Still alive

Yes, I'm still alive. I am SOOO tired, though. We are officially into the swing of routine now. We tried to keep our schedule fairly free this year due to the adoption, but it's amazing how school alone can just tire you out. G is getting quite a bit of homework now, and when you add piano practicing, piano lessons and AWANA on top of it there really isn't much time between school and bed.

Mebira is enjoying school for the most part. She loved it the first few weeks but is starting to realize that a whole week is long, and that you do have to do some work in school. I feel bad for her because I know the language is a bit of a struggle and this feels a bit like teaching your kid to swim by throwing her in the deep end, but I know she's a quick learner and is picking things up so well already. The school and teachers are great, too. I know if she gets too overwhelmed I can easily pull her out for a bit and do staggered days, etc.

G&E had their birthday on Friday so we had a great day celebrating with them. We went to my mom's for lunch and then went out for supper and to the Lion King in 3D that night. That was Mebira's first movie theatre experience, and first time with the 3D. She took her glasses off at times if it was too intense, and kept trying to take them on and off to just figure it out at the beginning. It is very fun to do all of these firsts with her.

Saturday we had G&E's birthday party. Honestly, those parties take a lot out of me. I don't know why, but I am NOT cut out to be a birthday party planner. I start stressing about it weeks before (where do we do it? who should we invite? what treat bag stuff should I get?) and then the day itself nearly does me in. I'm so glad our 2 bio girls were born on the same day! At some point we'll probably separate the birthdays, but for now it's just one party and one cake!

I'll include some pictures later...for now I just wanted to say that we're still alive and well!

Hair Today...Hair Tomorrow (with pictures below)

Well, I have gone 3 months without doing a post on hair and I just couldn't resist. Hopefully for those who are still waiting for children this will help a bit. I remember being so stressed and thinking there was no way I would be able to do an Ethiopian girl's hair. I almost never do my bio girls' hair, and it's "easy" hair - fine and straight. The most I do is brush it every day. Sometimes we'll throw in a hairband or do a pony tail if we really feel fancy. So you can imagine that I was very nervous about doing hair.

Much to my surprise, I found that I LOVE playing with her hair. Her hair is fairly unique in that it's quite soft so it's pretty manageable. I had originally hoped that she had long hair, and was a bit sad when I found out her hair had been shaved in the orphanage. Well, now that her hair is growing I can tell you that it was a blessing (for me) that it was short. It has grown a few inches since she's been home and I can already tell that it's taking longer and is a bit more difficult now that it's longer.

In Ethiopia they recommended a special shampoo and told me to wash it twice a week. I started doing that, but based on a black hairstylist's advice here I changed it to once a week. I spray it (almost) every day with a mixture of water, olive oil and a honeysuckle rose conditioner that my friend recommended (thanks, SR!).

At first I was doing styles every few days. This was due in part because I found the shorter her hair was the faster it came out of styles. It was also because I loved playing with it so much that I just had to try new styles. My goal is to wash it on Fridays or Saturdays, and then style it that same day or within 24 hours. My most recent style lasted 8 days and I was THRILLED!

One of the advantages with older child adoption is that they have been fully trained in the hair department. She will sit still for hours (of course I usually let her watch TV), and I could (not that I would) yank, and pull and twist so hard and she never complains one bit. I think she actually enjoys having her hair done. (Not to mention any names, but 2 bio girls I know yell and scream when I just brush their hair).

Anyway, I am by no means an expert, but I will show you my progression from styles that were very easy for a beginner, to styles that are a little bit more adventurous (although still easy - keep in mind I've never known how to french braid, etc.)

OK, the first thing I did was to leave it down and put a headband in. This is still one of my favourite styles, but she doesn't like her hair down. I'm not sure if it's because it feels short to her (which she detests), or if it just doesn't feel done and feels frumpy. I think it's ADORABLE but she doesn't let me get away with this much anymore.

The next style I did was little puffs. This was quite cute, too. I just divided her hair into little sections, banded it, and voila, we were done. Unfortunately, the elastics I used (from the dollar store - DO NOT use those) kept breaking so I had to redo it over and over. Also, from what I understand, using rubber bands close to the scalp isn't the best for the hair as it can cause breakage. But really, in those first few weeks you're happy just to have everyone dressed and fed!

