6 Months Home and Proud as Can Be

When Andrew first learned how to roll over as an infant, I swore the heavens would part and a dove would descend with an offer for a Fulbright scholarship grasped in its beak. On that day, I was so full of pride that I immediately emailed the grandparents to proclaim the good news. I would've shared it with more people if Andrew hadn't interrupted me with one of his colicky fits. Good thing it was because I'm sure I would have caused many folks to roll their eyes and snort behind my back.

Stop and think for a moment: why is it that many of us get turned off by braggartly parents? To take pride in our children's accomplishments is only natural; after all, they are our kids and we delight in seeing them grow. We cheer with them when they succeed because we're madly in love with them. There's nothing wrong there.

On the other hand, the cynical side of me suspects that we sometimes take undue credit for their achievements. After all, our kids - at least the biological ones - bear our genetic imprint. It's so easy to flatter ourselves in light of their progress, even though their accomplishments have little to do with our parenting and everything to do with the grace of God. We can so easily wrap our identities and self-worth in what our children can and cannot do.

Considering William is of no blood relation to me, it's much easier for me to look at his development and to see the hand of God at work. Hubris doesn't - can't - get in the way. Looking back on the last 6 months William has been with us, God really has done a lot. And in that, I take great pride.

(Now say the following in your best, booming Charlton Heston voice:)

"Behold - the hand of God..."

Walking. Every day, William walks further and further. You can witness the difference for yourself in the video below. Compared to the video 3 posts ago, he's gaining more distance and now walks about 60% of the time, crawling the other 40%. Whenever he falls, he fusses, not because he hurt himself, but out of frustration. He wants so badly to walk well.

He is also getting proficient at turning as he walks and can even pull himself up to a standing position without support. What a far cry from the slithering baby we brought home 6 months ago.

Talking. To date, we've counted a vocabulary of 8 words: "Ma," Da," "Gege," "Andrew," "Gou" (dog), "Dien deng" (light), "truck," and "Elmo." I don't suppose that "woof!" counts as 9? I'm surprised William has picked up this many words at 13 months since we are trying our best to raise him bilingual. From what I've read, many children who are raised to speak two languages often experience delays in picking up any vocabulary simply because they have twice the number of words to learn.

Comprehension. In tandem with his newfound speaking ability, it has been wonderful to see William beginning to understand the things we tell him. From time to time, he still tries to bang on the television when Andrew is watching, but at least he now understands the meaning of "no." You can see the comprehension register in the thoughtful look on his face and the "Should I? or Shouldn't I?" glances back and forth at the t.v. Of course, this doesn't mean he always obeys but the fact that he often does is something to shout about.

In other news, William has learned to hold his own bottle. When he finally figured it out, he was so proud of himself. Weeks later, he still sets his bottle down just to cheer and clap for himself. He's also getting better at using a fork.

There's so much more to report but I'll save it for another time. I'm aware that even adoptive parents can begin to sound obnoxiously proud after a point. And anyhow, I think I hear the sound of fluttering bird wings descending from somewhere above. Excuse me while I go check.