A Tooth!!! (and a video)

Micah cut his first tooth today!!!! It is the bottom center tooth on the left side. He has been having a rough time the past few days with the teething pains, but now he has the first one out of the way.
Scott and I are doing a Faith story on our adoption journey this Sunday at church. We have prepared a video with some thoughts and pictures from our trip. Here is a You-Tube link to the video...enjoy!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNdd4JoYSPk
~Melissa

HOPE FOR OUR FUTURE!

HI-HO, HI-HO, It's off to work I go.....

Ok, so I went back to work today....just to visit though! Micah and I went to visit my former co-workers. It was great to see everyone again and catch up. Micah was very vocal and of course does not have an inside voice, you can imagine how well that works at a business where everyone is on the phone :-). After we were done there, we went over to my best buddy Ann's house to have a play date with the twins (Lily and Lanie). The girls and Micah were so cute together. He of course helped himself to a lot of their snacks and they spent a lot of their time trying to get his sippy cup...apparently it tasted a lot better than theirs even though they had the same thing! We had tons of Fun...thanks to everyone for visiting with us! Melissa

Ladies Man! (Lanie, Micah and Lily)

1 Month Home!!

Well, today has been one month since we landed home with Micah...and what a month it has been! It is amazing how much he is learning everyday (and how much we are learning!). He has lots of cute little quirks that we just sit and laugh at. His newest thing is that he likes to wear one of my headbands while I am trying to comb out his hair and put his lotion on! FUNNY!!! I guess he needs more daddy time :-) . Scott went back to work this week, so Micah and I were on out own. Things went really well. Today was a rough day for Micah because he is teething and was kind of miserable this morning. We were just thankful that I was here with him to comfort him, instead of him being in daycare and feeling so badly.

We can not wait for what the next months and years will bring!!! ~Melissa

4 Generations!

Today was another Fun day! First of all it was Scott's first day back to work...not sure how much Fun that is?!?!? My parents came up today and brought along my Grams. This was her first time meeting Micah and we had a blast. We went out for lunch and did a little shopping (what can I say, the kid LOVES to shop!). Then we came back to the house and visited for awhile and took a 4 generation picture. It was great to have them here. Micah had a blast...he was laughing so hard at his Grandpa! Really likes when you play "stinky feet" with him :-). My mom also brought along 3 home cooked meals for us to eat through out the week...YUMMY. I love having my moms home cooking.

Then to make the perfect end to the day, Scott came home from work with a gift from Julie(one of our friends and Scott's co-worker). Anyhow, she did not only have a super cute outfit for Micah, but also some AWESOME spa items for me...Can not wait to put those to use!

Here are some pics for all to enjoy! ~Melissa

4 generations...and Pepe'(darn dog!) :-)

Micah having a good laugh with his Grandpa!

Weekend of Family and Friends

So the past 2 days have been fun filled days of meeting new friends, getting together with family and having friends over to meet Micah. Saturday we met with the Fidlind's (Steve and Gina) and their kiddos(Noah, Caleb and Emma). Micah had a Blast with the kids and we enjoyed talking with Gina and Steve about adoption. They have already adopted from China and are currently looking into adopting from Ethiopia and using BFAS. We had a wonderful time and can not wait to get together again...Soon!
Saturday night we headed up to Micah's Aunt Patty's house. We had dinner with Patty and Jaxon...and again she spoiled him (and us)! He Loves his Aunt Patty, even gave her a big slobbery kiss and those do not come easy.
Today we had the Reischel's over to visit and meet Micah. Their daughter came along...she is going to be Micah's babysitter when we go on dates, so we wanted them to meet.

Tomorrow Scott goes back to work, so I am going solo! Wish me luck :-) ~MelissaMicah playing with his new friends (Caleb and Emma)

Micah and Mr.Steve

Enjoying a Wa-Wa with Aunt Patty

Big Friday Events

Today Scott's work had a baby shower for us. Originally it was planned for before Micah came home, but it happened to be on a date we would be in Ethiopia. So they kindly rescheduled it to today, so we could make it! It was wonderful...we had a great lunch (with Yummy brownies) and they also gave us several gifts. We got a fuzzy blanket, a bear for Micah, a toy (that he LOVES) and also a storage shelf with baskets that we had registered for. He really does work with some Great people!!

Then we decided to go to Bangkok Thai restaurant. We had gotten some gift certificates from our adoption support group, so it was a Free night out! Micah had Tofu for the first time and LOVED it...he was eating it as fast as I put it out and yelling out with joy! It was really cute. We ended the day with a trip to Walmart (Micah's favorite) for some essentials.

Tomorrow we are going to meet with the Fidlind's ( I used to work with Steve). They are interested in Ethiopian adoptions and learning more about the process and BFAS! We are so excited.

Below are some pictures, because I know that is what everyone really wants to see :-) Enjoy~ Melissa

Scott and Micah opening gifts at the shower

Micah and Mommy opening a gift

Micah and his new friend Christine

Micah LOVING his Tofu!(and a picture of Scott's food)

Yummy!!

Melkam Yelidet Beaal! (Merry Christmas)

Today is the Ethiopian Christmas. We decided to celebrate and try to make some traditions for Micah. We invited the McVeighs over for dinner and the kids played a little and then exchanged gifts. It is tradition in Ethiopia to exchange a "practical" gift on Christmas (meaning something like clothing, not a toy!). Micah gave Evan a t-shirt and some socks. We all had a great time. Thanks McVeighs for celebrating with us! ~Melissa

Christmas meal, salad served in African wooden bowls

Beef stir-fry (next year we are going to try to make Ethiopian food!)

The kiddos and Mommys(Micah,Melissa,Sarah, and Evan)

The kiddos and Daddys(Micah, Scott, Matt and Evan)

How are we doing???

WONDERFUL! Micah has come such a long way in the almost 3 weeks we have been home. He is increasing his "baby" vocabulary. When we first met he would say a few things: Wa-Wa (bottle), Ba-ba (daddy in Amharic), Da-da (daddy in English), and hi. He now says Bye, Yes(although not always at the appropriate time!) and Hmm-Bop (this was new tonight and so cute)! He also waves, sometimes blows kisses and today he started to give Scott and me real kisses (nice open mouthed, drooly kisses). He also does high 5s. He is still not really interested in crawling, he would prefer to go straight to walking...but still needs to hold our fingers for that feat. He also LOVES shopping, of course this makes his mommy Very happy! It is so great to see him making so much progress in such a short time. I also think that we have gotten the sleep thing just about down...we have gotten to sleep through the past 3 nights and not had to get up until around 7!!! He used to get Very upset when we would try to lay him down in his crib, but now he just wants someone there for a few minutes to make sure he is settled in and then it is off to slumber land. Still no teeth, but we think he may be getting one real soon. Below are a few random pictures! Enjoy ~Melissa

Love those Locks!

So today was a Big day for Micah...First Haircut!!! We went over to our friend Andy, who is a pro with ethnic hair, and he did a Great job on Micah's hair. I think that I was more nervous than Micah....I was scared he would leave there bald! But, Andy did a wonderful job and just took off a little bit. He even used product! Boy does it look GOOD!! Thanks Andy!!! Here are a few pics...more random pics to come soon!! ~Melissa

Just getting started!

Posing with the clipper and Andy!

What you talking about Willis...haircuts are ok!