The Walking Man Walks!

I’m not the best at keeping up with our family blog on a regular basis right now. In fact, I’m not sure I’m good at anything much right now except being a parent—and as hard as this adoption transition is, I must say that I think both Aaron and I are giving it our very best efforts, and it’s paying off.

Matthew is thriving in our family, which is so exciting to see. He’s starting to communicate more through verbal sounds (although no words yet), he has learned one sign, and he’s acting really attached to us.

And our big news: OUR BOY WALKS!

Until last week, he had been pulling himself up and “cruising” around the house. But then while at Holden Village, he took his first real stride. We were on the deck of the snack bar celebrating our friend Julie’s 9^th birthday (Julie and her extended family, the Petersens, were at Holden with our whole Eklund family). My dad (whom the kids call “Bapa”) was sitting on the deck playing songs on his guitar, and Matthew just TOOK OFF. He walked all the way across the deck, then back again.

And now the walking man walks. He walks everywhere. He has a freedom he didn’t before, and he’s taking full advantage of it. And I must say, I don’t feel one ounce of regret. I’m just so happy when he reaches each milestone, and I’m grateful that he’s learning so quickly. It’s wonderful to see.

That’s our good news. Our good/hard news is that Matthew’s lip and nose repair surgery is next week Thursday (August 16). It’s good news because it’s the first step in his cleft repair, something that’s been part of the bargain all along. But it’s hard for us, at least hard for me, because next week my baby will go under general anesthesia and be on an operating table for three hours while a surgeon recreates his face. We LOVE our surgeon—Dr. Tse—he has an amazingly steady hand and a very kind bedside manor. We feel very blessed to be in such good hands at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

But it also dawned on me today that we are in the last few days of knowing Matthew with the face he has now. His appearance will be permanently altered after next Thursday. And even though that’s a good thing in many ways, we’ve come to love and know intimately the little boy who has become part of our family. And we’ll miss his sweet lips and his smile as we see them now.

I’ll try to write more when surgery gets closer and also keep readers updated in the days during and after surgery. In the meantime, enjoy some shots of our adorable boy, including a video of him walking!

Matthew riding with Daddy in the backpack at Holden Village

Silly-faced boy.

There's that beautiful smile!

Funny family shot.

And some more funny Russell boy faces.

The kids playing at home.

Love that beautiful smile.

And lastly, above, here's Matthew taking some steps at home!