Roll Tide!

We also watched the football game last night. Hopefully, Alabama will be a force to be reckoned with this year. They are off to a great start.

Aunt Carrie says that this hat make Michael look like Papaw, so we have dubbed it his Papaw hat.

Here are pictures of our little Tide fan:

Future Star of the Crimson Tide

We are thinking offensive lineman.

Roll Tide Roll!!

First Beach Trip

We left the house yesterday morning bright and early to head to the beach for a week. After a short stop at Bill's uncle Rodger and aunt Hope's house, we were on our way. Michael did very well on the trip. He slept 2 hours and was awake and happy the rest of the time.

We went to the beach this morning and stayed there until Michael's nap time. He did not care for the waves, the water, or the sand. He loved playing in his beach cabana. He also enjoyed playing with his toys in the sand, but would not move anywhere. He stayed in the exact spot we put him down.

Here are some pictures from the past two days:

Here Mama. Have a cookie.

Just kidding. I will eat it for you.

First Time at the Beach





Ready to Ride

A Laid Back Week

We have had a pretty laid back week, so there is not too much to report. Saturday we took Michael and our nephew Joseph to the county fair. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from the past week.

We are leaving for the beach on Saturday. I am not sure if we will be able to access the internet. If we do, I will try to post while we are there. If not, I will post when we get home.

Enjoy the pictures!

Our Little Reader

Enjoying another good book

Give me a kiss!

Who can resist those lips?

Relaxing in his chair with his froggy blankie

Feeding the baby goats


Feeding the Llama

Getting a good look


Looking at the turtle

Driving the tractor

Faster Joseph! Faster!

Playing in the corn

This fair stuff is tiring!

First taste of lemonade.... need we say more??

We went home after the fair. Michael went into his room and got very quiet. I must have left the laundry basket in his room. We went in there and this is what we found.

For Papaw

You know that you have waited way to long to post pictures or an update to your blog when Papaw says that you need to get on the ball and post more pictures. Other people have also been asking about new pictures. Here is the update with more photos of our little emperor.

We have had a good week. We did not have any appointments with doctors this week. This was very nice for both me and Michael. The surgeon has scheduled Michael's surgery to repair his palate for September 18. They will also put tubes in his ears at that time. He will stay in the hospital overnight and will come home on the 19th.

Michael is trying a few more foods here and there. Most of it ends up on him or on the floor. He has actually eaten (and not spit out) a little apple sauce, a few green peas, a couple of goldfish crackers, a few pieces of cereal, and a little bit of Alfredo sauce. He likes to lick popsicles and thinks it is funny because they are so cold. Sometimes, we take the tactic of smearing something on his lips to get him to taste it, but you have to be very stealthy to do this. A couple of the pictures are of him eating. If you look closely at the one with apple sauce, you can see it above and under his right eye, on top of his head, etc.

The other pictures are from the last week. We bought him a couch of his own with the Backyardigans on it. The pictures do not do justice the look on his face and the happiness that he expressed when he saw it. Also, Gamma and I took him to the park and to one of the malls that has a fountain that the kids can play in. He wasn't quite sure about it at first, but seemed to enjoy it after Gamma got her feet wet with him.

Doctors, doctors, and more doctors

We have been very busy since I last updated the blog. We had our home visit with our social worker. We went to the church softball tournament. Then, there have been the appointments with doctors. Then, we took Michael to the petting zoo and wildlife exhibit at Maymont.

We met with the reconstructive surgery team at VCU who will be working with Michael on Monday. He was seen by an audiologist, an ENT, a speech therapist, a psychologist, the plastic surgeon, orthodontists, and a pediatric dentist. Fortunately, it was all in one clinic. After they all assessed him and the other children at the clinic, they came together and discussed each case. We were able to wait until after they met and discuss Michael's plan of care with the clinic coordinator and the surgeon.

The team was very impressed with how well Michael had done in just a few short weeks. He has bonded to us very well. Also, they said he was the healthiest child that they had ever seen from China with his degree of cleft palate. They usually wait 6 months to do the surgery. However, since he is doing so well, it should be a lot sooner.

Michael has fluid in his ears, which is normal for children with a cleft palate. During the surgery, they will also put tubes in his ears. However, we have a lot of appointments to go to before he will be scheduled for surgery. Before surgery can be scheduled, he needs to have a genetic evaluation, see the pediatric dentist, go to the ENT, and be seen by the international adoption pediatrician.

We were able to have his genetics evaluation on Friday. They believe that his cleft is not genetic and is just a birth defect from poor prenatal care. This is very good news.

We have 3 appointments with doctors this week. Then, we hope to find out when surgery can be scheduled.

Also, Bill went back to work 1/2 days this week. Michael did wonderfully. Hopefully, he will do just as well this week when Bill goes back to full days.

Michael enjoys playing with his toys, pots, spoons, sidewalk chalk, etc. He has decided that he really likes to Go! He now waves bye bye and pulls us to the door even when we are not going anywhere and gets a little upset when we say no. Today, he brought me his hat and sunglasses at separate times. He thought that this would change my mind.

We have figured out that Michael never stepped foot in the grass until we brought him home. He would rather be on the sidewalk than in the grass if possible. He just does not care for that green stuff.

Below are pictures from the past week and a half. The pictures were taken by Bill, our friend Gina, and my mom.