Erdole Finds Gia (Meretech)

A small world story.... We recently attended an Ethiopian Kids Community event and low and behold, eight kids came running up to Gia yelling her Ethiopian name, "Meretech! Meretech! Meretech!" Turns out this family's (yes, a family with 8 kids) daughter Erdole, who is now 2 1/2 years old, was Gianna's bed mate in Ethiopia. The two girls had shared the same bed for several months and it had been documented in a video the family received about their daughter, Erdole. When we went to reintroduce the two girls, they immediately recognized each other. It was a very touching moment. They were stroking each other's cheeks, hands, and hair, and had sustained eye contact (so unusual for toddlers). Gia gave Erdole a hug. As it turns out, this family lives in Owatonna, MN and we'll be able to see them as the girls grow. As a side story, the family is amazing....8 kids, 7 of whom are international adoptions. Very inspiring (except not so inspiring that I would do it myself...but still).

Enjoy the pics. It was hard to get the action shots with a digital camera, so the full extent of their love isn't really recognized here.

How to Get a Toddler to Eat a Banana

I finally discovered how to get a toddler to eat a banana (beside hiding it in a smoothie). Let her peel it! Proof that this method works is the picture....she ate two bananas in that sitting.

Monkey See Monkey Do

I was reminded last night how much our children mimic us with the following incident.

Gia has learned that Daddy's name is Rob, and that shouting his name at the top of her lungs is what her Mommy does. While drawing the water for her bath, I watched her as she stood at the top of the steps, stripped down to her socks, and threw her clothes down the steps shouting, "Rob! Rob! Rob!" And then laughed hysterically. Other than the obvious (shouting Rob's name), I'll leave it to you to figure out which part of that scene she picked up from me. The stripping? Throwing clothes? The mad giggle at the end? You'll never know.....

Photos of 2nd Birthday

Should be relatively self-explanatory..... Well, almost. We had her birthday party at the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant, and it was a quiet night so the kids took advantage of the extra space. Everyone was a good sport about trying Gia's favorite food. Some even said they'd come back! (Good, cuz then they can pick up the bill next time.)

Gia's 2nd Birthday Party

Here's the family singing "Happy Birthday" to Gia. We sound pathetic...maybe that's why she looks so unenthused. She did love the cake however. Ethiopian carrot cake. Yum, yum.

Mama Goes Back to Work

This week was my return to work after a nice, long maternity leave (5 months). Our major concern was Gia's adjustment to 4 full days of daycare and I have to say, we were expecting the worse. But really, it went very smoothly. In fact, I think she likes daycare almost, well, almost better than me! Rob did the drop offs in the morning, and I did the pick ups at night, and when I went to pick her up, I watched her through the window before announcing my arrival. Gia was having a great time! Usually she was laughing, rolling on the ground, jumping around, playing with her friends, or hugging a little baby named Grace. After announcing my arrival, she'd give the obligatory cry, but then return to play. We were so happy! And even happier that we had practiced going to daycare. The only rough spot was in the evenings when she wanted to cling to me while I prepared food and ate it. I think it will take a few weeks to work through that, but otherwise, it went well.

Our other highlights for this week....Genna and Tots 3 Swimming Class.

Genna: We attended an Ethiopian celebration of Genna (same meaning as Christmas) and had a great time. There were several Ethiopian families, along with several Ethiopian adoptee families celebrating together. We actually ran into two toddlers who shared the same room as Gia while in Ethiopia. They were picked up by their forever families after Gia had been and we remembered their faces. It was surreal to say the least. Gia didn't seem to remember them, or really didn't care, but we're going to try to keep in touch with these families and maybe when the children are older it will mean something.

Rob, Gia, and I have joined the Winter Session of Ethiopians for Ethiopians. Basically the Ethiopian Evangelical church holds cultural classes for families who have adopted Ethiopians. We attend the class once a week with the idea that we will learn and incorporate Ethiopian traditions into our lives, along with meet other Ethiopians (I think the Ethiopian Evangelical Church has some other, possibly religious-based objectives, but we're pretending we don't know that). We did this last year but found it a little hard to get involved without actually having a child. This year seems more promising.

Today was Gia's first day of Tots 3 swimming lessons. If you'll remember in November we were sweating it out as to whether or not she'd pass her Tots 1 test (basically floating, assisted, on her back for 5 seconds--my Dad about choked from laughter when he heard this was the "test"). Turns out she passed the test and did so well the teacher said she could jump up to Tots 3. I was a little worried that it might be too challenging, but she had a stellar day and proved she earned her spot. (Never mind the curriculum in Tots 3 is exactly the same as Tots 1....small minor detail.)

As an aside, all the other parents in the Tots 3 class are Dads. I'm assuming this is because it's a Saturday class and all the moms are forcing their husbands to "bond" with their child so they can have some free time (I only went today instead of Rob because he had Reserves). You should have seen the Dads when Gia climbed out of the water on her own. Suddenly they became fiercely competitive. I noticed one Dad henceforth ceased assisting his child out of the pool. Let's just say it was a little silly.....it took the poor kid about 5 minutes to get out of the water and the instructor finally had to help. Whatever, Gia is so a Dolphin and those other kids are so tadpoles. They're just lucky she jumped up a level.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Gia's birthday. She is turning 2! We'll be back to tell you all about it!

Stoebner Family

My Mom's Christmas gift--a picture of the entire Stoebner family.

Week 20 Gia's Love Life

Just a quick update on Gia's love life. She had a playdate with her potential husband, Tommy. We mommies caught them snuggling. Apparently Tommy's overtures aren't going unnoticed. Here's a quick shot of the lovebirds. (I can't tell you how pleased I am to have this matter settled, though I have heard there are a few other candidates out there. I would suggest their parents get the child's headshot and application in pronto. The dating process should not be taken lightly!)

Week 20 Christmas Break

Christmas went pretty well. Lucky Gia, she had three celebrations--one with the Schryver side of the family, one with the Stoebner side of the family, and then just our small little family. She did well on the gifts, so between Christmas and what she plays with at daycare, we shouldn't have to buy a toy until next Christmas (and that of course, is the goal of Christmas afterall).

Pictures:

Rob & Gia after a successful potty break

Gia and her Schryver grandparents

Gia getting help from her cousins in opening gifts

Gia at the Children's Museum

Gia and Mommy in St. Paul when it's -1 Farhenheit. Ya, harty Minnesotans, ya!

P.S. We highly recommend the St. Paul Children's Museum. We had a blast, and that was only visiting one of the four levels!