Okay, I admit. I am a terrible, terrible blogger. I should probably not even have this site, but I do and you have to put up with my sporatic posts. I fully accept any and all mocking via the comments section.
So, how is life one month later? Great, hectic, tiring, wonderful and surprising.
Mahlet is officially not sick anymore. The snotty nose is all gone! Yeah!!!
Mahlet has given herself a new name...Briana. Since Briana is gone to Germany for month, Mahlet figures her name must be up for grabs. She points to everyone at the table and then points to herself and says, "Briana" and then laughs and laughs. Hopefully, Briana gets her name back upon her return or that will teach her for going away!
We did have a big break-through in the name department. She freaked out after being home for a week when we were saying our first and last names and we tried to say Mahlet Graber. She was adament that was not her name and kept correcting us (using her Ethiopian last name, which is her biological father's first name). Of course, we didn't push it and let it drop, cause that is quite traumatic of a change. Bad enough we shaved her head, now we are changing her last name?! Well, the other day she went around the room and said Daddy Graber, Mommy Graber, Isabella Graber, Samantha Graber, and Mahlet Graber. Then clapped and gave us a hug. Not sure she really believes it yet or was doing it to please us, but it's a start and it doesn't matter to me. And really, as a kid, how many times do you have to answer to your last name?
We have yet to complete a successful walk as a family, but it is getting closer and closer. The meltdowns come now from just wanting to be walking in the middle of the road or on the opposite side as everyone else or hitching a ride home with whatever car is driving by...okay, just kidding on that last one. She isn't bulking at the walks as much as the rules on the walk. I am sure she is thinking these people are crazy. They can drive wherever they want to go, yet they insist on walking in a circle at night. :-)
We have had some firsts...swimming in the area lakes. She loves it. Hesitant for about 5 seconds and then jumpled right in with her sisters. She doesn't go under the water, which is fine by me. But she just loves to be in the water. I even braved a swimsuit and went in with them the other day and she road around on my back for about an hour. What a great work out. Eat your heart out your P90X -ers. You ain't got nothing on a mom that swims around with kids on your back. BTW: I am not the only mom that uses this workout routine. Maybe we should be selling it? :-)
Samantha is getting better. Mahlet and her have come to a nighlite agreement that I think it working well. Samantha with her glaucoma hates any bright light and a nightlite in a dark room feels like the sun burning your eyeballs out. Mahlet doesn't like the dark in the least and I really prefer if she had some light so if she woke up and forgot where she was she could find the door. So basically, they are sorting out sharing a bedroom.
Oh, we also had our first movie. Toy Story 3. I, the adult, thought it was cute, but not the best of the 3. Mahlet had a good time. Mostly because popcorn was served. She LOVES popcorn. Pretty sure she would eat it 24/7 if we let her. She couldn't sit on the movie theater seat because they kept springing up and folding her in half and she was getting quite irrated. She never did figure out how to displace her weight, so I watched the movie through the head of a 7 year old with a giant bag of popcorn. It was all good!
Pet store...still not a favorite place. This time we were looking at the cats up for adoption. First two were fine, but the all black kitty--not so much. She started screaming. Not sure if that is a bad luck thing or a reminder of something, but we left. Cats don't like screaming seven year olds.
Her and Keesha are getting along super now. Mahlet sneaks her about 20 treats a day to get her to like her and then she gets mad when Keesha follows her around the house. LOL!
Mahlet loves TV. Poor thing, as we cut off our TV for the summer. She discovered she loves the movie Ella Enchanted and can now sing 2 of the songs and knows the dance routine for at least one. Speaking of which, the girl loves to dance and sing. I guess I know what we get to sign her up for first.
She does have a stubborn streak and is a drama queen, so we are "working" on those things. However, most of that has to be worked on when the language comes along. She is adding about 5 new words a day. She will totally be ready for school by the fall. Speaking of which, we plan to start her in 1st grade in September. She is so excited for school already.
Isabella is doing well. She is also finding her place in the family now and will soon be the big sister in the house (Briana is going to be a senior this year). She really misses Briana. Mahlet loves Isabella, which is no surprise, animals and kids all love Isabella. She just has this "thing".
I returned to work 2 weeks ago. It was hard as it was right at the beginning of summer break, but Doug is staying home with the girls for now. He is a great dad, but is ready to be back at work for the mental stimulation.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
What day is it?
