Some Pictures from Florida

Here are some pictures from our Florida trip...we just got home night before last..it was an awesome trip...and we made it home in 12 hours straight from Destin all in one day w/ out any breakdowns (carwise or kidwise!) That's a miracle-haha...this first picture is actually from this afternoon...(in that last picture, those are spiderman lifejacket suits if anyone is wondering what in the world the boys are wearing!)

A Different Life

We are in Destin, Florida right now and having a great time with Daryn's parents, sister and family, and brother and family....I'll post some pictures when we get home but I just had to post my thoughts-the kids are having a great time with their cousins-besides Grace, Luke, and Anteneh, there are 5 other cousins-all 7 and under except the eldest cousin, Eli, who is 10 (and one of the aunts is pregnant with TWINS!)....well, last night we ALL went out to eat..."West-party of 16!" haha... we had 2 great tables that overlooked the ocean-and after we ate we took all the kids down to the beach and they all ran in the sand and waves (and got their nice out to eat clothes drenched)...we were out there for almost an hour watching the kids 'frolic' in the waves...and I just watched Anteneh and couldn't stop thinking about how his life is so different. 4 months ago he was in an orphanage in Ethiopia with no family-he had been abandoned there by his mommy-he was one of 20 kids his age wandering around a small room with only a couple toys that the kids would yank out of his hands...his hair, fingernails, and toenails were long and dirty...his ear was oozing , his hair was falling out in places, he had giardia (an intestinal parasite)...and he's wandering around a room with sharp rusty metal walls-jagged in places...and 4 months later he is running in the surf after eating a seafood dinner on the beach...he is running in the sand in a Hawaiian shirt and Birkenstock sandals...with his new family-Daddy, Mommy, Sister, Brother, Papa, Grandma, 2 Aunts, 2 Uncles, 3 cousins, 2 boy cousins, and 2 in utero cousins...(and that's just on Daddy's side)...he splashes in the ocean, runs in the white sand and falls down and rolls around-screaming with excitement...the sun is setting and he is literally on the other side of the WORLD in a completely different life...the only thing that is the same is his first name and his memories of his past and his biological family...he is healthy, has a full belly, and people all around him who love him so much...he is staying in a condo for a week that would cost the average Ethiopian 4 years wages...he truly has a different life...

437 Questions

I just HAD to take a picture of this sign at the Magic House....All I have to say is 1311 questions a day is what goes on at our house...that's 437 times three!
We just got back from a great family trip to St. Louis last night! We visited the St. Louis Zoo and the Magic House (an old Victorian mansion that has been renovated and turned into a hands on childrens' museum!)...We visited an Ethiopian restaraunt for dinner and Daryn met the new Jamaica Interns for summer 07 for some training...it was a great trip! Here are some of my favorite shots:
Grace in front of a bunch of fish in the hippo pond...

Anteneh and Daddy at the Queen of Sheba restarant (which I would highly recommend to anyone near St. Louis who would like to try East African food...they were so nice and interested in talking to us-and especially Ante! Grace was a pro at using the injera-she loved the food! And thankfully, the pickier eater, Luke, slept through the meal! It was so nice to eat the traditional Ethiopian food after not having it for 2 months...nice for Daryn and me but probably even MORE exciting for Anteneh!!! He was a little scared, though while we were there-he seemed a little insecure-probably thinking we were going to leave him there...he hadn't been around Ethiopian culture since we met him and brought him to the U.S....he didn't let go of Daryn the whole time!
Grace dressed up like Sacagawea at the Magic House

Daddy and Lukie in a giant sandbox...
and last but not least is brilliant me with my hand on the electrostatic generator...why do I call myself brilliant, do you ask? Well, because when my turn was over I turned back around and touched the big ball again and shocked myself...apparently you are not supposed to do this..I think I upset the high school kids working at that area b/c they acted really nervous when it was Grace's turn-they probably thought, "if this lady is so impulsive, her kids are probably going to do the same thing or worse!"...actually, the kids behaved themselves...it was just me that did the dumb thing.

Last picture...this is today but I had to add it...Anteneh is absorbed in his Superman movie (the old 1980's one)...don't ask me WHY he is wearing three pairs of safety goggles...3 year olds do some weird things...

Great Article Link

Here is a great article about an American doctor in Ethiopia doing some amazing things.

Someone asked me to mention how Anteneh's English is coming along...GREAT! More than anything, he is understanding more and that helps so much...he is also saying more but it is hard to DESCRIBE how it's going. He understands just about everything we say if it's the day to day stuff like, "wash your hands", "it's time to eat", "let's go bye bye", etc...he understands all of it...a lot of HIS communication, though, is one word sentences, grunts, and motions....like to see if we want him to wash his hands, he would point to the sink, make a motion like he is washing his hands, and grunt, "huh?"....or if he is wondering if we are getting ready to leave, he says, "bye,bye?"...

