Sick Boy

That's right - we've been home almost 5 months and we just experienced our first Sick Baby day (and night). I had the stomach flu yesterday (I never get sick, so being sick twice in one month is really annoying). It was so terrible in the morning that I called Kevin and told him he had to come home. Mr. Wonderful did come home and worked from home so he could take care of the babe all day while I slept the ENTIRE day.

So, last night Kevin was trying to put Micah down to sleep and every time he left the room, Micah began SCReaming. It was terrible. I tried too, but same result. I even freaked out and called one of my BFFs (mom of 4) to ask if there is anything we should be doing. Nope. But she did tell me that since he was being quiet while rocked, there was a good chance he would fall asleep eventually. He did, so my freaking out was for naught. He slept okay, except for being awake from 3:30 a.m. - 5:00 a.m. Thank goodness I was feeling better by then.

I have no idea why I am documenting this all for you. I guess it is just such a BIG deal when your little one is sick for the first time. It's scary and you feel helpless. I've dreaded him getting sick, but I have to say that we've been extremely lucky that he hasn't been sick until now. And, the good news is that, after a day of moaning and whining and crying, I FINALLY saw a smile from him just before bed tonight. His Dad was being silly and it worked - I really don't think I had seen a smile all day until then!

*Edit: Thursday morning and now Kevin is sick too! :(

Here are a couple of pictures from before the sickness (because you know I love pictures)...

One of his goofy faces.

His whistle-face. He does this and then breathes in and out and actually whistles. It is hilarious. He's a genius.

Good Times & GO BUCKS!

No, not the show... my weekend - it was filled with good times. On Friday Kevin & I took Micah to the mall to return some gifts that did not fit. Ok - not terribly exciting, but it is always fun to get out.

Saturday afternoon we got together with other area families that have adopted from, or are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. I think we had 9 families there so it was a lot of fun. It is great to see the kids together. One family had recently adopted 3 children - ages 4, 6, and 8 (two girls and a boy). When they came in myself and another mom teared up. She has an excuse - she's a couple of weeks from traveling and I remember being very emotional then too. Me? No excuse really - it just makes me happy to see these children for some reason.

It was also great to see all of the families talking about their experiences and giving tips to the families who are traveling soon. (One family brought a pad of paper and a list of questions - so cute!) Since we're hoping to continue to meet up and form ourselves a little (or someday probably big) group, one dad said to me, "These children will all be like cousins - our daughter's Ethiopian cousins." :)

We got a couple of cute pictures of Minnow, Boomer & Micah. Here they are way back in early September...

And here they are now!

They've definitely grown! And, we've learned that in order to get happy pictures, we should give them each a toy. :) It didn't last too long though, as you can see...

This one I just think is cute of Micah and Minnow (Boomer is quick - he was gone already!)

So, after that we drove home with a very sleepy boy. I had to get home to finish cooking for a dinner that I was going to with the girls from high school. We've been doing a Christmas dinner now for about 16 years, or is it 18? Anyway, these girls are like family - we're all very different, but there is something about having friends for so long. Sometimes we only see each other this one time a year and it is always fun. So, I got home and started to finish my appetizer and realized that we had no water because of the water main break down the street. NO WATER. This means no shower. No! Good thing one of my BFs lives down the street right? (I showered at her house and the water was fixed by the time I got home that night.)

I had a great time with all the girls - lots of laughter and sharing (and eating and drinking). Here we are...

We had three mamas who are expecting, and we throw mini-showers for every baby, regardless of if it is first, second or fourth! Every baby is special. I got Nikki this cutie gap product (red) sweater sleeper. I love this thing - you should all go out and get one because it is so cute.

Sunday was lazy, but it was a beautiful 70 degrees (!!!) outside so it was just a great day. Kevin grilled hot dogs and we had my mom over for dinner. We pretended like it was Spring and that it wouldn't really be 20 degrees again next week. So, overall, it was a great weekend - good times.

