Almost Through Our 6 Month Trial Period

I'm kidding, of course.

Yes, another Month-iversary for Ian! Five months ago today, Ian walked through Sea-Tac Airport immigration and became a US Citizen. It seems like so much longer than 5 months, and if you ask Ian's grandparents, they probably feel like they've known him longer than that, too. He has done a great job of leaving a permanent mark on our family and it is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine life without him. Peanut butter without jelly. Cereal with no milk. George without Gracie. (The younger visitors are wondering who's George.)

The only new pictures I have this week are from this morning. Ian was tired and cranky, so for those who think he's cheerful all the time, see the photo proof below. He was pretty attached to his blanket and wasn't super thrilled about his "nana".

Speaking of nanas, he has been adding new words to his vocabulary like crazy, which couldn't make us happier. Banana "nana" is a new one, but he realized that when he says "nana", he'll get a "nana" and doesn't always want one, just wants to try out the word. He also has "book" down pat, "nigh, nigh" along with a wave. He says "nigh nigh" and waves to Polli as we go in his room at night…and yesterday made a detour to our master bedroom to look for Shawn to say "nigh nigh", but he was gone. He has a strong "bye bye" with wave (same as nigh nigh), "ah" for car (also doubles for truck in a pinch), "bmmp bmmp" is beep beep, "sprrn" is spoon, "muh" is milk or any sippy drink (which to the untrained ear might sound like mama when said repetitiously). "Away" is a soft, lullaby of a word that means both Put Away and Throw Away. We have to be very clear about which "away" he's referring to at times. "Buh" is still Polli, and something close to "Baba" is blanket. Although that also means dad in Chinese, he never gave indication that it meant anything to him while in China and he has always called Shawn dad or dada. "Ball" with a faint L sound is pretty obviously ball and applies to just about anything round or remotely ball shaped. Even at freeway speeds, he can spot something ball-ish out the window and makes sure I know he saw it. With buh, muh, ah, baba, bye, ball, bmmp, and book, it's safe to say he has a specific foundation to his speech so far.

I've had a heck of a time getting his Early Intervention appointments started. We're still trying out programs to decide which is best for him. The only programs the coordinator set up for us was Hard of Hearing services, which I'm not convinced suit him. I want to know what non hard of hearing kids get who qualify for speech services. I'd like to try both sides of the fence and go from there. Somehow, I don't think it works that way. Part of me wants to embrace his ear/hearing as part of who he is, but another part of me wants him to have the same options as every other kid. I haven't decided yet which mom I want to be (or should be for that matter).

Nothing exciting happening, but Ian does start swimming lessons in a couple of weeks. We are very excited to see how he reacts to water, and in preparation for our trip to Coeur D'Alene in July, hope it doesn't go horribly wrong. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this new endeavor doesn't undo all this bonding and attachment we've accomplished so far!

Below are a couple of pictures from this AM. Cranky boy…Plus one from "the good ol' days"… on a plane ride in China.

The plane ride home 5 months ago (this is actually Hangzhou to Guangzhou, but close enough)

He desperately needs his own play camera. He was beside himself because I wouldn't give him mine.

His trademark "how could you do this to me?" look (there are those eyebrows Grandma Trish loves so much!)