Well, I realized that I haven't been good about posting. Where do people find the time to keep up with this? Okay, to be honest I have the time, I just don't think about it. We are having too much fun enjoying our new daughter and keeping up with our 4 girls!
Mahlet is doing very well. We are so lucky. She is sleeping through the night. She takes a nap, but we will be weening her off of that, cause I don't think she really needs it. however, mom and dad enjoy the little break for some alone time.
She has slipped in her eating habits a bit and has gone to all carbs. I hear this is common with older children from Ethiopia when they come here.
She is definately seven years old. We have our power struggles as we both struggle with some launguage barriers. Really, the language isn't a problem until we ask her to do something and she doesn't want to do it and I have no way to explain, so it usually ends in her talking back to me in Amarhic (trust me, talking back sounds the same in any language) and her in a time out.
Everything is new to her. Our trip to the pet store to get more dog food was interesting. The first thing she saw was the wall of fish tanks. She clutched her chest like she was having a heart attack ("It's the big one Elizabeth). When I finally convinced her to walk up to the fish tanks and I showed her there was in fact glass holding them in, she was completely awe struck.
The snack behind glass did not go as well and that is when we left. :-)
For the most part, I understand things are new and stores and malls (which we have not attempted yet) are going to be difficult, but I have to admit some things I never thought would be an issue have come up. For example.... walking to the little park by our house to play. Isabella, Samantha, Mahlet and I all get on our tennis shoes (tennis shoes, a whole 'nother story) and we start heading out to the park. We get about 5 steps off the driveway and she starts screaming in Amharic and crying. She buckles her knees and won't walk. She is pointing to the house. I am standing there like an idiot going, "okay, why is this a big deal? Why would a walk freak her out?" Then I have to figure out what to do. Turn around or keep going? I decide we need to keep going. She has to see that going for a walk doesn't mean we are walking away and not coming home. I'm not even sure that is why she is freaking out, but that is my theory. She I carry part way and then set her down. She takes a few steps and quits walking. I pull her along. The normal 3 minute walk to the park takes about 20 minutes. Once we get there, she has a great time. I think, "Okay, this is good." When it's time to go, she willingly comes along. She asks, "bayt?" Which means home and I say yes. She takes off running full steam. I have to send her sisters after her. I can run, but not as fast as a 7 year old anymore. Once we got home I told Doug, I used to have an old horse that was the same way. It would take him half an hour to go a 1/4 mile down the driveway, but once you turned him around to go home, it would take 30 seconds. LOL!
Again, the other night after dinner we decide to take a family walk. In the nice weather, we love to take family walks after dinner. The dishes can wait, but hanging with the kids can't. Well, we all get our shoes on and she is actually cooperative. We head out and get about the end of the cul-de-sac and she decides that walking is no good. She buckles her knees. So, Doug and I end up dragging her through half our neighborhood with her crying, snot running down in droves (and I mean LOTS of snot). I have no kleenex so she has to use a leaf. I keep thinking, our poor neighbors. If I was looking out the window at this specticle I would have to wonder. She did finally walk the last half home, but not without testing all the boundaries.
So, the gist of it is, you just never know what to expect. The things I thought would be difficult, not so much. Then things that I thought would be fine--like going to the park---big ordeals.
I have to say though. I would so recommend an older child from Ethiopia. It's been a really good transition. Even though she gives us a few more things to deal with than Samantha, I think it's more an appropiate reaction. With Samantha we had the hurdle of the chinese nanny telling her to be good or we wouldn't want her, so a lot of her adjustment was false and took a lot longer.
Speaking of Samantha. She is doing okay with the new sister. She has to share the bedroom, so more of an adjustment is required of her.
Briana is heading out to Germany on the 15th! I can't believe she will be gone for a month! How crazy is that? We will miss her. She is a going to be a senior, so a year filled with lots of adjustments. She is looking at colleges and trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. I tell her to be a good person and make sure that comes with dental. LOL!
Oh, and Mahlet had her check up and she is doing swimmingly. The doctor was very impressed with her overall health. We again, are very blessed.
Mahlet is doing very well. We are so lucky. She is sleeping through the night. She takes a nap, but we will be weening her off of that, cause I don't think she really needs it. however, mom and dad enjoy the little break for some alone time.
She has slipped in her eating habits a bit and has gone to all carbs. I hear this is common with older children from Ethiopia when they come here.