OH - one last thing! I know this is LONG, but this is a great idea I saw over at Coming to Amharica. They are waiting for their referral, so they decided to have a special ringtone on their cell phones for their agency. That way they don't freak out every time the phone rings, and when they hear that fun ringtone, they'll know it could be the call. I wish we had done this and I think you all should. :)

Okay, one more last thing, I almost forgot - GO BUCKEYES! Ohio State is playing tonight in the BCS National Championship, so you know Micah will be decked out in his scarlet and grey. He is already getting ready for game day...

But this will be him if they don't win...

*Edit: It's the second picture - yup, they lost, again. So sad for Dad.

Prayers

Please say prayers for Ted and Lori - their court date did not go well and they are unsure of what will happen. They need our support right now.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! We spent NYE with our very good friends down the street. Sadly, we left before midnight and were in bed by the time the fireworks started. Eight year old Gracie said our party was 'sucky.' I told her when she's 20, she can go out and party if she wants to, but for now she has to hang with us lame-o older people. I'll defend our lameness by pointing out that I was sick all weekend and now Kevin has it, and Micah is also getting over it, so we have a good excuse! We did stay up long enough for a yummy dinner of crab legs, and some good wine! Can't beat that!

Here are some pictures from our sucky party:

Mr. Grumpy wants Mr. Happy's hat (you might not be able to see it, but all three little boys have on shirts that say Mr. Grumpy, Mr. Happy & Mr. Funny. Yes, we planned this :)

We tried to get a picture of all three Misters, but Mr. Grumpy wasn't having it.

Again, Mr. Grumpy is missing from the shot. (He's living up to his name)

Happy Mama with Mr. Happy (who is not living up to his name in this one!)

Mr. Funny being... Funny!

This we did not plan - but look at these cuties in their matching jammies!

Micah is learning the fine art of binky theft. Look how excited he is that he got Chuck's binky!

And now he's trying to give it back. Cute boys!

So, we had a fun night. We put the little ones in bed around 8 and had a yummy dinner, and then made it until about 10:30, came home and got in bed. I was awake for the fireworks on our street though. I still can't believe Mic slept through it!

I hope that 2008 brings little ones home to all who are waiting and that everyone has a wonderful year! Merry New Year!

What a Great Week!

Look at me getting funky with my new blog header. And, yes, Tara, I was inspired by you, but your blog is still the coolest on the blog block.

I promised Christmas pics, so here they are in a nifty slide show. (Again - look at me learning to do new things!) My favs are Micah on the orange giraffe rocker his dad picked out, Micah riding his tonka truck from his Uncle Ryan and Micah wearing the blueberry hat my sister knitted for him. Cute!



Speaking of Christmas - can I tell you how amazing my husband is? Yes, yes I can. We weren't supposed to do gifts this year, but we both cheated (of course!). I got Kevin a last-minute-found-it-on-ebay-gift - Guitar Hero III for the Wii. He is playing right now- it's hilarious. I've been rocking out - perfecting "She Bangs the Drums" by the Stone Roses (takes me back to high school!), and Kevin has been perfecting a song by Poison. Awesome. :)

Anyway- on Christmas morning there was a little bag under the tree for me with a little box - I supposed it was jewelry, which of course would be very sweet, but I was wrong. It was a gift card for a SPA DAY! I don't know why, but I bawled when I realized what it was. He knows me so well - that was the PERFECT gift for this tired mama. I'm planning my massage for very soon and I'm going to save the rest for later. I LOVE the spa and he got the gift card from one of my favorite Aveda salons. I love him. :)

And, this has been such a great week in adoption blog land. I have seen so many referrals coming in lately - it is just wonderful. Congrats to the Gurskes and the Magers who received their referrals this week! I'm so happy for them and for all the other families who had Christmas surprises!

Whoosh!

Micah's first Christmas is over - it was a wonderful two days, but we were EXHAUSTED!

On Christmas Eve I spent the day cooking my Ethiopian feast - I made shiro wat, doro wat, and lasagna (we had it in Ethiopia!). Micah really liked the shiro - he kicked his feet for more. I must say, even though my doro looked nothing like the doro I've had before, I was pretty impressed with myself for cooking the meal. Kevin is the chef here and my specialties are limited to fish sticks and mac n cheese. (Pretty fancy, I know.) I put on a small scarf I had bought in Addis and wore it for inspiration all day (the UPS man stopped by and gave me the STRANGEST look ever :). I wish I had a picture, just to show you all what a big dork I am, but I was too busy simmering for pictures.

