The New Man, The Escape, Teddy Bears, and Nightmare Sleeping Arrangements

Twenty years ago, my young nephew returned from the barber shop with a new haircut and was told by someone that he looked like a new man. For a long time afterward, this young boy thought that anyone who got a haircut (male or female) became a new man. When Alex got his first professional haircut last week, I couldn't help thinking he looked like a "new man" too. I guess it was time for the haircut, because while we were waiting, another patron asked me about my "little girl." Alex really looks more like a little boy than a baby with his new haircut. And by the way, he loved the feeling of the clippers against his head. He sat so still with a big smile on his face most of the time.

Our new man thought he'd like to see a little more of the world, so on Friday, he ran across the street and down to the end of the block. We had just returned from spending the day with Laura's 1st grade class at the zoo. I hadn't had time to even clean breakfast off the table before we had run out the door that morning, so I was rushing to get that done when we got home. Alex went out to the sandbox, and Amy (almost 5) said she'd go play with him and keep him from going in to the road. I could see them through the kitchen window, and I kept checking to make sure they were all right. But then I looked out, and Amy was playing happily all by herself. I asked where Alex was, and she calmly replied, "Oh, I think he went out into the road." I went to the carport, and just then, my neighbor was carrying him up the driveway. Thank the Lord she had just stepped out her door to get some carrots from her garden when he went running past. She said, "He's going to be a handful, isn't he?" I don't need to join Curves or Golds Gym, because I get plenty of exercise chasing after Alex, and lifting him down from all the places he climbs (his highest record is the very top of the piano), and carrying him around to try to keep tabs on him.

Then there's that sweet side that keeps showing up. While we were in Taiwan, Callie went to Build-a-Bear Workshop and made a cute little Teddy Bear for Alex. She was heartbroken when he cast it aside. At St. Lucy's, he probably never even got to touch a stuffed animal, so he didn't know what to do with it. But he knows now. He'll pick up that little bear, and cuddle it and carry it around. He loves to sleep with it. He likes all stuffed animals now, but especially his gift from Callie.

But sleeping around here can be a nightmare. For 4 years, we've searched for a different house with more bedrooms on the main level, but this house has some things we can't easily give up. So we have our 3 youngest children all in one bedroom across from us. It wasn't until she was 12 that Callie was brave enough to have a bedroom in the basement, and no one else seems willing to follow her anytime soon. So the girls have bunkbeds, but no one really wants to sleep on the top bunk. One of them sleeps on the bottom bunk, and the other on the floor next to Alex's crib, or they might share the bed or the floor. The other night, Amy insisted on having the bed to herself (it is HER bed, after all), so Laura took the floor. At 1:00, Alex was crying, and when I went in, Amy was on the floor, and Laura was in the bed. But at 5:00, when Alex was ready to get up, Amy was back in the bed, and Laura was back on the floor. How does this happen?
Meanwhile, Alex likes to sleep in total darkness with the door closed, and the girls like to sleep with the door open and the hall light on. If I get Alex to sleep before the girls' bedtime, the girls can sneak in quietly to their beds. If he's asleep, he doesn't notice the door ajar with the light coming in. But then Alex begins to fuss during the night, so I try shutting off the light and closing the door to calm him down. Pretty soon, Amy is up opening the door and turning on the light. So what do you do? I might laugh if it weren't around 3:00 AM. My best solution so far is to put Amy on a blanket in my room and close the door again. Sometimes, I get both Laura and Amy on my floor. After nights like that, I tell Leigh, "We've got to find a new house!"

Then and Now

One year ago we saw this cute little guy's face for the first time. At that moment, he began working his way into our hearts. Seven months later, he was in our hearts and our arms. And now, five months after that, he's in our hearts, our arms, and everything else.

What a blessing Alex has been for our family. He's growing and changing so fast, and this year has gone so fast. What will this next year bring?

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

I am so excited that two more little girls will soon be with their families. It's been almost a year since Jackie's family saw their first picture of Lucy. And now, Lucy is coming home. She'll be in her parents' arms on September 8. Gracyn has been in foster care in PingTung (the same place that Alex's birthmother lives). Her family saw a picture of her for the first time in November, but they'll meet her in person on September 1st. It seemed like forever that we had to wait to bring Alex home, but these two families have been waiting so much longer. Thank heavens their wait is nearly over. And thank Heaven for little girls!

