Picture-a-palooza!!!

Finally some long awaited photos! I found my memory card reader and am happy to show you the latest shots of our cuties! This evening we're heading back to the pool to cool off after a hot day!

Ezra and his Grampa Paul

Our little man tasting his hand

Olivia - lots to think about as she enjoys her cereal!

Ready for their first pool adventure! (Still have a lot of growing to fit into their 3-6 month swim suits!)

Mommy and her beautiful babes after their first swim

Tummy time fun

Seriously, could she be any more gorgeous?! :-D

Talk about a cute smile... love to see him having fun on his tummy since it's not exactly the norm

To be a baby - it's a rough life

See! Told you it's rough! Smiles to screams in 2 seconds flat!

WHOA!

(A very typical Olivia expression for the camera... seems to think it's a scary device!)

Watch what you say or I'm gonna slap you!

Take that...

And THAT! Ha!

I think they communicate to each other with their tongues...

Love the big bums, compliments of G Diapers

Telling Ezra how it's gonna be...

I told you to feed me NOW!

Seriously?!

We love hugs!

Awww... what style they have!

Our little guy is one cool dude!

Ready for their daily walk and looking good!

Hurry up and get this show on the road! I have places to go and people to see!

Olivia's heading out for a stroll, don't tell the paparazzi!

An addition to my last post

Ok, after skimming quickly through my last post I realized that despite all the ramblings, I made the picture of our new life out to be perfect. However, in order to share more of the reality with those considering adoption, starting the process, waiting for their referral, waiting to travel, or whatever; I thought I'd add a little update.

Things HAVE been tough. Not all the time, but occasionally. There has been so little issue with the kids attaching to us since they are so young (and according to the Docs attachment really starts to happen after 6 months apparently), but for us to attach & bond with them it hasn't all just come instantly. We have loved them since we first laid eyes on their referral pictures... but to really start to feel like their parents and love them through and through... it has/is taking time. There are moments when one of them is crying for no apparent reason and I can't get them to stop that I feel frustrated beyond belief. I wonder what I'm doing wrong or "WHAT IN THE HECK WERE WE THINKING?!" There are times when I am counting the minutes until Joe comes home from work so I can get a break or get away. But, usually just after I have one of these breakdowns in thoughts, I'm flooded with how lucky we are to have these amazing little people and how much I DO love them. Their smiles are the best gift in the world... and I can't tell you how perfect their giggles are. Really... hearing them laugh is food for the soul.

So, while we both have struggled to feel like we ARE a family and question why it didn't just feel like that overnight, we know it's a part of the process. It's a difficult part at times, but one that makes it all the more rewarding. These babies deserve our love more than anything or anyone else, and we're thrilled to be able to give it to them. For every down there are 10 times the ups in our daily lives... so the good really does outweigh the bad, but it's not all easy. I don't want my last post to make it seem like it's been a total breeze... we HAVE had challenges! Many times I read other peoples blogs and think "WOW, how do they do it so easily?!" and then remind myself we often on talk about the good... at least in public. When I read some one's blog that is honest, open, and get to really read about the roller coaster, I find it so refreshing and helpful in my difficult moments of the journey. Therefore, it's my commitment to all of you to continue to try and share the good AND the bad! (Lucky you... I know! ;-) )

Oh... and Joe and I are still cycling through the battle with the GI bugs... so send those get well wishes our way! We are SO ready to be back to full health so we can REALLY start having fun with these two gorgeous babes!

Alive and... doing GREAT!

Hello blog world! I am so sorry for being such a dud with my blogging lately! It's taken me a while to feel up to answering the phone and returning emails during the days, let alone getting the blog updated. At this point though, I think I can safely say we're really getting into the swing of things and I'm starting to return (at least somewhat) to the world of COMMUNICATING! I know, it's terribly exciting! I've missed it!

On that note, let me point out some exciting things. First, we met Olivia & Ezra more than a month ago now! Our first meeting was on April 7th, and while the memory is still vivid and fresh, it feels like a lifetime ago. I really feel like it's been so much longer, as they have become such a part of our lives and I can barely remember what life was like without them. We arrived home the evening of April 18th, so we've been home ALMOST a month now! While it seems amazing it's been that long, it really feels like it's been so much longer. Every day we see changes in Olivia and Ezra - at least developmentally. I think I'm too close to them to see how much they are physically changing, as they still seem like precious little babes to me! I know they're growing though, and Joe and I see Ezra's face filling out at least!

Soon, we'll be starting them on vegetables and we've already gotten through all the different types of cereal. I now have some recipes to make my own baby food, so I'm excited to start that adventure soon. It's funny how much I get excited about starting them on new food... I'm not too sure they care yet about having more variety in their diets. :-D

Health-wise both our angels are doing great. Ezra still has some congestion sounds, and his cough is occurring more frequently than before, but apparently it's nothing to be concerned about. This week we'll be taking them in for a slew of blood & urine tests as well as stool cultures, and then next week we have a well-baby exam with our regular pediatrician. At that point we should have a good idea of where we're going to go with their vaccinations, since some of the blood tests are to check the titres (level of antibodies in their blood) for various vaccines they were given in Ethiopia to see if we need to start the vaccination schedule from scratch or move forward from where they are already at. I am NOT looking forward to the blood tests or vaccines, but it's all a part of life so I guess I'll have to get over it. :-S

As for their daily changes... here's a little of what they're doing these days:

