So onto Pudding's recovery (or, as it's affectionately known around our household, "Two-Weeks-of-Hell"): it was not fun. Not only was it not fun, it as downright miserable. My poor, sweet boy cried non-stop, 24-hours-a-day, for two entire weeks. He didn't leave my lap for more than two minutes at a time, and that includes during the night. He wouldn't eat or drink and I can't even count how many times I had pain medicine spit back into my face. One of the biggest drawbacks to having this surgery so soon after coming home was that we couldn't communicate to him that drinking would make his throat feel better. He refused all liquids. Our little guy dropped 6 pounds over those two weeks...precious pounds he didn't have to lose. I felt so helpless as he sobbed in my lap all day. While the recovery process left my patience level at an all time low, I'm happy to say that it was a huge step forward in bonding. This kid didn't leave my side for an instant over those two weeks; I now jokingly refer to him as my shadow. It has been such a reversal from our time in China when he had such a preference for Stu. Now he wants me non-stop, all the time. He won't even go to Stu if he knows I'm home. I am also thrilled to say that his surgery was a major success. Not only does he feel so much better but he is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!! In his own room, no less! He still needs me to lay down with him but after he finishes his bottle (yes, he still gets a nighttime bottle...I don't want to force too many changes right now) he tells me "night-night", turns over and goes right to sleep. Yahoo!! I feel like a brand new woman now that I'm back to getting 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.
Pudding's adjustment to the language change is amazing. While he is still catching up verbally, he understands probably about 90% of what we say (and I suspect the other 10% is his "selective hearing"). We've also been working on sign language with him and both HD and him are quickly picking it up. He signs more than 20 words without prompting and knows upwards of 40-50 signs! He is definitely able to let us know what he wants. HD is unbelievable at signing. If you show her a sign one time she absorbs it like a sponge. She knows almost 75 signs and her language has exploded alongside of signing. Speaking of HD, she is doing great. Over the past couple of months she has bloomed into such a sweet little girl. Now HD likes to be the life of the party. She is the first out on the dance floor when the music starts playing and is the first to greet guests in our house; such a difference from our shy, bashful toddler who wouldn't look a stranger in the face. She is talking up a storm and finishes almost every sentence with "honey". It is beyond cute. You walk into her room in the morning and she greets me with "Good morning honey." If she sees Pudding upset she'll squat down next to him and ask, "What's wrong honey?" She's turned into such a girly-girl too. She always wants her toenails polished (thanks Puffy!), loves to wear dresses and insists on having her hair pulled back with a bow. Little girl will even smile at the camera now! I'm not sure how long it will last so we're getting some new pictures of her taken tomorrow since she didn't smile in one single picture at her 2-year-portraits.
The Bigs are doing great too. Chipmunk just finished first-grade (how is that possible?!?) and is smart as a whip. He's reading books and doing math that I didn't attempt until I was in 3rd and 4th grade. Multiplication tables in 1st grade? Really? At this rate his schoolwork is going to be over my head by the time he's in middle school. He loves our new neighborhood and is looking forward to a long summer of bike rides and playdates with friends.
Monkey is Monkey. He is the sweetest, funniest and most mischievous little boy ever! He graduated from preschool last week and I still can't believe that he'll be in kindergarten in the fall. He is super-smart and academically ready for it but I still view him as my lovable little toddler. I'm really going to miss having him with me for most of the day. He lost his first tooth last week, followed by another one today. I knew he was nervous when both of his bottom teeth were very loose, so I told him how cool it would be when he lost both of them and he'd have a hole big enough to fit an M&M through it with his teeth closed. He started to get excited about it and was so disappointed when we discovered his permanent teeth were already in place behind his baby ones, so no big hole for him. An ice cream sundae quickly cheered him up though;-)
Okay, I think I've caught up on the last month. Now the challenge is to stay up-to-date which might be a challenge since we'll be lounging around the beach next week! Stu had some downtime in his schedule and I'm desperate for a little vacation (and no, China did NOT count as a vacation) so we've planned a little impromptu trip to my family's condo in Florida. The Bigs are so excited, as am I; not sure how the Littles will do but I think between the beach and the pool that we will all have a good time. We're also hoping to meet up with some blog buddies and have a little Kyrgyz reunion. I cannot wait!
My newest little monkey
Happy in the sunshine
Looks like we'll have another visit from the Tooth Fairy
So proud of my Chipmunk at his school's awards ceremony
Pudding showing off the goofy smile he does everytime he sees a camera!
HD loved the baby bunny my brother rescued from the lawn mower and was so sad when we returned him to his home
Chipmunk cruising in his cousin's Barbie jeep
My little graduate and his proud Papa
