We decided to put her shoes and jacket on (its chilly here!) and go for a walk. We walked all over the Hilton grounds and she was still pretty somber (I am SO glad I brought the hip carrier!!!). We decided to attempt eating in a restaurant, and it was a blast.

She really came to life, and started talking for the first time (she definitely can hear some…better than I expected). She was playing games with both of us and giggling, and of course eating. She ate a big old breadstick and a good amount of lasagna. We definitely do not have a picky eater here.

She laughed and sang little songs and was just a riot. The waiters would come up to her and talk to her in Amharic. One most... more

When we got back to the hotel and got out of the car, she woke up right away. She stayed in my arms and looked a bit out of it. We came up to the room and I sat her on the bed and she looked back and forth at the two of us. I took out a few toys and she started to perk up. She pokes you softly and then points at something when she wants it, and she soon had Josh and I gathering up all of the things we had brought her and then she tucked them safely away into the bright pink and purple backpack that she just seemed to know was for her.

We gave her her first sippy cup, and she quickly discovered how to use that and she is very fond of it. She was too cute. She would take one thing out... more

And there is peace in my heart.

Belane is wonderful. She is here and she is sweet and happy and loving and beautiful!

We waited outside this morning in front of the Hilton, where we were expecting to get picked up at 9:30 a.m. by Gail to be taken to AHOPE to get Belane. We were so jittery sitting outside. The weather is beautiful…sunny but cool in the shade and I couldn’t tell if it was the excitement or the cool breezes that were giving me goosebumps!

We sat for quite a while…today is the end of Ramadan and there were parades and big crowds making the traffic worse than usual (which says a lot).

As we waited we saw two other adoptive families coming and going... more

Hi All, Thanks for all the comments. It is a lot of fun to have so many people reading along. I have to say that for last night and this morning it is very nice to have something to keep me busy.

Just a few quick comments from this morning...

The camera crew is not here. They are planning on being at the airport when we arrive though...they want to capture all of the kids meeting Belane for the first time. Then they will follow us home and get some footage of our first few days.

The pizza was good...the sleep even better. Eight uninterupted hours of laying down...ahhhhhhh....bliss. I am not jetlagged at all...landing in the early evening is perfect because you... more

Greetings from Addis Ababa! How is this for some dedicated blogging??? :)

I was skeptical that this would work, but the Hilton here has high-speed broadband internet access in the hotel rooms. I plugged in my laptop and it worked right away. We figure the $20 US dollars a day charge will more than make up for itself with what we will save on our phone bill.

So, let's see...the flights, as expected, were LONG and exhausting. But everything went smoothly...all of the connections were right on time and our bags made it too (I was really paranoid that the bags would not make it.) I know a lot of people don't like when we compare adoption to being pregnant and giving birth, but... more

Ok, more blathering...

Anyway, back to the girls’ room project…this week along with the rest of my compulsive cleaning, I cleaned out all of the construction/painting supplies and put it all away in the garage, cleaned up the rooms, moved furniture around, helped Mercades move her clothes and “stuff” into her new room, hung the wallpaper border, moved all of Belane’s clothes and “stuff” (she doesn’t have much stuff…decent amount of clothes though) into her new room and then sat back with the satisfaction that the rooms really were done…things... more

Hey all! Sorry no post there for a little while. As I am sure you can imagine, things have been a wee bit hectic. But I have accomplished much in the last few days, and our departure time is now just over 48 hours away…woo hoo!!!!

I am really trying to keep my emotions contained. I told Josh that if my head flies off at some point, it’s because I just couldn’t contain my excitement anymore. He told me very matter-of-factly that if my head flies off, he will not be taking me to Africa.

So let’s see…besides keeping my head on,... more

And I have plane tickets and a wad of crisp, clean, unmarked bills and four giant suitcases to prove it!!!!!

In just over one a week, we will be on our way to Belane. Our flight leaves at 6:21am on Saturday, Oct. 21. Woo hoo! (ok, I probably won't be saying woo-hoo when we really are leaving because we have a three hour drive to the airport...have to be there two hours early...so we'll be pulling out around 1 a.m.) Oh, who am I kidding? I will still be saying woo-hoo at 1 a.m.!!

We still don't have word that Belane's waiver is done. That would be because when we thought it was sitting on the last desk it needs to sit on receiving the last signature it needs to receive by the... more

Continued from previous posts...

As far as doctor appointments go, while we don’t want to traumatize her right away with lots of poking and prodding, getting her evaluated and getting her treatments started, both for her HIV and for her hearing loss, are definitely a big priority. We have made an appointment with her awesome Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist (who is also an international adoption doctor) for the middle of November, and we will have her seen by our family doctor and the audiologist/ENT soon after coming home as well.

Two more tips for the “babymoon” that I have learned are one, be flexible and two, ask for help when needed.

Being flexible is essential... more

Continued from previous post...

I will spend a lot of time on the floor with the little kids…so we can play and they can be in and out of my lap as they want. I will spend a lot of time holding Belane, rocking Belane…giving her the physical contact that helps so much with bonding. I bought a toddler hip carrier so I can “wear” her if she likes that. (She loves to be “up” is what everyone is telling us and what I noticed when I was there in February).

We are putting the finishing touches on her room downstairs, (which she will be sharing with big sister Des), but I plan on having her sleep with us in the beginning…either on a mat on the floor next to our bed or in our bed,... more