Olivia is such a strong, tiny peanut. She weighs in at about 12 pounds now (at just shy of 5 months - not TOO tiny, but still little). Her strength is really impressive. She's already rolling over (not consistently quite yet), and can pull her knees up under her during tummy time. She's also a tummy time champ and will hang out and move around on her tummy for a long time. She's still a quiet little thing, and a bit behind in her "language development" since she's not doing too much cooing and chatting just yet. BUT, I will say that in the last week she seems to be doing a lot more of the tongue "Thhhbbbbbbttttt" type stuff and getting a bit more vocal - so I think she's on her way! The lag in her language isn't too much of a concern yet, but obviously "could" indicate hearing issues. We aren't going to test her for that until a bit later if there's still concern, as the international adoption pediatrician wants to give her 6 months to settle in at home and get comfortable before worrying. Plus, hearing tests in infants under 6 months are apparently not too accurate. Olivia is also grabbing objects and sticking them in her mouth like crazy now. When we met them they could barely grab an object intentionally (you know, where they see something and reach out to touch or feel it), and now she's definitely getting that down. HOORAY! Some days, she even holds her own bottle for a short bit of time... ok, it's more like she balances it and it falls when she turns her head... but she's starting to get it!

Ezra is also doing phenomenally. He is SUCH a talker! He really chats up a storm... and his version of cooing can be super cute little coo type noises, all the way up to a LOVELY scream he loves to do - and OFTEN! I swear the first week or two he was making the noise I'd run to him to be sure it wasn't caused by pain or make sure he wasn't crying! He's just really excited to try out the full range of his vocal cords I guess! The bummer is, he's NOT a fan of tummy time and is a HUGE fan of being held over your shoulder and conforming to your body like an amoeba. Therefore, his upper body strength is a bit on the weak side and compared to Olivia he feels fairly floppy. When he's sitting he often lets his head just droop down and his back hunches over... so we're working hard on that. He also is ADORABLE when he soothes himself as he gets tired.... from the time we met him it's been the same exact action. He lifts his right arm straight up over his head and turns his head to the right and pushes his face into his arm. At the same time he takes his left hand and puts it on his chest and grabs his clothes. Then he starts suckling against his arm. It's REALLY cute... but has also contributed to a slightly flattened right side of the head. He also would barely look to the left at all... no matter how hard we'd try to get him to look that way. So, we bought a sleep positioner and now have to lay him down on his left side. I think I'm already noticing the right side of his head curving back out AND he now looks left fairly often! YIPPEEEEEE!!! We're so proud of him! :-D

They are both also sleeping pretty well now, and the schedule is getting pretty routine. Ezra is the one that most often wakes up at some point during the night and it doesn't take too much to get him back to sleep usually. Yes... this is the BIGGEST help of all I'm sure and probably the biggest reason our transition into parenthood has been so smooth! We're still tired a lot... but I think it's more from how exhausting it can be "entertaining" them and playing than it is from lack of sleep at night.

We LOVE taking them out for adventures too. We went to the pool a couple of weeks ago for a short swim and they both did great. They didn't seem too sure WHAT they thought of it... but there were no tears and they looked adorable in their swim suits! They do have some growing to do before their suits fit thought... the 3-6 month size is still swimming on them (no pun intended!).

The biggest adjustment to our trips out though is the attention we draw. Don't get me wrong... we EXPECTED to get a lot of stares, comments, etc. But, it's still an adjustment. How I respond to it depends on a few factors, including what is said or done. We've had some comments/questions that were so beyond rude I could barely contain my disgust, as well as some genuine, sweet remarks. The part that really irks me is when someone interrupts Joe or myself mid-sentence when were talking to each other to ask us something incredibly personal... and I must admit the "Are they adopted?" question is getting pretty old. Some times I want to tell the person asking that question... Um, let me think... I can't remember! Joe and I are thinking the next person to ask this may get a response from us like "No. Sometimes when you swing accidents happen... and that's exactly what happened." We're thrilled to talk about our adoption when people are polite and/or we're having a conversation, but the way people go about asking their questions is just downright stupid sometimes. And seriously people, don't step in front of our big ole' double stroller and stop when we're plowing along on an outing. We DO have places we're trying to go to and don't need to be stopped every 10 feet for the barrage of questions!

Sorry for the rant... we really do love to share the miracle of adoption with people and are thrilled to educate the public about it. It's just hard in the moment to answer in a polite or friendly manner when someone asks something that's just out of line. We ARE getting used to it though, and finding ways to respond that we *hope* Olivia and Ezra will one day be able to be proud of. Baby steps... we'll get there! In the mean time, if you walk up to me and ask me how much I paid their birth mother to be able to adopt them (or if we got them 2 for the price of 1)... you may get a pretty gruff response!

So, as you can see we have two incredibly, amazing blessings. I cannot possibly imagine life without them. We've settled into being a family more quickly than I could ever have hoped, and parenting twins really hasn't been nearly as hard as I'd prepared myself for. I really can't imagine how boring things would be with just one! No offense to the parents of singletons... I'm sure they're great!!! I just love how we have two incredible personalities to keep us entertained, watching them interact with each other, dressing up a boy AND a girl... that sort of thing! Why in the world do parents of twins or singletons make it sound like multiples are so awful or challenging?! Seriously? It's definitely got it's additional complications, but it is SOOOO worth it, trust me. If ANYONE wants to hear more about parenting twins, feel free to ask. I'm no expert yet and definitely still expect plenty of tough days ahead, but I'd be happy to share more about what we've learned and how we make it work.

I'll try to add a few pictures today too... I just have to find my memory card reader so I can download them! Sorry I've been so bad about pictures TOO! I know what fun it is to see them growing and changing!

Hugs to all... and a late Happy Mother's Day!

