A MONTH HOME

Girma continues to amaze us with his ability to thrive. It takes a lot of trust to give your heart to two complete strangers; depending on them for food, shelter and love when his situation is not one of his choosing. We admire him for his resiliency to accept us as his new parents with open arms and to move happily forward as a family. There is so much to learn from children.

Since our last blog update, we have taken Girma camping where we introduced him to smores and croquette. He preferred the challenge of the game over the sweets. Girma has been in preschool for 2 weeks now and is doing great. Mrs. Johnson says he does everything the others kids are doing and loves his smile (who doesn’t?). He had his 1st doctor’s appointment that he passed with flying colors, no parasites, no TB, just a healthy boy! Unfortunately, his 2nd doctor’s appointment was the start of his immunization shots. Or I should say re-immunization. Poor thing was immunized in Ethiopia, however, our pediatrician recommended starting all over because they know the quality of the shots here are dependable. So, our little guy yelped when they gave him his 5 shots of the day. He has to go back over 2 months for shots until he is caught up. I think it stresses us out more than it does Girma! After that trauma, we took him to his(and our!) favorite restaurant, Habesha! Habesha means Ethiopia in Amharic. When we told him we were going to Habesha, he said, “No Habesha.” We asked, “don’t you want injera (Ethiopian bread)?” He said, “Yes, injera! No, Habesha.” So we believe he thought we were asking him if he wanted to go to Ethiopia and was adamant about saying no! So, it was nearly impossible to explain to him we wanted to take him to the Habesha restaurant, not Ethiopia so it is now fondly called the Injera restaurant. :0)

Momma took Girma to his Auntie’s place of work, Rocky Mtn. PBS station and Auntie had a ball showing off her new nephew to all. His Uncle Apple turned 50 and we celebrated with him and Auntie at White Fence Farm where we had a carriage ride, checked out the petting zoo, and had a blast going down the big slide! Girma and Steve both got busted for running to take another turn on the slide. Of course, our carnivorous son enjoyed the popular fried chicken there. Believe it or not, we took a family pic with the camera’s timer and it turned out great on the 1st shot! I’m talking Tyler, Taelyn, Girma, Steve, me, Aspen, Elsy and Carly! It’s the little things that Girma does that lets us know we are definitely his parents. Like when Steve comes home from work and Girma goes running to give him a Velcro Hug and when I’m gone doing errands and Girma asks Steve, “Where’s Momma?” and wants to call me (twice in one trip!). And how Girma picks up every little thing we do and say, like “Iloveyousomuch”. These are such sweet moments in our lives right now. From day one, he’s been our son, while still loving and honoring his birth parents and country.

House addition nearing completion! Take a look for yourself!! All that is left is finish painting, complete bathroom tiling, finish plumbing, add light, switches and outlets, carpet in Ty’s room and landscaping. We are planning an open house to celebrate Girma’s Homecoming and the finished home addition. We’ll keep you posted.

Here is the link to videos of Girma, please copy and paste to view:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrMonkeyLivingroom#play/uploads

Videos

We have our videos listed under:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrMonkeyLivingroom#play/uploads
Enjoy!!!
:O)

Home a little over two weeks

Pic #1: Girma on the playground

Pic #2: Family pic Daddy took

Pic #3: self portrait, good, huh?!

Pic #4: Us at the adoption picnic

Pic #5: Girma with friends Selamawit and Savannah

And it feels like we’ve done so much already! Girma is doing great, his rambunctious self keeps us on our toes!

He loves to ride his big wheel that friends gave him. He now rides with his hands up in the air with a smile saying, “Look, no hands!” The other day, the UPS truck was driving slowly down our street. Our son grabbed this opportunity and peddled his little heart out and beat the UPS driver! He was so elated, he got off his big wheel and was jumping for joy!

We’ve been to many playgrounds already where he loves to run around and be with other kiddos. He loves the swing and with careful observation of other kids swinging themselves, he is learning to pump already!

Momma took Girma to his first library the other day. Inside, the first thing he headed to was the computer! He loves buttons of any kind. If its in reach, he’ll push it! He’s getting in the routine of reading his library books with his parents before going to bed.

Girma starts preschool next week, Tuesdays and Thursdays half days. I think his English will really pick up then. He already knew the alphabet song and is now starting to recognize letters we point out to him. Girma loves to count things. With a little help, he can count to twenty already.

From watching the DVD, Girma is singing part of the Winnie-the-Pooh song! Its really cute. Of course, his momma and Babba are very fond of Pooh movies. :0)

Last weekend, we attended our adoption agency’s annual picnic and it was great fun. Girma got to see four children that were at his orphanage! The families and energy was great there. We love meeting other families with similar adoption experiences.

