My First Video!!

Remember the shower Kevin's family threw us a couple of weeks ago? At it, Carson got lots of toys...heck, he even got a motorcycle! But at the end of the shower, the thing that most amused the kids was this...


...the clothes hanger gunfight! OK, so tell me you're impressed...(insert praise of my skills here)...thank you very much! Actually one of the teenagers at the shower showed me how to make videos on my digital camera and I fumbled through posting it on here. Very exciting...now I can make some videos of Carson's shenanigans for all to enjoy.

Stay tuned!!

Daycare Visits, the Brace Shop Appointment...and Other Random Events

Carson has gone to the preschool at Church the past two Sundays and done extremely well...he even kept repeating on the way to his classroom this past Sunday, "Mama go bye-bye?" to remind me that I needed to leave him there. I decided it was time to get back in the pool, so I put him in the daycare center at the YMCA Monday morning while I swam my laps. When I went to pick him up at the end, they told me he whined and cried the whole time! Uh-oh...wasn't counting on that! Might have been my fault...he jumped on in and started playing with the toys, so I filled out the paperwork and slipped away. They said he kept going to the door and whining...maybe I should have made a point to say goodbye! We'll try again tomorrow...swimming laps does WONDERS for my mental health! PLUS, I found out that I lost six pounds in the month since I last swam!! Definitely helps the exercise motivation to see those kind of results...even if they were from starving myself in China!

Yesterday, Carson had an appointment to be fitted for his AFOs. The appointment went very well...as we entered the waiting room, we could hear a young child screaming in the treatment room and I started to get a little nervous! The fitting went easily...the casting materials were put on and dried, then the cast was cut off. (Sadly, I forgot the camera!) Carson got to pick what design he wanted for his AFOs...Spiderman won out! (Of course, Carson thinks it's Ultraman...) The AFOs will be ready on December 17th...sorta dreading the transition those will require!

Last night, our friends Katie and Scott brought their baby, Griffin, over and we all had dinner together. Griffin was in a crabby mood and cried almost the entire time. Katie and I cracked up when Carson approached Griffin (who was screaming in Katie's arms) and said, "Baby, NO cwy-babies!!" Do you think Carson hears that about a thousand times every day??

I tried to get a picture with Carson and Griffin together, but Carson has decided (much like Meggie decided weeks ago) that he doesn't want to cooperate with pictures for the blog anymore! This is the only picture I got of them...and only because I caught Carson off guard!

Bedtime has its ups and downs lately. Some nights, Carson only cries out one time. Monday night, he cried out FOUR times! Ugghhhh!! Last night, he cried out once but it was another sobbing event, much like on Thanksgiving. I sat in the chair next to his bed, laid my head on the bed with him, and placed my hand on his back. He never appeared to open his eyes but his sobbing was truly heartbreaking! Poor guy! After getting him through that...which took about 15 minutes...he slept until 8AM!! I'm just sure we're gonna figure this out and eventually get some sleep!

Carson's newest "trick" is to openly defy us and snicker at us while he's doing it! On Saturday, I had him upstairs on the second floor while doing laundry so Daddy could bring the Christmas decorations up from the basement. (Our basement stairs are sorta steep and I was afraid our brave Little Man would fall down them trying to help Daddy!) He kept saying, "Baba?" and heading for the stairs. I told him, "No," and kept sorting laundry. When I looked back up, he was down two steps and turned around and said, "Bye-Bye!" in a mocking tone, while laughing at me. Ooooooo, I was FURIOUS!! He was introduced to the idea of getting a spanking on the butt that time...this was a safety issue!! (He's very unsteady on steps and requires constant supervision!) He got a lengthy time-out on his bed while he screamed at me. Once the screaming stopped, I let him get up and all was right with the world again!

Last night, Carson was bugging Meggie and her friend Sarah while they were on the computer. I told him to come with me and leave them alone. He understood what I was saying...I'm sure of that...but laughed at me and shook his head no. When I went to grab his hand and lead him away from the girls, he pulled his feet up and hung there. Fine...I carried him by his arm into the family room and he got ANOTHER time-out. Again with the screaming...and then all was fine.

Not sure what this open defiance is all about...guess Carson feels I can handle more than one challenge at a time. I'm hoping it means he is feeling comfortable enough with us to test us...hope I don't fail this newest test!

I'll try to get more pictures for the next post!

A Quick Note of Celebration!

