Slow week

The most eventful thing that happened this week was shots on Monday. The bloodwork came back and a couple titers weren't there that should have been, so it was 4 shots. He was NOT happy, but then we were home having lunch and it was all okay.

We're also potty training, which is coming along slowly but okay. Not perfect progress, but increased progress over a number of days, which I suppose is what I should expect. I think with Gus we took a long weekend and then handed him to Lois (thank you, Lois!), so I haven't done as much of this part before.

The combination of learning to use the potty and learning a new language means that some things are not completely clear. Yesterday Jed fastened the buckle on his carseat by himself and said "Yay, peepee!"

Next Thursday is the cardiologist's appointment that we've all been waiting for. I got a call from his nurse saying that they would need to sedate him for the Echo unless he could sit still for 45 minutes. Um, try 10 seconds. So he can't eat any real food after 4:30 a.m. and only Jello and apple juice after that. Not looking forward to that day with my very food-conscious kiddo. Guess we'll go out to the park early that day and hope he's too distracted to be hungry.

Jim was home yesterday while I went into work. Jed gave Jim a very odd look when they dropped me off and I didn't get back in the car, but he was okay. Those two are bonding well now.

Mom called me today to ask for new pictures of the children. Oops. We'll try to get some from our scenic trip this weekend.

Weekend Update

This week's appointments were International Adoption Specialist and Audiology. The IA doctor thinks Jed is doing fantastic (as do we). We have a follow-up in 6 months, got a bunch of extra blood (poor pumpkin), and then booked the audiologist (b/c if you wait to test the hearing b/c the language is affected, then the language will be even more affected). Audiologist appointment today and he was brilliant, super-mellow and "a pleasure" to work with. The doctor had worked in China and said that his doctors must have been good, b/c they avoided the super-high doses of antibiotics during surgery/recovery that can damage the upper registers of hearing (I did not know that). He has perfect hearing and beautiful eardrums.

After the IA appointment we stopped by the lab to say hello and introduce Jed to the crew at work. We walked into a party! I should have known. Thanks, everyone! He loves the airplane and is working hard to destroy the balloon.

Requisite cute story: last night Jed came into our bedroom. This happens about every night between 1 and 4 a.m., both kids wake up and come into our bed, b/c it's easier for me to open the door and holler "come in" than to actually get up and go soothe them. I've slept much better since Gus has learned to snuggle in without even waking me up, but Jed can't climb that well yet. Gus has also learned that while mommy is happy to share her space, she is not happy to share her pillow, so he brings his pillow in with him. Last night Jed brought in his pillow, held out in front of him like a present for me. The kid doesn't use the pillow. He doesn't even use the covers. Usually I wake up to find him curled up on top of the covers in the general vicinity of my feet (he's a wiggler). But apparently bringing in pillows is how we do it around here, so Jed brought in his pillow.

He is really sweet. One thing his nanny must have taught him is to grab both sides of my face while I'm holding him and line me up for a smooch. Hilarious. And his mischievous side is starting to come out. He likes to let you strip him naked at bedtime and then race out the door, stopping to make sure you can see him grinning above his little bum. I'm hoping this will be less fun since he's been running around naked for the past couple of days anyhow (potty training; he's starting to get it).

Now that we've had the blood drawn, next week's appointments consist of two shots. Booooooring. But if he's got the potty mostly figured out by the end of next week, I will not complain about boredom.

We've been home for almost three weeks! It's not the new normal yet, but I think I can see it from here if I squint.

Managing Attention Deficit Disorder

Gus has been in attention deficit the last couple of weeks, what with the new brother and the broken dishwasher, and has been crazy as a result. So last weekend Jim and I each took him out for some special attention, and the weekend was so much better than the previous weekend as a result. Tonight was reasonable too.

Jim and Jed have been doing some extra bonding lately. Yesterday Gus and I went to a puppet show, so the other two sat on the sofa for an hour, watching football and eating pistachios and generally having a great time. Today I went into work in the morning, and although Jed did jump for joy when I returned (it was super cute), he's a lot more comfortable now with Daddy.

Jed definitely understands that he is working on a new language. Today when we left the house he pointed to the step, said "step", and looked up at me to be sure he was right. We've also been teaching him important words like "ear" and "touchdown"!

