Family Time 8 weeks: What a Difference a(nother) Month Makes

You are now 14 months, Sweet Meseret, as of August 28th!
(this post is a week late)
Family time = 8 weeks

Attitude

You show attitude often.  
It is usually accompanied by some new facial expression.  
I wish we could get inside your little head to know what you are thinking.

I wonder what you were thinking when Daddy put his socks on you because it was a chilly morning.

This just has trouble written all over it.

Facial Expressions

You have many.  
We cannot quite keep up with them, but they keep us laughing.  
I will let each one of these speak for itself.

Singing

When there is no music playing, you dance. It is too cute to try to describe.  When music is on, you dance, sing, raise your hands in the air, and clap.  Note: most of your singing and dancing picts are while you are in your chair eating because that is when we can catch you.

Signing

You are learning some American Sign Language (ASL) hand gestures.  You respond to and sometimes gesture eat, drink, more please, 
and we are working on "thank you."  
You know "more please" the best.  The last dew days you have shown that you know the sign for love, crossing your hands across your chest, after mommy has repeatedly gestured "Mama looovvvves Meseret."

You using the sign for "eat."

Eating

This is still going well.  I cannot think of anything you do not like.  You feed yourself most often, and sometimes Mama or Daddy will feed you in order to keep building connections.  Scrambled eggs made with Niter Kibbeh and Berbere is one of your favorite meals.

Sleeping

We are all making progress on the sleep front.  Your naps take place sometime in the window of 11:30-3:30, though not that entire time.  Nap time goes quite smoothly.  You prefer some light music and the digital frame of pictures from Horizon House.  Bedtime is also improving.  It takes considerably less time for you to go to sleep.  We all have a pretty solid routine down and most nights it goes smoothly.  You will start your bottle with us and finish it in your crib.  You will still be awake when we put you in your crib and you are comforted by one of us laying on the floor next to your crib with our hand in the crib.  You will toss and turn, crawl around, and stand up, intermittently coming over and flopping your head into our cupped hand.  This is so, so precious.  You just want to know we are here.  We are.  You will eventually fall asleep, either with your face in our hand or holding onto our hand so tightly that it is quite a challenge to sneak away without waking you up.  Sometimes Daddy falls asleep, too, right there on the floor.  

This routine of one of us on the floor with a hand in your crib is what we were doing the first few weeks home, but that went on for 2-3 hours and you were fighting sleep then; you seemed sad and agitated and uncertain of everything.  You fought it until you were utterly exhausted.

Now, Sweet M, you are seemingly allowing yourself to go to sleep 
without a fight and by choice.  

Moving

You are always on the go: cruising the room, pushing your y-bike around the house, going up and down the deck steps (2 steps), walking while we hold one of your hands. You get a lot of mileage in each day, for sure.

Walkin' w/ Gramma.

A walk before bedtime does everyone good.

In the morning, you are rarin' to go.

Grooving

You know the words "music," "dance," and "dancing," and as soon as you hear us say one of them, you start grooving.  You have quite the moves, sweet girl, and your moves change depending on what music is playing. 

Taking a break from dancing at the Middle Ages Brew Fest

Talking

You babble and ramble without end.  You refer to me as "MahBa" and Daddy as "Dahhheee."  You consistently use it to get Daddy's attention and it sounds so sweet.  You understand us quite well, and we are starting to figure out what you are saying.  The sign language has helped us know what you might be asking for, where previously you experienced frustration because we didn't understand what you were saying.

Walking

Well, a few weeks ago you spent a few days experimenting with standing in place, each time for a bit longer than the last. You would wobble and then eventually plop down, unsure of what to do next.  Then, two weeks ago Daddy saw you take a step, and then two steps.  After that, you took a two-week break and went back to crawling and pushing your bike along to get around.  Then, the weekend of the 24th you were back to standing and then you were off.  A few steps and then down.  Up again, a few more steps and then down.  This went on and on.  Your determination inspires me.  Then came Monday which brought more steps and more flops.  Tuesday we visited cousin Kevin for dinner, and hung out with Brian, his dog Dublin, and Stacey.  You took off walking around Kev's house and on the deck like you had been walking for days.  We are so so thrilled.  To you it seems pretty cool, but to us, well, we are over-the-top thrilled.

We are grateful for quality time with/at:

The Watkins CREW

You, Daddy, Myah, and Mama met the Watkins for breakfast as they passed through town on their way to Boston!
What a treat!

Kiya (times two)
--Kiya in late July--

 Sweet M, you and Kiya were housemates at Horizon House in Addis Ababa.  At the end of July, you reunited w/ Kiya at her new home in Rochester.  You brought Kiya a gift of this (court trip) photo of the two of you
at (original) Horizon House. 

On this first reunion, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Zemeta Ethiopian restaurant in Rochester.  We finally met Kiya's mom Carol.  This was a special evening.

--Kiya in late August--

Kiya and her mom came to visit us here at our home.  Myah was here too.
We all had fun at the park and going out to dinner.

Kiya enjoyed pushing you along in the stroller.

Gramma

Wanting to walk

Love

QT w/ Gramma

Mia

You played w/ Mia, and took a walk with her,  Jill, Alexa & Austin

Aunt Gloria

Swingin' in the park

Creek walk

[I have to mention the splendid August lunch w/ Richardson and mom]
(during which we did not take pictures ;[ )

Beverly

Conversation

--and Maggie--

Kowalski

Kowalski brought you this kangaroo.  It has become your absolute favorite toy.
We call it Eshe, after "Esherururu, Eshe Rooooo," one of your Ethiopian lullabies.

Zaiomy & Zaileese


Hopeprint Community Dinner

Camp

Laughter

Grampa trying to get you to walk.

Yum!  Make your own tacos for dinner

Love 

Lunch outside at camp w/ Gramma and cousins Alexis and Stephanie

Wearing Grampa's hat

Fun

Our neighbor, Lee

You really enjoyed the colorful leaves

Saunders, Melissa (& Ethan)

Middle Ages Brew Fest (your first festival)

Myah, Myah, Myah

Fun, fun

Love

Nicole (and Stephanie)

Even with their busy lives, cousins Nicole and Stephanie came over and spent a few hours playing with you.
Nicole was nervous holding you ;]

Dinner at Kev's

These three picts speak for themselves

Other precious moments

Cozy swing 

Go-in-a-circle swing

Taking a break from walking w/ Mama

Going for a hike w/ Daddy

 Reading

More reading

Yoga?

The rest of these need no captions

What can I say, Meseret?  I feel so, so happy to be your Mama.  

I am blessed. 


Can you tell who always has the camera?