Three Months

Our first picture of our little guy:And today:I can hardly believe that it's been three months since Micah was placed in our arms on a frigid morning in Tianjin. Thanks to Crick, I'll remember how I felt at that time (she told me to write it down) - I felt relieved. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it could be. The days and weeks following that day were worse than I had anticipated and almost more than I could take. But now, those days are a distant memory. I don't want to forget what we went through on our path to becoming a family, but I'm glad the pain has faded. I want others to feel free to express their pain and doubts while in the process and to understand that those pain and doubts can fade over time.

Micah continues to do really well overall. His language amazes me every day. He has dozens of words, maybe more. (Have you every tried to count every word your child knows?) His speech is still pretty tough to understand. While he knows and attempts to say all those words, only Mama and Baba understand most of them. I am learning the distinction between language and speech.

Micah can recognize some letters, specifically A, O & M. This one blew us away when he looked at Baba's USA shirt, pointed to the A and said "A, Ah" just like the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics thing. A trip to Office Depot resulted in pointing out every O in the store - lots!

Potty training is coming along nicely. We haven't had a real accident in quite some time and he has even started trying to potty by himself in the past few days.

His gross motor skills have almost completely caught up. He now runs fairly steadily and can climb steps using a rail, though he can't alternate legs on the steps yet.

He seems to have a firm idea of who Mama and Baba are, though he calls most women "mama" and many men "baba." We are still taking turns co-sleeping with him and that seems to have helped his sleep. He still rolls around for quite a while before sleep, but then sleeps through most nights. He doesn't like being put down for a nap, but has started asking me to leave the room while he finishes his tantrum and goes to sleep on his own.

The tantrums are fewer than before and he is learning the "rules" of our family. Though he still dislikes hearing no, and will usually assume that I misunderstood him and try to repeat his desire over in an attempt to get his point across. I have to assure him that I understand that what he wants, but I'm just saying no.

It's hard to remember a time when he wasn't in our lives. He's a perfect fit for us and a cool little guy. Please keep him in your prayers as he is scheduled to have ear tubes put in on Thursday.