Macy's faux birthday

Macy and Felix have been home since May 1st. Almost 4 months now, I can hardly believe it! In that time we've celebrated 12 birthdays. Try explaining to a 5 year old who doesn't speak English or understand the concept of a calendar that she has to wait a whole year until it's her birthday. Especially when both of her brothers, parents and grandmas have all had birthdays in the past 3 months. Not happenin'!


So yesterday we threw a faux birthday party for Princess Macy. We took the kids to Baby Boogie at the D'note. It's a cool bar that turns kid-friendly on Sunday afternoons. They clear the stage and put out toy instruments, play fun music, and the kids run around and act crazy. Macy was so excited and happy I thought she'd jump out of her skin!

Felix rocking the Barbie guitar...


We had pizza and pink cupcakes, of course. And I made her a little felt princess crown.


Fletch being silly...

Felix on the Mr. Microphone...


And the Princess at home. Tutu gave her a princess jewelry set to go with her princess dress, so it had to be worn as soon as we got home!

Felix turns 2

Felix turned two years old on Wednesday. We had a nice little party for him at home. He was so excited to get birthday cards in the mail. I never imagined that he would even understand what they were but when grandma came in with the mail and a "special delivery for Felix Brown" he went nuts. It was pretty adorable!

Don't laugh at the cake, one side caved in...

First Day of School

Macy and Fletcher started school yesterday. Kindergarten and Preschool, respectively. They were both really excited to go.

We got there a little early, so Macy and I stayed with Fletcher on his Preschool playground for a few minutes. They have these sweet school bus bikes. Unfortunately neither Macy or Fletcher know how to really steer or stop. We live on a big hill with a dirt road, so we don't have a place to ride bikes. With Macy driving the school bus bike, they managed to lose control, run over some safety cones and crash into a fence. Yikes, all in the first 5 minutes of the first day of school.


Time for Macy and Fletch to say goodbye!


Then we headed to the other side of the building to Mrs. V's classroom...



I sat with Macy for a few minutes, explaining that she would be meeting other kids, playing, reading books, eating lunch, etc. All stuff we've talked about before, but I was afraid that we'd have a big freak out. Fortunately Macy turned to me and said "Mom - GO!" Gotta love that!

When I picked them up, I was greeted with smiles and stories. Macy's first words were "Mom, this is funny!" (Meaning "fun"...she still gets some words mixed up.)

Hooray for a successful first day!

Ethiopian Picnic

Yesterday the Ethiopian adoption support group here in Colorado held their annual picnic. We didn't make it last year because Fletcher was sick. I'm so glad that we went this year. It was lots of fun, great to get together with friends we already knew, meet other adoptive families and spend the day out in the sunshine. (Although it was REALLY hot!)

Fletch trying to cool down... Someone ran out and bought popsicles for all of the kids at some point.

Dad trying to rescue a wayward kickball...


The kids trying to get into trouble...

Felix chowing down on some watermelon...


Eventually we went over to the other end of the park where there was a little water play area. Here's Felix with Kaden and Oliver, who are the Matthews' boys. They're also with our agency. We met Lori and Kevin over a year ago now and went through some adoption training together. They're moving to Denver soon, so hopefully we'll get to see them more often!


Fletcher gave me some great blackmail shots for when he starts dating. He thought it was really funny to squat over the fountains and get his "business" wet. I'll spare you the inappropriate picture though.


And Miss Macy freezing her buns off. Don't worry, it was like 150 degrees out so she warmed up quickly. Thank goodness Dad took us for slushies on the way home!

Speaking of back to school....How 'bout a free lunchbox?

Hey you! Yes, you at the computer!

Head over to my other blog to win a free, eco-friendly lunch box from Citizen Pip. All you have to do is leave a comment. Winner will be drawn at random next Friday. Go on, it'll be fun!

Back-to-School Time

Back-to-School time is approaching rapidly. We got a call from Macy's teacher earlier this month asking if we'd like to come in and meet with her to discuss Macy, what she knows, what the Kindergarten plan will be for her, etc. We did that last Friday and it went well. Her teacher, Mrs. V., had taken an ESL course over the summer to help her prepare for having Macy in her class. Isn't that great? Mrs. V is very sweet and I think that Macy is going to love being in her class.

