I'm raising a horticulturalist here, I'm sure of it. Ben has discovered the joys of gardening and he is ALL about it. We're getting the backyard all tidied up and looking pretty for summer, and have been transplanting flowers out of a garden I plan to get rid of, into pots. Ben has been behind the shovel and planting little plants like a seasoned-pro. Today we're planting tomatoes and peppers into barrells, so that will keep us busy for a little while.

Its been a weird week for Ben from a transition standpoint. He's losing his ability to speak Hindi already and its so hard to see the confusion on his little face. He loves to sing, and started a song in Hindi a couple of days ago only to get a couple of lines in and stop. He grinned a confused little grin and then announced "reeley and steely and goooo" and started all over, only to have the same thing happen again. I asked him "are you forgetting?", which got me his cute little Indian-head-bob, so we sung the I love you song from Barney instead.

A convenience store that we frequent is owned by a gentleman from India, and we've been into see him a few times now. The first time Ben wouldnt talk to him at all ... The 2nd time they had a brief conversation in Hindi, and just this last time I think Ben was struggling to keep up. He kept responding in English, and luckily this gentleman was nice enough not to push the issue. I can now say that Ben understands at least 90% of whats being said in English, and can respond in English to over half of what he hears. He'll tell me things like "Benjamin good boy Benjamin", and "Benjamin happy". He also likes to torture his younger sister by telling her "Maddie not funny" to which she'll reply "Oh, I am SO funny", and they banter back and forth. He is still loving school and they are currently studying birds. He spends his days at home spotting birds out in the backyard and tells me all about them. When we run out of things around the house that he likes he tells me "Mummy go store". Its nice to see him comprehending that just because we don't have something doesn't mean it'll be a long time before he gets it again.

I'm sure somewhere in his past he's been in a position where finding water to drink has been a huge struggle for him. He has his own little water bottle now that goes pretty much everywhere with him and its a huge scource of reassurance for him (thanks Auntie Sue for giving him that!). He also has a thing about the fans in our house. Even if they're only on low, they just have to be ON. If one is off, he'll turn it on and tell me that "fan is acha (good)".

I am still amazed at how well he is adjusting to life with us. We had a rough couple of weeks as he sorted out the rules and the boundaries, but things are back to smooth sailing again. He is still super-affectionate and seems genuinely happy to be here.

I'm looking forward to Mothers Day with him ... they've been talking about it at school and he seems to understand what its about. He made me a gorgeous card and a placemat and planted a little dixie cup with some Dianthus seeds. His teacher stapled the rest of the packet of seeds to the inside of his card, so at some point today we'll transplant his little dixie cup and then add some more seeds into a bigger pot. I'm sure he'll get a huge kick out of growing his very own flowers.

I've been thinking of his first mother a lot this last week ... Maybe its because Mothers Day is coming up. I feel angry when I think of the position she left him in, all alone on the streets when he was no more than a baby, and I'll never understand why she couldn't have at least taken him somewhere where he would be safe. For all of that though, its thanks to her that I have this amazing little boy in my life, and I wish I could let her know how completely and utterly loved he is ...how happy he is. That he is now safe, and that I will spend the rest of my life making sure he knows how amazing and special he is.

I'll never understand her decision, and sadly I'll never know her reasons as to why she did what she did. I get to spend Mothers Day this year watching her child smile. I just hope that somehow she senses or knows that her little boy is now ok. There are no words to explain what goes on inside my heart when we're snuggling and he smiles that gorgeous smile and stares at me with those incredibly huge dark eyes of his and tells me "Benjamin mummys baby boy".

Happy Mothers Day to ME!