Peter continues to do well and we see incremental progress on an almost daily basis. He has speech therapy once a week, and although he is not yet talking, his comprehension of what we say to him is increasing. Peter can now touch his foot and belly when prompted and has finally shown an interest in books, even if his attention span remains very, very short. He will let me (Matt) read a short book to him, and if I recite the first line of his favorite one, he will go and find that book and bring it to me and then climb into my lap while I read it. Just today, he demonstrated that if we say the first lines of his two other favorite books, he will go get them, as well. It is very exciting to see his recognition of English grow.
And even though Peter doesn't yet speak, he definitely knows how to let us know what he wants. He doesn't yet have the fine motor skills necessary to put together duplo Legos, but he will hand you a piece and show you where he wants it. He also lets you know when he wants food (which is pretty much all of the time) and what he wants by going to the pantry and digging something out. When he does this, we say that "Petey is going shopping."
There are still so many things to work on, including simple skills like learning to drink through a straw. While he is nearly 3 years old, he is much younger developmentally. But we are confident that Peter will continue to grow and develop at the same steady pace he has shown since Gotcha Day in May.
Peter continues to show excellent attachment, especially with Allie and Noah, but we were recently reminded that we still have a ways to go when it comes to new places and crowds. A couple of weekends ago we took Peter to a "wing off" at the house of some friends from church (I took 2nd place with my lemon pepper smoked wings, or "Lemony Smokeit" wings). It was a lot of fun but proved to be too much for Peter with too many new faces in an unfamiliar place. The next morning my parents watched him so that Allie and I could attend church together for the first time in several months to hear our worship pastor, Gentry Eddings, speak. Until now, we have taken turns going to church with Noah, while the other parent stays home with Peter. Peter did great with my parents and it was encouraging to see him so comfortable with them. But when they brought him to church to meet us so that they could attend the next service, he again withdrew and got very small, just as he had the night before. Both times, he reacted by withdrawing in a way that reminded us all too much of how he was at times in China and for the next few days showed some behavioral regression. It was hard to see but a good reminder that while Peter has come so far, it will be some time before he is comfortable in those settings. It is great that people who have been following our story want to come up and say hi and interact with Peter, but it is still just too much for so many people to be in his face. And rather than taking him out and trying to shield him from people who are well-meaning, it is just easier to not put him in those types of situations. We know this won't last forever, but until it improves it is our job to protect him and make sure that he feels safe and secure with us.
Thanks for continuing to follow our journey. Here are some more recent pictures of our boys:
Visiting Grandma.
At our happy place, Hall Family Farm.
Noah was quite determined to pull the wagon all by himself.
Peter celebrating the Navy's 240th birthday.
