Two Years Old!

I can't believe baby is two years old! It was just a little over a year ago that I was visiting an 11 month old who couldn't sit up and then a few weeks later she was celebrating her first birthday at the foster home. I felt so priveledged to be celebrating her birth with her for the first time this year.
Since Medhanit is such a bookworm, we did the story a 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' as the theme. It was a big party, probably 75 people with a puppet shows, crafts, book stations, and all the food from the book. She had her first juice and birthday cake, the juice was the big hit of the day with her. I thought she would have a hard time with all the attention and large crowd, but she did great even going up to the front at the puppet show.

Celebrating Christmas in the US and Gena

Wow, having a baby at Christmas makes it so much more meaningful and fun. The cliche of seeing everything as new through a child's eye is so true.





First Carousel Ride

 Christmas was busy, with lots of activities leading up to it.



Candy Cane Train



HIC Trolley Ride








Decorating the tree



Gingerbread Village



Christmas Eve candlelight service was wonderful too, reminding me of the precious gift of love God sent me this year.

I spread out opening presents from other people over three nights, as she would get tired after opening 3 or 4 gifts. Medhanit really needed nothing, but was blessed with much. My neice Shawna joined us and we had a lovely Christmas together.




Learning to open a present with Auntie Shawna

 





 

 

New Year's Eve we were so tired and fell asleep

far before the New Year rang in.



Celebrating our first Gena together was really special with our friends Alana and Xander and their twin Ethiopians two-year-olds Yona and Henry. A feast with lots of playful fun was had, reminding us that it is the focus on love, not gifts, that binds us together.
  



The Winter Season

I can't believe we have been home 5 months. Medhanit has experienced so much and has been so resilient. There are still attachment and fears that we are working through, but I am thrilled at the progress so far.

I really love her sense of humor, she has a funny face for everything and is using her body to act out dramatic play too. I love it when she walks crouched over growling, her whole face and body get in the act.

She is loving all the holiday fun. She has gone on a holiday train, visited Santa (not her favorite activity), decorated a Christmas tree, attended holiday parties, rode on the Christmas trolley, opened a daily advent calendar with little surprises, and experienced the frenzy of black Friday. And we still have Christmas Eve candlelight service, not to mention Christmas day, to experience. Here's a few photos of her fun so far.





Two months home

 We've been home over two months now. Medhanit now says about 25 words in English, about 5 in Amharic and just said her first 2-word sentence to her dolly: "Hi Baby".

I am back at work, but this week Medhanit has to come to my office as she developed Chicken Pox from the vaccine. She is utterly bored and mad to be stuck in my little office all day.
She is walking all over the place and learning to walk up stairs. I am amazed at the speed of her progress, but mostly proud



 

6 weeks home and Medhanit is doing great

Medhanit is on superspeed learning. She now says about 12 words in English and signs six. She understands most things I ask her or tell her about (I think). She walks between 2 - 10 steps, depending on her mood. She loves bananas, bread in any form, fruits and some vegetables, and yogurt. She sleeps 2 naps and almost always sleeps through the night for 9-10 hours. She is still working on trusting me and doesn't let too many people hold her. For now, she wants me within her eyesight or at least around the corner. She's very cuddly, loves being rocked, and holds good eye contact. We are definately attaching well. I have two more weeks before I go back to work and I'm not looking forward to it. I really wish I had at least 6 months at home with her. Here's a few photos since we returned.

We're Home!

We've been home for 4 days but she's been sick as have I. We are both battling exhaustion and getting our internal clocks on Hawaii schedule. But, besides that, we are attaching and having a lot of fun. We both laugh a lot, she is a bundle of hillarious baby. It seems surreal how easy it is to be her Mommy, I was definately expecting more difficulty. God has blessed me with my precious Medhanit. More later on the trip.

Embassy! Embassy! Embassy!

Amazing day for me and Medhanit. Last night I got clearance to go to Ethiopia for our embassy appointment on July 6th.

It went down like this:
I harrassed the embassy daily this week asking if they had any update on my paperwork (I knew it had been submitted this week). I even went so far as to call them repeatedly in Ethiopia last night. Needless to say, they did not answer my emails nor did anyone answer the phone or return my phone call.
But I digress, around 8pm I received an email saying I was cleared to go to my embassy appt, but the earliest available date was July 13th. Then 30 seconds later a new email popped up saying please disregard the previous email allowing clearance as my paperwork expires as of July 14th and I would have to renew it before they would allow me to go. I was on a high then a low and I could only think to beg them to let me come earlier. So that's what I did. I sent an email begging them to let me come a week earlier because otherwise I would be delayed a month renewing my paperwork. I didn't hold much hope out, but I did pray. A half hour later, a new email popped up saying they had an opening July 6th and they could fit me in. I literally yelled with joy and immediately emailed them back to say thank you and YES PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!

Today I confirmed with my agency and purchased my plane ticket. I am ready to go!