April 15

Have I mentioned lately how much I like having all boys? My last post I recounted some of the challenges of adopting a 5 year old, who acts very much like a 2 year old. Well, last night, Sam and Ben had about enough of Leo’s tyranny and tantrums. Sam (6 ½ years old) told Ben (8 1/2) that they were going to be a team now, and the big brothers needed to set Leo straight. Or at least we are guessing he said something to that affect (it was in Chinese) because Sam then went over to Leo and began to tell him off in Chinese. Sam was wagging his finger in Leo’s face and rambling a mile a minute. I got a little bit of the lecture on video, and I hope to post it later. It is hysterical to watch Sam telling Leo that he had enough of the antics. Sam and Ben then each took Leo’s hands and feet and carried him to the other room, plopping him down on the bed. More dominance boy behavior occurred, and a few minutes later Leo was properly cast as the youngest sibling, instead of the littlest emperor. Honestly, the two big brothers successfully reined in Leo in less than five minutes. I guess I didn’t really need to worry, after all.

Another funny thing that happened last night is that Cheng’s mom, Mrs. Liang, called our hotel. John talked to her for ten or fifteen minutes, and relayed that both Mr. and Mrs. Liang will be arriving at night on April 17. They will come to our hotel on the 18^th. I asked John if he warned them that Leo is not always cooperative, so I’m not sure how much touring we’ll be able to do while they visit. Our witty teenaged son John jokingly answered, “Yes. I told them that if they want to punch DongTong, they will have to get in line.” Yes, it helps us all deal with the situation when we try to keep our sense of humor.

We did end up going on the sight-seeing trip today, just to get out of the hotel for awhile. We took a bus (with the rest of the adoptive families) to a park about 40 minutes away. It was similar to the Genesee Country Museum, in that it was a bunch of new buildings that are supposed to look old and depict the history of the culture. Mostly we just walked around and tried to stay cool. It’s 90 degrees here, and muggy, so no one felt like running around too much. We finally got Leo to walk on his own (instead of being carried) and sit in his own seat on the bus, so we’ve made some progress. Sam continues to be an absolute delight, and he still adores John above all others.

After naps and a 30 min. appointment to fill out the visa paperwork, we ended up at the pool at 4:30pm. Sam (KangChao) LOVES the water!! I’m already online looking for swimming lessons for him. DangTong wouldn’t get near the pool this time. We had dinner at again at the Italian restaurant (no one stares at us there, or even questions us) and then we wound up the evening meeting another family in our room for a little bit. Ben has made friends with their son (bio) who is the same age (8) and they just adopted an almost 3 year old. The father is a pilot and the mother is a dual citizen (Canada and US) and we had a spirited, lively conversation. It’s great to chat with opinionated, intelligent, English speaking people!!!! They only have two children, but they seem like great parents and I’m sure we’ll stay in touch. It’s funny how shared pain (adoption) brings people closer together. Now, it’s 9pm and time to send the troops to bed.