KIYA IS 10 MONTHS OLD!!!!!
I can hardly believe it. In a few short weeks she will have been with us as long as she was at the care center in Ethiopia. Wow....
Here are 10 of the many thousands of things we love about our little girl:
1) She is learning how to give kisses.
2) She has quite the range in her vocal abilities from a low monster like sound to a very high pitched sound.
3) She says Dada a lot and when in her high pitched mode she squints her eyes.
4) She is learning to take her first steps. And just yesterday while holding on to the table took a sideways step all by herself.
5) She give hugs :)
6) She reaches up for us when she wants to be held.
7) She can eat Cheerios like a champ
8) Bananas are still her favorite food
9) She is taking baths in the big girl bath tub with her favorite whale cup of course.
10) She loves to laugh with us and just because and it is truly the greatest sound.
We are truly honored and blessed to be Kiya's parents. How this little girl found her way into our hearts and home amazes me to this day. She is a perfect fit. She was meant to be our little girl and I thank God every day for her.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
My daughter
These two words have found their way into my every day vocabulary and I must say I like the sound of them. My daughter. I still have a hard time believing it and sometimes pinch myself to make sure this is all real. My daughter. I love it and I sure do love her.
She is sweet and funny and a gift far greater than I could have ever imagined. She has profoundly changed my life in ways I didn't even know a baby could. My thoughts are different, my conversations are different, everything is just different and different is good. Very good.
I know sounds weird but here are some examples.
1-I never dreamed I would talk about poop and how much, how often and what it looked like as much as we do.
2-I love my sleep, yet if my little one is sick or doesn't sleep well than neither do I and I am more than okay with that.
3-I miss her when I am away from her and sometimes that really stinks. I didn't really know it was possible to miss someone so much yet when I am away from her it is hard for me to not think about her often. This has gotten oh so much worse now that I am back to work full time and see her less.
4-I dream of more hours in the day and more quality time with her. There are just too many things on our schedule right now and I need to learn to say no. Always a problem for me but I have to. It isn't about me anymore. She needs us.
I know again all over the place blog post but I am in a funk. I am feeling over scheduled and I hate that and I read some sad news on facebook that some college friends lost their little girl 2 months before she was set to be born. It has all got me thinking about how fast kids grow up and I don't want to miss it and how truly grateful and blessed we are to be parents.
We have this amazing little girl and before we know it she is going to be running up the stairs, chasing the dogs and talking more than she already does. I really feel we need to stop and enjoy these moments and get some things off that schedule. Easier said than done. But it is a must. An activity here and there for just mom and dad is great but we have at least one such activity scheduled every weekend from now until Halloween. I hate it therefore I must change it.
Stay tuned for a happier post. Kiya is 10 months old tomorrow :)
She is sweet and funny and a gift far greater than I could have ever imagined. She has profoundly changed my life in ways I didn't even know a baby could. My thoughts are different, my conversations are different, everything is just different and different is good. Very good.
I know sounds weird but here are some examples.
1-I never dreamed I would talk about poop and how much, how often and what it looked like as much as we do.
2-I love my sleep, yet if my little one is sick or doesn't sleep well than neither do I and I am more than okay with that.
3-I miss her when I am away from her and sometimes that really stinks. I didn't really know it was possible to miss someone so much yet when I am away from her it is hard for me to not think about her often. This has gotten oh so much worse now that I am back to work full time and see her less.
4-I dream of more hours in the day and more quality time with her. There are just too many things on our schedule right now and I need to learn to say no. Always a problem for me but I have to. It isn't about me anymore. She needs us.
I know again all over the place blog post but I am in a funk. I am feeling over scheduled and I hate that and I read some sad news on facebook that some college friends lost their little girl 2 months before she was set to be born. It has all got me thinking about how fast kids grow up and I don't want to miss it and how truly grateful and blessed we are to be parents.
We have this amazing little girl and before we know it she is going to be running up the stairs, chasing the dogs and talking more than she already does. I really feel we need to stop and enjoy these moments and get some things off that schedule. Easier said than done. But it is a must. An activity here and there for just mom and dad is great but we have at least one such activity scheduled every weekend from now until Halloween. I hate it therefore I must change it.
Stay tuned for a happier post. Kiya is 10 months old tomorrow :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Baby steps....
