Bringing Hank Home

Boy can that boy eat! We went to the buffet dinner at the hotel and he had a marvelous time. He knows what he likes and what he doesn't. We let him choose what he wanted, he pondered each chafing dish and gave a hearty nod or a dismissive shake of the head. Two large platefuls of various things and a bowl of tomato chunk/egg soup went down. He was very excited when he saw the soup. He had pointed to the kettle and I dipped some in the ladle to show him what kind it was. He started jumping up and down and “oooh OOH OOOOHHHH!!!” then said something in Mandarin to anyone within earshot. All through dinner he would offer us bites of whatever he had on his plate. A few times he requested something of ours too. When he decided he was done, he gathered up his big spoon, his soup spoon and his fork and stuck them in the hand of the first woman who walked by (one of the front desk staff..not a waitress). I don’t think she was amused….. He calls all the ladies at the hotel "ayi" which means Auntie/nanny.

Our guide came down partway through dinner and sat with us. She asked the waitress about ice cream. Hank let out a long speech that cracked the waitress and Judy up. Seems he quite matter of factly informed them he would also like ice cream and “white” was his favorite flavor. If they did not have that, he would like coffee :::nod:::

After dinner he wanted to go outside. We were walking in the shopping area, Jeff was carrying him (Baba! Up!!!) and ::::zonk:::: he was out. Back to the hotel, it was only a little after 6 but I got him into his jammies and laying down. I laid next to him rubbing his arm and face and he went right back out. So did I. I just woke up and I need to do *something* with this tornado struck room before I go to bed for real.

On to the good stuff. Hank is SUCH a doll!!!! Or should I say Monkey! Karen you were right on the money there!!! Everything new or good is greeted with an "Oh" or "Ooooh!" Sometimes he's just running around going "Oooh Ooooh Ooooh!!!!" No more tears after the short bout at the civil affairs office, not even at bedtime. I'm sure he doesn't grasp how permanent this is, but so far he likes us pretty well. Our guide chatted with him a little before/during dinner. I asked her to ask him if he liked us. He gave a shy nod. He's calling us Mama & Baba freely and now giving lots of hugs & kisses. When we were walking around the hotel he wasn’t trying to get away from us and he sat nicely at dinner. When we went outside after dinner, he wanted Jeff to carry him. He is so funny and so happy. Full of giggles. He was nonstop motion from the moment we arrived at the hotel until he passed out on Jeff’s shoulder. He thinks I'm ok, maybe even a little better than ok but Jeff is Da' Bomb for sure (how could he not be?).

We haven’t tried calling him Hank yet at all. He’s mostly LeBai or when he’s really making a point, he calls himself Su LeBai. He likes all 3 of us to stand in front of the mirror then he points at each of us “Mama, Baba, Su LeBai!!!” He looks a little on the small side to me, but compared to other Chinese kids I’m not sure. If I didn’t know, I’d say he looks like a young 4 rather than almost 6. He seems a good weight for his height. We changed him into a Gymboree 4 shorts and a Gap XS (4-5) shirt and they both seemed to fit just right. And no, we didn’t get any more pictures :::bad parents:::: Way too crazy.
Hard to tell what his eyesight is like. He tears around like there is no tomorrow so that’s good. With the language barrier it’s hard to tell if he recognizes pictures of things. He doesn’t seem to be awfully light sensitive. Several times he would be looking directly at a lightbulb when he turned it on and didn’t flinch. Also we had the drapes closed thinking he might nap (ha!) He’d go over and yank them open several times in a row without a problem. He’s eager to wear his sunglasses outdoors but doesn’t keep them on too long indoors even if the light is bright. We have several pairs of sunglasses sitting around the room and always say “Good job” when he puts a pair on. If they do help, I want him to know he’s allowed to wear them indoors. The nystagmus is rather noticeable, not sure how much it bothers him.

I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot, today was such a blur! Tomorrow we go bck to the Civil Affairs office at 8:45. That is when the adoption is official so we get an adoption date of July 4th! What fun!!!!!

Also tomorrow we will be taking the 3:30 train to Suzhou for 3 nights. We will visit the orphanage on Wednesday. Hopefully the pearl market on Thursday!!!!!