Where He Leads I'll Follow: Six Months Later....

For those of you who followed along with us on our pre-adoption journey, and then our trip to China to bring our son home from half way around the world, I apologize for it taking so long for this update to happen. Your prayers and support are what have brought us to where we are today!! Thank you so much to all who have continued to hold us up in prayer! Let's just say that we have been having so much fun enjoying Kian that we haven't had time to blog!! He is doing so well and we can't imagine our family without him!!

In March, we took Kian to Shriner's Hospital in Chicago where a team of doctors, dentists, speech therapists, orthodontists and oral surgeons who specialize in children with cleft lip and/or palate each met with us. Then in the afternoon they met in a conference together and compiled a report of what they recommend long term for Kian's cleft situation. We are so thankful that all they are recommending for now is some speech therapy. In a few years we may be looking at a bone grafting surgery and some orthodontics, but nothing major for now! Today Kian had his first half hour session with his speech teacher and worked on the "L" sound.

Seeing Kian go from communicating by pointing, grunting, and miming....to a few words....to phrases.....to sentences in just six months has been so exciting!! His speech is hard for most people to understand because of his palate repair, thus the need for therapy, but he understands most everything we say. And if he doesn't understand something, he is quick to ask....very inquisitive!! "What's that?" is often heard at our house these days.

Spring and warmer weather has opened up a whole new world for Kian...riding bike, swinging, hitting a ball, playing fort with his brothers!! What most American five year olds take for granted, he is experiencing for the first time! Each day is exciting and new and he goes to bed at night exhausted!!