No really. Baby steps. Kiya is taking baby steps. She may not crawl or pull herself up on furniture yet but she will take a few steps while holding on to our fingers :) We couldn't be prouder of our little girl.
Things are going well. We took Kiya in for her 9 month check up this week even though she will be 10 months old next week :)
Stats:
Weight: 18.2lbs (27th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (52nd percentile)
Head: 44.3 cm (25th percentile)
Not too shabby :) For reference she was 12lbs at homecoming in May so over 6lbs and has grown almost 3 inches :) She is on a steady line on the growth charts and her doctor is pleased with her growth.
The one problem is her weight puts her in 6-9month clothes but her height in 12 month. So right now all of her pants are a little big in the waist and her pajamas barely fit. We have new pajamas for her it just hasn't been cold enough for flannel.
We are excited to see what lies ahead. There are lots of firsts coming for Kiya and for us as parents. Her first Halloween pumpkin and costume (she will be a pink butterfly), first Thanksgiving and birthday, first Christmas:) Exciting months lie ahead for our little family of 3.
Little Man update: Background check paperwork went to our local social worker today :) Homestudy update in 2 weeks :)
Things are going well. We took Kiya in for her 9 month check up this week even though she will be 10 months old next week :)
Stats:
Weight: 18.2lbs (27th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (52nd percentile)
Head: 44.3 cm (25th percentile)
Not too shabby :) For reference she was 12lbs at homecoming in May so over 6lbs and has grown almost 3 inches :) She is on a steady line on the growth charts and her doctor is pleased with her growth.
The one problem is her weight puts her in 6-9month clothes but her height in 12 month. So right now all of her pants are a little big in the waist and her pajamas barely fit. We have new pajamas for her it just hasn't been cold enough for flannel.
We are excited to see what lies ahead. There are lots of firsts coming for Kiya and for us as parents. Her first Halloween pumpkin and costume (she will be a pink butterfly), first Thanksgiving and birthday, first Christmas:) Exciting months lie ahead for our little family of 3.
Little Man update: Background check paperwork went to our local social worker today :) Homestudy update in 2 weeks :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Weekend in review
We had a VERY busy weekend. Kiya's baptism was the main event. She did great really. Got a little cranky towards the end of the service but was a super star for the most part.
Here she is with 2 of her god parents. My brother in law Andy and my best friend Stacy. Not pictured are my sister in law Sarah and my best friend's husband Jim. Kiya at this point was VERY tired but didn't want to miss any of the festivities.
Family picture with all of Kiya's grandparents and her great grandma.
This weekend again proved just how blessed we are. We have a wonderful family and an amazing little girl. I was so glad that Stacy flew out from CA even if only for a short trip but it meant so much for her to be here and to meet Kiya.
Here she is with 2 of her god parents. My brother in law Andy and my best friend Stacy. Not pictured are my sister in law Sarah and my best friend's husband Jim. Kiya at this point was VERY tired but didn't want to miss any of the festivities.
Family picture with all of Kiya's grandparents and her great grandma.
This weekend again proved just how blessed we are. We have a wonderful family and an amazing little girl. I was so glad that Stacy flew out from CA even if only for a short trip but it meant so much for her to be here and to meet Kiya.
Kiya was so adaptable to the disruptions in schedule and was really the star of the whole weekend. She helped open her gifts but mostly just wanted to put them all in her mouth. Her favorite was the tissue paper :) Go figure.
She LOVES to stand up and even attempted to take her first steps this weekend while holding on to my fingers. It was so cute :) She is just getting so big. We have her 9 month check up tomorrow even though she is closer to 10 months. I can't wait to see how much she weighs and just how tall she actually is :)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The tough stuff
The Australian Broadcasting Company put out this article/video this week.
WARNING--the video is VERY unpleasant to watch. I did watch it and I cried, I got angry and now I need to write.
The basis is that there is a lot of corruption in Ethiopian adoption. The article/video focus on one specific agency but imply that many adoption agencies operating in Ethiopia are in fact unlicensed and unregulated. It goes on the imply that Americans are flocking to adopt "orphans" because it is the new hip thing to do after all Angelina Jolie did it. The article questions whether orphans are really being adopted or if Ethiopians are being wrongly taken advantage of. The idea of a DVD catalog of children available for adoption in a word is HORRIBLE. That alone would have been a HUGE red flag to not go further for me.
