Our Little Russian Peanut

If I ever decide to sign the kids up for summer baseball in this great, hot state of Georgia again, someone smack me.  Oh, what a great summer we have had playing baseball!  I signed Andrew and Nathan up for rec league baseball that is very laid back, compared to the fall and spring leagues that Andrew typically plays in.  At the time, Nathan was always upset that Andrew got to play spring ball, so, while I was hesitant to sign him up so young, I decided to do it anyway.

This league was GREAT for Andrew’s confidence.  He was a star on the team and really got comfortable hitting which is something he struggled with after getting hit on the knuckles a few years back.  He also got to play different positions in the field which he really enjoyed.  This fall he will be in kid pitch/machine pitch so I’m hoping this spring boarded him into feeling better in the batter’s box.

Nathan, oh, Nathan.  Andrew didn’t play ball at 3/4 years old and let me tell you, this was so much fun to watch!  First at bat, Nathan ran to the pitchers mound, then towards third and finally towards first.  He spent more time picking at the grass and staring into space than he did fielding the ball, but when it was his turn he was all over the field getting the ball to throw to first.  He’s a lefty, which is fun to watch, and can really hit the ball off the tee!  He had so much fun and that is all that counts.

Tonight, was the “playoffs” for Andrew’s team and Nathan’s final game.  I brought cupcakes for both teams and they received their trophies.  As an added bonus, Andrew got the medal for sportsmanship.  A few weeks earlier, Nathan received a medal for taking turns.  I’m convinced it was for taking turns picking grass. :)

I took some pics with my cellphone while at practice.  Keith and I had to divide and conquer since they practiced/had games at the same time and apparently I only took pictures at Nathan’s practice.  I’m hoping Keith has some of Andrew on his phone.  So, without further ado… my baseball boys!

Becky

The boys love to be outside.  They love to go for walks which ultimately means we wind up at the lake.  Winding up at the lake during our walk means that we have no bathing suits.  Having no bathing suits means I give in and the kids go in the lake in the their shorts.  In order to avoid the above scenario, one day we decided to go on a nature walk.  (Okay, okay, I know I could just put them in bathing suits but planning to go to the lake requires a lot more… ummm.. planning whereas “spontaneously” going to the lake requires no planning.  Nevermind – it makes sense in my head. :-)) Paper bags in hand, we headed out the door to the trail that leads to the lake, however we went towards a small river and played on some really big rocks.

Nothing quite bonds kids like climbing and being daredevils.  While it causes this mama’s heart to beat a bit quicker and my palms to get sweaty, I realize they are boys and, well, it’s in their blood.  Besides, nowadays, anything these kids can bond about, the better!  Of course, while we were out and about I decided to take my camera.  It was middle of the day, lighting was horrible, but I’ve gotten so slack about pictures of these cuties (unless it’s a quick cell phone picture) that I decided to just go for it.

Barely out of the driveway and Nathan stops to pick up some weeds. :-)

“Look what I found!!”

“Really?  Pictures? Now?”

Little Brother following Big Brother across the rocks.  LOVE moments like this.

I’m not sure what was going on here.  A mating call?  Power Rangers?  Opera?

My handsome little man.  I can’t believe just how big he has gotten.  Ughhh…

We brought our findings home with all intentions of making a collage.  Stuff happened (not sure what) and we never did that, but finding all of our treasures sure was fun!  Turns out, Nathan loves rolly polly bugs and when he comes into the house with his fist closed tight and wants to show me something, I’m smart enough to head outside to look at his friends. :-)

Alrighty, so many more pictures and things to upload and share but tonight, I’m going to bed before midnight.  It’s the little things in life…

Becky

There is so much to catch up on and I decided it would be best to start with the newest member of our family – Nathan!  Poor Nathan suffers from “third child syndrome”.  Alex was my first child and even though he came into my life late, I did as much as I could as a parent.  I scrapbooked every moment of his life, was a fabulous and attentive school mom and never missed a sporting event.  Then came Andrew.  Andrew suffered a bit of “second child syndrome”.  No scrapbook for him, but he at least had a well documented venture via this blog.  I have made it to all of Andrew’s sporting events and school events, I’m proud to say.  Now, Nathan.  Poor, poor Nathan.  Barely a blog and definitely no scrapbook.  He seems to be a natural lefty in baseball so I’ll be sure to make all of his baseball games someday. :-)

As you know, Nathan has been with us for just over two months and it feels like he’s been here forever.  What an easy going, happy kiddo we have been blessed with.  That’s not to say he isn’t stubborn, because I’ll be the first to tell you he is, but for each stubborn moment he has many more moments of hugging, loving, giggles and sweetness. 

Nathan melds so well.  He loves routine, loves to help out and is talking up a storm.  He came to us with a pretty extensive Chinese vocabulary from what we were told.  He’s held on to a lot of that, but his comprehension has been amazing.  Less than a month home and you could tell him to go into the bathroom, put his toothbrush next to the sink and turn off the light - he wouldn’t miss a beat.  I am amazed.  He also promoted himself to “table setter”.  Each night he jumps up and down while I am making dinner until I put plates on the table.  He walks each plate around saying “Mama, Baba, Andrewee (how he says Andrew’s name)”.  It is too cute.