Laughs in our daily lives

What a weekend it was! During our gap between the morning and afternoon naps we had outings on Saturday AND Sunday! We ran to CostCo, visited some friends and family, and even took Joe to the hospital! Poor Joe was feeling really crummy when he woke up Sunday morning, and before long was experiencing more fun like we had in Ethiopia! :-( I have no clue why he was sick like that again, but the poor guy was down and out for the day. Sadly for myself (yeah, I know, I'm selfish!) I lost daddy's help for the day too... so it was an extra bummer! I somehow still managed to get the kiddos fed and out the door (albeit late) to visit during our awake time prior to the afternoon nap (or cry fest... depending on how you look at it), and then after the nap got Joe to the hospital, kept the babies entertained there for a couple of hours, and then zoomed home to put them to bed by myself. Whew... what a day.

Today, Joe's totally out of commission still, but has been desperately trying to lend a hand where he can. As I was finishing afternoon bottles and getting ready to take E & O upstairs for their afternoon nap, Joe offered to change Olivia for me since she'd been working on filling up her diaper during her bottle. What a guy... I tell ya. So, he's on the floor with her on the changing mat, and gets the new diaper, wipes, and a diaper bag ready to go. Then, he opens up her diaper to the aftermath of a real explosion. It was no blowout (I've had to change her after a few of those already...), but there was a lot in that diaper! As he rolled it up to Velcro it closed on the mess, she began shooting poo at him! This was no drip action, it was full on projectile poo missiles! It went about a foot... that's some serious distance for such a little thing!

Being the helpful and loving wife that I am, I instantly jumped into action to help. Oh wait, no I didn't. I began laughing hysterically... so hard my abs hurt and I was crying. I just couldn't stop laughing! I've had so many nasty diaper change accidents (both babies have pooped into my hands during their changes, I've been peed on by both, dealt with Olivia diaper blowouts, you name it - and Joe's gotten off easy until then!), so I was unbelievably entertained by the incredible mess she created. I only wish I could've gotten it on video, it was too funny to not share.

So, yeah. That's the fun from today. At the moment the little munchkins are ACTUALLY sleeping (or at least quiet) during their afternoon nap. It's been 30 minutes since we put them down, so I expect that the pattern of lately will continue and crying will begin momentarily. Wow... as if on cue, Olivia JUST began crying! Ugh! Off to try and do some back patting and soothing. I have no idea why she's no longer able to nap longer than 30 minutes or so between wake ups... but it's the pits! So much for being productive OR getting a nap of my own during their nap time! :-( At least they're still sleeping reasonably well at night!

Later all! Off to give some kisses to our little princess!

Pictures!

Together in the visiting room at Toukoul

JUST HOME! Comatose babies...

Little Miss Olivia enjoy some cereal

Our handsome man NOT enjoying cereal

Fun in the bouncy seats

Sleeping before bath and bed... this guy goes into a coma when he's ready for bed!

Our little beauty out of her bath and smelling wonderful!

That's all for now... more later! Enjoy!

We're HOME! (Sorry for the delay in posting!)

Ok, first a quick apology to everyone that's been anxiously waiting for news. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am at my lack of posting! Let me just say that after my last post last week things got VERY crazy!

On Tuesday our attorney took the kids to the embassy for their blood draw, and then supposedly talked to someone there on our behalf to "plead" our case. Therefore, he told Joe they wouldn't be going in together to talk to them that afternoon, and instead we spent the day visiting the kids and trying to recover. Food was something that just didn't seem to be welcome to my stomach, so eating was difficult, and all I could stomach were familiar foods like pizza (and in tiny small quantities).

Wednesday morning Joe and I decided we needed to step up and take some action as it was becoming clear that our attorney was misleading us. There are so many details as to why everything that was happening was happening, but to make a long story short, it didn't make sense that at this point the embassy STILL didn't have everything they needed and it was less than a week before the April 21 embassy date we were assured would work. We'd been told they normally have to have your entire file at least one week prior to the embassy date, so since they still didn't have it, we were beginning to wonder if the April 21 date would still even work or not. Our attorney assured us that first thing in the morning on Wednesday he would be getting the medicals to the embassy and that was all that was needed to complete our file at that point. So, we were shocked and frustrated that at 10:30 on Wednesday when we spoke to someone at the embassy, we learned the medicals were still not there. They told us that we could most definitely have our embassy interview THAT afternoon at 1:00 if our attorney got the medicals to them in the next hour or so.

We rushed out of the embassy and quickly called the attorney. As usual he danced around the answer as to why the medicals weren't there yet and said he'd take them over sometime that day. Joe bluntly stated to him that he needed to take them in immediately and that we would be at the embassy for a 1:00 interview. After we got off the phone with him, we ran to Bambi's to grab formula and then to Toukoul to check the kids out for good.

At Toukoul we got the kids schedule finally (or at least their feeding schedule, there was nothing about when they normally napped), and were handed the kids and their files. Ezra and Olivia were carried out to us and we were given a bottle so they could eat prior to the embassy appointment. As soon as the bottles were finished we hopped in the car and zoomed back to the embassy. It was a hot drive and part way there we had to meet the attorney and after talking to us as we sat in the hot car and waited to get moving he climbed in and rode over with us.

We arrive at the embassy about 12:30 and were allowed to wait just inside the doors while the embassy personnel were at lunch. We didn't have to wait too long before getting to pay for the visas and then get called to the window for our interview. The appointment itself didn't last too long and soon we were being told they'd have the visas ready for us by 2:00 pm the next day. This would be soon enough to still allow us to depart on Thursday evening, as scheduled, so we were THRILLED!