She is definately seven years old. We have our power struggles as we both struggle with some launguage barriers. Really, the language isn't a problem until we ask her to do something and she doesn't want to do it and I have no way to explain, so it usually ends in her talking back to me in Amarhic (trust me, talking back sounds the same in any language) and her in a time out.
Everything is new to her. Our trip to the pet store to get more dog food was interesting. The first thing she saw was the wall of fish tanks. She clutched her chest like she was having a heart attack ("It's the big one Elizabeth). When I finally convinced her to walk up to the fish tanks and I showed her there was in fact glass holding them in, she was completely awe struck.
The snack behind glass did not go as well and that is when we left. :-)
For the most part, I understand things are new and stores and malls (which we have not attempted yet) are going to be difficult, but I have to admit some things I never thought would be an issue have come up. For example.... walking to the little park by our house to play. Isabella, Samantha, Mahlet and I all get on our tennis shoes (tennis shoes, a whole 'nother story) and we start heading out to the park. We get about 5 steps off the driveway and she starts screaming in Amharic and crying. She buckles her knees and won't walk. She is pointing to the house. I am standing there like an idiot going, "okay, why is this a big deal? Why would a walk freak her out?" Then I have to figure out what to do. Turn around or keep going? I decide we need to keep going. She has to see that going for a walk doesn't mean we are walking away and not coming home. I'm not even sure that is why she is freaking out, but that is my theory. She I carry part way and then set her down. She takes a few steps and quits walking. I pull her along. The normal 3 minute walk to the park takes about 20 minutes. Once we get there, she has a great time. I think, "Okay, this is good." When it's time to go, she willingly comes along. She asks, "bayt?" Which means home and I say yes. She takes off running full steam. I have to send her sisters after her. I can run, but not as fast as a 7 year old anymore. Once we got home I told Doug, I used to have an old horse that was the same way. It would take him half an hour to go a 1/4 mile down the driveway, but once you turned him around to go home, it would take 30 seconds. LOL!
Again, the other night after dinner we decide to take a family walk. In the nice weather, we love to take family walks after dinner. The dishes can wait, but hanging with the kids can't. Well, we all get our shoes on and she is actually cooperative. We head out and get about the end of the cul-de-sac and she decides that walking is no good. She buckles her knees. So, Doug and I end up dragging her through half our neighborhood with her crying, snot running down in droves (and I mean LOTS of snot). I have no kleenex so she has to use a leaf. I keep thinking, our poor neighbors. If I was looking out the window at this specticle I would have to wonder. She did finally walk the last half home, but not without testing all the boundaries.
So, the gist of it is, you just never know what to expect. The things I thought would be difficult, not so much. Then things that I thought would be fine--like going to the park---big ordeals.
I have to say though. I would so recommend an older child from Ethiopia. It's been a really good transition. Even though she gives us a few more things to deal with than Samantha, I think it's more an appropiate reaction. With Samantha we had the hurdle of the chinese nanny telling her to be good or we wouldn't want her, so a lot of her adjustment was false and took a lot longer.
Speaking of Samantha. She is doing okay with the new sister. She has to share the bedroom, so more of an adjustment is required of her.
Briana is heading out to Germany on the 15th! I can't believe she will be gone for a month! How crazy is that? We will miss her. She is a going to be a senior, so a year filled with lots of adjustments. She is looking at colleges and trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. I tell her to be a good person and make sure that comes with dental. LOL!
Oh, and Mahlet had her check up and she is doing swimmingly. The doctor was very impressed with her overall health. We again, are very blessed.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
1 full day home
It's Sunday morning here and we were all up at about 6am. I am actually sleeping at night, Doug is having a little bit harder time adjusting to the time, but really we are doing quite well.
Yesterday was our first full day home. She is still sick, so it's been tough for her in that aspect. It dosn't take long to wear her out. I think the antibiotics are finally kicking in though. She is a bit of a drama queen I am afraid, but wouldn't you be if someone rescued you and gave you hugs and rocked you when you complained your throat hurt. :-) I am pretty sure not much of that went on at the orphanage.
