Growing Up Too Fast!

I actually wrote this post a while ago, but when I got up to get the camera card I knocked over the computer and busted the screen :( It cost somewhere around $160 to fix (and that was with a police discount) making this officially the most expensive post yet! Anyways-the important thing is that the computer is fixed and I can start posting cute pictures again. So, here is the post from I don't know how many days ago :)

I just cannot believe how much Quinton changes everyday. He continues to amaze me. One of the toughest things though is finding a balance between the teacher in me that wants to see him learn new things and the mommy in me that missed the infant phase of his life and wants him to stay a baby just a little longer. Last week my little guy decided that he could hold his own bottle. I know that this is fantastic, but I won't lie. I love the time that we spend together-holding him in my lap and feeding him his bottles. Oh well, we still have a little more work to do so I will enjoy the moments while they last.

We got a call from the doctor last week letting us know that Quinton's blood tests did indicate that he has some mild hypothyroidism :( I know that this is far from the worst news that we could have received, but my heart just sank. He will face enough challenges in his life. This is just one more hurdle we have to get over. So now we will add pediatric endocrinologist to our list of specialists we need to see. Hopefully we can get his levels under control and it will not be an issue. Update: Since I wrote this post, we have had some more testing done which indicated that Quinton does NOT have hypothyroidism! Yay for lab errors!

As far as doctors are concerned, we have been so blessed. Dr. Kelly was great with Quinton and so were his nurses. They are working on referrals to a cardiologist, the endocrinologist, and a special chromosome clinic at Duke. He also quickly referred us to the early intervention team and they have already been out to the house to start initial paperwork and they will be out the first week in September to do an evaluation to determine what therapies he will benefit from. I am so excited for him to get started!

Lots of people have asked if we have made any progress with feeding. The short answer is yes. The past week or so, Quinton has been willing to eat some applesauce or yogurt from a spoon, but he has a really hard time. He sticks his tongue out, so it's hard to get food in and once you get it in, he puts his thumb in his mouth like a bottle nipple to help him swallow. We will get there though. It is definitely a step in the right direction.

We have been very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have been so generous with their time and have also showered Quinton with some very nice gifts. A very sweet lady named Sharon who only knows us through this blog sent a case of those denim diapers all the way from Florida. They are so cute. Sharon-I will try and get a picture of him wearing them soon :) Thanks to everyone who has come to visit/babysit and who have sent/brought gifts. We really appreciate it.

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my students. I am excited to see them again, but not so excited about leaving Quinton. Luckily my mom and dad were each able to take a week of vacation, so he will not have to start daycare until September.

It seems like there is so much more I would like to share, but I can't think of it right now. Hmmm...guess that means I need to be better about keeping up with this blog ;) It's been hard to find the time lately. Quinton certainly keeps us on our toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Well, here is what you have all been waiting for..pictures!

Mostly Pictures

We took Quinton to the pediatrician this week. Everything went well. He weighs 19 pounds 13 ounces and is 29 inches tall. He got some yucky shots. That was no fun, but the nurses were much nicer that the one that gave him a shot at the orphanage. He did recommend that we see a pediatric cardiologist to check out his heart since he has an open oval window. He said that it is nothing to be alarmed or concerned about right now though. His murmur was really hard to hear and very faint-thank you God! He told us about some early intervention services provided by our county. They will come out and do some initial assessments and help us get started with speech, occupational, and physical therapies for Quinton. 

The video clip below is from the first day we met Quinton. I cannot believe how much he has changed. Compare it with the pictures and video of him now. It is amazing what a little love will do for a little boy :)

Fast forward 2 months and look at him now!

And today he found the dog's water bowl. I just watched him forever before I thought to record it. I love watching him explore. 

I'm kinda biased, but I think he's the most adorable thing I have ever seen in my life :) I love him so much and thank God for his precious life everyday.

It's Been A Week Already!

This past week was a whirlwind. We got home last Thursday and our days have been full of family and visitors. I cannot even describe to you all how good it felt to be home with friends and family and to be sleeping in my own bed again. Quinton continues to change everyday. A little more of his personality shines through and he is really coming out of his shell. We are so in love with him. He will be sitting on my lap and then all of a sudden he will flash me a sweet smile that I swear is worth a million dollars and then thrust forward with his arms outstretched to hug me. It is absolutely priceless. As I am sitting here typing, Quinton has fallen asleep in his daddy's lap. He used to fall asleep alone. Never ever again will this little boy with a heart of gold be alone. Never. Ever. Again.


