What's in a word?

Today at lunch John and I decided to make a list of all the words Daniel knows. These are not the words he understands, there are far more of those. These are words he uses personally and correctly in context. I’ll write them in phrases, so you know the types of things he is communicating:

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• Little bit (usually referring to how many vegetables he would like on his plate)
• See you tomorrow (to his teacher at the end of the day)
• More please (usually referring to the main entrée or meat dish)
• Please stop (to his sister)
• Go faster (about moms driving)
• Airplane (we live within 10 minutes of DFW airport so this is a VERY commonly used word for Daniel)
• Church
• School
• Computer (but it sounds more like ‘cuuuuuum puter’, very cute)
• Broken (referring to the ‘cuuuuum puter’ that dad is building from spare parts for the kids)
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Cosette
• Onyx (baby cat)
• Molly (2 yr old cat)
• Grandma
• Opa
• Isabelle (Sounds like ‘it’s a ball’ our 7 year old neighbor)
• Please TV (usually with a begging whinny tone)
• Teacher
• Mrs. Carroll (his teacher’s name)
• Good job (he is quick to affirm, love this about him)
• Outside (he always wants to be outside, except when Cosette is inside)
• Inside
• Cat
• All done? (Usually asking if Cosette is finished with her home work yet)
• No thank you
• Excuse me
• Toilet
• Bathroom
• Why?
• Hungry
• Eat
• Look
• I don’t know (anytime he doesn’t understand. Sounds more like “I du no”
• Play (usually asking Cosette to do so)
• Bingo
• Wash hands (after toilet)
• Brush teeth
• Shoe
• Socks
• My (me, mine, etc. with usage similar to a 2 year old)
• My turn
• Fork
• Numbers 1-20 (higher sometimes, but not consistently, for some reason he skips the 6 in each set over 20. For example he says 23, 24, 25, 27, 28…)
• Car
• Truck
• Daniel (He often speaks in third person, but it’s cute)
• Pick up (his room)
• Room
• Help
• Go? (Usually about getting to go in the truck with Dad somewhere)
• House
• Careful
• Gentle

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones we witnessed today between lunch and bed time. During dinner Daniel was trying to tell us something. He said it several times, with increasing frustration. Finally Cosette figured it out. He was saying "Me speak English". Yes dear, you are an amazing child and you are speaking English.

Christmas Blessings,

Tonya

Three months...

On Monday, Dec. 1 we celebrated three months with Daniel! The time has been more difficult and more fun than I ever imagined. Just for fun, here are a few things I’ve learned in the past three months:

1. You do not need a common language in order to communicate.
2. Three weeks is too long to live out of hotels in a foreign country if you have two young children.
3. You don’t have to have to be blood related in order to fight with your sibling.
4. For emersion to be successful it requires actual participation in the classroom.
5. Blogs are fun to write!
6. Silly is silly in any language.
7. My boy requires a lot more energy than my girl ever did.
8. Kittens are cute, but they grow into cats very quickly.
9. Sharing is hard at any age.
10. Mommy not working is good for everyone in the family, except Mr. Budget.
11. Snuggling is fun in any language.
12. Both of the boys in our family wish momma would drive faster.
13. Chocolate is a necessary stress reliever.
14. Love is communicated through actions not words.
    

There are a million other things, but that’s enough for today.

This morning I woke up, walked into the living room and found Cosette and Daniel sitting on the couch under a blanket together. Cosette had a pile of books by her side and was reading to her brother (picture above). It made my heart happy.

Merry Christmas friends,

Tonya (for J, C & D)

Thanksgiving 2008

This Thanksgiving I find myself reflecting on the miracles of this year. The first was when God brought Daniel into our lives. I don’t mean when we adopted him, but last October when we first saw his face.For 10 months he grew in our hearts as we prepared for Daniel. Then finally, after a series of financial miracles Daniel is home with us and part of our family. If you have been following our journey, you know the story. If not, go back to our first posts and read an amazing story. God walked us through every step.

