Wednesday, March 23 2011

My little Mebrate is growing up so fast. And is such a funny little girl... she is independent yet attached to mom. And boy does she have a sassy side. She can NOT be forced to do anything she isn't interested in doing!!! She has officially been home almost 8 months and I just can't believe how much she and I have changed. Over the past week or so she is now saying "hi" and "uh oh". She has been crawling and getting into everything for a few months now but is now in the very early stages of trying to walk with a walker.

Wednesday,January 5 2011

This is a big week for us!!!
Mebrate is turning ONE tomorrow on Ethiopian Christmas Eve... yes, my little one is a Christmas Eve baby. And to top that- Friday, we will have officially been home and a family for 5 months. I just absolutely cannot believe how quickly time has flown by.
Jason and I will be celebrating Mebrate's birthday tomorrow by taking her for the first time to our local Ethiopian restaurant. She wont be able to eat anything but injera, but my goal is to start this tradition and continue it every year.
So Mebrate continues to grow and learn, she had a recent growth spurt that finally put her into 6-9 month clothing but her little feet are still tiny. She is barely into a size 1 shoe. I keep telling her she better grow some or she will never be able to balance and walk.
We had a wonderful 1st Christmas together running around with family. She gave me 5 absolutely wonderful "big girl" gifts. She is up on her knees, and crawling backwards now (hasn't manage to figure out how to go forward yet), she is playing patty cake, peek a boo and blowing kisses, then to top all of that off in one week... yesterday she began pulling up. It's funny how all of a sudden she grew in leaps and bounds.
Happy New Years everyone, may this be a year full of love and much happiness.

Wednesday, December 1 2010

I haven't written in what seems like forever. Things continue to go extremely well with Mebrate. She still surprises and amazes me at every turn and is such a sweet baby. We ended up getting tubes in her ears yesterday due to 4 ear infections in the 4 months we have been home. I am hoping this helps her stay healthy this winter. She was such a brave little girl once again.
We continue to adjust and bond with each other. I often wonder what I did with all of my time and what my life was before Mebrate. The smile that greets me every morning when I walk into her room makes my day. She is a talker and often a screamer and is trying very hard to crawl. I really think she will be movin and shakin on her birthday next month. She has also started talking in syllables like mama, dada and baba. Although she doesn't attach meaning yet to any of them.
Its funny how much attention Mebrate brings to herself because of her outgoing personality and adorable little face. People are always commenting that they want to take her home. Nurses have passed her around 2 offices and she just smiles and talks to everyone. I can't wait to have our first Christmas together!

Thursday, October 14 2010

Today was OUR day, we spent some time with friend during lunch and then came home and played. I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce Mebrate to an Indiana fall. The leaves are falling fast due to all of the temperature fluctuation and drought, so today we played in the leaves for about an hour. She had a good time when she wasn't trying to eat them.

Sunday, October 10 2010

My little girl is growing like a weed. She turned 9 months on Wednesday and is doing really well. Everyone keeps teasing her about her growing "thunder thighs"... I must admit, she is really healthy now.
Mebrate has come a long way in the two months we have been home. She is now sitting on her own, starting to finally stand with support, and as of yesterday is holding her own bottle. She is very social and loves to scream! Jason calls it her pterodactyl voice. My goal is to hopefully work with Mebrate and have her crawling by her 1st birthday!
So on a sad Kelly note, tomorrow Mebrate goes to daycare for her first 1/2 day. She is going Monday and Wednesday of this week to start getting acclimated then starts full time next week. Man did this 12 week leave go fast, I am really not ready to go back to work, and am definitely not ready to leave her.

Tuesday, September 14 2010

My new journey with Mebrate has been amazing! In the short time we have been home she has grown in leaps and bounds. All of her tests from the international doctors came back fine! Which was a huge relief.
The little girl who was barely holding up her head and didn't know she had legs is so much stronger. She loves her feet and was finally bouncing in her bouncer just this morning. She loves bath time and to watch her dogs wrestle. This first month has been so much easier than I ever expected it to be, all because of this beautiful little girl who seems to always have a smile on her face. And what a smile it is!
Now we just need to get the sleeping schedule down. That is the only area we struggle in right now! 4 more weeks before I go back to work!

Tuesday, August 31 2010

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. I have been a busy new Mommy!

It's funny how time flies... one month ago Thursday this little punkin was placed in my arms at Shalom. I didn't realize at the time how much my life changed at that moment. I went from stressing every second of every day about getting my referral or travel call, living on blogs or for an email from FTIA. Some how it all just vanished when I brought her home. I magically just don't care about all of that anymore... Mebrate is such an amazing blessings to my life and worth the wait!

We are settling in and getting to know each other. Mebrate is such a great baby, calm and happy! She has the most amazing smile that she flashes at me and melts my heart! She definitely knows my voice and chooses me over anyone to help settle her! Which of course I love!

We have been to the international specialists and so far so good. They were really surprised at how healthy Mebrate actually is for being so small. We are waiting to hear the results and I will keep you all posted.

Take a look at just a few Ethiopia photos, I am working to put all 350 photos on Sutterfly and will let you all know soon when they are ready.