Boys at play

Playdate with Sheridan. Note the pictures of Micah loving on Sheridan. Sheridan said, "Micah! No cuddle!"

One Month

Then....Now...

Put on your own oxygen mask first...

I haven't found time to read Scream Free Parenting by Hal Runkel yet, but this chapter title caught my eye. Put on your own oxygen mask first. As we've flown so much recently we've heard that phrase over and over. Why do they say that? Because in case of emergency if you don't put on your own oxygen mask, you won't be able to help your child and you'll both end up dead.

As we've been parenting for a scant three weeks, I can see what he means. I've got to take care of myself in order to better care for Micah. I can't wait to dig into this book.

Since no post is complete without a picture of our little guy, here he is helping Baba install the coat hooks:

Anniversary Dinner with my boys

It was a pleasure to spend our third anniversary together with our forever family. It's funny how having a child changes your priorities and practices. I often make sure there is a sappy card and a gift for HunnyB. This year I had nothing for him. He wrote me an anniversary note on the refrigerator note pad (points for creativity!). Usually, we go out for a steak dinner on our anniversary. This year we decided to eat in. The boys grilled steaks and Mama made veggies and rice (a new staple in our diet). It's a different kind of romance, but I wouldn't trade this anniversary for anything!

Here are my boys grilling in the back yard:

Shenanigans

Wow - I've gotten behind! We've been busy. The good news is that while Micah still fights going to sleep, once he sleeps, he will sleep through the night. We're still co-sleeping (Mama sleeps in his room with him) and that seems to be promoting bonding between Mama and son.

Last Friday we made the trek to the north side to hang out with our buddy Sheridan. Sheridan was so excited to play with Micah since Micah slept through their initial meeting. After Sheridan's nap and a quick snack, Sheridan took Micah by the hand and said, "let's play!" Much fun ensued. They boys share a love of Elmo and enjoyed playing with Big Elmo and Singing Elmo. Sharing is tough when you're two, but they did an admirable job of trying.



We had dinner with friends before attending First Fridays. Hal Runkel spoke on Scream Free Parenting. Not scream free children (bummer!), but scream free parents. We were awarded the Scream Free CPR Kit for being the most recent family to return from China. We look forward to implementing these tools to be the best parents we can be for Micah.

As usual it was great to catch up with friends and make new friends among the First Fridays gang. It was surreal being there as a forever family and no longer waiting. It's amazing how the wait has melted from my memory.

We were invited to spend the night with Sheridan and his family. We warned them that we were only sleeping a few hours a night. But Micah chose that night to start sleeping through the night. It was Sheridan who woke us at 4:00 am. "Aunt Karen, Micah night-night?" LOL

Saturday morning allowed the Mamas to go shopping unencumbered while the Babas watched the boys and the pups. We returned home Saturday evening and Micah again slept through the night. Yay! Unfortunately we left our camera, so posting pictures will have to wait. The pictures here are courtesy of Michael.

Editing my post to add the pictures taken with our camera:


Sunday morning we all got up and went to church. Mama rang handbells and the boys watched. Micah was very good during the whole service and even listened to the children's sermon on loving your neighbor.

We're starting to settle in to everyday life as a family of three. Yesterday we even went to the park. Maybe we can do this parenting thing.

Home 5 Days!

We've been home five days! Can you believe it? We didn't really take pictures at our homecoming, but Michael posted a nice recap of our grand arrival at the airport (with pictures). Go here to see them.

Sleep continues to be an issue. Micah goes to sleep with a little encouragement, but wakes up a few hours later and cries for 4-5 hours until he finally goes back to sleep. This is hurting mama and baba more than it seems to be hurting Micah. Yesterday we decided we needed some semblance of a normal life and went out to lunch at Chik-Fil-A and then shopping at Target. He slept a little better last night so I think it helped. Here's a picture of our little crew after we finally fell asleep! (Notice he still sleeps with his shoes on.)

Micah had his first doctor's appointment today. He seems healthy, but had to get two shots and a fingerstick. Ouch! He didn't like it much, but seems to have bounced back. He fussed through his nap time and we took a long walk around the neighborhood this afternoon so I'm hoping for better sleep tonight.

Here are a few shots from our first days at home.

We are home!

Sorry for disappearing on you all. We lived through the long plane ride. I think that one's kinda like childbirth. You don't want to talk about the gory details and you have to forget about it or every family would only do it once! Micah slept very little and usually at times that we couldn't sleep, like as a meal was being served or before takeoff. That meant mama and baba didn't get much sleep. Micah fussed quite a bit on the long flight from Tokyo to Detroit which annoyed mama, baba and many others nearby.

Going through immigration was no big deal after all the work we went through. The first officer processed us into the US and referred us to another officer for Micah. We gave that officer the unsealed (as directed) envelope from the consulate in Guangzhou. He tore it open, looked at a couple of things, stamped a couple of forms and said, "Have a nice day!" Kinda a inauspicious welcome for the US's newest citizen.

Northwest managed to break the handles off our cool stroller from China. *sigh* The rest of the trip we had to push on the broken pieces - ow!

We proceeded through customs and security in a sleep-deprived haze. We had about an hour to wait for our next short flight back to the ATL.

Micah seemed overjoyed to be in the US. He was laughing and clowning around on the plane. Mama kept him occupied while Baba took a half hour nap. Then Baba returned the favor. About 30 seconds before touchdown (literally - I could see the ground) Micah fell asleep.

There were family and friends there at the airport to meet us. My parents, our pastor and his family and our dear friends Kim, Michael and Sheridan were a sight for sore eyes. It felt so good to get those hugs. I love you all! We collected our luggage and went to the Northwest office to file a claim on our stroller. Much to Sheridan's chagrin, Micah slept through the whole thing. Sheridan kept touching and talking to Micah to get him to wake up. He's been waiting for this boy for a while!

Micah didn't wake up until we put him in the car seat for the ride home. Children in China don't ride in car seats. He's never been in one and he didn't like it. He kept clawing at the harness like he was being choked. It was a long ride home. We got home, along with my parents and he was back to his sweet, charming self. He did a round of mama, baba with the photo album and really seemed to recognize his lau lau and lau ye (grandma and grandpa).

Sleep didn't come easy that first night. He fussed and cried for over an hour. Once he went to sleep he only slept for a couple hours and then woke. He was up for about four hours before mama finally sang him back to sleep. I've got to learn some new lullabies! I was boring myself!

We continue to adjust to life at home as a family. The days are really fun and the nights are sheer torture. We're trying to sleep in shifts so we can get rest while his body clock adjusts and he learns the ropes of life here. More on that later, I'm sure.

He's asleep right now, so I'm gonna hit the sack in case is doesn't last. Night, night!