I recently looked over our referral documents and thought I would compare her weight then, with her weight now.
On October 28, 2010, in Ethiopia she weighed 27.5 pounds and was 106cm tall.
On Monday, at her latest immunization appointment, we had her weighed and measured and she weighted 44 pounds and was 115cm tall.
That means she has gained 16.5 pounds in a year (an increase of 60%) and has grown 9cm (an increase of 8.5%).
Are the measurements in Ethiopia accurate? I have no reason to believe they are not, as she was quite malnourished when she was brought in and her pictures show how skinny she was. If they would be wrong at all, I would venture to guess they would estimate weight to be higher so that they would appear healthier. The measurements were completed by a doctor in a pediatric hospital and came with a variety of lab results so I would think they are accurate.
I have definitely noticed a difference...she now outweighs E, although she is also a lot more muscular. I understand it is quite common for kids who have previously been malnourished to go overboard when they are first brought to North America. It's something we're keeping an eye on - we want to make sure she knows that she will never go hungry, but we also don't want her to eat herself sick. :-)
In any case, she's thriving here and I'm so glad. We watched home videos from this summer last night and I just couldn't believe how far she's come. She's putting together more and more perfect English sentences now...and she hasn't even been here six months yet. Truly astounding and we are so thankful!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Flu season
The flu has made its way through our house. Last week turned out much differently than I thought it would - I had such a busy week planned and was barely supposed to be home, but then Mebira got sick and all of those plans were canceled. On one hand, it was nice to have some unexpected time at home, but of course I wouldn't want that at the expense of my child's health. Thankfully, she wasn't hit too hard. She had a crazy high fever during the night for a few nights, but was always fairly normal during the day. It then followed with a cough and cold.
The reason I'm even writing about this, is that it was the first time she has been sick with us. She got the chicken pox shortly before we went to Ethiopia to pick her up, but we had not seen her sick at all until last week. It was kind of a weird feeling - she had a pretty bark-like cough, but I just had no basis point to compare it to. I had no idea if that's what her normal cough sounded like. She also has never come to our room in the night, even if I've told her if she's sad or has a scary dream she can wake us up. I made sure to remind her again, and last week she did come into our room during the night. I was worried about creating a monster, but was also so glad that she came to us when she was feeling gross. I actually enjoyed the bonding time with her, rubbing her back and sitting with her late at night until she settled down again. I felt like I had entered a new world of our attachment...where she was helpless and just needed her Mommy.
Unfortunately, a day after she was all better I ended up getting sick. I think I got a different variation, but was completely knocked out for 36 hours. Let me just say that the compassion only flowed one way last week - but I guess that's normal behaviour for a 5-year old. :-) We had planned a house decorating night on the Friday evening, and the girls had literally been counting down the days for a few weeks. Unfortunately, there was just no way I could drag myself off the couch.
The bug seems to be moving to other members of my family so I will be sure to make tentative plans from now on. One thing I know for sure - I am SOOO glad that I'm almost feeling normal again. I suck at being sick, and as much as I didn't enjoy it, it's always a good reminder to be thankful for my health. I hope you are able to stay flu-free this Christmas season!
The reason I'm even writing about this, is that it was the first time she has been sick with us. She got the chicken pox shortly before we went to Ethiopia to pick her up, but we had not seen her sick at all until last week. It was kind of a weird feeling - she had a pretty bark-like cough, but I just had no basis point to compare it to. I had no idea if that's what her normal cough sounded like. She also has never come to our room in the night, even if I've told her if she's sad or has a scary dream she can wake us up. I made sure to remind her again, and last week she did come into our room during the night. I was worried about creating a monster, but was also so glad that she came to us when she was feeling gross. I actually enjoyed the bonding time with her, rubbing her back and sitting with her late at night until she settled down again. I felt like I had entered a new world of our attachment...where she was helpless and just needed her Mommy.
Unfortunately, a day after she was all better I ended up getting sick. I think I got a different variation, but was completely knocked out for 36 hours. Let me just say that the compassion only flowed one way last week - but I guess that's normal behaviour for a 5-year old. :-) We had planned a house decorating night on the Friday evening, and the girls had literally been counting down the days for a few weeks. Unfortunately, there was just no way I could drag myself off the couch.
The bug seems to be moving to other members of my family so I will be sure to make tentative plans from now on. One thing I know for sure - I am SOOO glad that I'm almost feeling normal again. I suck at being sick, and as much as I didn't enjoy it, it's always a good reminder to be thankful for my health. I hope you are able to stay flu-free this Christmas season!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
One year, then and now
It has been one year since we first saw Mebira's picture. November 22, one year ago, was the day we received the referral of our beautiful girl. I remember the intense excitement of that day, and yet the extreme sadness when I received her background info and realized all that she had lost. I remember the first thing I said when I saw her picture - "Oh, she's so cute!"
