Day 2 of the rest of our lives...

Day 2 with our new sweet boy. Max woke up this morning with a smile on his face, praise the Lord! He slept all night touching either Veldon or me constantly, he stirred a lot and his sleep was fitful, but he managed to stay asleep. The first thing he wanted to do was look out the window at the boats on the river. He then took a bath, it was obviously his first bath and I believe he thought we were trying to drown him. He screamed and pulled his feet up. I climbed in and sat on the edge of the tub and he decided it would be fine so he climbed in and allowed me to bathe him. He then splashed around the tub for a very long time and played in the bubbles. After everyone was bathed and ready we went down to breakfast and he ate an entire omelet, some sweet bread, a tiny little banana and drank about 6 glasses of orange juice. The wait staff was very, very helpful and attentive to him, I think because he is so charming! They explained to us what he was asking for, a fried egg which he refused to eat, and he told them the food was delicious. They also told us how to tell him to “sit down” nang low…or something like that. He just laughed when we figured out how to say it, but he also sat right down when we told him to. He is very obedient to the adults around him…if you speak his language. He knows his name is Max, but he won’t acknowledge it right now, he just grins and walks away. When we say Tankhun he responds very well. It will take time, but he knows both names. He is very timid about trying new things, but after resisting he always decides to try it and loves whatever we are encouraging him to do. We took him swimming in the wonderful hotel pool this afternoon, there’s water all over the deck and it’s lovely. He wasn’t interested at first, but when Veldon walked in and away Max started yelling “Da” so when Veldon came back Max grabbed his hand and walked in too. We went back for swim suites and he had a great time, sadly the weather was just a little cool for outdoor swimming and after about 15 minutes his teeth were chattering so came back to the room for a hot bath…which he loved.

He had his medical check-up today as well. He does not like hospitals! He completely shut down until I took him in a little room to change his diaper, then he cried until he understood he wasn’t getting a shot…at that moment. He did not have to get any vaccines, but he did have to get a TB test, which is a little shot under the skin. He was not happy, he screamed and it took 4 of us to keep him still. He then got his Mickey Mouse Pez which seemed to end the crisis. He is eating much better today and we are learning to understand him, somewhat, and he is understanding us some as well. For a final activity for the day we walked to the outdoor market next door to the hotel. It is amazing and, of course, if Max is with us we draw attention. He is very charming and smiles at everyone, although when they speak to him he won’t answer and grabs on to one of us. We walked a lot today in hopes of making him very tired. At the orphanage they allowed him to go to bed about 1 ½ hours after the other kids, and then he took an afternoon nap, which none of the others did and he would be up early in the morning. We are stopping the afternoon nap so maybe he’ll be tired enough to sleep all night and even a little late in the morning, today he slept until 7:00am, but he was pretty tired from all that happened yesterday.

He laughs a lot and seems easy to please. This afternoon I forgot how to say “sit down” so I was saying nang loaw…he finally laughed, sat down and said very clearly “nang L-O-W”. We all laughed and he has corrected me several more times. We are also learning other words like “gently”, “again”, “see” and “hungry” but I forgot what hungry is! There’s too much to say to get it all in. He is a joy, he is funny, and he is very smart, the doctor was surprised at how smart he is, she was actually shocked and was convinced there was something mentally wrong with him when we got there, by the time we left she was praising his intelligence and telling us how lucky he is to be going home. We are the ones who feel lucky that God has given us this wonderful boy to raise and teach about Him. We are thrilled! He will continue to struggle with all the changes in his life, I am sure he will grieve more especially at night, but he is taking things in stride. He seems to be okay with us being his parents right now and hasn’t asked to “go home” today. I think he will again, but we’ll hold him and love him like we did yesterday and soon enough he’ll know that we are his home!

On a side note, I put away everything that came from the orphanage last night while he slept, all his papers, his clothes, the little backpack and his shoes from the orphanage are gone from sight. I think it will help him not to have those visual reminders, he’s no longer an orphan, that life is over so we have put it all in the past where it belongs. He is now a beloved son and his inheritance is so much greater than a few pieces of miss matched clothes and an old backpack!