Monday, June 25, 2012
ONE MONTH HOME
Life is like an
ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time.
~Charles M. Schulz
Quinn has now been home for a month. Our house has been
literally turned upside down! He is a busy, busy little boy. Our
first week home was really tough. I don’t think I sat down for a
single minute during his waking hours. He was into everything
imaginable and nothing that was allowable. I actually started
making a list today of all the things that Quinn has broken over
the last 4 weeks. I figure we will all have a good laugh at this
list in years to come. Some of the bigger items that are
currently “out of commission” are our laptop, printer, VCR and
PS3. Quinn is extremely curious. He wants to figure out how
everything works which usually ends very badly.
Quinn was described by his caregivers as a very bad boy. We
would not describe him as bad at all. Although he keeps us on
our toes and is giving us many gray hairs, he is NOT a bad boy.
He is almost 5 years old and is exploring a brand new world. He
is very confident at home, but not so much in public places. He
is doing so much better now when we have to go out, but he still
has a long way to go. Quinn gets very anxious in crowds and will
usually act out by crying and throwing a tantrum. As a family,
we could probably write a book on all the things that have been
said to us during our outings with Quinn. It would seem to me
that it would be pretty obvious to figure out that Quinn was
terrified of his surroundings. So, why do people feel the need
to say something? I just haven’t figured that out yet. We limit
the times we take Quinn out right now, but there are times when
he just has to go. The whole “shopping” scenario has become
rather humorous. I just prepare myself for someone to say
something ridiculously out of line to me!
Quinn has had several medical appointments since coming home. We
have been blessed with a very healthy little boy! All his blood
work was redone to confirm that China’s results were accurate.
We were thrilled to hear that all tests results matched. Quinn
also did fantastic at his 1st dental appointment. I was very
concerned going to his dental appointment. Quinn has gorgeous
teeth and after being home only one week his front tooth started
to turn gray. I actually cried. Darryl thought I was acting
silly, but I felt so bad. China had our “little tornado” for
almost 5 years and we only had him home for one week and his
perfect teeth were damaged. Well, the dentist told me it takes
WEEKS for a tooth to actually turn gray. He said that Quinn had
to have bumped his tooth in China before I even arrived. Now
this doesn’t make me feel any better, but I was somewhat
relieved as I was feeling like a horrible new Mama. LOL
ENGLISH? We are all struggling in this area. Quinn speaks a lot
of Chinese and becomes very frustrated with us. Every day he
picks up more and more English, but he definitely still prefers
Mandarin. I can tell by his tone when he is really upset with
me. Boy I wonder what he is saying to me. I can only imagine!
Quinn still prefers his Mama over anyone else. However, he loves
his Baba and all his siblings. He definitely knows his “forever”
family. He does not like to be without Savannah at all. She
cannot be out of sight. He calls her Mei Mei (little sister). He
adores her and will cater to her every need. She on the other
hand…..says……I can’t take this NO more! That is only when Quinn
is really possessive and Savannah can’t breathe.
We truly have been blessed with Quinn’s ability to love and
accept us. He is always – always happy and other than “Gotcha
Day” he has loved us with all his heart. Our little guy grieved
so hard in China and it was so difficult to witness. We know he
had to grieve his loss in order to be able to move forward with
open arms. Quinn is so full of love and affection. We are so
lucky to be loved by our little man. Travis, who is 16, said to
me that Quinn gives the best kisses!
Everyday life has been a real challenge. It has not been fun.
The days are long and tiring. We have been pretty much home
bound. We hoped for the best and prepared for the worst. We are
not experiencing anything with Quinn that we didn’t expect.
However, some of his fears and anxiety could have been avoided.
His orphanage did not prepare him at all. We do not think he
knew of us until the day he met me. Why do some orphanages
prepare the kids and some do nothing? I am still so angry over
this and I know I need to let it go and just move forward. There
is no sense in dwelling on the past, but this Mama’s heart is
still aching for her little one who had to endure such terror.
No child should have to be put through that fear. These
orphanages have months to prepare our kids for “Gotcha Day” as
we sit so impatiently to bring them home. There is so much
inconsistency between orphanages and many of them do a fantastic
job. I know time heals, but watching your child hurt is heart
wrenching.
Quinn has made a lot of progress over the past month. He is
progressing with baby steps and we are beginning to see more and
more of his true personality. I know it is very hard for many
people to understand the need for Quinn to remain close to his
immediately family at this time. Quinn is still not fully
attached and is learning trust. He still has a great fear that
we will leave him. It may take months or even years for him to
understand that we will ALWAYS be there. We are not going
anywhere. We love you Quinn JoeJoe!
|
"Quack-Quack"
Ge Ge and Mei Mei
(Big Brother and Little Sister)
Goggle Silliness!
Seeing "cousin" Shane off to Boot Camp - U.S. Navy!
We are so PROUD of you SHANE!
1st Father's Day with Baba
4x the Fun
Bubble Time |
