Hilton Head Island

In July we went to Hilton Head Island. It was Will's first vacation, his first time at the ocean. We all had a great time. The weather was beautiful the whole week. We were so glad that Will loved the ocean and the beach. He had a great time building sand castles, trying to skim board, and jumping waves. In the pool, he was a "little fish". He loves to swim so much. He's holding his breath and swimming under water.

The drive went very well too. We drove through the night (and by "we", I mean me) and Kyle and the kids slept almost the entire time.

The condo was really pretty with plenty of room. It was a two bedroom and more importantly, two bathroom condo. We had two pools, a playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, fitness room, restraunt and night club.

One Year Later

What a difference a year makes. July 28 will be our one year anniversary of Will's Adoption Day. He has grown (in every way) so much! Last Summer, he was terrified of the water...wouldn't even stand in the baby pool in China by himself. Today, I have a hard time keeping him above the water. He puts his own goggles on and off he goes. I can't take my eyes off of him. He makes me really nervous because he can't swim yet, but loves to be under the water.

A year ago, he wouldn't touch sand, this Summer at the Lake he rolled around in it, dumped it in his hair, dug holes....just covered himself in it!

A year ago, he would just constantly cling to me, now he is going to school once a week, interacting with classmates, staying in the daycare at the YMCA for an hour a few times a week, and going off happily with his brother, sister, dad, other family members and friends.

Physically, he has grown 5 inches and gained 5 pounds. He is finally on the charts for height and weight! Only the 3rd percentile for both....but he's on the charts!!!!!

Since he's been home, he has had dental surgery, tubes in his ears, plastic surgery...closing his palate, two ultrasounds, an MRI, a sleep study, hormone shots, and has had to redo most of his immunizations....2 more to go. His next surgery is coming up in August and I'm waiting to hear from his ENT on tonsils and adnoids, which would be his fourth surgery. Then he will see the facial cranial team again in October. He has been so brave and so strong through it all!

He'll start speech in September through preschool and also at Children's. He is saying lots of words and even speaking in short sentences, he just needs work on putting some of his sounds together.

He's still as sweet as ever and is getting sillier everyday! I can't believe he's been home for a year.....but at the same time, it seems like he's been home since he was born.

5 Months Later

Will has been home for about five months now. It's amazing to me how much he has learned, grown and adjusted. It seems like he has been with us since the day he was born. I can't imagine my life without him now.

A few weeks after we returned home, Will was tested in all areas of his development. He was 8-10 months behind in all areas. Three months later, he was retested and we learned that he had already caught up in all areas except speech. We're hoping his speech will improve after he gets his tubes (next week) and then his palate surgery (March). However, he's doing better then we expected. He says over 100 words....just not really clear. He also will repeat just about anything you ask him to. And he's saying more two and three word sentences all the time.

Karli and Griffin have been a huge part in Will's development. He watches everything they do and then imitates them. He loves being around them and can't wait until they get home from school! Needless to say, they spoil him rotten!

Will is such a loving child. He is always so concerned when another child is crying or upset. He loves helping everyone too! If someone drops something, he'll run over and pick it up. He's also getting very independent. He's trying to dress and undress himself, he feeds himself, brushes his teeth, washes his hair in the tub, etc.


Sometimes I think about how much Will has been through in just two short years and through it all, he is so happy and so sweet. It really makes you realize the truly important things in life......