We breakfasted (I really like the chef's omelets and the coffee) and met up with some of the families from Bozeman that had been hosting families, now adopting their host kids. One of the things I have loved most about AWAA is the other encouraging families. Around 10 am we headed over for DH to meet the kids & for me to be reunited with them. It went really well. We bonded & played with them on their turf, and then we left the transition home & they came into our custody. Such a powerful moment leaving the orphanage/transition home, and while the kids seemed a little nervous, they did not immediately grieve leaving nannies & friends like JG3 did. While the 2 trip system is more expensive and emotionally hard on the adoptive parents, I do think it helped aid our kids' transition. J4 did ask Dawit (driver) where his white people were every time he saw him...so I know he was excitedly waiting for us.
We went to lunch at the gallery restaurant where we ordered pizza & JB4 had his first Sprite (yummy!). Kids and parents carb loaded & G5 seemed happy with the formula I picked (Target's generic Goodstart Gentle). Fifth kid loves generic...seems like good vibes to me:) Kids wore DH out playing with beach balls in the room (thanks, Kerry, great packable toy!). The clothes we brought fit (sigh of relief).
J4 folds paper boats like a champ, and Daddy helped him make planes. He puts the toilet seat up (can I get an AMEN!), knows how to brush his own teeth, good napper, loves salt. Very excited to wear his spiderman pjs, is very precise about coloring acurate pictures (no purple monkeys allowed), and folds his cloth napkin in his lap like a gentleman.
G5 is attaching well to mommy and really warmed up to Daddy by bed time. She calls him Abba or Ababa or Da now. She is talking/repeating much more than in April. She is a happy girl, who laughs a lot. She likes her new clothes very much and is happy to show me when she has her new shoes on. G5 is a great 5th kid because when she got hit in the head with the soccer ball, she only laughed. A resilient beauty, this kid is. She was not fond of sitting down in the bath or washing her hair, but relaxed as the process went on & enjoyed splashing. We lotioned the kids up like little piggies. G5s diaper rash is a beast, hoping the Boudreaux's will help. They had cut G5's hair AGAIN (agh!) because of a fungal issue and happily volunteered to shave her bald before we left (thank you, but NO). We will get major use out of headbands.
We ate dinner at Yesabi (pasta with tomato sauce...are you seeing a pattern here?) and the kids liked it. The PBS kids app (for iPad) will not work outside the US, so we downloaded My Friends Tigger & Pooh episodes off iTunes.
By the time I am writing this, at 8 p.m. DH is out like a light, claiming exhaustion from soccer/indoor beach volleyball. He is expecting to lose 15 pounds with his newfound athletic expertise, but I am guessing that the Combos we "invested in" at the Houston airport will balance the scales.
Wish I would have brought: more plastic bags & shout wipes (lots of red sauce & toddlers don't mix).
Edit....6 months later.... Eucerin Original is the best lotion we have found for their very thirsty skin. Also, G5's diaper rash got slightly better trying 4 different kinds of rash creams & yeast meds...1 month later we decided to let her go commando & she was pretty much potty trained within 3 weeks. Even now if she wears a pull up for more than 4 hours she will break out in a bad rash. If she would have been younger, I would have switched to cloth diapers for her sensitive skin. Also, don't mock the crocs we rock. The ground is very muddy in Addis, and having shoes we can rinse out in the shower and be clean & dry in the morning: priceless!
We went to lunch at the gallery restaurant where we ordered pizza & JB4 had his first Sprite (yummy!). Kids and parents carb loaded & G5 seemed happy with the formula I picked (Target's generic Goodstart Gentle). Fifth kid loves generic...seems like good vibes to me:) Kids wore DH out playing with beach balls in the room (thanks, Kerry, great packable toy!). The clothes we brought fit (sigh of relief).
J4 folds paper boats like a champ, and Daddy helped him make planes. He puts the toilet seat up (can I get an AMEN!), knows how to brush his own teeth, good napper, loves salt. Very excited to wear his spiderman pjs, is very precise about coloring acurate pictures (no purple monkeys allowed), and folds his cloth napkin in his lap like a gentleman.
G5 is attaching well to mommy and really warmed up to Daddy by bed time. She calls him Abba or Ababa or Da now. She is talking/repeating much more than in April. She is a happy girl, who laughs a lot. She likes her new clothes very much and is happy to show me when she has her new shoes on. G5 is a great 5th kid because when she got hit in the head with the soccer ball, she only laughed. A resilient beauty, this kid is. She was not fond of sitting down in the bath or washing her hair, but relaxed as the process went on & enjoyed splashing. We lotioned the kids up like little piggies. G5s diaper rash is a beast, hoping the Boudreaux's will help. They had cut G5's hair AGAIN (agh!) because of a fungal issue and happily volunteered to shave her bald before we left (thank you, but NO). We will get major use out of headbands.
We ate dinner at Yesabi (pasta with tomato sauce...are you seeing a pattern here?) and the kids liked it. The PBS kids app (for iPad) will not work outside the US, so we downloaded My Friends Tigger & Pooh episodes off iTunes.
By the time I am writing this, at 8 p.m. DH is out like a light, claiming exhaustion from soccer/indoor beach volleyball. He is expecting to lose 15 pounds with his newfound athletic expertise, but I am guessing that the Combos we "invested in" at the Houston airport will balance the scales.
Edit....6 months later.... Eucerin Original is the best lotion we have found for their very thirsty skin. Also, G5's diaper rash got slightly better trying 4 different kinds of rash creams & yeast meds...1 month later we decided to let her go commando & she was pretty much potty trained within 3 weeks. Even now if she wears a pull up for more than 4 hours she will break out in a bad rash. If she would have been younger, I would have switched to cloth diapers for her sensitive skin. Also, don't mock the crocs we rock. The ground is very muddy in Addis, and having shoes we can rinse out in the shower and be clean & dry in the morning: priceless!
No comments:
Post a Comment