Here is the table - I used the shawls I got from Ethiopia for chair covers - pretty nifty huh?

My mom and I - the Bean was still napping when she got there so we relaxed a bit before he woke up.My doro wat simmering...

Kevin was getting into the holiday mood...

Micah was dressed in his traditional Ethiopian outfit for the occasion. He looked very cute...

Micah & Mimi

Our Family

We opened gifts from Mimi that night - Micah was a little confused by this, but he had fun...

This was his Radio Flyer wagon!

His Rody - a little inflatable donkey-thing that he can bounce on - very cute!

Typical baby - he was more interested in the ribbons. :)

If you can believe it - we then went down the street to our friends' house to give their kids their gifts and they gave Micah a really cool ball popper.

Chuck was way into it - he kept screaming & laughing at the balls as they popped up. Micah is so smart - when a ball would pop out - he would put it back in. My little genius. :)

This is just cute - it is one of those tunnels and Micah thought it was great. I'm definitely getting one! (Unless Chris hands it down to us first :)

Like I said, Whoosh! That was just Christmas Eve! That night, as I was changing him into his jammies (and we were both exhausted), I told him the story of Christmas and how one of the wise men was King Balthazar from Ethiopia. I also told him how much we love him and how happy we are that he is here with us for his first Christmas. Sweet boy.

I'll post Christmas pictures soon!

10 Months Old!

Dear Micah Bean,

I've been thinking of writing you a letter for some time now. It is coming up on your first Christmas, and you just turned 10 months old. There are so many things you are learning and doing - you are amazing. Since your mama is bad at writing things down, but good at blogging, I've decided to write you a letter each month to remind us someday of what you were like.

Here are some of the amazing things you are doing:
*You have just begun to figure out how to move around. You are not quite crawling, but you are definitely rolling. In the past few days you have figured out how to move forward, but it is kind of like an inch worm moving along. It is so cute. Your favorite thing to get into when rolling around is the dogs' water bowl.
*Your favorite foods are yogurt, cheerios and sweet potatoes. You also like peas because you really like to grab things and put them in your mouth.
*You LOVE your doggies. Each time you wake up, I pick you up out of your crib and you immediately look toward the door for the doggies (who are gated out of your room). As soon as you see one of them, you flash a big smile (usually behind your binky). You also like to "bark" back at them - especially Ham. Sometimes when I am changing your clothes, we'll hear Hammie bark and you 'bark' back at her. It is so cute. Here you are with Pedro...

*Your favorite books are "Baby Colors" and "My Little Miracle." You really like to read books - I sit you on my lap facing me and read them to you while you turn the pages. You get a very serious look on your face most of the time, but sometimes you will smile and look up at me to make sure I see it too. Your dad reads to you too...


*Your least favorite things are having your hair combed and putting on your coat. The sight of a comb or coat can make you very mad.
*You really like listening to music and you think it's very funny when mom and dad sing along- especially when I use a spoon for a microphone. You really love the Beastie Boys. (Just kidding)

*You LOVE bathtime. You often try to swim right out of your inflatable tub!
*You have lots of nicknames, including Micah Bean, Beanie and Yabbie.
*You have the best laugh ever. My favorite is when you belly laugh - it is very cute. You are also very social and say your version of 'hi' to everyone in the store. If they don't acknowledge you, you will yell at them until they do. You are very popular with the checkout people at the grocery store too. You will always give them a smile.

There are so many more wonderful things that you are learning to do. Your dad and I are constantly laughing while we watch you roll around and begin to crawl. We love to sit and watch as you figure things out. You are very inquisitive and I have a feeling you'll want to get into everything when you start to walk.

Your dad & I are so excited about your first Christmas. Last year at this time we were beginning to dream of you and traveling to beautiful Ethiopia to meet you. Now you are home with us, and you bring us more joy than we could ever have imagined. You are our sweet little bean and we love you so much.