Last week at Carson's OT evaluation with Miss Mary, we discovered that he has abilities he has been hiding from us. At Miss Mary's suggestion, I've been pushing him to do things for himself. Today we had ENORMOUS success: he removed his PJs with very little help, put on his own sweat pants and socks with NO help, and can pull down his sweat pants and underwear for potty time and pull them back up...with NO help!! Oh my goodness, that is SO EXCITING! (OK, maybe not as exciting to the casual reader, but a HUGE thing to us!!) When he accomplishes these goals (and, yes, it is slow and arduous for him, believe me!), the pride is so evident in his face...makes me wanna cry! We hoot and holler and hug -- and Carson yells at the top of his lungs, "Gooooo job....yesssss!"

We also discovered that Carson shares a passion with his Mama....he ADORES ice cream (or "ice-a cweem" as he calls it)!! He will clean up his toys lightning quick if a scoop of vanilla ice cream is his reward at the end! Tonight he had his first chocolate milk shake -- and LOVED IT!!

Ahhhhhhh, that's my Little Man!

A Wonderful Thanksgiving, Indeed!

While we all should always be thankful for the gifts in our lives, Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to reflect on the blessings of the past year. This year was especially good to us...it brought us our Little Man!! It was a long road to China and back...we are definitely grateful for this new addition to our family!

We went to Grandma and Grandpa B's for Thanksgiving dinner. Carson had a GREAT time with his cousins! Before dinner, they ran around and played together. A few pics...

Carson pushing Jillian in the doll stroller...

...then Carson taking his turn, while Alex pushes!Carson loved this little video game!

When we sat down to dinner, the kids all fought to sit next to Carson (Alex and Sarah won!). Alex said Grace before dinner and then added, "...and thank you for bringing Carson into our family." It was so sweet, it brought tears to my eyes! Yes, we do have a lot to be thankful for this year, for sure!

After dinner, I tried to get all the cousins together for a picture. Unfortunately, with 10 kids, we couldn't get one where EVERYBODY was cooperating. The best of the batch was this one...
...and in it, Carson was trying to cross his eyes!! Yes, his newest skill (taught to him by his goofy Daddy) and he decides to practice it in a Thanksgiving picture!! Ugghhhh!

Jillian spent most of the day putting on Carson's Ultraman shoes. If you've read any of this blog, you know that Carson is Ultraman's biggest fan! We kept hiding the shoes from Jillian, and she kept finding them and putting them back on! Thankfully, Carson didn't try to knock her over to get them back...
In fact, at the end of the night, we hid the shoes so well we couldn't find them! Somehow they ended up in Grandma's walk-in closet. Whew!! Couldn't go home without THOSE shoes!

We always carpool with Kevin's Aunt Edna (aka Nana) and Uncle Lee for holidays. Nana is a very talented artist who has made masterpieces for both Meggie and Carson. When we arrived at their house to pick up Nana and Uncle Lee, Nana gave Carson a picture of Ultraman she had drawn for him. He was SO impressed!! On the way home, after a fun-filled day of running around and screaming with his cousins, he fell fast asleep in his car seat...

...still clutching the Ultraman picture in his hands!* * * * * * * * * *

Friday, we took a road trip to see the Bowling Green-Toledo football game...our nephew, Tyler, is on Bowling Green's team. A few pics...

No, Carson, that's NOT how you wear that thing!!

Much better!

Meggie and Carson showing their Bowling Green spirit!

We're bundled up, we found our seats...and Carson is asleep!

He slept through the entire first half of the game!!Finally awake...hanging out with Daddy...

...snuggling with Meggie...

...and being wild with Grandpa!!

Tyler and the team brought home a big win against Toledo! Yeah!! We had a GREAT time at the game...despite the frigid temps!!

* * * * * * * * * *

Saturday was the first day since we've been home from China that we literally had NOWHERE to go! Carson drove us CRAZY asking to go Bye-Bye. At one point, I had to do laundry and to keep him busy, we did this...
...oh, you can't see what he's doing? How's this for a better shot...

...Carson sitting on the dryer, playing with his computer, while I fold and sort laundry! Hey, a woman needs to do what she can to get the chores done, right?!

Meggie tried to keep Carson occupied for a bit while I tackled the endless loads of laundry. This is how they spent their time...
...perhaps we ought to limit Carson's exposure to Meggie when no one is paying attention, huh?!

* * * * * * * * * *

Our one problem -- sleep -- still continues to be a problem. In fact, Thanksgiving night was, by far, the worst night we've had yet. Carson woke up a little after midnight and sobbed -- not cried, SOBBED -- for a solid hour! We hesitate to intervene too much during his nighttime crying because we don't want to fully awaken him, but Thanksgiving night was really tough. He sounded like he was suffering...poor little guy! I really am getting to my wit's end trying to make nighttime go smoother.

Once families return from China with their child, CCAI has volunteers who make Welcome Home calls to answer any questions, to check on us, and to see how the China trip actually went. Our wonderful volunteer, Jody, called Saturday evening. We talked for about an hour and it was SO helpful...yes, I have been a mom for 14 years, but mothering an adopted four-year-old clearly has its own rules!