In addition to that private meeting, we also attended the official back-to-school night and ice cream social on Wednesday afternoon. Macy got to drop off her supplies, see her cubby and desk, and see Mrs. V again. Then we had ice cream on the playground!

This morning was Macy's assessment and her third time meeting her teacher. This was the first time that I left here there (although it was only for 20 minutes!). I'm glad that we're able to build this trust and relationship with the teacher, rather than having to throw Macy right into the fire.

Mrs. V said she can tell that Macy is "ready to learn". She evidently knew all of the letters on the computer keyboard, did well counting, spelled her name, then started spelling Fletcher's name too. I think she's going to do great, although she might have a small problem doing what the teacher wants her to do versus doing what SHE wants to do. Hopefully seeing all of the other kids sitting down, listening, will help to steer her in the right direction.

This afternoon, we go back to the school yet again. This time for Fletcher's meet-and-greet with his Preschool teachers. Which means I should go wake him up from his nap...

Haircuts!

I was feeling brave (and bored and cooped up) yesterday so I took the kids out early in the morning to run errands. We happened to be by Great Clips and they happened to desperately need haircuts, so I took them all in. The three of them may be as unruly as their hair, but they all did really well.

Here's a before of Macy and Felix. Marc and I joke that Felix looks like Gene Wilder in the original Willy Wonka (which we happen to watch ev.ry.day in our house). Macy's hair is really growing out, so she has sort of a mullet in the back and wings on the sides.

And aren't they sweet all cuddled up together? Here's the after... (she's actually wearing a headband, so it looks shorter)

She wants to grow it long, so we just cut the sides and back and left the top long. I can tell it's going to be YEARS before it grows out fully.

And here's Felix....

The top could be a little shorter, but at least he doesn't have the Mad Scientist look any more! He is going to be a lady killer with those eyes! I couldn't have gotten three cuter kids.

Here's Fletcher's "before" photo....typical Fletch. It was cold here earlier in the week, so I told him to put on a sweatshirt. This is what he came out wearing - a sweatshirt, two jackets and his robe over it. Not to mention three pair of socks. (I see a future vote for "class clown".)


Hard to see his haircut in this silly photo, and his "fauxhawk" had gone flat. Oh well, you'll just have to trust me when I say he is really for school and looks handsome!

Update to: Missing teeth?

Do you every have one of those "Duh!" moments? I have them with increasing frequency these days.

When we mentioned to the pediatrician at Children's Hospital that Macy and Felix were missing these teeth, he said he'd do some research and see what he could find. We were later told that he had no idea what or why this was.

So in my head I think, "Okay, I guess it will just be a mystery then."

Until someone today said how they looked it up online and found X, Y and Z about it.

DUH! I never thought of using this here interwebby to look for answers. Um, hello, I spend 23 hours a day online and never thought to Google this. As I said...frazzled mommy brain.

So....for anyone wondering, or anyone who also has children with missing teeth, here's the 411. I found quite a bit of information on this. This article, Dental Injuries Due to African Traditional Therapies for Diarrhea, in the Western Journal of Medicine pretty much says it all. Read the whole thing if you have time. If not, here are some of the major points:

• Many of the healers in Africa know little about healing practices involving the mouth.
• Said healers believe that removing the cuspids (either before or after they erupt) will cure or prevent diarrhea.
• They do this using unsterilized tools, in an assembly line fashion, without cleaning them between patients.
• "Tools" used include a metal nail, hot needle, metal blades made from spoon handles or bike tire spokes, or sharp fingernails.
• "Reports of traditional healing practices of many African countries in which the cuspids and incisors were removed or mutilated have been numerous: ... 59% among Ethiopian Jews... 70% in some populations in Ethiopia." (Not sure I understand these stats - are they saying 70% of the population?? I certainly didn't observe that when there.)

So, as Paul Harvey used to say... Now you know the rest of the story. Good day!

Missing teeth?

I keep forgetting to post / ask about / mention this here...

It seems that both Macy & Felix have evidently had their canine teeth pulled at some point.

According to our pediatric dentist, the adult teeth are there (she did x-rays). If this was a genetic thing (which she's never heard of) they wouldn't have the adult version of those teeth either. She feels confident after examining them in saying that they were pulled. The thing is that these teeth don't get really cavities, and there is no reason to pull them.

