7 months Beteseb!

Want a life update from us? Here goes! We have been a family for seven months now, and I gotta say that it occasionally feels like it has been forever. Memories of the struggles of the early days are beginning to fade and a new sense of overall comfort pervades our household. Perhaps it has something to do with a much less stressful job on my part, and a summer vacation from school for N, but a rhythm finally seems to have arrived! Here are some updates:

Language: Of course I think Y is a freaking genius, but you would too! We are sometimes shocked at how well she is speaking! She made her first compound sentence last week and N and I both clapped at her accomplishment! Referring to her quesadilla, she said "I like it, but it is hot." While her English is going insane, our family continue to speak our own half private language which is a good mixture of Amharic and English and just plain made up words. (Like, what's the word for snowman in Amharic? For us, we combined the word for "ice" b/c snow doesn't exist, and added "person"). Voila! She is around fluent Amharic speakers at least once or twice a week, and certainly still understands fully. However, her speaking courage has gone down and that is a bit sad to see. :(

Health: On the outside, she has been so very healthy, we can't even believe it! Not even a sick day in all of her seven months! However, she hasn't gained ANY weight since being home. Not a kilo! We found out awhile ago (maybe Feb) that she had Giardia, and after some tests again in June, concluded that despite the meds, it persisted! Argh! Hopefully it is gone now and she will hit 30lbs before my 30Th birthday on the 8Th! :) She just completed her third and final major dental work appointment. After starting the process for dental surgery in Jan, we were finally able to figure things out with insurance to do multiple outpatient appoinments. Her mouth now shines bring with seven caps and three fillings! She is obsessed with dental hygiene now that she knows what can happen if she isn't brushing, and loves to ask people if they have teeth problems and go to the dentist also!

Sleeping: This remains our greatest challenge, both for her sake as well as N and I. She is taking a nap in the afternoon now and is usually ok with falling asleep on her own once we have read a story or two. But the evening routine is another story. After reading books and singing songs, either N or I need to lie with her until she falls asleep. This can range from 30 mins to 2 hours, depending on the night. I think this has been a struggle for both N and I due to not being able to have free time together in the evening, or simultaneously talk to dinner guests, friends etc. What usually ends up happening on the long nights (perhaps twice per week) is that N or I just fall asleep in her room. Yes, sleeping is indeed our greatest and most life altering struggle and something that improves one week and is a challenge the next. But in the words of the world's greatest boy band NKOTB: we are "hangin tough!"

General: Our little one is off the wall cute! She is so full of life and loves to dance, sing and now has a vibrant imaginary arsenal of friends (Haile and Hanita, as they are known to her)! I think she is more and more comfortable with each passing day and loves to be with friends and run at the park. For me, motherhood love hasn't come easy. Don't get me wrong, I love my child...but loving my new role as a mother has taken some time. As I have written before, our first few months were so, so tough. On her, on me, on us! It felt like mommy-fail all day long and I didn't really know anyone in a similar adoption situation who could assure me that "this too shall pass." But you know what? It has passed! For the most part, multiple hour long tantrums have subsided and Y's affection is a bit more evenly distributed between N and I. Things are good. Our family is so far from perfect, but I am so thankful that we are so much farther along now than we were 7 months ago!