Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

Allie here. It has been such an amazing process to feel myself falling in love with little Petey. From the time we received his profile picture from our agency, I loved him through action, through choice, through prayer. Then I emotionally felt love for him. And then I totally fell in love with him and love him as if he has always been mine. It seems like he has been with us for so much longer than four months because he is now so much a part of me and so much a part of our family. Today, I found myself singing a verse from an old Elvis song to Peter, "Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be. Take my hand, take my whole life, too, for I can't help falling in love with you." My heart is just bursting with love for this little boy.

And now for some wonderful news...All of Peter's medical tests and exams have come back totally normal! At the suggestions of Petey's pediatrician and speech therapist, he was seen by a neurologist who said he has no signs of cerebral palsy. The neurologist was so sure that he did not even order an MRI. We were relieved to find out that Petey does not have any degree of CP because much of his institutionalization mimics it, so it had been in question.

The neurologist also said Petey has no signs of chromosomal defect and did not order genetic testing. We were not surprised by this at all, since we never ever thought this was even a possibility.

Since the neurologist was being very thorough in his assessment, he did order an EEG to make sure Petey was not having any mild brain seizures, since he has been known to stare off into space on occasion. The EEG came back normal, thank goodness. Honestly, we never thought his occasional staring was anything more than just that - staring - because staring off into space is what kids in orphanages sometimes do, and Peter has been doing that less and less.

All that to say, Petey's developmental delays are solely due to institutionalization and he should catch up to his age over time. Praise God! He has already come so far. For example, on Gotcha Day, he was barely walking - more of a few steps, stagger and fall routine. Now he walks very steadily, sort of runs, and even climbs the playground ladder (with a spotter, of course) and slides down the slide!

Peter's final exam was by a pediatric ophthalmologist, also suggested by his speech therapist, who said his vision and eye health is fine. Also, praise God! I am so glad that Petey is done with all these medical exams. While I completely understand why we had to have them done, seeing as he has no actual medical history and we had to know exactly what is going on so we can help him learn and grow to his fullest potential, it is comforting to know that he is now finished with them and he is fine. So many people's prayers have been answered. God is so good.

So, I have to write about my favorite thing Petey does right now. When we're playing on the floor together -- picture this -- he walks to me, turns around so his back is facing me, backs up until he is pressed against me, plops down in my lap, and snuggles in. Love it!!!

Petey was such a trooper during his EEG! He was so cooperative.

Our happy little mummy :-)

Peter spent almost all of the 45 minutes snacking in his stroller and then conveniently took a little nap. 

Is there anything cuter than fuzzy footie pajamas?

The boys being boys.