Today was another great day in Addis.

It is now getting close to 11pm our time, so I am going to post this, send some emails and get to bed. (Josh and Belane are snoring away behind me.)

We got up this morning and ordered some room service. Belane continued her eating streak…downing banana pancakes and oranges, and showing some very mild interest in the oatmeal.

She slept pretty well…she moaned and groaned and rolled around a lot, but never woke up…and a few times she rolled over to me and wrapper her arms around me neck in her sleep and settled right down. To know that my physical closeness is enough to comfort her is awesome beyond words.

We finished breakfast and I got her bathed and dressed (she loves that whole process) and then it was my turn. It’s a good thing I already was well aware that there is little privacy involved in being a mom, because she camped out in the bathroom to make sure I didn’t try anything sneaky.

We were running a bit late to meet our awesome driver Selamneh, and when we got downstairs, we found him talking with some friends of ours who were on our flight. They were planning on visiting AHOPE in the afternoon, so we made plans to join them.

We went to the doctor’s clinic to find that Dr. Sophie, who has cared for Belane since she arrived at AHOPE, was actually in New York this week for a big AHOPE fundraiser. There was another doctor there, so we went in. The clinic was crowded and the wait was long…but we enjoyed visiting with Selamneh and playing with Belane while we waited.

The visit itself involved an exam, a stool sample and some head scrapings of which I will spare you the gory details, but at the end the doc said that he thought she looks great…he felt her chest was clear and gave us an antibiotic for a GI bacteria that may or may not really be there. She has a slight cold, but is sounding better today than she did yesterday.

Belane was too cute…she “assumed” all of the positions…open mouth, pull up shirt, tilt head for him to look in her ear, etc. She has obviously had many appointments. She never cried, and even pooped on command for the stool sample. Hilarious! We would have been there for days with Marcus!!!! :)

And the best part?? The doctor’s appointment, lab work (done on the spot) and antibiotic cost a grand total of $13. Amazing.