Bedtime Rocks!

Yes, you read that right. Bedtime is no longer the most feared part of the day. Over the course of the last 6 weeks, Colin has found his bedtime groove and is pretty much sleeping through the night now, with the occasional late-night...or early morning...wake-ups that require a quick soothing hug from Daddy. I will admit, when it was happening 5 or 6 times a night, I was absolutely dreading it. But lately Colin's been very clingy to Anita during the day, so much so that I actually find myself looking forward to bedtime when I can give him a bath and put him to bed. It usually goes pretty smoothly. He's becoming a bit more independent in the bath, which makes me laugh. He now wants to wash his own hair first before I do it. I actually find myself asking his permission to finish washing his hair. There is a definite order to everything at bathtime and bedtime (yes he's a tad bit OCD - Monk would love Colin!). But I think that order actually helps calm him down and lends us an assist in getting him to settle down and go to sleep.

But what I love most about bedtime now is setting down with him in the rocker and letting him straddle my legs and lean into my chest. We pray together, and he's begun reaching for my hand when he hears me start to pray which is just incredibly cool. I talk to him about things that I look forward to sharing with him in the future, both near and down the road. I tell him how much Mommy and Daddy love him and how much Jesus loves him. But most of all, I relish the feeling of having his arms around me, of feeling his head rest against my chest. When he's ready, we head over to his bed and I lay him down and then I kneel at the foot of his bed and watch as he drifts off into sleep. He has a tell which helps me know when he's really asleep and when he's just playing possum. When his legs are crossed at the ankles, he's asleep and I can take my leave. If his legs aren't crossed, I stay put. It's actually quite amusing to watch.

But some of my favorite times, as much as I can't believe I'm going to say this, are the times in the middle of the night when he wakes up. I don't know if he's having bad dreams or if he wakes himself up through his tossing and turning, but those occasions where he begins to fuss and it's obvious he's not going to go back to sleep, I find myself hurrying to his side to pick him up and to comfort him. He always nestles into the nape of my neck and wraps his arms around my neck. Sometimes his little fingers will stroke the back of my head. And even though I usually need only hold him for a moment, those brief times in the darkness of the early morning are worth more to me than I would have every imagined.

I'm just glad they're not occurring 5 or 6 times a night anymore. :o)

Six Months & Counting

It's hard to believe that it's been six months since Anita and I first held our precious son. It's hard to believe that when we first met little Nan Yunchun, he would so quickly change from the frightened, unhappy little boy to the smiling, fearless, happy little boy that we now call our son, Colin. Thinking back on those first few days, I'm still amazed at how perfectly God worked all of this out for us, though I was certainly questioning it at the time.

In just a short 6 months, Colin has grown so much and changed so much...I'm constantly amazed at all that he's learned and overcome already in his short life. Just in his time with us, he's traveled halfway across the globe, to a home he's never known to live with a family he'd never met. He's had to adapt and learn how to let us take care of him as his parents, not just his caregivers. He's had his cleft lip and palate repaired. He's learned how to climb and descend steps on his own. He's even sleeping through the night on a regular basis now. Not every night, but it's happening more and more nights every week. His motor skills are truly amazing for a nearly 2-year old. He can feed himself using a spoon and fork. He can latch his own high-chair strap and his own car seat strap. Fortunately he can't yet un-latch these straps or we'd be in real trouble. :o)

And while he isn't yet speaking, he's understanding so much and observing so much. All he needs to do is see Anita and I do something one time, and he can mimic it almost exactly. I am equally thrilled and scared to death about that ability of his.

As I look back on his first 6 months with us, I can't help but wonder what the next 6 months...and more...have in store for us. I can't wait until he start talking so we can better communicate with him and he with us. Of course, knowing Colin's personality, he's going to start speaking in full sentences rather than simple words. And he will be curious about everything. I have no doubt that many of our conversations will consist of Colin asking "What is that?" or "How does that work?" or, most likely "Why?" I suspect we'll hear that little word quite a bit when he starts talking.

I can't wait until he begins taking interest in books so that we can have some wonderful times reading together and telling stories. I can't wait to help feed his imagination with the childhood stories that I grew up on and the new ones in the books that we've accumulated so far. I'm especially anxious to share of the children's stories from his homeland, to be able to share with him glimpses of heritage. I also can't wait to share with him the Bible Stories that will help him understand who God is and how He loves Colin so much.

But most of all, I can't wait to watch my son...My Son...grow up little by little every day.

Giving this another shot...

Well, the mac experiment is pretty much over. I still have the mac, though I don't use it much. It's become more of Anita's computer, and it's great for pictures and video, but I guess I'm just tied to the PC world for applications such as the Office Suite and other such productivity tools. And since Blogspot has updated some of it's options, I figured it would be worth switching back so I can post my blog into Facebook as well.

So that's the scoop for now. Here's where I'll be posting tidbits about our journey with Colin and how he's adjusting to life with us...and how we're adjusting to life with him. I may even post a picture or two when I can. :o)