I should have documented the exact happenings of that day...it's amazing how some details fade. I remember being at work all day, it was a Monday, and coming home and checking the messages. My heart jumped when I heard a message from our adoption agency, asking us to call them, but I didn't want to assume anything and be disappointed. I immediately called K from CAS, and she informed me that we had a little 4.25 year old girl! I couldn't believe it. I was shaking and in total shock.
I remember trying to call Arvid. He was having an important discussion in his office so he didn't answer his phone. I called his cell, then office phone, then cell, then office phone, repeat. FINALLY he answered and then I couldn't speak because I was crying too much! I finally go the word out and we were both so excited.
That evening, we took the girls to swimming lessons and my parents met us there. We had told them the good news and it was so fun to talk about it with them. Later that evening K from CAS came over and showed us the pictures and gave us all of the documentation that she was given. There's actually quite a bit of stuff that you get - details on history, medical and lab reports, intake reports with all of the various government signatures, birth and death certificates, you name it. We also received three precious pictures and I couldn't help but keep staring at them over and over again.
We decided not to tell the girls until our consult with the International Adoption doctor. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get that consult until Friday evening and it nearly killed me to wait that long. We had a good 1.5-2 hour phone conversation with her, gave our final consent and then came out to tell the girls. We had taken the pictures of Mebira and given each of the girls their own photo album with the pictures inside. We also gave them a nice card. After that we went to Montana's and celebrated!
And here we are, a year later. SO much has changed in that year. We've welcomed Mebira and said good-bye to Arvid's dad. We've gotten to know the beautiful girl from the picture and have grown to love her like she's always been here. We've had family dynamics change, but have started to adjust to the new normal.
Above all, we are so thankful to have this amazing family. What a blessing each and every person is to me!
Here is a picture from then:
And now:
I should have documented the exact happenings of that day...it's amazing how some details fade. I remember being at work all day, it was a Monday, and coming home and checking the messages. My heart jumped when I heard a message from our adoption agency, asking us to call them, but I didn't want to assume anything and be disappointed. I immediately called K from CAS, and she informed me that we had a little 4.25 year old girl! I couldn't believe it. I was shaking and in total shock.
I remember trying to call Arvid. He was having an important discussion in his office so he didn't answer his phone. I called his cell, then office phone, then cell, then office phone, repeat. FINALLY he answered and then I couldn't speak because I was crying too much! I finally go the word out and we were both so excited.
That evening, we took the girls to swimming lessons and my parents met us there. We had told them the good news and it was so fun to talk about it with them. Later that evening K from CAS came over and showed us the pictures and gave us all of the documentation that she was given. There's actually quite a bit of stuff that you get - details on history, medical and lab reports, intake reports with all of the various government signatures, birth and death certificates, you name it. We also received three precious pictures and I couldn't help but keep staring at them over and over again.
We decided not to tell the girls until our consult with the International Adoption doctor. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get that consult until Friday evening and it nearly killed me to wait that long. We had a good 1.5-2 hour phone conversation with her, gave our final consent and then came out to tell the girls. We had taken the pictures of Mebira and given each of the girls their own photo album with the pictures inside. We also gave them a nice card. After that we went to Montana's and celebrated!
And here we are, a year later. SO much has changed in that year. We've welcomed Mebira and said good-bye to Arvid's dad. We've gotten to know the beautiful girl from the picture and have grown to love her like she's always been here. We've had family dynamics change, but have started to adjust to the new normal.
Above all, we are so thankful to have this amazing family. What a blessing each and every person is to me!
Here is a picture from then:
And now:
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
It finally snowed
Well, after breaking numerous records for the longest time without snow, we finally had some snow last weekend! The girls were sooo excited. Mebira got up super early once she saw the snow and all the kids got totally bundled up and were outside by 8 in the morning - they didn't even stop to eat breakfast first.
(Below) Here they are shoveling the driveway. It's actually quite funny to watch - we just end up with a whole bunch of random shoveling tracks on our driveway with no rhyme or reason as to the direction.
(Below) A VERY happy girl to finally have snow.
(Below) Here they are, playing school.
Now that we've had snow for about four days the novelty is wearing off. Mebira is starting to say that it's too cold out and that she wants it to be warm. Oh wow - it's going to be a long winter for her! :-)
(Below) Here they are shoveling the driveway. It's actually quite funny to watch - we just end up with a whole bunch of random shoveling tracks on our driveway with no rhyme or reason as to the direction.
(Below) A VERY happy girl to finally have snow.
(Below) Here they are, playing school.
