Family Photos

We had some family photos taken yesterday. Paul and I haven't had professional pictures taken since our wedding, and now that our family has grown, we decided we should have some pictures taken to capture this special time in our life. I know I am biased, but I think Kenyon Belachew is one cute, photogenic boy! Click here for a sneak peak of our photos.

Monday

Celebrating 30 and 4

October 6 was a special day around our household, if I do say so myself. It was my 30th birthday! Paul let me sleep in and took Kenyon Belachew for the morning. They came home with flowers and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Throughout the day, Kenyon would look at me and say, "Happy birthday to youuuuuuu, mama!" Paul treated me to some of my favorite foods for lunch and dinner. My parents sent me some beautiful flowers, and I got several nice notes and emails from friends and family.

October 5 was also our 4 month anniversary of being home with our little guy. We had some rough days in the past month. Kenyon was in a few different care centers before joining our family, the longest place he stayed was 3 months. As he approached being with us longer than he had been at the care center, I think it brought out some anxiety about his future and sadness about his past. Most people comment on how happy and sweet he is, but at home more of his true emotions come out. Without going into too much detail, he had some days of really testing boundaries with us and trying to make sure we would still be around for him. I know testing of boundaries is typical of all toddlers, but this was different. We tried to be sensitive to his past and reassure him of our love with patience and consistency. In the past couple weeks, I have seen some tremendous growth in him. He is more secure and confident. He gives us more hugs and kisses, and wants to cuddle more. While I don't like being woken up in the middle of the night (as he has been doing recently for cuddling), he can crawl in my arms for hugs anytime. I think we still have a ways to go for him to feel fully secure and bonded with us, but I am celebrating each small step.

In four months that Kenyon has been home with us, he has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. I am thankful for the gift of his life and for the privilege of being his mother.

A visit to Maryland

Last week, we went to Maryland to see Paul's grandmother. Grannie is 93 years old and lives in a retirement community. Paul and I always enjoy time with Grannie. She has great stories to tell and is a wonderful woman. Grannie was excited to meet Kenyon and I think she had told half of her community about our visit. Kenyon did great on the trip- 10 hours in the car each way! He is an awesome traveller. We enjoyed our time with Grannie- I think she enjoyed her time with us as well, especially showing off her newest great grandson. A few mornings when we were there, Kenyon asked to see Grannie as soon as he woke up. One day, we ventured into the city and visited the Baltimore Aquarium. Kenyon loved seeing all of the fish, turtles, sharks, and dolphins. He has been asking to watch "Finding Nemo" everyday since we've been home. We also spent two days with Paul's cousin, Susie, and her husband and son. Kenyon had a great time with them, playing outside and going to an apple orchard. Susie and her family were great hosts and we look forward to more visits with them.

A boy and his horse

In honor of Strawberry, the wonderful pony Belachew rode this week, we got him a pony stuffed animal. He has named it "horse" and carries it with him just about everywhere. We've taken horse to the Children's Museum, to the grocery store, and to a picnic. I saved horse from being taken into the bathtub with Belachew the other night. He loves his horse!

Another Ethiopian holiday-Meskel

Today is Meskel, an important Ethiopian holiday. Meskel means "True Cross". It is believed that Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the True Cross on which Christ was crucified in the 4th Century. Many Ethiopians believe that the True Cross remains at the mountain of Gishen Mariam monstery.

There are three main accounts of how the True Cross was found. The most popular tells how Helena went off on her search but rather than the Jews telling her where the cross was, she found it by lighting incense and following the smoke as it descended to Earth.

Meskel is celebrated with a huge feast. This important festival is celebrated differently in each region. In the central highlands, the festival begins on Meskel eve by planting a green tree in town squares and village marketplaces. Everyone brings a pole topped with the beautiful yellow Meskal daisies, which are abundant in Ethiopia at the end of the rains, placed to form a towering pyramid which is then set alight.

In Addis, large crowds gather in Meskel square near the Church of Saint George. A colorful procession gathers around the huge pyramid and the torch bearers set it alight. Feasting, drinking, and dancing continue until dawn when the central pole of the pyramid falls, marking the climax of the event. The next day people return to the fire to make the sign of the cross in the remaining ashes.

In the southern lands (where Kenyon Belachew is from), the feast is the most important event of the year and lasts for at least a week.

A day of firsts

Today was a day of "firsts." We started off our day with a not so fun first...a visit to the doctor's office for immunizations. Kenyon did not have any record of immunizations from Ethiopia, so we are catching him up. He was not a fan of the needles (what kid is?), but he was a trooper and told the doctor and nurse "thank you" afterwards. After lunch and nap, we decided to take Kenyon on his first horse ride. He loves horses- he has a horse video, horse books, and horse figurines. But this was his first time to touch and ride a horse. A local park offers pony rides, so we decided to try it. Kenyon was a little unsure at first, but quickly warmed up to his pony "Strawberry" and enjoyed his ride. He gave Strawberry a kiss at the end of our time and thanked her for the ride.

Recovering from immunizations (Band-aids covering where he got his shots)

Kenyon Belachew and Strawberry the pony

One happy boy!