Monday, July 30, 2018

6 Months - Confidence Abound!

Our little guy is growing in his confidence daily! He cheers for himself when he feels proud, strides away from me securely at a birthday party to go play, and makes his voice known when he wants to wear something particular that day.  He's learning to feel proud or happy without Mom and Dad's constant attention or approval, which is happening much sooner than expected.  He's opinionated even if we disagree with his choices, which shows some incredible personality, will-power, and self-confidence.  Arguing with your three year old about what he wears that day is a headache to the average parent, but we rejoice in the growth we see in our Panda's self-worth! He is just awesome.

A few more of my favorite quirky Pandaisms:

1. I've learned to never leave clean laundry on the couch to be put away.  Panda cannot resist the temptation to put on whatever interests him the most - socks, shirts, panties...he doesn't discriminate.
Which brings me to my next point...

2. Any sock left laying around will quickly become Panda's sock puppet.  At any given time he usually has at least one sock on a hand. Because...fun.

3. If I wake him up from a nap before he is ready, it is likely I'll find him all curled up in the middle of the kitchen floor back to sleep. This cracks me up as Ladybug and I are not the kind of people who can sleep anywhere. It's a trait I love about him!

4. He loves to laugh. If anyone within earshot laughs, he joins right in wholeheartedly! Double points if he is the one making everyone else laugh.

5. He is quite particular about life.  Any trash found on the floor gets picked up and walked to the trashcan. His dirty clothes always get taken to the laundry basket. As to his toys, they seem to be put in the strangest places, but to his credit he always knows right where everything is!  I'll be playing picnic with him and all of the forks are missing. I'll ask, "Where are the forks?" He tells me "Right back!" and hurries away on a mission.  He'll walk right to the cabinet under our coffee machine where we keep our coffee paraphernalia and reach to the very back right corner of the cabinet. Behold! The forks! We find some strange things in some strange places.

All in all, it is amazing to see God heal our little guy. He spent about 3 years in an orphanage and now only about 6 months at home with his family, and the transformation is shocking.  Nothing is impossible for our God!

Panda Challenges:

Being Left
Panda is still not keen on being left in anyone else's care. We thought we would give the church child care a shot since he has just been doing so well and showing so much independence. We were oh-so-very wrong.  We've tried a few different things in different situations, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen any time soon.  In typical Panda fashion, he will let us know when he's ready.

Daily Shots
We are grateful our insurance has approved Panda's treatment for his Growth Hormone Deficiency. We will have to reapply every six months for the rest of his childhood and they will continue to fight us, but thus is the world of insurance!
Panda receives a shot every evening, administered by us, and will continue to receive it for at least the rest of his childhood. The shot is simply the growth hormone his body isn't creating.  How incredible is that?  Obviously he's struggling through it and is finding it very confusing as why the Duke and I would do this to him.  This would be a challenge with any kiddo, but adding in the language barrier and the brand-new-parent aspect, and he's downright lost.  I'm thankful we had 6 months to bond and build our relationship before we had to begin the injections.  He comes to us faithfully with a little tear in his eye when it's time to administer it, and clings tightly to me and the Duke afterward as he cries.  It's a good sign he isn't avoiding us afterward, and we know that in time it will become more routine.  But it's still a challenge non-the-less.

Anesthesia
Panda had to go under anesthesia for a brain MRI recently, and it didn't go well.  His little airway is just too small apparently and it had a tough time staying open after they removed the breathing tube. It was a really scary couple of days. This is also a problem since there are a couple more procedures in his future, so we are praying that as he grows the prospect of anesthesia becomes less of a threat.


Panda Awesomeness:

Teeth!
We had our long awaited hospital dentist appointment (as the local pediatric dentists were a bit overwhelmed with us) and walked out with amazing news! His mouth full of cavities is not cavities at all, but calculus that can be scraped off over a series of regular check-ups. He won't have to be put under anesthesia as originally expected to have to deal with all of his cavities! PRAISE GOD!

So here's the deal. This is nothing short of a miracle. The last dentist we saw (whom I trust) said he had a mouth full of cavities, which I have no doubt he did. He had never had his teeth brushed and was drinking five bottles a day of the sugary formula the orphanages give. For THREE years! It's amazing his teeth aren't all rotten and falling out. The last dentist declared his case out of her league and sent us up the ladder to the hospital pediatric dentist down in the medical center. Plus, if you remember, it used to hurt Panda to eat or even have anyone touch his teeth. He would fight us like crazy when it came to tooth brushing and actually wouldn't even allow the local dentist to clean his teeth. Then all of a sudden, shortly after his local dentist appointment, the pain suddenly disappeared and he began chewing his food and allowing me to brush his teeth. It was the strangest thing.

My theory, you ask? How does a child who is in pain with a three year orphanage history under his belt suddenly, overnight, seemingly lose all pain in his mouth for no apparent reason?
I truly believe God healed his teeth. I think it was a miracle.
It was something we prayed for and God answered. And for that we are soooo thankful!


Walking
Panda stood up one day and decided he was not going to crawl ever again.  So funny. Usually kids ease into walking once they begin to figure it out.  Not Panda. It was all or nothing. He was so sore the next morning he couldn't even walk a few feet! He insisted on being carried, as crawling was so obviously for babies now. Watching his tiny figure walk around the house is beyond adorable, and he definitely gets love when we are out and about walking around. Even strangers stop and coo. Add that to his magnetic personality and he's a double threat!


A little handsomeness for you:






(Panda back asleep the other morning. Yes, he is wearing a kitchen glove and cuddling his plastic spoon.)

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