(pics above left and right, Daniel and Cosette enjoying Thanksgiving lunch at school last week)

I haven’t posted in a while. Life has been busy, as it is for everyone this time of year. Daniel has been in school for over a month and is doing well. I recently learned that his teacher was allowing him to spend much of the day on the computer playing “educational” games. When I learned what was going on I objected of course. He is in school for the “immersion experience”, not to play games. I’m sure there was value in the games, but he could as easily do that at my office with me each day. He needs to hear his teacher, listen to the lesson, and hear his classmates speak; watch, listen and learn! His teacher is now requiring him to participate most of the day, thank you! Wouldn’t you know, just in the past two weeks Daniel’s English has also exploded. He is using more English then Mandarin at this point. Probably out of necessity, but still it’s a great relief to us to know he’s learning. Recently when I was leaving Daniel at school he said “see you tomorrow mommy” – all in perfectly understandable English. It wasn’t exactly what he meant but a great break through none the less. After kissing him goodbye that day, for some reason I cried while I watched him walk hand in hand with Cosette into the school building.

Cosette is her normal sweet self. She is growing in so many ways. I’m enjoying this phase of her childhood. I love being able to have more mature conversations with her. Watching her become a big sister has been fun too. She really tries to guide and protect Daniel. Last week I was having lunch at school with her. One of her classmates asked her why Daniel has one big ear. Her response was very mature. She said “he had a surgery when he was a baby”. That’s all she said. After years of being questioned by classmates about her own life, adoption, being Chinese, having white parents, etc. she has learned that you don’t have to give all the information. She answered respectfully and kindly but protected Daniel’s privacy.

Onyx, our new kitty, is doing well and growing and growing. She is a snuggler, which I’ve enjoyed. After the kids are asleep I often lay down on the couch to relax for a few minutes. Onyx will climb up onto my chest and purr; it puts us both to sleep.

John is doing well. His territory was recently expanded significantly, so in the same amount of time (40 hrs in the week) he is now expected to cover almost twice the territory!

We are looking forward to Christmas. It will be Daniel’s first. It’s hard to even begin to explain what he is about to experience. Of course we want him to know that Christmas is primarily about Jesus. Try to explain that concept in gesture and limited language!

Thanks for your prayers. We continue to have struggles, expected ones and unexpected. We need God to give us what all parents need; wisdom, discernment and patience. Daniel needs what most 6 year old boys need; compassion, discipline and self control to mention a few.

Finally, we are thankful for YOU. God has blessed us with such a wonderful community of friends and family. You have been generous to us in so many ways this year. Jean Baptiste Massieu said ““Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” Our hearts are full with gratitude for you.

Blessings ~ Tonya (for J, C & D)

Onyx

We have a new cat – Onyx. She was born in our back yard, under the shed. Cosette coaxed her out and “caught” her two weeks ago. She and Daniel talked us into taking her in. It took Molly (the 2 year old cat) a few weeks to accept Onyx. At first Molly would hiss and growl at Onyx. The older scared of the baby. Onyx (8 – 12 weeks old) would corner Molly and pounce at her. It was hilarious to watch. They have finally made friends and it’s great to see them play. The kids of course are having a blast with a new “baby” in the house.

Yesterday the kids were having a particularly difficult time getting along. They fought over the kitty, over the swings and other toys in the yard. Finally, after negotiating all afternoon long I said “I think I’ll just take all the toys away and leave you with the grass and the trees to climb. Cosette’s response, not at all what I expected, was “We can climb the trees?” Go for it I said. In no time flat they were both up in a tree, and that is where they stayed until dinner. Silly kiddos!

I hope you enjoy the miscellaneous pictures. I love the one of John and Daniel (top right). What a sweet snuggle I captured, although it is a little blurred. Top left is baby Onyx. Right and left, the kids in the newly discovered tree. Below is Cosette at school, showing off her diorama of Noah's Arc. She is wearing her "crazy socks" for red ribbon "say no to drugs" week.

44 days until Christmas,

Tonya