Challenges, Blessings and First Kiss ; )

Reading with Big Sis

The last week or so has been pretty intense. Gong Gong had an ear infection and croup and the poor thing just wasn't his usual fun self! He has finally started feeling better the last couple days. We had a sweet shower at school and got lots of little boy clothes that will hopefully stay on him! I also took him down the the International Adoption Clinic of MUSC in Charleston and spent a lot of time discussing his issues with the doctor. No instant answers at this point, but I got some much-needed confirmation regarding some of my concerns. One thing she was quite adamant about was that we should not let ANYONE other than Daddy and Mama hold him right now. He's been a little, uh, indiscriminate in his affections reaching out to strangers and the like. I feel like this is probably hard for most people to understand and I'm afraid they might think I'm being possessive, but this is what we need to do. It is really important that we be the ones to comfort and provide. He has a "bone age" of 18 months, but I don't think he could really be that young. If that were the case, then he would have been a month old when he was found and his estimated birthdate would be more of a lie or a clerical error than an inaccurate guess.

Now for the really exciting news--I got my first real kiss this week! Woo hoo! At first he didn't understand making contact with my face and kind of kissed the air, but he's now totally into planting sweet, sloppy kisses on my cheeks! Made my week! Another cute thing he has learned is winking--at first he was squinting both eyes, but I've actually seen him wink at me with one eye now! And, as I rocked him before his nap today, he said "Mama", plain as day! This is a real breakthrough, as his expressive language (even in Chinese) is very low. Now, if I can just get him to call "Mama" instead of whining and crying for attention...