Four months already??

 

I knew we were coming up on four months w Chengbin but I honestly didn't realize it was today until a friend mentioned her daughter's day on Facebook! It is amazing how I can't believe it's been four months with Chengbin but it also feels like he's been with us for much longer than that.

He's doing really well! His teacher is amazed at his English language progression.  He's even taken to correcting how Katie says certain words over the last week.  Apparently he is considering himself an expert! Lol!  

We had a fantastic transfusion two weeks ago, where his hemoglobin number stayed at a healthy level before the transfusion and accessing his port is becoming more normal to him on transfusion day saving us many extra hours at the hematologist office.  We were out by 2:45 last time which is our earliest yet!

Since he's already gone through quite a few firsts, I've decided to tell a few

Cute & not so cute stories about the little guy through pictures.

He LOVES his rain boots! He wears them to school on an un-rainy day a couple times a week!

He throws a fit about being forced down for a nap, but readily naps in the car, on the couch (often w a toy in his hand) or at disneyworld!

He takes his medicine like a boss!!  Even if he is in the middle of a world record level tantrum he will stop & take his medicine like a good boy! I am one grateful mama for this!!

He has a transfusion & fellow adoptee pal named Kate that I hope he will be friends with forever!

 At Disneyworld...

 During a haircut...

 Even at the waterpark...

He can throw a world class tantrum like you wouldn't believe over absolutely nothing, but he's the bravest boy in the world during all the difficult medical stuff. ;)

Growing up in the orphanage made him a little less coordinated than other 5 yr olds, and he often has the bumps & bruises to prove it.  The bump on his head was from jumping the wrong way on a jumper obstacle course which sent him head first into the ground!! He cried for two minutes & then begged to 'go back play'!! 

And lastly- he is a great little boy! He is sweet and loving! He is happy!! And we are happy he has had four months with us!!!

Oh yeah, and he's decided he likes that American name we were planning to call him... So now it's Chengbin, Chengbin Ben, or Ben. :)

Thanks for stopping by,
Fannie, Matt, Katie, & Chengbin "Ben"

2 months? Make that 3!!!!

Boy does time fly!!!  One minute you are writing a blog post about 2 months with the family and you blink and its already 3 months and that 2 month post never got out for all to read!! Yep, that's life right now!  I feel like its finally starting to slow a bit as have gotten a lot of our medical appointments completed and we are now in a "maintenance" phase of thalassemia treatment for a bit.  We have a few updates to tell ya'll about, but first I'd like to take a look back...  Why?  Because it helps me as a mom, still in the middle of transition & a few difficulties, to remember just how far our sweet boy has come. :)

On July 29th a very cute, small, & slightly hesitant boy walked out of the curtain in the Civil Affairs office and into our life!!  He was beautiful & showed his mischievous side right away as he joked about whether he was going to come over to us or not.

We are so lucky that God led us to this little guy! Our son is perfect for us! Truly an amazing child with a heart full of love. It hasn't all been a fairy tale or easy because this is adoption.  Adoption is choosing to love a child under less than the best circumstances.  After all, the best circumstance would have been for his birth mother to keep loving & getting medical treatment for him.  The best circumstance wouldn't involve us at all.  But our little son never ceases to amaze me with his capacity to love and trust in spite of all he's been through.

In three months he has experienced so much!  Here are a few highlights of the Chengbin firsts!

First trip to the beach!  First time to feel sand under his feet and the rush of a wave crashing in!  He had no sensory issues and loved every second of it!!  Since this, beach days have become a regular part of life with his new family. :)

First time to have a transfusion & go home all in the same day!  This is big- in China he had to stay in the hospital all alone for 3 days before the orphanage van came to pick him back up.  He had very bad blood reactions.  Since he's been home- NO blood reactions!  :)

First trip to Disneyworld and first ride on Dumbo!! :)  He was overwhelmed at our hotel, but did amazing with all the sensory overload of Disney!

First time to swim in a pool all by himself!  He's gotten so good and so brave that I knew I could trust him!! :)

First ride on a train!!  (A little kid train pulled by a lawnmower but STILL)

Yep, this little guy is having fun!!  Can you tell??  We still have our moments... The times where he breaks down into a pool of tears for seemingly no reason whatsoever.  He still has his moments of obstinance.  All in all, those times are getting smaller & smaller.  We expect them.  He's a child who has gone through a lot of changes in his short life and he's just struggling to keep up.  We joke that we have happy Chengbin & "Mr. Slumpie" :)

3 months of forever!  I often wonder what he is thinking about all of this.  His English is pretty amazing already, but its basic.  There's no ability for deep conversation yet! ;)  Maybe by 6 months??

