Remembering China

I wanted to talk about some of my most vivid memories about DJ. is China. He was so tiny then. I was quick to smile (and still is) For him, it didn't take but a moment to realize that we didn't speak his language nor could he speak ours, so he didn't speak. We developed a very rudimentary sign language to get across basic needs like thirsty, hungry, potty. The most memorable one was "sad".

One time he was pushing our "limit line" and started crying when he didn't get whatever it was that he wanted or wanted to do. So I looked him in the eyes, made a sad face and slowly dragged my forefinger down my cheek from my eye. I said (as if he could understand), "That's the track my tears would leave...IF I cared." Pam didn't think it was all that funny. I can have a weird sense of humour at times. Anyway, from then on when he was trying to tell us he was sad for any reason, he would draw a finger down his cheek to show us.

Another universal sign he developed all on his own was on the very next day after we got him. The group of adoptive families went out shopping with our babies to buy clothes and necessities. They came with the clothes on their backs, so we were all starting from scratch. The first thing Pam and I bought was a small stroller. Tiny or not, a kid gets heavy in a hurry walking through a store. As I was pushing DJ through a toy section, he caught the sight of a kid sized Jeep that was big enough to ride in. He took one look at that Jeep, and started poking my leg, to get my attention. He then commenced to pocking his tiny finger at his chest and then pointing at the Jeep. His eyes were as big as Silver Dollars. We laughed so hard! We figured somewhere along the way someone at the orphanage must have told him that his new Mama & Baba will buy him anything he wants. And he wanted that Jeep! If we hadn't have been in China at the moment, I would have bought it too.

Another interesting memory was watching DJ when he was in his crib. We hadn't bought too many toys yet, so we gave him little boxes that the soaps, shampoos, etc. came in and he played with them like blocks. He was really resourceful. More interesting was how when he was finished playing with them, he stacked them neatly in the corner of his crib. He made sure they were lined up by size and shape. Neat freak from that age. Of course that came to a screeching end when he got here. ;o)

Watching him explore was a constant wonder. There were so many things he'd never seen before, so he kept his little eyes - and fingers busy exploring. All that excitement and so much stimulation finally came crashing down on his little brain one day and he fell asleep at the table during breakfast. We didn't dare disturb him so we just sat there and watched him. A couple other families sat with us and talked. He slept for a couple of hours before we took him upstairs for a proper nap. He slept then too. Now I have to threaten him with his life to get him to take a nap. He hates them.

I have to get ready for work. More later
Juan