Another day in Paradise (sort of!)

Need Help: I'm going to be honest...I didn't do a whole lot of research on cleft palate/lip as we were told Evan's were both repaired. I mostly researched speech issues along with potential hearing and dental issues. Well, today I realized Evan's palate is not closed and I need some help. I'm not trying to be gross but I'm going to explain some stuff and if anyone reading this has experience with cleft, PLEASE email me at tammymackinnon@pei.sympatico.ca Okay...I noticed Evan had a lot of stuff coming out of his nose - kind of like snot but he doesn't have a cold or anything like that. So, I laid him on the bed so I could get it all out and I used a Q-tip to swipe. I found some noodles (small pieces) and some squishy rice in his nose. I had him open his mouth wide and there is a hole in his palate about the size of my finger (top part). Now, when I saw his "hole" the last 2 days it didn't look open - I could tell there had been a hole but it had white stuff around it/in it. So, we thought the hole was closed and that's the color it was supposed to be (see, I told you I didn't do the research!). Today, it was definitely a hole and there was no more white stuff. My questions are: What was the white stuff? Is it food that gets stuck in the hole? How do I clean the hole or make sure there's no food in it? Are there foods I should be careful with that are especially dangerous for him to eat? I'm assuming it's normal for food pieces to come out his nose? We would love any help or advice! Thanks!

Other than the surprise of the palate, things are going quite well. Today we have been experiencing a bad case of "The Gimmies" and it's so hard to communicate during these times. "The Gimmies" is when Evan wants everything he sees! When we shop at Walmart or at the markets, he runs up to things, points to it, says something in Chinese or brings it over and puts it in the cart. So, you know, yesterday we bought him several things and today we did as well. But, there are limits and today when we tried to say "No" and put the item back, Evan got very upset. He didn't cry or yell or stomp his feet, he looked at us with those huge eyes and gave us the sad puppy dog look! That's way worse than crying and yelling. This is how bad the look is...we were at KFC (because he kept pointing to it) for lunch and I ordered. They hand us a placemat thing with all the food selections on it and we point to what we want to order. So, Evan points to a chicken sandwich, fries, pepsi and then he points to an ice cream sundae. So, I'm thinking "Okay, we'll get it...it's a treat". We are all eating and when we're finished, Chris and Caleb decided they would like an ice cream cone. I go up and order the cones and bring them back. Evan has already finished his lunch and 1/2 of his sundae. He sees Chris and Caleb with the cone and points to it. He pushes his sundae away and keeps pointing to the cone. Chris and I both give him BACK his sundae and say "Jun Jun's". He shakes his head "no" and points to the ice cream cone. Then, I say "No" and show him his sundae again. Evan gets down and goes up to the counter and points to the ice cream cone and again, I say "No". He says "Yes" back to me in Engish. I say "No" and show him his sundae. He shakes his head "No" and points to the cone. Okay...so you are all getting the drift...meanwhile, during this whole episode, everytime I say "no" he gives me the big eyes, sad puppy dog look. Finally, I look at Chris and say "I'm getting him a cone!" Chris is like, "Tammy...." I said, "I don't care, I want to get him a cone!" Chris finally says, "Go ahead but once we're back in Canada we are not going to be doing this!" So, off we went to get an ice cream cone. I know I probably should have stayed strong and stuck to my "no" but I just couldn't!!! You should have seen his face!!! So, we have lost a few of "The Gimmies" battles today but we've also won a few. He only came back to the hotel with 4 new toys and not 20, okay?!

We went to the market today and BOY did we get a peek at "real" China. They were selling everything there. It was a food type of market so they had every imaginable fruit, herb, vegetable, plant, etc...They also had a ton of meat. Unfortunately we were at the market when some animals were being "prepared". (I hope you understand my code for what they were doing to "prepare" the animals) There were so many different animals...the animals are alive in cages and then a person points to which one they want and it's "prepared" for them right there on the spot! They take the fresh meat home with them and cook it up right away. We saw turtles, snakes, birds, squid, fish, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dog, cat...It was very difficult to see. I think we were able to turn Caleb away before he saw anything happen but for me, I just can't get it out of my mind.

We went to another market where we were able to buy some Love Balls which are famous in Guangxi. Other than that we've been hanging around the hotel, swimming and just "chilling". :-)

So, another good day with some challenges thrown in. But, this is to be expected. And for everyone who was asking...the language thing isn't as hard as we anticipated. It's quite natural and easy to sign or point to what we all want. The most difficult thing is trying to explain things to Evan - obviously. Like, why we are saying "no" and why he can't have something. We just can't use words so that part is difficult. But, things like eating, or what food/drinks he wants or if he needs to go to the bathroom or when it's time for bed - all that stuff is relatively easy.

Chris and I wanted to say a big "thank you" to all of you for leaving comments! We love to read them and they will be treasured for Evan's life book! It encourages us so much to know so many care about Evan and our journey!!!

We cannot access our blog while in China so I am sending all my pictures and text to our friend, Chris Darrach and he is posting to our blog each day. He is awesome for doing this and we THANK him for taking the time to do this for us! He is copying and pasting all the comments and emailing them to us as we can't read the blog! THANK YOU, Chris!!!!

Enjoy the pictures and don't forget to email me if you can answer any of our palate questions! Thanks!
Tammy, Chris, Caleb and Evan

The market street

A little pig anyone? This one's for you Dylan! I've packed some pig snout to bring home to you! Hee Hee

Evan and Mom at the food market. As soon as we got off the bus at the market, Evan wanted to be held. He seemed a bit nervous and didn't want any of the Chinese people to talk to him. I'm not sure why he was so anxious, maybe it brought back memories for him?

Here is one stall that had chickens for sale. They are in the cages and then there are a few ready to go on the top. This Chinese man thought it was great fun to get his picture taken...the ladies at the same stall were teasing him and laughing.

Here is Evan at the Market. He found the "toy store" but I let Chris handle this one. I went off to buy my "love balls" and Chris stayed behind to handle the "Gimmies".

Evan and Caleb - I think the little teletubbie phone around Evan's neck was Chris' way of handling the whole "toy store" adventure! LOL!

The boys getting ready for bed...playing their games together.