That evening let's just say the twins weren't up for giving us a break. Although we were both exhausted from being sick and puny from not eating, they wanted to party all night long. We couldn't set them down without an ear load of tears and screaming, so it was a long first night together. The following day was much the same... a difficult environment to entertain in, and a real challenge to pack to head home with two fussing, cranky babies. Somehow we managed, and after a long day we made it to the airport at 7:00 pm (I'll skip the details on getting our visas from the attorney... let's just say the man is scum and we're thrilled to be done with him...). At the airport Joe was feeling really sickly, so I was no longer alone in my misery. I was terrified about the trek home, and often wondered if we'd really make it.

Thankfully, our 17 hour journey on Ethiopian Air was relatively roomy as the flight wasn't very full. We got TWO bassinets for the return, and E&O occasionally even let us lay them in the bassinets for some much needed resting of the arms. By the time we hit Dulles, I was ready to collapse and still had barely gotten any food down. I didn't get sleep on the flight and was reveling in what our bodies do as we push them to the limits. Surprisingly (or maybe NOT so surprisingly), there were many occasions in which someone could have lent a hand and helped us get our backpacks on our backs or something like that and all anyone did was stare. I realize we were a sight to behold... but you'd think at some point on the journey SOMEONE would have at least offered to help me as I kneeled on the ground with a baby strapped to my chest and struggled to lift a really heavy backpack onto my back. What are we coming to these days?

Anyway, after a LONG journey home we met up with my parents at the Orange County airport. We immediately handed off the babies and I collapsed to the floor of baggage claim. I have no idea what we would have done if my parents weren't here. They had dinner waiting for us (that I couldn't eat), and took the first night shift so we could get some much needed sleep. The babies were comatose the first couple of hours home, as they'd finally passed out on our flight from Chicago to Orange County.

The last week is a bit of a blur. We've had good days and not so good days. The last two days the afternoon nap seems to be the enemy of Miss Olivia and there is much crying no matter what... crying from not sleeping or crying from us making her have quiet time in her crib. We visited a pediatrician on Monday and they were both given some antibiotics for their sinus infections, and are hoping to see some improvement from that in the next day or two. We've been going for walks in the stroller every day, and they seem to be starting to really enjoy seeing the trees and sights. The pediatrician also was happy to have us start on solids, so we began rice cereal on Monday evening. Olivia is getting the hang of it a bit faster than Ezra, and she's much more interested in the whole affair. She's getting a decent amount down, but her much bigger brother isn't too interested.

So, that's a wrap for now. I need to go see what I can do to get these babies back to sleep and try and allow my brain to vegetate. I think it's become rather like mush...

Thanks for sticking with us while anxiously awaiting the updates! We ARE home safe and sound and appreciate all the support!

Day 7 updates... embassy status

Just a quick update... we didn't get to the embassy today and we will be pleading our case tomorrow, hopefully they'll allow us to have an embassy appointment on Wednesday, which means a Thursday departure at the very soonest.

 

Today I wound up at the hospital due to a serious case of food poisoning or something.  Nothing like getting sick again less than a week after the last time!  This is by far the worst I've felt in as long as I can remember and hope to be feeling well enough to visit the kids again tomorrow since I couldn't today.  It's so hard to be sick and not have access to the familiar "sick foods" of home... trying to find something I can stomach has been a real challenge.

 

Hopefully tomorrow will bring good news and better health!  Sorry for the short update, I need to lay back down!  :-S

 

Day 6 updates...

Day 6

 

After awaking to another early morning, I eventually had success getting online to send out the previous days' updates.  Joe and I were ready to go by 9:00 am, and were planning to head to Toukoul for a visit, as usual.  However, Ephrim, our guide/driver, didn't arrive until about 9:40, and was determined to show us a CD of pictures he'd taken on the exploratory trip to Awassa he took for us a couple of weeks ago.  The pictures and explanations of them took about 45 minutes, so by the time we were ready to leave, it seemed like we didn't have enough time to make our Toukoul visit worthwhile.

 

Instead we opted to head to a museum Ephrim had wanted to show us, and then swing by AHOPE to drop off donations we had.  We went to the museum on the campus of Addis Ababa University.  While at the museum we ran into a class of students Ephrim had been in class with until recently.  It seems that Ephrim has been staying so busy helping adoptive families while they're in Ethiopia that he hasn't been able to attend classes enough and the instructor wouldn't allow him to take an exam.  So, sadly, he's no longer in the class and is very angry about it.  It was a nice reunion for him though, and the rest of the day he kept telling us how happy he was that he had seen his friends.  The museum itself was quite interesting and gave us even more information on Ethiopia, the tribes, and history here.

 

We grabbed some lunch at the Paradise Restaurant after the museum, and then headed to AHOPE.  The directions we'd been given were too vague, but after a phone call to AHOPE, we learned we were very close.  We arrived during the children's nap time, so we were shown two rooms of napping children… first the girls room, then the boys room.  After giving them the donations, we got to see the nurses' office and the medications for the children, and then Joe had a cup of coffee with the nannies there.  The women were all very friendly, and were enjoying a slow Saturday afternoon.  We asked a few more questions, and then looked around the facility more before leaving. 

 

Upon arriving at Toukoul, we went in search of someone to bring us Olivia Yodit and Ezra Tewodros.  The office was closed since it was Saturday afternoon, so getting the children was a bit more challenging than usual.  They also seemed to be behind schedule, because we ended up waiting at least 20 minutes for them before learning Ezra was still working on his bottle.  Since we were taking them to our guest house for the afternoon, we agreed to take the bottle with us and get him to eat at the guest house.  Once that was agreed, the babies were brought out and handed to us, and we were on our way!

 

Tewodros quickly began spitting up once we were bouncing down the pothole ridden dirt drive outside of Toukoul.  It was the lovely kind where spit up came out his nose and the bouncing seemed to be causing him trouble getting his airways cleared back out.  We stopped the car, let him finish and THEN headed to the guest house.  It was fun watching Olivia and Ezra starting out the car windows as we drove along.  They are definitely VERY curious about their surroundings and were entranced by things we passed by.  That helped the car trip be very smooth and fuss free.

