Snowboard Boys

Skateboarding is the event of the weekend. The boys love the skateboard park, and watching the "big guys," as Zach says.

New routine

The first two weeks of school have gone well. "Fun," Ben says, when we ask him about it. His language is no issue, his teacher says. He understands most everything and, if he doesn't, he catches on by watching. Zach is in a different class right next door. "We see each other at recess," he says. The classroom seems to be working for him, too. We were reading books the other night and he answered a question that Ben brought up. "I'm thinking with my brain," Zach explained.
Here, they're practicing with shoe ties. One of my only memories of that age is watching the top of my mother's head as she tied my shoes. Of course, I didn't have "Transformer" shoes.
The boys are looking for ways to begin reading at every step. While driving tonight, the boys watched Star Wars on DVD. If you recall, the movies have text at the beginning to start the story. Here's what transpired in the backseat.
Ben: Mommy, what does it say?
Zach: I can read it Ben. Want me to read it to you Ben?
Mom: Go ahead Zach. Read it.
Zach: "Darth Vader" and then um "Luke Skywalker," and they got the bad guys and there was a big crash. That good Ben?
Ben: Ya. Thank you.
Zach: And then there was Darth Vader and Light Sabers and I guess I can't read all that.

First Day of School

The boys headed off to school today after a breakfast with cousin Karen from Columbus. They carried their little snack bags to their cubbies and headed straight for the computers! Had to peel Ben off and guide him back to his chair and coloring assignment. Zach walked in ahead of me and his teacher said to me: "Where's my buddy?" and I said he's already in. "That's a good sign," she said. They're wonderful at this school. George had to be out of town but he left the boys an encouraging note. The dogs, as usual, went with us and helped me celebrate the transition with a romp around the park. We met a lot of old and new friends yesterday at "Lemonade Day." The boys met their teachers and saw their classrooms. Afterward, George took the boys to the Yogurt Shack. There they met a mom and some kids who go to the same school and who also went to the same summer camp. George said Zach made him proud with his exploding conversation skills.
The mom: Zach. Did you meet my daughter at camp?
Zach: I don't know. Did she play pool?
The mom: No. She didn't play pool.
Zach: Did she play foosball?
The mom: No. She did arts and crafts.
Zach: Oh, I didn't do any of that.

Ben Meets the Midwest

Have to do a fast post today. It's the day before school starts and the boys will meet their teachers in about 90 minutes. Very exciting. We returned from a fabulous trip to Minnesota yesterday. Ben met eight aunts and uncles and seven cousins and that's just a part of the crew. We tried to keep the visit somewhat subdued so as not to overwhelm him. He is hard to overwhelm, turns out. By day two, he was helping serve the roasted spuds and cleaning crumbs off the kitchen floor. Good boy! He did not swim in the lake, too cold. I couldn't convince him that it was warmer than the mountain lakes he's experienced. But, he dove into multiple pools and enjoyed playing pool, ping pong, trains, Star Wars and Toy Story with Zach and his cousins. Here, one photo is of the Minnesota crew and the other of Ben on a hike in California with friends.

Special times

Upon finishing our week near Tahoe -- during which we rode kayaks and canoes, climbed boulders and trees, ate watermelons and hot dogs, watched Popeye and Lady and the Tramp, visited with old and new friends, fished for fish and frogs, picked wildflowers and various scabs, watched skateboarders and bald eagles and a few other things, George asked the boys if they had fun at the cabin.
"No fun," they said, and fell asleep a few hours later asking when they could go back to the cabin.

Not all is ever lost

When I think that all is lost: the lovely "chalk art on the driveway" project turns into "throw chalk on the roof," the boys do something to soften my thoughts. This morning, as we prepared for company, I washed floors, cleaned the kitchen, did laundry, etc., as the boys played. While I was upstairs, I heard Zach say in an exasperated voice: "Ben. Don't. You're making the rug all dirty and mommy will just have to work harder." Turns out, Ben had mud on his shoes. Good Boy, "Zachy" as Ben would say. The boys did do their part to get ready for winter. We stacked wood and they carried, one, then two, then three, then four pieces before they tired.

Pooping frogs and hissing geese

We had an adventuresome day with a lot of animal encounters. We started this morning in a meadow that rivals the best of Yosemite. We'd heard that the meadow was hopping with frogs this time of the year and that was an understatement. As we walked, frogs no bigger than a little kid's thumb hopped around our feet. The boys wanted to hold them but I had to grab one first. YUK. Actually, they were so little you couldn't even feel them. They were all heading for the shrinking pool of water in the middle of the meadow -- the last of the snow runoff from last winter. After Zach held his first one, it hopped off his hand and left behind what Zach said was "frog pooh, so gross." I doubt it was frog pooh, but it was black and it wasn't there before the frog so who knows. We laughed about that all day.