November is National Adoption Month & tomorrow is Orphan Sunday.  I would be remiss if I did not plead with anyone reading this who has ever considered adoption to take the leap of faith and DO it!!  The faces we left behind in that orphanage haunt me and bring sadness to this mama every single day.  The orphans of our world are not waiting for a perfect family, a perfect bedroom, a perfect house, or anything like that!  They want love. They want a family.  They want someone to kiss them goodnight.  To hug them when they are hurting.  They need someone to dig deep, take a risk, and change their life.  Yes adoption is expensive, but there are so many ways to raise money and bring home a child in need of a family.  If you don't feel led to adopt, I encourage you to find a way to help!  Ask me about families who are currently fundraising to bring home a precious one & donate to them.  Ask me about charities who are directly affecting the lives of orphans & sponsor a child or donate to them.  Please find something you can do to help "the least of these"!!!  The need is great!!!  These children matter!!!!  Imagine what God could do if the estimated 143 million orphans in our world knew the love of a family and the love of their savior!!!!

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress."  James 1:27

His First Halloween!

Halloween ended up being the first American holiday and to say he was excited for trick or treating is an understatement!  Chengbin has been watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse trick or treat, Yo Gabba Gabba "fall", and Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown for the last few weeks leading up to it!  He understood that we were gonna get all dressed up & go get candy.

He LOVED his Jake costume!!  He received the scope as a present from a special friend only a couple days earlier and it was the perfect accessory!! :) 

 

My sweet girl decided to go with Jasmine this year! :)  I found myself wondering if this will be the last year she wants to be a princess??? I hope not!!

 

 

 

Isn't he just the cutest Jake and the Neverland Pirates ever???

 

I just loved how I could see the "Made in China" and my sweet boy!

It was a great first Halloween for Chengbin & a great Halloween for Katie too!  It was also amazing to be in our own home in our neighborhood!  I'm so excited about this new chapter in our life!!  Our son is no longer an orphan, he is a son, a brother, and an American kid!! :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Fannie, Matt, Katie, & Chengbin

Port placement & transfusion update

Chengbin's surgery went well & he has a port placed right under his collarbone on his left side.  We were told it could be used right away to do blood draws & transfusion.

He woke feeling pretty yucky. He got some morphine & a Popsicle so he was feeling better in no time!

While he was in surgery, mommy made a run to Panda Express so Chengbin can enjoy his beloved 'panda lunch' with us! :)  once he was cleared to eat, he started in on his panda lunch! He was very happy to finally eat, & when it was time to move from recovery to the pediatric ward, he ate on the way.

 It was quite a sight to see this little boy who had just had surgery eating his chicken w chopsticks as he was rolled on to his room! He inspired many smiles & began waving at people w his other hand! Lol!!

We made it to his room and watched some shows on the kindle while we waited for his blood results & red blood cells from the blood bank.  It's funny how as a parent of a child w a relatively rare condition, we become our child's greatest advocate.  So we have the computations from the thalassemia clinic and check each time blood is ordered to make sure he receives the optimal amount. ;)

The rest of the hospital stay was unnecessarily long & drawn out.  We waited around for blood until he was already asleep at 11pm.  Mama was immediately upset as I looked at the bag & saw it expired that day.  We were given the oldest blood instead of the freshest.  Which in turn means he will need another transfusion soon.  (A bag of older red blood cells will naturally have more that are past their prime or have already died.). I let our hematolgist know so we will be testing his Hgb in 2 weeks to see where it's at.

His blood transfusion lasted about 3 1/2 hrs.  No need to go too fast when he's sleeping through it anyway. :)

(He enjoyed kickin' it in nothing but underwear! Lol)

We woke up, had some breakfast and waited not-so-patiently to be released.  Chengbin actually got all dressed & packed everything up even with tubes still hanging out from his port! Lol

Finally the nurse came to take out his port access so we could go.  Here's how it looks the day after...

He's bruised and sore but you can't really even tell it's there!  Next appt is in 2 weeks- finally a much needed break from dr offices...

Praying this improves his quality of life greatly!

Thanks for stopping by,

Fannie, Matt, Kate, & Chengbin 

Donuts & Trains

 
 

After a very, VERY long Friday transfusion day.  We decided to venture out for a Saturday morning donut breakfast.  Since we are finally living in an area with Krispy Kreme, we thought 'nothing but the best' for our boy's first donut!

On the way we noticed a train in a park we knew we'd stop at on the way back.

Krispy Kreme was a hit w the little guy! He loved watching the donuts on the conveyor belt as they were fried & iced.  He couldn't wait to try one! We all had one, fresh & hot. :)

Then we decided to go check out the train... We got there right as a little train that gives rides around the park pulled up!! Chengbin was incredibly excited and hopped on for his ride! It's such an amazing thing to see this precious little boy experience things that are so exciting to him.  He loves trains and we love watching him light up as he finally has an opportunity to explore some of the things he loves.

 

"Driving" the red train!

He loved the little train that went around the park!  I LOVE smiles like this!! They melt this mommy's heart!!

And some iphone pics of our day!! ;)

 

What a great weekend!!  We're looking forward to next weekend even more!  Can't wait to share where we're going next!! ;)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Fannie, Matt, Katie, & Chengbin