- His hair grows fast! They cut off his curls before I arrived but they are coming back. His hair is course and very thick.
- He has wide square hands.
- "Inny!"
- He loves to imitate words and sounds. For example he loves to squeeze our nose and wait to see what type of noise we make (beep, honk, aaaoooogggga). Then he copies both the sound and pitch of our voice. The we all laugh and he says "ah una matay" or Do it again!
- He is very, very smart. (One day this week I asked him to go potty (shinty) before going in mama's macheena. He told me no (em bee o). I said shinty then mamas macheena. He said no. So I kept folding laundry, knowing he really wanted to go in my car. He soon yelled "Mama, shinty maytah" (I have to go potty) We went potty and immediately got into the car. Now when I mention the car he says "Gebeyehu shinty maytah" and runs to the bathroom.
- He does not like any cold foods. He does not like sweets. (Very little sugar is used in Ethiopia)
- He does not know what fruit is. I have started sneaking it in - like apples and cinnamon oatmeal is fine but he picked the blueberries out of his pancakes.
- He is totally, completely potty trained. Yep, not one accident even between here and Ethiopia in the plane.
- He loves the bath.
- When presented with too many new things he blocks them out. One day this week he was playing with a cell phone my nieces dropped off for him. It was new to him. Then Grammy came with 2 new tractors. He did not even acknowledge the tractors. Without a word, I set them to the side. Later that evening he quietly went to get one and later the other. They are now among his favorites. Having toys is new. There were very few at the care center, which I am learning was wise. Kids in rural Ethiopia do not have any toys so the muchness we Americans have is overwhelming.
- He does not cry when overwhelmed or overstimulated but becomes very quiet and withdrawn. Later his stress shows up in extreme difficulty in falling asleep.
- He learns words every day. He is also putting together English/Amharic phrases. Today he saw Brenna and said "Gebeyehu's Brenna" , "Mama macheena Joshua Gebeyehu seat", "No, No! Sierra" , "Nay (come) Riley" , " Chow mama! I love you! Bye! Bye!"
- Language is sometimes a barrier. There are times when I am sure he would be less upset if he could understand why I say no.
- He is accepting no better. Today he wanted a snack 45 min after breakfast. He ate 2 packages of oatmeal and 2 mini pancakes for breakfast. I knew he was not hungry. I asked him to "Koi" (wait). He asked to eat again "E Niblah" I said "no, koi tinnish" (no wait a little) and he was able to go play. (This to me shows both acceptance of no! and trust that he will be fed later)
- He loves to share his food and is very hard to tell no when he wants to feed you.
- He loves to pretend and plays really well.
- He is filled with more kisses and hugs than any child I have ever been around. After a fit he will throw out his arms which means come here. He will tilt my head to the side, move my hair out of the way, and give me a big suction cup kiss on the cheek. The he turns his cheek for me to kiss. He repeats this if he is having fun or just notices me for any reason. He also plays chow! and kisses are always part of saying good-bye and hello.
- He appears to like to shake hands, but really he expects you to kiss his hand if he offers it to you. This is a common greeting from an adult to a child in Ethiopia.
- He fits a 2T pant and 3T shirt nicely.
- He loves shoes.
- He drinks his milk warm in a coffee mug.
- When upset ignoring him is the best option.
- His large motor skills are delayed compared to his speech and fine motor skills, but I have already seen improvement. We will play hard and eventually go to many parks this summer and hopefully be caught up without any physical therapy. (If he needs some that is fine, but I am betting time and experience will fix most of the delays.)
I am happy to report that I am finally feeling caught up! I have sorted and entered all the mail from last week at work, paid a bunch of bills, and have all the laundry caught up. I have so appreciated not having to cook this week! We have had lots of yummy meals prepared by friends and it has been enough for left-overs for lunch. I was also spoiled to come home to a spotless house and no laundry outside what we brought home. My body has finally adjusted to the time so I feel really good! I will post more on our trip to Ethiopia tomorrow!
