Growing Wests

Still chugging along through the newness over here. Totes exhausted :)

NO IDEA what day it is. As usual in any recovery, day three kinda sucked. That was Labor Day, I think?
Roman didn't go to bed until 4am; Cale and I didn't go to bed AT ALL.
Anything we planned to accomplish that day went out the window.

Once Roman did fall asleep, we couldn't wake him for anything. Finally, at almost 3:00PM, Nathan just scooped him up and brought him to sit on the couch. He ate, slowly, and then BOOM: He found the backyard.

It had rained the previous two days and was finally sunny. I forgot he had no idea what was out there! Trampoline, swing set, basketball goal, bikes, scooters... he got all squeal-y again. GOOD LORD, HE'S CUTE. He played so hard and giggled every step of the way.  And all things were made new again for the other kids because his little laugh is so infectious.

Helping Daddy change the oil...

The three of us enjoyed a snack of melatonin that evening, in an attempt to sleep during the night and get regulated. It worked a little! Thank you tiny little Jesus.

Unfortunately, our Layla-girl woke up the next morning with streptococcus germies for the fifth time in 18 mos. We know what's next...

After our visit to the pediatrician (while I wouldn't necessarily choose to take all five with me, they did pretty darn well!), we grabbed some lunch and headed to the park. Again, he thought that playground was the grandest thing and had an absolute ball. (The other kids are rock stars, btw).

He has been much calmer since we got home- mostly. Now he's just regularly "very active" instead of off-the-charts-active.  He has his first hematology appointment on Friday and we'll start figuring out what all he's got going on with his insides.  He had just been transfused when he came to us. I'm sure that fresh blood, "excitement", and some coping skills played a huge role in his energy/behavior in China.  Interested to find out what we will see after his first transfusion at home.  He eats ALL THE TIME. I suspect it's attachment related (familiar road with the twins...), maybe Thal-related, maybe just a hungry boy, or maybe curious about all these new foods. Which, by the way, I have been SO impressed with his willingness to try.

He is equally eager when it comes to learning English. He repeats everything- which really makes you hyper-aware of your own choices! He now snaps and points when he says "SHOES." Amber clears throat awkwardly.

Most freely-used phrases:
Sorry (enter any name).
Good job!/Good job? 
Okay?! 
{Any name's} turn  ! or ?
Excuse me- Good boy. (He says both, as if they go together, bc I say 'Good boy' after he says excuse me.)
Please, thank you, and you're welcome.
Spiderman. (Nathan brought home Spiderman unders and he put them on IMMEDIATELY! He loves them!)
Cale Benjamin.
Roman feed Walker?! (dog)
OH MY WORD. We must say this more than I realize, it was also AG's first southern sayin'.

Speaking of, Anna Gray and Roman conversations are hilarious.
He assumes she's speaking English, so he copies her. She assumes the same of him. So their dialogue is a mishmash of English, Mandarin, and jibber jabber. And they totally understand each other.

They did have a bit of competition over Mommy during the long wait in the doctor's office. It didn't last long, but since Nathan was back to work and I was on my own, it was their first opportunity to test it out. They decided coloring together was easier.

He ran out the front door (in the rain) to get to Nathan when he got home from work yesterday! He's definitely warmed up to him and he seems to be attaching seamlessly. However, attaching likely isn't seamless at 7yrs old with this much change. After a week and a half with me in-country, he asked another lady to pick him up and called her Mommy. So... I'm not convinced that he knows we are his versus he knows we are familiar. That's exactly why we aren't introducing him to everyone just yet.

It will be a little tricky to navigate when he starts school, but we will have protective boundaries in place. He has really missed the others today while they've been back in school. I'm definitely ready to get back into a routine and get my house back.  I can't seem to get caught up right now between everyone needing extra attention, Layla sick, and still not resting more than a few hours a night. Gonna be a few more days of mess before I can get this ship up and running again!

So glad to have his mess :)