We OFFICIALLY have surgery on the calendar!!

Well this post has been a long time coming.... We have been on a roller coaster since the last post. We had scheduled surgery twice with the surgeon we had been with since Samuel came home. Both times it was cancelled for different reasons. The surgeons nurse called and informed us last week that after months of waiting, he would not be able to do the surgery. There was just not a hospital around, besides the children's hospital in Kansas City (that he does not perform surgeries at) that was willing to take Samuel. Needless to say, we were crushed and wondered what God had in His plan for us next. Well, today we began to get some answers. 

We went to Children's Mercy Hospital this morning knowing that we would be hearing a completely different philosophy for Samuel's surgery than what we had bought into for the last several months. Matt and I went in this morning saying we would listen to what this doc had to say and then come home and discuss wether we wanted to let him operate on our baby, or if we'd be seeking out another surgeon across the state. 

We spent an hour with Dr. Jiang (yes he's Chinese) and Matt and I looked at each other and knew we didn't need to go home and discuss anything. This was what was best for Samuel. So we put a tentative date on the calendar for a June 27th lip repair, followed by palate repair in 3 months. We have begun "taping" now, until his lip repair surgery. This will help pull down his lip and pull back his front gum line. I will post a picture below. It looks kind of like a butterfly strip. We are very excited and were very thankful that Dr. Jiang spent an entire hour explaining,in depth, his reasons for the way he wants to do Samuel's surgeries. 

So here is just a quick update on how Samuel is doing:

He has gained 8 lbs and over 2 inches since we got him in China. 

He just now has switched from a bottle completely to a big boy cup!

He is eating solids at all meals. Literally what we eat, he eats. We are completely amazed how he maneuvers and is able to chew his food. Tonight, for example, we ate pulled pork sandwiches, green beans and cottage cheese. He ate an ENTIRE sandwich!!!

He now gets very excited when his daddy gets home from work, and runs to him with arms raised for a hug and kiss.

We still hit our head out of habit and when over-stimulated, but we are working very hard to overcome this and he is doing great. 

He has started running. 

He giggles all the time. 

He loves to snuggle! 

He is pointing to communicate what he needs/wants. 

Eye contact is improving greatly. 

He has created quite the bond with his big brothers and they absolutely adore him. 

We have began throwing 2 year old tantrums, but he recovers pretty quickly. 

He loves to play and swing outside. 

He has had his first Starbucks :) it was just a vanilla steamer, no caffeine. 

Overall, we are thrilled with Samuel's strides since coming home. We love him with everything we have and are so excited to be a part of his life. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers, we feel and appreciate all of them.