Home for a week

A. reminds me it is time to brush teeth!  I hope it isn't just a novelty.

It has been a week since we made it home.  We had a fun time showing A. the house and opening some late Christmas gifts. We dropped Blue off at the airport and A. was solemn when Blue left.  :(  That emotion was quickly replaced with terror once we picked up the dogs and cat. I thought about filming the meeting but was so glad I didn't, because she climbed me like a jungle gym to get away from them.  The ride home was a bit stressful for everyone.  After a week, she will tolerate them being in the same room with her as long as they aren't near her.  Hopefully she will grow to love them the way I do.

A's personality is quite colorful!  She is a happy girl and by day three she was a giggle box!  She has not stopped.  All the cabinets and drawers have been opened, she has claimed the refrigerator,  her whispers have been replaced by shouts, and just within the past day, she has become so comfortable with me that she's speaking to me in Amharic, thinking I understand her.  I'm keeping the Amharic-English dictionary very close.  Mah-kee-nah is car, I learned, and if we were in the makeenah all day driving around aimlessly, A. would be the happiest girl ever.  She loves to go shopping (uh oh), and is very brave at the doctor's office. 
This week has been alot of firsts for A.  She loves Grey Poupon dijon and puts it on everything (even french toast... blech), and I am giving her a variety of foods, per the advice of her pediatrician.  She recognized avocados and calls them "acobacos" which makes me smile, loves and shouts the name "mango" when she sees one at the store, wants papaya but we haven't found it yet, just picked out limes and I'm hoping it is what she thinks it is, and eats muz (bananas) and birtookens (oranges) almost every day.  When I picked out frozen peas and green beans from the freezer section tonight, she squealed.    She will not drink milk, eat cheese or yogurt or pudding.  I've tried chocolate milk, strawberry milk, soy milk, and am going to try rice milk tomorrow but I doubt she will like it.  And the girl likes a bit of spice. I put curry in some chicken and it was a big hit!  She loves hummus and chips, loves bread and peanut butter, and just has a very good appetite.  I made chili tonight and she said, "yay mommy!"  It has been pretty amazing having her home so far.   We are both learning new things every day and having so much fun!

Assembling a tricycle

mani/pedi day at the Mamaandrea spa