In another part of the meadow, the frogs disappeared and, I believe, flying grasshoppers filled the air. Ben was walking in front of me and he stopped and held out his arms. They were thick. Two pelicans performed above us, flying in perfect formation, just before the last hint of the moon disolved into the blue sky. This meadow is one of my most favorite places -- more so after today. The boys climbed on top and around huge boulders. Zach decided we'd "play family" so he claimed the biggest boulder as his house. Ben claimed the next boulder as his and I took the third. Zach was insistent we all have our own, but Ben invited me to his house quite often. When I settled into mine, the dogs followed and soon the boys were there, too. Then, Zach claimed another boulder so he'd have two houses. So Ben claimed another one, too, but thought better of it: "All of these are my houses," he said, surveying his sea of 20 houses (boulders) in the valley below. His face held the pose of a king at the edge of his kingdom. Of course, this magical time disintigrated into a whine fest before we made it back to the car. But of course it would. They're 5-year-olds.

The hissing geese were at the lake near Tahoe Donner. Ben had Cheetos on the beach. I was in the lake. Ben gave the geese Cheetos. Then Zach did. Then the geese roared up for more, hissing. I was out of the lake, fast, but the geese hissed at me, too. Love those geese! They do clean up the beach. We ceased eating Cheetos and the geese moved on.

Old Photo, New Post

This picture is from Taiwan, before we met Ben. I forgot my camera and have no new photos to share. We're at the cabin for a week, our last mountain hurrah near the end of our magical summer. No photos, but picture this: I'm in the kitchen on this computer. Zach is in the top bunk in the kids' bedroom. Ben is in the bottom bunk. It's 8:00 p.m. and we've read stories, brushed teeth, eaten dinner, had ice cream, fed dogs, rode bikes, played frisbee, swam in the lake -- all after 5 p.m.

Zach: Ben. Are you asleep?
Ben: No.
Zach: Are you ever going to go to sleep?
Ben: No.
Zach: Never, ever, ever?
Ben: (No answer)
Zach: Ben. Do you want to have a sleep over?
Ben: Sure.
Zach: Mom. Can we have a sleep over?
Mom: Sure. Five minutes.
Zach: Ben. Do you want to come up to my bed?
Ben: No. You come down.
(Zach clamors down.)
Ben: My blanket.
Zach: We SHARE!
Ben: This is my bed.
Zach: But we're having a sleep over.
Ben: No.
Zach: You can come up to my bed.
Ben: Don't like it.
Zach: Mom. We're having a sleep over.
(He's now on the floor next to Ben's bed.)
Zach: Can I climb into bed?
Ben: No.
Zach: Tickle your feet. Tickle, tickle. (He's trying all his moves!)

Ten minutes has passed.

Mom: Two minutes and sleep over ends! Is that a Leapster game machine I hear?
Zach: Ben. Hide it from mommy.
Ben: Okay.
Ben: Mommy. I'm done with the Leapster.
Zach: Mommy. I'm done with the Leapster.

Serene Lakes Days

The boys did their first three-legged race, sack race and broad jump this past weekend during the Serene Lakes Days festival. They took home nine ribbons between them and, believe me, the odd number causes issues! The event was very fun, very homespun -- a place where we feel we can let the boys run here and there and not have to be on top of them all the time. They enjoyed a little kayaking, too, and hiked into a mountain lake. They're painting now on the patio. They're really enjoying each other much of the time. The other morning, they played around the house for a good 90 minutes and George and I could've been on the moon. We're so fortunate.

No fear

The boys are digging the diving board at the swimming pool. They do "feet first" dives. Both can now safely make it to the edge of pool. Yea! And Zach swam 25 yards the other day.
We enjoyed the Oakland Zoo this morning. It's one of their favorite spots. Today, the monkeys were making tons of noise. The zoo volunteer told us that they do that every morning to warn other monkeys to keep off their turf. I told the boys they do the same thing about every 15 minutes or so when one of them wails: "It's MINE." They got the connection, and so did I. Time to lower expectations and let Mother Nature run its course, within reason.

Everybody is settling in

This morning Ben woke up and heard Zach using the Thomas the Tank leapster game.
Ben: "Mama. Can I try Thomas?" he asked, clear as day.
The other day, George told him that he was in the way of the movie.
George: "Ben, if you sit that way I can't see."
So Ben moved.
His English is exploding. It's wonderful to really understand what he says and wants -- at least some of the time.
Of course, he probably understands more than we know. Which reminds me of our first week together. We were still in Taiwan and something destructive was going on. Most likely, the boys were about to catapult from one piece of furniture to another or something.
George, with great urgency, asks: "Julie, how do you say 'please no' again in Chinese?"
Ben: Chin Boo-You

Kites. Kites. Kites

The Berkeley Kite Festival is a must-go event. The boys got their own kites and watched the pros lift the giant kites, too.

Norway in Lafayette?

