Camera Crazy

So, I've been going camera crazy lately... here are some of the cuties -

Happy after bath-time! You can't see it, but this cute towel has his name embroidered on it (thanks Mindy!)

Micah & Papa R. Notice his super-cool bear slippers - a hand-me-down from George & Chuck.

Just hangin' with my bear in my puppy shirt from Grandma D.

Ready for Game Day - Go Buckeyes!

His first time sitting in a restaurant high chair (in his cool shirt from Keri!). This did not last long- he much preferred for his aunts, uncle and papa to be holding him during dinner on Saturday night. I actually sat and ate my meal - very exciting!

Friendship & A cool find

I was reading over my last post and realized that, while I had gushed on and on about Micah & Mamush being friends, I didn't mention the wonderful friendship that Jenni & I have. I feel so fortunate that ours were the first two dossiers for CHI, and the first two referrals. I really don't know how I would have made it through all of the crazy-ness without her. She was there to lift my spirits when they were down, and to celebrate all the wonderful moments with us (and us with them!). Jenni - you are an amazing person, and I am lucky to have you as a friend - I'm so glad our boys brought our lives together. :) I just had to say all that!

Onto my cool find... the other day in Borders I was looking for a kids music cd (this child LOVES music!) and I found a cd called African Lullaby. I love it - and so does Micah. Although it doesn't feature any Ethiopian singers, the music is beautiful and the voices are amazing. I am happy to have found it. I'm also thinking of getting a cd from the African Children's Choir. Micah's favorite songs right now are Godspeed by the Dixie Chicks (I swear he smiles every time I play it) and Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson. He also enjoys a bit of Social Distortion, especially when Dad is singing and dancing goofy to it (he loves it when we act like idiots).

And, just to remind you how cute Micah is :)

M and M

Last night we were lucky enough to have a visit from Micah's first BFF - Mamush! Oh, and his wonderful mom and dad, Jenni & Jim came too! :) Jenni and I emailed each other incessantly through the paperwork phase, the waiting phase, the referrals and travel. They went to Ethiopia the week after we left.

Kevin & I were there when they brought Mamush to the House of Hope - what an amazing moment! Here was this little baby boy who I already loved, and I knew how much his mom and dad already loved him... I was standing on the balcony holding Micah and Kevin yelled up, "That's Mamush!" I carried Micah down to see him with the tears running. The other very cool thing about Micah & Mamush is that they were at the same orphanage before coming to the HOH. So, you see, these boys have known each other almost their whole lives! :) It is so amazing that Jenni & Jim live close enough to come visit so the boys can grow up knowing each other.

Here they are hanging out together in Ethiopia...


And, here they are hanging out together at Micah's house...

BFFs!

Mamush decided it was time to put his hand on Micah's head... Not sure how Micah felt about that! :)

Funny Face

What happens when mom feeds baby...




What happens when dad feeds baby...

Like I said, this kid makes some funny faces. I usually belly laugh through his meals. Here's some more cute ones from our recent trip to the Botanical Gardens...


And, no new tricks yet... unless you count getting up 4 times during the night instead of 2 a 'trick' :) That's my excuse for the lack of posting lately - exhaustion. I'll get better, I promise!

Yeah Baby!

Big day for us yesterday - Micah rolled over from his back to his belly! Big Man! The first time we saw him roll tummy-to-back was the first day we were home, so that's old news. But, the back to belly... well, now that's super-cool! Kevin and I were sitting in the room with him and I was reading him a book and Micah was looking at the little mirror I had set up, and suddenly he rolled over to it! He has done it about 6 times since, but immediately rolls back when he realizes he is on his tummy. :) These pics are from a couple of weeks ago when I was trying to tell him how cool tummy time is. These just make me LAUGH - especially his face in the first one!

So, tummy time was never his fav, but he's moving on to bigger and better things. Next he'll be rolling all over the place (if he lets me put him down long enough to realize he can).

I am falling more and more in love with him every day. (Is that possible?) He is just so stinking cute and so FUNNY. His faces make me laugh and he is so expressive - he is also babbling non-stop which cracks us up. I love walking in to his room in the morning and see him smiling up at us and kicking his legs (that means he likes us because he also does this when we let him sip a glass of water which he LOVES - I can barely drink water anymore around him because he freaks out for it).

Today he got jealous because I was holding another baby (Baby J. - our friends' Chryssi & John's little one who is a tiny 7 weeks old- cutie!). It was very funny, but I also felt like this kid really is getting to know I'm his mom. In fact, he knows it so much that he will be just FINE laying on the floor playing with toys until he catches a glimpse of me and then it's all over - he fusses until I come over and pick him up. Stinker.

