Lots of Dr.'s Appointments!

It has been almost two weeks since I have blogged, and all I can say is WOW our we busy! Andrew has been doing very well. He has gotten in two teeth in the last two weeks, and he hasn't been to miserable about that! Andrew has had quite a few Dr. appointments this week. First we went to the psychologist with the whole family on Wednesday night. She specializes in adoptions so she knew exactly what things to cover in our one hour appointment. It sounds like Andrew is adjusting better then the parents!!!! Anyways, that will all just take a little time. Then on Thursday we had an appointment with a lady who specializes in development. She said that Andrew seems to be right on target with all his little skills and development. She actually seemed quite surprised of all the things Andrew could do for his size. She had no concerns at all! Then after that appointment, we met with the pediatrician who also specializes in adoptions. She is also quite amazed of how well Andrew is doing. Andrew is up to 16.9 lbs. and he is growing evenly on the charts with all his measurements and weight. She said he is little for his age, but he is growing like he should. We do have an echo for his heart scheduled for Monday, because he was diagnosed with a VSD in Kyrgyzstan. We also have another specialist checking out Andrew's pallet in April. There is something that doesn't look right to the pediatrician, so she wants that checked out. We also had a hearing test performed after the other Dr.'s appointments but by then Andrew was ready to sleep and he simply decided to start ignoring the lady in the middle of the test and he put his fingers in his mouth and wanted his nap. They are going to have to redo that test, but up to that point he was doing very well responding for the hearing test. We also have to get Andrew's vision checked soon. They say that children coming from an orphanage have a much higher chance of having issues with hearing and their vision. Every day God reminds me in some kind of way of how lucky we are to have Andrew in our life. He is such a blessing and to just see him smile and thrive so much makes me so happy!

Sometimes this is the only way we can get Andrew's diaper changed. He likes to be on the move!

Andrew got to go to sissy's valentine's party at school. I think he won over a few hearts that day!!!

Andrew loves when Alisha sings to him, which is quite often!

Andrew loved going to all of Megan's basketball games that she cheered for. He would watch the boys run up and down the court, and sometimes he would watch all the pretty girls cheer!

Sick Is No Fun!

It has been a very tough week here at the Stahnke's household. It started off with Alisha being sick on Tuesday, and I took her to the Dr. and they said she had an upper respiratory infection. Then by Tuesday night I started feeling sick and unfortunately, no matter what I get it turns into bronchitis. So of course that is what happened. Then I took Andrew for his immunizations on Wednesday and they said he would be a little miserable for awhile. That was the understatement of the week. He was miserable for 3 days. Alisha is finally feeling better, and I'm at the tail end of this bronchitis, and Andrew is himself now, but today I stayed home with Megan from church because she isn't feeling to good. I hope this all ends soon!

On a good note, Andrew is getting stronger everyday. He has been pulling himself up when he can reach something. He has also been keeping his balance standing for a few seconds. It's crazy to think that when we got him he could barely hold his legs up, and he couldn't even sit up on his own. He is going to have to get taller before he starts walking or that is going to look very unusual. Andrew has still been sleeping good since we started playing music for him all night. I think he would scare himself awake from the quiet. I'm sure it was very noisy in the orphanage at night, so he is use to some kind of noise while sleeping.

Last Sunday we finally celebrated Cain's birthday (which was December 30th) and his brothers and his parents came over. Here is a picture of Tyson, Ryan and Ryan's girlfriend Sarah visiting with Andrew.

We had our friend's Kim and Tim and their son Matthew over for a visit. We met Kim and Tim through our adoption agency and they also adopted Matthew from Kyrgyzstan. It is of God that we met Kim and Tim when we did because I responded to a message of Kim's on a web board from our agency. She mentioned she lived in north east Ohio, which was interesting since our agency is out of North Carolina. We got to know each other through emails and shortly after that first message on the web board that I saw of Kim's, our agency shut down the web board. Tim and Kim only live 40 minutes away and we visit one another often. We have been waiting exactly a year to let our boys play together, and here is of their first moments together.

Kim and Tim came over on an eventful night. Alisha's boyfriend was having his homecoming and Kim and I both worked on Alisha's hair. Here is the end results.

Andrew with his beautiful sister!!!

Andrew, what a big boy you are!!!!

Andrew standing on his own. Just press on the arrow to see!

Getting Bigger By The Day!

Andrew is still growing every day. I went and got his pictures taken last week because I told Cain if his cheeks get any bigger we wont be able to recognize him, and he already doesn't look like the baby we picked up at the orphanage. I think Andrew is around 16 lbs now, which means he has gained 4 lbs in 4 weeks. I think he needs to stop growing outward and start growing upward. He's got quite the belly on him now. We are all getting more use to having a baby in our house every day. I am personally enjoying being a new mother again. Andrew brings so much joy to my life, and I can't imagine life without him. Andrew is still trying to overcome his old orphanage life. The Dr. did find that he had a parasite which we treated him for immediately, but this is very common for international adopted children to have. This could of been part of Andrew's problem for being so underweight. Andrew is still having a tough time taking his bottle. He never stops eating, but drinking formula is a totally different story. Andrew is also having a very difficult time with sleeping. He wakes up some nights every hour. He cries and usually within a minute he stops. He always seems scared when he wakes up, so we are not sure if he is having nightmares, night terrors, or if he is just scared, or just teething. We are trying to find out what is making him uncomfortable. We have tried making his room, warmer and then colder. We have tried a night light, ocean sounds, a fan in his room, and then we tried covering him with blankets, and then no blankets. We have tried rocking him until he is sound a sleep at night, and then we tried just letting him fall sleep on his own. We have tried feeding him right before bed and then tried not feeding him his last meal so late. Recently we have tried letting music play all night, and then I also have tried tying a blanket around his waist and tying a knot in it. They used long pieces of material at the orphanage for their diapers and then they would tie it in the front. Some friends of ours gave us the idea to try that. Last night Andrew had the most peaceful nights sleep since we have been home, but who knows what made the difference and if it will last. He has been sleeping in until 7am still, so that is better then the 5am thing, he was doing in Kyrgyzstan. I just get frustrated when I don't know how to make things better for him. It's hard to help a child, when you don't know much about their life before you. On a good note, Andrew is getting more use to his car seat everyday. I get around 15 minutes before he starts screaming, which is a huge turn around from him crying at the sight of his seat. Andrew is also having little moments here and there where he will actually play for a few minutes on his own without worrying where I am. The other day he actually crawled away from me to get to his toys to play. Overall, Andrew has come a long way since a month ago, and he is very happy and alert when we are around him. We thank God for our Andrew everyday, and we continue to pray for God's grace upon him.

I love my baths now, and my mom can even get a whole load of laundry folded in the bathroom while I play!

I love helping my sister with her homework!

Aunt Cathy came to visit me!

And Uncle Tyson To!

I also enjoyed my visit from my cousin Kylee!

My mom and dad are finding new ways to get things done everyday!