Tree is Broken

Last Friday, the 100+ year old oak in our backyard came crashing down, demolishing the swing set but fortunately nothing else.  T & I were at a friends house but the sitter filled us in when we called to check in.  The next day, the neighbors reported hearing the loud crack and the swooshing sound--which sound like someone on their roofs or patios--but they couldn't see anything in our backyard in the darkness.  So they were a bit surprised at the source of the sound the next morning (or later that night as T posted to Facebook).  There was no storm to knock it over (so the insurance company can avoid contributing to the clean up), just old age.  The inside had rotted at the base and the large canopy finally became too heavy to hold up.  It's still surprising that the heavy thunderstorms the week before didn't blow it down.  They caused tornados across NC, including in Raleigh where I had to hole up in the bunker of the state legislative office building with the North Carolina Student Legislature.

C and M spent a lot of time out there, esp now that the weather is warm.  M in particular asks "outside?  shoes?  jacket?" and loves to swing. But she has taken the disaster quite well.  In fact, several mornings in a row, she asked for the blinds to be open so she could point out and tell me or C, "Tree is broken; swing is broken."  This morning, when Ellie and T entered the room, she announced, "Ellie my sister."

Mischief of One Kind And Another

Last night we were reading Peter Rabbit as a bedtime story.  Early in the book, Peter is described as getting into mischief.  When I read that line, M made a very odd facial expression--sort of exasperated disgust that the author would make such an unprovoked accusation.  I asked her, "Mena, do you get into mischief?"  Without delay, she replied assertively, "Yes, daddy!"  And there you have it...

C asked another adoption question out of the blue at dinner the other night.  He turned to T and asked, "If I wasn't in your tummy when I was a baby, does that mean I have another family?"  Gulp!  Fortunately T is always prepared with an answer in these situations, and replied, "Another woman carried you in her tummy.  She is your birth mother but you are part of our family.  Ba and I wanted to have a family and didn't think we could have children so we adopted you into our family."  He then moved on to another topic so was apparently satisfied.  But you still have to wonder how long that question--and the reasoning behind it--had been stewing around in his head before he asked it.

Ellie just had her 4 month appt and is 11 lbs 10 oz and 24.5 inches.  She is very close to rolling over so we've moved her into her crib in the pink room which she and M now share.  She's sleeping less during the day, but is doing well at night; generally waking up once or sometimes twice to feed then going back to sleep immediately.  She smiles alot and prefers to be held and kept moving constantly.  She'll "talk" with you a bit.  She does not suck on her thumb, generally preferring all of her fingers instead.

Babies and Adoption

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...

C has been doing very well in school.  That is, after a trip to the principal's office a couple of weeks ago for spewing chocolate milk onto another boy's pizza (along with an accomplice).  A week of punishment at home and school seems to have convinced him for now that getting "good colors" for good behavior is the better way to go.

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).

The three of them are getting along extremely well.  They're going to have a lot of fun together and T and I will have a lot of fun with them--we are already.

Happy Valentine's Day...

Happy (Belated) VN New Year

We traveled to Winston Salem today to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year with other adoptive families from NC.  It was the first time we had joined this group.  There were 15 or so families present--most with multiple kids--so it was a room full of energy!  The highlight was a troupe of Chinese dragon dancers.  They had three dragon customes (the kind typically seen in parades).  They were very colorful and ornately decorated.  The mouths, eyes, and even ears moved.  I wanted to get a picture of C with the costumes but he wouldn't do it.  We did video their performance--including one of the dragons going eye-to-eye with C.  C was as far back in his chair as he could go to avoid being eaten by the dragon.  And as soon as the dragon moved on, he ran over to Mommy and hung onto her leg for the rest of the performance.  Most of the kids had a similar reaction--holding onto their parents for dear life!  If the dragons didn't scare them, the loud drums did.  M spent the performance with her hands over her eyes--but peeking through them--as she did at the circus last week (I'm now realizing we never posted about that...so I'll get to it below).  I'd never seen such a performance and thought it was a lot of fun.

Then we had lunch.  Most of the dishes were VN recipes.  Unfortunately, I didn't see the high chairs before M had made her food mess (sitting on my lap) because jumping around and playing with food is better than eating it.  After she was done, I then went back for my food; there wasn't much left at that point, but I was able to fill my plate with the few items that were left and they were all very good.  After lunch all the kids chased each other around and around and around.  The room had a stage and of course being on stage was especially exciting.