He is going to preschool two half days a week which allows me a little bit of time to get some work done.  He wasn’t so sure about it at first but now he runs right into the room and heads straight to the puzzle table.  We’re going to increase his time there to two full days a week which I think will be great for him.  He’s such a loving and social kid that he needs time like that.

So, how about hitting some Nathan highlights?

Special Needs:  Nathan’s medical record said he had two special needs.  The first special need was CHD, or complex heart disease.  Based on the review by the head of the heart institute in Atlanta, his need appeared to be minor and if surgery was required it would be outpatient - “just like putting a cork in the wine bottle”.  After a visit to our friendly pediatric cardiologist, it turns out Nathan’s CHD was nothing more than a teeny, tiny coronary fistula.  Something he will outgrow most likely.  No medication, no restrictions.  Yeehaw!  His second special need was undescended testicles.  I took him to the pediatric urologist and guess what?  They are both there and where they should be.  Can I get a “woot –woot”?? :-)  I told Keith that we’ve been so blessed with both of our kiddos and that the third time would certainly be a charm.  His response was “Or three strikes and you’re out!”  Can’t blame a gal for trying! :-)

Speech:  In the beginning we played charades and a darn good game, I must say.  I want Nathan on my team when we play as he grows up because he and I totally get each other.  He can now count to 10 and a bit higher if you help him a bit.  He loves to talk about cars, boats, trucks, diggers and tell you how many he sees.  He knows most colors but still confuses yellow and orange.  Just recently he started putting three word sentences together.  This morning he shouted “That silly dog!”.  He loves books, loves animals and he and our little dog are partners in crime.  Nathan rules the little dog and the little dog is well aware of who the boss is.  (Not sure what that has to do with speech, but just go with it.)

Eating:  Nathan is quite the eater!  He will try everything but LOVES fruits and vegetables.  I’d have to say that a new favorite of his (one I don’t think he had ever had before) is corn on the cob.  That child makes sure that every single piece of corn has been eaten.  He loves “nanas” (bananas) “yapples” (apples) and “brocc-o-li”.  Typing that reminds me of a funny.  I think he is the only kiddo that adds syllables to words, making them more complex.  We joke around about how he is part Italian with his extra syllables.   “Ice-ah-cream” is his favorite dessert.  “Base-a-ball” is his favorite thing to play. I have learned to make a fabulous Beef with Broccoli and a few other Chinese dishes.  He loves spicy food and can sit and eat a bowl of salsa and chips like nobodies business.

Sleeping:  Nathan is also part ninja.  We tried to co-sleep with him for a while and he beat us to a pulp.  Kicking, smacking and kicking a LOT more.  He would start out on the pillow and his feet would wind up at our head.  Painful.  He is now in a room of his own, right across from Andrew’s.  We brought out the big, blue car bed once we were confident he wouldn’t kick himself right out of the bed.  He loves it.  He sleeps pretty well through the night and still takes a nap, but I think that is going to be short lived much to this mama’s disgrace!

I’m sure there are other high level things to cover, but this post has taken me 2 hours to type.  My “good sleeper” is having a rough night of it tonight.  Actually, it’s been an all around rough day around here.  I’ll leave you with some pictures of my sweet little kiddo’s “firsts”!  (Hey… I’m not THAT bad of a mom – I did manage to capture a lot of firsts!)

First time… in the United States!  This was taken at Atlanta airport after we landed coming home from China!

First… haircut!

First… trip to the lake!

First… bike (thanks, Grandpa and Nana!)

First… ummm… not sure what to say about this one!  Th0mas the train helmet, Buzz L1ghtyear wings and a McD0nald’s cheeseburger sitting in the H0me Dep0t parking lot.  First time decked out in all that is American?? :-)

First…. surgery (minor outpatient!)

First… dentist appointment.

First… baseball game with the family!

First… pool time with the psycho little dog!

First… crazy hair day at school! :-)  (This picture makes me laugh.)

Next up… an update on Andrew (which may become a therapy session for this mom!) :-)

Becky

… and are doing good.  Really, really good.  So much to share, but still working on perfecting our new normal.  A lot of changes are in the air - all great changes, of course!

No real time to post tonight, but wanted to at least throw up a few pictures of the loves of my life!  Would you look at how cute they are?!?! :-)

 

Becky

I started this post while we were still in China… figured I would post this while I gathered pics/thoughts for the next post.  We are home and we are surviving.  “Surviving” is the key word.  Things aren’t bad, they aren’t perfect and we are rolling through the motions trying to get some kind of routine going.  Andrew is having a really rough time adjusting to having a sibling and Nathan is having a hard time with the word “no”.  More on all of that later.  For now, here are some pics from our last few days in China as well as some pics from home.  We started right into baseball season two days after we got home and I think that has been a nice release for Andrew.

