Thursday,
June 21, 2007
Today was just what the doctor ordered. A perfect combination of
staying busy and chilling out at the hotel. I was, once again,
up early. But Jude and Tori decided to sleep until the last
minute before breakfast and our 9:15 meeting time for our
sightseeing day. Jude didn't sleep very soundly and although he
didn't wake up, he tossed and turned most of the night. When he
did wake up, he was slower to warm up than yesterday. At
breakfast he was still a bit reserved, but managed to pack away
two yogurts and some of my omelet. I think he's still
recovering from our visit to his orphanage yesterday.
We first headed to Panda World, a small Panda zoo of sorts.
Despite the stifling heat and humidity, we all enjoyed our short
visit. Five pandas are housed there and one of them was
excitingly close to the railing during our visit. Even though
Jude didn't seem to notice, Tori and I got a kick out of being
so close to a panda. We also visited a butterfly house, filled
with butterflies from Vietnam. Then we went to a mausoleum of a
man who's name I can't remember or pronounce, even if I could
recall. But it was interesting, seeing how families lived in
this area in the 1800's. In the same compound was the tea
ceremony which was surprisingly fun. We were given four
different types to try and Tori and I decided we didn't like any
of them. But it was enjoyable and entertaining nonetheless and
we enjoyed learning the proper way to hold and drink a cup of
tea, Chinese style. Jude didn't seem interested in the tea, but
he had us all giggling with his silly faces and contagious
laughter. After all the excitement of the morning, we decided to
go out to lunch together, to a restaurant the driver
recommended. It was excellent and we had our first American type
food since we've been in China. Jude stuck with his normal
Chinese fare, yogurt, egg and noodles, while Tori and I ate his
french fries and chicken nuggets :) After lunch we all headed
back to the room for a nap, but unfortunately Jude decided his
cat nap in the van was adequate. So we spent the afternoon
playing in the room, and Tori and I had a blast watching him
venture out further and further, laughing and smiling all the
way.
After studying Jude for a few days, I think I can say with some
certainty (and a little bit of my eternal optimism) that he is
fairly close to being on target developmentally. The reality is
that adoption, special needs or not, is a leap of faith. We knew
that Jude was our son, regardless, but it was with a sigh of
relief that I realized that he is quite bright and even a bit
impish when he's in the mood. He loves to throw things,
anything, just to see what you will do. He doesn't care if you
don't give it back to him, he's just happy to have something to
throw. He is gesturing more and more, but usually just waits for
me to feed him or give him something to play with. If a stranger
were to try to guess his age, I think they would guess around 12
months. Taking into consideration the amount of time he's been
institutionalized, he's doing pretty darn well! Because of his
feet he cannot walk yet, and he is still a bit unsteady when he
is holding on. He can get into a sitting position from supine
and from standing, and just in the last few days, he has become
much steadier on his feet. He loves to do things with his hands
and seems to be at least age appropriate for fine motor. He has
mastered the stacking cups and can place them all in proper
order if you give them to him in a pile. In fact, he loves to
put things into their 'place' and will put the straw back into
the juice box over and over, working ever so carefully to get
the straw in just the right spot. He also loves musical toys and
any sort of singing. Even mama's voice can get him swaying back
and forth. He has started to babble with us and I think he can
probably say more than he has been, he just hasn't felt
comfortable yet. I was looking at a book with him and he pointed
to the zebra, so I said "zebra" and he repeated it, at least to
the best of his ability. Today he has said "mama" a few times
when he was wanting me to get his cup he had thrown into the
tub, not sure if it was directed at me, but it's a step in the
right direction considering he refused to even make the "ma"
sound before. He also says "jiejie"... I think Tori has been
whispering it in his ear while he sleeps.
Not much on the schedule for tonight, I think I'm going to try
to get to sleep early, so that means writing the update before
Jude and Tori are asleep. Tomorrow we will pick up the
children's passports and go to a department store, so I can do a
little bit of shopping. I'd like to buy some things for Jude in
the capital of his province, and secretly I'm hoping to find
some adorable shoes for my girls here! I promised my Sophie I'd
buy her some shoes and a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do :)
Signing off from Fuzhou! |
Enjoying the panda zoo
This might look like a stuffed animal,
but it's the real thing
Kinda hard to blend in with the crowd here
Realistic looking stuffed pandas, eh?
"When in doubt, pinky out!"
Jude NOT diggin' the tea
Is this kid cute or what?!
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