Our Newest Sailor

Email to Beth McHoul of Maranatha Childrens' Home

www.heartlineministries.org
October 17, 2008

Chris is so wonderful, Beth. I wanted to talk to you so you could hear the joy in my voice and I could gush about him to someone else who knows and loves him. But that probably won’t fit either of our schedules, so here is a longwinded email instead.

He is fitting right in to our family. While I am still the one he clings to in “scary” situations, he runs with glee to Dave when he sees him on the dock and shouts “Hi, Daddy!” when he comes home from anywhere. He seemed to remember Gunnar from our visit in May – they were buddies from the start. He has warmed up to Max and Trey – REALLY knows Trey’s name and calls for him. Oh, so cute. Max can make him laugh with his physical comedy and that seems to suite Max just fine.

We are having so much fun with him. Taking walks up and down the dock in the evenings, greeting our neighbors. You would not have recognized him yesterday, he is going to fit right in with the “hello family” as some visiting boaters have called us. Our boys greet EVERYONE they see . . . and last night Chris waved, said “hi” AND said “bye-bye” to everyone as well. He didn’t do it again tonight – but I am pretty sure it was the presence of the night watchman’s dog that put him back in tentative mode. The other night he chased our red flashlight as the boys shown it around on the ground – we laughed so hard and so did he – toddlers are so great!

The boat is kid friendly. I forget, because I am used to it, how accessible everything is to little people in our home. Chris figured out the laundry real quick and also where the shoes are kept under the companionway (stairs). He is able to get out of his bed without help but never wants to get in so doesn’t even attempt it. Of course, Dave is missing his wallet and alarm clock. I haven’t seen Chris put anything in the trash, but imagine he could have put them there . . .


The first night he laid in bed and cried for almost a whole chapter while I read “Trojan Wars” very loudly to the other boys. By the third night he only cried through the first page and now he just makes an obligatory whimper when I put him in bed but has figured out he can sit up and play while I read. Usually he falls asleep before I’m done.

Naptimes are still a bit of a struggle. Mostly because I was trying to work him into our schedule instead of working around his. On Tuesday afternoons I have to pick Trey up at 2:45 p.m. and if I keep Chris up until he yawns – I end up waking him up when I go for Trey. This week I just asked a neighbor to listen for him and the older boys while I went for 30 minutes. That will probably be my solution, as he cried for up to an hour when I tried putting him down at 1 p.m. the first few days. (Still hasn’t figured out he can play in his bed here – or maybe he is just lonely for his buddies back in Haiti.) 2 p.m. seems to be his naptime here. Oh well, it is only inconvenient one day a week, so that’s not such a big deal.

Dave laughed when I served lunch today – French toast. He commented that we have had French toast more since Chris arrived than in our entire married life (I NEVER make French toastJ). Meal times have been a challenge, I let him not eat what I served for the first week – let him have bread and milk if he seemed put off by my meal - and didn’t realize I had a problem until I made rice the way I had seen it served in Haiti – even added the little carrots – and Chris refused to eat a bite. Oops! He held out for 10 hours the next day, refusing to eat what I put in front of him . . . and I didn’t offer the bread that time (of course, he would have taken chips or cookies and made that clear by pointing). I figured we were okay as he ate a huge bowl of oatmeal for breakfast . . . but it was a long day. He held out for 15 minutes at the dinner table before he finally ate what I had served (that was after no lunch and refusing a banana for snack!). While he is not embracing new foods, he has at least figured out he should eat SOMETHING at mealtime as I have stopped giving him bread if he doesn’t eat his meal.


He is so very responsive to time outs – I cannot tell you what a relief that is. He did some biting, pinching and hitting the first few days but has really tapered that off since we simply put him in his room any time he does it. He also was crying at the dinner table when I didn’t give him what he wanted so we just put him in his room each time (for 15 seconds) and then would invite him back to the table if he could stop crying. Took a few times for a couple nights in a row and then he got the hang of it. What a pleasure to have such a teachable child!

We are reading “Happy Baby Words” and “Animals” before bed each night and when he looks at the book he can figure out his eyes, nose, ears and mouth – but in different settings he looks at me very blankly. He is repeating the words and point to the pictures, though, so I know he is getting it. My mom is sending me the Richard Scary “Big book of words” and I am excited to read that to him, too. We have worked with JumpStart Toddler on the computer the past two days – he is interested, but wants to watch rather than use the mouse. I’m sure he’ll figure that one out pretty fast.

My joy is so strong sometimes that I get tears in my eyes. What an amazing gift from God Christopher is. Thank you for keeping him safe and happy for us. You have blessed us immeasurably.

Love,

Vicki