Upward!

 

Micah has started the season with Upward Basketball.  He's really enjoying it and loves learning the verses and playing games on the website.  Last Saturday, he played in his first-ever game!    Noah really wants to play too!  It will be a few years until he gets to play. 

Micah loves earning stars.  He gets a star for each practice he attends and last Saturday earned a star for defense because he guarded his person through the whole game.

 Bruce volunteered to coach Micah's team.  It's been a really good bonding experience for the two of them. 

Micah sure loves his dad.  And I love my three boys!

Long Overdue Update

As usual, I'm behind on updating the blog.  Here's some updates from the last month.

The boys really enjoyed Halloween.  Micah was once again a firefighter.  He had a great time showing the ropes to Noah.  Noah had no idea why he had to put on a pumpkin outfit, but he sure liked the candy.  He wanted to eat each piece as it was given to him.  Mama even dressed up for the masquerade ball at Micah's school.  She went as Baba (in BDU's). 

 

Noah stays home with Mama while Micah is in school.  He loves to help with the vacuuming.  He is a curious toddler and gets into everything.  It's a challenge teaching him which things are toys and which things are just things,  He'd rather play with Mama's Tupperware than most of his toys. 

The boys are learning what it means to be brothers.  Noah wants to do everything Micah does.  Micah wants to be babied when he sees Noah being fed, carried or cuddled.  But it's so sweet to watch them playing together. 

Yes, I know that Noah's stool is upside down and doing him no good, but he wanted it that way. 

My friend gave the boys matching Georgia Tech shirts.  Very cute.  Daddy went to UGA though, so he's not so sure.

One Month

Then...

And now.

 

It's simply amazing that Noah has been with us a month. He just keeps getting cuter!

One Week Home

 

One week ago today we were on our way home.  Our life is fuller and busier that we could have imagined.  What a blessing Noah is to our family.  

The first few nights were pretty rough.  Both boys woke up repeatedly and Mama, especially, got very little sleep.  Micah developed a fever which lasted throughout the weekend.  No other symptoms, just a high temperature that left him tired and cranky.  Combined with jealously over his new brother, Micah wasn't much fun to be around.  

Noah had a rough time sleeping for the first couple of nights.  He would wake up and just cry until Mama stood and rocked him back to sleep.  Micah had night terrors almost every night which are just heartbreaking to watch. 

But it has gotten better.  The last two nights Noah has only woken once.  Micah sleeps in his own bed until he wakes around 4am when he climbed into Mama and Baba's bed and slept until morning.  We can live this way!

Noah is adjusting well to his surroundings.  He loves the slide in the back yard.  He can walk, run, climb a stair or two.  He eats like a football player.  We do have to watch him as choice food gets squirreled into his cheeks to save for later.  He loves to play with Tupperware and Rubbermaid bowls.  His favorite toys are the Elmo remote control, Happy Goat cell phone (from China), Mama's hand-held Solitaire game and whatever Micah is playing with.  He has said "Mama," something that sounds like "Baba," and "Lao Lao."  He waves bye-bye and signed "more" once when he wanted more bananas. 

Micah has struggled with jet lag and being jealous of Noah.  He covets Mama's attention, wanting Mama to feed him at dinner.  He went back to school Tuesday which seems to be helping some.  We're trying to show him some special attention each day so he doesn't feel replaced. 

Lao Lao and Lao Ye (Grandma and Grandpa) had a great time visiting with their grandsons. I know they waited a long time to be grandparents and they are really enjoying it! 

Take the Long Way Home

It's nice to be posting from home where Blogger works, the Internet connection is reliable and I've got a cup of coffee by my side. 

We made it home last Thursday.  It was a long, long trip.  We flew to Beijing where we had to change terminals to change planes.  We hopped on a bus that said "To Terminal 3."  The bus then proceeded on a 10 minute journey to the next terminal.  We had no idea that it was that long and we sure hoped we were going to the right place.  But we got to Terminal 3 and checked in and decided to get lunch.  Now we were getting dangerously low on yuan, but we had heard that most restaurants in the Beijing airport took credit cards so we headed off to Burger King.  After a long line, and mixed communication, we learned that BK doesn't take credit cards and all we could afford were two Whopper Jrs.  So we sat down to feed the little Whoppers to our children while we started to eat the snacks in our bag when the gentleman sitting next to us who had overheard our dilemma traded us some RMB for ten bucks US.  Yay!  Back to the BK line where we got burgers, fries and a Coke Zero. 

