More please, Chicken, Monkey, Excuse me

These are a few of Kenyon Belachew's new words this week. This boy likes to talk, and he is picking up English words quickly. We've had a busy week of playdates, going to the pool, eating, watching "Curious George," and refusing to take naps.

We feel like Kenyon Belachew is becoming more comfortable and content with us and with his life here. This week he has smiled more, laughed more, and walked more freely through our house (as opposed to always wanting to be carried). He still likes music and loves to sing. His favorite song this week is "I like to move it, move it," which he heard in the movie Madagascar. The other night as he was eating his chicken, he smiled and sang "I like chicken, chicken." He likes to eat and can eat Cheerios all day (if we let him). After he finishes his bowl, he hands it to me and says "more please." How can I say no to that?

Here are some pics from week 3 home with our sweet boy.

Two weeks home

Yesterday marked our second week of being home together as a family.

Here are some of Kenyon Belachew's accomplishments his first two weeks home:

-Went to the ER and the doctor. Had every bodily functioned checked and cleared

-Met both sets of grandparents and 3 out of 4 of his cousins

-Went to the park, had a playdate, and went to the pool twice (he spent the first 15 minutes at the pool crying, but after getting in the water, he realized that he likes the pool)

-Learned to enjoy baths. We were told in Ethiopia that he does not like baths. He has cried a few times here when we tried to bath him, but the last few times he has a had a bath, he has loved it and couldn't rip his clothes off fast enough to jump in.

Things we are still working on:

-Expanding his food interests- he loves yogos (fruit snacks covered in yogurt) and would eat only these if we allowed him (he is on a two pack a day limit). He has ventured out and tried pretzel sticks, burritos, and tortellini, and has liked all of these

-His relationship with our dog. He is still not sure of her, but seems to get a bit more comfortable daily

-Getting him on a sleep schedule. He was on a good schedule in Ethiopia, but he has been staying up later, which means sleeping in later, which means a later nap, which repeats the whole cycle.

-Communication. He still communicates with us primarily in Amharic and by pointing to things. We hope he starts picking up English soon.

All of these things said, we realize that he has only been here for two weeks, and the first week he was pretty sick. We are trying to be patient with him and with one another. We are so impressed with how well Kenyon Belachew has handled the transition. We definitely have frustrating moments, but when we remember all of the changes he has experienced in his little life, it reminds us of how resilient and amazing he is. We have had some really fun moments with him this week- he likes music and asks us to turn it on so he can dance. He loves to ride in the car and sings songs the whole time about the things he sees. He gives kisses and high 5's and loves to make people laugh. Last night as I watched him sleep, I was reminded that even in the frustrating moments of parenting a clingy toddler, to remember what a great blessing and gift Kenyon is and that we have been entrusted with. I want to always be thankful for the gift of his life.

Lalibela and Ethiopia's Landscape

As I had posted earlier, we spent our first two days in Ethiopia in Lalibela. Lalibela is about an hour flight north of Addis and has been a tourist attraction since the 16th century. It is considered the "eighth wonder of the world" and also one of the top Christian historical sites in the world. We were impressed with Ethiopia's rich history and Christian heritage, as well as the diversity and beauty of the landscape.

Kenyon Belachew

Here are some pictures of Kenyon Belachew. He is hard to photograph because he is always on the move. He has such a fun personality and makes everyone around him laugh. He has a lot of energy and loves to play, but also loves to cuddle (especially with mama).

Kenyon is still not feeling well. We've been to the doctor twice and we have been told the virus just needs a few days to run its course. We are hopeful that he will be better soon and back to his happy, silly self.

We are home

We arrived home safely on Friday afternoon. Belachew did great on the flights overall. He definitely did not like seatbelts, but otherwise he slept a lot. As our second flight landed, he got sick, and he was sick on our final flight as well. We had friends and family waiting for us at the airport, which was so special. It was great to see people and be able to introduce them to Belachew. Belachew was a little clingy to me and wanted me to hold them, but was watching everything and taking it all in. He is definitely an observer.

We came to our house and let him explore a little. Our great neighbors and friends took care of our home while we are gone, which we really appreciate. After Belachew's bath and a few minutes of playing, he fell asleep. I noticed that he felt really warm and we tooks his temperature. We called a few doctors and it was recommended for us to take him to the hospital.

