Four Months!

The Panda has been home for 4 months.   It feels like a long time, in a very good way.  Just like his big siblings, it feels like he's always been a part of the family.  He is such a good little fellow, but the few "no-no's" he's done so far have helped him learn some family skills, and he knows he's supposed to stop when I say "no" now.  He doesn't stick his finger into his ear at "no" anymore.  His most important family skill is handing a person a book and frowning and gesturing until he gets his story time.  The Very Persistent Panda should be a book.

The night terrors have nearly stopped, and going out isn't causing his after-nap panics like it used to.  He understands English more and more.  He can bear some weight and walk if I hold his two hands and give him a little forward momentum.  He can cruise along the coffee table a little, but he still gets tired quickly.  He's got some more muscles that need work before he will walk on his own, but I'm very confident that he WILL walk.

Our big news came yesterday- THE HOLE IN THE PANDA'S SOFT PALATE IS CLOSED!  Praise God.  I'll admit that my faith was way too small for the size of our God.  Dr. Boyajian is very pleased with the whole surgery (and so am I!), and says that he'll just need to come to his cleft team appointments every 6 months until he's ready for bone graft surgery.  He said to use silicon scar medicine on the lip scars, although he doesn't really think it makes a very big difference.

The Panda has learned to swallow undiluted baby food if we squeeze it into his mouth from a pouch- another huge praise.  I really should move on to spoon feeding, but I'm having a little trouble working up the courage to do another new, uncomfortable thing.

The Penguin learned to crochet this week, thanks to Aunt Kendra.  Have you ever seen a cartoon where someone is knitting and yards of cloth are flying out of their lap?  That is what I feel like is going on here.  We can't even get her to sleep- she is obsessed.  She can crochet, double crochet, and triple crochet, and crochet in a circle.  The Penguin also very recently learned how to make several new patterns of friendship bracelets, so there just isn't enough time for her to express her inner craftiness.

The Bunny finished reading Great Expectations last week.  That is truly an accomplishment and a rite of passage.  The Puppy got his Tiger Cub badge at the Blue and Gold dinner last week.  Very proud of these children.

We are down to two weeks before Matt's deployment.  I have no words for this one.  It could be so much worse, but it isn't great...  so here are verses that I need to hold on to, so that I can replace a complaining attitude with thankfulness.


Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.


Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Three months home and Happy Valentines' Day

I am amazed at how much change the Panda has experienced in 3 months.  He is so cheerful and eager after everything he's been through.  I think we are done with syringe feeding. He likes the bottle again, and is happy even if there is baby food in his formula.  He's learned how to swallow that new texture, and since he's mastered that, he's nearly stopped drooling, proving that he's really learned a new skill.  Yesterday was the first time I put undiluted baby food in his mouth since the surgery, and he did not have any clue what to do.  He held the applesauce on his tongue, sticking out of his mouth for many minutes.  I made chewing motions and tried everything, but he was just panicky and unhappy.  I hope that with continued exposure, he will learn to swallow thicker things.  Then maybe even chunky things!

The Panda understands a lot of what I say to him.  He is standing while holding on to furniture, and stepping if I hold both of his hands to give him a little forward momentum and a little balance.  He is having more clingy, needy times, which tells me that he's getting used to family and dependence.  He LOVES board books and can't get enough now.  He has his favorites, and insists on turning all the pages.  We are working on pointing to certain pictures in a book, or certain body parts, but he isn't quite getting it yet.  I think he knows "head", but nothing else.

The big kids had tae-kwon-do this morning and then 2 parties! The Panda had physical therapy and then the 2 parties, but he took it in stride.  He didn't get a nap, and was around tons of people and activity, but he didn't seem to have as much trouble with so much stimulation as he used to.

Matt comes home from his overseas trip tomorrow- his 3rd halfway-around-the world trip in 3 mos.  Jetlag?  I don't think he even has a preferred time zone anymore...  We can't wait to see him!  Today is the 18th anniversary of our first date.  18 seems like a really big number.  Anyone who knows him, please ask him about my dress for our first date.  His USNA sponsor actually dragged him out of the room after he saw my dress.  I've tried to decrease the amount of sequins in my wardrobe over the last 18 years...    :)  God truly blessed me with such a great man.  The honesty that got him in trouble over the dress is one of my very favorite things about him.  I like knowing where I stand.  I wonder if there's a picture of that dress somewhere...

Ok, so here's a verse that combines TWO of my favorite things about my husband....

Proverbs 24:26
An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

Three weeks after surgery- getting back to "normal"

Yesterday we celebrated 3 weeks since surgery.  The Panda looks great.  We are done with the arm braces, and he hasn't gone back to sucking his fingers.  We started the bottle a little bit at the 2.5 week mark.  His lip is a little swollen, and oozing sometimes.  It took me a few days, but I think that it swells when he uses bottles, so I'm going to go back to the syringe for most feedings to see if it helps.  Also, he has a spot on his head that I noticed right after surgery.  I kinda thought maybe someone bumped his little head when he was unconscious... I'm clumsy, so I didn't say anything.  It isn't like I've never turned a corner with a sleeping child and bumped their poor little head....  :(
But it is still there.  So it occurred to me that maybe they screwed some kind of sensor into his head...  I'm wondering if it's infected or just healing slowly?

Feeding is still a struggle.  The Panda clearly has oral aversions.  Here's where we are:
He likes a bottle if it contains Pediasure.
He's ok with syringe feeding if it is formula.
He has learned in the last 2 days to swallow formula mixed with stage 2 baby food from the syringe, but he cries, kicks, and flails.
Putting a Gerber puff in his mouth = scream fest
Spoons are great mirrors, but do NOT belong in the mouth.
I've made my first attempts at brushing his teeth again with a finger brush.  This was met with serious resistance.

Night terrors are improving, getting less frequent and shorter, but they are still with us.

The Panda is starting to pick up English, I think.  He is following some directions some of the time, which is not outside of the normal, 2year old range.  Sadly, he thinks "NO" means, "please stick your finger in your ear up to the second knuckle".  I guess that the only time I said a panicked "NO" was when he did that.  I'm afraid he's going to get the ear tube out...

The Puppy gave us a great moment last night.  He fell asleep at the end of a movie, so we woke him up to use the bathroom and go to bed.  He used the bathroom and flushed while he was half asleep.  Then, he took off his shirt and tried to flush it, clearly still half asleep.  Matt heard a strange noise and walked in on the Puppy washing his hands while the toilet and shirt were whirling away.  He called me, and I laughed until I couldn't breathe, tears running down the face.  The Puppy does not remember any of this.  He went to bed.  Matt was opened-mouth horrified at the shirt, the laughter, the whole show.  I had such a hard time deciding if I should take a picture, but I didn't....


Psalm 126:2
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”