More Firsts....

In the past 2 weeks Alex has learned to clap, wave hello and good-bye and has added his third word to his vocabulary! He now says "ut oh." He is so proud of himself when he says it. He just grins from ear to ear. He's been saying it non stop for the past few days. I even hear him saying it in his crib when he wakes up from his nap (like he's practicing). It's pretty cute.

His surgery is one week from tomorrow on the 24th. We had his pre surgical consultation last week. The surgery will be 3-4 hours and is a pretty complex procedure. We would really appreciate your prayers. The surgeon said right now it is scheduled to be an out patient procedure, but he will re-evaluate the day of the surgery.

We've noticied a few occasions now where the boys are playing together...instead of just playing in parallel. It brings such a huge smile to my face! Tonight Alex was swinging in the baby swing on our swingset in the backyard and Sam would walk in front of him and pretend like the swing hit him...and Alex would just crack up laughing, which in turn made Sam laugh. It was so fun to see. Both boys also helped us plant strawberries and tomaotes tonight. I had one helper on each side. Loved it!

Pictures

18 month check up

I know it's been awhile since we posted on here, but I am going to try and update it once a week this month leading up to Alex's surgery. His surgery is scheduled for May 24th. Doug went into work late this morning and we took Alex in for his 18 month check up. The doctor said he looks fantastic! He gained 4 pounds in the 3 months that we have had him home (now weighs 26 lbs and is in the 55%). He has also grown 1.5 inches and is now 30.75 inches tall (10%...but we are cutting him some slack seeing that he IS Asian and being measured on an American scale :-). He has also reached some major milestones in the past week. He has just learned how to feed himself (with his hands...not using utensils yet) and he is also now "crusing" around furniture. He is down to 1 bottle a day - which the doctor said we could do away with at anytime now - since he is no longer lacking in nutrients. I think the doctor referred to him as a "tank" once! He still only says the words "momma and dadda" but our doctor said that isn't a cause of concern being that he has only heard English being spoken for 3 months. Doug & I do think he understands some things we say (night- night, bye bye, kitty cat, etc..) even though he can't speak them yet. Alex had an appt with the surgeon a few weeks ago and has received 2 of the 3 testosterone booster shots that he needs before his surgery on the 24th. The surgeon was very happy with the growth the shots have produced because that will give them more tissue to work with for his reconstruction. We would appreciate all of your prayers in the upcoming weks as we prepare for his surgery.

I went back to work at the beginning of April. I was worried that the transition would be hard for the boys - but they both did great. In fact - I think it really helped Alex gain some independence. He became so attached to me in the 3 months that I was home with him...that I was starting to worry that it was hindering his development. He wanted to be held all the time. Now that I've gone back to work 3 days a week - he is more content to play with toys, crawl around the house and explore, and is genreally just much less clingy. The transition has gone well for me too. I really love the balance that working part time brings to me.

Alex's fist Easter was alot of fun. We hosted both the Tobins and the Wichmans at our house. Sam and Alex got to spend alot of time with their cousins and family. Sam was part of the Palm Sunday celebration at church this year for the first time. Doug & I just loved watching him walk into the church waving his palm. When they got up to the front of the church - he spent most of the time facing the wrong direction - but we thought he did great! Both boys also got to take part in an Easter egg hunt at our church. Sam had a blast filling up his basket with all the eggs. Alex crawled around and swatted at most of them, so Sam helped to fill his basket.

Doug & I just got back from spending 3 beautiful, relaxing days in AZ. Doug had to go for work, and I just tagged along. It was the first time were were away from Alex for that long - but the boys did great. They stayed home and got spoiled from grandma and grandpa while we were gone. Sam seemed to really enjoy himslef and not miss us so much - so I think he has officially forgotten about the trauma from us leaving him for 2 weeks while we were in China!