 

As soon as we got to the guest house, we tried giving Tewodros his bottle, with no success.  Anything that came out of the bottle he allowed to run down his chin and onto his wet and dirty bib.  Since we wanted to get them all cleaned up before heading back to Toukoul we gave up on the bottle for the moment and took them into the bedroom to strip them down and get ready for baths.  Ephrim watched Yodit for us while we carefully bathed our little guy.  He was definitely shocked by the experience and I felt terrible we didn't have a better way to do it.  Joe held him in his lap while I lathered him up.  We used the shower head (since it's a hand sprayer style) on low pressure and slowly rinsed him back off.  He smelled like a wonderful, kissable new baby once we were done!  I quickly wrapped him up and whisked him into the room to be diapered and dressed.  He seems to have some sort of very mild a bed sore on his back, so I carefully tried to get that cleaned up.  He also has some severe dry scalp or maybe some type of fungus on a small area at the crown of his head.  I didn't end up trying anything on it since I'm not sure what to try.  We have anti fungal with us, as well as lots of lotions, Neosporin, etc.  I'm just not sure what it needs.  I think that an area behind his ear, in the area where the back of the ear meets the head might be the same issue, as it was slightly red and flaky with a scabby looking thing.  He was really upset and fussy by the time I discovered that, so we'll look at it more closely today.  At that point he just wanted his mommy to hold him close and snuggle. 

 

Olivia was a champ during her bath time.  No tears before or after.  Even with a really sore looking toosh, she had no protests.  I think she was glad to be getting so fresh and so clean, clean!  We washed her beautiful curls and cleaned her head to toe.  I then took her into the bedroom and put her diaper on (thanking my scatterbrain for having remembered the Boudreaux's Butt Paste when I packed!) and covered her in baby Aveeno lotion.  I put moisturized her in her and she smelled fantastic.  Her and Ezra seemed like whole new babies!

 

We tried again for a while to try and get Ezra to take his bottle, without success.  I'm guessing/hoping it was the shock of the new surroundings and not just my failure at being able to get him to eat.  I tried all sorts of positions, trying to focus on keeping him upright to eat since that keeps air out of his tummy and should reduce spitting up.  I'd been told there's definitely no bottle propping at Toukoul and all the babies are hand fed, but that's just not true.  We actually got to watch some of the babies eating when we explored Toukoul the other day and they were all laying around with bottles propped in their mouths.  I'm not sure how else they could manage it anyway with the number of babies they have there.

 

After my failed attempts at getting Ezra Tewodros to eat, his daddy took him and he quickly fell asleep on his shoulder.  I took Olivia BACK into the bedroom for the next torture session…. Or so she thought.  We wanted to use some saline nose drops to help with her severe congestion, and had already given Tewodros his drops.  I did the drops and followed them up a minute later with some good nasal aspiration.  She'd spit up through her nose a moment before we began the nose cleaning, so most of what I got out was spit up, but she looked like she was breathing better when I was finished.  In order to clean out Ezra's clogged up little nose, I handed Olivia back to Ephrim (so helpful having a third person around!) and began sucking out Ez's nose while he slept on his daddy's shoulder.  He SLEPT THROUGH IT!  I was stunned!  The most that would happen would be one of his eyes would half open after I would suction, and then it would slowly close again.  He is such a cute little guy and it was so great to get his nostrils cleared out.  He went from loud snoring to breathing silently after we finished!  Hooray!  It was a success on both accounts!

 

By the time this was finished we had to head back to Toukoul.  Olivia was asleep on Ephrim when I took her, and she continued sleeping as I held her.  Both little angels slept as we carried them to the car, but the sudden wind gust awoke Tewodros as Joe climbed into the front seat.  He quietly watched the surroundings as we drove back.  When we handed them off to the nannies, Olivia sort of woke up but didn't look to happy about what she was seeing.  I didn't hear her cry before we left, but I think it was coming.  Poor little angels must wonder what is going on in their world!

 

We plan to check the babies out for good on Monday or Tuesday, but want to wait and see what the embassy visit brings before making a final decision.  We really feel they'll be better off in our care, but with our accommodations being less than desirable also feel that we don't want them to stay with us here too long.  So, for now we'll wait and see what Monday brings, and then make a decision.  We may go back on the hunt for a hotel if the news isn't good, we just feel we need to wait and see what happens before we make any definite plans.

 

So that's it for now.  I'm starving and need to get ready for the day before Ephrim arrives.  Today we plan to visit the babies in the morning, and then do our shopping at the Mercato in the afternoon.  We're about out of time for these type trips since we may be taking full custody of the babies as early as tomorrow evening!  I'm afraid we won't be making the dinner trip to the lake Ephrim wanted to take us to, or a traditional dinner and dancing, OR the dinner trip up Entoto Mountain… but I care more about having the babies with us than those things, so it's ok.  We may sneak one of them in tonight… who knows!

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Updates from Day 5

April 11, 2008

5:00 am

 

Hello!

 

I'm sitting here awake, since 4:30 am (it's now 5:00 am), and this seems to be the time my body wakes up these days.  I've been so tired, and every night mean to take a sleeping pill to see if it helps me get through the night, but always forget since I'm so tired when I go to bed.  Ugh.  So much for being well rested when we take the twins full time.

