It's so much fun to update here on how Brighton's doing. He's just a joy to have and I want to share it with the world! I can't believe how much I love this little guy. He's so much mine that I feel like he's been in our family since birth. He has such a good, caring heart and is so polite, almost to a fault. He wraps his arms around me and snuggles with me with a huge grin on his face and my heart just melts.



We have had some battles already that I attribute to normal childhood behavior, like him telling me no, begging for things when I tell him no, seeing how much he can get away with, that sort of thing. He learned to beg when I taught him the sign for please, and let me tell you...it's HARD not to give in when he's batting those long eyelashes! He is very independent and wants to do everything for himself. I'm sure this is from having to do things for himself at the orphanage. He's also very impatient, and I've had to get on him a few times about waiting. He hates to wash his hands, and rolls his eyes when I tell him it's time to brush his teeth. I give him a stern look and tell him not to roll his eyes and he gives me this innocent look while he's signing "sorry." He's just too, too cute!



Believe it or not, we communicate quite well! We seem to know what the other is saying quite easily through signs, facial features, gestures and eye contact. We've had some instances where we have to draw pictures, get out the Chinese/English picture dictionary, or get on the internet translator, but not very often. He is picking up sign language very quickly and knows almost the entire alphabet. We're working on writing his name in English, the alphabet, and home signs. I have been having him work on signing the alphabet every day. He is also writing cat, hat and bat in English, then in Chinese (while looking at pictures of a cat, hat and bat), then learning the signs for each. So far, he knows the signs for mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa, aunt, cousin, hi, bye, please, thank you, sorry, behave, yes, no, maybe, a little, want, scared, happy, sad, mad, crying, funny, good, bad, home, car, airplane, phone, tv, game, hungry, thirsty, coffee, water, milk, banana, eat, more, you, I, children, go to sleep, wake up, brush teeth, shower, get dressed, go to the bathroom, look, walk, run, stop, go, sick, basketball, cat, dog, bat, and probably more I'm missing. He's VERY smart and learns fast!!!!!!! He can add, subtract, multiply, and is learning division. He writes Chinese characters REALLY well and reads them just as well. He is a bit hyper (feels like having a little Josh all over again) and doesn't like to sit for long, so we are only doing a little bit here and a little bit there and making most things into games for a longer attention span.



We haven't seen any really bad behaviors or any grieving yet. I know he will grieve at some point, so I'm trying to prepare for it and not get too complacent. There are so many wonderful moms that I know who have been a wealth of information for advice because they've been home for awhile with their children. I am SO thankful for having their support. Keep the advice coming friends!



He loves to play NBA Live on XBox and of course, he's always Yao Ming, his favorite player. His big brother, Doug, has been stopping by after work to play with him and they are a hoot to watch!



Yesterday, Brighton's aunt Tracy stopped by with his cousins, Austin and Autumn. They had a blast playing badminton. Tracy also brought a surprise with her. She had put a flyer with Brighton's picture on it and a jar next to it on the counter at Bealls, where she works, asking for donations for clothes for Brighton while I was in China. She brought him over $100 in gift cards to go shopping for clothes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to everyone who donated these gift cards! What a blessing!


We also went ice skating. (now you know why I'm having trouble getting over the jet-lag! LOL) Brighton LOVED it! I'm going to have to get a big guy to help me next time, or put a helmet and full body armor on him and let him go. I was WORE OUT! It was so worth it though, to see that grin and hear those giggles of delight.