After talking to some fellow adoptive moms I decided to try the next style - flat twists. This is almost like a corn row but you just use 2 strands of hair so it's much easier. I just did it on the top of her hair but it was a nice compromise since the back was all curly and down (which I loved) and the part she could see was done. I remember feeling this huge sense of accomplishment after this hairstyle. :-)
After doing flat twists for a while I thought I'd try cornrows. I looked at some youtube videos, and then attempted my own. I was no expert, but I was shocked that I could actually manage something close to a cornrow. (Experts, please don't laugh at these attempts...remember I still don't know how to french braid!!)
This started out in sections, but I just loved braiding so it's half cornrow half sections.
I sectioned her hair and then just braided it for this one.

Finally, I thought I should try doing cornrows on her whole head. It took me forever, but it was fun to try.
This is what it looks like when the braids are out!!
Once I had some cornrows down, I was itching to try what we affectionately call the "beachball". She had this hairstyle done in Ethiopia before we left and again by a hairstylist here before we went camping and our whole family loves it. I am proud to say that after a whole Disney movie I was able to get the beachball style done - and it looked great for her first day of school and 7 days after that!


After 8 days in the same hairstyle (how could I resist for so long?) I thought it was time for a change today and thought I would do sections with twists. This was the first day she actually said she liked her hair. I think it's because it finally feels long to her!

If anyone else has some recommendations, I'd love to hear them. I've used the happygirl blog a lot (I LOVE IT!) and it has been a huge help.

Oh - one thing that really helped is a sleeping cap. I had a satin pillowcase for her but she tends to move around so much that she is almost never on the pillow. Once I used the sleeping cap the hairstyles have stayed in so much longer.

Thanks for hanging in there through this long post...my last picture is one of her in her sleeping cap (from Sally Beauty). Good night!

One day down...

Well, since things are going so great we thought we'd put Mebira in Kindergarten this fall. I'm not sure if we'll put her in just a few times a week, or every day, or if I'll stay with her sometimes or every day...we're totally just going to see how things go and play it by ear.

Mebira had her first day of school on Thursday. G started Grade 4, E started Grade 2, and Mebira started KG. It was a bit of a rigmarole getting them to their classes but thankfully Arvid was along to help. We went oldest to youngest, and Mebira was nearly jumping out of her skin to get to her class by the time it was her turn. (Actually, I should mention that she had been counting down the days...and the morning that school started she woke up at 7, immediately dressed and put her backpack on and tromped around the house. It was cute, but a bit early for my liking as our alarms hadn't even gone off yet :-) )

Anyway, G&E did awesome going to their classes, and same thing with Mebira. She was super excited but seemed to participate well. I stayed for the whole morning just to see how she would do. It's funny, because I thought her English was so good (and it is!) but we're used to the words she knows and generally stick with those. For example, we would tell her to get her sweater or jacket and put it on. Well, at one point the teacher asked her to put her hoodie on but she didn't seem to know what she was talking about. :-) In that way, I'm sure her vocabulary will improve quickly.

They do a staggered entry for KG here so she attended her first day with about 6 kids, and won't attend again until Wednesday. Again, we'll play it by ear and see how things go, but so far so good. She is thrilled to be a big girl like her sisters, and if she ends up not needing me much then I will love the break, but I will still have every afternoon to enjoy with her.

For now, we're loving the long weekend and the beautiful weather! I hope you all are, too!

She can ride a two-wheeler

Wow. We spent some time looking through videos of the last 3.5 months. It's hard to think Mebira has only been home us for 3.5 months. I love her like I love G&E, and it feels like she's been around for way longer than 3.5 months.

Arvid decided he didn't want to deal with training wheels this summer, so he just ran with her on a big girl bike. I laughed at him because I think it was more about him being cheap and not wanting to buy the training wheels than anything else, but his plan actually worked. We haven't been super diligent about getting the kids on the bikes, but he has taken them out occasionally. I haven't gone with them for a while, but tonight we went to my parent's house (about 1.5 km away) and she rode the whole way there and back. She has a bit of difficulty starting, and stops every once and awhile if she goes crazy but I can't believe she can already ride a 2-wheeler!