We knew we had to clear the immigration checkpoint before we found our gate.  Another train ride and another long line later we were there.  Finally we boarded the flight we were NOT looking forward to.  A long 12 hours to Chicago. Noah started in crying right away.  I hear groans from those sitting near us, but what could I do?  Once we were able to move around the cabin, Noah got happier.  Finally we had a meal and tried to settle the boys down to sleep.  Yeah, right.  Noah really prefers to be rocked while standing.  Not so easy in the center seat.  Micah insisted that he would not sleep on a plane and settled in to watch Air Buddies on the DVD player.  Noah finally slept fitfully on Mama's shoulder, then on Baba's seat which Baba so graciously vacated.  Then just as Micah finished his movie and drifted off to dream, Noah woke with a huge cry.  Baba to the rescue again.  He took Noah and walked around the cabin while Micah and Mama got some shuteye.  Noah charmed the flight attendants and scored another meal of pork and rice. 

Overall Micah slept for a 4 hours or so while Noah got a few fitful naps.  Mama got a two hour rest, but Baba got zero sleep.  Have I mentioned that Baba is my hero?  He sacrificed his own sleep so that I and the boys could get some rest. 

We landed in Chicago where we had about 2 hours to clear customs and immigration and board our flight to ATL.  We needed every minute of the 2 hours to get through all the steps.  We barely got on the plane as they closed the doors and pushed back. 

The boys shared a seat and looked excitedly out the window during the flight.  We landed at ATL in the T Terminal and were able to sneak up from behind our welcoming party waiting at the top of the escalator.  We were thrilled to see Lao Lao and Lao Ye and our dear friends Miss Mary, Grand and Anna waiting to welcome us.  Micah enjoyed seeing his buddy Grant and greatly enjoyed the bag of M&Ms that Anna brought to him. 

We came home to find the cupboards and refrigerator full of food brought by my colleagues at the preschool.  We are blown away by the generosity of friends.  It's good to be home. 

Signing Off from Guangzhou

We leave in the morning!  We've had a lovely time, but we're excited to get home.  Yesterday was our oath ceremony at the consulate.  The culmination of all of the US immigration paperwork we've been working on for nearly a year.  There was a little play area (new since last time we were there) which made the wait easier for the kiddos.  The officer was very nice and assured us that there are adequate consulate appointments and that there is NO backlog.  We took the oath and piled back into the bus to the hotel.  There was such an air of celebration that all of the families had a pizza party in the hallway.  It was just like college with pizza and beer and kids, well, I guess the kids weren't there in college.  The boys watched Air Buddies and the girls played DS.  The parents chatted happily about things they missed from home and made plans to see each other in the future. 

Today we shopped a little on the island.  The Noah napped while Micah swam. We started packing before dinner and at this point have just about everything in suitcases.  We had a fun dinner at Lucy's (local restaurant with  Western food) with two of the families with whom we've become close.  We all have older kids near the same age and adopted boys near the same age.  It was relaxing and fun. 

Two weeks ago a group of random strangers met in Beijing and Zhengzhou.  Today these families are unalterably woven into the fabric of our lives.  This has been an amazing trip, but we're looking forward to getting home.  See you on the flip side!   

Pearl River Cruise

We had the most amazing opportunity to take a dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  After a traditional Cantonese buffet dinner (some good, some just weird), we enjoyed ice cream!  Noah didn't know what to make of this cold treat!  Then we went up to the top of the boat to watch the city.  Micah really enjoyed seeing the acrobat and Noah danced with Mama and the Chinese ladies on the top deck.  I have to say it was the first time we really felt like a family of four. 

Red Couch Photos

You have to do it.  You have to dress your child in Chinese clothing and take pictures on the red couch at the White Swan Hotel.  Hundreds of families before us have sat on the famous couches for a photo.  And we were no exception.  Noah was handsome in silk, Micah was the helpful big brother (no Chinese clothes for my American boy!). 

And you have to try to take a picture of all those newly adopted children on the red couch.  This was humorous with children rolling over or refusing to cooperate.  Noah was fine until Mama tried to step out of the frame.  Then we had total meltdown!  This is the best shot we got of the children. 

Guangzhou City Zoo

Sunday brought us a trip to the zoo.  Micah loved running around with the other kids.  Noah got his first ride in the stroller.  At first he held on for dear life, but soon relaxed and enjoyed the ride!