In an effort to allow me to get more sleep, Daddy has been responding to Carson's nighttime crying...after we wait a few minutes to see if he'll console himself. We keep trying this and it is not improving! Jody suggested trying something new, so we did.

Last night, we put a chair in Carson's room. When he cried out at 2:30AM, I responded to his cries IMMEDIATELY, instead of waiting to see if he could console himself. When Daddy (aka Carson's constant playmate) would go in on prior nights, he would talk to Carson, take him to potty, even sometimes turn on lights! I went in last night when he first called out, covered him back up, and said, "Carson, go night-night." He looked at me, said "OK" and laid his head right back down! I sat in the chair for a few minutes to be sure he was out. As I sat there, the CD that plays on "random" all night searched for a new song. That thing is LOUD! The clicking and whirring of the song search is probably what's been waking him up every night! (I had started to doze in the chair and it jolted me awake!) When I left the room (after taking the CD player off "random"), Carson looked up, but then put his head back down and slept until 8AM! Yes, folks, he only got up once and it was only for a few minutes!! (Unfortunately, I laid in bed awake for two hours, fearful that he would call out again.)

So, from now on we're using the radio instead of the CD player and I'm responding instead of Daddy. One short interruption is definitely better than crying for a solid hour! Other than my selfish need for sleep, I really don't want Carson to be afraid or sad in the middle of the night. I'll keep you posted on our progress.

A few pictures of the kids from the past few days...

...until next time!

My Fun-Filled Day with the Kids

I'll admit it...we slept in today! Meggie was off school for Thanksgiving break and Carson (God bless him!) slept until 7:30AM!!!! Yes!! Unfortunately, since I didn't get up early to get my shower, I had to somehow keep Little Man occupied so I could accomplish that goal. Enter Carson's new computer! The child is OBSESSED with pushing buttons (and not just mine, HA HA!!) and got this at the shower last Friday. I propped him comfortably in our bed with the Backyardigans on the TV...he was mesmerized by his kiddie laptop...
Doesn't he look like he's composing a very important document? Just when I think he can't get any cuter...he does!!

Meggie had a bunch of gift cards she got for Christmas LAST YEAR and I promised her we would go to the mall today to spend 'em. We thought about getting Grandpa to watch Carson, but figured Grandma would kill me for asking since she's prepping Thanksgiving dinner. So, we took him with us. As soon as he heard we were going "Bye-Bye, Vroom-Vroom," he impatiently waited at the door to the garage with his coat on...
Such a man! In the minivan, Meggie grabbed my camera and shot this masterpiece...
We started at the Food Court since it was noon and we were all pretty hungry. Carson was in his awesome new stroller and I figured, since he was comfortable and it had a tray, I'd just leave him in the stroller while he ate his chicken nuggets. I am constantly amazed at this little guy's ability to adapt tasks! He got tired of leaning over to take a bite and realized that our table was at a much better height for his needs, so he did this...What a smart little dude!! As Meggie began her shopping marathon, Carson started pretending to take his own picture with his Spiderman camera phone and wanting me to get cheek-to-cheek with him. I decided, since I had the camera with me, we'd take a REAL picture. He's such a cheeseball...
The stroller is a Sit-and-Stand design...a child can sit in the front seat and another child can either stand on the back or sit on the bench in the back. Carson was a bit too big for the front seat, but LOVED the bench in the back. Here he's keeping himself busy with his Magna-Doodle while Meggie CONTINUES to shop...Carson, you're such a good boy!! Are you having fun today??
Yes, he's back to closing his eyes for pictures! I thought we kicked that habit in China, silly boy!! In this store, he decided to help Jie-Jie pick out just the right pair of sweat pants...
Actually I got that picture when he wasn't ready...when he posed, he had his eyes slammed shut again! When I showed him this one, he yelled at me in Chinese, then squinted his eyes shut. He really WANTED his eyes to be shut in the picture!! What a nerd!!

When we had lunch with Paula and Malachi last week, we found out that they refer to having a meal as "eating your bites." That has stuck with Carson...he says it at every meal! Tonight at dinner after our mall marathon, Carson decided to shout at Meggie and I, "Eeee show byyys! Eeee show BYYYYYS!" (For some reason, he says it with a Southern accent -- hysterical!) Thanks, Paula...I owe you one!!

All in all, today was really FUN! Meggie spent her gift cards, Carson was an absolute angel, and Mama got a change of scenery!

I'll finish us off tonight with my favorite picture of the day...may even be my favorite picture of my kids together yet...
Apparently, a little togetherness goes a L-O-N-G way when you're dealing with a teenager and a preschooler!!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

"Oh, No! They've Figured Me Out!!"