Here are some of our homecoming pictures. A huge thanks to my friend Alisa for taking them for us! There were so many-too many to choose from. You can check out my facebook profile if you want to see them all.

At then end of most of my posts from Ukraine there was a countdown to one thing or another, but there is nothing to countdown to anymore because God has answered our prayers and our little boy is Home. For. Good.

Update

Wow! You all are amazing. I cannot believe the responses we have had to our blog. So many people have come up to me and asked if we are going to continue blogging. No wonder things went so smoothly for us. There were friends of friends of friends following our journey and praying for us. We cannot thank you all enough. I will continue to update the blog for sure. Your comments served as a constant source of encouragement when we were anxious, frustrated, and homesick. Your prayers are what helped us through.

Quinton is absolutely coming alive! He is thriving before our very eyes. I don't know what all to say-words just can't describe the joy he had brought to us. His smile lights up the room. It is so special to rock him to sleep at night and to be greeted in the morning with a huge grin. There is really nothing better. He loves the bathtub, rattles, and anything that makes noise. He loves having a mommy and a daddy and a family and friends. He is sitting up on his own now like it's no big deal even though just a few weeks ago he needed help holding his head up. He is not crawling yet but does a great inchworm scoot and is now getting up on all 4's. I think he will be crawling before we know it. It is so fun to see him transform. We have 18 days before I have to return to work and I plan on soaking up every moment with him that I can. Here are some pictures from the past few days. They're not in order and I'm too tired to fix them...sorry ;)

We Are Alive ;)

We had a very long trip home, but we made it and Quinton flew like a champ. Aside from this stomach bug I picked up, we are all doing very well. We are exhausted and still trying to get adjusted to a time change. How do you convince a baby that regardless of what his body thinks, it is not time for bed? Oh well. We will get there.

We were so blessed to have been greeted at the airport by lots of friends and family who even waited around for almost 2 hours after our flight to get out of customs to welcome us home! Thank you all so much. It was so special.

Quinton is doing fantastic. He has changed so much from the first time we met him almost 2 months ago. He is sitting up on his own, bearing weight on his legs, and interacting and smiling all the time. He is loving having a mommy and a daddy and I am sure if he could talk he too, would thank you all for your love and support. We could not have gotten him home without you all.

It is 3:00 am here so I am not going to wake Brian up for him to show me how to get pictures from the camera to my Mac (the camera card won't fit and I think you need a USB cord or something), but I will try my best to have him help me upload some when he wakes up.

Well, since we are home now, our lives as a family of 2 have come to a close and an amazing journey of like as a family of 3 has now begun. We thank you all and thank God for our little boy and for our match made in heaven. We love you all!

Flight Information

We are so busy packing that there's no time to blog right now. I just wanted to share our flight information as many people have asked about meeting us at the airport.

We are flying home on Lufthansa flight LH428, Munich to Charlotte, arrives at 3:25PM.
Please remember that we have to get through customs before we make it to baggage claim.


Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Heading Home

Our journey here in Ukraine is coming to an end and we are slowly but surely making our way home. Last night we took the overnight train from Quinton's region to Kiev. We arrived at 6:40 this morning, picked up another family, took them to their apartment, and went straight to our embassy appointment. After the embassy, we went to the medical clinic for Quinton's medical clearance. Everything went great. He weighs about 9 kilograms now which is close to 20 pounds and is about 29 inches tall. Tomorrow we will return to the embassy for our final appointment and interview at 2:00. We will receive Quinton's visa then we will go back to the apartment and sleep a few hours before we leave to catch our flight HOME! Thank you, Jesus! We are so ready to be home. All things considered, Quinton is doing pretty well. There is so much change for him, I can only imagine how he is feeling. It is overwhelming to us, so it has to be so hard for him. On top of it all, he is teething. I can feel his top front tooth cutting through his gums and he is not feeling too good as a result. I gave him some children't ibuprofen and it seemed to help some. I am thankful that he is sleeping now, but I am sure I will pay for it later tonight. That is when I will hand him over to Brian. He got a nice 3 and a half hour nap today so daddy is on duty tonight!

Here are some pictures of our own little Curious George... He is a cute little monkey :) He was in a room with us, playing on the floor. All of a sudden he noticed a cracked door and went for it. Every few seconds he would look back at us to see who was going to stop him. He finally made it through the doorway and looked around and then decided to come back out where all the fun was. Love him!