The other amazing thing is seeing her in the water. She LOVES it and is going to be swimming in no time. She is fearless and tries so hard to swim without her water wings. She can probably make it a foot or so, but most of the time her little bum just comes up and she stays in the same spot. It's adorable.

I continue to be amazed at how well everything is going. She is such a happy kid who sleeps well, eats well, plays well, obeys well, cleans well...we are truly blessed. I know we'll have some issues in the future, but we are soaking up every minute now!

Our trip

Well, I've been slacking...I haven't posted in a while due to our trip. And then it's intimidating to start again because it feels like there is so much to write about. The best way to do it is through pictures, so I think I'll do it that way. Here goes...

This picture was taken the day before we left, just before church. We're getting great photo op's on Sundays! The girls came down in matching dresses. Aren't they cute? I had someone post once and tell me how often she noticed that the adopted child ends up looking almost like a biological girl, colour aside. I totally notice it in this picture...if you could "paint" them both the same colour, they would almost look like biological sisters! :-)

We were VERY lazy on this trip but it's exactly what we needed. We rented a timeshare in Fairmont, BC. We had an adjoining suite to my parent's suite, which was very convenient. After the crazy activity in the summer with bringing Mebira home and saying good-bye to Arvid's dad, we totally needed a relaxing break and that's exactly what we got. We were in bed by 10 almost every night, and spent the majority of the day just sitting around and relaxing (when we weren't in the pool with the kids). This is a rare moment of activity - we hiked to the hoodoos and enjoyed the view.
Almost every night we had some down time and watched some or all of a Disney movie. We got them at the library before we left (FREE!), and had so much fun either watching with the girls, or enjoying the freedom while they watched. This particular evening I thoroughly enjoyed the snuggle. Check out Mebira's sleeping cap - she ties it on every night and it has done wonders in keeping down the fuzz. Not to mention that she looks just like a tiny Ethiopian woman when she has it on - so cute!
Of course we had to indulge in lots of good BC fruit. Mebira is quite creative and was able to accessorize with some cherries. She is definitely a girly-girl. She loves to wear jewelry and pretty things, and still plays with her doll every day. G&E haven't ever been into jewelry or babies much, so it's fun to have a really girl-girl in the house.
We went swimming with the kids for a few hours every day. The timeshare has a FANTASTIC outdoor pool and the weather was great 6 of the 7 days we were there. This was a rare opportunity to sit by the pool and read. I LOVED it!
As mentioned, the kids loved the pool. They swam and swam and swam and giggled and shrieked. We loved the sun and the exercise and the fresh air, as well as the beautiful mountain views all around.
These two get along really well and almost never fight.
The scenery and flowers there are beautiful. Here is a picture of my flower. :-)
Mebira is still a fantastic eater. She has gained 1.5 pounds in the last 2.5 months. Our two bio girls do not love to eat, and almost every meal but breakfast is a battle. It is SO refreshing to have a kid who exclaims at almost every meal "DELICIOUS"! She also thanks God for the food every night in her bedtime prayer. She has obviously gone without food in her past and is enjoying every crumb she gets from here on out. This day she decided to come up with her own creation...Mac 'n Cheese, crumbled egg and chopped up spinach. She devoured it!
Another picture of our three GEMs. We had just gone out for supper at the golf course. We brought pictionary along and played it while we waited for our food. Mebira's pictures are hilarious. If you guess what she's drawing she still has to completely finish the picture before she moves on. And she usually had a picture of Moses or Jesus in there somewhere, too. :-)
We really enjoyed the time with my parents, as well. They tell us they are honoured we'd invite them along. Well, I think total strangers would love to have my parents around. My mom did more than half the cooking, always kept her door open for any available granddaughter to pop over and colour or do crafts, and also swam with the kids in the pool each day. Here is a picture of my mom with her three granddaughters.
A nice family picture.
A silly family picture.
Elizabeth thought Daddy would look good with her dress on his head, like the Ethiopian women do.
That pretty much sums up our trip. Since we've been home we've had a lot of appointments. Hair tomorrow, 4 hour doctor appointment last week, 3 stool collections (total of 9 now!), and the dentist today. More on that later...I'm pooped!

