Apples

Yoni and I had a great day today! He woke up around 8:30 and we had breakfast. I pointed out and named some objects for him. Yoni can say mirror now! It sounds like meer but hey, he's only 16 mo's! He scribbled over a coloring page with pictures of things that are red, the main one was an apple! We read and I pointed out everything that was red throughout the day. We went to Iron's fruit farm and were going to pick apples, but apparently they only do that on the weekends. So, we looked at all the animals, pet some goats, and picked up some apples, apple donuts, and some pumpkin butter for daddy. We ate our donut under the tree, then we came home and took a nap. We made jello together and did our first attempt at finger painting. Yoni wasn't sure what to do w/the paint on his hand and the painting was more an attempt to get the paint off! We also dipped some apples in the paint and rolled them around in a box and made a pretty picture! We took a nice walk, had some lunch and then fiddled and played around the house, read a little while we sat in a laundry basket and watched a little veggie tales...took another nap...we tried the finger painting thing again when daddy got home, but he really didn't like it so much this time! He played in his little pool for awhile....We had a great day! I love that little guy soooo much. I can't imagine life without him even though he has only been w/us for such a short time.

Operation fatten Yoni has begun!

Yoni had an appt w/his pediatrician yesterday and this child has still not gained any weight or gotten any taller! The only thing that is growing is his head! The Doc. wants me to start adding fat and cals to his food, such as, using cream instead of milk for mac n cheese or putting butter on his spaghetti, etc. So, I looked a bunch of stuff up on the internet and operation fatten Yoni has begun!! For breakfast I made him an egg made w/2 TB heavy whipping cream, 1 TB butter, and 2 TB of cheese...I don't think there was much egg left after that!! This is what his diet will be like for the next few months...I will probably end up fattening myself up more instead of him!!

3 months home

It's hard to beleive that we have been home for 3 months now w/Yoni and also that it has only been 3 months with Yoni. It feels as if he has always been here! A lot has happened in these past 3 months. We met Yoni for the first time on 5/10 and got to take him with us on 5/11. We all came home on 5/15. Yoni is thriving and is such an amazing little guy. I love him so much and can't imagine life without him. He has adjusted amazingly well and is usually very easy going. He is also very, very smart! Not that I'm bragging here! Yoni can now say about 20 words, stack 3-4 blocks, kick and throw a ball, feed himself (messily!) point to things and communicate what he wants/needs very well. He has had several dr's appts and has been to an orthopedic Dr. at children's for his club foot. He has had 3 casts, a heel cord surgery w/cast for 3 weeks and now has to wear braces on his feet w/a bar between them, 23 hrs a day for 3 mo's and eventually will only have to wear them at night. Yoni is really not digging the braces as he can't walk in them but he gets so happy and giggly when he gets to take them off for his hour of freedom. It is so funny! I have started back to work, which I do not like at all! Yoni isn't a fan either. Yoni also has 6 teeth now with more right behind. He was sleeping well but the day he got his braces on he started screaming every time we put him in his crib and would wake up screaming almost every hour or so. He would scream for over an hour if we let him and was so stressful to all of us, so Tim and I have started letting him sleep in bed with us...this creates other problems but at least we are all sleeping better. We have our 3 mo post placement visit this week along w/an appt to Yoni's pediatrician, so I will be talking w/the social worker and dr. about this If you have any ideas please let me know. I think it may be a result of me going back to work more than anything... but who knows. We have had a great summer playing and going to the zoo, etc. and now that Yoni's cast is off, he can play in the pool. Tim's step mom had a meet the Brakefield family get together so everyone could meet Yoni, Yoni and I went to visit Nana and Poppa in GA while Tim was on a mission trip with his youth group, we have met w/our local Ethiopia group and Yoni has played w/other children from ET. Yoni has had his 1st haircut w/daddy.....it goes on and on...here are some pics since we have been home.

My kid is so stinkin Cute!!

Since we weren't able to have a birthday cake for Yonas for his birthday while we were in ET, I decided to make a little one for him here so that I could have some birthday cake pics!!

Freckles

Sometimes Yonas will take his index finger and put it on a crumb and then put it in his mouth. Today Yonas had his first Doctor's appt in the US. We were in the exam room and I was holding Yonas and he put his finger to one of my freckles and then put his finger in his mouth! He was trying to eat mommy's freckles!! Anyway, I just thought that was hilarious and had to share!

Some pics of Ethiopia

Home Sweet Home

Sun.

We got back from Ethiopia w/Yonas Sat. evening. We have been busy adjusting, trying to catch up on sleep, and Tim and I have been trying to get over what our doctor calls "Montezuma's revenge"! I am going to try to post some pics from our trip and a little about our experience. It may take me a few days to catch up, so please be patient!

We arrived in ET about 11ish Sun. eve. We were picked up by T and David, both are great guys! We exchanged our $ at the airport, there was no line while we were there so thought it would be easiest. We didn't have any major issues, the visa processing went w/o any probs. The trip was long and tiring but pretty uneventful. We had more trouble figuring out where we needed to go in the airport at Dulles then in Ethiopia. When we arrived at the Guest house, we unpacked a little, took showers and went to bed. Our room was on the 4th floor and by the end of our trip I really hated those steps! The room was very nice w/a living room area, kitchenette, and 2 bedrooms w/baths. We did not have to share a room. I don't know how we swung this b/c all the other families did.

Mon.

We met the other families at breakfast then went with T to the Hilton to do our paperwork and have lunch. We met Duni there and got packets with information about our children's routines, medical information, vaccinations, etc. We then went to the Transition Home to meet our children. All up us were very nervous and excited. We were the first family and we moved up to the front of the line to get our son and they then said that Yonas was at the dr's and would be back soon. We were disappointed and began to move back while the Farris family moved to the front. A nanny brought out a little boy that looked like Yonas w/o hair. Both our families stopped and looked around b/c he looked like our son but they were telling us it wasn't him and they thought that it didn't look like their son, but they were telling them it was! Finally the nanny said that it was Yonas. Yonas was very upset. He has been at the TH since he was 4 mo's old and is very attached to his nanny's and his surroundings there. Tim and I tried everything to comfort him but he would not stop crying. We finally ended up taking Yonas back to his room and staying in their w/him. Yonas calmed down immediately and fell asleep in my arms. We spent the whole afternoon there w/him. It was great! We also met w/the TH doctor. After that the women went to the spa for some pampering and then we went all went out for a traditional Ethiopian meal w/singing and dancing. They had great food and entertainment.