Nearing the end of School Week 1

So Bo has gone full days the past two days and he is doing great! On Wednesday he took a 1.5 hr nap (and then stayed up until 11 PM!) but today he just played quietly on his cot during naptime. Figures that he does that on Ryan's night to sleep with him :)

Some funny stories of school so far:

• Bo picks all the girls flowers when they are outside, even the teachers. My guess is he picked up this survival tactic in the orphanage, buttering up to all the female caregivers.
• Bo's teacher had a rough time testing his blood the first time she tried it and pricked him three times before she got enough blood. Bo shook his head at her and told her what she was doing wrong, my little boss man.
• He has eaten grits, oatmeal, and mashed potatoes in the past two days - all foods he refuses to eat for me! Our friend Rob told me not to feel bad b/c the people at school are "trained professionals". Hopefully we'll be that good soon.
• He played duck, duck, goose today during afternoon playtime. When we arrived to pick him up he was running around like a wild man but it was just part of the game.
• Last week's letter was B so he wore his Red Sox "B" hat to show-n-tell. This week is F so he's bringing a foam door tag that we made together, I added a frog sticker to the back to help him (that's right - already doing his homework for him).
• Today around 3:00 he asked the teacher where I was and even got a couple tears to flow. She showed him the clock and that the big hand hand to be at the 6 (3:30) and he smiled and ran outside to play on the bikes. I'm glad I'm not the only one he's a drama queen for!

So it is still going great and I can't wait to go back to work on Monday. I know that must seem weird to some of you but this overnight mommy-hood has me feeling like half my brain cells are gone. I need some serious adult time or I am worried I might lose them forever :) Plus, there are just way too many dishes and other messes to clean at home so I can never focus for more than an hour and it has prevented me from really digging in deep with anything and the list of must-do items is reaching a critical point. Tomorrow I plan to come home and veg out with some Brothers and Sisters DVDs and diet coke and enjoy the peace and quiet one last time. Next time I'm home on a workday one of us will probably be sick and I won't really be enjoying it so no one call me tomorrow between 9 and 3 :) Good night, off to tuck in the Bo-ster...

Quick Update on School

Just a quick recap of yesterday. It went much better than expected with no tears shed by me or Bo. We reviewed the picture story a few times in the morning before going to school and I really emphasized the mommy bye-bye and then mommy comes back later part. When we got to school at 8:15 we walked into the class and the teacher greeted us. I explained the picture story to her and she went over it with Bo and I, then Bo ran off to the other kids and I gave him a quick kiss good-bye and that was it. I got a call about 15 minutes later that he wouldn't eat breakfast, which was no big deal because I had anticipated that and fed him enough at home. When I came back at 11 he was out on the playground but didn't see me pull up because he was so busy playing in the sandbox. Some of the other kids saw me and waved but I just quietly went inside and waited in his classroom. He noticed my car a few minutes later and ran to Miss Carolyn to point at it and raise his arms like "where is she?". Miss Carolyn let him inside and he came in to see me with a big grin. I told him what a big boy he was and that we were staying for his lunch with the other kids. The rest of the class came inside and they all washed their hands at the sink and sat down for a story before lunch. Bo and I went to the director's office with Miss Carolyn so I could do the first training session with the staff on how to use his glucometer. His blood sugar was low so I'll have to adjust some things but other than that all went smoothly. Some highlights of his day were talking to Richard's dad in the morning (in Mandarin, supposedly Bo said that he has 2 computers at home), playing on the classroom computers, doing his artwork, playing music, and a visit from someone at the Ag school who brought three live pigs for the kids to play with. Miss Carolyn said Bo was giggling and saying "oink, oink" when he petted the pigs. He was tired in the afternoon at home. This morning I dropped him off for day 2 and again no major drama. He said "boo bye bye" (no bye bye) when I went to leave but I smiled and nodded yes I am going and he smiled back. I think he was just testing me out. Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be the big full-day adventure. I'm eager to see if he actually naps. I bought him a transformers blanket and pillow and he used them on Sunday and loved them. He asked me for it yesterday afternoon but I told him they were at school. Hopefully when he sees them it will make him think happy thoughts of home and he will actually lay down for a little while. Oh, the last thing about yesterday that was awesome... Bo actually ate everything they served at lunch. In fact he inhaled it and asked for seconds. They ate black-eyed peas over rice, canned pears, and collard greens. He has turned down every green vegetable I have ever offered so this was a big first. I guess the peer influence of all the other kids eating combined with a super hungry kid did the trick.

School Starts!