I'm half Norweigan and grew up in an almost totally Norwegian community in northern Minnesota. So, that means I have a coffee cup with the expression "uff-da" on it. My sister has a pony named "uff-da" and my use of "uff-da" explodes every summer when I visit Minnesota. For those who aren't familiar, uff-da is about the best expression there is. You might use it to express disgust at the fact that a baked potato cost $6 at a diner, for instance, or to express surprise that the Juvenile Delinquint became a Senator or to express empathy, sadness, joy, on and on. As with Mandarin, we've learned, it's all in the tone.
I don't seem to use uff-da much here, in Lafayette, as none of my friends have mentioned it. But there it was, coming from the mouth of our new Chinese son not six weeks out of Taiwan. "Uff-da," he said, as he labored out of the pool tonight at approximately 7:10 p.m. He doesn't say "bathroom" yet when he wants to go, but he expresses "uff-da" at exactly the right time under the right circumstance.
Shortly after I started to laugh, both Ben and Zach started jumping into the pool screaming "uff-da, uff-dah." It was a fitting end to a fun day, marked by introducing Ben to my Aunt Laddie, who grew up in Minnesota and can still speak Norweigan, and my Uncle Don, who'se considered an Honorary Norweign by his wife. We met at the Children's Museum in Palo Alto, near the neighborhood where Don and Laddie raised their family. Ben hugged them both goodbye when it was time to go and I'll forever hold the picture of my aunt with her cane raised high in the air waving goodbye to us in the parking lot.

Summer days

I know the boys are the big draw but thought the blog should note that the rest of us are still kicking too. Here, we have Painter, Zach and George leading a hike up to Lola's Lookout in the Sierras. We had a wonderful weekend. The boys (along with friends Brady and Alana) all made the big climb, as noted by the flag and the three 5-year-olds on the rocks marking the spot.
The summer days are really fun. Today, we played baseball, ate smoothies, rode bicycles and spent a good couple of hours at the dentist with Ben. He's getting all fixed up and is very grateful for it. He gave everybody a big smile when he got down from the chair this time. A few more visits and he should be good.
Next week we'll begin several weeks of more rigorous preparation for school. Ben knows his colors now, in English; can write to 20 and count much higher. We're still working on shapes and a "Color and Shape Bingo" game helps with that.
We went to the local kids' bookstore today and got workbooks for pre-K stuff. Zach has requested that I announce, everyday at 6 p.m. that: "It's homework time." Don't ask me where he got that from but I'm happy to oblige. The woman at the store said it was cute that they were such great friends. I said they were brothers and she shared with us that she'd adopted two kids from Korea who were now an architect and a doctor. It was great to hear a good adoption story!
What else is new? Well, you might be able to tell that Ben has become Batman and Zach has continued to be Spiderman. The other day we walked though the neigborhood and they were in their costumes. Zach fell over a curb and Ben said, "Spiderman, you okay?" They found a manhole cover and decided that both Batman and Spiderman could go down it but not mama. I said that was fine with me. Big kudos to George for working like a dog this summer so we could spend more time at home getting settled in. It's been fabulous falling in love with a new son.

Doctor visits

Ben has had his first big physical here. So far so good. He had to have six vials of blood drawn to check various things. Even I was apprehensive about that. Zach came with us and was a big comfort. Ben cried when the needle went in and throughout the draw -- which seemed to take forever. Right after and without prompting, Zach was standing before him offering him a glass of water. It was one of those moments I hope to remember forever. We refreshed our blood sugar with a trip to the Yogurt Shack after. Zach tripped on the sidewalk and Ben said: "You okay Zachy." Yea Ben!

Summer

When mom is asleep

I've got to write this down before I forget it. The other morning Zach and Ben were up first, and were downstairs. I knew there were no knives,scissors or explosives anywhere, so I sat in bed and listened.
Zach: Ben do you want a yogurt?
Ben: Thank you.
Refrigerator opens. Clanging of silverware.
Zach: No Ben. We can't watch something. (TV)
One second passes. Zach's mind clears.
Zach: Oh. I guess we can watch something.
Sounds of fumbling with remote control. Mom doubts they'll get it to work given they've never done that before.
TV: "Rocky and Bullwinkle".
Mom's eyebrows go up. Impressed.
Zach: Let's get under the blankies.
Ben: Giggle. Giggle. Giggle.
Zach: Do you want another yogurt? You can have another yogurt you know. (Almost a whisper now.) Because when mom's asleep, I'm the boss of you.

Brothers

Zach and Ben were out in the woods this morning climbing rocks in lieu of the couch. Ben slipped on some dead wood and got a small gash on the inside of his hand. I ran into the house for a Band-Aid and thought seriously about investing in the maker of those items. Who cuts back on Band-Aids even in a recession? They must be almost total profit, given the small amount of material required. With movie and action figures on them, they're practically a must-wear item for every kid. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen an ad for Band-Aid. Totally unnecessary.
Anyhow, while I ran, Ben held his hand and Zach stood next to him. When I returned, Ben wimpered a little and Zach told me that he was "taking care of Ben until I got back." I could've hugged the stuffing out of him.
Another adventure filled day: a water slide at a pool kept them entertained for hours. We splurged on Dairy Queen after that. Ben must've saved up his eating for America. He's skinny but eats like he's not. Chicken nuggets AND a hamburger followed by an ice cream cone. Less than two hours later: "Hungry," he says.

