I'm Rocking My Baby and Babies Don't Keep

I once read an adoption book that said you need to calculate your newly adopted child's age not so much by their actual birthdate, but by how much time they've been home. By that estimation, I have a two week old, and two weeks olds need a whole lot of attention. He's had days that I would call easy and days that are tiring and taxing. On Wednesday he wanted me to hold him on the porch swing all day long. He wasn't interested in riding bikes with the kids. He didn't want to play in the sandbox. He didn't want to do anything but sit on Mom's lap with his legs and arms wrapped around her and his head on her chest. Two week olds need that sometimes. I tried to ignore the weeds that are crying out to be pulled and the sticky, messy kitchen floor that needs washing. In my head, I repeated the last lines of a poem I saw in my sister's nursery when I was a little girl:

So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

I've got to put the time in now because he needs it now. The problem with this age calculation though is that most two week olds are not nearly as big as XiXi. My legs fall asleep and my arms get tired. And our former baby-of-the-family, our Cholita, is not very happy to see her mom's lap so frequently occupied. Today, she wanted me to look through her drawing notebook and pick out my favorite picture. I picked one that she'd drawn a couple of months ago, of her and her little brother standing in the grass with flowers all around and a bright sun in the sky. Between the fluffy clouds she'd written, "I love XiXi". I told her that picture was my favorite. She frowned and said, "I drew that before I met him." No, she's not entirely pleased with this big sister gig, but don't believe her that it's all drudgery. I catch her enjoying herself many times a day.

Riding the ferry boat with XiXi,

or getting a friendly arm to lean on while roller skating.

O.K., on closer inspection, he is wearing her purple heels again.

Those dang heels.

But he does manage to get stuff done, despite the impractical footwear.

Anyhow, moving on, XiXi has had so many "firsts" this past week that must be documented.

*His first gift for Mom. He sprinted out of his church Primary class waving a pink paper heart that he'd colored, yelling in Mandarin, "Gay ni duh! Gay ni duh, Mama!" (It's for you!) He was so very proud. I put the heart in my coat pocket and he's checked for it everyday. When Cholita dared touch the pink heart, he told her in no uncertain terms that HE gave me the heart, not HER and that it's for MOM! As I said, this relationship will be a work in progress.

*His first prayer. I should have taped it. Would that be sacrilegious?

*His first pizza. He gave it a big thumbs down. "Boo how chur." He did entertain us though by picking it up with his chopsticks, something that takes skill I think.

*His first cookout.

*And along with the cookout came his first hot dog. He wasn't so sure about that either. It feels wrong to tell a child, "Please, just try the pizza." or "Put down that carrot and eat your hot dog."

Despite not being too keen on it, he does like a good photo opportunity. And now that I look more closely at the picture below, maybe it was just bratwurst that he found objectionable.

I'd say he ate a good half of that hot dog....

assuming hot dogs have a good half.

*He spent his first night out in the tent, along with Dad and all of the siblings and the mammoth dog. Mom and the old, tired dog sought out more comfortable accommodations inside.

Although XiXi looked pretty comfy with Rose.

As much as his smile gets me every time, this look also does me in.

I call it the smolder.

At his first check-up since coming home, he was giving the doctor the smile-smolder one two punch

and she said, "Gee, it's too bad he's such a homely child."

We gave one of Lucy's friends a ride home this week and he said in Mandarin,

"She's pretty."

His affinity for the ladies, paired with the smolder, troubles me slightly.

But not as much as this.

I think it's the feathers.

Hopefully more tomorrow on XiXi's first Easter.