Tomorrow will be 6 months!

To me, 6 months seems like such a milestone.  Nik has been home with us for half of a year.  It has flown by and in many ways, its hard to remember our life before he was with us.  He has bonded with us.  I've noticed lately how much he has grown in his ability to empathize with us.  If one of us seems sad or gets a "boo-boo", Nik is quick to give a hug, offer a band aid, and express general concern.  He seeks comfort from us too. More and more, he has become a part of the family. 

As I look back over the last month, some things that stand out to me about Nik:

• Nik loves to be a "helper".  He'll stop anything he is doing and come if I say "Want to help mommy?" Nik especially loves to be my shopping partner at the grocery store. 
• Nik loves imaginary play.  This is especially true if cars are involved.  They talk to each other (in English!) and, when we are playing with him, he likes to tell us what they say.
• Nik likes to be silly.  He loves to laugh.
• Nik does not like to feel "left out".  If Brent or I are taking one of the others kids somewhere, Nik will protest if he isn't included. 
• Nik is obsessed with learning letters and their sounds. 
• Nik is talking more. He still isn't at the point of having a real "conversation" with us, but he is speaking in complete sentences more and more. 
• Nik acts like a "normal" brother.  One minute, Maddie or Dylan will be his best friend; the next, they are fighting over a toy or mom or dad's attention. 
• Nik's favorite place is church. He asks to go everyday.  Second to this, a favorite hobby is praying.  He always starts with "Dear Jesus..." 
• Nik is learning more and more gross motor skills. When he came home, he couldn't run or jump or climb. He couldn't step down from a curb or use the stairs.  This month, he was climbing a rock wall at the park, runs everywhere, and walks up and down the stairs. With this adventurous spirit comes quite a few boo-boos.  As I type this, he is covered head to toe with bruises from a particularly adventurous weekend that involved multiple falls! So, we will hold off on any professional pictures for awhile. 

This month was also full of adventures.  We celebrated our first Easter together as a family.  My brother, "Uncle John" came to visit and we celebrated with him and Grammy after church.  Nik even got to ride in Uncle John's super cool Corvette.  Nik also went on his first camping trip.  We went with our lifegroup. I had no idea what to expect from Nik, but he did great! He slept well in the tent and had fun with friends. We have very special friends in our lives who have embraced Nik into their own hearts and he is comfortable being with them and letting them love him.  Nik also went to
Chuck-e-Cheese for the first time and swam in our hot tub (pool is still a little too cold!). 

One other very meaningful thing happened this month. As you may remember, Nik was classified as "special needs" when we adopted him due to a diagnosis of hydrocephalus (extra brain fluid on the brain). All indicators were that this had not caused brain damage and he had a good prognosis, but without a new MRI in the states, we could not be 100% certain of this. Acting on faith, we proceeded with the adoption, knowing God had led us to him.  On April 3rd, we met with a neurosurgeon to review an MRI we had done in January.  This neurosurgeon told us that the hydrocephalus has "healed" and that no further followup is necessary for Nik.  He is healthy and the doctor expects no long term problems for him.  This was such a blessing for us.  The doctor (who "coincidentally" did his residency in Moscow) also shared with us some disturbing interpretations of Nik's Russian medical reports and MRI images.   These were hurtful to us to hear as we learned Nik was probably not treated as well in the orphanage as we had been led to believe.  While I am not comfortable sharing details on the blog of this, I can tell you that it has been amazingly clear to us that God has been watching over Nikita since long before we knew him and cares for him deeply. I hope and pray Nik is able to understand the depth of God's love and provision for him when he is old enough to comprehend. 

 Here are some pictures from the month:

Dressed up for church for Easter!

Lunch at Grammy's House on Easter!

Look at the cool car my uncle drives!

Riding around the block was awesome!

 



Mommy and Me love each other!

Chuck e Cheese was a big hit!

Camping was so much fun! The kids had fun sleeping in the tent!

Nik learned how to fish. Dad is teaching him how to put hooks
on the pole!

Hiking!

The lake was beautiful!

Camping!

Our friend, Lora, loving on Nik!

Nik's friend Sydney is sharing her marshmallow! Yum!

Heading home from camping! Dirty and ready for baths!

Playing with bubbles on a pretty spring day!

Pool! Nik has been taking lessons since January. We heated the hot tub on a
warm afternoon and the kids had so much fun. Nik has been begging to get back in
ever since.  I think its going to be a fun summer!