Rex - Forty-Seven Weeks Home

Today marks forty-seven weeks home and forty-nine weeks out of the orphanage for Rex.  It's hard to believe but at this time one year ago, we were scrambling to get ready for three weeks in Armenia and for being first-time parents.

I had to cut the feet off his pajamas
because he was just getting too tall.
It's okay for summer, right?

The last two weeks have been a bit challenging with Rex as he has been sensory-seeking, so he's been doing a lot of great things like jumping, spinning in his saucer, and swinging as well as not so appropriate ones, like chewing anything in sight, scratching his nails along walls, and banging different objects onto various surfaces.  Here's what happened with Rex and a maraca a few nights ago:

We've had one or two long days with a lot of intense tantrums, but the good news is that even in the most severe moments, Rex no longer hits himself or bangs his head.  The bad news is that he has now started to pinch us instead.  I know it's a phase as he is trying to replace one behavior with a more appropriate one which I still think this is.  I believe that some day, he will truly know how to express and handle his emotions in an acceptable manner.

Elina, Connor and Rex watching TV

While we are experiencing a little regression, there has been a good bit of forward motion developmentally, too.  Rex learned to clap in imitation and he is now able to touch a teddy bear when we ask.  This is quite a sensory feat for him as he definitely doesn't prefer stuffed animal texture.  We're moving on to trying to get him to hug the bear now.  Rex also loves to sit and look at books with me.  He does a great job turning the pages and lately points to things on them, so I can tell him what they are.  It's been great to see him generalize the signs he knows (for example, he has applied the sign for light to flashlights, room lights, campfires, sunshine, light-up toys, candles, street lights, and reflecting prisms) and use them in a variety of settings, even away from home, with a number of different people.  In his last OT session, he asked Ms. Kristen to swing and to sing by using his signs and also told her when he was finished.

Time for a catnap

What has been a most wonderful new achievement is that Rex is giving us hugs.  We can ask for one, but there have also been spontaneous hugs for Craig and me.  And these are real hugs with his arms around our necks, holding tight.  I still get teary-eyed every time this happens.  No matter what else, I know this little boy loves us with a fierceness all his own.

Stay tuned for more Together Forever Month posts over the next few weeks.