Michael Askar is Doing Great

Michael Askar is doing very well at his new home. He has become such a good and lovable child and is very happy to be with us. We are still amazed at his transformation since the orphanage. He doesn't cry much except for his extreme tantrums when he has to change, sleep or go in the car seat. He is not afraid of the dogs like he was when he first got here. Yesterday, he went to the doctors and she said he will be a totally different child in 6 months from now and we totally believe it after seeing his change over the past couple of months.

He likes to go for walks in his stroller, play with toys, explore around the house and feed Cheerios to the dogs. The dogs know that he gives out food so they will sit near him or at the gate of the kitchen and wait for him to give them something. If they are at the gate of the kitchen when they have to stay in there, Askar throws the Cheerios over the gate and they catch them. If the dogs are next to him, he says "sit don" and they sit down and he gives one to them. He does this over and over and loves it. He also loves to climb the stairs which he wants to do over and over again also. This is good for his muscles in his arms and legs which have to be developed (and great to get him tired :)

We are having him walk around more with no shoes or socks on because he never ever did in the orphanage. He doesn't have good balance for his age. He doesn't like the grass at all and won't walk in it. There is hardly any grass there in KZ so he is not use to it at all.

He looks like he has grown since we have been with him. He is about 21 lbs. now and was about 18 lbs. when we met him. He is 2.5 years old so he is below the curve. The doctor asked me if I was certain about his date of birth and she wanted to do some type of bone exam to see if the growth coincides with his date of birth. She doesn't agree with a few of his diagnoses and says that they sound like they were his mother's diagnoses. She scheduled some tests but said not to worry about his health and that he is fine and will thrive in his new environment.