How's His English??

Without fail, the first question people ask about Mycah is a general "How's he doing?"  The second is ALWAYS "How's his English?"  In four more days, we will mark 3 months since Gotcha.  And considering the fact that he is not yet in school, I think his language development is remarkable.  If I had to estimate his understanding, I would say he understands at least 80 percent of what I say to him.  (In English...I don't think anyone would understand my southern accented Chinese!)  Although his spoken vocabulary isn't as much as his understood vocabulary, it is still pretty vast.  He has no problem making his wants and needs known!  And he can now successfully "tattle" on his brothers and sister...and he never thinks twice about it either!

So if you come and visit us any time soon, you will probably hear a lot of these words and phrases...mixed in with a few random Chinese words every now and then!

"Mommy!"  (ALL. THE. TIME.)
"Mycah, swim big pool!"
"Jump!"
"Right back!"
"meiyou (may yo) Nathyn!!"  (No, Nathyn!)
"Puzzle"
"Picture"
"Baba...doctor" (Daddy is with the doctors.  I don't think he gets that Daddy WORKS with the doctors and is not GOING to the doctor every day though?)
"Brush your teeth!"
"No splash!"
"All done"
"Soccer...kick"
"Friend"
"Scooter.  Helmet."
"Nathyn, Table!!" (When Nathyn tries to sneak a snack into the family room.)
"Again!"
"Mycah hungry."
"Mycah doctor all done!"  (He doesn't want to go back to the doctor)
"Almost Mycah happy birthday!"  (Umm...lots more sleeps buddy...not till August 9!)
Holds up fingers and says, "One...night night.  Two... jo san (good morning).  Three...big pool!"  Or whatever event is coming up the next day.

And my favorite today as we got into the van..."Ho wee cow it hot!"  (Apparently I say that a lot these days?)

And this is by no means an exhaustive list of his vocabulary.  I would be lying if I said the language thing is no big deal.  There are times it has been quite challenging.  Like explaining why mommy does nothing while the mean lady with the needle draws 7 vials of blood!  But the charades are finally dwindling, and the google translate hasn't been used much since we tried to explain the whole moving-across-the-country thing at the end of April.  The few Chinese words I know are finally being replaced by their English counterparts.  Which is probably a good thing since I am not even sure I am saying things right most of the time!  Tonal languages are very unforgiving, ya know!

But the one phrase I refuse to give up...Wo ai ni...I love you.  And, oh, do I ever!

And just for other random cute pics on my phone...

Nay and Mycah "Tebowing" in the BX

Nap time...not sure why he has to pick Alyssa's stuffed animals?

Two of the Wiggles...made us laugh how much he really looks like "Jeff"

Second hair cut...first "big boy" cut with the clippers!

Nathyn's birthday cake...Train them up right! :-)

Las Vegas or Bust...part 2

After a couple of necessary stops in Oklahoma City and Albuquerque, we made it to Monument Valley.  It really did look like we had just stepped in to a John Wayne movie.

Throwing rocks was his FAVORITE thing to do!  

Then on to the Grand Canyon.  If you have never been, no picture will actually do it justice!

Upon arriving at Nellis AFB, I immediately sent Darrell to the housing office in hopes of obtaining a good spot on the housing list.  We anticipated a 30 day wait or so, since most people who would require a 4 bedroom house typically do not move out until after the school year ends.  Fortunately, we were offered a house right away and moved in only 5 days later!

Reminds me of a Florida house....minus (thankfully) the pink flamingos!  We even have grass!

Thank you to those who prayed for us on our trip out.  Mycah did exceptionally well for a kid who had only been "home" for about 6 weeks before our journey started.  The iPad and the DVD player definitely helped me maintain my sanity in the van.  Although I have now listened to "Ni hao, Kai lan" more than anyone should ever have to! :-)

Now that we are (almost) unpacked and living a normal life again, it is amazing to watch him continue to grow and develop.  He is settling in here and hasn't missed a beat.  We were blessed with a super quick endocrinologist appointment for TOMORROW!  We can't even get in to see the regular pediatrician until the 27th of June.  So getting in to the endo 3 days after we are in the Tricare system out here is pretty much a miracle.  

