Getting into our new routine

Last week was a little crazy for Nam. Sheila had Monday off for MLK Jr. Day. He was supposed to have an appointment at the International Adoption Clinic on Tuesday morning. We weren’t sure if it would hold or not, because that was the night that we were supposed to have frozen precipitation. We all got up early to check on road conditions, which turned out to be fine, but the clinic called to cancel because the doctor was ill. So Dennis went to pick up Nam Tuesday morning, while I went to court on my CASA case. I ended up spending all morning in court. Our case was held for last, since the dad had to be “benched” from prison in Abilene. Then, since it was the trial, there was a lot of testimony to be heard. Around 12:30, the judge called a recess. One of the attorneys involved in the case had been sick and needed to go home, so the hearing had to be rescheduled for a future date. It was 1:00 before I made it back to Mineral Wells. Dennis and Nam had waited on me, so we met up at McDonalds for lunch.

Sheila came over after work and they spent Tuesday night. Nam did well throughout the week when Sheila left for work. He had a little trouble Wednesday morning, but he didn’t cry…just didn’t want to let go of his momma! His clinic appointment had been rescheduled for Thursday morning, so I spent Wednesday night with them, so I could go with Sheila and help out. Nam really likes for Granny to have a sleep over at his house. You could tell he was nervous about the doctor appointment. The appointment time was 11:30, so we stopped and ate lunch before going to Children’s. When we arrived at the hospital complex, we weren’t really sure where to park. We parked in the first garage we came to and then started trying to figure out where to go. Thankfully, we ran into a hospital employee who was kind enough to show us how to get to the clinic, and it was an easy walk to get there. The clinic is great! I really liked the doctor (actually nurse practitioner) who saw Nam. She is the mom of a 19 year old daughter that she adopted from China as an infant, so she is personally experienced in international adoption. That is very helpful! She laid out a play mat and a crate of toys for Nam to play with and observed him while asking Sheila questions. She also had him perform a few tasks to see how he was in his development. He is pretty much on target in every area! He has had very little experience with coloring or drawing, which was his “lowest score”. His size is small, but about what is expected for an Asian child. She then examined him thoroughly and did bloodwork. He didn’t like that, but handled it extremely well. Sheila had him watching a video on her phone, which did well at distracting him. Whenever he would look at the needle in his arm, he would frown and say “OUCH!”, over and over again until we distracted him again. He never did cry though. I’m not sure how many vials they took, but it was several. They are testing him for EVERYTHING!

After his checkup, we headed back to Sheila’s apartment. Nam went to sleep on the way, so when we arrived, we took turns sitting in the car with him while the other one went in to retrieve our things. Then I got in my car and we both drove to Mineral Wells. Nam woke up on the west side of Weatherford and was upset that I wasn’t still in the car, so when we turned onto Hwy 180, I passed their car, so that he could see me. Then he was fine. I had asked Dennis to go buy some shrimp, so we could do a shrimp fry for supper. Nam LOVES shrimp…as do the rest of us! He and Sheila spent Thursday night with us (which is our normal schedule).

Nam has been very excited about the upcoming celebration of Tet…the Vietnamese celebration of the Lunar New Year. He had been having Sheila play the drum (a popcorn tin), so he could do the Lion Dance. Dennis decided to make him some “real” drumsticks, instead of the plastic spoons he had been using. Then he found a 5 gallon plastic bucket that we overturned and used for his drum. There is no telling how many times we took turns doing the Lion Dance while Nam played the drum! Over the weekend, Sheila received a traditional Vietnamese outfit that she had ordered for him. He looks SO cute in it…and is very proud of it. It will be fun to attend the festival next month with him!

Dennis and I both took Nam home Friday afternoon, so we decided to eat in FW and then take in a movie. It has been a long time since we’ve done that! It was a nice break!

I started a new crochet project last week and worked on it a lot over the weekend. It is a nice thick afghan to go in the guest room. I’ve gotten it over half-way finished. It is made with bulky yarn, so it works up pretty quickly. When I finish it, I have a baby blanket to crochet for a special little girl coming in April.

We are back on our regular schedule for the beginning of this week:  Sheila and Nam spending tonight. I’m not sure how we will work the end of the week, since we are planning a trip for the four of us to Paris. We will meet up with Sheila after work on Friday and head that way. We will be staying in a hotel, which will make it much easier on everyone. Jesse’s birthday party is planned for Saturday afternoon, but Nam really isn’t ready for a big “to-do” yet, so we’ll just celebrate with him Saturday morning and then leave after lunch. Hopefully that will allow Nam to get a GOOD nap on our way back to FW. It will be interesting to see how well he does on a trip. His last trip was from Hanoi to Texas, so this one ought to go much better!

He is making so much progress! His language skills are improving daily. He is learning new words and saying the words that he already knows more clearly. He is speaking in simple sentences. And he understands just about everything we say. He is a master puzzle assembler! He eats well, eating just about anything we put in front of him. (Although he still isn’t crazy about cheese.) Last week we learned about cactus, and now he points them out alongside the road between MW and FW. He loves animals! Playing with or watching African animals is about his favorite thing ever! He also loves super heroes, although some have a tendency to turn evil at times. He has the evil laugh that bad guys do down pat! He is fascinated with the Lion Dance right now and will reenact it or use his blocks to pretend they are lion dancers and the people who are watching it. He is a prolific builder using his blocks! They usually end up being animals or guns though…or robots. He has a very active imagination!

Grandad and I are getting into our new routine as daily caregivers and are holding up pretty well for the most part. We are starting to take turns driving to FW and back every day, rather than both of us going, so that helps. Nam is starting to spend more time in independent play, which also helps! At first, he thought we, or at least Grandad, needed to be playing with him constantly. We had to explain that we can’t do that all of the time…that we have work to do sometimes. He and Grandad take a nap together after lunch every day. Nam naps really well when he is lying on Grandad’s chest on the couch in the den!

I’m hoping that the weather is mild enough this week to go visit Pawpaw and Memaw in the Brookdale courtyard. He just doesn’t do well in their apartment. But there is room to romp and play outside, and it is good for the folks to get out and get some fresh air, too.

Well, it has taken me all morning to get this finished! For some reason, I have a hard time sitting still for very long at al time. Ha, ha! I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that this more moderate weather continues for awhile!