He is still sleeping good for us, goes to bed around 8pm and is up anywhere between 7am-8am. He takes a good 1-3 hour nap every afternoon. He hasn't woken up in the middle of the night crying for six weeks now, and he only wakes up crying from his nap 50% of the time now.
He still is a great eater for us. We have not had one food issue with him. His favorite food is pizza and breadsticks with marinara sauce. Oh, how he loves him some pizza. He also likes a good variety of other (more healthy!) foods. He has gained 2lbs since being home and grown a shoe size and all his pants are becoming high waters. I'm pretty sure he will always be on the smaller side of size...given what we know about his birth mom and her size (she made me feel tall!), but it isn't due to malnutrition anymore.
His gross motor skills continue to improve slowly. He is very cautious about everything so Jeremiah and I are constantly finding that balance to know when to push him and when to let him be. For example, when we would go to the park he would NOT go down any slide for the longest time. He would just sit at the top. And annoy all the kids waiting behind him =) It didn't matter if we went down with him or if he saw Ella and Ezra go down. He wouldn't do it on his own. So I started giving him a little nudge at the top to "encourage" him. After a time or two of him getting mad at me...he figured out he loves to slide. He would be very content just to have me carry him up any jungle gym or ladder or anything...so I am constantly making him do it on his own...but doing it with him and just encouraging him. Usually he is grumpy pants while doing it, but the excited scream of "I did it!" at the end lets me know that I am doing the right thing by pushing him a little.
His language continues to come along as well. He can say a few whole sentences like "I did it" or "what is that" or "what happened" now and his vocabulary is increasing slowly but surely. As well as my understanding of his enunciations. He understands a lot of what we say and will follow simple commands such as "go put your shoes away" or "take your plate to the sink". Within the next month or two we plan on getting him evaluated for some speech therapy as his enunciation is very...blurry (for lack of a better word). But overall I feel we are able to communicate really well.
We have decided to go ahead and move forward with his surgery and will be scheduling it for the beginning of the 2011 year, hopefully in early January. That allows us three more months with him and to develop even better communication. I am not looking forward to it, but know it is for the best in the long term of his life.
As far as attachment goes I think we are continuing to make great strides. He seeks us out for approval and attention, he is always shadowing my side, he has started initiating some affection, and he shows a preference for us in the midst of strangers. We still have a lot of moments where things get "off" and it is really unexplainable how to know that things are off...but I just know. Usually I have to make a concerted effort to take some time and hold him or read to him or dance with him or just give him some focused attention. I know it sounds awful, but a whole day can go by and I can realize that I didn't have any quiet holding time with him.
Our attachment to him is also making strides. A few weeks ago I had to take him to the emergency room over the weekend for an unexplained 104 fever...and I realized in my concern for him that it was equally matched for what I would have felt for Ella or Ezra. That might sound silly, but it was a big deal for me. To feel completely the same feeling that I would have felt for the other two. He doesn't feel like a sleepover friend anymore, he feels like my son. And while we have a long way to go, I am confident that time will continue to strengthen our bond. Parenting him has been (and continues to be) one of the hardest things I have done in my life...but one of the best things as well.
Three months ago I knew (and only knew) he liked hard boiled eggs.
Today I know that he is a silly guy who loves to laugh and smile. He loves pushing around a car and being outside. He loves his gentle sister Ella to pieces. He loves watching football curled up in Daddy's lap. He can mimic the tune of any music he hears a few times and the boy has some serious dance moves. He doesn't like cooked carrots or chicken salad or cottage cheese. He prefers water over juice. He has a flair for the dramatic and loves to wear any kind of costume. He loves to ride in the car and to boss Ezra around.
He is our Eli Cade and we are so thankful he came into our family.
3 comments:
Love to hear how things are going with you guys! Happy 3 months together :)
Love this post! I can't believe it has been 3 months already! He is such a sweet boy. ☺
Sounds wonderful! And don't feel bad, I have to "nudge" Ava down the slide as well;). So thankful the Lord brought him to your family:)!
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