The only other thing I have to say is...

IT's HOT OUT HERE!

Viva Las Vegas!

Vegas or Bust...Part 1

With our time in DC through, the long trip west was ready to begin.  Knowing that Darrell would be very busy with his clinical assignment when we got to Vegas, we decided to make a vacation out of this move.  So our first overnight stop was Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg.  What a place!  Definitely not on the cheap side, but there was something fun for everyone in our crew.  So to me it was well worth it!

Heading out for Mycah's first swim.  

He has quite the little personality.

Catching a wave!

Even Dad had a blast!

Nay loved the basketball pool.

Sometimes it was a little overwhelming.

But I still think he had fun.

Silly boy!

Love this laugh!

Although Williamsburg was a blast, we had more fun times waiting for us.  One of the highlights of our trip was stopping in NC to visit some friends.  We grabbed an early dinner that day at Chick fil a just so we could visit with Lucy and her family.  

Lucy and Mycah had been in the same orphanage in Guangdong.  For about a year now, her mom and I have been in touch via the internet.  Lucy's family traveled in August, and they were able to meet Mycah while they were there.  They were able to get great pictures and videos of him which was such a blessing to this anxiously waiting mama!  We aren't quite sure how much time they spent together, or if they even remembered each other, but they sure hit it off big that day!  And it was a joy to watch.

The next few stops are a blur.  We stayed in Cherokee, Pigeon Forge, and then on to Memphis.  

And then the stop I had been looking forward to for months...Little Rock!  Not that I was excited about the location, but we were all terribly excited to stop and see the Brakman bunch.  This was the first time our little Asians had met.  

And, of course, the bigs enjoyed their time together!  Probably a little too much at times.  

And we even managed to get out for a "Mom's only" breakfast and Wal-Mart trip one morning.  The peace and quiet was almost more than two moms with 9 kids can stand.  But not quite :-)

Our time was over way too quickly, but we still had 4 more stops to go before Vegas.  Getting closer!

Another Chapter Ends

It's hard to believe that our time here in DC is over already. The trip across the country from California to Maryland with my dad, three kids and a cat is still so fresh in my mind! I'm not sure that my dad has even recovered yet? And yet here we are doing it again tomorrow. I am excited to begin our journey, yet a little sad to say good bye to another set of great friends. Our Riverdale family is second to none, and our Andrews homeschool friends have been amazing. You all made this 11 month assignment not only bearable, but enjoyable. Thank you!

I'd appreciate your prayers for Mycah as we travel. He has again been such a trooper during this crazy week of moving. I can only imagine what was going through his head as strange men put most of his toys in big brown boxes that were loaded on a huge truck. I tried to google translate for him about our "new house" and he seemed to get it. And now after packing and cleaning, his word of the week is "heavy." Please pray he continues to feel safe and comfortable on this long vacation/move. Also, please pray that his medications do what they are supposed to to regulate his adrenal glands while we are traveling. And last, but certainly not least, please pray that he tolerates the long periods of time in his car seat...he's SO not a fan!

So glad this busy week has come to an end. Not sure what order the pictures will show up at the bottom, but mycah pitched an amazing 4 year old fit in the car, the boys had haircuts, we visited the zoo with Nina, loved painting in art class, met Sparky the firehouse dog, went bowling for Darrell's class party, cleaned and cleaned and cleaned our now empty house, deflated air mattresses, and cleaned some more! So glad that final walk thru with the landlord is over now!

Next stop...Virginia! Not that far away, but we are making a "fun for the kids" stop to start off our trip! It's a last minute surprise for them and I can't wait until we get there!