Days away from a baby brother

Nataga had his first concert at school. He LOVES singing and "Jingle Bells" is a current favorite. Luckily it was the first song the kids sang. They put all of they kids together from pre-K to 5th grade. Nataga did a GREAT job and had the hand motions, song, etc. down pat. David whispered that "He didn't get that from us" to me! I was so proud! What a smartie. The next few songs... things quickly changed :). He went from the only pre-K kid who "knew his stuff" to the kid the teachers were trying to catch on stage. It was halarious. He was posing for the audience, running from teachers, and causing a scene. "THAT (David whispered) he got from me!" Good memories! That made me just as proud! When asked what Christmas meant to him, Nati replied "Cookies"! The other kids said presents, Santa, etc. but our son, who always thinks about his stomach, said "cookies." It was great!

Well the baby is due this month and we are ready to meet him! Nataga has been practicing being a "big brother" with a couple of his buddies from church who just had little brothers added to their families.

Nataga is as cute as ever. He has grown a ton the past week. His teachers at school even remarked on how much he grew in a couple of days. He was able to wear an outfit one day and a couple of days later it was too short! It's crazy how fast kids can grow. When people say overnight, they aren't joking! He has also been on a vegetable kick and loves "av-Cado" (avacado), broc-key (broccoli), and ranch... what can we say- the boy knows what he likes! ;)

Besides that we've been busy and are ready to relax a little when the new baby comes!!

Firsts

I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the boys and the first time we saw them.

As you can probably tell David has authored the past two blogs. So, I thought I'd post an update.

Nataga has been learning to count and his colors. He has been singing a song about hand washing this month and for the life of us, we cannot figure out what all he is saying and where he learned it. He starts out with "Wash, wash, wash, and then sings a couple lines that ends with "soap"!" It's so cute to hear and we've decided he's authored his own song!

December is just around the corner. It seems to be a good month for us. We received Nati's referral on Dec. 3rd and have a baby boy due in late December. It is interesting to go through a paper pregnancy and then a 9 month pregnancy. There are so many things that are similar and so many things that are different. Seeing your child on a screen for the first time-- priceless. Waiting months for just a referral after filling out paperwork--> I have to say a guaranteed 9ish months is MUCH easier. The body soreness, sickness, etc. that goes along with pregancy-- not so great. The heartache and roller coaster ride as you wait for a child across the ocean- hard. It's much easier to feel the baby move and kick at different times during the day. Still I think both boys were on my mind the same amount of time. I'm sure the joy of meeting your child for the first time- priceless and worth the pain and wait either way. We wanted to adopt first, and then have a biological child. I'm glad we did and there is nothing we would change. A child is a gift from God.

Wandering of the mind...

Nataga had some school pictures taken recently that were filled with fall leaves for a prop and a wicker chair. Coming from me, it will be no surprise, that I find him highly photogenic. He can ham it up! It's not but countless times a day that he will give a priceless expression, and multiply that many times more when a camera is around. Lately he has been singing and talking up a storm. He is very good at repeating things, and is good with most instructions. Perhaps one of the most entertaining things we enjoy is seeing what exactly he is picking up from the both of us. Here are just three examples:

From David: Walks on his tip-toes
From Chelsea: Scrunches up his napkins
From both: says "Uh-huh" (we always seem toanswer one another around the house that way)

Oh and 7 weeks...yeah - we'll really be up to our wits end in cuteness!

Nataga Survives Storybook Parade!

The fierce and ferocious lion evaded capture, braved the masses, and was ultimately a survivor of his first storybook parade! The glimmer in his eye, was him strutting by the crowd of parents, then Nataga carefully perused a Toy Story 2 book (of course, not the "That's Not My Lion" book that he brought!), and finally the somewhat disinterested, "are we done yet?" lion!

Our little vampire ;)

Fall fun!

Another lapse

We have been so busy and I don't get to post often so all of you out there that keep up with our blog, I apologize!

Everyday I find myself thinking how much cuter Nataga gets and how blessed we are by him. Everyone says how cute he is, and it is true! He is such a silly and adorable boy. We had his pictures taken recently in his Lion halloween costume and he hammed it up the whole time. He was posing and carrying on. The girl taking his pictures was even cracking up as he put on his show. He is a natural in front of a camera if he knows he has an audience.

Nati is also getting excited to see his brother in a few months and will pat my tummy and tell people that my tummy is where his little brother is. He also tells him goodnight when it is bed time! I hope their relationship is a good one and stays a good one. I do have to say that I am glad Nataga is our oldest. He is going to be a great big brother and I couldn't ask for a better older child for an example!!!

Now to a cute saying, which I think I'll try to post weekly b/c he is full of them. He recently has become very impressed with the bathroom (maybe we're getting close to potty training him?!?!?) anyway when anyone goes into the bathroom he'll stand outside the door and ask "You goin' botty?" very serious and excited. I love that he can't say potty and says "botty" instead. Too cute! Of course yesterday he was a lot clearer and "botty" won't last for long as he is getting that "p" sound down.