We're back!!!

Well, we are back from a week in beautiful Fairmont, BC. I didn't post while we were gone because the internet there is brutal (and I forgot my power cord), nor do I like to announce to the general public that we are away and our house is empty for a week!

We had a wonderful time and I will post more in the coming days. Just wanted to say that we are still alive and doing well!

Last few weeks in pics

(Above) We had kids camp at our church and I helped in Mebira's class. She LOVED it and is still singing the songs. I haven't mentioned anything about her singing yet. She is perfectly in tune when she sings, and has the sweetest little voice. She sings quite a bit and it's always a joy to hear.
(Above) Here is a picture of Mebira and her cousin, Ethan, at kids camp. They both loved the games. She can run like the wind and had so much fun running around that it was hard to stop her! :-)
(Above) It took her a while to get into it, but she eventually did the actions while singing. The was generally a move or two behind, but it was so cute to see. I am not sure yet if she has the "African Dancing Gene"...so far she looks about as co-ordinated as G&E! :-)
(Above) We took the kids to a huge playground and splashpark. They had so much fun!
(Above) She loved the splash park. She has no fear of water and loves to have it splash all over her body, head and face. It was so fun to watch her excitement.
(Above) This was my first attempt at cornrows. I braided the top and left the back loose. I'm not an expert by any means, and I'll probably look back at this picture one day and think it wasn't so good, but for my first attempt I was pretty proud. :-) Check out her colouring - she does such a good job!
(Above) Her latest obsession is baby dolls. She holds them and plays with them all day. She brings them in the car with her, too, and last week at church she asked if she could take one into church. Since she still sits with us in the service I thought it would be fine and would help keep her quiet. Well, when she got into church, she used her scarf (this is a dress I bought her on our first trip to Ethiopia) and tied the baby up behind her back and walked around like that all morning. It was ADORABLE!
(Above) I'm surprised it took that long, but it took almost two months for her to braid her sisters' hair. She did such a cute job and works so quickly but she did give them each only 6 braids before she moved onto another activity.
(Above) One of the highlights of the last few weeks was getting together with family who were in town for the funeral. We had such a nice time with Arvid's aunts one night, and with the extended family the next. Here is a picture of Arvid with his cousins. Over the years they are not just family members but friends as well...although I confess I sometimes am still intimidated by how good looking they all are! :-) Arvid is in the middle (obviously) and his sister Lynelle is on the way right.
(Above) Before the funeral we decided to take some family pictures since we were all dressed up. It is hard to get 5 people to smile at the same time, but these are the best ones. Mebira doesn't seem to want to smile for the camera much...from what I understand, this is normal for children from Ethiopia. It's not like she's had 5 years of training and posing. I did show her the pictures, though...how everyone was smiling in the 15 pictures we took and she looked so serious. She thought it was funny...so maybe next time around she'll smile. :-)
(Above) A sad day, but has made me realize how much I treasure Arvid and what an amazing husband and best friend I have.
(Above) We kind of got a smile from her...this is her fake smile, I guess and only came out when we offered a candy bribe. :-)
(Above) Aren't my girls cute? They are my GEMs! (Grace, Elizabeth and Mebira)
(Above) After the funeral we drove to Red Deer and got a hotel with a pool and waterslide. The internment was the next day, about 2.5 hours away and this was a nice way to break up the trip and have some fun on such a sad day. We went out for supper, went swimming that night and the next morning before the internment, and had some good times with the kids. One of my favourite moments was at night when the kids all piled into our bed and we lay there for 5 minutes all snuggled together.
(Above) As I said, Mebira has no fear of the water. Here Arvid was throwing her up in the air and she'd come splashing down hard. E & M are so cute together - they have so much in common and had a blast going down the waterslides and being thrown in the air. G was much more calm on the other end, practicing the swimming. And yes, I'll confess, I watched from the hot tub as I've never felt a pool so cold and didn't make it in past my knees. :-)

OK, that's it for now...thanks for sharing along with us!