Bringing You Home: Our Last Stop

Yesterday was a really rough day. CJ and I just about reached our breaking point. Huihui only got a 45min nap before we had to leave for the airport, so to say the least, he was a wreck. There were a lot of temper tantrums, yelling, and body flailing at the airport, which was super fun with all of our luggage. Thankfully, he slept our entire flight to Guangzhou, and today has gone much better. Please keep us in your prayers.

Today we were able to sleep in before we headed to a government office for Huihui's medical check and visa photo. He did great and it was very uneventful. There are a ton of adoptive families staying at our hotel--nine just in our group and many from other agencies. It's been really good to swap stories, share snacks, and have English speaking support. We went out to dinner with two other families this evening who both adopted children Huihui's age. We had a great time with them.

You can tell Huihui is starting to understand a few English words. He only responds to his Chinese name, so we're trying to say his full name so he gets the association. He already knew how to wave and clap, so we've taught him how to high five and we're working on blowing kisses. He attempted to say "hi" today, but he mainly vocalizes vowel sounds and makes grunting noises, which is common with kids with a cleft palate. We are beginning to understand that no one has ever told him "no" in his life, so that's been challenging. We've talked to a few other families whose kids were in foster care and they are having the same experience with their kids. I think it may just be another cultural difference in child rearing. Huihui has already given up Chinese food for breakfast. We kept trying to feed him congee (rice gruel) and eggs in the morning because we were told that what his usual, but after trying french toast and bacon, he's given it up all together. It's been funny. This kid can put away the food. We feel like he's eating constantly, but when he's done, he's done. He'll let you know it.

Tomorrow we get to go to a bilingual church service with some of the other families, so we're really looking forward to that. We're also getting some laundry done. There were no laundry services in Wuhan, so we've been washing a few things in the bathtub. I'm ready for some clean clothes!

As a side note, I don't mean for this post to seem negative. Huihui is still a doll. He loves snuggles and kisses and smiles a lot. I love the way he puts his hands on his head when he's tired. It's the sweetest thing. I love that ornery gleam in his eye. (Though I might be seeing it a little too often lately. :) ) Adoption is just hard sometimes. It'll get better. We'll figure each other out and settle into life soon.