Wednesday (day four)

Today’s random bit of info: Obama’s half brother used to volunteer in our daughter’s orphanage and taught piano lessons to some of the older kids. Interesting, huh?

For the math whizzes out there…four hours sleep + three hours awake + four hours sleep = one full night’s rest, right? Nope, my body doesn’t think so either. Better than no sleep at all though, so I’ll take what I can get. Betcha can’t guess what I ate for tonight’s midnight snack…

Today started off kinda lousy. Kaleb had lost a tooth the night before, and I woke to the realization that the tooth fairy had completely spaced her intended visit. The jig has been up for a while for this kid, but his eyes still light up when he finds something under his pillow. He took it well, but I felt like the loser mom of the year. I have a feeling that the tooth fairy will be paying interest this time.

As the morning wore on, I began to wonder if we’d reached the end of our adoption honeymoon period. The whining, screaming, and tantruming began. I questioned whether I could truly handle specialized adoption discipline such as time-ins (sitting next to the child to reassure them that no matter how bad the behavior, they will not be abandoned by or separated from their new family). But everything in me ached to put myself in a time-out, just to escape the noise. A few weeks ago a fellow mom advised me to buy earplugs. Now I get why.

Elijah was home for the day and the two toddlers weren’t meshing well. Understandably, a child from an orphanage setting isn’t well versed in sibling skills. Fending for oneself typically takes priority over sharing, so learning how a family interacts will likely be a process. It’s a whole new ballgame.

I tried to explain Jun Lan’s actions to Elijah, and reminded him that he too cried a lot when he first joined our family. He asked if his newborn cries were because he wanted to steal the tv remote like his sister. I couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

She started rubbing her eyes shortly after lunch, so I fed her a bottle in bed. Lo and behold, she gulped it down, snuggled into my chest, and fell fast asleep. Perhaps the rough start to the day was partly due to plain old fatigue in addition to all that is new and unfamiliar.

And in case you were wondering, holding our sweet sleeping baby erased all of the morning’s troubles.

The older boys caught a couple of toads when they got home from school, and proudly showed them to Jun Lan. Turns out she likes toads as much as she likes dogs.

Kaleb entertained her again with his slap stick routine. He can keep the act going for an incredible length of time. But what’s just as amazing is how long she can stay in fits of giggles at his antics. Two peas in a (totally goofy) pod.

Randy held down the fort in the evening so that I could sneak in a quick workout (gotta burn off these midnight snacks!). Grandma Was and Aunt Sally stopped over for a quick visit, and it was bedtime again before we knew it.

Finally, we figured out another reason why Jun Lan might have had such a rough morning. Her light cough turned into a much worse one tonight and the poor thing can barely sleep now. I hate seeing her in misery. However, I’m thankful that now – for the first time in her life – she has a forever family to care for and comfort her when she is sick. I can hardly believe that we get the privilege of being that family. It is so, so good!

p.s. Feel free to remind me of that goodness during the sick and screaming spells tomorrow. :)