Joy in the morning....but not at night!

You all are great. Thanks for more encouraging words....and yes, we are trying to value the experience as a once in a lifetime chance. It's always good to be reminded though. I am possibly on the mend as I started the antibiotics yesterday. My throat and ears were hurting so bad that I didn't think sudafed would cover everything and we already ran out of some of the other medicines that we brought with our earlier allergies. Pat is feeling a little sore throat but we are hoping that it is the fatigue. Poor guy....he has lost weight and sleep so he is looking a little sickly. :)

We had a pretty rough night with Nick last night. It seems to have gotten progressively worse each night so we think it is all anxiety related. He didn't cough as much but he just seemed to be having night terrors and would go all over the bed, the floor, whatever and just cry a little and hit alot. It was so pitiful. My heart just broke because we didn't know how to help him. We just kept trying to hold him but he didn't like that last night....although, he would hit at us but immediately still want to be near us or touching us. We are going to try something a little bit different tonight to see if we can avoid his panic at going to bed. He is usually very happy once he is up except he is a little more quick to fuss. Today, he went down so easy because he was exhausted. Hopefully, Pat will rest also.

He is still cracking us up with his cleaning skills. He knows when he is getting tired so he starts to want to clean everything. He pointed to Pat to pick up the toys while he got a cup and rag and started wiping everything down.....everything...the walls, the tv, the chairs. He wants to take all the dishes to the kitchen and then wants to wash them. He would walk around and inspect everything and then give a big sigh. We were just sitting and watching.....and then regretted that we hadn't grabbed the video camera. We are ready if he does it again. We said Ok, it is time for bed and he went around turning all the lights off and shutting doors then he pointed to me and pointed to the bedroom and then he went over to Pat and grabbed him and pulled him up. It was so cute. Unfortunately, once he got in bed, his anxiety started but we are just trying to focus on the really adorable stuff he is doing.

He has his own sign language. It is amazing that he knows we don't speak the same language. He will show you how to zip up his jacket and how far up. He shows you when he wants a drink or when he has hurt something. He is starting to get interested in the very few books that we brought and loves to hear Papa do the animal sounds. We all know how good he is at that, don't we! He mimicks alot and still says a new word or two everyday.

We will go to a kids restaurant tomorrow with Masha and her son so hopefully, we will get a picture of how he will do in that type of setting. we have been out and in twice now without a fit so we think he is understanding that he will be able to come in and out whenever. We went to the laundry today and the ladies came outside and he waved to them. They thought he was very cute. It is colder today and rainy so we will probably not go out again with all of us having cough/sickness issues.

Thanks for all of the prayers. Keep them coming, I can feel them working. Just wanted to say Hi to John and Karen S. Thanks so much for writing and following our story. Tell your brother and parents hello from us! We love you all. K-Pat and N