BEN

Ben found his name today carved into a tree. BEN. He was very excited. Along with lots of biking these past few days, we took our first ride in a canoe. No one was dunked! Success.

More at home as the days pass

Fourth of July

We had a great Fourth of July. Ben attended his first American parade: loved the candy! We followed that up with fishing in the South Fork of the Yuba River. He got the hang of it right away and both he and Zach are now great casters. We didn't catch anything (thankfully.) The boys tried snorkeling in Serene Lake but the water is a little cold. Had much fun with adopted Uncle Peter and Aunt Viv: flew lots of wooden airplanes, practiced eating ribs with fingers and bike rides around the lake. Ben's new American food favorite is hot dogs. He'd have them for breakfast if he could. The other day, he and Zach were playing upstairs while we were all downstairs. George went up to see if they were ready for lunch. Ben eats almost every hour so he said: "Hungry. Hungry." Zach told him: "You're not hungry. We're playing." And off they went. He did get fed shortly thereafter.

Thursday

July 2nd, 2009

You gotta love our town -- and hate Volvos! Ben hasn't met many of our friends yet and no family except for my sister. (He's still settling into the idea of his new nuclear family.)
But he's now been to see our fantastic car repair guy (Larry) so often that he squealed when he saw him in the grocery store the other day! We had another stop to see Larry today. Tons of fun for the boys. Working the water cooler alone is worth the trip but today Larry also gave them autobody key chains. Zach forgot his in the bathroom of the nearby hardware store. When we went back to get it, it was gone. He was so bummed. (A tough lesson in how it feels to be on the other end of "Finders Keepers.")
Ben and Zach both went on the big orange school bus this morning with their camp pals. They went to Crab Cove and played on the beach for a bit. I followed in the car, correctly assuming that a full day would be too much. They looked so cute hauling their backpacks and lunch.
Ben turned into the water boy for a pair of older kids building a sand castle. "More please," they told him and off he went. He mingles and works well with others. Of course, he and Zach were assigned to be each other's buddy. It's almost impossible to find time with one and not the other. Zach is all over that equation. If he goes to a play date, for instance, he weighs the fun factor against the "Ben gets mommy or daddy alone factor." After the beach, they got to go to the toy store to select one toy. Over the past two weeks, they filled up all of their slots with stars on their chore boards. Twice in the past week, one or the other made their bed without even being asked and picked up their room. Awesome. This sibling rivalry thing can really have some advantages! Happy Fourth of July!

Week three down

We hardly left the pool today, given 110 degree temperatures. Every time we ventured somewhere, we found ourselves headed back after an hour or so. Right now, Ben is singing to George, who is singing to the boys before bedtime. That's been a tradition since Day 1 with Zach. Ben has his own song to share but he sings it so fast George can't quite catch it. I have no doubt he will.
The boys racked up a bunch of stars in recent days for positive behaviors: working toward that trip to the toy store. Tonight, they put helmets on before using their skateboards and we didn't even have to remind them! Zach was very helpful with Ben in the pool, as well, watching out to make sure he didn't take off his water wings without checking in with me.
At one point the other day, they were both lying under their beach towels poolside -- enjoying a carrot and hummus snack. Ben was going on and on about something, in Mandarin, of course.
"That's mama's problem," Zach said in response!
I asked Zach what Ben said but he couldn't tell me.
"Brush your teeth," Ben told Zach tonight. More three-word sentences coming along.
Yesterday and Friday, my sister Mary was at a horse ride at the state park near here. We went out to her campsight and the boys had fun petting the horse, leading it on a short walk and picking up horse pooh with a pitch fork. Ben remembered Mary from Taiwan and gave her a big hug. Of course, Auntie Mary is Zach's favorite too. The whole event was a wonderful success since Mary and horse finished strong -- despite the heat.

Yippee Day!

It's 2:06 p.m. and I don't feel 110 years old! What a great day.
No fights between the boys this morning (yea!) before they went to camp for two hours. A little fight immediately after. (not bad. miscommunication related) But then a good 90 minutes of fun play at a neighborhood park. The park had one of those things that slides back and forth and the kids hang on it. It's tough for the little ones to swing all the way across so I usually have to give Zach a push. But today, he and Ben worked out a system where they helped each other: giving little pushes or guiding legs onto the landing pad. It was awesome. Then four "tween" girls with really large hair came to play. For a good 10 minutes, all the boys could do was look at that hair, which was really something. Blonde afros? Then, back to more play. It was so great we celebrated with a trip to the Yogurt Shack. I told them we were going because they played so nicely together and Zach told me all about how he and Ben helped each other. Each day is getting a little easier. It's sort of like herding cats and intercepting Bighorn sheep hits at the same time. Lots more language coming from Ben. "How are you?" he said, without prompting when we met some friends the other day. "My turn," he screamed today. He's quite the helping little guy. Both he and Zach are making beds in the morning and Ben is proving to be very considerate of his new friends. The other day, he dove into the pool to retrieve a rocket for his friend Jack. He's telling me now: "Hungry. Hungry." So gotta go.