Now that we've had snow for about four days the novelty is wearing off. Mebira is starting to say that it's too cold out and that she wants it to be warm. Oh wow - it's going to be a long winter for her! :-)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Banff, with pics
I've been a bit negligent on the blog lately, I suppose. Part of the reason is because we had a lovely weekend away last week and I don't like to post about it until after we're home so that I'm not announcing to the world that our house is empty! :-) The other reason is that I wanted to attach pictures with this posting and I always dread that...it seems to take so much extra effort. :-)
Anyway, we have gone to Banff in November almost every year for the last four years with my wonderful friend, B, and her family. She happens to have three girls who are all the same ages as our girls, and amazingly enough they actually all ended up in the same classes this year, which is pretty cool considering there are three classes for each grade level.
It STILL had not snowed yet at home, but we were hoping to catch some snow in Banff. Sure enough, on our way there, we saw small amounts of snow at the side of the road at Mebira nearly gave us a heart attack each time she saw some. She would yell, "SNOW" at the top of her lungs.
(Below) We stopped for supper on the way and there was actually some snow there. Mebira whipped out of the car as soon as we stopped and rushed across the parking lot to the ditch. It was cold, but she had to play a bit before she went in.
(Below) Here is a picture of the six girls together. It was like a sea of pink everywhere we went.
(Below) You just can't shop on Banff Ave without warming up with a good Starbucks afterward. Mebira had her first hot chocolate and LOVED it!
(Below) We stayed at a great hotel (Douglas Fir) which has its own play place. The kids loved playing there with their friends, and we loved sitting and watching them, talking or reading. :-)
(Below) G in the play place.
(Below) Mebira climbing up and around.
(Below) Elizabeth and Mebira planned to wear these shirts when they heard there would be snow in Banff. They co-ordinated jeans, shirts and boots as well. :-)
(Below) My beautiful GEMs!
(Below) This animal was right outside our window for most of the weekend. It was pretty cool to watch him. We had debates if he was a caribou or an elk and after using google images, (thanks, B) it was determined he was an elk.
(Below) Another cute pic of the six girls.
(Below) We ended up staying an extra night in Banff as we had to head to Calgary the next day to get Mebira's US visa. After our friends left on the Sunday we took a drive to Sunshine ski hill to show Mebira lots of snow. There is a beautiful path that we walked on for awhile. If we didn't have the kids we for sure would have walked the 5km uphill to the ski hill, unfortunately, the kids got tired after less than a km. Fortunately, there was enough snow to play for a bit.
(Below) A beautiful winter wonderland.
(Below) I'm not sure what they were making, but they had a blast! After a little while Mebira started complaining about the cold. For weeks she kept telling me how she didn't like hot but liked the cold. HA! I knew she would regret that once she experienced it. :-)
Well, that pretty much sums up our trip. We got Mebira's US visa in Calgary on the way home, then the girls had two days of school and then they were off for two. I've had a four-day weekend with them and it feels like it was shorter than a regular one!! Good thing Christmas (and a real break!) is coming!
Anyway, we have gone to Banff in November almost every year for the last four years with my wonderful friend, B, and her family. She happens to have three girls who are all the same ages as our girls, and amazingly enough they actually all ended up in the same classes this year, which is pretty cool considering there are three classes for each grade level.
It STILL had not snowed yet at home, but we were hoping to catch some snow in Banff. Sure enough, on our way there, we saw small amounts of snow at the side of the road at Mebira nearly gave us a heart attack each time she saw some. She would yell, "SNOW" at the top of her lungs.
(Below) We stopped for supper on the way and there was actually some snow there. Mebira whipped out of the car as soon as we stopped and rushed across the parking lot to the ditch. It was cold, but she had to play a bit before she went in.
(Below) Here is a picture of the six girls together. It was like a sea of pink everywhere we went.
(Below) You just can't shop on Banff Ave without warming up with a good Starbucks afterward. Mebira had her first hot chocolate and LOVED it!
(Below) We stayed at a great hotel (Douglas Fir) which has its own play place. The kids loved playing there with their friends, and we loved sitting and watching them, talking or reading. :-)
(Below) G in the play place.
(Below) Mebira climbing up and around.
(Below) Elizabeth and Mebira planned to wear these shirts when they heard there would be snow in Banff. They co-ordinated jeans, shirts and boots as well. :-)
(Below) My beautiful GEMs!
(Below) This animal was right outside our window for most of the weekend. It was pretty cool to watch him. We had debates if he was a caribou or an elk and after using google images, (thanks, B) it was determined he was an elk.
(Below) Another cute pic of the six girls. 
