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!