Our amazing son continues to give his Momma and Babba hugs and kisses. He especially likes the group hugs the three of us do together. When we walk in the park, he waves to everyone we pass by. His smile is so intoxicating, the people passing by can’t help but smile and wave hi back. It’s a beautiful thing.

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPEV0ibEhb8
This is Girma's first ride on a big wheel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIiVJ3GwCWo
This is Girma after learning that Javier and Christy gave him the big wheel to bring home.

Sorry you have to copy and paste, still haven't figured out how to upload video's directly.
:O)
Steve & Denise

Our First Week Back

Thanks for being patient with this updated blog. This is the first time we’ve had a chance since we’ve been home. It has been an amazing journey so far, and we have just begun! Girma is perfect for us. I can’t imagine any other child bringing so much joy, laughter, love and wonder to our lives. We have been busy playing and seeing the family. Here is the rundown of this week, with some gaps.
Love you all!
Steve, Denise, Tyler, Taelyn and Girma! :O)

Tuesday…
Flight got in at 10:30, met by friends and family. A joyous homecoming for all. Jeff drove us to Steve’s truck. Girma hopped into the front and sat on the middle console. He pointed to the driver’s seat and said “Babba”, pointed to the passenger seat, said “Momma” and pointed to the console and said “Girma”. He was not happy when we put him in the car seat in back. He was mad until we went through Wendy’s drive-through and got food. Once Girma was done with lunch, he went back to complaining about being stuck in his seat. We got home to Auntie Val and Uncle Alan at the house, with a new teddy bear and balloons. We brought our luggage in and let Girma explore his new home. He is very interested in everything, but also gentle with things. He will try everything, food and games. After playing with many new toys and games, Val left, Alan went back to work on the addition, and Momma, Babba & Girma took a very long nap. Momma and Babba woke up at 6pm and unpacked and tried to get their bearings. Girma didn’t wake up the rest of the night, which led to…

Wednesday.
…1 a.m. Girma wakes up and is up to stay. Denise took the first shift and played with Dominoes (he loved to stack them) and a counting game on her I-Phone and tried to be quiet. At 5am Steve took over and Denise went back to sleep for a few more hours. Babba and Girma played some more with the Dominoes making shapes and stacks, then went outside and played catch and swung in the hanging chair. After that we took the wagon to the playground. Girma was more interested in watching the kids at the pool than playing on the slides. But, he did do the kid’s climbing wall and loved the swing. Our son loves to dance and sing! We put on a CD of Ethiopian children's music that Girma took to at once. He grabbed his drum we bought in Ethiopia and happily gave us a performance!

Thursday…
Girma woke up at 5am, much better than 1am but still early for Momma & Babba. Denise took the first shift again. We took Girma to Denver Academy to drop off insurance paperwork and show Girma off. Once again he was not happy with the car seat. On the way home we just used the regular shoulder and lap belt across his car seat instead of the 5-point harness. That helped a little, and playing with Babba’s cell phone helped more. For lunch, Girma ate a PBJ and some fruit. After lunch, it was naptime for Momma and Girma, while Babba picked up Tyler. When we got back, Girma was immediately in love with his big brother. He follows him everywhere, wants to do and say everything just like him. It’s very cute, and Tyler takes it well even though he’s a little embarrassed by it, and definitely doesn’t want to hold hands with his little brother! :O)

Friday…
We took Girma to our adoption agency for a fundraising meeting and to show him off. Of course, everyone loved him to death. During the meeting I asked him to be quiet and gave him the “Shhh” sign. He then walked around the conference table and told everyone else to ‘shhh’ too. It’s hard to do anything when everyone is laughing, including us. On the way out, I handed Denise’s purse to him, and he put it on his shoulders and strutted out the room with a huge smile and looking back to make sure everyone saw him. We have a little show off on our hands! When we got back Taelyn was now at the house and Girma got to meet and play with his big sister. It’s really fun to watch them all interact. Girma kept trying to repeat everything they say. The best way to get Girma to put his shoes and socks on is to have Tyler do it, and voila! We walked to ‘Smugs’ for dinner and Girma following his brother and sister and didn’t want to hold hands with us. That was fine until we got to Evans St and had to cross. He just doesn’t get traffic yet and we have to make sure we have a firm grip on him.

Saturday…
We took Girma to the pool and met Steve’s brother Jeff and his girls, Kailey (12), Paige (9) and Jenna (5). He slept in the truck on the way and was very groggy when we woke him up. He didn’t want to go in the pool or do anything for a while. Finally Taelyn and Kailey took him to the playground and he had fun on the swing and did the slides. Then, we got him in the pool and it was all over. He loved it once again. Jenna let him use a blow up tube, then the noodle and finally arm floaties. Those worked the best and he could do his own thing. Using the tube he would slide out on purpose and not even care he didn’t know how to swim. The kid is fearless! This will be good in a lot of ways for him, trying new things etc. But, it really makes us need to keep a keen eye on him at all times. He loved playing in the water, splashing and getting dunked by Uncle Jeff and really had a blast with Jenna and blowing water on each other and everyone else.