(Below) We ended up staying an extra night in Banff as we had to head to Calgary the next day to get Mebira's US visa. After our friends left on the Sunday we took a drive to Sunshine ski hill to show Mebira lots of snow. There is a beautiful path that we walked on for awhile. If we didn't have the kids we for sure would have walked the 5km uphill to the ski hill, unfortunately, the kids got tired after less than a km. Fortunately, there was enough snow to play for a bit.
(Below) A beautiful winter wonderland.
(Below) I'm not sure what they were making, but they had a blast! After a little while Mebira started complaining about the cold. For weeks she kept telling me how she didn't like hot but liked the cold. HA! I knew she would regret that once she experienced it. :-)
Well, that pretty much sums up our trip. We got Mebira's US visa in Calgary on the way home, then the girls had two days of school and then they were off for two. I've had a four-day weekend with them and it feels like it was shorter than a regular one!! Good thing Christmas (and a real break!) is coming!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Fall Leaves
From what I can gather, trees don't drop their leaves in Wolayta, where Mebira is from. Now I'm no botanist, and this is from the mouth of a five year old, but she at least doesn't remember leaves falling like they do here. We've had lots of conversations over the last few weeks about the pretty colours they turn, and then as it gets cold they drop their leaves and stay bare until the spring and then leaves grow again.
Yesterday I was working out and watching The Biggest Loser. I'm sorry if you don't like that show, but I find it motivating to see them sweat and scream while I'm sweating and screaming. :-) The girls have lots of toys in the basement and putter around while I'm down there. One of the trainers is an African American who happens to be bald. Mebira looked at him for a while and then asked me if his hair fell off because of the cold, too. Haha - I got a good kick out of that one and thought I'd share with you. :-)
Yesterday I was working out and watching The Biggest Loser. I'm sorry if you don't like that show, but I find it motivating to see them sweat and scream while I'm sweating and screaming. :-) The girls have lots of toys in the basement and putter around while I'm down there. One of the trainers is an African American who happens to be bald. Mebira looked at him for a while and then asked me if his hair fell off because of the cold, too. Haha - I got a good kick out of that one and thought I'd share with you. :-)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Good-bye Halloween!
I am not a lover of Halloween. I started writing this post on my soapbox, talking about all the things I don't like about Halloween. However, I think I will let that go and not bore you with my thoughts. It has been a bit eye opening to have a child from another country experience Halloween for the first time. It was hard to go in some stores as the displays are downright gory and evil and poor Mebira got spooked by some of them. I honestly don't know why we think it's normal or OK to have some of that stuff on display...but I digress. All I know is that when November 1st comes around it is like a breath of fresh air. The often evil, gory and yucky displays are gone and CHRISTMAS is in the air!
We leave it up to our kids each year if they would like to participate in Halloween festivities or not. Of course we love pumpkins, fall leaves and candy so Halloween isn't all bad. But if they don't want to participate I certainly don't feel the need to encourage participation - especially because I dread thinking of costumes! G and E opted out of their school Halloween parties so we had a girls shopping afternoon and went for coffee and snacks. Last year they decided not to go trick or treating but this year E wanted to take Mebira out (with dad) to show her what it was like.
In the evening, G stayed home with me and did a great job of handing out candy...she took her job quite seriously. E and M had a great time and although they were only gone for less than an hour we still have way too much candy in our house!
Anyway, here are a few pics of them:
(Below) E and M all bundled up and ready to go. Turns out they were a little too bundled up - E's hair was almost soaking wet when she got back!
(Below) You can tell they were on a mission - quick in, quick out.
(Below) Sadly, this is probably only half of the candy...we got way too much! Our school is collecting candy donations for some charities and I think we'll have to get rid of a bunch. I'll smuggle some of it in sometime when I'm going to pick up the girls. :-)
We leave it up to our kids each year if they would like to participate in Halloween festivities or not. Of course we love pumpkins, fall leaves and candy so Halloween isn't all bad. But if they don't want to participate I certainly don't feel the need to encourage participation - especially because I dread thinking of costumes! G and E opted out of their school Halloween parties so we had a girls shopping afternoon and went for coffee and snacks. Last year they decided not to go trick or treating but this year E wanted to take Mebira out (with dad) to show her what it was like.
In the evening, G stayed home with me and did a great job of handing out candy...she took her job quite seriously. E and M had a great time and although they were only gone for less than an hour we still have way too much candy in our house!
Anyway, here are a few pics of them:
(Below) E and M all bundled up and ready to go. Turns out they were a little too bundled up - E's hair was almost soaking wet when she got back!
(Below) You can tell they were on a mission - quick in, quick out. 
(Below) Sadly, this is probably only half of the candy...we got way too much! Our school is collecting candy donations for some charities and I think we'll have to get rid of a bunch. I'll smuggle some of it in sometime when I'm going to pick up the girls. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)