Wow, what an interesting murmur!

This quote of the week brought to you by the pediatrician, who says that Jed's heart repair must be good b/c he looks great, but she has no idea what it is from the sound. We'll all be interested in what the cardiologist says in a few weeks.

This week was better. Lots of drama from Gus at drop-off, but that's beginning to ease. Jed loves Gus's preschool and just wanders around playing while I wrangle the bear. Jim and I are starting to balance our time with the kids and to give Gus some one-on-one attention, with the result that Gus did much much better today.

This week Jed and I worked on climbing and jumping and some new words. He's learned that if he points at something I will talk about it. He pointed at a bunch of things on the way to the park (bicycle, sidewalk, fence) and then laughed and threw his arms around my legs. Mommy! He thinks the street is called "Ah-ah-ah!" because that's what I say when he tries to walk into it without me.

Today we played with water out on the deck and then blasted the Music Man with some tambourines and had a blast.

Next week I go into work for a bit to plan for the next few weeks, Jed has his appointment with the international adoption specialists, and Jim has a college fair on Friday.

One Week Home

And boy, it's been a long week. We all got over jetlag really quickly, just a few days, but it felt like milennia. And then Gus got bored (and what else is there to do at home but pick on your new brother?) so we've spent every day out at the park, and I've gotten nothing else accomplished besides unpacking, and we arrived home to a broken dishwasher so Jim's been spending a bunch of his theoretically free time doing dishes.

Sigh.

But tomorrow Gus goes back to preschool, to be challenged and run off his feet and away from his brother. Jed's first doctor's appointment is on Wednesday, and one child is so much more moveable than two, so we'll be able to run errands etc. together for part of the day. There are a lot of things he needs to see (even the farmer's market will be exciting for him. I made muffins today and he was transfixed).

Update on Jed: this child is almost too perfect. I can find no orphanage behaviors or sensory issues, and I've been testing him all week. He can pick up sand, eat yogurt, and roll down a grassy hill. He does like his fingers clean, but his face can be messy. He has no problems with sounds or lights. He is attaching extremely quickly. I'm almost looking over my shoulder...hopefully the person standing there is not the cardiologist (that appointment is in October).

Home again

Sorry for not making clear that we did arrive on schedule, were graciously picked up and delivered home, and are recovering. Jim did make it to work on Monday but on Tuesday morning the boys both woke up at 3 a.m. and so Tuesday was awful. I am not a good mom sleep-deprived. Last night Gus slept well but Jed was up at 4 a.m. Still progress. Jim is now asleep on the sofa. More once steady coherence returns.

In South Korea for the night

A short post before going to bed. We spent last night packing up our gear; our baggage has apparently been busy reproducing when we weren't around. Left this morning for Baiyun Airport for our departure from the good ol' PRC. There were 4 lines to wade through prior to boarding: checkin, security, customs, and immigration. The checkin procedure was cumbersome, because we are 5 passengers traveling under 2 reservations (one for Jed and one for the rest of us) on 2 airlines (KE and DL) with 7 checked bags through 5 airports in 4 countries (for those keeping score, our return itinerary is CAN -> ICN -> NRT -> ATL -> BOS). It took awhile, and since we're staying overnight here in Seoul, she couldn't even check us in for the second, third, or fourth legs of the trip since it was too early.

Thankfully we were at the airport with plenty of time to spare, and we eventually got to the gate and boarded. Korean Airlines is awesome! They had in-seat entertainment systems with about 100 movies to choose from. I watched The A-Team and enjoyed it very much. The flight was about 4 hours, and we deplaned and discovered that we couldn't go through the transit security checkpoint without boarding passes for our next leg, which we didn't have since we hadn't checked in yet. That proved a little confusing. We eventually found a Korean Air transfer help counter where they printed out a copy of our itinerary for us, and after that the security staff admitted that we belonged there and let us through.

Then we checked in to the Incheon Transit Hotel for the night, which is a hotel dedicated to weary travelers like us with a connecting flight 15 hours away and no desire to leave the secure zone of the airport. The rooms are small and no-frills but the beds work just fine. There's even a couple playgrounds for the kiddies to wear themselves out. Had some dinner and now we're hitting the sack.

"Tomorrow" is our last 3 legs of the trip, and then we'll be home!