What a week!

Many more pictures below!!!!

This has been quite a week!  On Wednesday Andrew got his helmet for his head.  Because his head is flat in the back, he will be wearing a helmet for the next 3 to 4 months.  This should help reshape his head a bit.  I was really dreading Wednesday because I wasn't certain how Andrew would react to his helmet.  I guess his response was fairly typical - we kept distracting him with toys until he became a bit more comfortable with the helmet.  But Wednesday night was a disaster.  Andrew woke up 4 times in a 2 hour period - all before 9:30 at night.  I took the helmet off and decided to try again Thursday.  But Andrew wasn't finished with me yet.  It took 4 hours for us (me) to get him back asleep.  The boy was wired!  Then he started playing games with me.  My wrists were so sore (they still are) that I finally just put him in his crib, and he would spring back up, giggling.  It was like our first night home on steroids. The upside was that he slept until 8:30 the next morning, but I was so out of sorts my sleep wasn't quite as good.  Fortunately, the next night he did much better, and I think he has accepted his helmet and can sleep comfortably with it on.  Although every night I go to bed nervous that I will hear that little cry.  I have to relax a little more.  

Andrew is doing really well otherwise.  It is amazing.  I know this is hard to imagine, because we often think babies come by these habits naturally, but Andrew will now crawl to us when he is upset.  He pulls himself up by my pants and wants to be held.  He also does not like his pack n play.  He will cry until I pick him up, and he is magically happy again.  For adopted babies, it can take time to develop these types of behaviors, because they have never had consistent care where these types of attachments could be made.  Of course, I now have to figure out boundaries, meaning I have to get my shower in somehow, so he has to stay in his pack n play for a very short while (and it right outside the bathroom door, so I can see him and talk to him).

Saturday we had Andrew's first swim lesson.  He had a blast!  I was running a minute late, so I just plopped him in the pool with me without any transition time.  After a bit, he was splashing away.  We sang songs, chased rubber duckies, attempted bubbles (he was still in the splashing stage so we will try bubbles next week), and practiced getting out of the pool.  The 1/2 hour flew by.  It was fun to see him enjoy himself so much.  And we met Claudia, a 19 month old who was recently adopted from Guatemala.  It was nice to have another adoptive family in the group.  And it is so wild to see him so comfortable in water.  I think back to our first night in Moscow with him and when I tried to put him in water, he became as stiff as a board, hands clenched, and eyes as big as saucers.  He has come quite a long way since then.  Anyway, here are some pictures:

Andrew chasing the ducky (sort of):

Andrew practicing getting out of the pool:

Here we are posing after the lesson:

And then Saturday afternoon, Andrew met his Sumwalt cousins.  They have been so patiently waiting to meet him, and Saturday was quite special.  He still has many more Sumwalts to meet, but today was a good start.  It was so neat to see his cousins dote on him.  I am so happy that Andrew will get to experience the love his extended family has to offer.  The newest cousin is set to arrive in October, so he will have cousins of all ages to play with.  Now we need to get his cousin Audrey Cox down for a visit.  They are only 10 days apart, so they are super close in age.  Anyway, here are some pictures from our visit Saturday:

Caroline and Andrew by the window:

Here is Andrew with Caroline and Claire (if only Andrew had looked at the camera...):

So, that is it for the week.  We have to go back to the helmet therapist Monday so he can get his helmet adjusted a bit.  Right now it sort of crops his eyes too much.  Other than that, we hope to hang out at home.  Andrew is learning to climb stairs, so we might be in for another busy week!  I hope everyone has a great week!

Christa