Today I visited my gynecologist and she asked how our adoption journey was going. (Nothing says Merry Christmas like getting naked for a Pap smear).
She adopted many years ago and I was impressed she remembered to ask…or noticed her notes. I got to share pictures and say we’ve been to China and back since I saw you last!
Waiting. I sang a lot. Brian set up a camera and paid fees.
6 months ago I sat waiting in an upper room in Changsha, June 23, wondering if my dress was ok and how I’d react to this little boy I’d prayed for for year. I wondered how the big kids back home were doing. I wondered how long Brian would be in the other room doing paperwork and paying fees when…
In he came. I said something memorable like “oh my gosh. There you are.”
This makes Tobiah officially an Asker: a red palm print on a document.
The next day we had to bring him back to the place he had to say goodbye to his teachers and he shook his head no when we got off the elevator. Bless his heart. The silent tears ran down when we had to make him an official Asker.
He doesn’t eat with chopsticks yet. Local guides told me sometimes it takes until kids are 4-5 before they master them.
We learned how to eat together, he shared his watermelon with me and we played.
I’ll never forget how quickly he started to play with the big kids when we got home.
I’ll never forget how tired I was those first 4-5 days after coming home.
I’ll never forget how sad I got in the first few months, grieving our Asker 4.
I’ll never forget the relief I felt when he tried hamburgers, tacos, spaghetti and pretty much anything I put in front of him. We have trained him to drink (even request!) milk, but he still hates cheese:(
Now he gives hugs, talks non-stop in the car (I must say I miss the quiet rides with just the 2 of us!) and initiates compassionate acts like giving Elam the last grape or bringing Calista a tissue when she’s crying.
His language skills are above average so that the speech therapists we’ve seen don’t want to work with him. And last night, he said “kiss-mas” with such an articulate “s” at the end that we all celebrated until he said “[s]top!”
We are trying to navigate Christmas. The busy. The presents. The food (ugh). The other day I realized he had 2 less presents to open. WHAT?!?! So off to Target I headed today and thank God it was not the nightmare I had expected.
Sunday he even took part in singing at church (sorry no pics). He waved his scarf like a champ singing “glo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ria” with the best of them.
He is learning to like sledding and doesn’t hate getting his jacket on anymore.
6 months have changed everything around here. I do way more laundry by the way, that might be my least favorite. How the 2 boys fill that basket every 3 days would make a classic CBS mystery 2-hr special.
We are also amazed by how seamlessly this process has gone. We are continually grateful to his caregivers in China!
He likes it, I swear!