And here, we see Iliya with his bedhead (just woken up from nap) and one of his favorite toys. He will wear this silly necklace everywhere, if we let him. He used to bring it to me and ask me to put it on for him. Until he learned to do it himself. Boy, the kid is growing up before my eyes!

And one more "Sunday best" picture. Here, we see Iliya wearing a hand-me-down outfit from his cousin, Wesley. Other than the fact that I sure had a time keeping the collar down, he looked like a precious doll in it. I do dread the day when he grows too big to wear cute outfits to church!

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Today, we went to the IAC for our 3-week followup visit. Other than the giardia, Iliya is doing really well. All his bloodwork came back normal, and we are now armed with an immunization list, and will be headed to the (normal) pediatrician tomorrow. I'm glad to have gotten in with this pediatrician...but I'm not looking forward to the shots. Of course, shots are better than blood draws, but I'm still glad that Nathan will be with us. ANYWAY, back to today.

We talked to the doctor & social worker today. They basically told me that they feel awesome about where Iliya is - and reiterated that from an attachment standpoint, he is just amazingly adjusted. Which made me feel amazingly good. They also made sure that I didn't have any concerns. The only thing I wanted to talk to them about was Iliya's eating. Or rather, his LOVE of eating. Since he is of shorter stature, I am often concerned that he will be a rotund child. Of course, it's not the rotundness that would bother me, as much as being unhealthy. I don't want him to just eat & gorge & never know when to quit. They assured me that they felt confident that at our 6 month appointment, this would probably no longer be an issue. They said that - as long as he is not eating to the point of throwing up, just not to make an issue of it. We don't want to create issues that aren't there - and being PI, there's a chance that he is still experiencing some residual effects of having to eat whatever he can in a short amount of time.

And wouldn't you know, once we got home today, he ate his lunch very deliberately...as if he heard & understood every word I said. He has also quit the all-out screaming for food, as I fix it in the kitchen. He still (sometimes) does the "Mamamamamamama" thing, as though he is just DYING of starvation...but at least he's not so upset that it completely stresses me out, even. Evidently, we're doing something right - it was just good to hear them actually say that it would be okay & not to worry about the whole food thing. And come to think of it - when I think back to the days immediately following Gotcha Day, I realize that we have come SO far in handling the appearance/disappearance of food. Whew!

And the last portion of the visit today was the developmental assessment. I am proud to say that my child is almost right where he should be for a two-year old. Probably the thing he is most "behind" in is producing "understandable" language. He signs...but his spoken words (other than "cat" and "dog" - haha) are pretty much only understandable to us. But he is speaking some. In all forms of communication -- speaking + signing -- he is producing around 40 words. His receptive skills (i.e., understanding what is said to him) are way beyond that. I still think it's funny when people ask me if he is saying Russian words. I'm sure he used to say some...but if he ever said them to me, I have no idea. I'm pretty sure that his receptive skills in Russian are pretty faint, now. Occasionally, I pull out the two comforting phrases I know in Russian (neh-boy-sah & fsoh haddah show) - and he'll stop crying abruptly and look at me, like - hey, i know what you're saying. But other than that, I have no idea if he ever actually spoke to us in Russian.

But if you're wondering whether he can understand us...the answer is yes. Occasionally, I have to physically show him what things mean, but his little sponge brain catches on SO quickly.

So to sum up, today's visit to the IAC went really well.

After Nathan got home this afternoon, he & Iliya had some 'manly bonding' time today while I went outside to mow. I had this great vent about my yard planned out in my head. I was going to come in and blog it all down, but now that I'm sitting at the computer, the steam is gone. Maybe I'll think about it tomorrow & vent...but for now, I'm too tired.

I'll leave you with one last picture. Nathan got home from Drill yesterday evening, took off his uniform & boots and changed into more comfy clothes. We looked over, and Iliya had taken a keen interest in the boots. Now tell me if this picture is not hilariously precious.