Daddy Day

Here are my boys, hard at work making my "Daddy Day" cards. What a special treat! They each painted a picture of a house, a rainbow and a sun. Each signed his name, Zach and Ben. How special!

Daddy Day was great. Julie gave me the most precious gift of all, the gift of time. I was free to go to 2 hour Yoga and have coffee with my friend afterwards. We had friends bring us brunch, Thanks Michelle and Jeff! We went to the pool for the boys' swimming lesson and watched them both dive and do "big arms". They're making great progress. Then visited with friends and swam a bit. I ran home and Julie made a special dinner, Daddy Day at its finest.

Tomorrow will be two weeks since we got home. Zach and Ben seem to be getting along fine , even though they have their moments. Ben is very affectionate and is starting to say small phrases in English like, Thank you Momma, I want water . Amazing progress compared to our progress in mandarin.

I feel very lucky. I have two great boys, a caring wife and a pretty nice life. Its days like this that make it all worthwhile.

To all of you Dads out there, Happy Daddy Day! Be sure to give all your family an extra hug tonight.

George

Saturday night

Today was the day we knew would come. Zach said he wants Ben to go back to Taiwan! I said, "oh oh, sorry."
The honeymoon is over, but that's not surprising. When they're not battling over something -- the seat in the car, the book in the car, the quarter on the ground, -- they're having fun. Tonight, they were conspiring against us in the backseat of the car. I took that as a good sign.
We've had a couple of restful days of late. Zach has been sick, and Ben is fighting off a cold. So, long afternoon naps have been key. The weather has been oddly cold.
Ben's language continues to improve. "This is purple," he said, while pointing to a figure. "That is pink." He says "I love you," at night time but it's just the words, so far.
Before falling under the weather, we enjoyed a couple afternoons of swimming in between snacks and drinks! We also did a couple of mornings at summer camp. Ben mingled right away, getting into the Legos; Zach was more hesitant.
We haven't mentioned the dogs much. Ben is so fearless of dogs that we took him to a dog park today. Ellie and Painter have been patient and kind and it's paid off. No scratches from Stan either! Happy Father's Day to all you dads.

First times

Today, several wonderful things happened.
---Ben spoke in English for the first time to get what he wanted: "Bananna."
---He fell asleep seemingly content.
---He lost again at Candy Land and so stormed off into his room and slammed the door.
Zach: "He never wins."
Julie: "Well, he's only played three times, but yea, he hasn't won yet."
Zach: "I think he just wants a little time away from me."
George: "Sometimes people just need a little time alone."
Zach: "Can I watch TV now?"
Julie: "Sure."
Zach: "I think I'll go ask Ben if he wants to watch something with me."

Anniversary Day

Today is anniversary day in the Anderson Schmit household. Its one week since we arrived home with Ben and its Julie and my 6th anniversary. In true celebratory fashion , we had Zach's pizza and a special trip to the Yogurt Shack downtown, followed by a trip to the dog park......... Life in the fast lane!

What a great pleasure to see the boys getting along so well. Today was my first day back to work and Julie's first complete day soloing with the boys. She handled it magnificently combining biking, scooting, game play and swimming and successfully keeping them amused. While they have their moments, they seem to be really connected and truly enjoy playing with one another. Zach and Ben are perfecting their own language, dubbed Manglish(Mandarin/English) by

Julie's sister Mary, and are communicating on their own plane.

Each day seems to be a bit easier and a routine will soon develop. Once that rhythm gets established, we're confident that Ben will speak more English and we'll speak more Mandarin as he is teaching us. ( For those of you who are interested, the mandarin word for Pizza is pi- zza).

Anyhow time for all to go to bed for tonight, five year olds and their parents tire easily.

all of love,

G, J,Z, B, E,P &S

Sunday Sunday

Tonight, Ben ate mashed potatoes with chopsticks. So, we all had to try. They were even more delicious.
Our hopes of not becomming "Swim Team" parents dimmed today. Both Zach and Ben swam for a good two hours. We've spent hundreds of dollars over the past three summers trying to get Zach "water safe," and he hasn't gotten above the lowly Polliwog classification.
Suddenly, he's putting his head under the water over and over, holding his breath for seconds and swimming. Today, he started diving off the steps and gave up float wings for good.
"I learned to swim in Taiwan," he told the lady at the pool. Not many of us can say that.
Ben is all over jumps, dives and head firsts but can't stay up without wings -- although he forgets on occassion and I had to fish him out twice!
In addition to learning English, Ben is teaching us Mandarin.
"Va-toe," he says, referring to, I believe, a ball.
"Va-toe," we say back. He shakes his head in disgust, points to his lips and says again, with much expression: "Va-toe."
Well, you know the rest. Finally, we either hit on it or he gives up.
Today, we made it out of the pool and to the bathroom before it was too late. We're getting quicker at picking up that one! Later, he did pick up a toy chest and place it back down on his toe for few seconds before we understood what was wrong. Poor little guy. His courage is relentless.
Good night. We're feeling very lucky and as long as we each get out for a run or a yoga class on a daily basis, we'll be good.
Love, Julie, George, Zach and Ben Chia-Wei

Settling In

We've been home since Monday and everyone finally seems to be recovered from jetlag. They boys slept til after 9 this morning

after only one middle of the night wake up. They had a day of bike riding, swimming , scooting and a new first for Ben ... a play date at the community center park.

