Breakthroughs

SJ has had several breakthroughs withing the past 3 days.

-She comes to me and says "shuma" every time to go potty. No more accidents!

-She let Papaw get her out of her carseat at church and carry her in.

-She climbed in Mamaw's lap and sat for a while.

-She will be in a different room than me without crying. She knows I'm nearby and will come back.

-She walked to Missy and lifted her arms to be picked up. Missy has some weird voodoo Kid Magic that they love her instantly, it worked on SJ!

-She played with the other kids in the church nursery on Wed. I stayed in there, but she was running around playing and quite proud of herself.

-I have learned to manage the tantrums. I ignore it for about 5 minutes, then distract her and she's willing to move on.

-She fell asleep in her bed without Mama there holding her hand. I waited 30 mins and she was still singing and playing. I said goodnight and she fell asleep without crying, on her own. We thought it would be months before she was able to do that!

It's been an adventure learning to parent a non-English-speaking tantrum-prone adorable girl. Some definite challenges, but not nearly as difficult as I had thought it would be. I do have a nasty muscle pull in my upper back from carrying my 25 lb bundle of love. A good excuse to ask for back rubs from Super Daddy!

B is doing well too. He expressed some feelings of jealousy. We're making the effort to include him in all things and continue having special time with him. B is learning how to be a great Big Brother, we're all learning. He's such a verbal kid, we're glad he's telling us his feelings so readily, it could be much worse.

Thanks be to God for our wonderful kids!

Healthy Girl!

We had SJ's pediatrician appt today and he also had the results from the lab tests from last week at Children's Hospital. SJ is perfectly healthy, not even an ear infection! Even her poop was normal! I was expecting ear infections and parasites at the least, but this is great.
We will be catching up on immunizations, she had 4 today. She's like her mama, a screamer when the needles appear. It took 4 nurses to hold her down for the TB test!
SJ is quite low on the percentage charts, 2% on height and 5% on weight. Her smart head is 75%. She's showing progress, so it's of no concern, she's simply petite. Our B was small too, so we're used to these numbers.
In Ethiopia, SJ had a wheezing, rattling cough which has almost cleared up on it's own. The Dr thinks it was a cold that has run it's course.
We are so thankful to God for our daughter's good health. We are waiting on 2 more lab tests, and assuming they're negative, we'll get a clean bill of health. Now for catching up on those shots, yikes!

The Latest from Our Coffey House

We're doing well here at The Coffey House. SJ is settling in nicely and communicating her desires more and more. B is also well, but unfortunately for him, the squeaky Ethiopian wheel gets the grease.

On Wed, I took both of the kids to our MOPS playgroup at Michelle's. SJ lasted 1.5 hrs before she was ready to go. In that time, though, she ate 5 cinnamon muffins. The girl can eat! Miss Michelle was sweet and offered to keep B for the afternoon. I took her up on the offer and had a guilt free nap with SJ. We went to church that night, and the sweetest thing- SJ held Jelly's face and gave her a kiss. Due to poor planning on my part, they got to bed late, setting us up for Thursday...

Thursday was our worst day so far, by a long shot. SJ and B woke up grumpy and stayed grumpy. SJ has fallen deeply in love with Super Daddy, which is a good thing, but then Super Daddy had the nerve to leave for work. SJ had a 2.5 hr fit over Super Daddy's leaving! She ran to check every car that drove by, saying "Daddy!". Later, B was pulled from the tub and put in timeout naked and dripping. SJ glared at me and peed in the floor. I could go on and on. I barely survived the day, called my bestie Abby to whine, and put the kids to bed early.

On Friday, the kids were much better. We took B to Granny and Papa's for his regular Friday visit. Granny fed us blueberry pancakes and bacon, B's favorite meal. SJ had 3 pancakes, thrilling Granny. While B was with Granny and Papa, I took SJ to Children's Hosp for routine international adoptee bloodwork. Poor kid, I had to hold her down while they drew vial after vial. She was fine by the time we got to the car though. Daddy got home from work early, so the whole family got to play in the yard. B and SJ got to take turns on the swing, chase each other around, and get lots of hugs. It was a terrific evening. That night, I was able to put SJ down to sleep without her crying! SJ does sleep wonderfully, 11-13 hrs per night with a 2 hour nap in the day.

So, that's the latest. We're doing well and feel good. We are ready for visitors and phone calls and would love to get out a little too. Give me a call or email please! We'd love to show off our kids!

The New Normal

We're settling in to regular life again, with the addition of one beautiful girl. SJ loves baths and her brother decided to hop in too. By the way, those aren't scratches on B, they're "armor" he drew on with pink highlighters. It's typical B, just go with it.

SJ had a good day today. She was fussy after her nap, but again her mood was lifted by going outside to play. She had one accident today... a poop accident, but I needed a stool sample and it actually came in handy! SJ said "wendom" clearly today, "brother" referring to B, & she also ate very well today.

***Thanks to all who are helping out with meals, it's been a huge help!***

SJ-Ethiopia Part 3

SJ in Ethiopia getting to know her new parents. Note the shirt, "Daddy's Little Sweetie".

Hosanna Trip, Ethiopia Part 2

1. Our group walking in Hosanna

2. Coffee ceremony at Hosanna Care Center.

3. Church in Hosanna. It was Palm Sunday.

4. CC with kids at the church. They make headbands from the palm fronds for Palm Sunday.

5. The typical Ethiopian hut we were able to visit. The family makes a little money by allowing visitors each Sunday.

Photos from Ethiopia Part 1: Out and About in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is a beautiful, crowded city. We enjoyed riding around in the van on our excursions to see more of the city. As it was Holy Week, there were lots of sheep and goats that had been herded to the city to be sold for Easter dinners. Donkeys carrying loads were quite common too. We got to go shopping in the tourist district, run errands all over town, drive through the Mercato (huge shopping district), and go out on foot in the neighborhood.

People in Addis are hardworking and so kind. We were always treated kindly and felt safe. It was so neat to be able to go out walking with SJ in the Ergo (again, thank you Dave!), we'd buy some bananas and take some photos. There were many beggars out too, but we found a way to handle it that we were comfortable with. On the way to the store, we would decide who was in the most need and purchase something for them at the store. On the way home, we would discreetly hand them either bread or bananas or money. We tended to give to the very old, mothers with children and the infirmed. It's also easier to give to someone sitting alone as you're less likely to be swarmed and run out of cash. The one that broke my heart was a mother with 4 kids who looked to be all under 4, the youngest were twins she was breastfeeding. We gave her quite a bit.

On the bright side, the weather was wonderful! It was high 70's and dry in the day and got down to the mid 50's at night. We only had one day where we found ourselves hot and sweaty. Also, there are beautiful trees and flowers everywhere.