 

As for that, here's the current situation.  If Joe already sent word, my apologies for the duplicate notice, but I crashed VERY quickly upon returning to the guest house late last night… but internet was up at the time and I did do a quick email check.  Anyway, the attorney has the passports, and all that's left is the medical exams for the embassy appointment.  The big problem is that we didn't have our file to the embassy a week before the appointment.  However, they definitely make exceptions, it's just not good that they won't have our file before the DAY OF the appointment.  :-S  So, we ARE going to the embassy with the attorney and the twins on Monday afternoon to plead our case to the consulate, apparently.  I'm actually very hopeful that we'll be successful, but still no guarantees at this point.  If they will go ahead and process our case and give the kids visas, we also learned from 2 Dove families (another agency that Adoption Avenues works alongside at Toukoul) that they got the visas the day after the embassy appointment… not 2 days after!  So… that COULD mean that we'd have the visas by Tuesday, in which case we will DEFINITELY pay the change fees to come home sooner.  I'm not sure what will work out with the United end of the trip, but will be asking Mom to try and get that changed for us if possible.  We know the Ethiopian Air flight on Tuesday currently has space available, so we don't think we'll have a problem getting on the flight.  We may risk having a smaller chance of getting the bassinet, but it'd be worth it in the end to get home.  That's ok though if we get home!  Then we can get the babies to a Doctor and start being a family in a more real feeling situation.

 

So this evening Joe and I began the search for a new place to stay.  Ephrim took us to more guest houses and hotels, none of which we were too successful at.  The first place we tried was the Hilton since we were reconfirming our reservations on Ethiopian Airlines at the office in the Hilton there anyway.  The Hilton is FULLY booked this week, they didn't offer any rooms at all, not even some expensive Presidential Suite or something.  I will say that place was NICE!  Holy cow was it posh.  Either my view of nice has completely changed or the reviews some people have given the Hilton here are too harsh… either way, I nearly cried that we wouldn't be getting to stay there.  The grounds are beautiful, and there are lots of gardens.  We tried the Ghion Hotel, which had a room with twin beds, was old, ratty, and over priced big time.  So, the search continued with no success.  We obviously haven't tried the Sheraton since it's so pricey, but let me just say… what I wouldn't give…!!!  Here at our guest house it sounds like we're sleeping in a paper box set in the middle of a freeway filled with choppers and huge trucks… the taxis going up and down the street all night are so incredibly old and loud.  On top of that, people that work at the guest house are noisy, as are other residents (probably the ones coming in on late flights all night long).  When I awake at 4:30, there's always some loud banging going on against the wall where our bed is… and it's REALLY loud.  Oh, and the dogs… oh the dogs!

 

Ok, enough complaining.  The power is on at least now, but the internet down again.  So much for free internet… seems like we'll have to hit another internet café later today.  If it wasn't for wanting to take the kids into our custody full time, bathe them in WARM water (when the power doesn't work… neither does the hot water heater, and even when the power's on it only occasionally gives us one warm shower), and have a semi quiet place to sleep at night.  Obviously too much to ask, so I'm not sure what we'll do.

 

Our visit to Toukoul yesterday allowed us the opportunity to wander around the grounds a bit and in the afternoon we even got to see where Yodit and Tewodros have been sleeping.  In the morning we asked to see the babies sunning, and when we were taken back, only got to see them all lined up on the ground in a back room.  It was amazing… so many babies laying there, and another group crawling/walking around.  They were all in the same room because the baby house had been cleaned (as I guess it is every Friday) and insecticide sprayed throughout.  Therefore, the babies and ourselves couldn't go into the rest of the "house" until the afternoon.  But, we did get to see Yodit and Tewodros in the bouncy chairs… one like in the referral pictures.  I think they're definitely getting more comfortable with us, and both seem to snuggle in and fall asleep during our visits.  Both are incredibly curious about their surroundings, but Ezra is sleeping more and falling asleep first… undoubtedly due to his illness.  Both seem to start looking us in the eyes more later in the visits, but every time we give them back I do feel it sets us back and we have to really work to get the eye contact again the next visit.  I'm sure with some time at home that will start to be much more consistent.  Oh, back to their cribs… our two are so small they are in VERY little rectangular box type things.  Very odd… I got pictures, but they weren't even the ghetto style old cribs used here.  The did have toys hanging on the sides though.  And SIDS is not something they worry about here… all the babies have big blankets!  We noticed that at Toukoul in Awassa too… lots of blankets around them.

 

We laid out two of the disposable changing pads on the dirty floor of the visiting room yesterday morning and then laid two flannel blankets on top of that.  It gave a clean and slightly softened surface to try tummy time.  Ezra is a champ!  He lifts his head/shoulders and his feet and kicks like crazy!  Olivia is instantly ready to dissolve into tears, so we aren't forcing it just yet.  I do think it looks like Ezra may be crawling first though due to this.  I'm thrilled he is doing so well despite the serious sickies. 

 

………………..

 

I think I'd better try and lay down a bit more.  It's now 5:51 am and I'm hoping to catch another hour of sleep.  Yesterday I was unsuccessful and hand washed all our laundry in the sink and bathtub… so I could really use another hour this morning.  Thanks for all the help and wonderful additions you've gotten for the nursery and changing table, Mom.  It means the world to us both, especially me.  I miss you tons and wish you could all be here on this journey with us, but it's a huge relief to know mom and dad are home, watching our puppies, and resting up for the exhausting time change the 4 of us will be going through soon… we'll be happy to have help!

 

Jesi

 

 

………………..