We finally decided to tackle her hair yesterday. It took 2 hours to undo her braids, but mostly because she didn't want to cooperate. Then we finally were able to really see she did in fact have lice. We got out the shampoo and then it was time to sit and work on getting them all out. Well, she has beautiful, yet thick hair. After 1/2 an hour of her throwing her head back and forth and nothing getting done we decided we had no choice but to shave her head. They shaved their heads in the orphange, so it didn't seem too traumatic at first. Ha! it was definately the calm before the storm. I held her in a bear hug, while Doug tried to shave her head as it is flaying about. She cried for almost 2 hours before passing out. Not sure if it the trauma of just the change, or if they were not nice about shaving their heads in the orphanage or if it was losing her hair. In a way I am glad we shaved it, because it was so damaged from not being taken care of.
This morning she woke up early with me and we snuggled on the couch for about an hour. Doug got her to eat some eggs. That is another thing, she has not had anything except Ethiopian food her entire life. The Ehiopians rarely use sugar and they have no "desserts". We are trying to limit giving her these items as I am sure she will be introduced to them soon enough. She doesn't even like apple juice. She loves carbs though. Will eat lots of bread if you let her.
She really doesn't like Keesha (our dog), but is warming up to her as well. She doesn't shriek loud enough to shatter windows anymore when Keesha walks into a the same room as her. It's progress.
She does get quite shy and scared whenever there are more than 3 strangers in a room. So, we will definatley be staying close to home for awhile. She had no outside world experiences, as the orphange never took them anywhere, so everything is new. Things we take for granted everyday, like walking into the kitchen for a glass of milke or opening the drawers and pulling out clean clothes and actually have choices. These are all so new. Plus, living in a family environment, learning the rules of just being part of a family. We have no language to explain anything that is happening, but surprising smiles and hugs mean the same thing in every language.
I still can't believe we have only been home for 2 days. We are excited that the kids have a long weekend and then soon summer vacation in 8 days.
The next 2 weeks will be filled with doctors appointments and just laying as low as possible without going nuts.
Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all of you who are serving and have served our great country. We also thank the families who have had to make sacrifices for our country. God Bless you ALL!
Yesterday was our first full day home. She is still sick, so it's been tough for her in that aspect. It dosn't take long to wear her out. I think the antibiotics are finally kicking in though. She is a bit of a drama queen I am afraid, but wouldn't you be if someone rescued you and gave you hugs and rocked you when you complained your throat hurt. :-) I am pretty sure not much of that went on at the orphanage.
We finally decided to tackle her hair yesterday. It took 2 hours to undo her braids, but mostly because she didn't want to cooperate. Then we finally were able to really see she did in fact have lice. We got out the shampoo and then it was time to sit and work on getting them all out. Well, she has beautiful, yet thick hair. After 1/2 an hour of her throwing her head back and forth and nothing getting done we decided we had no choice but to shave her head. They shaved their heads in the orphange, so it didn't seem too traumatic at first. Ha! it was definately the calm before the storm. I held her in a bear hug, while Doug tried to shave her head as it is flaying about. She cried for almost 2 hours before passing out. Not sure if it the trauma of just the change, or if they were not nice about shaving their heads in the orphanage or if it was losing her hair. In a way I am glad we shaved it, because it was so damaged from not being taken care of.
This morning she woke up early with me and we snuggled on the couch for about an hour. Doug got her to eat some eggs. That is another thing, she has not had anything except Ethiopian food her entire life. The Ehiopians rarely use sugar and they have no "desserts". We are trying to limit giving her these items as I am sure she will be introduced to them soon enough. She doesn't even like apple juice. She loves carbs though. Will eat lots of bread if you let her.
She really doesn't like Keesha (our dog), but is warming up to her as well. She doesn't shriek loud enough to shatter windows anymore when Keesha walks into a the same room as her. It's progress.
She does get quite shy and scared whenever there are more than 3 strangers in a room. So, we will definatley be staying close to home for awhile. She had no outside world experiences, as the orphange never took them anywhere, so everything is new. Things we take for granted everyday, like walking into the kitchen for a glass of milke or opening the drawers and pulling out clean clothes and actually have choices. These are all so new. Plus, living in a family environment, learning the rules of just being part of a family. We have no language to explain anything that is happening, but surprising smiles and hugs mean the same thing in every language.
I still can't believe we have only been home for 2 days. We are excited that the kids have a long weekend and then soon summer vacation in 8 days.
The next 2 weeks will be filled with doctors appointments and just laying as low as possible without going nuts.
Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all of you who are serving and have served our great country. We also thank the families who have had to make sacrifices for our country. God Bless you ALL!
