Peeling an onion

A friend said that our experience so far with Eli is like peeling an onion and I think that is exactly how we feel right now. We have ups and downs; steps being taken forward and then back again. We have to keep reminding ourselves that he really has only been with us for 2 days and to not expect an overnight transformation. It's hard though ... we have loved him so long, but he has no idea why these strange looking, strange talking people are now with him in a strange place.

We had a free day today and we actually had some blue skies for the first time. The smog level is still considered hazardous according to the news, but oh how nice it was to see the sky! We took Eli out for a walk and bought him some shoes. Before we got to the right department I got "yelled" at by a Chinese woman because he did not have enough on his feet (he had 2 pairs of socks on, but here that is not enough). I told her (although she couldn't understand me) that we were buying him shoes.

We walked through a pretty park on the way back to the hotel. There was a little lake and rides for the kids. We got lots of stares. I think it is good that I can't understand what they are saying about us ... it is very evident that they are talking about us. One lady tried to ask me about his lip. I just smiled and kissed him.

I was able to get both smiles and tears today. He tries SO HARD not to smile and we play a game where if I look at him, he looks away and vice versa. He is playing hard to get with us. He seems to be doing a little better with me than Michael. Michael left the room at one point this morning and I was able to get him to give me a few smiles. He loves his back to be tickled!!

Michael ran to Wal-mart this afternoon and I put Eli down for a nap. I walked into the bathroom and he started crying. He had big alligator tears. I picked him up and held him tight and he immediately fell asleep with his arms wrapped around me. I hoped that this meant we had turned a corner, but when he woke up we were back to the somber face.

We pulled out a plastic tablecloth and laid it on the floor (no child should play on these floors - pretty nasty!). We spread out the toys and "ignored" Eli to see what he would do. He started playing and throwing his toys. He was crawling around and acting like he was having fun. When he'd see one of us, he'd stop. (That is getting better now though.)

Eli has been fever free until tonight. He also has a bad cough, but seems to be better since he ate his dinner (he is loving eggs!). Smiles returned tonight after his bath. Michael was able to get some pictures if he hid around the corner and took them through the mirror. Eli won't smile for Michael, but has no problem eating his food :-)

So tomorrow we will try and peel another layer or two from our little onion.

 

Posted with Blogsy