I can't believe it's been a week now since the boys have come home and over all things are going great! Busy though, verrrry busy!
The boys are settling in and adjusting to their new life, exceeding all my hopes...they are such incredibly sweet, happy little boys! Very affectionate and becoming more so by the day. It's obvious they were well loved in their early years.
The first night we all were up until 3am...everyone was just too excited to sleep and there was so much catching up to do! Kidus and Biruk were pretty overwhelmed and wanted 'ababa' within eyesight at all times. We tried putting them in the room we had ready for them, but they were up and crying within seconds. We saw that wasn't going to work if we were wanting to get any sleep so we made a bed for them on the floor right next to our bed. They still had a hard time falling asleep, lots of whimpering, especially from Biruk. I finally just picked him up and took him out to the recliner in the living room so Jerry could get some much needed sleep after being up for 36 hrs straight!
I snuggled Biruk right against my chest and he was asleep within minutes.
He woke up a couple more times during the night and each time he would settle down when I held him close. I finally got tired of going out to the living room each time so I just put him in bed with us and he slept sound the rest of the night; I unfortunately didn't, but was just too happy to mind!
We let them sleep in and they awoke in a pretty happy mood. They did lots of exploring, flushing toilets thousands of times, touching and turning every possible object...and if that didn't work, throwing or kicking things were great alternatives. Mommy just pretty much followed them around with a camera, taking pictures here and redirecting there when things started looking too precarious.
The second night they were still pretty fussy and I would get up each time and pat and caress them, reassuring them that "mommy's here" until they fell back asleep. For 5 minutes. And then the siren wailing would begin again.
First one and then the other," waaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaa"...until I was beginning to feel that I might join them.
We made it through though and they awoke ready to claim me as their "mah-ME".
Since then they have been my little shadows, following me everywhere and when they can't find me, calling for me. They still love their ababa daddy too...the other morning Jerry was awakened by Biruk kissing his hand that was dangling over the side of the bed-so cute!- and they go running to him when they see him- you should see the way their daddy's eyes light up!
They usually hop in bed with us in the morning for some snuggle time.
They love being held, hugged, and kissed, Biruk probably more so than Kidus, he's a little bit more independent and even- keeled. They are both very talkative, jabbering away in Amharic carrying on obviously entertaining conversations with each other...I wish I could understand them! They laugh and tease and fight with each other, don't share very well, but they do look out for each other. If one of them is crying the other will come find me and make sure I know about it.
They definitely have their moments...oh, yeah...we've been treated to the Ethiopian shoulder shrug numerous times and they LOVE throwing things when they are mad. Lots of pouts and sometimes just plain old naughtiness, but they respond easily to discipline and redirection too. Most of the times just being ignored during a pouting session is enough to do the trick and after a couple of minutes of seeing all the fun they are missing out on they are ready to join the happy people again.
We are working on teaching them what "No", "Don't touch" and "Come here" mean...they hear those a lot! The sooner they learn obedience and boundaries the happier they and all of us will be!
We took them to their first doctor appointment yesterday and it went as well as we expected....I mean, c'mon it would have been shocking if there hadn't been any tears! They appear to be in pretty good health considering all they've been through, but we shall find out after we get all the labs done...ugh, I am so not looking forward to the stool samples! The sooner we find out though the better, especially since I'm just a little paranoid and am getting really tired of wiping down the bathrooms after them! They had some pretty scaly scalps when they got here, but between lots of coconut oil and essential oils they are looking pretty good now.
The boys are settling in and adjusting to their new life, exceeding all my hopes...they are such incredibly sweet, happy little boys! Very affectionate and becoming more so by the day. It's obvious they were well loved in their early years.
The first night we all were up until 3am...everyone was just too excited to sleep and there was so much catching up to do! Kidus and Biruk were pretty overwhelmed and wanted 'ababa' within eyesight at all times. We tried putting them in the room we had ready for them, but they were up and crying within seconds. We saw that wasn't going to work if we were wanting to get any sleep so we made a bed for them on the floor right next to our bed. They still had a hard time falling asleep, lots of whimpering, especially from Biruk. I finally just picked him up and took him out to the recliner in the living room so Jerry could get some much needed sleep after being up for 36 hrs straight!
I snuggled Biruk right against my chest and he was asleep within minutes.
He woke up a couple more times during the night and each time he would settle down when I held him close. I finally got tired of going out to the living room each time so I just put him in bed with us and he slept sound the rest of the night; I unfortunately didn't, but was just too happy to mind!
We let them sleep in and they awoke in a pretty happy mood. They did lots of exploring, flushing toilets thousands of times, touching and turning every possible object...and if that didn't work, throwing or kicking things were great alternatives. Mommy just pretty much followed them around with a camera, taking pictures here and redirecting there when things started looking too precarious.
The second night they were still pretty fussy and I would get up each time and pat and caress them, reassuring them that "mommy's here" until they fell back asleep. For 5 minutes. And then the siren wailing would begin again.
First one and then the other," waaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaa"...until I was beginning to feel that I might join them.
We made it through though and they awoke ready to claim me as their "mah-ME".
Since then they have been my little shadows, following me everywhere and when they can't find me, calling for me. They still love their ababa daddy too...the other morning Jerry was awakened by Biruk kissing his hand that was dangling over the side of the bed-so cute!- and they go running to him when they see him- you should see the way their daddy's eyes light up!
They usually hop in bed with us in the morning for some snuggle time.
They love being held, hugged, and kissed, Biruk probably more so than Kidus, he's a little bit more independent and even- keeled. They are both very talkative, jabbering away in Amharic carrying on obviously entertaining conversations with each other...I wish I could understand them! They laugh and tease and fight with each other, don't share very well, but they do look out for each other. If one of them is crying the other will come find me and make sure I know about it.
They definitely have their moments...oh, yeah...we've been treated to the Ethiopian shoulder shrug numerous times and they LOVE throwing things when they are mad. Lots of pouts and sometimes just plain old naughtiness, but they respond easily to discipline and redirection too. Most of the times just being ignored during a pouting session is enough to do the trick and after a couple of minutes of seeing all the fun they are missing out on they are ready to join the happy people again.
We are working on teaching them what "No", "Don't touch" and "Come here" mean...they hear those a lot! The sooner they learn obedience and boundaries the happier they and all of us will be!
We took them to their first doctor appointment yesterday and it went as well as we expected....I mean, c'mon it would have been shocking if there hadn't been any tears! They appear to be in pretty good health considering all they've been through, but we shall find out after we get all the labs done...ugh, I am so not looking forward to the stool samples! The sooner we find out though the better, especially since I'm just a little paranoid and am getting really tired of wiping down the bathrooms after them! They had some pretty scaly scalps when they got here, but between lots of coconut oil and essential oils they are looking pretty good now.
Uh, oh
Time to learn how to pick-up!
And here would be an example of when we would be learning what "Don't touch" means.
And here
Uh, here too
Yep, again!
See the smeared glass? This picture ...
You get away with a lot though when you have a face like this...
This picture earned him several kisses, in fact!
Biruk saw me taking pictures of his brother and started calling, "Mah-mee, photo, photo!" Naturally, I obliged.
How could I not??
Biruk picked some rosemary and evidently wasn't crazy over the scent.
We are busy, we are tired, and we are oh, so happy!