Well, the kids are I are going to go plant flowers now...we kicked the bird out of the mailbox birdhouse b/c he would always fly straight at our faces when we got the mail. I'm not joking-the bird would head right for our faces like we were trying to kill his babies or something when all we were doing was getting the mail. SO we ripped the lid off before he could have a family this spring and we are planting flowers in there! Is that horribly mean? We didn't hurt him... Gotta go!

A Difficult Skill

Luke doing the dishes...gotta start them early!
My awesome husband is a PRO at teaching kids to blow their noses....now, this is NOT an easy thing to learn as a child. But what an important thing it is! Haha...when Luke learned to blow his nose, everything changed when he had a cold...instead of always having snot running down his face, he could blow it all out into a tissue. Is anyone grossed out yet? Well Anteneh has a cold...(i'm praying the other two don't catch it-which we probably won't be able to avoid b/c usually colds make their rounds through our entire family before exiting)...here is a funny video of Daryn attempting to teach Anteneh to blow his nose...well, it's more of a giggle session after dinner...but hopefully soon he will learn! Man, I hope so...


Also...Grace got her ears pierced today!!! Here are before and after shots....along with a wonderful shot of some chick who needs a longer shirt walking in the mall:)

Learning our Family

Our petition to register our adoption was registered in court today! This will produce an American birth certificate for Anteneh and change his name to Anteneh James West. It will also allow us to get him an American passport to replace his Ethiopian one and he will then have a social security number...sounds pretty American to me!

I was thinking today how well he is doing, really. As we ate lunch, I watched him eat grapes and remembered 4 weeks ago when he would chew up a grape and spit the peel out. He was so finicky for 2 weeks and quickly learned to love American food...he will eat almost anything now. He eats raw veggies, even...lots of kids won't touch them. I couldn't be happier with the way he eats. The three kids are pretty easy at meals. Grace was always like that and Luke took some work, but they all eat so well...

Anteneh's belly size has diminished a lot. (See swim lessons picture above-check out those spiderman trunks!) I guess it was true that a lot of the belly size was due to the giardia. (some ladies who've adopted children w/ giardia told me it might be due to that) He does still have a belly but it's mostly gone. I really thought it was just like that b/c it took weeks AFTER he finished the medicine to see any difference.

He has quickly learned to LOVE going to Grandma and Papa's! He actually asks sometimes when we leave, "Grandma's!?" and when we say 'no', he cries. Haha! We get together with all the aunts and uncles and cousins at Daryn's parents' house often and when we do, the kids have SO MUCH FUN together. He loves it. And it didn't take him long to fall in love with it!

Also, his English is coming along well...yesterday, Daryn came home from work and Anteneh ran up to him and said, "Daddy! Watch this!" and showed him something new he could do...one of his favorite things to do is sit on the counter and help me cook. He and Luke LOVE IT! We made cookies today. (And he managed to avoid sticking the butterknife in the toaster again!)

He has learned many of our little family quirks and traditions...he knows to put Shadow in the crate when we leave, he knows in the morning if he hops in his carseat right away he gets a bag of snacks and a sippy cup for the ride, he knows when I say, "let's give you a haircut" he gets the little wooden chair and sits on the front porch waiting...he knows that when we watch a movie on family movie night, we always pop popcorn. And my personal favorite: he mixes 2 cereals in the morning like the rest of the family (OK..Daryn isn't that weird but the kids and I are)...and he knows after meals many times we turn on the radio and dance in the kitchen! Today the boys and I were dancing to Lyle Lovett (nobody make fun of me-we love him) and I started thinking about dancing with the boys at their weddings. (OK-I know this sounds totally mommish but sometimes I stop and am in awe that they are going to be grown men someday)...I asked Luke, "Lukie, are you going to get married to someone like mommy someday?" and he said the classic responce of, "I'll marry mommy"...and I said, "well, daddy already married me" (not to mention you can't marry your mom anyhow)...and he said, "Luke's turn"...Haha...

Anteneh's New Pictures

We just got Anteneh's pictures done...aren't they cute!? I love them...Grace and Luke were OVERJOYED that they didn't have to get theirs done! Haha! For some reason, my kids hate getting their pictures taken-I'm sure Anteneh will catch on soon that it's the thing to do-hide your face most of the time the camera is trying to get a shot...you may think that I'm a paparazzi mom now, but if they were willing more often to let me take their pictures, we'd have even more shots of the three of them...
Well, I just got home from my Florida visit with Tracey-it was incredibly relaxing-we got pedicures AND she surprised me with an hour long deep muscle massage at a REALLY nice spa...ummm....EVERY stay at home mom needs a friend like Tracey! Heehee...Besides the group of 10 hunters dressed in camo on their way to a big hunting trip who had been drinking for 4 hours prior to sitting all around me on my first flight and bothering me(was that a major run on sentence, or what?), it was a GREAT trip! Haha...Thanks, Trace!