Hello...anyone out there?!

I can't believe it has been 2 months since our last blog post. Really, how pathetic is that? I am sure by now the only person reading is my mother-in-law, but in case I am wrong, I will give you a brief update. Tenaye has started preschool two days a week. She is loving it and learning so much. She is really picking up on her letter recognition and letter sounds. We have to make a decision on whether to send her to kindergarten in the fall or wait another year. She has a June birthday, so we can either start now when she turns 5 or wait until she is 6. I go back and forth, Jason says wait. Either way, she LOVES her school and teacher and has transitioned better than we ever expected. She has enjoyed playing in the snow this past weekend, but would much prefer to play in warm weather and go for walks with mommy and Isaac. I don't blame her, I have cabin fever too and look forward to warm afternoons at the park.

Isaac is doing his best to stay well. He had a nasty cold in early January, but is feeling better now. He is surprising us each day with more words. He was a late bloomer in that area, but says "momma","dada", 'mon (as in come on), "nigh nigh", "bye bye", "hello", "thank you", "all done", "mine" and much more. He can also identify his ears, nose, and tongue. He is a future drummer, he bangs on everything and is obsessed with cell phones and remote controls. He also is doing better with table foods, he works with a speech and occupational therapist once a week and is making great strides.

We had a wonderful Christmas (I know, pathetic that I didn't blog about it). Tenaye was so excited for Santa Claus to come until just a few days before the 25th. At that time she started to get a little freaked out and decided that she didn't want Santa looking at her while she was asleep. Even with reassurances that he would only stay downstairs where the Christmas tree and fireplace were, she wasn't too keen on the idea of him coming in the house. We told her that we would ask him to leave the presents outside and then mommy and daddy would bring them inside before she woke up. That seemed to be a good deal for her. She was all about presents though and they both got lots of nice toys and other things. I think Tenaye's favorites are the play doh burger maker and princess dress up clothes. Isaac loves his slide and play tent.

I will try to do better on the blogging. For now, I leave you with pictures.

Tenaye-isms

Tenaye is just plain funny! Her language skills improve everyday and sadly she is starting to lose her accent. I think there are only about 5 Amharic sayings/words that she uses regularly, the rest is all English. That is bittersweet for us, I hate that she is losing that part of her heritage, but proud that she has picked up her 3rd language so quickly. She is one smart little girl. Here are some of the things she says regularly that make us double over with laughter.


1. Each night before going to sleep she always wants to know what will be happening the next morning so she asks "After wake up, and brush your teeth, and pee pee, and t-shirt on, where you going?"

2. When she wants to tell us something and Jason and I are having a conversation, she will put her hand up (like telling someone to stop) and say "hang on a second (or sometimes it will be hang on tight) I'm talking."

3. When she spots a question mark in a book she calls it Mystery Mouseka-tools. Can you tell she is a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fan??

4. She says "I want Mommy's la-lap" when she wants to sit on my lap.

5. When we do something she doesn't like she says "Mommy, Daddy not good job"

6. She refers to McDonald's as "E-I-E-I-O"

7. On the way to KC a couple of weekends ago, she was tired of sitting in the car and informed us that her "booty was full, no more sit down."

8. One day when she passed gas she told us her "booty burped!"

Autumn Update

It has been very busy around our house lately. The month of October came and went in a flash. We started the month out by moving. We stayed in the same city, but upgraded to a house with a full basement, huge backyard, and it is closer to Jason's work. We love the house (thanks Dad, the builder!) and can't imagine what we ever did before we had a basement! Tenaye is continuing to impress us every day. Her English is pretty much perfect. There are still a few words and phrases here and there that we have to ask for clarification, but for the most part, she is completely fluent. Her accent is still pretty thick, but it is slowly disappearing. I will miss it when it is completely gone. She has the sweetest voice. She is so loving and sweet. Words cannot express how much she loves Isaac and her family. She is full of hugs and kisses and is such a compassionate little thing. She does have her typical 4 year old moments and if she doesn't get her way at times she will pout and throw a fit, but nothing compared to four months ago. Isaac is walking/running everywhere. He has graduated from physical therapy (since he can walk, run, and climb stairs) and has moved on to speech/occupational therapy. The therapist is helping him with his eating issues and helping him develop his speech. He is at a really fun age right now, and makes us laugh all the time. He thinks his big sister is pretty special, and they are so cute together. Tenaye is always hugging and kissing him, and he returns the affection. Jason and I marvel each day at how lucky we are to have two terrific kids. I don't know what we did to deserve these cuties, but I thank God each day for placing them in our lives. We are truly blessed.

