Benjamin/Anthony One month later

Benjamin/Anthony has been home for more than a month. This is the letter Carrie sent. I am so grateful that she got him back to the US before the leak in his heart was found. I am not sure I would have known what to do about that.

I wish I could show you how great this child is, but you already know...its already been one month and he has adapted so nicely. In fact better than any of the other boys upon arrival. He sleeps through the night in his own bed, for 2 1/2 weeks now. It took Anderson 10 1/2 months, and Adam a year before they slept through the night! A true blessing he is!!!!!!!!!

Anthony is doing great with our family and just brightens my day each morning. He is getting along well with his brothers and loves playing with them. Our youngest is still having trouble "sharing mom" but is slowly seeing I can love them all! Its hard for him to understand for 2 years old, but Anthony is so resilient that he tries to be his friend. It melts my heart.

His language development is wonderful. I have taught him some sign language and he is already using it! He speaks 2 word sentences and copies all the boys words. He does still speak some Chinese, and I am trying to find someone to talk to him and teach me his language. I think it would be a wonderful benefit for him to keep his language. He is so smart! He takes care of Anderson, the one who wants him to "go away" and helps him with chores...shoes, helping with the dishes,setting the table, etc. He cleans up, puts on his shoes, gets dressed part way, reads books and loves the library. He is cautioned by strangers still, but that is fine. He warms up to others after a while and gives lots of hugs. Last week I gave him a hug before bed and kissed him on the cheek, and he grabbed my neck and kissed me back and said, "love you mama." It doesn't get any better than that!

On another note, his heart is not so good. I have been extremely busy trying to find the best care for him, taking him to specialists upon specialists, test, blood work, chest x-rays, etc. His valve has a leak. I believe its the atrioventricular valve. He had been tested when we came home with a doppler, echo, and EKG and found a small leak but no one was concerned. Now, the leak is bigger. The doctor would like to treat him with meds first, slowing down his blood pressure thus decreasing the amount of blood flow through the leaky valve. I had to buy a toddler BP cuff and unit to monitor his BP for a while. Poor guy has been poked and prodded enough and still has a wonderful smile when we get home again. He is a wonderful boy and I am so glad he is here with us!!!!!!!!

I will keep you posted for sure! I am sending my favorite photo!!!!!!!!!

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Life, Love and Laughter,

Amanda

Starfish Foster Home

http://chinesestarfish.blogspot.com/

http://www.chinesestarfish.org/

1348.812.4847