OK, so Carson isn't speaking English THAT well, but I have to tell you...this boy has been playing us like a fiddle!! Before I give you those details...

His English is improving every day. Today, for example, he sneezed at the breakfast table...into his sleeve, thank you very much!...and said, "Mama, need a titchoo (tissue)." That isn't just English, that's a complete sentence in English!! Way to go, Little Man!

Hands down, Carson's favorite activity in the world is to annoy his Mama. He refuses to kiss me (when I say, "Kiss me or I'll chew on your neck" -- his most ticklish spot -- he'll throw his head back to accept the punishment rather than pucker up!) He also mocks EVERYTHING I say...I act all upset with him to get him to giggle, but the reality is he's learning more and more words this way. I'm a Mom, I can take the abuse!! At dinner the other night (another wonderful, home-cooked meal from one of our friends), I had a headache. Mr. Funny Man decided to mock me...

...then Meggie joined in!

Carson also will now reject me whenever ANYONE else is available...Daddy, Aunt Debbie, a stranger at Church. On the one hand, it really bothers me. After all, I went to the ends of the earth (literally) to bring this little boy back home...why am I last on his list?? However, I think it has become a game for him so I've stopped making it fun. After all, what does it matter if he's holding my hand or Aunt Debbie's as we cross a parking lot, as long as he's holding someone's hand and staying safe?! I'm hoping the less I react to his rejection, the less I'll see it. I'll keep you posted...

I called yesterday to get Carson set up with a bunch of medical appointments. Unfortunately, the neurologist we were referred to doesn't have an opening until mid April! Oh, well, we'll wait 'til April. When I called for physical therapy (PT), they had an opening in mid December. Great! When I called for occupational therapy (OT), they had an opening today! TODAY!!!! So, we went this morning to have Carson evaluated for OT needs. (In case you were wondering, OF COURSE I took the camera!!) A few pics...

Climbing the ladder with Miss Mary's help
to see what they keep in the red bucket at the top...
(it was empty, by the way!)

Taking notes on Miss Mary's notebook

Doesn't this room look like TONS of fun??

Going down the slide!

This bolster was nearly twice his height...
he still picked it up to swing it like a baseball bat!
(Don't you LOVE that grin??!!)

Riding on the bouncy ball!

Now, to explain the title of today's post. As we entered the OT room, Miss Mary placed a chair along the wall for me. I took that to mean she didn't want me to intervene in the session, so I sat there and watched. She sat on the mat with Carson and told him it was time to take off his shoes. He leaned over and took them off like he does it every day! Let me tell you, he has NEVER removed his own shoes for us! NEVER!!

Miss Mary let Carson explore the room while we talked about his history and our goals for OT. He was very interested in scissors and surprised us both with how well he did with them. He needs both hands to open the scissors, but cuts paper quite well using just his left hand...
I had to laugh when Miss Mary asked me if we had used scissors at home. Are you kidding me?? Does she really think we've been doing arts and crafts in the 12 days we've been home from China?? Once she asked me that question out loud, she laughed as she realized that scissors have probably NOT been our priority. Clearly, he learned this skill in China.

Miss Mary also was able to get Carson to purposefully bend both of his arms at the elbow by having him reach for toys. While the strength in his arms and hands is VERY weak, he has definite ability hidden in there! Miss Mary is SO excited to see how much we can help him accomplish with therapy...join the club, Miss Mary, 'cause I've been dying to get him in therapy since the moment I met him!! She recommended we force him to be more independent and assume he CAN dress himself...of course, this will take a LOT more time than doing it for him. That's OK...we will allow for more time and push him to do for himself.

When they were finished with the session, Miss Mary told Carson it was time to put his shoes back on, and he leaned over and put them on...like he does it every day!!! He even stuck his finger in the back of the shoe, to ease his heel in!!! I was flabbergasted!!! We always assumed he couldn't dress himself so we did it for him...and he has allowed it since day one!! How interesting that, with very little prompting, he was willing to show off for Miss Mary!! Oooooohhhh, that boy...

As we were leaving OT, I figured we better take a potty break. We went into the bathroom and I told Carson to pull his pants down. He hooked his thumbs into the waistband...and then just started grinning. I kept saying, "You can do it!" and he kept responding with "Mama help!" When I wouldn't help, he took my hand and placed it on his pants...then laughed as he demanded, "Mama HELP!" OK, he won that round...we were in the OT department's only bathroom and I didn't want to tie it up all day battling with a four year old. Suffice it to say, though, he'll be working a LOT harder around here now that I know what he's actually capable of.

That little stinker!!