Just out for a ride yesterday

He still scoots because he can't reach the pedals, but he loves being outside!

Home two months!

We've been home two months. We've had Ty 2.5 months. Look at the difference:

Then, in China






Now, in the last two weeks




And of course you can scroll back to previous blogs in the last few weeks. Wow, what a difference SEVEN pounds makes. Yes, I said seven. Now I'm getting concerned. He's at about the 50th%ile for weight now, but still only just above the 5th %ile in height. I want to scream, "GROW GROW GROW!" He hasn't grown much at all. His head has grown 1 cm in the last two months as well.

Sleep update: Sleep is going GREAT! It will never be perfect, but I can now leave the room after tucking him in. Sometimes he cries, sometimes he doesn't. If he does cry, it's less than 5 minutes, then he stops. This for both nap and night time. We have a good book routine before both "night nights". Tonight I was reading "Clifford" to him, and in the cartoon there is a character named T-bone. Well I went and got Kacie's old T-Bone stuffed animal, and Ty thought that was the neatest thing ever. He is sleeping with T-Bone right now. And when he wakes up in the mornings, he doesn't cry. He just yells, "Ma MA!" I was telling Dan about that, and as Dan pointed out, that tells us he's not scared anymore! He knows where he is, and he's just ready to get up.

He really enjoys it when we have a stuffed animal of a book character. So far we have Pooh, piglet, pugs, Clifford, T-bone, and then many other animals in general. He also loves plush talking/singing toys. Elmo, a teddy bear named William, and Baby Tad from Leap Frog are some of his favorites. Ty requests for me to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" so he can do the moves, or just to watch me. He also like patty cake and "if you're happy and you know it". We are working on Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, but I do all the pointing. There is one show on TV he will watch: The movie "CARS". His bedroom is all Cars, and thank goodness, he loves it! He uses a driving motion and says, "rrooom rrrooom!" for a car noise everytime he sees or hears a car. All day long, his two favorite topics are cars and birds. The other show he gets excited about is Ni Hao Kai Lan, but that lasts for 15 seconds, and then he's no longer interested.

Ty is still very challenging at times. He still hits, and I don't know what to do to get him to stop. I model, I use time out, I talk to him, we say "nice hands, soft hands, etc..." I'm feeling really stupid for not being able to stop this behavior. Of course it's only at home. He does it when things aren't going his way. I'm sure it's his way of controlling a situation that he has no control over...so is that an adoption thing or a two-year old thing?

And I continually realize just how much English he understands. I muttered to myself this morning, "Ty needs to wash his hands." Well, he picked up on it and started rubbing his hands together and walking to the bathroom.

Everywhere we go, I am not kidding, I am told how cute Tyson is. I look around at all the other kids, and they are cute, but what is it about Tyson? I thought about this for a long time today, and here's what I came up with:

1. His eyes. Even men in elevators in China told us how gorgeous his eyes are. In his referral paperwork it said he had "Big sensitive eyes". That was about the most accurate piece of of information in the paperwork.

2. Being a conspicuous family. We are a very fair skinned family with Scandinavian heritage. Then there's Tyson, not of Scandinavian heritage, obviously. Here's what's funny: people who haven't seen me in a long time ask me when I had a baby! Hmmmmm... But my point is, we stand out, and that could be why Ty is noticed.

3. I am happy. I mean REALLY happy. I think I am still in new mommy mode, and I'm so in love with Tyson. In public, I smile at him, love on him, talk with him, laugh at/with him. Maybe our happy vibes just rub off.

But I think this is it: people have the same reaction to Ty that we had when we first saw his referral photos. You can't help but fall in love with him. We are so very blessed God matched us with Tyson. I can look back and see why our wait was so long and why things fell into the places they did. And now, I am so very thankful.

Oh, one more thing! Tyson played Mario Kart on the wii with me tonight! That is a rite of passage in this family!

Inspiration today

What do I love about Tyson this morning?

I love the way he nods his head in quick little movements.

I love how he tries to be like his big sister in so many ways, even emulating how she has milk in her cereal bowl by pouring his drinking milk into a bowl.

How he dances in his high chair.

How Kacie and I were discussing the rain outside, and he yelled and interrupted, "Ma MA" and then gave the sign for raining and said, "Ai-nen" as if he wants to just be part of the conversation.

How he smiled when I went to his room to wake him and gave me a great big bear hug to say good morning.

How he says "I Love You" by saying "Ah La Loo".

When he asks for his daddy using sign language and pointing to his picture.

And I could go on and on...If God's love for us, who are adopted into His family, is even 1/1000th of my love for Tyson, it is a love beyond my own understanding. God has blessed me with two of the most loving children, and I am forever thankful for His goodness and blessings.

Do I have H1N1? and What's different?