Pictures below:  We finally found our way to the park across the street from our hotel when everyone was feeling better.  We found the adult work out area (they are ALL over China’s parks – it’s no wonder their adults are so fit and healthy!!) and played there a bit because it was empty.  To get to the kid’s playground, you had to walk through the amusement park area and so we avoided that. :-)  They also had a huge koi pond which Nathan was in love with.

We took a trip to Shamian Island to finish up some shopping.  I didn’t get a picture of Nathan with the cute kids statue, but I did get one of Andrew!  Once Nathan was in the stroller, he stayed! :-)

And then back home!  On Saturday, Andrew was in the opening day parade.  He also had his first game at 5:30 and hit the ball off of coach pitch!  They lost the game 19 – 16 and it was an intense game!!  So proud of my little slugger!

On Sunday, we did some yard work.  Both boys helped and did such a good job.  Some were happy about helping (Nathan) and some complained the whole time (Andrew).  Ahhhh… to be six again!

Taking a break from the outdoors the boys worked out and played air hockey.  This is probably the one and only picture I have of them playing and “getting along”. 

Nathan LOVES, I mean LOVES the cats.  He tries to kiss them and climb in their bed with them every chance he gets!

Blowing kisses to his mama!

 

A future little slugger just like his brother??

What homework time has been like with Andrew every day.  I’m severely outnumbered in this house right now! :-)

More later… Nathan just found the playdough and Keith has been throwing up all night.  Did I mention that I’m outnumbered?? :-)

Becky

Just a quick note to say that we have had a busy two days and are very tired. Today was our US Consulate appointment which went well! We are counting down the hours now... just one more full day! I'm too tired to edit pics and post but will do so tomorrow, hopefully. We went to the Safari Park and saw many awesome animals on Monday and today we went across the street to a local park after the consulate appointment. Tomorrow is packing, shopping and I think we'll head to the park again, as well!

Till tomorrow!
Becky

Yesterday (Saturday), we went and had Nathan’s TB test read… all was good!  After that, we met the rest of our group and headed to the medicine market.  It’s a street market of sorts with many vendors selling dried goods that are used medicinally.  There was also a pet market (dogs, cats, kittens) which I couldn’t take pictures of because seeing it once was enough.  So sad for an animal lover like me!  Keith stayed at the hotel and slept off his fever while Andrew, Nathan and I went with the group.  We used a stroller for Nathan which helped a ton even though he hated it for the most part. :-)

Pictures below - #1 – A view of the market.  Think of a flea market with stalls set-up on each side and cars driving down the middle.  #2 – Andrew approaching the pet market.  We saw fish, frogs, turtles, bunnies, salamanders, etc…  #3 – Albino frogs.  #4 – Andrew begging for a turtle.  Um, no.  #5 – Snake skin, anyone?  #6 – One happy boy, one boy bribed with cookies to pretend to be happy.

Last night, we ventured to Shamian Island for dinner with some our group.  Honestly, I wish we were staying over there.  So much more pedestrian friendly, lots of little shops and restaurants, lots of greenery, places for the kids to run and right near the Pearl River.  We ate at Lucy’s which is the Chinese version of an American dinner.  I went out on a limb and had grilled cheese and fries.  YUM!  It hit the spot. 

Pictures below - #1 – Lucy’s.  #2 and #3 – Pictures along the Pearl River – beautiful at night!

This morning we went the the Chen Family Temple.  It is not a religious temple, but one that served as a temporary residence for the Chen descendents.  The architecture is Cantonese style and was very intricate.  So many carvings with such amazing detail.  Andrew was at the front of the pack, listening to everything our guide Veronica had to say.  He had a hard time understanding some of it so we spent a lot of time trying to explain it in his terms.  Things like cooking a meal for your dead ancestors and letting them eat before you are allowed to eat.  How do angels eat?  Is the food gone?  How do they know they even came to visit?  Why do they burn money?  Phew!  Exhausting!

Pictures below:  #1 – Andrew showing off part of the temple.  #2 – A dragon on the roof of the temple.  #3 – The temple.  #4 – More detail. #5 – Fun in the stroller! #6 – My three boys. #7 – Ivory Carving #8 – A garden area within the temple

   

One thing that has really amazed us has been the ivory carvings.  I would love to see it being done just to get an idea of how they did it.  Absolutely amazing.

Once we got back to the hotel we decided to grab a quick bite downstairs at the Chinese restaurant.  How is this for role reversal?

Our Russian kiddo trying to use chopsticks and our Chinese kiddo insisting on using a fork! :-)

Tomorrow we will be visiting the Safari Park.  It’s getting chilly here – high of 59 tomorrow and damp, as always.  I don’t think we’ve seen the sun here once but it doesn’t stop us from trying to do some fun things!  I’ve heard great things about the Safari Park so I’m hoping we all have a great time!

Hope everyone is doing well!
Becky