Figuring This Out

We are slowly getting things figured out with Andrik and we think the number one thing that affects Andrik's behavior is sleep. In Moscow we were sleeping in the same hotel room so Andrik didn't get a lot of good sleep. This past weekend he was still really jet lagged and didn't get good sleep. On Monday we were able to let him sleep in as long as he needed which happened to be 8:45 a.m. and he had a great day. On Tuesday we had to wake him at 7:30 a.m. so we could get Artem to PreK and he only took a short two hour nap and the day was horrible. Lots of crying and several fits and by 5:30 p.m. we had decided to bathe Andrik and put him to bed early to see if extra sleep would help. After 14 hours of sleep, he woke up in a much better mood, had a three hour nap, and had another great day. Sleep seems to be the key for him. So tonight we put him to bed at 6:30 p.m. and hope he wakes in another good mood tomorrow.

Andrik's communication skills are progressing very fast. I had no idea he was going to pick up on English as quickly as he has. We taught him several signs, "please", "more", "eat", "thank you", to name a few. On Monday we were eating lunch and he wanted another french fry and signed without prompting, "Eat more please." By the end of the day he could verbally say "please" (pease) and today he's added "up mama" when he wants us to pick him up.

He's signing and saying "please" when he wanted help.


And while Artem was busy climbing trees...


...look who was busy trying on his big brother's sunglasses.

Looks like we need to get Andrik his own sunglasses.


The boys are getting along much better. They are playing together more and laughing a lot more together. Artem isn't yelling "nyet" at his brother as much and has accepted Andrik playing with his toys. Today Andrik discovered Artem's recorder. That boy might have mad English skills but he has absolutely NO musical ability. Our eardrums will never be the same.

Andrik had his first doctor's appointment today. He weighs 25.5 lbs and is 32.75" tall. He is right in between the 25th-50th % for height and weight. The doctor was impressed with how healthy he is and his verbal skills. The doctor ordered lots of blood work to be run and we will take Andrik to the lab tomorrow morning to have his blood drawn. They will run an immunization titters test and see what vaccinations he's had and still needs. His medical records state that he's current on his immunizations and we are hoping that's the case and he won't need too many shots to get him current.