Just wanted to let everybody know that the tantrums are dissipating. Which is good news for our ears. And for our hearts, of course. Not to say that they won't resurface in full force again, I'm no fool, but both boys seem more at ease here with us. Trust is growing, and routines are beginning to be not only followed, but maybe embraced?
Alex has taken to reading from our Amharic phrasebook after dinner, which is great fun for H. He repeats what Alex says, and if he is familiar with the word or phrase, he corrects our pronunciation. He gets to be the expert, and it really seems to make him comfortable and happy. That and the great CD I found before the boys got here -- It's called Sorene, and it is a nice long series of Ethiopia folk/children's songs sung by a locally famous folk singer and Ethiopian children. The boys love, love, love it, especially the "ABC" song. They sing it under their breaths throughout the day. Our favorite part is "LMNOP," because they repeat it -- it's pretty cute. We just got about 300 pictures back from Sn@pfish today, and I think we might start showing them pictures of their friends from Horizon House. H was talking about a few of the kids today, so we thought it would be a good way to start the discussion about Ethiopia, our trip here, and on and on. H also said today "Mommy, Daddy, America," without any prompting or lead-in conversation. I remember him talking to a nanny in Amharic about going to America with us, so I'm wondering if it's only now making sense to him. He is a complex and interesting fellow, to be sure.
L is simpler, mostly by virtue of being younger, I think. He is also a HUGE ham. He will be the class clown. He puts all three of us in stitches every night. He does an amazing Mussolini imitation where he puts on an exaggerated frown, raises his eyebrows, and rocks back and forth on his feet as he stands on his chair. All the while he is shouting something -- it's almost as if he is imitating someone. It always brings the house down over here.
I'm off to bed -- got to get ready for the 3 am L. crying and padding down the hall to our room. The rest of the night is spent trying not to get kicked by his wee body perpendicular to ours, thrashing about in the bed.
Oh, it sounds so "normal"! And fun! Glad things are calming down. How is it going with food? Are they open to strange new things?
Posted by: dawn | May 12, 2007 at 02:38 PM
Glad they are settling in. They sound delightful.
Happy Mothers Day!
Posted by: abebech | May 13, 2007 at 05:20 PM
What an incredible journey ya'll have embarked upon. I've been thinking of you so much of late, and so happy to know that you and your boys are together. My boys are actively kicking one another in the womb and are under strict orders from moi to not appear until at least mid-June. Sending much, much love. XXOO
Andry
Posted by: Andrea Allen | May 15, 2007 at 02:26 PM