Since we've been home....

I apologize for not blogging anymore than I have since we returned home from China. While I was home with Michael there just wasn't any time during the day. He needed me - 100% of me. And I wanted to give him 100% as well. And when bed time came around I needed the sleep. Now I'm back at work and I hope to have a little more time to blog (from work) or at least share updates and pictures from time to time. Although, life at work is going to be getting busier too, so updates may be few and far between. I understand now why it seemed like so many families just 'fell off the face of the earth' after coming home with their child. Priorities change and there just aren't enough hours in the day. And speaking of which, I'm composing this post when I can so I apologize if it's slightly jumbled.

Michael is doing great! Attachment is going well. Not that we haven't had our issues. We're working through them and are making great strides every day. This is something so many adopting families worry about. Attachment takes time. It's tough, but we knew that going in. We've read the research for over two years and have talked with other adoptive families as well. Attachment is a very important issue for adoptive families and to those around them. We're not trying to shelter him or keep him to ourselves. We need and want him to feel safe and secure with us first and foremost and that takes time.

Michael is completely finished now with all of his casting for his club feet. We've come so far in what seems to be such a short amount of time. It's amazing! For something that China considers a special need, this has been a relatively easy issue [for our family] to correct. I was so worried about how he would manage with the casts and then with the shoes and bar. We couldn't have asked for a better outcome. After just a few days in his first set of casts, he was standing up in them! Over the next several weeks he became more and more comfortable and was eventually walking in them - holding on to something of course. We followed the Ponseti Method, a non-surgical way of treating club feet. While we were unable to travel to Iowa to see the doctors there where this method originated, we were able to find a Ponseti trained doctor within driving distance for us. He and his staff have been wonderful with Michael. We will always be so very thankful for them and the freedom they have given him -to walk with ease and without pain -that he may not have had if he grew up in China.

About the casting - Michael had weekly cast changes for 5 weeks beginning in early September. On October 12 he had a tenotomy on both feet which allowed his Achille's tendon to straighten and enabled his feet to be placed where they normally should be. The last set of casts were on this time for 3 weeks to give his feet and the tendon time to heal. The casts came off on November 3 and he's a new little man!

It was emotional seeing the casts come off....knowing how life would be for him in China with club feet and how his life is forever changed now. We saw in China with our own eyes what that life would have been like..... I stood right there on the street in Kunming and cried for what I saw. Since then, I've prayed to God for the people we saw. I can't shake those images from my head, nor do I want to. It changed me. But that's another post for another time.

Back to the little dude's feet...For the next few months Michael will have to wear special shoes with a bar attaching them to hold his feet in place and avoid relapse. This is similar to getting braces off your teeth and wearing a retainer. He has to sleep in them at night and he wears them the majority of the day. Over time he will graduate down to just bedtime wear until the age of five. So far he likes his "special shoes that only big boys get to wear". That's what I told him and he believed me! He can even say "ba" for bar! I was worried about how he would adjust to the shoes and bar. I knew he was going to be ticked about wearing them. He was standing and semi-walking in the casts afterall. We have had some resistance over the last few days. When he's out of the shoes/bar, he's pulling up more, beginning to take more and more steps and pushing toys around. I've tried to make a game out of him walking - while he's holding my hands with each step I count. We're up to 28 steps at one time! He's getting that taste of freedom and independence now and this is when the frustration comes into play. Just like his mama, he has no patience and expects to do everything the right way the first time he tries!

Michael is 18 months old now. His vocabulary is growing and some of his favorites are:
*abble (for apple)
*mama and dada - of course
*Dinosaur (PB$, dinosaur train show - love it! even has an adoption theme)
*done (as in 'i'm done with my plate, now take it away')
* tck ( for tickle, tickle)
* ack (for yuck or dirty)
* elmo
* choo choo (for train)
* ooww (for ouch)
There are more, but these are his favorites. And he's learned a few animal impressions from watching me imitate some animals in one of his books. He can do the monkey, the alligator, the penguin, the fish (makes a fish face). It's super cute to see.

He's 'talking' more and more and is becoming slightly frustrated that he can't get his point across. He completely understands what we're saying to him and can follow simple instructions. He also will let us know when he's bothered by something, like a wet diaper (will point to his diaper, say "di" and begin crawling to his room) or if he's cutting a tooth and is in pain he'll point to his mouth and then to the kitchen where the orajel is. He's attempted to drink out of a regular cup several times now. Does an ok job, though we're not ready to go public yet. Enjoys brushing his teeth before bed. Loves lotion - loves to have lotion rubbed on his tummy and loves to rub it on me too (even if it is on top of my clothes, sweet nonetheless). Knows how to give kisses, but will only give them on his terms - not usually when asked. Knows how to wave bye-bye - gives it the full range of motion! Knows where his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair/head, belly button and toes are and can point to them when asked. He's got a mean left-handed pitch with a ball too! There's so much more! He's such a smart and determined child.

We have been so blessed by this sweet little boy. I can't imagine life without him. He has settled right into our family and fits us perfectly. If I didn't know better I'd think he has our DNA. It's unreal at the little parts of our personalities that he has. And it's not nature vs. nurture. He showed signs just the second day of being with us! It's been amazing to watch him grow and discover over the last 3 months. Discovery is a beautiful thing to watch in a child. I am so thankful to God for granting us the opportunity to parent this child and for all of the wonder and excitement he's brought to our lives. We look forward to each new day with him.

I've posted below pictures of Michael's feet from the beginning before casting started to the removal of the last cast just before getting his shoes and bar last week. I think I'm missing one week's cast change, but you can see the gradual change from week to week. Sorry if some are slightly blurry. It's hard to take a picture of a kid's feet when they are swinging from side to side free of those heavy casts!







I'm going to try over the next week to post more pictures of life now that we are home and from our time in China as well. So stay tuned!