Friday, May 28, 2010
We are home
We left Thursday night at 11pm. All the flights were on time and went well (at least the pilots portion). We arrived in the cities at noon on Friday. However, technically we had been traveling like 21 hours and we have been up for 36 hours (then). Doug finally crashed-I think he plans to take the second shift. We did not get to sit together on the flight, so he sat next to Mahlet... I think he deserve a break.
I am really tired and have so much to say, but I know everyone is really just dying to hear about Mahlet. Well, first things first, we are calling her Mahlet...for now. She is very proud of her name and it fits her so well. Plus it's easier to say then we thought. We haven't given up on Emma, just still working out the details.
When we picked Mahlet up from the orphanage she had a pretty icky nose cold. But no fever and didn't seem slowed down in the least, not to mention almost all the kids in our group had a nose cold thing going on. However, it was obvious on Wednesday it wasn't getting better. We tried Benedryl and that at least helped her sleep. By the time we hit the second plane ride today she had a fever. She slept a lot and just didn't look like herself. I really did not want to expose her to the culture shock of a doctors office and tests, but with the long weekend I was getting nervous to wait.
Doctor took a quick peek and was nice enough NOT to draw any blood or do a throat culture or anything that might scare her since we did not have the language to tell her what was going on. He found enough things to justify starting her on antibiotics. Her fever was at 102, her throat is red, her ear is red and a I think he was just thinking there was a million other things. ha! poor kid.
What is her personality like? Well, she is a ham. Once she warms up to you. She is very shy around any more than 2 people in a room. She is super smart. Learned how to run the computer to run her DVD in the first sitting. And she is fabulous with babies. She LOVES them. I am guessing she was a caregiver of sorts to the younger children at the orphanage.
She HATES Keesha, our dog. But that doesn't surprise me. Dogs in Ethiopia are not considered part of the family. Some do have them as pets, but they most run around wild and cause foreigners a lot of headaches at night with all of their barking. I sure hope she comes around soon.
Hmm, I know there is lots to say and I will try to get my thoughts more organized in the next few days.
Thank you so much for everyone, for support, prayers, food, and childcare. This was definately a group effort.
I am really tired and have so much to say, but I know everyone is really just dying to hear about Mahlet. Well, first things first, we are calling her Mahlet...for now. She is very proud of her name and it fits her so well. Plus it's easier to say then we thought. We haven't given up on Emma, just still working out the details.
When we picked Mahlet up from the orphanage she had a pretty icky nose cold. But no fever and didn't seem slowed down in the least, not to mention almost all the kids in our group had a nose cold thing going on. However, it was obvious on Wednesday it wasn't getting better. We tried Benedryl and that at least helped her sleep. By the time we hit the second plane ride today she had a fever. She slept a lot and just didn't look like herself. I really did not want to expose her to the culture shock of a doctors office and tests, but with the long weekend I was getting nervous to wait.
Doctor took a quick peek and was nice enough NOT to draw any blood or do a throat culture or anything that might scare her since we did not have the language to tell her what was going on. He found enough things to justify starting her on antibiotics. Her fever was at 102, her throat is red, her ear is red and a I think he was just thinking there was a million other things. ha! poor kid.
What is her personality like? Well, she is a ham. Once she warms up to you. She is very shy around any more than 2 people in a room. She is super smart. Learned how to run the computer to run her DVD in the first sitting. And she is fabulous with babies. She LOVES them. I am guessing she was a caregiver of sorts to the younger children at the orphanage.
She HATES Keesha, our dog. But that doesn't surprise me. Dogs in Ethiopia are not considered part of the family. Some do have them as pets, but they most run around wild and cause foreigners a lot of headaches at night with all of their barking. I sure hope she comes around soon.
Hmm, I know there is lots to say and I will try to get my thoughts more organized in the next few days.
Thank you so much for everyone, for support, prayers, food, and childcare. This was definately a group effort.
Of course...
the second I post about not hearing from them...I get a text from Katy.
They are home as in, in their house. I do not have any other details, but the main point is that they are all 3 home safe and sound.
I am signing off.
The next post will be from Katy whenever she feels up to it.
WELCOME HOME GRABER FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are home as in, in their house. I do not have any other details, but the main point is that they are all 3 home safe and sound.
I am signing off.
The next post will be from Katy whenever she feels up to it.
WELCOME HOME GRABER FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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