I have to wonder. I am on day 8 of feeling like there is a printing press pushing on my head. Friday night I pumped myself up with airborne, green tea, and gatorade; and I woke up feeling pretty good on Saturday. I took Kacie shoe shopping (the one thing we didn't do before/after China. Poor kid was still in Crocs from the summer and one pair of sneakers!). I even showered and blow dried my hair, all within the same hour! So yes, I was feeling great. After Ty's nap, we went outside for some much needed outdoor play. Kacie rode her bike while Ty scooted his big wheel up and down the road. We are so lucky to live on a residential, yet pretty sleepy dead-end road. Add to that Kacie has classmates 5 houses down on the left and the right--both boys, but when you're 8, who cares! So I was with Ty, and Kacie grabbed the boys for an afternoon bike ride. Around 5:30 we called it quits so Kacie could get ready for a Halloween party, and I could take Tyson out to dinner with my old principal and some teacher friends. All was good until I got home, and once again, the Mac truck came and flattened me. I guess feeling like I belonged in the world was very short lived. So here I am, missing church again. I am over the fever/chills/sore throat. That was at the beginning of the week. I just have this nasty cold and cough that won't go away.

"No! Tyson! Stop!" These are the words of the house, and they aren't necessarily my words, they are Kacie's. Tyson has decided it's fun to hit people again. I'm sure this has everything to do with the fact that I left him at preschool this week. Must have been the longest 2 hours of his life for him to lash out like this. He cries a little when I leave, but they can get him involved in something quickly, like bikes or art. He LOVES the art table! When I pick him up from preschool, I stand outside the classroom and listen to him. I hear, "LO LO LO LO GA GA GA GA AGH!" Yes, he is vocal, and he imitates everything. Whatever tone Kacie says something, he says it back, almost mockingly. I can't help but laugh from the other room.

So what else is different? Well I'm glad I didn't paint the kitchen before Tyson. He has drawn on most of the drawers now. The floor is scratched from the high chair, and he has shown interest in eating at the table. So I got out the booster and he can do it, but he uses his feet to push his chair away from the table. That's not going to work...But I have plan B. I'll try putting his chair along the wall so he can't push back! HA HA! He also likes to ride his big wheel in the house, more scratching of floors. He can't reach the pedals, but he scoots along just fine. My back yard is filled with maple leaves. I learned yesterday that the neighbors have been admiring the maple trees were so fortunately (sarcasm) blessed with upon moving in. I'll admit, in the summer the shade is nice.

As you can tell, we are just practical, simple, ordinary people. Someday I'll look at those scratches on the floor and remember just how tiny Tyson was when we brought him home. Or someday when we can afford to remodel the kitchen (hahahaha!) I'll want to save a few of those drawers that I couldn't get permenant ink off of. And when I finally rake the leaves, I'll remember the shade they provided over the summer. So what's changed? A lot, and in the moment I get frustrated, but in reflection, I love every bit of it!

Carving Pumpkins

Of course I forgot to take pictures of the final products, but hey, you aren't missing anything. The point is we had fun! Sorry about the picture of Dan pretending he's throwing up pumpkin, but you have to see the little mimic in the next picture. What a ham! This was a night more about Kacie than Tyson, and from the looks on her face, she was having a great time, even when Daddy was throwing pumpkin all over her at one point. I was helping Ty join the fun, so no pics, but sometimes, you have to make the memories, not just capture them. When Kacie was Ty's age, cleaning the pumpkins scared her, so we weren't sure what to expect with Ty. No fear in this child!

Tyson's new trick!

I was in the kitchen and Kacie and Tyson were playing in the living room. I walked in the living room, and Tyson is comfortably sitting on the couch. Interesting because Tyson can't climb up on the couch yet!

Me: "KC, how did Tyson get on the couch?"
KC: "I don't know."
Ty: He smiles at me and slides off the couch. He proceeds over to the fireplace hearth, climbs on it (1 ft off floor), then stretches to the arm of the chair, demonstrating how he got on the couch!
Me: "KC, did you just see that?"
KC: "Um, yeah. He must have watched me do it when I was designing my obstacle course."

Tyson then demonstrated his new trick several times, once getting "stuck" only to realize he was only 1 inch from the ground. KC was using newspapers, Tyson's already strewn about toys, and furniture to create her own obstacle course. Creative, I thought! But we once again had the talk of how if Tyson sees her do something, he's going to do it too. She gets it now!

Digging into the past

Most on here know that I'm a teacher. I'm going into my 13th year as soon as I return to the classroom. In this time, I have learned that I need to get to know my students in order to love them and teach them in the way that works best for them. Some students I already know from seeing them the year before across the hall, but when mid year rolls around and you get a new student, you never know what you are going to get.

