Jeremy 3, Away Team 0

(Editor's Note: Clicking on picture below will open larger version in new window.)

Freedom at last! Of course, I don't have a car, I don't have ESPN, I don't have a reliable internet connection, and I don't speak Chinese so I really don't have anything, but I DO have peace and quiet, at least for a little while.

Angela had a stroke of genius at beakfast this morning. Amidst the screaming of Jeremy because we wouldn't allow him to sit in our lap, but instead made him sit in the high chair while munching on watermelon (boy, are we mean parents or what?), she decided she would take Jeremy for a day alone to try to break him of his fixation with daddy.

Of course, this comes on the heels of my failed attempt to shake his "Binky" habit by hiding his pacifier while Jeremy was concentrating on eating Cheerios yesterday. We did okay for a couple of hours while active, but when nap time came along, the game was on. I valiantly withstood the terrors of hell as Jeremy unleashed decibel upon decibel of mind-numbing screeching from his darling, little mouth for close to an hour. When he finally fell asleep, likely due to extreme fatigue and hoarseness, I patted myself on the back for successfully wiping out the addiction to that foul pacifier. Little did I realize that nap time without Binky was hardly nap time at all! About 45 minutes later, well shy of his normal 2-3 hour nap, Jeremy awoke refreshed with a renewed spirit and determination to wake the masses nestled in their beds back in Charlotte with his discontent.

Did Daddy the Brave give in to his voracious demands for his little, pink, plastic friend? Of course not. To Angela's displeasure, I continued to hold out and instead suggested we all go for a walk around the southern half of the nearby lake. Jeremy loved riding in the stroller the day before as we encircled the north half of the lake. Alas, not this time.

It was becoming quickly aparent that Jeremy was every bit as bull-headed as his new father. If he couldn't have Binky, then I was apparently not getting a calm walk around the lake. Oh no! This time the stroller was like holy water on the skin of a vampire, even when Cheerios and juice were tossed in to the mix to try and sweeten the deal. Screaming and kicking and sudden rigidity of the legs, making sitting in a stroller impossible, ensued, and soon Jeremy's shenanigans outweighed my false guise of not minding being the center of attention which is silly, really, because we are the center of attention with or without Jeremy whenever we are on the streets of Nanning. I wound up carrying him as Angela pushed an empty stroller. Is Binky really worth this kind of hassle?

While walking, we managed to pick up a stray, 21-year old student studying Industrial Design at a nearby university. He spoke rough, broken English, but did good enough to share with us some of the local history as we walked. He asked questions about why we were adopting from China and what we do in America. We talked to him about how China was not what we expected, especially since the girl/guy ratio was not nearly as disproportionate as we had been led to believe, and that you would never know China was a communist country on the surface. (Heck, capitalism is at its finest as we watch infomercials in our room for ab rollers, breast enhancement formulas, and miracle weight loss pills. Weight loss pills? -- hello?!? Have you seen the average asian? Who's buying these things?)

About halfway around the southern part of the lake (the lake's entire circumfrence is probably about 6 miles) Jeremy decided he wanted our new student-friend to hold him. The guy was a bit shy at first, but Jeremy made his case and won out, especially after we mentioned the chick-magnet effect of toddlers. We took a picture of the two of them at one point (which we posted with an earlier blog entry) as we thought about how we were letting a complete stranger (and not the first one) hold our new son; something we wouldn't have dreamed of doing in the states!

As we crossed the bridge and headed back towards the hotel, I stopped to get a drink from one of the park vendors. Jeremy was reaching for a lollipop and I was feeling charitable so I added one to my purchase. Now I'm sure all the mommies reading this are shouting "Mistake!" but hindsight, not foresight (and especially not the foresight of a foolish man), is what's 20/20. In a matter of minutes (okay, seconds) the boy's hands were covered in a wet, sticky mess, and where the hands went, so went total destruction as well. His face, hair, and clothes, as well as my shirt were a horror to behold faster than I could say "uncle," and I promptly removed the armored warhead from the cunning soldier and hurriedly surrendered Binky to a most worthy opponent.

And so now Jeremy is taking on mommy as they leave me behind to tour the city zoo. The mere fact that Angela is giving in to a trip to the local zoo where she is convinced that elephants will be stuffed in to cages better suited for parakeets leads me to believe that she is no match for this crafty boy. I fully expect them to return with souvenirs and cotton candy; the latter stuck to Jeremy's hands and entwined in his hair. I'm also certain that my temporary peace and quiet will be replaced with a mommy asleep in moments and a child ready to make up for lost time. Oh well, as long as my dear friend Binky joins us, I'm sure it won't be too bad!
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Some of you have questioned whether we are going with the name Jeremy or Junjun. Originally we were thinking of going with his Chinese name to avoid too much change this early on. Now we are beginning to think that moving away from the things that remind him of his foster family may be best for getting on with our lives. In fact, we are writing a note to deliver to the foster parents rather than meeting them in person for the same reason. We are moving toward using "Jeremy" without the clothes, phrases, or common sights he is used to. Of course Binky lives on so who knows who will win this battle? Yeah, you're probably right -- Junjun!

Aside from the challenges with Jeremy, we are all fine here. I read on the internet about chemical spills and earthquakes recently here in China. That's where the communist party begins to show as none of these events have made the local news. None of these things are affecting us. I also stumbled across a news article online that spoke about the Chinese government restricting access to several popular blog sites to keep the Chinese people from reading anti-communist material. That explains the trouble we've been having getting to the blog to post and read your comments. Hopefully Guangzhou will be more blog-friendly as they cater to so many American adoptive families. We head there tomorrow night.

We miss family and friends alike, but none so much as Eli; hopefully he'll still remember us when we get back, and like us even if we don't treat him like a "grandchild" or a "guest" in our house! Seven days and counting...