One Year

We have arrived at 1 year home for Arouna!!  What a blessing and privilege this last year has been and we look forward to so many more.                                                                                            

September 9, 2014 was the official "Gotcha Day" for Arouna.  He arrived in North America on September 24,2014 and he arrived in Canada for the first time on July 15, 2015.  A lot has happened in his 1 year with us.  At times, it seems like yesterday that we were landing in Burkina Faso and at other times, I feel like it's been a lifetime since those days.  I haven't blogged about a lot of things, especially lately as we've returned to Quebec.  I haven't had as much free time here as Arouna just started going to preschool last week and he only goes 3 days/week, unlike 5 days/week in the states. But because of that, I've been able to spend more days with him and enjoy things that we couldn't do before when he was in school 5 days/week.

I've been thinking a lot about what I would want to write about him being home 1 year.  There is so much to say, but yet I don't want to repeat what's already been said.  It's hard to express what is in my heart and what this adoption experience has been like.  It's definitely one of the most amazing, life changing experiences I've ever had.  And this little boy that we've adopted is so amazing in so many ways.  People ask all the time, "are you seeing any progress" or "is he making improvements" or "is he doing this yet, or that yet?"  Most of the time, we have to answer, "No, he's not doing this yet or that yet, but........."  So here's a little update on what he is doing and how he has improved.

Epilepsy:  As of July 5th of this year, Arouna has not had any seizures that we've been able to see.  Of course, he could experience them during his sleep, but we have no indication that he does.  He is on 3 medications for seizures, but it seems that they are controlled at this point.

Sleeping:  Arouna is sleeping very well.  He sleeps usually 10-12 hours a night and most nights doesn't wake at all.  If he does wake up, he'll talk for a while and then fall back asleep on his own.  He is still taking naps and will sleep 1-3 hours daily.  Arouna also loves his bed.  It's still his "safe" place and he smiles and is happy when we put him in his bed.  He seems to understand when we tell him he's going to his bed and gets a big smile on his face.

Eating:  Arouna still loves to eat, but he has self-regulated to where he doesn't stuff himself until he's sick.  When he first came home, his body didn't know how much was too much, but now he does and lets us know with grunts and uncomfortable sounds when he's had too much.  Arouna eats everything we give him, but he still eats things that are pureed.  He is allergic to cows milk so instead, he drinks Almond milk.  He can now wait when he's hungry and doesn't have to be fed right away, like before.

Playing:  He's definitely aware of when we're playing with him now.  He still doesn't really try to play or manipulate toys, but he loves to be wrestled with and tickled.  He really gets into it and even makes sounds as if he's really working hard to wrestle us.  He loves it when his sisters kiss on him and blow raspberries on his cheeks.  I'm sure he thinks we're all a little crazy but he gets a big smile on his face.

Visually:  It's still really hard to tell how well he sees, but he does make more eye contact.  He is more aware of his surroundings.  At times, we'll notice him really staring at the tv when it is something on with music or dancing.

Hearing:  We can tell that he is beginning to process what he is hearing.  His ears were checked extensively in Arkansas and they found nothing wrong with his hearing, but they didn't know if he processed in his brain what he was hearing.   But now, we can tell that has improved.  First, he startles now at noises that aren't that loud.  Second, about 50% of the time, he will turn to us when we say his name.  Third, he seems to be understanding a few of the things we are saying.

Motor skills:  He now gets into a crawling position everyday and I've caught him just a couple of times moving his hands or knees forward.  He can hold on to something like his playpen, while standing, for a few minutes now without falling.  His sitting, rolling over both ways and getting into a sitting position from laying down are now perfected and he does that faster than I can(which is not really saying that much anymore).

Vocally:  Arouna makes lots of sounds, but not that many consonant sounds.  But there have been quite a few times in the last few months that he's really trying hard to say something and it will get close to sounding like a real word.  The word he still tries to say every night is "bath" and he sometimes gets out the "b" sound but most of the time it's just more of a spitting sound.  But he's really cute as he's trying to say it.

Other accomplishments:  When we tell him it's time to go or we go to pick him up, he raises his arms almost everytime in anticipation of us getting him.  Turning his head to us when we talk to him about 60% of the time.  When we talk directly to him, he responds with a sound about 25% of the time as if he's talking back to us.

I'm quite sure there are other things that I've forgotten.  There are days that I can easily get discouraged because I can't see progress and I begin to think, maybe he would have been better off to just be in Africa.  And then there are days that I'm so encouraged that I want to travel to Africa and bring all the children home to our house.  haha  But overall, I'm just content with where we're at and that he's a part of our family.  I can't remember what it's like when he wasn't here and I don't want to go back to that.

People also ask all the time, "what do the doctors think his future will be like?" or "what do they think he'll be able to do?"  Honestly, all of it's speculation.  As I've said before, we brought him into our family not knowing if he would progress at all.  For all we knew, he could have regressed.  And he still could.  But that won't matter at all in our love for him.  He is a precious boy, created and loved by God.  He survived a terrible 3 days after birth with no food or water, for a purpose.  Each year, on February 27th, we celebrate his birth.  And each year, on September 9th, we will celebrate that he's become our son and a very important member of our family.  Happy Gotcha Day Roo and we pray there are many more to come!