Cardiology

Today Liam and Elijah both had Cardiology appointments. They were so cute together. I confess I dressed them the same, but excluding their pajamas and jackets, the Elmo shirts are the only thing identical they have. I couldn't resist.

 They both had EKG's. Elijah went first. He giggled while the stickers were put on and then freaked out when the wires were attached. This also sent Liam into a frenzy! Thankfully, it is a quick test.:)  Elijah checked out okay.:) Liam has to go back this Thursday for an echogram in which he will need to be sedated for. He had a PDA repaired while he was in Russia, but today the doctor also heard an abnormal heart murmur. Please say a little prayer for my sweet boy. He is precious beyond words!

Silly boy!

After he finished his breakfast, Elijah flipped his bib up over his head. Silly boy!

10 days

Liam has been home 10 days. It seems like he has always been here.:) He has added even more joy to our family. The boys have really adjusted well to each other (alot better than I anticipated). We have a pretty good routine going so far. I couldn't ask for anything more.

At 7 years old, Liam weighs in at 28 lbs. and is 38 inches tall. He has gone to the dentist and the pediatrician so far. After a good cleaning and some xrays, the dentist said that Liam has severe gingavitus and periodontal disease. This is because his teeth were not taken care of while he was an orphan. To be honest, it looked like they had never been brushed. But now they are beautiful and he has no cavities! Our dentist is going to consult with a periodontist before we go back next month.
Liam can feed himself and also drink from a cup independently. Right now, he only eats mashed foods. In fact, he refuses to eat anything that is not in a bowl and served with a spoon. My main concern is that he eats right now since he is so small.....but we will gradually be working on introducing solid foods also.
We are working on a few signs. Today he signed "all done" by himself.:)
He LOVES to take a bath. He gets upset when bath time is done.
He loves to watch cartoons. He really likes Mickey Mouse and Signing Time videos.We all went to see Beauty and the Beast at the theater the other day and he was glued to the screen. It was so cute!!
He loves music.:)
He is a cuddler and loves to be picked up and will always come and sit on my lap, if I am in the room.
He is really sweet and very smiley.
He sleeps like an angel all night long.
He also likes to ride in the car. He gets excited when I am putting his coat on to go outside.
He will still keep a hat on but has decided that socks are for the birds.

Tomorrow we go to enroll him in school and also begin to have some testing done. He will not start until mid February, when I go back to work. Right now, I am soaking up every minute with him......and loving it!

ADOPTION is........

one of God's greatest miracles...

Mickey

Liam loves his Mickey Mouse. He carries it all over the place. Last night, I went in to check on the boys. I found Liam sleeping with his little hand still holding onto Mickey.:)

HOME

at last. Liam did wonderful on the plane. He loved the cartoons on the monitor in front of the seat. When we got home, Caleb started showing him toys, his highchair......it was very cute! Liam slept like an angel last night. He woke up around 3:30 am but quickly fell asleep again. He has been playing all day so far and soaking up the cartoons. They said he loved cartoons at the institution. :)  Liam is almost 2 inches shorter than Elijah and weighs 10 lbs. less! So he is in the toddler bed and Elijah is in the twin bed instead of the other way around. Elijah was so tickled to be in a "big boy" bed. We start the first of several appointments this week. Friday he goes to the dentist and then on Monday he goes to the pediatrician. We also have Cardiology and ENT coming up soon. I still have to schedule a few more but those are the ones that I wanted to get done as soon as we get home. Thank you all for your prayers and support during Liam's adoption.

Hard to get these two to smile and look at me at the same time.:)

Happy 7th Birthday......

to my precious little Liam! Mommy LOVES you so very much!

Liam's free!

Today was Liam's Gotcha Day! And now his life is really going to begin. He was so excited and came right to me today with a big smile and open arms. It made this Mama's heart burst with emotion! I love this little boy so! He babbled and laughed and took in every minute of the ride to the passport office. And it was a long ride. But he wasn't going to miss any of it. After the passport office, we stopped at the grocery store and let me tell you, Liam really liked that too! He started reaching out for things (or I should say grabbing things) but I was happy to see that. It shows just how curious he is. At the institution, he didn't touch anything on the shelves. Maybe he can tell that he has already charmed the socks off his new Mama, so he would see what he could get away with.:) He's a charmer for sure! Once we got back to the apartment, he explored every area there was and then had some dinner. And he drinks from a regular cup all by himself! Next, came the bath. I was a little worried that it might frighten him because they don't give baths at the institution....but he LOVED it! I have another waterbug:)

I am so blessed by this little guy. I don't know what I did to deserve such a gift, but I am so very thankful!

Get ready my sweet boy......

Mommy is coming to bring you home! In fact, I leave in just 2 short hours!

4 more days till take off:)

This picture was taken right before I said goodbye to Liam on my 2nd trip. I can't wait to hold my precious boy again! Stay tuned for....Liam's "Gotcha Day"!

Merry Christmas...a little late

Because I was out of the country during Christmas, the boys and I celebrated our Christmas today. We got a bonus of a steady snowfall last night which resulted in a beautiful white Christmas.:) Merry Christmas everyone! In just 8 short days, Ben and I will board the plane to go get Liam! HAPPY NEW YEAR!