They seem to be doing fine and Ben seems to be understanding most things we say to him. His language is starting to come but it will take some time. He does seem able to communicate his needs. What we don't pick up, Zach does so language is less of a concern but it certainly will be easier once Ben can say what he wants. He's pretty good a trying new foods and tonight enjoyed Zach's favorite dinner , spaghetti and meatballs.

Tomorrow Zach's going on a day trip to the Monterey Aquarium with Dave and Grandma so it'll be fun to see how Ben handles having to cope with his parents on his own.

I go back to work Monday so it'll be Julie's primary responsibility during the day. CATS camp starts on Wednesday for both of them so that'll be a help.

Julie and I seem to be adapting well but at least for me, I have to say bedtime is a relief. They are nonstop action but I love it .

Bye for now,

G, J, Z, B, E,P,&S

Not quite one week into it and....

Ben Chia Wei and Zach were on the patio this afternoon. My back was to them as I cut up some strawberries. I assumed they were putting on bike helmets.
Ben spoke in a loud, agitated voice to Zach. Something along the lines of: "Punte mi tian e mi ya eee si ny aaah."
Zach responded: "I know."
And off they went.

We've been home for 3 days now and there is the beginning of some"normalcy" as a routine is beginning to develop. We 're learning to keep things moving and to provide lots of snacks to keep the boys happy. Sleep is still a bit of an issue for us all, but Ben is suffering jet lag the most. We kept them up tonight hoping to get them on California time at last. Wish us luck.

Ben also seems pretty comfortable in new situations. I pulled over to say "hi" to our neighbors and before I could stop, he was leaning out the window to greet them. Great progress!

Zach seems to love having his brother and the energy between them is high. Hopefully, Julie and I can match the energy level.

Hope you're all well and enjoying our story. For those who haven't noticed, we have pictures on all the entries now that we're home if you care to check them all.

Bye for now,

George, Julie, Zach, Ben, Ellie, Painter and Stan

Fortunate

We went out to dinner tonight at a Chinese restaurant. Ben Chia Wei's fortune was: ""This year your highest priority will be your family." Zach's fortune was: "A chance meeting with a stranger may soon change your life." I didn't get a fortune. George's fortune had something to do with work. Go figure!
Ben Chia Wei and Zach were awake to take photos of the sunrise this morning. In fact, they were up at 2:15 a.m. We played everything: trains, darts, cards, etc. By 4:30 a.m., they were happily chowing down fried eggs and noodles. George took them to the park at the Reservoir after that and Ben Chia Wei had his first encounter with the curly slide, the monkey bars and a modern day water fountain.
Right now, 8 p.m., they're riding their new bikes back and forth along the deck. We've all had a great day. Zach doesn't want to do anything now without Ben, and vice versa.
We're all still tired. We took naps today and hopefully will get back on U.S. time soon!

We're Home

We're Home!!!!!!!!!!

The boys were real troopers throughout the trip and really did a great job. Eleven hours of flying and nary a complaint. Our friend Peter ( Father of 2 boys and our Dad on call), picked us at SFO and brought us to Lafayette. Ben got to experience his first San Francisco rush hour but more importantly, his first day in California.

He was a bit hesitant to go into our house even though he'd seen pictures and videos. Once inside, Julie gave him the tour and he quickly seemed comfortable. He and Zach played with every toy they could pull out and even took turns riding Zach' bike.

Stan has accepted Ben and later tonight, Ben met Ellie and Painter for the first time. Ellie's exuberance may be a little much for Ben but we're sure that within a few days, they'll be fine.

Any how, we're kind of tired and nee do settle into our new time (15 hour time difference may take some time).

Again , thanks for all your love and support. We'll add more pix in the next couple of days.

Good night to you all!

George, Julie. Zach, Ben, Ellie, Painter and Stan ... All in Lafayette at last!

Home soon

We've found a groove. Breakfast at 6:30 a.m. before every other guest is awake: Fast taxi to the park. Zach and Ben Chia Wei love the slides and monkey bars. We also play catch with the football.
Yesterday, we visited the main memorial and Ben showed us the fish food dispenser so we fed fish for quite some time. We also went shopping for some new clothes. Ben has very little, just a few rather worn out shirts and shorts and shoes that are too big. He ran immediately to the Nike sandals. Loves them! Zach wanted different ones, of course.
The competition is fierce. Who gets to open the room? Push the elevator button? Play with the red car? By the end of the day, though, they're giggling and snorting like pigs as they refuse to fall asleep.
We're catching a slightly earlier flight home so will be home mid-day Monday as opposed to at night. We're very ready! See u all soon...

