Mamo's English is CRAZY good! His comprehension is through the roof, and verbally we can totally carry on a conversation now! He is VERY sharp and doesn't miss a thing! He is our little sponge and he is just soaking it all in!
He still eats ALL THE TIME! He has grown a few inches and gained 7 pounds! Getting hard for this mama to carry him around everywhere! He knows he is mama's "baby", so he expects to be carried! I have had to move him to riding my back, not sure how much longer I will be able to keep this up!
His favorite foods are Ethiopian Injera (we don't get it that often, but he LOVES it! when he does get it!)
, any kind of fruit, avocados, potatoes, yogurt, dinosaur chicken nuggets, french fries, corn, lima beans, peas, cupcakes, ice cream, pork chops, hamburgers, and any kind of wrap sandwich! I could really go on and on....and oh, I am not kidding this boy can eat his weight in FRUIT, and he is not a very picky eater AT ALL! He does not like anything with onions or tomatoes that he can see (typical 3 year old- ha ha!), he isn't particularly fond of fish, and well, that is really all I can come up with! Hence, the 2 inches and 7 LB weight gain in 11 weeks!
He loves Mickey Mouse (aka Mocha Mickey), Caliou, his train table, his Little People toys, movies like Nemo and Charlotte Web! He loves CLOTHES! He LOVES to pick out his shirts he wants to wear and he LOVES jeans! Some of them are already getting a little short on somebody!!! :)
He LOVES his brother and his sister, his daddy and his mommy, he LOVES playing outside! He LOVES riding in his car ( best $20 purchase from the consignment sale!!)
He also loves to ride his trike!He likes to eat lunch at his picnic table that we pull outside in the driveway when its pretty!
He loves going to birthday parties and having fun with his cousins!
He also is a BIG fan of the grocery store-- he wants to go EVERYDAY!
He loves that he gets to drive the cart that looks like a car, that they give him a cookie at the bakery, loves to help me pick out groceries, and loves that he gets stickers at the end of his visit! He also has gardened some with his sister and he LOVES picking flowers!
He loves to wash his car/picnic table/ trike/ my car... really anything you will let him wash, then he will do it! FOR FREE! ha ha! He is a BIG helper! He wants chores like the BIGs ... (they think he is CRAZY!) He loves to play with tools and "work" on his car...He loves to dress up like a dinosaur (I know its a dragon, but he doesn't know the difference! ha!)
We also did a little modeling...he's a natural. Look at that shot! AMAZING- how come I can't catch shots like that???
Mamo's love language is TOUCH! He is always climbing on me, Phil or the BIGS! He "attaches" his body to you (full wrap) and even then that is not enough! He smashes his cheeks against his cheeks, really tight and then squishes his hands on your face to pull you closer. He travels with it too..first me, then on to Philip, then on to Robby and then to Caitlin. He makes his rounds! Ha!
I am telling you...its the sweetest thing ever and he is probably going to "smother" some cute little girl one day with his LOVE! He LOVES to be holding you, or have you carrying him or climbing all over you and smothering you with his love! Fine with us! :) So , needless to say, yes, we would say the past 11 weeks of attachment went REALLY well, and really fast! God's hand was in it from the day we met him last July and he has just surprised us and amazed us throughout this adoption!
Mamo has been able to watch 3 of his friends, from his actual orphanage in Ethiopia come home! That was such a beautiful reunion! We are currently praying for 2 more hopefully to arrive REAL soon; they are just waiting for clearance to travel!! 2 more cuties coming HOME! and to Franklin TN! Woo Hoo!
Mamo is doing GREAT going to school! He loves it! Today he kept asking to see his friends! He couldn't wait to get there this morning!~ He loves doing art work, playing with his friends, going outside, learning his zoo phonics, eating lunch (of course) ha ha, he LOVES his teachers- especially teacher Lucy! He said she was his friend and he really LOVES her! Makes me feel soo good because......Today was my first day back to work! Argh I know! I have mixed feelings really about it! I have LOVED that my company allowed me the time to BOND with our new son! It was sooo important and I believe that is partly why this transition went so smoothly for our family! I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the "at home mom things" for 11 weeks- and it was A LOT more work than I anticipated! So, that is why I HATE going back... it was so much work that I feel like I never got a chance to RELAX! I thought you at home mama's had it made, but I think going back to work is going to give me a little bit more time in my day to get some things accomplished... it seems like time was going by so fast while I was at home with him!
I am going to miss being with him 24/7 like crazy! Please pray for us that this will be an easy transition for all of us! This is going to be an adjustment as we find our new NORMAL again! Mamo doesn't think I work; he thinks its funny when I tell him that I work. He thinks only daddy works! I was talking with customers today and really started getting excited about going back to work! I love what I do and I love the doctors that I call on! They are my friends and I am blessed to have a job that I love and that I like to do everyday! Mamo thinks its funny that mommy works with doctors! He wants to be a doctor when he grows up he says!!! :) Everyday he asks to go to the grocery store and to go get shots.. ha ha ha! :) Bless his heart!
We have scheduled Mamo's baptism with our church end of April. It will be a private baptism, because we requested to have Reverend Wright, our former pastor, and Mack Strange perform his baptism. We are so thrilled about this! We feel that Revernd Wright was VERY responsible for us adopting! He is the one that encouaged us to give money away one morning to someone outside the walls of our church. We did that, by having a charity yard sale for a young girl who has a ministry in Africa. Those were our intentions, and that was all. Next thing we know my son and I are on a Mission trip with Ordinary Hero in Ethiopia, Africa and on the 5th day we met Mamo. That was in July... God always have bigger plans than we realize and we are so happy that these 2 men stirred our hearts to seek his BIGGER plan for our family.
So, as you can see our life has been crazy busy, full of extra love and we are so thankful for this journey! :)
Philip and I have always said that we move from one major life event to another... so with this adoption complete, and hte adjsutment looking like it was a success, we have made the gut wrenching decision to put our home on the market. (SIGH) We LOVE our home and our neighbors, but Robby, our oldest just got accepted to CPA (so proud of him!), which is where his sister goes, and the comute is waning on us!
So, we have made the TOUGH decision to list our home and move closer to the school! Looking forward to NOT having 2 hours worth of commute time and having more time with our family. Our home hit the market today!
Please pray that this house sells quickly and that we find something that we like just as well a lot closer to our kiddos school!
So, we have made the TOUGH decision to list our home and move closer to the school! Looking forward to NOT having 2 hours worth of commute time and having more time with our family. Our home hit the market today!
Please pray that this house sells quickly and that we find something that we like just as well a lot closer to our kiddos school!
Please continue to PRAY that GOD will find FAVOR for the 5 MILLION PLUS Orphans in Ethiopia! There are some things going on that are threatening the slowdown of Ethiopia adoptions by 90%. We have lots of friends still in the adoption process and some just starting...There are children that arrived the same day as Mamo still there.... Please Lord, let them get home to their families, please don't let them grow up without parents and without being loved. Please dont let them have come this far to be told NO, again... And afterall, Mamo just might need another sibling someday...
