Aidan's First Gotcha Day Anniversary

One year ago today, Aidan Tianzhen Onken was placed in my arms. He was a little bit heavier than Lily Ping was, since he was 2 years old and Lily was only 10 months old. But it was no less joyful.

As is our family custom today on Gotcha Days, we will give Aidan a little gift I brought home from China just for this occasion, and Aidan gets to choose which restaurant he wants to eat at. Looks like we'll be going to Fanny's in Marysville for breakfast. At least, we think that's what he said. Speech therapy continues on a weekly basis at Children's Hospital in Seattle. Julie and Aidan were just there yesterday for a post-operation visit with the surgeon. His upper lip is healing just fine.

Here's a picture of me and Aidan not long after he was placed in my arms in China one year ago today.

And here's Aidan from this past weekend. We went to a nearby park since it was such a warm afternoon for March in the Northwest. Aidan got to fly his first kite (not the one in his hands, his was much smaller).

Pics from Surgery Day

Here's Aidan getting ready for surgery with his puppy. Lily has her pink "Pup Pup." We call Aidan's little friend "Blue Pup." He also had a Matchbox motorcycle with him that dad gave him that morning.

And here's Aidan getting some last minute hugs from mom and dad.

At the October surgery, they gave Aidan some medication to relax him prior to surgery and the anesthesiologist carried him back to the operating room. This time they decided not to medicate him until they brought him into the operating room, but part of the deal was bringing dad back. That was an interesting experience, having never been in a "real live" operating room before. On the other hand, it wasn't the easiest experience watching your kid's eyes roll back in his head after breathing in the "bubble gum flavored air" ... and then having to leave him there asleep on the table.

Aidan is schedule to have his stitches removed this Friday. After he heals up a bit more, we'll post some pictures for you. It's not a pretty sight right now, so we'll forgo any pics of him until later.

The "old" Aidan is back

I think we have our "old" Aidan back. He's no longer stoned out of his wits from the oxycodone. We stopped giving him that last night, and now he's only on Tylenol. The glazed look is gone from his eyes. He's not as agitated as he was. Most of the day today was spent very still in front of the TV watching Caillou on Sprout...his favorite show and apparently very comforting for him. By the time I got home this afternoon, he was playing with our backgammon game pieces and his wooden train set. We've had a few very slight giggles from him here and there, but tonight he managed his first belly laugh since before his surgery. For some reason, it was the tail of one of his stuffed animals that he thought was just hilarious.