Here is what I think take it or leave it. Is there corruption in Ethiopian adoptions, unfortunately yes. I have heard the stories. Were some people misinformed about their child's age, birth date, history, medical conditions--unfortunately yes. Do I think that some birth families were deceived? I would like to say no but I can't 100% say that. Do I think all adoptions from Ethiopia are corrupt? No. I think there are plenty of great agencies big and small doing amazing work in Ethiopia. It is unfortunate that a few bad seeds cast a bad light on all Ethiopian adoptions.
What does this mean for my family? Good question. I have to take ownership that I can't say for 100% sure that my daughter's story is accurate however I feel very confident that it is. I feel her birth date is completely accurate and I don't feel I as an adoptive parent was duped or lied to in any way. I trust my agency and that is why we are sticking with them. Are they people that don't like my agency? Sure and each person has their own reasons but we haven't had a bad experience.
Do I think Kiya's birth mom was lied to? No I don't. She was very aware and present in our meeting and asked us some great questions. Are we bad people for adopting a child that has a mother living in Ethiopia? NO! Some people try to imply that the only children that should be adopted are those with no living parents. Zinash had deep, very personal reasons for placing Kiya for adoption and it saddens me to this day. She loved Kiya and I saw it in her tears and on her face and in her words. She had her reasons just like any birth mom here in the US does and I don't think we as adoptive parents should be labeled nor should she as a birth mom.
International adoption is a murky world. Add in that we are adopting from a developing country and things get even a little murkier (is that word???). Anyway, the point is that as adoptive parents we have to do all we can to make sure our children's adoptions are ethical. I feel that my daughter's was. Not everyone can say that and that saddens me and my heart goes out to them. I wish we could all feel confident in our children's story but such is not the case and that to be honest is a little scary. We as adoptive parents need to do our homework and be diligent and demand answers when things just don't seem to add up.
WARNING--the video is VERY unpleasant to watch. I did watch it and I cried, I got angry and now I need to write.
The basis is that there is a lot of corruption in Ethiopian adoption. The article/video focus on one specific agency but imply that many adoption agencies operating in Ethiopia are in fact unlicensed and unregulated. It goes on the imply that Americans are flocking to adopt "orphans" because it is the new hip thing to do after all Angelina Jolie did it. The article questions whether orphans are really being adopted or if Ethiopians are being wrongly taken advantage of. The idea of a DVD catalog of children available for adoption in a word is HORRIBLE. That alone would have been a HUGE red flag to not go further for me.
Here is what I think take it or leave it. Is there corruption in Ethiopian adoptions, unfortunately yes. I have heard the stories. Were some people misinformed about their child's age, birth date, history, medical conditions--unfortunately yes. Do I think that some birth families were deceived? I would like to say no but I can't 100% say that. Do I think all adoptions from Ethiopia are corrupt? No. I think there are plenty of great agencies big and small doing amazing work in Ethiopia. It is unfortunate that a few bad seeds cast a bad light on all Ethiopian adoptions.
What does this mean for my family? Good question. I have to take ownership that I can't say for 100% sure that my daughter's story is accurate however I feel very confident that it is. I feel her birth date is completely accurate and I don't feel I as an adoptive parent was duped or lied to in any way. I trust my agency and that is why we are sticking with them. Are they people that don't like my agency? Sure and each person has their own reasons but we haven't had a bad experience.
Do I think Kiya's birth mom was lied to? No I don't. She was very aware and present in our meeting and asked us some great questions. Are we bad people for adopting a child that has a mother living in Ethiopia? NO! Some people try to imply that the only children that should be adopted are those with no living parents. Zinash had deep, very personal reasons for placing Kiya for adoption and it saddens me to this day. She loved Kiya and I saw it in her tears and on her face and in her words. She had her reasons just like any birth mom here in the US does and I don't think we as adoptive parents should be labeled nor should she as a birth mom.
International adoption is a murky world. Add in that we are adopting from a developing country and things get even a little murkier (is that word???). Anyway, the point is that as adoptive parents we have to do all we can to make sure our children's adoptions are ethical. I feel that my daughter's was. Not everyone can say that and that saddens me and my heart goes out to them. I wish we could all feel confident in our children's story but such is not the case and that to be honest is a little scary. We as adoptive parents need to do our homework and be diligent and demand answers when things just don't seem to add up.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
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