6 months home

It's hard to believe that Spiderman has been home for 6 months now. That is the same amount of time he spent at Hannah's Hope. In many ways it has flown by and feels like we just got home, our trip to get him is still so fresh in our minds. In other ways, I marvel at how much has happened or changed in these past six months. I thought I'd give an update here for those who may be interested in just how far he has come.

He's been very healthy and has gained a whopping 4.5 lbs and 1.5 inches these past six months. Of course he is still quite tiny in our eyes but has moved up to the 5th % on his weight (from not even being on the chart) and to the 10th % for his height. Our biggest adjustment upon arriving in America was the food and he was able to psych himself into vomiting things that he didn't want to eat (like one thin slice of deli turkey inside 2 plain pieces of bread). We laid off of many things and gave him some time. EVERY meal was this scenario..... "what's for dinner/lunch mom?" to which I replied "-----------" and he would say, "I don't like that". We would go through the store and he would point out all the things he didn't like. Talk about irritating. I started answering his "what's for dinner" question with "monkey brains" or "kangaroo toes" just to try and alleivate the tension. We have come SOOOO far with this but we are still a finicky eater. Ironically, we were told by AGCI before we came to get him that he ate well and was "not a fussy eater" - HA! Now Spiderman will eat most of what I serve for dinner as he knows there isn't any dessert otherwise (motivation) and I allow him to eat plain bread for lunch if that is what he wants (compromise). Life is much easier now.

He still wants to sleep with Jaybird most of the time but they alternate on and off every other night or so. Considering he slept with his first mother for almost 6 years, I'm sure that is a hard habit to break. He does NOT want to sleep alone in a room and when big brother was gone one night, he started to panic. The girls got to join him that night.

Spiderman has completely grasped command of his English and is reading much better as well. Most people are amazed but if you listen, there is still an accent on some things (or as he says "tings"). He does a great job memorizing verses for church and loves his class and teachers. He does well in his first grade level homschooling and is VERY relieved he doesn't have to go to public school. He still does not like to be the center of attention and I can imagine him sitting in a corner in a large group of kids like that. While still shy, he is reluctantly willing to try new things around new people and just acts embarrassed.

Now that he's been at home for awhile, we get a lot more comments about Ethiopia. I believe he feels it is safe to talk about it without fear of returning and he realizes we really want to know and are not threatened by it. He shares curious things he remembers or stories of childhood injuries. Sometimes it is very "by the way" and other times it is with deep looks in his eyes. He has informed us that Ethiopia was very "boring" and that there were no Legos in Ethiopia. He never had a toothbrush, refrigerator or a telephone and his family didn't know about Jesus. At this point he has no desire to go back and he has forgotten all his Amharic. He was told that if you went "into the trees" the hyenas would get you and that if you were 12 years old (or older) you "could not go to America". Some of his friends at the orphanage had claimed to be younger and he still feels a strange responsibility to "protect" that information for them. He wishes that he could change the color of his skin but it has set him at ease that he is not the only child in our family who is adopted.

Anyway, he has always been a very affectionate boy but the difference in six months has been that it feels less "desperate" when he gives goodnight hugs and kisses. You used to have to tear him off of you as if he couldn't get enough and wanted to know this was for real. Maybe it was even a sense of gratitude. Now it is very similar to the other kids with hugs and kisses (not on the lips - Ethiopians don't do that he says). He also loves to be tickled and will often beg me to tickle him, then while giggling like mad, beg me to stop. :) He even told me that "there were no giggles in Ethiopia." He loves to bury his face in my neck when I'm reading a story and it is absolutely precious!

OK, this is longer than I thought so I'll get on to the pictures. Oh, and if I come up with a new nickname for him soon, it's because he has informed me he doesn't want to be Spiderman anymore. Lately it is either Superman, Dash (from the incredibles) or an "scientist inventor". Stay tuned on that one. So here goes, some photos from the last 6 months.



First time in a wading pool (August) Absolute sheer joy!

Recently (Feb) with his windmill K'nex creation

Preparing for a death defying ride down the backyard hill (Sept) - Adrenaline junkie.

While this is probably Nov. when we LOVED the snow, he has had his fill and is officially sick of snow and cold.

This is the extremely courageous boy who looks so little and vulnerable here at the airport on our trip home. When I put myself in his shoes, I can't comprehend the courage needed to leave everything familiar in life and board an airplane (which you've never been on) with two practical strangers (that you can barely communicate with) to go to a country you've only heard about where everyone sounds and acts differently than you - and to know it is FOR LIFE! Amazing what God can enable us to do.