Still Kicking!

June 6, 2009
Saturday night: 8:44 p.m.
The other night my sister coined what may be a new phrase: "Extreme babysitting." She was referring, I believe, to what she thought we would need in the future, which she considered a combination of "The Nanny" and "Extreme babysitting." We laughed until we cried over that one.
Ben Chia Wei is no shrinking violet. Today, I took him to the pool and, within minutes, he was talking to me loudly in Chinese and pointing to the deep water. I said: "The answer is no, to whatever you just asked." I knew, just knew, that he wanted to dive right in. Shortly after getting into the pool, he had me take the float wings off, even though he can't really stay up, but he could sort of touch. He was all arms and legs, flapping and kicking. No problem sticking his head under the water, over and over. He'll entice Zach to make that leap in no time. He absolutely loves the water.
Zach and Ben are already big competitors. We thought it would be unlikely that we'd get another kid as competitive and strong willed as Zach, but alas, within minutes of meeting Zach, Ben was measuring who was taller. Zach still has him by a tiny bit, and a good 10 pounds, but they're not far apart otherwise. They're also both win-at-all-cost Candy Land players. As soon as Ben got "peanuts" this morning, which meant he was probably going to lose, he quit playing. He communicated perfectly. (That language barrier thing is really overblown.)
Speaking of that, we do seem to be doing okay. We ate lunch today at a food court and he pointed to a picture of what he wanted. He didn't like it, as it turned out, but he got to choose. We also walked through a market, and he picked out grapes, chips, more chips, more chips and guava slices. We also can eventually figure out what he wants. Today, it was gum. Yesterday, it was water. You know, the essentials. We seem to run into turtles everywhere, in books and ponds, so he's got that ever important word down. And when we go to the Club Room for breakfast or cold drinks in the afternoon, he says "good morning" like he's been saying it forever.
Speaking of the Club Room, it's awesome. We go there for breakfast and it's open all day for cold drinks, cookies, double-double espressos, etc. At one point between afternoon cookies today, Zach leaned back in his chair and said: "I love this place."
Zach can't swim for six more days. OUCH. That was our plan for the hotel: pool, pool, pool. But his wound needs to stay dry. He was a real trooper again today, going back to the hospital to get it checked. He cried very loudly as he, George and Mary left the hotel and all of the hotel attendants surrounded him to try comfort him. When he returned, they welcomed him with big "Hi Zachs."
We've made a few trips out of the hotel: to a playground yesterday at Memorial Park and to a park today to play catch with a football. Venturing out is a little scary since we don't know if Ben will slip out of our hands and dodge into a busy street or something so we keep our trips short enough that we don't get too stressed -- and even that's hard. We'll be glad to be home where we're more familiar. Two more days, then we fly home, as planned, on Monday night.
We had a glimpse of things to come tonight when we settled down to watch "Kung Fu Panda." The question was: "Do we watch it in Mandarin or English and Zach said "Mandarin." Mary left tonight for home. She was super to have here and we're forever indebted.
That's it for today... Good night! Julie

The Journey Continues....

Today was our day to go to the American Institute to get Ben's paperwork processed and get the Visa we need to come home. We arrived at 7:45 as appointed and bypassed the huge lines of Tawainese applying for US Visa's. Once upstairs, we went to one line, waited for another line , reviewed the paperwork, went downstairs to pay the fees , then back upstairs to be interviewed. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it?? Imagine if you' re Ben and don't speak English and no electronic toys are allowed.

Well, he was a trooper and waited through the the 2.5 hours like a pro. Have to say we're pretty lucky to have met a great family from the Maryland who were there with their 5 kids and helped keep Ben amused.

Unfortunately, we won't get his Visa til Monday so we 'll have some more time to explore Taipei.

After the trip to the Visa office , we went to Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world at the beginning of the 21st century and celebrated by buying more toys and chicken nuggets. Five year olds know how to live!

Zach is doing better, antibiotics work. For all you Health Net folks, the ER visit, minor surgery and Meds cost about $50 US dollars.

Anyhow, life is exciting and challenging. Ben is doing great and Zach is thrilled to have a brother. As we suspected, the boys are communicating pretty well and fights are at a minimum. Those days won't last.

Sorry there aren't pix but Julie's computer is dead so we're using the Hotel computer and can't down load. We'll put some up when we're home next week.