Usually a few days after that new student arrives, his/her file will arrive. I purposely do not look at that file until I have had a chance to get to know that student. Once I feel like I know them or have formed my own opinions, I will then go get the file to see what issues and grades that student had at another school to see if my thoughts are the same. Or sometimes, when a student switches schools, it's a chance for a new start. Maybe that child had a rough time at another school and wants to start fresh. If I read that file, I may have preconceived notions and treat the child as such. Generally, I can tell in the first few days what my new student is bringing to the table.

So why do I even bring this up? Well today I did it: I sent a request to Half the Sky to see if they have any information on Tyson. Up until now, I have based my beliefs on measurements, finding ad, referral information, photos, and updates. I have about 13 pages of Chinese writing about my little man, but I have not been at a place to want to know what's on those pages. Until now...

I am wondering if they will have the same pages that I have, but translated. That would be fantastic! Anything translated would be fantastic. I just feel that now I know Tyson well enough that I'd like to see if my assessments of his past are correct. I also want to know for him, obviously.

So, let's see what digging into the past will have. I will probably keep most of it private for Tyson's sake, but we'll have to see if there's anything in there that could help others as well.

Blah Blah Blah...

...because that's how I feel today. K got sick on Saturday, I got it yesterday. The good news is that I kept Kacie home today, and she seems to be on the mend. I think I am one day behind her because I'm feeling a little better today, so hopefully I'll be good to go tomorrow. The bad news is that Ty has been extra clingy and whiny today...no no no! I'm sure the boys aren't far behind in their illnesses.

I know several people are reading this while waiting for their own kids. The biggest thing I can say is to be prepared for regression in behavior. On Friday morning we noticed that Ty was being a bit agressive again. He has been hitting all weekend. We had this totally stopped, or so I thought. Yesterday I had to get super-strict about it, as I will not tolerate him hitting K. He's certainly testing because now he's using a softer style of hitting, just like he did with pinching. He's testing to see how hard he can hit/pinch and get away with it. Not only is this probably an adoption thing, it's also a toddler thing! But I am just surprised with how my emotions tense up when he regresses back to an old behavior, whether it's food, hitting, or tantrums. The tantrums have almost disappeared. Very rarely does he throw himself on the floor and scream. When he does, I let him do it for a minute, and if he doesn't get up, he goes to his time out spot--the playpen. He can still yell and scream all he wants, he's just not going to do it in the middle of where people need to walk or where I'm cooking dinner.

Sleeping is soooooo much better, although Friday and Saturday nights he fell out of bed. He is in a low toddler bed with a rail for the upper part. He must be wiggling a lot. The other reason he will wake up is that he will kick all the blankets off and then be cold. I am wondering if someone walked around at the orphanage and covered the kids up in the middle of the night. He does not like to go to sleep with blankets on, and forget about covering his feet. So I wait til he's asleep, then I cover him up and tuck in the blankets the best I can. But in both scenarios, when he does wake up, I'm only up for 5-10 minutes, and he falls back asleep. We have been very blessed in this part of our adoption.

Preschool is also going well. I left the room last Thursday, and he did great! I watched through the window during gym time and art time. I am actually going to leave the building tomorrow. I think he's ready for it. He enjoys his teachers and has so much fun. There is so much to do! I actually think that when I'm there, I'm holding him back and hovering too much.

Maybe some of you are thinking, "He's 2...preschool?" Tyson qualifies for the birth to three program, which is under the umbrella of special education. He was evaluated in 5 areas. The cleft palate is his major disability, which will qualify him for speech. However, we won't do that evaluation until after palate surgery. He did qualify under gross motor and adaptive skills, but he's quickly gaining in the adaptive area. Gross motor will take more time I'm sure, but already he's making progress. I think I blogged more about it in September if you want to know more. If you live in WA state, these services are provided by your district, so be sure to look into it!

Here are some random pictures I found that I hadn't posted.



On one of our last nice days, Tyson was out helping daddy mow the lawn.



A picture from the pumpkin patch that was on Kacie's camera. They sure enjoyed the hay maze!



This one is blurred, but it's Kacie and Ty on Ty's first day of preschool.

"Uh...did you know ...?"

Tyson was sitting at the kitchen table writing. I say writing because he is not interested in crayons, only pencils and pens. My daughter and friend were near that end of the house studying vocabulary words, and Dan was at the other end in our bedroom. The girls needed help, so I literally was 10 feet away, but out of the line of sight of Tyson.

Dan came out and said, "Uh...did you know that Tyson is standing on the table?" And this is what I found!






More and more confident everyday this one is!

And here's a picture after eating lasagna. Fun stuff...and straight to the bathtub!



And this one...don't ask. Dan put my fleece vest on him with a pair of goggles. Just another day in the Powell house...

