3 Months Home
It's hard to believe it's been three months!
When we took the time to really think about our transition, we were surprised to realize how well and "normal" things are at home. We have moved out of survival mode and have definitely fallen into a regular pattern, we just didn't recognize it! We've been waiting to find our "normal" . . . we have unknowingly found it! This is just a very different "normal" than before!
The kids are all getting along incredibly well. Just as siblings should, they're best friends, favorite playmates, and experts at annoying and aggravating each other!
It's such a joy to watch the kids playing together. The current favorite: singing and dancing along with Mary Martin's Peter Pan. The kids have the Indian/ Tiger Lily dance choreographed - it's really cute to watch all 7 together.
In terms of language development, the kids are amazing. Hiwot's speech is fully English and she speaks in very complex sentences, making it seem effortless: "I can't make a house again, Mama. You do that, make house to me? I want to watch a movie, Mama. I see deer out my window " She loves watching movie, quotes lines, providing commentary, and is quickly memorizing songs. She knows the words to nearly a dozen children's songs.
Tesfaye is also excelling. Compared to Hiwot, he has a more pronounced accent, still rolling his "r"s and struggling with certain sounds and pronunciations of words. He still speaks in a broken English, but has no trouble expressing his ideas, thoughts, wishes, and concerns. "Ouch! Daddy! Me tongue eat it!"
All the kids speak fluent "Tesfaye". We have to constantly remind the children to "speak complete sentences!" Rather than saying "Me no playground outside", please say "I don't want to play on the playground outside". Poor Tesfaye will have trouble moving past his broken English way if we're all speaking broken English to him!
We have incorporated several amharic and sidamegna phrases into our everyday, hoping to preserve at least a small part of their language. Maegli only call flowers "ababas"!
Hiwot . 4-years-old
Hiwot's personality has really exploded in the past month. She is so full of fun and energy, it's been wonderful to see. She is always busy, always playing, usually giggling and being silly. So funny! She is still shy in new settings and with new people, but the shyness is not lasting as long and she is beginning to warm up to a select few people outside of our family, showing off her delightful personality. We still see the "shell" (where she retreats into herself and closes off completely), but it's now very infrequent. We're so glad she is feeling comfortable enough to not need the protection of her "shell" retreat as often. She has become very affectionate and loving. She'll say "I love you" or "de-nah-nish/nick" and gives the sweetest kisses and hugs without prompting.
Hiwot loves building blanket houses, coloring, playing with the kitchen and food set, reading ballerina books, and taking care of her baby dolls. She insists on choosing her own clothes each day: usually a pink dress with tutu (just like Maegli). She enjoys having her hair conditioned and brushed out and styled, but hardly keeps any bows or puffs in for very long. She still requests to sit by Mama for every meal, and seems offended if not allowed to assist in the meal preparation. (Amy has started a meal-helper rotation schedule, so there are only two helpers in the kitchen for each meal). She still is eating a lot, and seems to enjoy all foods. She often has 2-3 helpings each dinner. She has grown 1-1/2 inches since coming home, but surprisingly (with how much she eats) has yet to gain weight! We continue to feed her lots of balanced meals and snacks around the clock, certainly the weight gain will start soon!
Tesfaye is a delight. He is such a sweet boy, always eager to help and always ready to play. He is incredibly sweet and caring and sensitive with his siblings, but knows how to rough-house like a pro. We do need to beware, Tesfaye possesses real fighting skills! He is much more receptive to our affection and constantly seeks our approval. He now comes to initiate snuggle time, loving to sit with us while we rub his back and read a book. Overall he is so much more comfortable and relaxed, less worried than before. He definitely knows how to have fun!
Tesfaye loves working on school work: math and phonics, playing baseball and soccer, building with legos, coloring, watching movies, building train train tracks, playing Memory, and "fighting" with Hendrick. (He is very athletic and highly coordinated!) He is also eager to play with new friends and is very comfortable with all people. He definitely knows how to have fun!
We pay the children for certain chores, Tesfaye is always the first to volunteer his services, he likes having a job to do. This week we counted up his money, he was thrilled to have earned $17.00! He spent his money on a super Nerf Dart Gun - very exciting!
With health, he's doing great. He has grown 2-1/2 inches since arriving home, and has gained 5 pounds!!! He eats very well and is very proud to help prepare food. (The first time we made brownies together, after getting a lick of the yummy batter, he was so excited for them to be done, he sat on a chair and watched them bake for the entire 20 minutes!) He still doesn't care for blueberries, plain cheese, or milk. We are treating a few spots of molluscum on his skin (very common among kids in an orphanage setting) and he's had some major dental work done. After a lifetime of not brushing teeth, dental work was inevitable. We're fixing his teeth in quadrants and after two appointments, the upper teeth are all finished and look beautiful. He has been pleased to finally be able to enjoy iced beverages and ice cream without tooth aches! Tesfaye has lost 4 teeth since arriving home . . . two naturally (the dentist was responsible for one, Hendrick assisted with the other).
We have been transitioning to a more normal life. We kept our world very small for the first two+ months. Now we are taking the kids to church! Hiwot and Tesfaye went to their Sunday School classrooms for the first time last week and thoroughly enjoyed being with all the kids! We have started going to story-time at the Library. We've had our first dinner guests and had friends over to play. We also went over to a friend's house for dinner. These may seem like minor things, but for these kids, they are major accomplishments! Our world is slowly opening!
Our new normal is busy, but it's comfortable. The kids are getting along incredibly well, and all are so sweet and affectionate. As with all families, we have our moments (some "moments" seem long!), it's not always perfect, but it's good . . . very good!
We are incredibly blessed!
We LOVE these kids!!!!
