We welcomed a new arrival in my family in July. My nephew (Mikey) and his wife had a beautiful baby girl, Mikayla. It's hard to believe that my nephew Mikey, the one that I changed and held and loved as a baby, now has his own baby!
Mikayla is the 15th kiddo to join Erlan's motley crew of cousins (with 8 living in our same small town). Besides being jealous when I tried to hold Mikayla, Erlan liked her very much. He was very interested in the baby. He really wanted to hold her, but I had to put my foot down on that one. 
Erlan is, in general, the happiest child that I know. He occasionally tries to fake cry (in response to being told "NO"), but these attempts are always subverted by his desire to smile. It's not that he smiles all of the time, but he does seem very content with his life (and he is very easy with his smile).
Erlan has been taking swim lessons for the past 3 weeks. He can kick successfully using the kickboard. He can blow bubbles part of the time. He finally started putting his head underwater to pick up the dive sticks (instead of using his toes to grip the sticks and bring them up to his hands). The instructors let the little kids jump off the diving board. Erlan, after figuring out what was going on, was more than happy to jump into the arms of his instructor. He jumped a second time and was cuing up for a 3rd jump when Daddy intervened so the instructor could get out and prepare for her next class. The instructors also took the little ones down the big slide. Erlan LOVED the slide. I don't know how he's going to take it when we go to the pool, and he has to watch his cousins go down the slide and he doesn't get to go (he's way too short).
Speaking of short, Erlan has grown 3.5 inches since we first met him. Amazing what a few vitamins, better nutrition, and a lot of love will do! The first picture is from our first visit with Erlan.
Erlan's Auntie Del came to visit him again. I didn't know if Erlan would remember Adele since he hadn't seen her for a month. The delight on Erlan's face made it very clear that he remembered Adele. He absolutely beamed when she looked in the car at him. Erlan led Adele around and showed her all of his tricks. His latest one is singing the first part of the last verse of the alphabet song: "Now I know my ABCs.." Adele taught him to put a WOO! at the end of it, so Erlan sings "Now I know WOO!"
Erlan's English is coming along. He understands almost everything we say to him. He has finally started calling Ben "Daddy" instead of "Mama." I'm now "Mom" or "Mommy." He has some simple phrases, like "More milk." He can also do the sign for that... I've learned that he likes signing... it's as if it makes the spoken words more fun. This doesn't mean he consistently signs, but he does enjoy learning them. Erlan still babbles ALOT. He gives such a serious expression, points, sometimes claps as he tells you whatever it is that he's saying. When he finally finds all of his words, the boy will be a talker. His lack of words certainly do not limit his communication ability... he can communicate his needs very clearly whenever he chooses.In the meantime, we are starting to think about adopting again. We both have siblings, and we want Erlan to enjoy that same sort of bond that only comes from being in the same family. Anything we do will take at least a year, which should give Erlan plenty of time as an only child.