This week Bo became an official preschooler. We went by school on Monday to inquire about getting Bo in to get used to the place and after a brief scare that they might not be able to handle his diabetes we were ready to go. Monday we met his teacher but did not spend much time in the class. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we went each morning from about 9 to 11, which is their morning play time when they work on the letter and number fo the week and then do free play and finally playground, which is definitely Bo's favorite. Each day I saw progress with how Bo related to the other kids. Day one he clung to me and didn't even try to play with other kids. He did talk to Richard, the other Chinese kid in his class, in Mandarin for a few minutes on the playground. It's funny because although Richard speaks Mandarin at home with his parents he seems to think that school is for English and he isn't able to translate or switch between languages very easily. He's a smart kid though and the spontaneous conversations between them will definitely put Bo more at ease. By Friday Bo was actually playing with the other kids a little. Tomorrow (Monday) I will leave him alone without me for the first time. I am not expecting this will go well but I drew a picture for him this morning and we have reviewed it a few times. It has stick figure drawings of us waking up, eating breakfast at home, going in the car to school, Bo staying at school while I go back home in the car, then me coming back to pick him up and both of us driving home together and Ryan coming home. I have to go to school at 11 to test his blood (staff isn't trained yet) so I'm guessing he won't make it past lunchtime. I think that's Ok for two days and then Wednesday will probably be our first attempt at full day. It will definitely help to not have me coming at lunch to test him but I think with another stick figure picture story I can explain that I come and do "finger" as we call it and then I leave and come back a second time before he comes home. This will no doubt be a crazy week but it has to happen (I'm not cut out for the stay-at-home mommy gig). So stay tuned and wish us luck!

And for those of you wondering, Bo is starting to speak a little English. He mostly mimics us and doesn't really use it spontaneously himself but I can tell he understands me more and more. And he has copied a few words at school from other kids (teacher, sand) so I'm sure that not having me around as his Mandarin crutch will be a big help.

Settling into Louisiana

Anxiously awaiting the next float

Get me out, I don't really want to go to space!

Just a little off the top, please!

Fueling up on OJ so he has enough energy to catch beads

Throw me some'ting, mista!

Bo had his first trip to the mall, where he got his first Red Sox hat and rode on the rides (but not the carousel because he was misbehaving and we had to leave), got his first haircut, and last but not least he went to his first parade! I tried teaching him to yell "Beads" at the floats but instead it was something like a high pitched squeal and some indistinguishable Mandarin which probably meant something like "throw me something or I will scream really loud in my mommy's ear". After about half an hour of parading he decided it was time to go home and watch Tom & Jerry, his new favorite show (note to other adoptive parents: there are no words so he doesn't feel like he's missing out and it's on Cartoon Network at like 5 AM CST so DVR it).

Day #6

Bo loves to swing!

My two LSU boys, Bo starts LSU childcare March 23rd

His new scooter!

Another park photo.

As we near the end of week 1 back in the US there have been a lot of firsts. Bo has been to softball practice, to three different playgrounds, to the outlet mall to go shopping, and to Whole Foods and Target. Ryan said after our Target trip that Bo needs to start wearing a mask when we shop because he makes out like a bandit. On the Target trip he got a new DVD (Cars), a scooter and helmet, a new set of Legos, 2 tee-shirts, new PJs, and a coloring book. There was a story to this trip because while we were in the DVD section he grabbed a Curious George DVD and Ryan and I decided to ditch that and get Cars instead, big mistake! When we got home Bo ran around looking for the Curious George. I showed him Cars and said "yi" for only one and he had a fit. He absolutely came to pieces and threw himself on his bedroom floor and screamed. I picked him up and showed him all the toys we had just bought and he kept saying "boo chee-chuh" which means bad car. So I finally took the Cars DVD and put it in my purse and said bye bye to it and he got the picture and said "hao chee-chuh" for good car and grabbed the DVD and stopped crying. Ryan figured out that Curious George is on PBS every morning at 6 AM and so the DVR is set and every morning Bo starts out with Curious George now. Crisis averted! Yesterday we went to the endocrinologist for the first time. His A1C wasn't horrible so he might have actually been pretty stable at the orphanage but she also agreed that the insulin he was on was totally wrong for a four year old, especially one who is going through a lot of changes and is having a hard time getting used to US foods. So now I am using two types of insulin: a blended shot at breakfast, only fast acting at dinner, and a long acting at bed. That's three shots a day compared to two before and Bo kind of got mad when I went to give him shot #3 last night. She also wants a 4 AM blood sugar every night so I will be doing that more consistently as well. I got a generally good vibe from the doctor so I probably will use her for a little while and cancel the back-up appointment I made with the other pediatric endocrinologist practice in town. She suggested that Ryan and I attend parent education because even though I know a lot about diabetes, his age complicates things and I need to understand that as well. In other areas Bo is doing better and better every day. He spends more time playing with non-electronic toys and his disposition is quite improved now that we've been on about the same schedule for a few nights in a row. We're starting to quiet down for bed around 10 PM now and then sleeping til around 9 AM. Hopefully we'll be on 8 to 7 once school starts (in two weeks!). I think the plan is to lay low this week and then start visits to daycare next week just so he is familiar with the place. He's still a bit shy around other kids but does come out of his shell in small groups. Last night he played with the two girls across the street for about half an hour and he wasn't coming to me for attention at all, just playing nicely.

