Honeymoon....OVER!

I’m pretty sure, as adoptions go, yesterday would have been considered the honeymoon phase. I suspect some parents get a little longer honeymoon than 24 hours. Max woke up today full of vinegar maybe not white vinegar, a little sweet like say...apple cider vinegar! He complained about everything, I’m pretty sure whining transcends language and this boy has whined all day. He has also laughed when we told him no, run when we called him, refused to put on or take off his clothes, his swimsuit…whatever. He isn’t really being defiant, he thinks some of it is funny and sometimes he’s just being stubborn, but he has given it to us today. In response we have kept him busy ALL day long, he’s been on a boat…three times, swimming, on the sky train, to the biggest market I’ve ever seen (200,000 vendors), in a taxi…twice…to the Marriot Plaza for McDonald’s…which he refused to eat until I tricked him…and then for pizza. He’s played ball with Veldon and walked all over the pier. We are thinking now he will fall asleep with a video like he did last night. (We were right, he's out cold!)

He laughs all the time, but not at us or the things we are doing, he laughs at himself. He does something, laughs at himself and then comes to show us so we can laugh too. He likes to see himself in the mirror, the window of the mini van we ride around in, the drain of the bathtub…just anywhere…he likes the way he looks! He is constantly taking the change we leave in the room and putting it in his backpack. Today we bought him a change purse so he can keep up with his stolen money a little better. Ms. Oh asked him if he had any money at the market, he said he forgot his but his daddy has lots. (Not so much after his son’s constant pilfering!) She laughed and laughed. When he gets hungry that’s all he can talk about. We got back late from the market and he was very hungry, we ran up to the room to change shoes and then back down to get a taxi. On our way back out he told the doormen, the bell hops and the front desk staff he was hungry. He refused to talk to them when we came in because he was angry we were going to the room and not for food. He asked for chicken at McDonald’s but when we got it he turned his nose up and ate the fries. I opened the sauce and started eating a nugget, he wanted to dip his fries in the sauce and I said no only for the chicken. He watched us both eat some chicken and then he asked for some. He ate 1 ½ pieces before he realized he was eating the previously refused food. He just stared at me and put the rest of the piece down. It was rather humorous.

Living with a 4 year old in a hotel room is not really a lot of fun, but we are having fun in Thailand. He is so interested in everything he sees. He yells at the motor bike riders as they drive by us, I’m pretty sure he thinks they can hear him. He loves to play ball and even with his shorter arm he rarely misses the ball, even if it means falling off the bed to get it. He loves to wrestle with Veldon and he gives as well as he gets. He loves to be thrown in the air at the pool and then splash me in the face on his way back down, (I’m thinking it’s time for a new game at the pool!). He is doing well, he is having fun and he seems to like us pretty well. He knows there’s a big plane in our future and he knows this room isn’t home although I doubt he can picture in his mind what a house might be like. He is curious and timid at the same time, but when he’s afraid he climbs up us not other people and although he will engage with strangers to some degree he will only do so while touching one of us, and even then his responses are limited. I think he was truly loved in his orphanage and it seems he knows how to love as a result. We are forever grateful to those nannies who loved him when they didn’t have to.

Did I mention the boy loves boats, he talks about them all day long!!!!

Not very happy...

That's our hotel on the other side of the river...it is super duper nice!!!

Eating frozen juice..or something like that...at the market today.

Not happy again...

Happy...playing ball!!