Saturday, July 11, 2009

Calling all MommyBloggers! (oh and a few updated pictures)

A colleague of mine from UT-Dallas is researching Mommy Bloggers and needs input from any moms out there who blog about their children. She has a short list of questions at www.reflectionsofasheepishlion.blogspot.com. Please forward the information to anyone interested!

First Awkward Question
I've read and heard about the various awkward and fairly invasive questions many adoptive parents are asked, so it shocked me that two months had passed and no questions from stranges... until now. Rai and I were at the mall, and although I generally avoid the "Soaprano" kiosk of overly aggressive soap sellers, I didn't see the Soaprano employee until he was right over the stroller. "Is that yours?" he asked in a confused yet somewhat friendly tone. THAT?! I was shocked at both his poor attempt to lure me to the kiosk and the oddly worded question. THAT?! No, I didn't create a scene. :-) I only looked puzzled, nodded my head, and said "Yes, he's my son." There was no point in getting into a conversation over adoption. He certainly wasn't going to sell me any soap.

Yes, we've receive looks. A woman at the park once asked me if I was Korean. She recognized the Korean features on Rai and has two sons who are half Korean (her husband's side) and half Vietnamese (her side). We started up a wonderful conversation about the adoption and the local Asian community. Several Asian women have looked at us and asked if Rai is Korean, and I appreciate the subtle, inquisitive nature of the conversations. I'm slowly learning a great deal about the Asian community in Dallas.

Potty Training?!
Rai is not ready for potty training, but he's been obsessed since he saw a Rai-size toilet in a family restroom at the mall. He pointed and giggled when we went in to change his diaper, so I set him on it to see his reaction. He thought it was the funniest thing and almost wouldn't let me take him off of it. After some thought, we picked up a training toilet (removable seat for standard toilets and when closed can be used as a stool) to have in his bathroom. For now, he just likes to sit on it in between diaper changes and looks down with a "Ok, now what?" look on his face. I assume nothing will come of this for many more months, but it's fun to watch him get excited.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!
We had three baby visitors the other day (two of whom were twins) who were all less than three months old. Although Rai had SEEN Cole 1 (yes, both boys have the name "Cole") before, he never seemed to acknowledge that this little person existed. As soon as the other two babies arrived, Rai's attention turned to these three tiny car seats that he wasn't allowed to play with. Since then, Rai has pointed out every baby we see and actually played WITH another child. Playdates will be much more interesting now...

Eating Like a Pro and Even Covering His Mouth (Who does that? haha)
A few weeks ago, Rai was spitting out all table foods, even bananas, and now, Rai will eat just about anything you put in front of him (on a good day at least). He's hooked on Crispix (yes, healthy cereal!) and will practice eating dry Crispix out of a bowl before attempting it with milk using a spoon. He will still eat some baby food since he'd still rather have mashed carrots instead of solid (but overly cooked) pieces.

He's mastering the use of a spoon with yogurt and his little fingers can now pull apart the string cheese when he's patient. Speaking of string cheese, Lucy continues to sit close by, and although I won't let him feed her, he points to her if I forget to give her a small piece of cheese: Sharing 101.

The other day, I couldn't figure out why he kept pulling his hands up to his face while he ate. He does play "peek-a-boo" with his hands now if a blanket isn't handy, so I mistook this as peek-a-boo. He just shook his head and said "nooo." Then, I caught myself covering my mouth while I ate and he immediately did the same and laughed. Ahhh, now I get it. Now Mark can bug both of us. :-)





No
Aside from "Buddha" the popular word of the month is "no." I'm sure I will soon regret this new development, but for now, it's quite cute. The first time Rai said it, it was a "no, no, no" in much the same way as I say it. Now, it's "noooo" in a somewhat melancholy tone. Here are a few cute examples:







Updated Pictures/Videos
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Don't forget to give Lucy cheese!

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That's all!

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Dancing in the pool Obaa-chan and Ojii-chan brought over

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Daddy's favorite toy of the month

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Mommy's favorite toy of the month

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Enjoying air-conditioned playgrounds as temperatures raise over 100 degrees

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Fast-forward to the end to see the newest dance (reminds me of Snoopy)

2 comments:

Kim said...

His language skills are sounding great! So happy for you guys! He's getting so big and I miss that little guy! :)

CSL said...

MaryAnn! Thanks for posting this! This study is really interesting and I'm learning a lot! I appreciate your answering all those questions too! :-)