We went to the local children's hospital ER and spent about 8 hours there. They did lots of tests and screening and everything came back clear, so the doctor thinks that Belachew has a gastrointestinal virus. It was hard to watch him get blood drawn and get poked and prodded, but he was a trooper.

Yesterday, he spent most of the day sleeping. We tried to get as many fluids in him as possible, and also got him to eat a little fruit. He seemed so miserable and lifeless. He got sick a couple times, but slept well. He woke up this morning with no temperature, an appetite, and ready to play.

Paul's parents are in town and have been a great blessing. They have made a few grocery runs for us and have been helping us with meals. It has been great to have them around.

This week, I will update the blog with pictures from our trip and more about our 2 weeks in Ethiopia. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. It is good to be home!

Update!

Due to power outages and computers not working, I haven't been able to access the internet until now.  I may not be able to update again from Ethiopia, but will do my best to fill in details later and add pictures.

Kenyon Belachew is amazing!  We met him on Friday.  We walked into his classroom and he was sitting in the front row coloring.  The nanny told him to greet us.  He gave me a hug, but was expressionless.  We played outside with him and got him to smile within a few minutes.  He really liked the toy car and Spiderman bubbles we brought him.  When we left him that morning, he clung to my neck and didn't want to let go.  We visited him again Friday afternoon and had a good time with him.  He gets overwhelmed at times with us, I don't think he has ever had the undivided attention of two people. so we try to give him his space when he seems to need it.  He has really loved the photo album we brought for him with pictures of him in it, as well as pictures of our home and Rainey.  He gets upset if anyone tries to talk the photos away from him. 

 

Saturday we visited him again.  He has been at the baby care center for the past few months, but was moved to the bigger kids' home last week.  We returned to the baby center with him on Saturday and he was so happy to be back there and see his friends.  His face light up when we pulled into the center and he started calling his friends name.  He showed his friends his photo album and pointed to pictures of Paul and I and called us "mommy, daddy."  He gave us a big hug before we left, and also gave us a kiss for the first time.  It was pretty slobbery, but we loved it.

 

Sunday, we did not see him (we traveled 3 hours south to the part of the country he is from- more details about that later).  Today we visited him again and as our van pulled up to the care center, he was lined up at the gate with his friends.   He saw us, got a big smile on his face, and started yelling "mommy, daddy."  We got to bring him back to our guest house for a few hours, so he could see where he will be staying from tomorrow on.  He had a lot of fun at the guest house- he played ball with Paul (he has a great kick and throwing arm).  He also liked his stuffed animal of a dog that he calls "Wusha" (dog in Amharic).  We ate lunch with him and that kid can eat!  He feeds himself well and uses a fork and spoon, but every once in a while he would look at me and hand me the spoon to feed him.  I think he likes being taken care of.  He told us when he needed to use the bathroom and let us take him.  Leaving him was hard today.  When he saw the vans pull up to take him back to the care center, he got scared and became very clingy to us.  He started to cry and it made me cry.  We took him back to the care center and talked to some staff there.  They thought it would be best if he stayed there tonight, so they nannies had a chance to say good bye to him and he could be with his friends one more night.  They distracted him with toys and we snuck out.  As hard as it was to leave him, I know that after tomorrow we will have him forever.  And the fact that he was sad to leave us made us feel like he is attaching well to us.

Tomorrow they will have a good-bye ceremony at the care center and he will have a chance to say a final goodbye to his friends and nannies.  Then, we will take him to the US embassy to finalize his passport and we will have him the rest of the time. 

 

Belachew is so fun and has a great smile.  He likes to laugh and is ticklish.  He is a talker and babbles constantly.  He speaks Amharic well and he loves to sing.  He looks healthy and fits well in the 2T clothes I brought him.  He has a little bit of a cold, but it doesn't seem to bother him.  He is definitely active and energetic, but also likes to cuddle.  He seems to have bonded well with both Paul and I, and goes to both of us easily.  He responds well when we tell him "no," and he is easily redirected.  We are so in love with him and can't wait for you to meet him!

Our travel group has been great.  There are 7 other families with us.  They are all adopting infants, so Belachew is the only toddler in our group.  Our group has had a lot of fun together.  Last night at dinner, we realized that we had 14 hours till we got to see our kids around.  We came up with ideas for how to make the time go by faster and decided to play some games together.  Our group has been so fun and it is such an added blessing to be able to share this experience with them. 

I may not be able to post again, but know that we are doing well, enjoying Ethiopia, and having fun with our amazing new boy!