Til tomorrow, have a great one and thanks for all your support!
George, Julie, Zach, Ben and Mary in Taipei, Ellie, Painter and Stan in Lafayette

All are sound asleep

This will probably sound a little flat -- only because we're quite tired and the day was so stupendous. It'll take me days to process all that occurred. Let me start with this: Zach and Ben Chia Wei and George all fell asleep as I read: "The Giraffe Who Couldn't Dance." They were down by 9 p.m. Right on schedule.
Zach was the first. In addition to getting a new brother today, he got a visit to the Emergency Room given an abscess on his back that started out as a bug bite. It grew rapidly in the past day and a half and sat right at his pants line. He was so uncomfortable this morning that he walked like "an old man," he said.
We had to meet Ben Chia Wei at 10: a.m., so we couldn't take Zach to the hotel clinic until after we returned to Taipei around 4 p.m. The clinic suggested the emergency room as he needed lancing and antibiotics. He's fine now. But it hurt very much. We had to hold him down and he was so scared. "Doctor can I be done now?" he said over and over. This happened once before in a different spot about 18 months ago. He obviously remembered how much it hurt so the 20 minutes leading up to the emergency room was very trying.
While George and I took Zach there, my sister Mary had Ben Chia Wei for 90 minutes in Room 2141, which is still standing! (We did have the hotel remove the very nice pottery display.)
Ben Chia Wei is adorable and if our computer hadn't broken, or whatever is going on, we would have all kinds of wonderful photos to show you. But alas, words will have to suffice.
Our first encounter happened before it should have. We walked up the steps of St. Lucy Center to meet him and he poked his head out of the door and stood there with a big grin before someone summoned him back inside. I knew then that everything was going to be OK.
He bounced back into our room shortly thereafter and tore open a bag of stuffed animals for us, with one especially for Zach. Zach, in turn, gave Ben Chia Wei a new Transformer -- the red one, unopened and everything. Good boy. Another good moment.
We visited with the center workers, as well as Ben Chia Wei's foster mother, and also his birth mother, for several hours. Ben and Zach played with the toys, sometimes together, and we quickly picked up how to help Zach say "My turn" in Mandarin. The goodbyes were very teary. We promised both moms that they would see him again.
Once we got on the train, we could take deep breaths. For one thing, he's a boy who can obviously run fast and it felt good to get off that train platform. He is a happy, funny, engaging and competent boy. We had DVD players for each of them, with videos for Ben in Mandarin, and the boys sat and watched their shows, ate nuts and drank apple juice all the way home.
While we were at the hospital with Zach, Ben Chia Wei dove into the hotel bathtub. Mary said she was lucky to get there to get his clothes off before he jumped in. We'd brought little submarines. For the rest of the night, he wanted to go back to the bath to play. We also have soft balls, and we played catch. He liked that, too, and he seems to be a natural at Hide-and-Seek. Overall, no punches were thrown and any verbal jabs -- were there any -- were missed.
Oh, and also, Ben Chia Wei's first words in English were "up high," from a High Five game my brother taught me that seems to be a big hit with kids of all ages. Thanks Peter.
One of his favorite foods, his foster mother said, was chicken nuggets. So we did dinner in. Chicken nuggets for the boys -- and my sister -- and french fries and ice cream. They both ate everything. That's it for tonight....Be well...

Yea! One photo. Zach outside the Hyatt, by the pool, feeling very uncomfortable, you can tell.

Second day here

It's hard to know what was more exciting today: Zach taking his first swimming strokes without his float wings or buying Ben his first toys!
We'll meet him tomorrow morning. Zach woke up today talking about it.
We spent the day at a huge Monastary about an hour from town. On the way home, we drove through Ben's village of Pingtung. It is a bustling place with shops, more shops and loads of motorbikes. We took photos of City Hall, parks, the streets. If he doesn't have photos of his own, he may enjoy looking at those.
The monastary was built into a hillside. We climbed hundreds of steps and enjoyed many wonderful gardens. The nuns loved Zach. Two of them brought him little gifts. We've had trouble trying to post photos, so will try again....

Taiwan,
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
We're on the bullet train from Taipei to Tainan, where we will meet Ben Chia Wei two days from now. We arrived Taipei on Monday, on schedule, about 10 p.m.
The flight went very well. Zach started to fuss about six hours into it. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to get Ben. I want to go home," he wailed.
He cried for a few minutes and fell asleep as soon as we stretched him out on the floor in front of us. He slept most of the rest of the way, another seven hours. Once at the Hyatt, he slept for two more hours and then he and George cruised the hotel, all night. They met every security guard, rode every escalator, many times, and looked at every closed restaurant.
We hit the outdoor pool by 7:30 a.m. It was lovely, on the fifth floor veranda. Below us, the computer elite gathered for the computer tradeshow of the year in Taiwan. A Microsoft banner hung on the building across from us. Made us feel at home.
Zach has already claimed the Leapster game machine we brought for Ben -- even though it is exactly the same as the one we brought for Zach. More of that to come, we suspect. All in all, Zach has been a wonderful traveler: pulling his own suitcase, following us like a pro through the train station, chatting up the taxi driver.
"Where's Ben?" he'll say, out of the blue.
Right now, Curious George is occupying him on his portable DVD player. The Taiwan countryside is passing by. It's very green, with houses, sheds and apartments sprouting out of what appears to be rice paddies, corn fields and sugar cane.
We're all a little tired now, but on track to shed jet lag by tomorrow. Until then ….