Boys and Girls

From the moment we brought Alex home, people began asking me if we noticed a big difference between boys and girls. Most said, in their experience, boys are "more into everything." Well, I didn't notice a difference at first. My girls were pretty busy as toddlers. I remember thinking it was easier to just carry Amy around all the time than have to clean up after her when she had freedom to move around. I have pictures of Callie sitting in an empty cupboard with all the former contents spilled on the floor. She made a spiderweb of yarn all through the house. I remember Laura constantly climbing on a chair to play with the knobs on the stove. Amy listened for the bathroom door to open, and ran in there to play. Laura and Amy did a lot of climbing. Could a boy really be more active than my girls?

The last two weeks I've decided the answer is a resounding YES! Alex gets into so much trouble that you would think he was unsupervised all day. We watch him closely and carefully, but it only takes him a few seconds to create havoc. And even if I see him approaching "trouble," he's into it before I can grab him.

Turn your back, and he's climbed up on the table. He's dumping a whole box of cereal out. He's in the bathroom pulling every yard of dental floss out of the case. He's climbed on a chair and is sticking his whole hand down into the jar of honey. He's grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it on the carpet. He's emptied two scoops of dishwasher detergent on the floor. The whole roll of toilet paper is in a pile on the linoleum. He's pulled all the Tupperware out of the cupboard. He's banging with a wooden spoon on the china closet. He's poured a whole cup of someone else's milk down his front. He's throwing the peaches like they are balls. He's eating rocks. He's managed to open the dishwasher and is standing on the door removing the dirty contents. He's banging on the computer keyboard...

By the time I put this little boy into bed at night, I am totally exhausted from chasing him all day. A friend of mine, whose son is now 20 years old, said they took pictures of all of his messes, and they can look back and laugh. Hey, I have to admit that, even now, it is pretty funny--in an exasperating sort of way.

And then you know what he does? He lies in my arms drinking his bottle, and suddenly pushes the bottle away so he can give me kisses. There's a lot of sugar and spice mixed in with those snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.

All-American Boy

We got a call from the courthouse yesterday. The judge has signed off on our readoption! That means that Alex is now officially "Alex," and he is an official U.S. citizen. Hooray!

Oh, I wish that the judges in Taiwan worked so quickly.

Milestones

I have photos on my camera for this week's milestones, but if I waited to post until I go the pictures downloaded, it just wouldn't happen. But it's been a good week!

Alex is noticeably more "secure." He is more content to play, and doesn't need to be held quite so often, though yesterday he spent about 3 hours (spread over the day) in the backpack.
He has on several occasions sat on the floor and stacked Duplos to make a tower. I think his record is 5 high.
He has created his own sign for "bottle," made by tapping his face with his index finger and saying "baba." That's the only word he says now, and he says it a lot. He will now sit in his high chair without screaming as long as we set food on his tray and don't try to spoon anything in his mouth. He eats a little, but I've seen him putting most of the food between the high chair frame and cushion. Clean-up is lots of fun.

Laura lost her first baby tooth on Monday. Later that day, she took off on her friend's two-wheeled bike. We've been talking about needing to take her training wheels off and work with her. I guess she got tired of waiting and decided to teach herself. She has amazing balance.

Laura's success prompted Amy to beg me to get down the smaller bike and put on the training wheels, and she rode it for the first time. Eventually, we'll put new tubes in the tires, because the tires are flat every time she goes out. For now, we just do a quick pump job each time.

Callie is taking a sewing class at her friend's house, and just completed a pair of pajama pants. She loves them so much that she wears them day and night. She did a great job.

Onward and UPWARD

Alex enjoyed swimming with his cousin Dillon at Grandma's house. This was the first time they've been together. Alex wanted to be around Dillon a lot more than Dillon wanted to be around Alex. I suspect it is because Alex is used to being around lots of babies, or maybe it is just a personality thing. They are just 3 months apart, so I hope they will grow up being friends.

Alex has now learned to climb. This has really broadened his horizons, and severely limited the places I can put things to get them out of his reach. So far, he hasn't learned to move the chairs and stools, so his access is limited to wherever the stool happens to be. The other day I did find him in a "rainbow" position, standing on a chair trying to reach the computer. I don't know why toys are not nearly as attractive to him as the computer, stereo, phone, shampoo, pencils, and my make-up .

He is still a great devotee of his bottle. In fact, I think his eating of solid food is getting worse instead of better. What a waste of that beautiful set of teeth!