Last Sunday afternoon, we went to the Barnum and Bailey circus.  Lots of, well, everything:  lights, sounds, animals, contortionists, people in the air, people on vehicles, and of course plenty of clowns!  We got C his popcorn as soon as we arrived to preempt hours of nagging.  M did pretty well sitting on my lap, though did want to get up to move around from time to time.  We were sitting next to an aisle so she would get frustrated that I wouldn't let her play on the stairs or hang from the railings.  Some of the other people on the aisle found her at least as entertaining as the circus as they would immediately watch her, laugh, and wave at her when she got loose. 

Big week for me too.  "How the Gov Got in Your Backyard" came out on Wed.  The complete, revised manuscript of the never-ending magnum opus was submitted to the University of Michigan Press on Thursday (still have the copy editing and page proof stages to go before that one finally ends!), and the Democratic National Committee announced it will be in Charlotte in 2012.  So developing ways to take advantage of the convention for the university apparently will be my next big project.

T goes back to work on Monday, so she and little E will be in for big change.  And so will I, especially if little E refuses to drink from a bottle.  Let the fun begin!

Sister Love

Showing Little E some love, Miss M style...enjoy!

Concertino

After multiple attempts, when she would shut down when the camera appeared, we finally have it recorded for posterity:  Miss M's first official concert. Let the festivities begin!



Sibling love...

Saved for posterity (or evidence when the teenage years arrive):

And, some daddy love (until Little E is big enough to take on her big brother and sister):

Snow Day!

Though since it was Sunday and the day after Christmas, we didn't get off of work or school.  Still.  Any snow day (without ice) is a good day.  The kids and I went out in the morning.  We had a hand-me-down snow suit for M.  She had trouble walking around in the snow in it, however, and when she'd topple over (frequently), she couldn't get herself back to standing position.  So C and I spent a lot of time pulling her upright.  We also had three (!!!) sets of hand-me-down boots for her--including a set in pink to go with the snow suit.  Now that's accessorizing!  (Where are my pink boots when I need them?)  Unfortunately, all three sets of boots were a bit too big, so she kept kicking them off and walking around in the snow in her socks.  Needless to say, she went back inside rather quickly.  But not before we got lots of good photos of her in the snow.

C helped me clean off the car.  And got his wish to throw snowballs and to build a snowman.  The snow was perfect for packing and snowman building.  As I shoveled the snow from the driveway, I dumped it in a pile for C and I to use as the body of the snowman.  C used the snow from the hood of the car to form a massive head for the snowman.  Remarkably, it held together all the way from the car to the snowman and even held together when we set it on the body.  But then we tried to pack a neck around it to hold it steady and it split into three large sections.  Humpy Dumpty may not go back together again, but C and I were able to refashion the head.  Then find some scraps of whatever is lying around for a nose, a hat and scarf, and bingo--a passable snowman.

Now, how to keep the kids entertained the rest of the week...

A White Christmas in Southtown?!

Mrs. C must have paid a visit to Mother Nature and they ganged up on Heat Meiser to allow snow in Southtown.  The first time since 1947!  This is our third White Christmas in a row.  Unprecedented!  Come to think of it, the snow must be due to one particular d!@# Yankee being down here this year for the first time.  We were home for Christmas this year and nature tried to make it feel like being at the old home.

C got us started this morning, coming into the bedroom to announce with enthusiasm that there were lots of presents around the tree.  I then had to come into the hall with him to look downstairs to see for myself. He then informed me that we would wait to open them, until Mommy and Mena were awake and we had breakfast.  But in the meantime, he would have a chocolate milk!  Remarkable self-discipline and planning.  MY BOY!

It was lots of fun to see him rip open his packages and cheer with delight to see what was inside.  And EVERYTHING was a big thrill.  M opened a pillow pet first and gave it a big hug.  Her big present was a rider that plays music.  It's really for outside, but she rode it all over the house and had a good ole time.

M also liked little E's presents and was not happy when we would not unbox them so that she could play with them.  Little E was so excited with the festivities that she slept through them.   Presumably so she could make sure that she could stay up at night...  Party on...

M's vocabulary has been increasing dramatically.  She likes to say "Dank you"--with a smile--when you hand her something.  She constantly surprises us with new "proto-words" she speaks.  The last few days, she has wanted to do the motions to "Itsy-bitsy spider."

We'll see if it keeps snowing.  The ground was wet before the snow, so it will have to snow quite a bit for any to stick.  C has already proposed that we skip church tomorrow so that he can build a snowman and throw snowballs.  He's planning on lots o' snow.  If we do get to play in the snow, we'll have posts two days in a row.  Talk about unprecedented...