A Picture of Summer

It's seems like summer just started, but I have this sinking feeling that it's just about over. Some pictures of summer time in our little world.

Lots of summer time bike riding...June at home

He fits in a box...June at Grandpa and Grandma's

Playing in the dirt with Dada and Grandma...June in Montana

The Easy Way to Hike...June in Montana


We had LOTS of help watering the garden this summer.
July at home in the backyard


Plenty of swimming/water play in the backyard.
July


4th of July Sparklers


Did I mention LOTS of bike riding around the neighborhood?
At home in July

Great summer style..swim diaper and rain boots.
July


Buddies playing in the garden...August


Visiting Aunt Deanna and watching a parade.
August


Many visits to parks and playgrounds...
countless trips down slides and swing rides.
This one in August in Aunt Deanna's neighborhood.


A little blackberry picking and hiking around Sauvie Island in August.



Going to check out the fire truck visit during the neighborhood block party.
August

Birthday Party

This weekend on Saturday we celebrated Melke's 2nd birthday. We celebrated a week early, so my baby isn't quite 2 years old yet. Melkamu had a great time with his little friends. It was a water/pool party with a little toddler pool, the slip-n-slide, and a bounce house borrowed from the neighbor. I couldn't believe the way Melkamu conquered the slip-n-slide. He watched the kids do it and just got in line and down he went when it was his turn. It was so cute. He went down many times and as Daniel says, "He really rocked it." Melkamu really had a wonderful time.

One Whole Year

August 15th marked one whole year that we have been home with our son. That is amazing and wonderful. I just can not believe it has been a year. Yesterday we went out to eat some Ethiopian food to mark the occasion. I hope in the future we can continue to take note of this day, with some special family time and delicious Ethiopian food. Daniel asks, "Why can't we just celebrate his birthday?" After some thought, this is my answer. My birthday as a kid was about how old I was becoming, a birthday party, presents, but also a time when I asked questions about my birth and my joining the family. I remember wanting to know what time of day I was born and was my dad there and what was happening when I was born. I learned things about my birth and the birth of my siblings when we were excited about our birthdays and asking questions. I learned that on the birthday of my sister, the first child, my mom wouldn't let my dad leave her side the whole time they were in the hospital. Apparently, my dad was so hungry he was going to pass out from lack of nutrition, because my mom didn't want him to leave her side. I learned that I was going to be a breech baby and that my aunt was scheduled to fly out for my birth to help my mom after the possible surgery she would have to deliver me. I ended up turning around before my birthday and was born without the need for surgical intervention. I also learned when my mother was in labor with her third child, my brother, she drove herself to the hospital and my dad came later after things had progressed. A far cry from the birth of their first child. I remember these stories from my childhood (although my parents will probably read this and say I remember the stories all wrong), and I realize that birthdays aren't just about how old you are going to be and what kind of birthday party will be planned. Birthdays are also a celebration of a child's joining a family, a time that parents and child think about that time when they were born, and for lots of people that coincides with joining their family that they will be with forever. Melkamu's birthday does not coincide with the time that he joined the family he will now be with forever. He will certainly ask questions on his birthday, as he gets older, about his birth and we will tell him all the information we know about his birth in Ethiopia. I also want him to have a day to reflect on the story that was born when he joined our family forever...August 15th, 2010, when all three of us came home as a family.

And Daniel, in response to that reflection, says, "Yeah, that's true, but it doesn't have to be a party right. It's just family." Yeah Daniel, don't worry, It'll be a Family Day. And so it goes, the birth of our Family Day.

August 15, 2010

August 15, 2011

The Early Days

I have spent the last week and a half looking through pictures from this time last year. It's been nice to remember those days, and exciting experiences of meeting our son. Melke was the one child in our travel group that did not sit nicely with his new mama and dada and smile and play. He was the one child that was unhappy and cried, and was looking pretty nervous about all this change that was happening in his life. When we took custody of Melke and took him back to the guest house, he cried and screamed and looked sad and mad and angry. He did some kicking and pushing away from us when we were holding him. All heart breaking. We didn't even try to feed him that night (don't tell Sister Martha, the head nurse). We just gave him a bottle of milk, which he was happy to take and let him go to sleep. He slept the night between us in the bed, and every time he lifted his head and looked around, we patted him on the back and coo-ed to him. He got a few bottles during the night according to his schedule. And then, he woke up a completely different baby! He was the baby that the nurse and care givers were telling us about, but the baby we had yet to see. He was still a little timid, but he played and crawled, and smiled and laughed, and showed interest in toys. Ahhh, it was such a relief! And he has been/has done awesome ever since...

Aniyani

I can't believe it's been a month and that Auntie Lani, or as Melke says "aniyani", left today to fly home. It was so nice to have her around and we will miss her greatly. We are very lucky to have had her staying with us for a whole month. She was super helpful with Melkamu and around the house, and I now believe it takes three adults to run a household efficiently and raise a child...two adults is just not enough. We need another "aniyani", or just need to have our Auntie Lani back. Thanks for a great month Lani! We miss you already.

We all ate lots of food.

We hung around the house and yard.

We went to the free concert in the park.

We went to the coast,

and played in the sand.

We went rowing on the river. Melke's first boat ride.

We went to another beach.

We went to Eugene for a Holt picnic,


and the girls went out dancing.


And last of all, hiking around Mt. Hood.

August 9th

Last year, August 9th was a Monday. Daniel and I and a small group of eager parents, were being driven back from Durame, down south in Ethiopia. When we got back to Addis Ababa, we were going to have a chance to eat lunch, pick up a few things at the store, and then take custody of our children.

Some pics from the drive to and from Durame:

Once back in Addis, I remember walking up to the store a few blocks away with a fellow new momma. We walked past the sheep and the cows and the goats in the rode and on the sidewalks, we bought Ethiopian formula, juice, fruit, and baby food. I went back to our room and organized one last time all of Melke's things. When we had gotten back from Durame, a little pink bathtub and a wooden crib were delivered to our room. We were as ready as we were ever going to be. Daniel was more ready than I was. He was more confident that this little boy would be fine and would love us. Daniel is always more sure than I am, that everything, whatever it might be, will work out fine. And so we headed over to the care center and returned to our room with our son.

He (Melkamu) wasn't too happy about this plan.

Walking next door.

On our balcony.

Reflection - maybe our first family picture.

Milk and bedtime.