We went out for an early dinner to Habesha, our favorite Ethiopian restaurant, and met our friends Javier & Christie, Selamawit and Savannah, and also a couple from Utah that Denise’s foundation gave a grant to Dave & Wendi, who have 2 boys, have adopted a baby boy Simon and are in the process of adopting one of Selamawit’s best friends, Kalkidon. All 3 Ethiopian kids were at the same Sele Enat Orphanage. It was amazing to watch Selamawit’s face light up and run to hug and hold Simon. She was crying tears of joy. The restaurant is great, and the owner told us he is having a special night for all adoptive families for a free buffet dinner. It was a blast and the food was amazing as usual.

Sunday
We are getting into a routine, which is nice. Girma loves to play board games with us, sculpting with play doh, playing catch, hide and go seek, playing with the animals, and just about anything! We are meeting Denise's famly for Dim Sum and later going over to our friends' Kristy and Javier's. They are having a party for

Words cannot describe how beautiful, kind and open the Ethiopian people are, whether here in the U.S. or there. They are majestic and humble at the same time. I love our country and am proud to be an American, but sometimes it’s also embarrassing to see how selfish, rude, obnoxious, ignorant and uncaring some of us can be. We could all learn so much from Ethiopia and other countries. They have so little, yet are so loving to their children, family, friends and community. The families that have adopted and flown over there really ‘get it’. I hope more and more people learn that all of the problems of the human race, both locally and global, are ALL of our problems, affecting us all directly and indirectly. Until we unite as a species we cannot move forward. Sorry for the soap box moment, but we really feel part of our responsibility of adopting from a foreign country is teaching others the need there and also trying to bring 2 different cultures together. We love our lives, our country, our friends and our family. Thanks for the incredible support and love you have all given us. We are so blessed and grateful for everything and everyone one in our lives.

Pictures!!!

We're Coming Home!!!!!!!

We arrived in D.C. this morning but could not get all 3 of us on the same flight today. So, we got a hotel room and will be coming back to Denver tomorrow (Tuesday) on United flight #403 from Dulles arriving at 10:30. If you want to meet us at the airport we would love to see you there! It actually worked out very well for us today. We were tired, stinky and a little bit cranky. We checked in around 1, and ate lunch here. We had a blast just laughing and eating together. Girma is hilarious and keeps us cracking up. His facial expressions are priceless. He raises his eyebrows better than Groucho Marx for a 'yes' and shrugs his shoulders for 'no'. He also pretends to be really sad and then cracks up at himself. He is quite the trickster too. He gave Denise the plane headphones, then unplugged them and gave her a look like "they work great don't they".
After lunch we gave Girma a bath. he didn't really want to get in at first but had fun pretty quick. The funniest thing was watching him try to pull the shower tab up, then get doused with water on top of his head and face. He completely freaks out and frantically slams the tab down again. Within seconds he did the exact same thing all over again. He did this at least 5 times. I couldn't even clean him I was laughing so hard.
After that we grabbed a taxi and headed downtown to see the sights. Unfortunately, we weren't prepared to carrry a 4-yr-old all day without a stroller so we just hit the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. Then we bought some trinkets and headed back.
The highlight of the day was taking Girma to the pool and spa. After the bath, we were ready for anything. He is so excitable and completely fearless. He was very hesitant at first, but once he saw me go in the water he was game. He loved to splash and blow bubbles, and he even held his nose and ducked his head under water. He choked a few times, but quickly recovered and had a blast. Video to follow. He found out the door under the TV fits him and he climbed in and pretended to cry or wimper then opened the door with a big smile. After swimming he organized all of his toys in there nice and neat.
We are really glad this day worked out. Ethiopia was so hectic with so many other people around (families, kids, workers, etc), this was our first chance to just be us and enjoy each other's company. We are just completely overwhelmed with how perfect and amazing and smart and funny and willing and cool and independent and loving and interested and and and just the best little guy we could have ever hoped for and more. We thank God for letting Girma find us and come into our lives. I am so thankful to Denise for letting me into her life and be a part of this dream. And a dream it truly has been and is. We are living a dream life and it just keeps getting better. I never would have thought of adopting without Denise. Denise says she couldn't/wouldn't have done it without me (That part I doubt, but appreciate it nonetheless).
Thank you all for your continuing support and love.
Our lives are so much richer with you there.
Can't wait for all of you to meet our precious Girma.
Love you all,
Steve, Denise, Tyler, Taelyn and Girma
:O)