Pictures from tonight

Just pictures of my kids, being kids! They are truly brother and sister. Tonight Kacie was trying to put Tyson's ABC blocks away in alphabetical order, and Tyson would come along and steal a block or two, then pretend to give them back, only to run away laughing hysterically! I reminded Kacie, this is what little brothers do! She wasn't too pleased, but then cracked a smile.

And of course, we can't forget Rocky the pug. Rocky is still a little put out about us leaving him for 17 days in August and returning with this little person who doesn't appear to be leaving anytime soon. But it's nothing a few pupperoni snacks doesn't cure!

Then and now pictures--AMAZING

Then....we met our son on Aug. 17, 2009 in Nanjing. He weighed 22 pounds.

This picture was taken around the first of September, home less than a week.
He was probably around 23 pounds.

Now: Picture taken October 10, 2009--we have a 28 pound healthy little boy! Look at the difference 1.5 months home can do!

We love you Tyson! You amaze us everyday.

How far we've come, how far to go

The last few days have been tough. Not bad, just hard. On Friday Tyson reverted back to his old eating habits of wanting to eat all day, non-stop. It stirred up a lot of emotions in me. We had come so far on this issue, and I knew it would come back, but when it did, I didn't know it would upset me as much as it did. The only thing I can compare it to is when a loved one dies, and you know it's coming, but when it happens, it is still very difficult. I know it's not the same, but it's all I can think of to explain it. No matter how much you prepare, you can't control those emotions.

I think people forget, we've known Tyson less than two months, and we've only been home 1.5 months. I cannot parent him in the way that others parent their two year olds. In my eyes, our attachment is going well, but we are not out of the woods. I have seen things in Tyson that tell me we are not there yet, like when he ran away from me at Children's Hospital last Monday and never looked back. The whole thing lasted about 10-15 seconds, but it was long enough to tell me that he still doesn't have that attachment. Something caught his attention, and he was running after it. I called to him to come back, and he kept going...and going...he's getting so fast! Maybe he would have looked back eventually and wondered where I was, but I was not going to take that chance.

Dan has been back to work since we got back from China. Tyson asks for "Ba Ba" via sign language about 3 times a day. When Dan leaves, Tyson gives Dan and hug and kiss, waves bye bye, and that's it. Now when I leave, different story. I am with Tyson 95% of the time. The other 5% is the occasional trip out of the house when Dan is home. When I grab my keys, Tyson screams and cries, and it takes Dan about 10 minutes to calm him down. I guess the good news in that is that he does calm down.

I got a call on Friday from his preschool teacher for the 2 year old program. We have decided to to start bringing him to class 1-2 days a week until I go back to work, just to get him familiar with everything. When the preschool teacher called, I was so frazzled...it's like I know it needs to happen, but I don't want it to. I go back to work November 16th, and it's time to start these new transitions. I began to explain his issues with food and over-eating, and all of a sudden I was telling her Tyson's life story. By the end of the conversation, she understood why I hadn't called and how everything has been one step at a time. We deal with the immediate issues first, and it's hard to think ahead, but we have to because it is now time for that. I was glad she called.

I have taken Tyson to daycare 4 times to visit. Of course I've stayed, but I think it's getting close to time to start leaving him there for short amounts of time. My question is...who's going to cry more, him or me? I am going to talk with the daycare director this week about a transition plan so that when Nov. 16th comes, all should go smoothly.

Tyson has now gained OVER SIX POUNDS! The cleft team is very happy about it and doesn't feel he's gaining to quickly. He's making up for lost time. He's at about the 37th%ile for head circumference and weight, but only about the 7th% for height. I did my own measurements the other day. Ty's palate surgery is Dec. 8th, and I will take two weeks off of school, then it's the holidays, so I'll be off the next two weeks as well. The good thing is that when January comes around, he'll know the daycare routine and be familiar with preschool.

I wish I could stay home. I wish we would have traveled in July so I would have had an extra month for all of this. I wish...wish...wish... But this is life, and I live in the real world. Tyson will be fine. He's proved over and over he can adapt and adjust. Kacie will be at daycare with him before and after school. I have a month to get all of this worked out.

When I think back to when we got Tyson, I can't believe how far we've come. But then I realize how far we still have to go. It is nice to know I can be with him for 4 weeks after surgery and not worry about work for two of those weeks. That is a blessing.

Tyson is a blessing! Maybe some of you can relate to what I'm saying. I just keep telling myself..we've been home 1.5 months. We're doing fine, we're doing fine...

Pumpkin Patch 2009

I was reading last year's blog about the pumpkin patch...wow! We were anticipating what it would be like to have a little one with us. These pictures not only show how well Tyson is doing (and how 6 more pounds look on him!), but what an AMAZING Jie Jie/Big Sister he has. Kacie loves her Di Di, as you can see.