The adoption clinic at Children's Hospital was also stumped.

Anyone else have Ethiopian kids who were missing these teeth? Any idea why? We were kind of joking that somewhere in Ethiopia there's a person wearing a baby tooth necklace...yes, completely sick and inappropriate. That's how we roll.

Food, Family, Fun

Last time Fletcher spent the night at Mimi's house (my mom) Macy was distraught that she didn't get to go too. She'd only been here for two months and we actually thought she'd freak out if we tried to get her to spend the night away from us. It just didn't seem like a good idea. Let's just say we were wrong.

She was thrilled beyond words that she got to go with Mimi and Fletcher for an over-nighter on Saturday. They went to the water park, then to church the next day. She loved church and had no problem with Mimi leaving her in the Sunday school class. She came home telling me (half in English, half Amharic) that "the babies came and people hugged them, then they dunked them in water...their heads and their tushies". She's too cute.

After church we all met at Habesha for lunch. Here's Macy in her pretty Easter dress (that she wasn't home to wear on Easter).


Here's Marc with all the kids (that's his daughter Jackie next to him). Sometimes I forget that we have FOUR kids since only three of them actually live at home with us. It's crazy to look at this picture and realize that we actually have a pretty big family. We had a nice visit with Jackie this week. The kids absolutely love her (as do we!). I wish she lived closer.


And after lunch, Mimi took us out for ice cream. Love those faces.

Ethiopian music?

What Ethiopian music do you like? What about your kids?

Our awesome friend Pam (aka Auntie Pam) gave us this CD of Ethiopian children's songs waaaaay back when we first told her we were adopting. The kids listen to it NON STOP. Every day.

Today I went to recommend it to someone and found that it's no longer being made, or printed, or whatever it is they do with CDs. And would you believe that people are selling used copies on Amazon for $70????? That's just plain nuts!

So do you have any other kiddie CDs you like? What about regular grown-up music?

One of our favorites on YouTube is this Amharic version of Bob Marley's Three Little Birds. Marc will sometimes hook the laptop up to the TV and play music videos from YouTube. The kids love it and will sing and dance around the living room.

More sickies :(

This weekend we got a call from Macy's pediatrician saying that her test results were in. She doesn't have a tapeworm like Felix. Yay! She does have ecoli and giardia. Boo.

In case any prospective or new Ethiopian adoptive parents are wondering, she had none of the outward signs / symptoms of either. Well, she hasn't gained any weight. That was what made me thing something may be wrong. The doctor didn't seem to think that the weight thing was a big deal and assumed that she was probably healthy. Glad we did the tests anyway. She's now on more medication. Speaking of which....I better go give it to her!

Some things are universal...

Since we've been a boy household until now we don't have a lot of girlie toys or things. Well, except for Fletcher's play kitchen. Other than that there are no Barbies and we only have one baby doll, so I was very surprised when Macy exclaimed "PRINCESS!!!" at Burger King the other day as she donned her BK crown. Where do they learn this stuff? I can't even blame it on school yet.

Of course when her big sister Jackie got to town early this week she conned her into buying this princess dress. Now she carries the pinwheel that Aunt Pam gave her (in lieu of a magic wand maybe?), while wearing the princess, BK crown, and (somewhere in that photo is...) the rubber duck she got at the dentist office. She cracks me up!

Lately she's been stringing more words together. Today she came home from the dentist and ran in the yelling "Momma, momma! You did it!!!" She, of course, means "I did it!" I also heard her bossing around her brother a few days ago, all in English, "Fikreab, come on, come on. Sit down. No touching Fikreab. Here do go." It's quite funny in her little accent.

Lakeside

Our local library is wrapping up their summer reading program next week. For every 8 hours of reading, a child received a coupon package for things like a free game of bowling and free admission to Lakeside Amusement Park. For those not in Colorado, Lakeside is a 100+ year old amusement park built next to a lake and overlooking the Rocky Mountains. The rides and signs are all old school and the park itself is just very quaint and old-timey.

Last night we packed up the kids and spent the evening at the amusement park. We all had a blast! They went on (and loved) every ride. No tears, no fear...only screams of enjoyment.



I got decent pix of the kiddie rides (since they go so slow), but the kids also rode this by themselves and looooved it.


I think we're ready for Space Mountain at Disney next summer!