Post Adoption: 4 Months

[Y'all...no lie...I wrote this two weeks ago and forgot to publish it! Better late than never, right?]

Four months! What in the actual world, y'all? How have we had this precious boy for four months already?! If you haven't yet seen our video of our trip to China, you can see that HERE.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT: Brooks has two speeds - ON and asleep. He's 90 to nothin' and it's just the best. Okay, maybe not the best when he's running and screaming through Kroger, but MOST of the time, his energy is just contagious and I can't get enough. Brooks is a running, climbing, jumping machine...and just totally all boy.

He loves to push things around, throw things, and dump out anything he can. Total toddler terrorist. His fine motor skills are also improving. He eats 90% of his food with a fork, loves to put anything he possibly can together, and has even started problem solving at times when he can't figure something out. He is a determined little boy, and I can't wait to see how that energy gets channeled as he grows up! No updated measurements, but we go to the doctor for his 18-month check next week, and I'm anticipating quite a jump in both height and weight. We'll see!

ATTACHMENT: We are so thankful that we really have no issues in this department. Brooks continues to prefer Mama, but he gets SO excited when "Dada" comes home from work and will go running to him screaming "DADA!" at the top of his lungs. Blake has been doing his nightly bedtime this month, and this has really strengthened their bond. We were told that at church yesterday morning, Brooks played very happily with the other kids during service which we were thrilled about! Up until now, he basically tolerated church and primarily wanted to be held, so that was great to hear! We love seeing his confidence and security growing in his family. He loves his siblings, too!

LANGUAGE: This area has been the biggest growth this month by far. Last month, he had a handful of words, and over the last four weeks, he has absolutely taken off with talking. I have a list going on my phone, and at last count, Brooks at least attempted to use about 20 words! His most common words are Mama, Dada, Carter, bye-bye (his best word), hi, more, all done ("ah da"), night-night, "woof woof" (what he calls dogs), diaper, bubble, uh oh, snack ("nack nack"), Kate Kate (sounds like "day day"), poo poo, boo boo, and he attempts to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat." It's the cutest thing! Now that he's grasping the language more, he's really into books and loves to have mama, daddy, or Carter read to him.

SLEEP: We had a few bad naps this month, but otherwise, sleep continues to be his best skill. Typically, he naps from 11:30/12 until about 2 and sleeps from 7 at night until 7:30/8 the next morning. He falls asleep in the car every once in a while, but it's not a huge deal - he transfers well, so it's all good! No night wakings in a LONG time - hallelujah!

FOOD: Still no issues here, but a few new favorites were discovered this month! Chicken noodle soup became a big fave, as did greek yogurt, corn dogs, fruit snacks (womp womp), french fries, ketchup, and tacos. He's a solid American, y'all. 

HEALTH: We have been battling some hardcore allergies over here, and his nebulizer treatments have been increased to help support his struggling little lungs. We know do TWO steroid treatments daily, and use Albuterol as needed. In addition, he's now on a daily allergy medication, and we are just praying that the summer heat kicks in quickly so all this pollen and cedarwood gets burned up. If we spend much time outside or if it's especially windy, this poor buddy's breathing just goes nutty. It's been kind of a pain and scary at times, but what a gift and privilege it is to have him HOME with easy access to wonderful doctors and a mama's lap to sit in while he does his treatments. I sometimes wonder how all of this would've been handled had it been going on in China.

RANDOM FACTS: 

Brooks got his first haircut on February 26th! It was mostly just a trim because his sideburns were going crazy, but I feel like it just made him look so OLD! (No pictures from in the salon because he would only let her cut it in my lap...it wasn't pretty...)

Brooks has a mild obsession with slides. Now that he can climb up and down small ladders, he literally goes up and down, up and down, up and down, the whole time we are at a playground. He claps when he gets to the bottom, too. It's the sweetest.

Shocking no one, this big cousin of ours is quickly becoming a favorite of his...just like the other two! He loves him some Kensi, and we LOVE having her around to help!

Brooks has been doing My Gym classes for a couple of months now, and he absolutely adores it. I love seeing him start to interact with his "friends," and I think it's played a huge part in his development. Clearly, he loved Bubble day! 

Oh, these two. So much love. So much jealousy. So many ups and downs. They can be doing this one minute, and the next, they're hitting each other because they both want on my lap. It's exhausting but adorable all at the same time. I jokingly call them frenemies...but I think it's pretty accurate.

That about sums up month four with our little one! We can't imagine life without him and are so thankful that God completed our family with just the most amazing son. We are so lucky he's ours!