A few other big things this week - he had his first babysitting experience outside of our house at Grandma K & Papa's house. We had to go to a charity dinner so Gma K and Papa eagerly agreed to watch him for a bit. The report? "He did great, but he really doesn't like it when you put him down, huh?" (Finally someone believes me! :)

He also got his first set of shots today. Only 3 - I don't want to do too many at once and our Doc is fine with that (I really like him!). Micah screamed before he was even stuck with the needle, just as I had predicted. :) And, he has gained a whole pound in the past month - 16.14 lbs. Fatty!

(Wow, I just realized we've been home one month today. We got home on August 13th. This is the 13th right? :)

I have lots more to say, but I'm getting sleepy and still have lots of laundry to get done (does it ever end - geez!). We're supposed to meet up with the whole group of friends and their kids tomorrow night, so I'll take some pictures to share.

Pictures! My First Slide Show!

Okay, so I have my camera back, but these pics are not from me - last week we had Micah's pictures taken by our good friend Linda - she took our wedding photos and we have kept in touch ever since. She is so great to work with - completely laid back and she is so talented! Anyway, the slide show below is some of our favorites from our Sunday in the park. Also, if you want to see a picture from our wedding (I know, you're all dying to see it! :), or you just want to see more of Linda's amazing work, go to her website: http://www.rivardphotography.com/ Our pic is here - it is the third from the right.

The Boys

Remember I said we had recently met two other families with children from Ethiopia? I am so happy that we have met Dawn & Sarah and their children. Here are some pics from the end of the day we spent at Dawn's house ... We've all agreed that we will try to get pictures together FIRST next time we are together. (At least you all get to see Micah's crabby face! :)

High School Girls Baby Shower

I've been wanting to post about this, but I haven't had my camera (still at Kelley's, but I'm getting it this weekend - good thing - I'm having withdrawals and even bought some disposable cameras!). Anyway, there is a group of us from high school that have been getting together for dinner every year around Christmas for about 11 years (or 12?). We've all gone to each other's weddings and baby showers and it is so nice to have friends who, even if we all don't talk all the time, we all just know each other so well.

The girls threw a baby shower for me and for Jenni who is pregnant with her second (we celebrate all births!) and Jenni emailed us pics today so I figured I'd share. It was such a great shower and so nice to see everyone.

This is all of us together (except the other Jen - she came later, and Nikki who was at a gala :)

Everyone oohing over cutie Micah... that's Ang holding him - she LOVED him (but really, how could you not?) Oh, and our name tags- we played the Price is Right and I kicked Jenni's butt. :)

Me and my little cutie

This was fun - we all got to decorate a onesie for the babies- the ones decorated for Micah said "Hand-Picked" "Future Football Star" "Manchester United" and then one with the American flag and all of our kids names on it. I'm very proud of the one I made for Jenni - it was a bowling shirt!

Kevin came and picked up Micah and took him home to bed so I could have a glass of wine and some time to talk with the girls. Do we look like new parents or what? :)

SO, thanks girls for such a great shower (especially Kelley and Mindy) - I had so much fun. Oh, and also, Mindy made these super-cute mini chocolate bars that had Micah's picture on them along with the Ethiopian flag. She is so creative. When I get my camera back I will take some pics of those and the super-cool gifts I got that night.

100th Post

I thought I would check this morning to see what number I was on and, there it was - my last post was #99... So, since there is NO WAY I'll get through 100 things (I applaud those of you who have done that, but I can barely take a shower these days!) I'm going to steal Amy's idea and just do 33 because that is how old I am. :)

