Silent Night

What a difference a good night's sleep makes.

I took a nice long nap yesterday afternoon, and woke up around 7:00 PM. Evidently Lana passed some of the time while I was asleep WASHING THE KITCHEN CUPBOARDS. David said she was very happy while she washed the cupboards and sang her little song that she sings about "Bak Ho"*. She is particular about cleanliness and Vietnamese nationalism**, this new child of ours.

We ate some scrambled eggs with cheese and toast for dinner, and then we had Gabe show Lana the joy of a bubble bath. Lana watched with interest as Gabe played happily in his tub of bubbles. Then, I took Gabe out of the tub, drained the tub, and put fresh water and bubbles in. Lana stood in the tub and handed me a stacking cup from our tub toys and motioned that I should pour water over her with it. Sigh. It seems it will be some time before she enjoys a bubble bath, or perhaps she will always prefer to bathe this way. I can't complain - she's clean and this way seems to make her happy.

After baths I tried to get Gabe and Lana to eat some yogurt for snack before bed. I was reading them two books, "The Napping House" and "From a Railway Carriage" - and trying very hard to keep Lana's attention on the reading. (Her foster mom said she liked to be read to, so, I am hoping that once she has a better handle on English that she will enjoy being read to in English, as this is one of Gabe and my favorite activities together, and it would be nice if she would join us without a fight.) Gabe ate all of his yogurt and Lana barely touched hers. When Gabe said, "mommy, I want more yogurt," Lana turned her head to him with a shock of surprise in her eyes. I swear it was an "a-ha" moment for her. (I remember having such "a-ha" moments myself in France and later in Japan, when I realized that someone had said something to me and I had understood it without having to consciously think about translating it. Lana is too young, probably, to be consciously translating, but, I do think it was a moment when she heard the words and understood their meaning and that it was a pleasant shock for her.) She picked up her spoon and carefully got a bite of yogurt and put it in Gabriel's mouth. Then she proceeded to feed him the whole dish of her yogurt. I wish I had pictures!

After books and snack, I put both kids in Gabe's bed and I sang "I'm in Love with Big Blue Frog" and "Be Thou My Wisdom" and Lana helped me tuck Gabe into bed. Then, I put her in her bed, and she lay down, but, she cried until I laid down next to her. Ten minutes later she was out, and I crawled into my own bed, only to find Gabe snuggled up next to David. Too tired to argue, we all fell asleep. At some point Gabe must have gone back to his own bed, because I woke up at 5:30 this morning feeling more like my own self than I have in weeks. Gabriel slept until 7:45 and Lana slept until 9:00 and things feel like they are looking up.

Gretchen

* and ** - I'm not sure what to make of Lana's earnest devotion to Ho Chi Minh (Bak Ho). My main concern is that it is not the kind of thing that will endear her to the Vietnamese community here in the States (please correct me if I am wrong about this), and that I will find myself at a something like Lunar New Year or Autumn Moon Festival Event with a child yelling, in Vietnamese, "Bak Ho is Vietnam's Savior" to a crowd who will not find that even a little bit cute. I'm really not at all sure how to address this matter.

I do have to share this one story, though, which I find hysterical: When we arrrived at the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, Lana had her first glimpse of Kentucky Fried Chicken. (There are very few American restaurant chains in Vietnam, I did not see a single McDonald's or Burger King or anything of that sort. With the exception of Coca Cola, I really saw very few American products.) Anyway, we are walking through the airport, dead tired, and Lana sees the KFC and the picture of Colonel Sanders and she starts jumping up and down, excitedly yelling, "Bak Ho! Bak Ho! Ba! Look! Bak Ho! Bak Ho!". So, yes, my daughter thinks the king of fried chicken is Uncle Ho. What are we to make of that??

G