Just Caleb

Three weeks ago today a very frightened, unsure little boy resigned himself to be held by me as he screamed his protest that the orphanage staff was leaving him in a room with some funny looking and sounding people. Today that same little boy spontaneously leaned over and gave me a kiss while I was putting him down for his nap! We still have at least one unexplainable heart-wrenching cry a day, but I think we are making forward progress in learning to love his family!

At the park this morning ~ he saw his sister up on the big slide and wanted to let me know where she was. She may take things from him and hit him occasionally, but you should see the smile he gets on his face in the mornings when she wakes up...

The first few days Maya was just about too much for my boy. Anytime he'd be on one side of her and I'd be on the other he'd lose it! Then last week we were out enjoying perhaps the last warm day of fall in our backyard. I'd been throwing Maya's ball to her while the kids happily ran back and forth in the grass and suddenly he took off toward Maya.

Giggling over his shoulder at me that he got so close...

Right when he got up to her she picked up her head expecting a pat. The movement startled him and he came tearing back ~ but only halfway. Before long he was taking the tennis ball out of her mouth and throwing it for her and they've been best buds ever since!

Caleb's English has been rapidly expanding! So far his only vocal words are "chee" (cheese ~ guess you know you have the camera out too much when your child's first English word is cheese!), "bye-bye," "tank oo," "Mi-ah" (so not necessarily an English word, but one that he's learned in this house anyway...) and of course "Mama." (I suppose that one shouldn't really count since it is also Mandarin, but I'm pretty sure he realizes that means me now, so I'll take it!) He can sign "more," "please," and we are working on "all done." That may not sound like much, but I'm amazed at what all he comprehends me saying already! He responds to simple requests and questions like, "Sit down," "Do you need to go potty?" and "Are you hungry/thirsty?"

And last night I figured that we've already been eating every dinner for nearly three weeks out, what can one more night hurt? So Mom and I took the kids to Grand Asia Buffet where kids (at least two year olds anyway) eat free. I wish that I had video coverage of his eyes as we walked around the buffet while I was getting his food. It was like he was saying, "Finally, now that's what I'm talking about..." His little expressions when I'd point to something and ask if he wanted any were hilarious! He either shook his head no or emphatically nodded yes and for the most part, he was right about what he wanted. Wish you had seen how much noodles and rice that kids put away...

Not at the buffet, but still serious about getting all the soup part of his Ramen noodles from lunch today!

Oh, and he can already open the refrigerator door himself ~ looks like most stuff is going on the top shelf!