33. I turned 33 this year while we were in Ethiopia - we had a beautiful traditional Ethiopian lunch (complete with coffee ceremony) that day (coincidence) and we had our son with us, so could you really ask for a better birthday?
32. I have two tattoos and even though I said 'no more', I am now thinking about one more tiny one in an inconspicuous place :)
31. I have an undergrad degree in English Lit from the Univ. of AZ and am one thesis away from finishing my MA in Media Communications.
30. The first concert I went to was Corey Hart in 5th grade, but my first real concert (without a parent along with us) was Social Distortion when I was 14 - we went to see them again (for about the 20th time) last year - aging punk rock is fun!
29. My husband is four years younger than I am and he likes to remind me of that any chance he gets :)
28. When I was 14, I shaved most of my hair off and had kind of a weird skater hairdo. My parents told me it looked great - which made me mad - I mean, I was trying to be rebellious! The funniest part is that I actually curled the skater hairdo for the freshman dance (Am I really admitting this?)
27. You know those montages they put together at the end of the Superbowl or the World Series? They make me cry. Kevin laughs at me b/c sports make me cry.
26. Two months after I met Kevin I got Scarlet Fever (yes, it still exists!). My Dad and Kevin met for the first time in the waiting room while I was in the doctor's office delirious and covered with a horrible looking rash. Kevin did not leave my side through it all - I fell in love covered with a rash.
25. I LOVE dogs and have always had one (at least!)
24. I had 8 bridesmaids in my wedding who all got to pick out their own dresses (black) and they all looked great - I always say I had the hottest bridesmaids ever.
23. My dream is to visit Alaska someday
22. I love pumpkin flavored anything - including pumpkin spice lattes (just found that out).
21. I was a swimmer when I was younger - and a swim team coach. My best stroke was breast stroke.
20. My FAVORITE season is fall (yippee - it's almost fall!)
19. My FAVORITE holiday is Halloween (yippee - it's almost here!)
18. In college I made my friends all dress up like Scooby Doo & the gang (I was Scooby). We went to a bar and entered the costume contest (b/c we looked AWESOME) and we won first prize - $500! (I'm very proud of this moment :)
17. Kevin & I had planned on waiting two years to try to start having children, but changed our minds on our honeymoon to start right away... it only took 3 1/2 years! :)
16. My first car was a Mustang convertible. (Yes, a little spoiled, but not so that I took it for granted.)
15. I LOVE to read - it is kind of an addiction - we have tubs of books in our storage room.
14. I love politics and volunteered during the last presidential election.
13. This is way more difficult than I thought it would be - good thing I'm cheating with only 33 things.
12. My favorite color is purple (see, now I'm just getting very boring)
11. I love the number 11 (it's true)
10. I have a secret problem - I like to read People magazine. I KNOW it is terrible, but it's true - I admit it.
9. I always thought we'd have a girl first, but I love having a boy. Boys are great!
8. (This one is embarrasing) Our bedroom has a jacuzzi tub in the bedroom. That's right, IN the bedroom. The house came that way... we're thinking of walling it off into the bathroom someday, but for now it is IN the bedroom. (Imagine explaining that to your social worker during your homestudy!)
7. My mom saved my fourth grade journal and one of the pages is titled, "What I Want to be When I Grow Up." In fourth grade I answered that I'd like to be a mom. :)
6. My birthday is in the summer, so I always missed out on the school birthday parties. One year, I was probably 6 or 7, I traded birthdays with my Grandma. (I asked her first and she said it was okay).
5. In first grade I told my teacher that my parents called me Beth, so she and everyone else called me Beth. I thought it was so great, but it only lasted until parent-teacher conferences - then my cover was blown.
4. I am a terrible singer, but LOVE to belt it out. (Poor Micah)
3. I LOVE good food - going out to new restaurants is probably my favorite thing to do. (This is another reason I fell in love with Kevin - he was a chef :)
2. I am an online activist - I get alerts from the Humane Society, the NRDC and Amnesty Intl. and then send emails. I wish I could do more and maybe someday I will.
1. My two favorite people in the world are Kevin & Micah - I am truly blessed with our family.

Okay... so that last one is a gimme, but I couldn't go without mentioning that. I'm sure I'll think of more exciting things later and wish I had written them instead, but this is all I can muster at the moment. :)

Open Letter to the Kids with the Bottles

I am interrupting this blog to write the following...

Dear Kids in the neighborhood who drink too much:

Recently, I found your empty bottles in my recycling bin. While I applaud your decision to recycle, I ask that in the future you do not dump your empties in our bin. You see, everyone on the street knows that we just brought home our first child, and you might imagine their surprise when, out for a casual walk, they see the following items in our recycling:
4 empty bottles of Jim Beam
2 empty bottles of Sloe Gine (SLOE?)
1 empty bottle of Concordia Grape Wine (as if I would ever!)
and, my personal favorite, 1 empty bottle of Mad Dog 20/20
I am sure you can understand that we would not want the neighbors thinking that the pressures of being new parents were so intense that we had turned to drinking bottles of hard liquor (oh, and one bottle of cheap wine) every evening. So, in the future, if you need to recycle your empty bottles, please use someone else's bin - perhaps the family with 5 children in a 3 bedroom house... I mean, people might understand that!

Thank you,
Crabby New Mom at the Top of the Hill