C can tell you that he's adopted and that he's from Vietnam, but I've wondered what that really means to him at his age. Having a new baby in the house has spurred a couple of opportunities for him to confront what it means to be adopted. Last night was one. C asked T if he drank milk from her breast like Ellie. T said no, he was given milk from a bottle by Nanny Tuyet in the care center. T reported that C teared up when told that she didn't nurse him, but he didn't break down and bawl as he had in the previous incident...About 2 months ago, T and C were reading "The Family Book." One page mentions adoptive families and T asked C whether he knew anyone who had been adopted. He said, "Yes, me, Mena, and Ellie." T explained that he and M were adopted but that Little E was not. He and M had been carried in other women's tummies (their birth mommies) just liked mommy had carried Little E until she was born. When T finally got him calmed down enough to talk about it, C apparently was afraid that this meant someone else was going to come to get him and that he didn't want to leave us. T explained that we were his family forever and no one was coming to take him and this reassured him. Tonight he asked me, "Did I do that as a baby?" and I had to repeat the care center story and he seemed okay with it. That question is likely to recur over the next few months...
M's language is coming along rapidly. She can tell us the basic things she needs. She likes to point to things so we'll tell her the word for it, which she'll then repeat. She's using a few 2 and 3 word phrases. "Bless you" after someone sneezes is particularly cute. She's into everything. She likes to climb into the floor level cupboards in the kitchen and close the doors to "hide" from us and then giggle uproriously when she peeks out to see if we're looking. She still loves to play "Duck, Duck, Goose," and now gets the part about running after you say "goose." She can open the bathroom door on her own, which is a problem since she likes to splash in the tiolet. Not an improvement from unrolling the tiolet paper which was her old favorite trick. She sits on the tiolet a couple times a day (very briefly) but so far hasn't gone while sitting there. She still wants to "go" standing up because that's what she sees C doing. She's removing her diaper more frequently so that we'll take her to the potty. About a week ago, she pooped on the floor of C's bedroom before we knew what she was doing. (C reacted very calmly--more so than me anyway...). She can fend for herself: when she wants to do something and T or I try to help, we get an emphatic "No" (esp. when it comes to putting on socks and shoes or closing buckles or buttons). And C is often the victim of an assertive push when she wants him out of her way--particularly when she wants on the step stool in the bathroom.
Case in point, a video we like to call, "Bossy M."
Little E is generally waking up only once per night and then going back to sleep after feeding (she's become a nursing champ!). So mommy and daddy are sleeping much better. She smiles a lot. She has great head control. She can roll onto her side which sparked us to put together her crib this week. C then announced that he was moving into the pink room to sleep with Ellie and M could have his room. When that plan was rejected, we agreed that he could sleep on the floor in the room (on an air matress) with a sleeping bag. He did that four nights straight. M is thrilled with Ellie. She loves to give her hugs and to pat her gently. When E cries, M comes running to provide comfort. When M wakes in morning, she generally asks, "Where's Ellie?" Then "Where's Mommy?" So then we go to Mommy and Daddy's room so M can see E sleeping in the basinette. M chants, "Ellie, Ellie, Ellie" with a huge smile on her face. (In the afternoon, M will ask, "Where's Dolin?" (ie, Colin) The response: "He's at school." M replies: "OK."). Little E has recently discovered the outside world (and her fingers).
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