i'm ONE!

1st new family picture

Fun With My Uncles

Israel and Alemu's Readoption Day! The double whamie

The group

Picture with the judge

The witnesses

I love this one...Israel is beaming and Alemu is trying to act cool and not smile but he just can't keep it in!

Playing in the new kiddie pool!

Eating Injera, Wat and Tibs...after months of asking if they wanted Ethiopian food and being told, "no" the boys were finally ready and excited to eat injera again!

yummy!

1st Birthday Party

12 Months Old

Well today is a day that is inevitable, yet one I am not quite ready for. My baby is officially no longer a baby but a big boy. Today Elias turns 1! My minds reflects over the past 6 months together. They have been far more wonderful than I ever imagined. It takes me back to this very day 1 year ago - how much I longed for a child, ached to see my son's face, how ignorant I was at the time the lifelong importance this date would hold. And now, one year later this day, July 22nd is the day we celebrate our son's birth!

God is so good to us. It is on this day that my heart reflects how wonderful life is. There is little greater in life than experiencing the promise of new life. Elias embodies answered prayers, hope, joy, abounding blessing. It is through him that fervent prayers were answered, the cries and desires of my heart fulfilled. I am certain no one's heart could be fuller than mine, as it overflows with love and pride for Elias Besufikad.

With a pang of sorrow I see so clearly Fikrte's face. Those big brown eyes with pools of water welling up in them and big fast tears sliding down her cheeks. This day is filled with joy for me. How is she feeling today? I imagine her feelings are mixed. She is probably sad on this day knowing she doesn't get to spend it with Besu. Maybe she thinks of me, like I do of her, and hopefully her heart is touched with a pang of hope and joy as she imagines his future with us. I can't pretend to know the fullness of her heart today, just as I don't think anyone can imagine mine.

At 12 months old Elias' personality is really shining. He is fun, playful, energetic, and snuggly. He still has 4 teeth but two more are very close to popping through. The thing he hates most (well besides the general not getting his way :) ) are diaper changes. Usually he cries unless I find a toy or person to distract him. No matter how stinky or wet he may be he prefers this to being changed.

Elias' walking is progressing really well. He can now walk slow with a fairly high degree of balance. In the past month the steps have progressed from walking in between objects or people to just taking off walking with no destination in mind.

Elias' vocabulary is also progressing. At 12 months old he has 6 consistent words. He says Da Da and Ma Ma (also Dud and Mum) with what I feel is a degree of recognition (meaning he no longer calls me Da Da although it remains his favorite babble word). When he hears Brian's voice over the speakerphone or walks to him he says Da Da and when he wants me he will say Ma Ma (usually this word comes with tears of hunger or sleepiness as these are the times he most often wants my attention over Brian's. Elias also says woah (voah), up (ub), hi (ha) and most recently, no. I consciously try to use the words gentle or don't touch but in some circumstances those aren't applicable. The other night Elias was being a real pill and screaming everytime Israel would come near him in the hot tub. Israel was doing nothing to bother him but Elias would not stop the tantrums. I looked at him and said, "Elias, no, no, no." He looked right back up and me and repeated, "no, no, no." I was horrified my nearly one year old was already talking back but it did give the whole family a good laugh.

Elias' tendency to bite (meaning Israel) has drastically gone down. Much to my amazement and joy he has not yet experienced the world of hitting. I dread the day he starts doing that. I would also say that his tantrums have decreased although they have not ceased and I don't really expect them to until I feel he can understand some type of discipline. We try to ignore the behavior which has proven helpful in shortening the tantrums. Sometimes I feel like he gets frustrated thinking I don't know what he wants when really I understand and he just can't have it (like reaching for the candy in the store).

12 things we LOVE about Elias

1. Your soft, silky skin

2. The way your face lights up in a smile when your stuffed animals give you kisses

3. How you find security in me (Ma ma) - early each morning he crawls in bed with me, climbs up onto me and with one fist grabs my hair and the other my necklace, then he falls back to sleep.

4. How you wake me (Ma ma) with LOTS of baby kisses to let me know you are ready to get out of bed and go play.

5. How you hold your arms high in the air and sway them like a monkey when you walk.

6. How much you enjoy playing outside in the water.

7. How you look at me (Da da) and know I'm your Da da.

8. Cuddling with you on Saturday mornings

9. Sleeping in my (Da da) arms

10. When I am holding you (Ma ma) and someone comes close you will reach for them. When they reach to take you from me you change your mind, withdrawing your reach and turning away from them into me. I call you a tease for doing this - but love it!

