2/22/10 - First Days at Home

Okay - the plan is to go back and really elaborate with pictures on each day in Ethiopia but that will all have to happen during nap times (and it's not nap time right now!) so a bit of a shorter post and sorry, there's no pictures.

It is UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING to have our boys at home!! I look at them and still have trouble believing they are really here! God is so good to have blessed us with these two little miracles who call us "Ababa" (Amharic for Daddy) and "Mommy." While the days are filled with a few melt downs (but wouldn't you melt down too if you were 3 and 4 and your world had turned completely upside down in the last week?) which is to be expected, they are more filled with the awesomeness of watching two children, who are loved by so many, take wonder at the world.

What we have enjoyed/learned since first meeting the boys and then arriving home on Saturday: balloons can and do provide hours of entertainment; the piano in the playroom was a big hit; Ryan likes bananas and John likes grapes; they both shrug their shoulders when they are mad at you and you talk to them; they could stay and play in the bath tub (a new thing as we think they only took showers before) until they were little prunes (and no we did not test this theory out!); they are not all that excited about television but John liked the Olympic ski jumping and Ryan twirled around the living room after watching ice dancing; Ryan licks new food to see if he should try a bite while John makes a hilarious face when he tries something he doesn't like; they were ready to go out and play in the snow as soon as they saw Mike snow blowing today; they love to dance to Ethiopian music (they sang along to Teddy Afro for all you fellow travel buddies!!); they love their blankets; they love the sippy cups we brought on the plane for them and continue to carry them around the house; John loves to flush the toilet; they both love to play in the water; Ryan is just a bit freaked out about the cat; John loves when the phone rings (he goes running) and cracks up when someone talks to him on the other end; they need to push every button and open every cupboard repeatedly; they tell each other to be "gentle" and "say please" (complete with sign language); they are an absolute joy to have in this house and I am blown away by how wonderful it feels to hear them call my name or want to be picked up. This Mommy is truly content!!

I'll end with my new motto is: If it doesn't get done at nap time, it's not getting done!