Well, it's been a great first month with Noah at home. This past week we celebrated both Noah's 8 month birthday and one month of him being with us. It's been an amazing first five weeks. Here are some highlights and links to updated pictures:

• Ultrasound and all medical tests came back fine.  Noah is perfectly healthy and there are no concerns from the doctor!  Our next visit will be in September for his next round of shots as they work to catch him up on his vacanations.
• He is gaining weight quickly.  He's put on about 2.5 lbs so far.  The doctor said a baby his age should be getting at least 24 ounces of formula a day... Noah drinks about 40 ounces a day!  We have him well acclamated to the American diet.
• We've learned that Noah loves water.  We took him on several trips to the pool over the last month and he loves it.  He also really enjoys baths and showers.
• We have seen a noticable imrpovement in his leg and torso strength.  He now jumps like crazy in his jumper (which he couldn't do at all the first week), will hold himself sitting up and not fall over and pushes himself up on his hands whlie trying to move his legs when he's on his stomach.  He hasn't quite figured out the crawling thing yet but he's getting close.
• He's discovered all kind of fun noises that he can make with his mouth.  Over the last week he has also discovered his tongue and likes to stick it out.
• Loves going places, seeing people and taking in sites.  He's very observant and is very easy to travel with.  While he does get tired of the car seat (especially when he's tried and wants to turn on his side) he loves being pushed around his stroller outside or in shopping places.  He also loves all the attention he gets.
• We still are waiting on what we do to finalize his adoption and citizenship here in the US.  We have started getting some documentaiton from USCIS welcoming Noah to the country.  Right now he is considered and Ethiopian citizen here on an imigrant visa.
• Also, a word of caution to those traveling to Ethiopia... be very careful with your cell phone use.  We received a $500 phone bill this past month for the amount of time we used our phone over there.  It ended up being about $3 a minute... that's our fault for not being more prepared!
• New pictures can be found here:  http://www.scotthimes.com/Pictures/thumbnails.php?album=lastup&cat=0