To be very honest, this road has not been easy- but so worth it. I wouldn't change anything.....other than maybe not getting audited by the IRS and STILL not having our tax credit. But I digress........back to the kids. As all of you know, we adopted two beautiful girls from Ethiopia and brought them home December 5th, 2010. How life has changed. :) My bio youngest, Owen is 8...so I have not had toddlers around for a long time. Man, can they trash a house in a matter of minutes!!! I'm back to buying baby dolls and tutus. Hannah is almost 16 and she no longer lets me dress her up like I used to...darn. I can no longer take off to run to Target at any time of day....I had forgotten nap times.....I'm home every afternoon now!! :) But what has changed for the better is that I have two sweeties running around saying "mommy mommy" all day long. And the first time Ava told me she loved me....well, my heart nearly stopped. And of course, you can't forget the slobbery wet kisses from Liza.
We have had some rough days, language barriers, emotions, culture shock...you name, we've had it. Along with Giardia and ring worm :) But there are a lot of good days in there too. Ava and Eliza have only been home just over 5 months, so we are still getting to know each other. What I have learned in the past 5 months is that their personalities have changed dramatically since we meet them back in October for the first time. We really had no idea who they were.
We still don't....but I do know that Eliza is the most strong willed child I have ever crossed paths with, Seriously. Ask anyone who meets her. She is also funny. So funny that she laughs at herself quite a bit. She is every bit of a super crazy almost two year old. She runs, doesn't walk, she screams, doesn't talk. But she is sooooo stinkin cute I can hardly stand it. And when she snuggles with me, I melt. And believe me those snuggles are few and far between. She is way too busy to snuggle. She has places to go and people to see.
Ava is complex. She is almost 4 or 18....at least the attitude is 18. She has also changed so much since December. She came to us a very shy and quiet. She can still be a bit shy in new situations but she is not quiet by any means. In the first few months she would try so hard to talk to me. I had no clue what she was saying. We communicated with alot of pointing. As time went on and she picked up some English things got better, but still hard. I will never forget making lunch for the girls and Ava kept pointing and saying what sounded to me like "yummycake". And since I own a bakery and bring home treats a lot I figured she wanted cake. The more I told her we didn't have cake, the more persistent she got. She kept pointing to the top of the fridge...so I showed her everything up there. When I grabbed a napkin, she said "YES, numikin". Poor thing, I swear she was asking for yummy cake. I have funny video of her telling me stories about the boys....in very broken English. I could pick out "Owen" "chow" and "booty" that was about it, the rest was foreign to me....literally :)
Here it is, have a good laugh.
I would say Ava is speaking 90% English now. It's kind of sad actually. I miss the ramblings and songs in Wolientinga, her native language. She still struggles sometimes to get her point across, but things are much easier. She has picked up on a few American culture items fast....one, the cell phone. She loves the phone. She has a old cell phone that she plays with all the time. She carries on conversations and actually pauses to listen to whomever answer :) When I ask her who it is, she usually says "Grandpa". Other times, it's Huddy, Sena or Joey. While she is having these long conversations, she usually has one hand on her hip. She also loves Owen's Nintendo DS. She has no clue what she is doing, but she sure tries. She has also figured out my iPhone. You may have gotten a random phone call from me.......with no one talking on the other end. That's usually Ava, although I have been known to butt dial a few people myself. :) When it comes to adjusting and bonding, I think Ava is a work in progress. She is doing really well, but will have a set back now and then. Sometimes when she is upset she "zones"....can't really explain it. She doesn't talk or make eye contact. She used to get in the "zone" a lot, now- not so much. But when it does happen it just breaks my heart. It takes me back to that day we had to take her back to the transition house in Ethiopia and leave her again. I have pictures of that "zone". It's heartbreaking. As far as her personality, not sure yet. She has really change since October. Ava is also very strong willed, but nothing compared to Liza! She is very much a "motherer" she loves her baby dolls and Liza.....there are many times that I have to tell her, "I'm the mommy, let me do that." I swear if I let her she would do laundry, clean house and take care of Liza for me. Don't get me wrong.....when she helps it's amazing. But I don't want her to feel like that is her job. But, my girls love to clean....give them a towel and they will take the finish off a table!!!
So that's it. We are taking it day by day. We are having so much fun getting to know our girls. My bio kids are amazing with them and the girls LOVE them. They light up when the kids get home from school. Ava wants to know where everyone is at all times. So we go through the schedule many times a day. And with the 3 big kids running here and there it can get pretty confusing....even to me. :)
Here are some recent pictures of the girls. They are getting bigger although still small for their ages. Liza is a whopping 22 pounds at 23 months!!!!!! She is still in 18 month clothing....Ava has finally hit the same age-same size. 4T, but she is still short for her age. My little peanuts.
First picture is Ava, Liza and Sena-also adopted from ET, they are all playing with their phones.
Next picture is Ava and Owen or "Owie" as the girls call him.
Ava at Grandma Judy's for Easter.
Liza at Grandma's Sandy's for Easter, this picture is a perfect representation of our girl!!!
Liza "running" to find Easter eggs at Grandma Judy's house.