Letters to Isaac

Dear Isaac,

One year ago today, we brought you home to the United States to begin life as a family of three. Looking back these last two weeks at how far you have come is truly overwhelming. I can still remember walking into the hospital room in Ethiopia on Sept. 7, 2008 and seeing this tiny baby, hooked up to all kinds of tubes, laying in an adult sized hospital bed. You looked so frail and helpless. I just wanted to scoop you up right then and tell you that everything will be ok now because mommy is here. As the doctors and nurses kept reassuring us that you were looking good and everything would be alright, your daddy and I were scared out of our minds. I don't think we have ever prayed so hard in our lives for God to protect you and give you strength to get better. Our prayers were answered on Sept. 12, 2008, we expected to see the same feeding tubes, oxygen tubes, IV's, etc. when we walked into your room, instead you were laying there completely free! Breathing on your own, drinking only .5-1 oz. of formula at a time but eating on your own, and all IV's were out. You still looked so frail to us, but we were told we could take you back to the Addis Guest House with us. Your daddy and I were terrified! I think we slept a total of 7 minutes that night because we kept checking to see if you were still breathing. Four days later, we left Ethiopia to travel 24+ hours home. We couldn't wait to introduce you to Memaw, Boppa, Paw Paw, and Grandma along with your aunts, uncles, and cousins. You have and will always be our little miracle. Daddy and I are so lucky to call you our son and feel so blessed to have you in our lives.

Love,
Mommy



Dear Son,

The day we decided to adopt and start a family, I never imagined us traveling to Ethiopia and meeting you, laying in a hospital bed only days removed from almost losing your battle with pneumonia and a bacterial infection. The mere thought of you not being a part of this family makes me start to tear up and there is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for the miracle that you are. You are the happiest, smiliest, most handsome boy that I have ever met. Just being around you brightens up my most miserable days. I can't believe that it has been one year since you landed in St. Louis and rode for the first time in a car seat (which you absolutely HATED for the first two weeks) to our home in Nixa. Your grandparents couldn't believe how tiny you were at 6 pounds, 20 inches and 4 months old. And now look at you. 20+ pounds, 30 inches, a full head of hair and a mouth full of teeth. Walking and almost running all over the place, babbling up a storm, and laughing and playing with your sister just as if you were always meant to be here. Most people said that you were so lucky to have survived and to be the newest member of our family. But it is mommy and daddy that are the lucky ones.

We love you! Daddy

September 2008




September 2009





*posted a day late...life is busy!

Melkam Addis Amet

Today is New Year's Day in Addis Ababa. Here is just a little information about this holiday in Ethiopia. (I am lifting this from another blog I follow, if you click on the Family Without Borders blog you can follow Kristine's family and their journey to their 2 precious babes...it is a really good blog, one of my favs!)


Enkutatash or Ethiopian New Year is celebrated on September 11th according to the Western or Gregorian calendar. Ethiopia still follows the Orthodox Julian calendar which consists of 12 months of 30 days and a 13th month, Pagume, of five or six days, depending on whether or not it is a leap year. The Ethiopian calendar is seven years and eight months behind the Gregorian calendar, so September 2009 is Meskerem 2002 in Ethiopia.

Last year Jason and I were in Ethiopia picking up Isaac during this time. We actually got to celebrate the New Year at the orphanage on a day that we were visiting Tenaye. They had a special celebration for the kids. There was music and dancing and a festive atmosphere. All of the nannies were wearing beautiful traditional Ethiopian dresses and the cook had fixed a special bread, popcorn, and lots of traditional Ethiopian dishes. There was also a coffee ceremony. Something we noticed on this day was that the streets of Ethiopia which are normally bumper to bumper traffic and crowded with people were virtually bare. When we visited Isaac in the hospital the morning of New Years we were basically the only ones there. On previous days the waiting areas were full of people waiting to be seen by doctors or visiting patients. Also, the hundreds of goats and sheep that we had witnessed being herded through the streets earlier in the week were no longer there, just the hides. Sad, but a fact of life and at least the people got to eat a special meal. We will post much more next week on the official one year anniversary of Isaac becoming a member of the family. It is so hard to believe that it has been a year! It went so fast and he has changed so much!

Home One Month

One month home and Tenaye is doing remarkably well. She is a great big sister to Isaac. One of her favorite things to do is try and make him laugh, and she is good at it too! Isaac enjoys having her around too. She is also a good helper around the house. She enjoys helping with putting laundry in the washer and dryer, rinsing off dishes, and feeding Isaac. They both started back at the babysitters last week as Jason and I are both back at work. Isaac fell right back into his routine pretty easily. He has gotten very attached to us over the summer so there was a brief period of adjustment for him. Tenaye took a little longer, but I am happy to say she is now eating and playing and no longer standing by the door the whole time she is there. She still hasn't spoken to any of the kids or really even to Miss Becki, but that is ok, she will when she is ready. When I pick her up in the afternoon she talks non-stop the whole ride home! She is learning more English with each day. She can now pretty much repeat anything we say and loves to sing! Going to the park is one of her favorite activities and she also likes swimming/splashing at the pool. We are really happy with the progress she has made in the last month and know it will just continue to get better and better! Here are lots of pictures from the last month. Notice Tenaye's new hair do! She loves it and so do I, it is so much easier and now we can grow it out and know that it will be healthy and well conditioned.


Tenaye loves to play with her baby (Mimi) and likes it when Isaac gets in on the action too. (No, we haven't pierced her ears. She takes the links that hook things on to Isaac's car seat and wears them like earrings. A diva in the making!)



New dress and new 'do.



She loves her brother and he loves her too!



Mommy's little helper!



Tenaye loves to help with feeding Isaac. It is so cute to watch them interact. She is a great big sister, Isaac is lucky to have her.

Our Son the Hermit Crab