First Few Days Home

Bo's first bread experience, notice how he likes to drink his milk. He's training so he can hang out with Uncle Donald someday.

At dinner in Newark airport, he is drawing in the book Uncle Dick and Aunt Diane got him, used it on the plane as well.

Right after we got to Newark and went through customs, I'm carrying two carry-on bags, Bo's backpack, 2 jackets, and Bo!

We are back home and finally starting to settle into a routine again. Bo did exceptionally well on the trip, considering it was about 30 hours from door to door. We were met in Newark by my Uncle Dick, who was able to get an escort pass to walk us to our gate and get a quick bite to eat with. I'll attach a photo of Bo and I that Uncle D took. Bo looks great because he slept for 8 hours on the flight. I look a bit more like we've been on the road for 26 hours and I've only slept about one hour on the plane. Looking at the dark circles under my eyes the last few days I feel like I have aged 10 years in a month. Hopefully people will stop thinking I am too young to be Bo's mommy and that I am his nanny. I'm freaking 32 already!

Thursday Ryan stayed home and we began our time adjustment. My first trip out of the house was to the supermarket. It felt really weird to drive a car again. I bought a bunch of things that I will try to get Bo to eat and a few things that I know he will eat (ramen, eggs, potato chips). We made a quick trip over to Highland Road Park before dinner so Bo could run around a bit and play on the jungle gym. When we got home I made pasta and grilled chicken for dinner. Bo had a meltdown right as we were starting dinner because I wanted him to drink milk and not juice. So we sat down for our lovely "family dinner" with a screaming kid on my lap. He settled down in time to devour a plate of pasta and even drink some of the milk. Afterwards I realized he has probably never had to sit and eat as a family before and I have basically been his short-order chef the past few weeks so I threw on him not getting to choose his food and having to sit at the table and not getting to drink what he wanted all at the same time. The poor kid was confused! After dinner it was more Wii (Mario Kart), then bathtime and Wall-E and then Ryan played with him in his room until he fell asleep around midnight. I got to sleep in my own bed for the first time in over 3 weeks and it was great!

Friday (today) Ryan went to school. I let Bo sleep until about 8:45 then carried him out into the living room and got him to wake up so I could inject him and get him to eat. After breakfast he wanted to go outside in the car and since I didn't want him to think that all car trips end at the park we went to Whole Foods instead. They had one of those carts with the little car on the front so I got Bo to ride in there and I pushed him around. Those things are a pain to maneuver, it's like driving a Mack truck but it did the trick in keeping Bo entertained enough that he wasn't a) making me carry him or b) dragging me towards the door or c) grabbing everything in sight. When we got home he opened up the fridge and started eating cold pasta right out of the Tupperwear. I pried it out of his hands long enough to heat it up a bit and he eventually ate quite a bit. We had an appointment with the pediatrician at 1 and she agreed that he is in very good health, expect for the diabetes. He's around 60% weight and 75% height on the US growth charts for his age. We didn't give him any shots or draw any blood at the doctor today because she wanted to establish a relationship between them first and thought he didn't need the extra trauma this week. I totally agree. He goes to the endocrinologist for the first time next week and she will definitely want to draw some labs so we'll just combine them then. Bo was very good at the doctor's office, playing with the Legos I brought for him while Dr. Harris and I talked. At the end of the appt. she said that he was much better at independent play than a lot of the kids she sees. Maybe my wild man isn't so poorly behaved after all! Tonight we decided on a low key dinner (Bo ate ramen and Ryan and I just grazed on snacks) then we went to Westdale where Ryan is doing his student teaching for their talent show. A bunch of his 4th graders came over to see Bo and some of the faculty were there too so it was fun. Bo was a little shy about all the kids coming up to him saying "Ni hao, Bo" but overall he did very well, even sitting on our laps and watching a few of the acts and clapping loudly when they finished. He fell asleep in the car on the way there and on the way back so I am very glad I got a good booster seat. Those head support things are going to get used a lot! Tomorrow we will try going to Ryan's softball practice and a trip to Target for a few odds and ends. One item I desperately need is some kids CDs for the car. I may go to the library tomorrow afternoon and rent a few so I can just burn them. We need to pick up on the ABCs and simple English so why not use car trips as study time as well? I certainly don't want his first words to be learned from Notorious B.I.G.! Well, peace out... I'm off to bed :)