11. The way you make us laugh when you do your hip thrust dance in the car seat.

12. The way you look in a bandana.

...and because we couldn't agree on just 12...

13. The way you pant for food you love, or think you love (even if you've never tried it) just because someone else has it.

Videos of Elias

A week of videos - Elias through Auntie Em's eyes

Summer Fun

Elias' first VBS. He loves the small playground just his size and of course also loves playing in the dirt. But, his favorite part of the week is snack time!

Hours before we left for our rode trip Elias experienced his first fire. My parent's dryer caught on fire while my Mom was babysitting. For my sister's account of the occassion click here.

Playing in Mimi's sink for bath time...his favorite Friday activityElias' first otter popElias had his first road trip this summer. We headed to Pahrump, NV to say good-bye to our cousin Aaron as he headed off for the military. It was hot (114 hot) and Elias did surprisingly well. On the ride home his Auntie Em treated him to LOTS of her slurpee which stained his mouth and lips. Then, he was treated by Uncle Jake to lots of sour gummie worms. Shortly after he had a major sugar crash and slept it all off.Taking advantage of our Sea World passesAll this fun has Elias tuckered out!

Milestones & Remembering

Elias Besufikad has been home for 5 months! It feels like we have been together forever, yet it also feels as though we were just in Ethiopia. It is so wonderful to be together and to know we will always be together.

Recently I have found myself remembering the journey. The wait. The trials. The summer of 2008 held so many hopes and ended with so much despair and disappointment. When we started on the waitlist everyone thought we had a very good chance to be home with our baby before the courts closed in August. Our prayers were for a referral by my birthday (June 11), court approved by Brian's birthday (July 29), and travel by our anniversary (August 14). It all seemed possible and reasonable. The waiting was far more difficult and took far longer than we anticipated. On July 8th we began our 10 week experience waiting at #1. By that time the realization that we didn't have a referral and wouldn't travel before the court closure had sunk in, yet nothing could have prepared me for the ups and downs of 10 weeks at #1.

When that call finally came on September 15th I wasn't expecting it. Christy and I had a scheduled phone call to talk about Brian and I possibly being put on the siblings wait list. My heart had been so heavy for so long I was very emotionally unprepared. Even though the logic of a list existed I found myself often times believing we would somehow be skipped and that our day would literally never come.

July 2008 was one of the most trying months of my life. Now, looking back, it is a month to celebrate because it was the month my son was born. I am so happy we have come full circle; that I have a little boy I love and kiss and squeeze! Elias, I am so happy you are home!

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July weekend. The 3rd was spent playing some baseball. We all had a great time!

Elias is eating his snacks...this kid is ALWAYS eating!

Later that night while the rest of the family went to the drive in, Brian and I headed to the store to buy some new pool toys. Almeu loved this blow up Walrus...except they had recently seen the movie Water Horse so the Walrus was never known for his true identity but was always known as the Water Horse.We bought Elias a life jacket hoping it would help him be more comfortable in the water...nope, he still kept a death grip on me. Either way he had fun!The Water Horse died a few days later from a neck explosion after Almeu jumped into the pool with it...as seen here. RIP Water Horse.Israel wanted to try on a life jacket like Elias!After the pool Mom asked Alemu to put a scarf in her hair like an Ethiopian lady. This was her way to trick him into playing with her hair :) Alemu and Israel both tried but in the end Emily had to do it. When Mom asked if she looked like an Ethiopian, Alemu said, "no." Then Mom put on a "skirt" and "shawl." At this point Almeu laughed and said, "now you need a big stick." So he ran down the bank into the "jungle" behind the house to get a stick. Then he instructed her to walk hunched over like she was carrying something on her back. Alemu's "Ethiopian" mommy provided a lot of entertainment for the whole family!For dinner Elias REALLY enjoyed his first ribs. He sucked that bone clean!Later that evening we headed to the lake to watch the fireworks. Elias was super excited to be going for a walk at night.Israel and Elias were super hyper playing on the blanket we were sitting on. I couldn't believe my 11 month old was going at the same every level as an 8 year old after such a long day. I attribute it to the slurpee that his Auntie Em snuck him. Brian was a little nervous about how Elias would do with the fireworks. I didn't think he would be scared but I was thinking he would be bored and restless. Boy, were we both wrong. Elias snuggled with his Daddy, never even flinched at the loud noises, and sat mesmerized the entire show!Israel and Alemu thought it was pretty cool too! ...and that was the end of our 1st 4th of July as a family of 3!