Home One Month

Thomas is keeping us busy. In some ways, our time in Russia seems like 4 months ago and not 4 weeks. We've made a lot of progress in the last month. Thomas likes to take a bath. Most orphanage kids come to the US not liking baths due to whatever their previous experience was in the orphanage. Thomas was no exception and would stand and scream in the bath tub. He also did not like his car seat or to sit and be confined anywhere (stroller, high chair, etc.) This past week we've worked on driving somewhere fun for short visits and its seemed to help. Our next goal is to work on liking grass. You can tell he's just not comfortable walking or touching grass. Its been so hot and humid here that we've been staying inside so at some point we'll get out and get used to grass.

Thomas is on the verge of walking. He has always pulled himself up but now he lets go with one hand and sometimes lets go with both if he gets distracted with a toy.

He loves to watch cars drive by on the street as we walk. He also really tries hard to get a hold of the remote controls, or to try and break into the child proof cabinets.

The biggest adjustment has been for the dog. George is very gentle with Thomas, even when Thomas steps on him or tries to touch his face. But George is depressed about the whole situation.

Thomas will be turning 11 months old in a few days. He will also be returning to the pediatrician for his 1 month home visit. It will be interesting to see how much he's grown. He seems like he has grown in both height and weight. He eats well but will not eat the pureed meats in the baby food jars. George thinks the pureed meats are great.