Song Song

So, obviously the blog isn't really happening regularly here. I will blame 50% of it on the VPN issue. 40% of it can be pinned on the fact that this trip, the events involved, and the 2-year-old in our hotel room all add up to me not really having a moment's break to stop and type a post. Also, (for the sake of honesty and openness) 10% is probably due to me just not wanting to post. I know, that's probably horribly selfish, and also sort of out of character for me... I rarely lack words to describe a situation. However, this trip has been really different than the past two - particularly different than the last one when I was along for the ride with Deb and Jack and we mostly just laughed at Chinese Walmart and such.  This has been a great trip. Don't get me wrong! Our travel group is fantastic. We have seen and done so much. I've had wonderful new experiences like visiting New Hope and meeting the amazing people there, but we've also had some emotionally hard experiences. It's just a lot to process, and I haven't had the energy or the time to really work through it all and put it into words here that would make much sense. So, that is my apology/explanation, I guess. It has been a totally different experience, even though the day-to-day events have been so similar.  But on the upside, Zach is doing so great! He has no clue his name is Zach though.  At New Hope they called him Song Song. The third name is often the only personal name for children from orphanages around here. Zheng was his assigned surname, Jian was his first name, and Song his personal name... Thus the nickname "Song Song". So, in an attempt to be comforting and familiar, we called him Song Song from the start. He responded to that. Now, however, we're in this weird spot. He doesn't respond to the name Zach, and in my mind, he is Song Song. It's funny. I guess we will try to start working it in. I get the feeling the nickname may stick around for a while though.  He is so sweet! It's funny how quickly I've forgotten what a 2 year old is like though. The "twins" are turning 4 these days. So, 2 was a while ago for them. Zach isn't terribly verbal, which is totally normal, particularly given the whole language barrier as well, but I often find myself thinking that life would be easier if he would just speak an answer... Duh, Momma!  But he is great! Really pretty easygoing. The write-up we received on him said he had "stranger anxiety," which is true to an extent. He doesn't like strangers. He will definitely back away and give you some eyebrows! However, no one remains a stranger for long. So, give him approximately 4 minutes to warm up to you, and he'll be running across the room with both hands in the air, poised to hug you. It also helps if you happen to have some sort of snack food on you. The child grazes non-stop!  He loves to give kisses, but if you don't pay him adequate attention, he's not opposed to biting you to make you aware of that fact.  Also, he seems very adept at finding tiny pieces of string and fuzz. He will find the teensiest piece of loose string and pull at it until it comes off (of clothes, bags, carpet, furniture... he's not picky). He will then proceed to try to eat it. It's lovely. I can't tell you how many times I've had to dash across the room to stop him from slurping down a piece of Chinese hotel carpet string that he seems to think is a noodle!  If no such snack is available, he's also not opposed to just pretending he has food. Ever see the movie "Hook"? Remember when the Lost Boys sit down to dinner and it's all imaginary when they start off? It's like that. He will put his fingers to his mouth and pretend to put in a bite of something, then smack away at it. He'll even offer to share this imaginary snack with me. It's really funny!  He's so chunky, and all the little shopkeepers in the stores on The Island here in Guangzhou say the same thing when they ask his age: "Wow! Strong Boy!" He has massive hands and feet... Like a puppy who has to grow into his paws.  He loves the sound of his own voice and yells each time we go out of the elevator into the lobby hallway because he knows it will echo.  He sleeps in the crib! I can not tell you what a HUGE blessing this has been!  He doesn't seem to nap much... only when riding in a bus or car, but then again, we're so constantly running from one thing to the next, there hasn't really been much opportunity for normally scheduled naptime anyway.  He can actually pucker his lips to give kisses. This is big! Asher still doesn't really have that range of motion in his lips. I'm interested to see what the speech therapist and craniofacial team people say when he's assessed. I'm no expert, but he seems to be able to make some sounds that Asher has a hard time with. Makes me wonder if he's going to have an easier time with all the speech stuff.  His eyelashes are absurdly long. It's really ridiculous. I'm endlessly jealous of them.  He refuses to hold my hand when we're walking down the hotel hallways. He insists on holding Josh's hand. But on the whole, I think he's pretty ok with both of us. He was pretty partial to daddy for the first few days. He would allow me to feed him and clean his stinky diapers, but everything else was all about daddy. However, we're pretty even these days. I think he just does the hallway bit to tease me.  He is really ticklish.  Ok... Those are all the fun facts I can think of for now. I'm going to bed. Today was the Medical Evaluation day. We all had to pile into the clinic, and Zach had to have blood drawn for a TB test. They didn't allow us into the room for that. Needless to say, it freaked him out quite a bit and as a result, he seems to be having a harder than usual time settling into peaceful sleep tonight. Hopefully he will be able to rest (and so will we).  Thanks again for all the prayers! We are feeling very loved! :)