Today marks
us being home ¾ of a year with our Ethiopian beauties! It is so amazing that
our one-year “family-versary” is just around the corner! I remember when we
first got home wanting life to feel “normal” again…well it definitely does! I
almost can’t remember what life was like before we added 2 more blessings to
our family. Here are some highlights of our 9th month together:
T*N***E:
So many of your
highlights this month involve you celebrating your first Christmas ever!
-You enjoyed
making a gingerbread house for the first time! You were very meticulous about
putting the candy decorations in just the “right” spot.
-We went to
the Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo. You said the house with your favorite decorations
was the house with the “Baby Jesus”.
-Opa and Oma
have been taking you and X****r to their German Club where you have been
learning to do the German dance called the “Schuhplattler”.
You did your first performance at their big Christmas party on 12/18. It was
one of the cutest things I have ever seen!
-You lost
another tooth on Christmas Day (your first tooth on the top). So you had a
visit from Santa and a visit from the Tooth Fairy on back-to-back nights!
-You really enjoyed
decorating our Christmas tree. After putting on all the decorations, I told you
to step back at take a look…you stood back and in an awe-filled voice you said,
“Oh wow, it is beautiful”…you were truly mesmerized by the beauty of the tree!
-You quickly
understood how the whole “Santa” thing was going to happen on Christmas Eve.
You knew that if you did not go to sleep, Santa would not bring you presents.
Being the smart girl that you are, you asked, “What if I just close my
eyes?”…Then I asked, “Who would know if you were really sleeping?”…You
responded, “Jesus.”…then you added it all up and asked, “If I not really
sleeping, Jesus will tell Santa? I get no presents?”...I responded, “Yes”…So
you were the self-appointed enforcer of all kids making sure they went to sleep
on Christmas Eve…
-You LOVED that
Santa brought you an amazing gift from Jesus on Christmas morning…a set of ALL
8 Disney Princesses! You kissed each princess and said, “Oh Princesses, I love
you, I love you, I love you, I love you!”
-Your other favorite
gift from Christmas was the pink Disney Princess boots you got from Grandmamma…you
have worn them almost every day since Christmas morning.
-For New Years Eve
we went to our friends house and you had a great time playing with friends and
staying up until midnight! When midnight came you had a blast blowing party horns
and pulling party poppers!!!
-I made injera for
the first time this month (the special bread your birth mom would make and sell
in Ethiopia). When you saw the injera I made, you said, “Wow Mama! Good job!”
and gave me a high-five. When you ate the injera you said, “Oh, this is so
yummy” and gave me a hug. I was so happy…and relieved that I passed the taste
test! The 3 day process of making the injera was well worth seeing your
response!!!
-For Ethiopian
Christmas (January 7th), we met other families from our adoption
agency in Little Ethiopia for a reunion. We went to one of our favorite
Ethiopian restaurants called “Rosalinds”.
M*L******M
Most of your
highlights center around you celebrating your first Christmas!
-Your
favorite part of making a Gingerbread House for the first time was the squirt
of frosting I gave you right into your mouth with the extra frosting we had!
-You liked
going to Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo. You loved having the freedom to walk in
the street and said your favorite house was the “pink” one…yes, your favorite
color is still pink!
-You enjoyed
seeing Santa for the first time and was thrilled that Santa gave you a candy
cane…yep….food is still the way to your heart!
-On Christmas
morning, you were so happy to get your own scooter from Jesus…one you would not
have to share with your brothers and sisters. You also really loved the “pink”
baby bed Faithy received… :0)
-You went to
the doctor for your 3-year check-up. You have grown 3-1/2 inches since you came
home and are in perfect health! The doctor was also so impressed with how far
your English has come…she said you are so amazing! We agree!!!
-On New Years
Eve, you loved having fun at our friend’s house and loved the noise level you
could attain with the party horns! We were not surprised that you were able to
stay awake until midnight!
-I made
injera for the first time and I knew I had done a good job when you were
completely quiet while you were eating. :0)
-For Ethiopian
Christmas (January 7th), we met other families from our adoption
agency in Little Ethiopia for a reunion. It was so much fun to see you
interacting with other Ethiopian boys your age!
We are looking
forward to all the next month brings as we get closer and closer to being home
one year!!! You are both so sweet and we are all blessed to share life with
you!!!
