Down the Ocean Hon!

How do you like that Baltimore expression? I am not a Baltimore Hon- think beehive hairdo and cat-eye glasses (in case you were wondering). I have been called Hon many a time before by total strangers. Anyway- I digress!

We went to the beach this past week for 5 days. Nate loved it, what self-respecting boy doesn't? His favorite beach task was to dig as big a hole as possible, not so much wide as deep. A few times he would bend down and you couldn't find him. I thought he might be afraid of the ocean but he thought it was fun to play in the surf and run up the shore line as the waves would break. He and Kit had a grand time sitting on the boogie boards in the surf and letting the water carry them away.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Susanne

1st Trip to The Dentist

No cavities..yahoo!

Nate is such a Champ, you could tell that he was scared, but he prides himself on being tough and he just sat in that dentist chair and took it on. The x-rays showed he hasn't lost any teeth yet, we are so glad that we get to share that experience with him, since there is so much that we have missed in his life. The hygienist gave him a thorough cleaning because his teeth are so stained, I think it is from all of the tea that they drink. His teeth are actually white now. I am so happy that his teeth are in such good shape, one less thing that he has to go through.

As we left, Kit asked him if he liked the Dentist? He looked at Kit with this incredulous face and said "No" as if it was the silliest thing he had ever heard. Kit couldn't believe it, "but you got a new toothbrush!"
Susanne

At the Name of Jesus...

The boys went to VBS this week at my Mom's church. This is the 2nd year I have had the fun job of being the worship leader, the kids love it and I love it. We play the music loud, sing, dance, do our actions and have fun. Well, by mid-week we noticed Nate getting in to it.

My favorite moment came yesterday when this sweet little boy, who is not speaking English yet, started to sing...at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow. What a powerful testimony to God's power. This child who likes to make little altars out of blocks, bow down to them on his knees saying Xiexie (thanks), speaking a Biblical truth. It was awesome and it made me cry!!!

Susanne

Say What Doc?

We had our follow-up appt. at the International Adoption Clinic this week. We consulted with this group during our initial review of Nate's paperwork. I can not say enough good words about the doctors at Johns Hopkins in the Child Health Building. We had a lot of blood work drawn (most of which has common back negative, still waiting on some of the longer tests), a PPD shot, an X-ray to make sure the metal plate was removed from his broken femur (the medical records were a little hard to read) and a visit to the dermatologist. All of this in one building on the same day, we loved it!! Not sure what he thought about it though!


While at the dermatologist we discovered his "special need" had been misdiagnosed. He has something called Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome, who thought that up? It is fairly rare, so we felt like we were in good hands. The doctors see a few other patients who have this and are doing fine. The major concern at the moment is that we need to get an MRI to look at his enlarged thigh (it is probably a big bleb) and his stomach and intestines. You can have the blebs inside and you want to make sure they aren't bleeding. We are waiting for the MRI to be scheduled because the doctor we saw will be there as his anesthesiologist.

What a great area we live in here in Baltimore, Nate has so many medical resources available to him 20 minutes down the road. What a blessing! We will keep you posted!

----Susanne

Progress

Only my family really knows this about me...I have a huge pet peeve over noisy eaters. I mean it drives me insane if someone smacks their lips while eating. Well, sweet little Nate was one of those eaters. Yes, I said was, because that is past tense...I noticed today that I didn't have to remind him one time to chew with his lips closed!!! Yahoo!! So now he has learned to sit up at the table (not go under it), chew with his lips closed and to ask to be excused....baby steps my friends!

Sus

Chinglish

Nate's vocabulary now includes the following words...

apple (what a good mommy I am teaching him such a healthy thing)

cookie(what a good mommy I am teaching him such a tasty thing)

googles (you can't swim with out them)

America America!

Alright, this little guy must think this country is full of a bunch of people who eat way too much and have way too much leisure time on their hands. A holiday weekend will do that for you. Friday we went to see Kung Fu Panda, didn't really get any reaction out of him about it. I thought he would show some excitement since it is set in China. I know....it's a cartoon version of China, but that is some good animation! Then we had my family over for a 4th of July cookout and lounging in the pool.

Yesterday was a day filled with 2 parties, one on the river and one at a pool. Both had lots and lots of food. What must be going on his little mind? He was head over heels excited at the party on the river, he had what must have been his first boat roads in a paddle boat and a canoe. He really didn't hesitate to jump in to the water and have some fun with all of the other kids. The time in/on the river really brought him to life and you could just see his happiness. We asked him if he liked America while we were out paddling around, and he answered a "yes" in his sweet little voice. I am not sure how much water exposure he has had before, China has lakes, but if he lived on the mountainside it might be a new experience for him.

At the 2nd party he got a kick out of the line dancing. You could tell he was interested in it and would probably have given it a try if we had a little more time to persuade him. Uncle Rich carried him over to the dance area and I tried my hardest to get him to give the Electric Slide a-go, but he just laughed and laughed and laughed about it. Then it was a game, he would race back to the chair and wait for you to pull him out and try again. Good bonding time!

I am enjoying each experience with him to see his reaction, sometimes it is exactly what I expected and other times it isn't, Nate likes to keep you on your toes!

Sus

Let's Go O's

Wednesday night we took Nate to his first Orioles game. His initial reaction to the inside of the stadium was a "WAH", that is Chinese for WOW, followed by boredom for the following 2 hours. The boys of summer just didn't hold his attention. He probably is not at all familiar with the sport, and it is frustrating to not be able to explain that rules to him. In this family he will grow to love the game as much as everyone else does. Nate did enjoy the peanuts, hey this is authorized throwing of your trash on the ground. I hope we didn't confuse him, since we had an initial showdown about not littering. I look forward to the time when we can explain that littering takes away from others enjoyment of God's creation, and it shows a lack of stewardship for what God has so graciously given to us in his beautiful creation. In the meantime enjoy crunching those peanut shells Nate my boy!

----Susanne