballs at one another and G and I.  Eventually they ended up sledding while G and I stacked firewood.  Here are some shots:

Aidan knew exactly what the haircutting kit was for.  He showed me how the razor should be used, and he very much did not like the scissors when I used them to trim around the ears afterwards.  Here he is before the cut, showing off the new cut, and then during cleanup, both of himself and the floor.

Returning to work was great for me.  Aidan did just as I expected-fine the first day, not so fine the second, and very unhappy the third.  On the fourth he stayed with G, and on the fifth he was with me since we lost power and I didn't work.

Here are some random photos from our week:

Aidan decides that he loves turkey, after all.  He came out into the kitchen, sniffed it, said yum-yum and rubbed his belly, then spent a good twenty minutes with the baster.  He also decided that he loves cranberry sauce.

Entertaining in the dark-Aidan loves to operate the camera-forgive our grimy appearance (no showers or baths until the electricity came back on)

We went shopping both to get it done and also to get warm.  Here are the boys, both smiling at the same time, with Santa Claus.

Getting into the Christmas spirit now that the lights are back on.  LB was playing carols in the background (driving me crazy-I can either listen to music or have conversations, but not do both at the same time).  Aidan was trying to be ever so helpful with his first tree.  Mangus was trying to check everything out and also get out of the way (not too successful there).  But we finally got the thing up and lit.

I am part of the best support group that there is-a yahoo! group just for people who adopted, or will adopt, from Beijing SWI.  If you do not have a group for your specific region, you should form one.

Here are some of the things that we discuss:

Food.  Aidan still likes to eat spaghetti for breakfast.  Another parent told me that their kid loves Spam.  So I tried it.  Yep, he does.  One parent gives her child pancakes with ketchup  because that's what the child will eat.  Aidan eats pancakes with syrup on the side.  All of the kids love fruit and vegetables.  Aidan will still not drink milk, though he drinks yogurt.

Sleep.  Aidan wakes frequently during the night and is most comfortable when in bed with me.  He often says he has to use the bathroom, but really doesn't need to most of the time.  I've learned that the kids his age did sleep in a ward with three or four rows of a few beds per row.  The room was dark and they were not allowed to use the bathroom after bedtime, but the nannies were often watching t.v. in an adjoining room.  So they never saw sleeping adults and this kind of makes them nervous when their parents here at home have their eyes closed.  Some of the kids need some noise, some are afraid of the dark, some need nightlights.  Aidan sleeps in the dark, I leave a light on between his room and ours, and he seems fine with or without noise.  During the day he sleeps much better than during the night-probably because he knows that I am awake and watching over him.  I imagine he will continue to wake during the night for a while.

Grief.  Some of the kids have night terrors.  Some wet the bed.  Many are fine for the first fews months at home and then their behaviors change, reflecting their grief.  Aidan rarely but occasionally will cry in his sleep.  He does not wake up, but there are tears pouring down his cheeks.  It seems to be related to times when he is confused like when he got his leg caught between his mattress and the wall, and when he has had a headache and fever.  But he has also expressed some profound grief when uncomfortable in social settings.  Yesterday he went to see our doctor.  The exam was fine.  The waiting room, and then waiting in the room for the doctor, were very traumatic to him and he rolled around on the floor and sobbed.  He even knew before getting out of the car because he didn't want to get out-usually he unbuckles himself and jumps out.  So I expect to see more of this as time goes on, especially while his language skills are still developing.

RB comes over, gives his exuberant kisses and hugs, then asks, "Where's Aidan?"   Aidan is upstairs watching tv, cups his hand and gestures, saying, "C'mere, c'mere".  Together they decide to watch the Cars DVD which holds Aidan's attention for about five minutes (unlike  Tom & Jerry, which he could watch all day) while RB knows the movie just about by heart (he doesn't have cable or satellite, so it's a favorite at his house).  So RB watches while Aidan makes puzzle squares on the floor.  Then they both end up in G's model room checking out car models and parts before eventually settling down to good old-fashioned Play-Doh.