 

April 11, 2008

8:00 am

 

I did get back to sleep and it's now about 8:00 am here… I slept in a lot compared to any other day!  I also meant to tell you we've tried the carriers and I sure wish we'd gotten a second Lascal M1!  That thing is AWESOME!  So far, I really don't like the Theodore Bean.  It got good reviews, but it hurts to wear… the straps dig into my sides, and when you sit down you have a bit hard thing poking you in the back… not workable for using it on the plane.  They are getting used to the carriers though, I stared with the Lascal and Olivia, and when she starts to cry usually bouncing up and down settles her back down.  Yesterday afternoon we had Olivia in the M1 with Joe and Ezra in the Theodore Bean with me.  They both conked out and slept a large part of our visit.  Oh, and when Joe first had Ezra in the afternoon, he spit up A LOT and it also came out his nose!  Talk about freak me out… I've never seen that before and I thought something was wrong.  The two other families visiting assured us it was normal.  J

 

They are also starting to figure out the pacifiers.  They seem to like sucking on them, but have a hard time holding them in their mouths, so we have to hold them in place for the most part.  We've only tried one of the styles we brought, and may experiment more with others later.

 

Time to get ready for the day!  Just another day in Ethiopia… breakfast of scrambled eggs, a drive to Toukoul, a morning visit, lunch, afternoon visit, dinner, crash!  If I can get online to find the email we may also go visit AHOPE today… the orphanage where HIV+ children are kept.  I need the directions though and need to get online! 

 

More to come…

 

Jesi

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Pictures...

Here are a few pictures!  We're at a very stuffy & hot internet cafe trying to send these out, so I hope you enjoy!  We should learn about our embassy date this afternoon... we have everything we need, I guess it's just a matter of whether the US Embassy will see us on Monday since they haven't had our file on hand for a week... cross those fingers and toes!

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Day 4 Updates!

It was an INCREDIBLE day.  We are the proud parents to the two cutest babies in the entire world.  Sorry, we're probably biased, but I think it's true!  ;-)  They are beyond amazing and we are so in love. 

 

First, our Tewodros:

Seeing our precious Ezra Tewodros in person has us VERY glad we came when we did.  He has such bad congestion/wheezing/rattly chest, and it's downright scary to hear him.  Even my hubby, Mr. Non-worrier, is freaked out and wanting to take him to a hospital.  I know he's getting good care, but he is so sick.  He sleeps a LOT, even compared to Olivia Yodit, and I know much of that is due to feeling so awful.  I'm glad at least we're here to clean his nose out and try and make breathing a bit easier for him!  Oh, and his ears were in desperate need of attention, so we cleaned them up too!  Let me tell you, that boy had some serious earwax!!!  Besides all that though, he is an absolute doll.  He is so smiley (despite feeling sick!), and does this great open mouth laugh & giggle!  I've found the magic tickle spot on his tummy, and can almost guarantee a great smile with a few tricks I've learned.  Oh yeah, momma's boy.  Oh, and this afternoon towards the end of our visit he was getting fussy and just not happy with anything we did.  Not REALLY upset… just fussy.  That was, until I held him up against my chest and rested my cheek on his head.  He almost instantly sunk into me and fell asleep nestled into my shoulder.  It hurts though… feeling his struggle to breathe through his chest and into mine… this poor guy is such a trooper!

 

And now, the lovely Yodit:

She is even more beautiful than I could have imagined.  I mean… this girl is incredible.  She'll melt your heart.  She makes you work a bit harder for a smile, but it's worth it when it comes!  Both her and her brother are pretty active and do a LOT of looking around… so super curious about everything.  She's pretty happy to be held and look around, and fell quickly to sleep on Joe's shoulder this morning.  Actually… they both fell asleep on Joe during our morning visit… he seems to have the magic "sleep" touch.  Let's hope he keeps that talent once we're home!  Yodit has beautiful, soft hair, and great lashes.  Her hands are teeny tiny… much smaller that Ezra's.  Oh, FYI – Ezra isn't COMPLETELY bald like he looks in all his pictures we had from before.  He does have some cute fuzz!  Olivia is congested and has a stuffy nose too, just not as worrisome as Tewodros.  I know they'll both benefit from some clean air (there's sooo much smoke and fumes here!) and getting out of an environment where the sickie bugs are undoubtedly passed back and forth. 

 

Anyhoo… that's it in a nutshell.  We had some yummy pizza for lunch at Green View, and Joe and I walked a ways down the street tonight for dinner at the Zebra Grill.  I had some super yummy chicken kabob, and Joe enjoyed a tasty cheeseburger!  I'm sure I'm forgetting LOADS of things I want to say… but the internet is finally up and I need to send this and get some emails sent out!

More to come… (as the internet connections allows!)

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Day 2/3 brief updates

Well, there's nothing like making it back to your "Guest House, sweet Guest House" and finding that after a couple of days out of touch, the internet is down.  Oi.  It was such a brutal trip to Awassa and back… I was sick on the way there, Joe was sick on the way back.  Today, most all of the day was spent in the car, coming and going from Awassa, the area our children are from, and Addis Ababa.  Just the drive from Awassa to Addis was about 6.5 hours.  It would be so much faster if there weren't constant streams of cows, donkeys, goats, sheep, and people crossing the road in front of you and causing the car to have to slow or stop.  For the most part, this game of "dodge the life forms" was rather successful, but there were a few tragic sites along the way to remind you how real this game of dodge was. 

 

We had a whirlwind visit to Awassa, but it was still a great thing that we went.  We got some really key information about our little babes' story, and for that all the sickness, road dust, sweat, and fatigue was more than worth it.  Things we saw and learned have opened our eyes even wider to what our little ones have already experienced at such a young age.  I can't even imagine the drive itself for ones so small and precious, let alone all the other details of their incredible journey.

