~ 1 Year Together ~

It is hard to believe that Andrew has been home with us for nearly a year. Time seems to be flying by and I wanted to give this celebration the post that it deserves. We will be in Maui on that day { April 7th } and I know that my mind will be in vacation mode, so I am posting this a bit early in order to have my thoughts clearly written down. In a year's time, Andrew has gone from being that shy, unsure little boy we first saw coming down the stairwell in the orphanage in Beijing, to a confident, out going little guy that has us all laughing with his sense of humor. His smile and bright eyes light up any room and he seems to be a magnet that draws people to him, adults as well as children. I believe he loves his family and can sense that we are indeed his forever family. At times I think he still might be worried about having to leave us, but being that I will never truly know about his situation prior to us bringing him home, I can only imagine that being taken away from his foster family and then being put in the orphanage until we arrived would be enough to put any 3 1/2 year old child into a fear of being abandoned again. He seems secure when we travel and get on a plane, he seems to understand that when I go out or when Daddy and I go out that we will be back. He has bonded well with all the other children and I think that he might kinda, sorta.... even like Daniel now. The boys spend the most time together and have learned how to play quite well. They have their moments as all siblings do, but for the most part they are like twins. Constantly together and getting into all sorts of trouble. I am happy to see that Andrew does defend himself now. At first, he just cried if Daniel { or Fia } did something, but now I see him swatting back and clearly stating his point. Now, I do not allow hitting, but let's be honest and say that at times it happens before you can say anything about it. Andrew is also very limber. He flips around and does all sorts of gymnastics with ease. Next fall I plan to get all three into tennis and Tae Kwon Do.

The transition from Mandarin to English was amazing to us. He won't even speak Chinese

if you ask him too. Something tells me that is out of fear. And although he has used chopsticks a few times since being home, he clearly recognizes the fact that Fia and Daniel can't and that it makes him different. He doesn't like that. NOT.AT.ALL. I find at times that he still feels if Fia or Daniel have something he doesn't, then he must have it too. { mostly food/drink } Even if he really doesn't want it. Andrew also has excellent fine motor skills and patience. He does get frustrated, but he will keep going at it until he accomplishes what he set out to do. He loves school and learning. I have decided to run a small home schooling curriculum this summer for all of them. I think they will enjoy doing that every morning. Andrew will be going into a Dk program next fall. Going everyday/half day. He will be attending the same Christian school as Sophia. I know he is going to love it. Also since being home, Andrew has only gained 1 lb, but has grown 4 inches. He is like a little string bean. Lately I do see that he is having a harder time keeping up with Sophia and Daniel. He stops running and takes a break. I can see his little heart pounding and working that much harder. But our sweet boy does give it his all! ;) Many of you know that we are having Andrew's open heart surgery done in April. I will keep you updated on that as we get closer to that date. Andrew has been such a blessing to our family. He is so precious and sweet. I can hardly believe a year has already gone by. We love him to pieces and I thank the Lord everyday for giving our family this precious little boy from afar!