Happy Thanksgiving!

Elkin's first Thanksgiving!

Challenges & Successes

I thought it might be good to write up a post about some of the challenges we are having with Elkin as well as the successes now that we've been home awhile. It's hard to believe that we've been home for more than seven weeks!

Eating
Elkin seems to like American food very well. His favorite foods are bread (which he still calls pan) and pizza. He loves bread and luckily will eat it with anything that sticks to it. I spend a lot of time pressing protein sources into the top of slices of bread! He sometimes will refuse to eat but we'll save his plate for later and he'll eat right up a few hours later. He's been getting much better at eating when we do lately.


Elkin eating pizza!

Sleeping
Sleeping is one of our greatest challenges right now. As far as nap time goes we have made a lot of progress. He used to be very upset when it was time to take a nap and it would take him sometimes hours to fall asleep. I tried letting him stop naps but quickly found out that he still needs them! After lunch we have some quiet time with books and then we go lay down in Mami & Papi's bed. He helps me turn on the fan, shut the door and get the bed ready. We talk and cuddle for awhile and then he quickly goes to sleep - about 10 minutes. Usually with me in a headlock hug :) I sneak out and he only sleeps for about 45 minutes but that seems to be all he needs.

Then he wakes up. That's when things go sour. He is very very upset to wake up by himself. I go in and try to comfort him and he usually rejects me. I think he wants me to love on him but is really mad at me for having left him when he's sleeping. It seems like nothing I can do will calm him down and he will not tell me what he wants. I'm hoping this will get better.

Bedtime is a little different. Sometimes he wants to go to bed but usually not. Papi goes in and lays down with Elkin in Elkin's bed. It usually takes about an hour for him to fall asleep. I go wake Papi up at that time (thank goodness he can sleep anywhere!) and we are able to get about half an hour alone before we fall to sleep exhausted. Around 2-3 hours after Elkin first fell asleep he wakes up. Screaming again because he woke up alone. Papi goes back in with him and stays the rest of the night because he's too tired to get back up. Papi has to get up for work early so he takes Elkin and puts him in my bed for the rest of the night. He usually sleeps pretty well and wakes up happy. We tried leaving Elkin in his room after Tim gets up for work but he would always wake up being very very mad at me and refusing to go back to bed with me. What we are doing now at least keeps me a little more sane.

We tried cosleeping but found it not to work very well for us. I'm a very light sleeper and Elkin's a kicker and whiner when he's sleeping. I'm concerned he wakes up so many times so upset at night and I hope he starts feeling more secure.


Elkin's favorite place to sleep is in the car!

Potty-training
Elkin was potty trained when we became a family but regressed some. He's been in underwear for 2 weeks now and has been doing fabulous. He's still in a pull-up at night and once in awhile will make it through the night dry. We try to have him go the bathroom when he wakes up in the night but he's usually already mad and trying to make him go usually makes him more mad.

Language
He is speaking a little more English. However he's understanding a ton of it! I would guess he knows we are talking about 80% of the time. I'm worried that he's not speaking more of it but I think that's just going to take some time. He's becoming a little more interested in books - in fact he let me read a story book to him for the first time today!

Independence
Elkin is getting more and more independent. He wants to do everything, and I do mean everything by himself. He's a very helpful little boy which is good and bad. For instance he wants to get into the car and buckle himself into his car seat which he just doesn't have the motor skills to do. He gets pretty frustrated at himself and at us for eventually having to do it. He's a very clean little boy - he keeps his room clean and himself very clean - we are loving it!


Elkin taking a 2-mile hike - all on his own two feet!

Attachment
We think this is getting much better. He starting loving us a long time ago but I think we are just now really becoming his parents. A few weeks ago we would go somewhere and I think he would have been fine with adopting a new Mami or Papi in a few hours time. However, the last few times we have went places we have seen a real difference in him "claiming" us. We have a ways to go but we are so glad we are seeing some positive results!

Happy Birthday Elkin!

Elkin celebrated his 3rd birthday last week! Here's a video of him blowing out his birthday candles!



We've been very busy with pediatrician appointments, ophthalmologist appointments and blood draws. The poor little guy has been through all sorts of poking and prodding but I think the worst of it is over. We got all his test results in just last night and he's a very healthy little boy! But enough of the "icky" stuff as Elkin would say - here's some more pictures!

Elkin was a dinosaur for Halloween! We went to just a few houses but he really liked his costume.



Elkin is a little scared of bugs. Here's a picture of him trying to smash one with a little pumpkin.



One last picture of Elkin enjoying a nice day at the Emporia Zoo.