Bo and Alison are now home.   Alison has not totally lost her sanity, Bo has been on fairly good behavior (though he has been very exploratory this evening as he checks out EVERYTHING in the house).  Bo and Boo are getting along great, though he wants to pick her up.  James is acting out a bit, probably because he feels his status of the house is being threatened and he needs to show his dominance by attacking the beagle, etc.

It is now 3am, the dogs and I are getting mighty tired - yet Alison and Bo are wide-awake as it is 5pm in China right now - Bo is thinking about eating noodles probably.

All for now!

RH

Last Post from China

Well, this is it! Today we went to the consulate so now Bo has his immigrant visa and he will be an American citizen once his feet touch US soil. That means Newark, NJ at about 5:30 PM tomorrow (3/4). After dinner we did the red couch photos with the Smith kids. Bo looked great but was more into his wooden sword than smiling for the camera. Here are the best ones I got, enjoy!
Happy little kung-fu master

With Aaron and Chen, our travel buddies

Outside the consulate after taking the oath and receiving our visa

More Guangzhou Photos

A Guangzhou shopping center

Puppies for sale, 80 yuan (about $12 USD)

Dried seahorse anyone? Supposedly they are used for soup

Chillin' with some gorgeous azaleas

Carvings on roof of the Chen Family Temple

Entrance to the Chen Family Temple

Only a day and a half to go here in China. Bo and I are in gift buying mode. Yesterday we went to a beautiful botanical garden and Bo had fun with me pushing him up the mountain in the stroller. Then at a few spots he got out and helped me carry the stroller up the stairs. He is pretty funny sometimes. Today we toured the herbal medicine market which is right across the bridge in main Guangzhou. There were some interesting creepy crawlies for sale and Bo wanted nothing to do with it. He was interested in petting some puppies and really loved the McDonald's chicken nuggets he got for lunch after our walk. This was the first McD's trip we've made so far. He even took a bite out of my hamburger so he must have been starving. He ended up eating the 4 nuggets in his happy meal and 2 from other people in our group. We are going to the consulate tomorrow afternoon for his oath and then we are done, hooray! As Ryan said in his post below, Bo has been telling everyone that he is American. I tell him he is still from China, even if he is American. A little complicated for a 4 yr old to grasp but we will work on that one. Our major purchae of the day was these sandals that light up when you walk with , you guessed it, Ultraman on them!

Hi all!

Apologies to those that have been following the blog with no recent updates.  I have talked to Alison and Bo each day since I left, and they seem to be doing OK.  

It sounds as if Bo is getting excited about their upcoming plane trip (48 hours from now).

A few interesting notes about their trip over the past 48 hours - 

- Bo has really taken advantage of the free stroller rentals that are offered in their current city.  He enjoys being carted around, Alison enjoys putting his mischief on lockdown.  Bo is even willing to help Alison carry the stroller up and down steps, etc.

- At dinner the other night Bo was asked where he was from, and he responded that he was from America!

- Bo got loose the other day as Alison was expecting that the guide had Bo's hand when they exited their van.  The driver pointed Alison and the guide into the hotel lobby, so they went in to find him.  It ended up that Bo had not gone inside as initially thought, and was running on the sidewalk to another hotel entrance.  He was very disappointed to find that Alison and the guide did not follow him, but thankfully the driver came across Bo on the sidewalk.

- Bo was very happy to tell the substitute guide yesterday that he was a 'good-boy' - Alison was under the impression that he was flirting with her because with all of the other guides he was very happy to respond that he was a 'bad boy'.

- Bo and Alison seem to be doing very well with communication, and the new guide seems to be much more helpful in regards to translating what Bo is saying.

I am very anxious to see them on Wednesday evening, and we may get an update from Alison in the meantime, depending if Bo's Mulan or Finding Nemo viewing interferes with her updates.

Ryan