And the Month Flies By!!!

Thursday, April 18th, marked one month since Gotcha Day!  In some ways it seems like only yesterday that I was feeling like this...

...and waiting in here...

...for him to walk into my life.

It was quite a hesitant walk for him.

I am sure the snacks were my only redeeming quality to him that day.

But, oh, what a difference a month and a FAMILY can make!  It has been amazing to watch the progression from scared to comfortable, sad to joyful, orphan to son.  Mycah is truly treasured by everyone in our family and shows incredible signs of attachment every day!  This is such an answer to months of prayer.  His bravery and resilience amazes me daily.  He has been through more trauma in his short 4 years than many people go through in a lifetime.  And yet each morning he wakes up, we see less of the unsure, fight or flight behavior, and more of the intelligent, confident, funny little boy that God created him to be.  

He loves baseball!

Loves Alyssa and "issa cream"!

Loves playgrounds!

Loves anything that involves Nathyn!!

Loves rough housing with Zachary!

Only took 23 shots to get everyone smiling and looking!

Two spoons causes brain freeze!

Slides are the best!

Our driveway looks like a crime scene.

Still needs to work on steering!

Art class!

He would live outside if I would let him.

Favorite way to ride in his car seat.

Hates naps, but always falls asleep SOMEWHERE if he doesn't get one.

I would be lying if I said this month has been without its bumps in the road.  

He is still learning to be comforted when scared or hurt.  

His instinct is to pull away from everyone and go somewhere to cry alone.  

He can pitch a darn good 4 year old fit when wants to.  

He likes to push TV buttons while the big kids are watching a show...that never goes over well.  

The cat only THOUGHT the dog was aggravating.  

And he can be extremely stubborn when he doesn't get his way.  Fortunately he still only weighs about 34 lbs ;-)

Getting his medication in him requires LOTS of patience and creativity.

But there's not a thing I would change about this month!  And I am so looking forward to the lifetime that lies ahead!

Lost in Translation...and Other Funny Things

Just had to share a few things that made me laugh in China.  I think the pics mostly speak for themselves.

Squatty Potty

Fortunately we only had one mishap!  Don't ask!

It was quite the breakfast in Hong Kong!  

Coca Cola...Perfect in any language!

At the museum...

"Go on visiting, please!"  

I am guessing this is something like "No Loitering"?

Any guesses??

Yup...SCORPIONS.  These ladies are using chopsticks to pick them up and put them in small boxes for buyers.  They are apparently tasty in soup?  

Umm...no thanks!

Hotel lobby fountain

"No Striding"

Just in case you were considering it?

And at the Safari Park...

"Be Carefully Slip!"

Safari Park train..

"Do keep all parts of your body within the vehicle."

Not just your arms and legs!

But my absolute favorite...

"Notice for intimacy with giraffe"

Enough said there, I think?

What a fun 12 days!

Forever Family...mostly pictures

Finally home!  Was never so excited to be back in DC!  

Sidenote...Nevermind my hair.  If you've ever been to southern China, you understand crazy China hair!

Because every mom loves to wiggle loose teeth after traveling for 24 hours!

We are now a Party of Six!

Fei Ji

On Gotcha Day, one of the little toys I had in Mycah's backpack was a small pullback airplane. It was a hit from the beginning and he played with it all week.  

So when it was time to go home, we had our guide tell him that we were going to ride on a "fei ji" and go to see Baba and the kids.  I am pretty sure he had never seen airplanes on the ground before.  Once inside the airport, he stared out the huge windows for a long time and yelled, "Wei! Fei Ji!" every time one would take off.  

But, of course, he had to eat here, too!

  Thanks to Starbucks for the hot water!

The Hong Kong airport was amazing!  After walking around, riding many moving sidewalks, watching kids play on the playground, and visiting the Disney Store, it was finally time to board our L.O.N.G. flight to Chicago.  Mycah never missed a beat.  He walked right down the jetway, into the airplane, and proceeded to plop himself down in the first available seat...in First Class!  Sorry, buddy.  No nice cubicle for us!  We are seated over the wing!  

I was a little worried about take-off.  He gets sick pretty easily, and I was not looking forward to him filling those little airplane bags!  However, as we were still taxiing down the runway, this is what I saw...

Mycah was asleep.

(And Sonia was pretending she was anywhere other than another airplane!  Yes, my incredible friend who flew for 40 something hours on 5 flights just to help me bring Mycah home does not much care for flying.  That's a real friend, folks!)

And so began our 14 hour flight!  He slept for about an hour, and then not again for a very long time!  But he stayed busy with books, in seat entertainment, and, what else...

eating!

I think this is the point where Sonia said I need to fabricate a story, because he has just been too easy!  And I will admit, I kept waiting for the tantrums, the meltdowns, the potty accidents, the adrenal crisis, but none of that ever came.  However, he was possibly the cause of a few bruises during his tossing and turning while he slept at one point.  He is a brave and sweet little boy.  We are beyond blessed.  

Two meals, several snacks, and a few Disney shows later, we finally touched down in Chicago, and Mycah was officially an American citizen.  

Wednesday, March 27 at 1:16 CST to be exact!

Customs was a breeze and so was Immigrations!  So off we went to find his first American meal.  

He was less than pleased with my choice of Subway, and proceeded to remove the turkey from his sandwich and ate the remaining veggies.  I was SO happy, however, to be able to eat something without worrying about the produce on my sandwich or ice in my drink!  I soon noticed the Manchu Wok right next to the Subway, and he was much happier with that!  Sorry, dude.  Mommy is catching on!

At last we were boarding for our last leg.  I was a little concerned he would totally balk at getting back on an airplane, but he didn't.  Special thanks to a nice lady on our Hong Kong flight who told him we just had to take one more quick plane ride and then we would go home!  He enjoyed the take off, and then, again, fell asleep...the whole flight.  

Welcome home, Mycah Junbin!