 

While in Awassa, we stayed at the Tadesse Enjory Hotel.  It was pretty nice… in many ways much nicer than our guest house, but incredibly tight.  There was barely enough room to shuffle around the bed and to the bathroom, let alone lay out a suitcase to get your stuff out.  Ahhh, the things we take for granted.  At least for Joe's puke sessions he enjoyed a nice, new toilet… nothing like the fun I had here at the Addis Guest House and its lovely toilet.  J

 

In the morning, we're hoping Joe and myself will BOTH be "healthy" or at least close to it, and if so we'll be heading to Toukoul for a "real" first meeting with our angels.  The first was so incredibly brief it barely counts for anything.  It was enough to know we can't wait to get more!  We keep seeing pictures of them, including new pictures while at the Awassa branch of Toukoul… we're reading to see them in real life and learn their features in 3D!

 

………..

 

Ok, I'm now showered and feeling much better.  What a clean feeling does for the soul, I tell you.  I'm utterly exhausted though, and the internet is still down, so I guess this update will have to go out tomorrow.  Now back to crossing my fingers I'll get through my first full night's sleep since arrival… I'm determined to be better rested before Olivia Yodit & Ezra Tewodros are in our care full time!  Also… I'm REALLY hoping we get word from the attorney tomorrow that we have good news on our embassy date… we're just waiting for their new passports, so they could come through tomorrow!  PLEASE let them be ready tomorrow (Thursday)!!!

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What a day...

Just a quick update and then back to bed for me!  It was a heck of a day.  We met with the attorney in the morning and got some frustrating news about some things, but some "promising" news about the April 14 embassy date.  No guarantees, but it's at least looking "possible."  We saw their birth certificates... what beautiful babies we have!  Yodit is making such a cute face in her picture... she's definitely got some serious personality!

 

While at the attorney's smokey office on the 6th floor of his building (a long walk up when you're starting to feel puny!), I got so overcome by dizziness I had to lay on the floor of his office.  This caused quite a stir, but I felt better once I was horizontal.  I figured it was exhaustion and/or altitude, no big deal.  After a long and rather information talk, we were sent to Toukoul to meet our angels.  I'll admit now this was a terrible idea considering I was feeling so out of sorts.  But, we were so ready to meet Yodit & Tewodros!

 

We arrived at Toukoul and began talking with Melat about our program.  I had to interrupt her and ask for a place to lay down... back to just about passing out.  Yikes.  While I was laying in the visiting room, Melat continued talking about the visiting hours, our plans, etc., and then I heard it.  That beautiful little cry our Yodit shared with us in a video taken back in February by a friend.  Moments later, Tewodros was carried into the room and placed into my arms.  Yodit was handed to Joe and we began talking to them in awe.  We'd arrived at lunch time, so Yodit was rather unhappy we didn't have a bottle for her.  After a moment of holding little Tewodros, we swapped and I tried to comfort Yodit.  This was semi successful, but I was getting sicker by the moment.  Tewodros had some serious congestion and projectile spit up.  About the moment of the spit up mess, I was starting to pass out or throw up, so I begged our guide Ephrim to take Yodit.  Joe and Ephrim took the babies from the room and I collapsed.

 

So, the remainder of the day I spent in bed and visiting the toilet.  Puking is really the pits.

 

More later... back to bed.  We're hoping in the morning I'll be continuing to feel better and we'll spend more time at Toukoul.  I think we're going to delay our trip to Awassa another day to allow for more recovery time...

 

Oh, there was also a fire at the building that butts up against our guest house today... fun times.  More on that later!

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We're in Addis Ababa!

Just a quick post to let you all know we made it safely to Ethiopia yesterday evening!  Our flight arrived about 10 minutes early, and all our bags are here!  Including our huge duffel bag of donations that was barely within/just over the weight maximums and definitely larger than the maximum dimensions... but we were never questioned about it and not charged!  Hooray!  We can't wait to get them delivered to AHOPE and Toukoul.

 

We've decided we are meeting the babies this morning, and prior to our trip south.  Actually, it's Joe that wants to so badly.  I know it'll be hard to leave them for a couple of days after meeting, but Joe was insistant that we get to them this morning!  We'll also be calling our agency's attorney in a few minutes and seeing what we can do to help ensure an earlier embassy date.  We already love it here... but still want to get home and settle in to be a family in 2 weeks rather than 3!  ;-)

 

More later... it's beautiful here.  There's so much to say, but I'll do that when I have more time!

 

Hugs from us!  We'll post later if we can... hopefully with pictures of meeting our children!

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Leaving on a jet plane...

Oh yeah, you got it! We're leaving Saturday morning! Although, I'll admit that it's not because we got a confirmed embassy date for April 14 though. :-( We DID get updated medicals on the kiddos this morning, and current health concerns with our poor little Ezra has us determined to GET TO THEM! He is said to being doing well right now, but has been dealing with some very serious issues, much more than the cold/respiratory stuff we knew he had going on. So, Ezra and Olivia, here we come!

I can't tell you how surreal, or unbelievable it is that we ARE leaving in less than 2 days! We are mostly ready... and definitely have plenty left to do. Last minute shopping (need a couple of camcorder batteries and more DVD's for it), gifts for key people in Ethiopia, like our guide, the attorney, and people at the care center. Our duffel bag that's filled with donations is packed to the gills, but DOES weigh in right at 50 lbs. The only problem is it's a bit larger than the size/measurement allowance... so we may get hit with an oversized bag fee. I'm trying to figure out how to cinch it down small enough to fit. :-)

So, wish us luck in the craziness of the next two days, and keep your prayers and thoughts with Olivia and Ezra... especially Ezra right now. On a positive note, our little peanuts are still getting bigger! They're now at 10.5 pounds (Olivia) and 11.8 pounds (Ezra)!!! They've grown SOOOO much since January!

With love and appreciation to you all...

Jesi