My favoite age

Nataga just turned two and turned into even more of a cutie in doing so (which I didn't think was possible). I know a lot of mom's will say that "every age is their favorite". Not so for me. I remember him screaming constantly at six months for about a week until we figured out his teeth were coming in... I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed by him at times b/c I had never been around kids that small for long periods of time. Don't get me wrong, I liked his younger age, and you learn what to do with your child as time goes by. That age just came with a lot of uncertainty and a LOT of learning on my part! He was a lot of fun and was a GREAT baby. However, THIS age is for sure my favorite. I LOVE to hear the things he does and says. Tonight we went walking b/c it cooled down to 80 degrees!!! There were sirens that passed by while we walked and Nati imitated them. It was so funny and I have to say he does a mean firetruck impression. People walking by were also getting a kick out of it. He loudly copied the noises and even had the changing siren noises the trucks make. We were wishing we had a video camera!!! He loves ducks and called a few over to our area earlier in our walk! Also while we were driving home he copied the turn signal noise. He is really good at mimicking noises.

Then when David was putting him to sleep they were joking around making different noises and Nati tells David "You're so cute". I know he hears us tell him that all of the time. It was so funny to hear him repeat it! I have very much enjoyed an insight to his thoughts. It's interesting to hear what is in that head of his. He is such a little smarty and a joy. I constantly thank God for him and find myself thinking how lucky we are to have such a great child! His name means "gift of God" and that is what he is! I can't imagine not having him. Adoption is the best!

He always finds a way to make me smile!

Yesterday I sat down for a snack and was eating raw broccoli. Anything that we eat Nataga likes to try, also. So, seconds after I take a bite Nati is standing right in front of me begging (he had already had his snack). He is very picky about texture and knowing he wouldn't eat it, I gave him a piece of broccoli. He puts it in his mouth and runs off playing. I was shocked b/c I was sure he wouldn't eat it. Thirty minutes later we are playing with his cars when I notice he has an unusually puffy cheek. Confused about what could be in his mouth I ask him to give me whatever is in his mouth. He pulls out the piece of broccoli and tells it "bye, bye", smiling big and waving.

Growing like a weed!!!

Nataga had his two year old check up yesterday! Everything looked great!
We were really excited b/c he has finely grown out of the 5th percentile.
He is now:
35th for height
14th for weight

Speaking of growing:
Nataga outgrew his cow bath towel and got a bunny one for his birthday. He was so excited. It is funny what kids enjoy getting! :)

The Birthday Boy!

Nataga is now 2 years old!!!

Nothing like a birthday cake!

Especially when it is finger-licking-G O O D!

We are blessed by this little boy daily. Happy Birthday Nati!

Family pictures

My sister took these for me! I love them. I have been meaning to post them for a while but we've been SO busy. Scroll down for 4 more posts that I posted today!

Ethiopian Lunch

A couple of weeks back we had a Gladney Family Association Ethiopia lunch. All of the kids and families from the area that were/had adopted from Ethiopia got together. Nati found a couple of new friends. :)

Growing up so quick

Next week Nataga will be 2 years old! I cannot believe how quickly time flies! The biggest area I've seen change in, is his speech. Some of the words that he used to say I'll really miss. It is fun to hear him mature in his speech, though. Recently he went from Mommy (monkey), to Monk, and now he can say Monkey. His Element changed to Elephant, Nuck is now duck, etc. He is learning his alphabet also.

Enkutatas, Happy New Year!

September 11^th marks the new year celebration, Enkutatas, in Ethiopia! As the close to the rainy season draws near, Ethiopians enjoy celebrating the spring-like arrival of their new year. It is also the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The day is called Enkutatas meaning the "gift of jewels." When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. After dark on New Year's Eve people light fires outside their houses.

The main religious celebration takes place at the 14th-century Kostete Yohannes church in the city of Gaynt within the Gondar Region. Three days of prayers, psalms, and hymns, sermons, and massive colorful processions mark the advent of the New Year. Closer to Addis Ababa, the Raguel Church, on top of the Entoto Mountain north of the city, has the largest and most spectacular religious celebration. But Enkutatas is not exclusively a religious holiday, and the little girls singing and dancing in pretty new dresses among the flowers in the fields convey the message of springtime and renewed life. Today's Enkutatas is also the season for exchanging formal New Year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.

When meeting friends and neighbors on the new year, Amharic speakers share the greeting, “Enquan laddis amet aderesachuh,” or, “wishing you all a happy new year.”

The things they say

I LOVE my son. When we say prayers at night he loves to say "eight-men" (Amen) at the end. It is priceless and always makes me smile. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it! Then he follows it by 'nih, nigh" (good night).

Also, as I was changing his diaper today Nataga looks at me very seriously and said "Knock, knock" so I just responded w/"Who's there?" not thinking anything else would follow. I was wrong, he responded with "Boo!" So I ask, "Boo who?" he laughed, and laughed! It took me a second to realize that was it and he had just told a joke! Then we both laughed for a bit! We have a nephew that comes up with good jokes and I think Nati might have picked the joke up from him. Although they visited two weeks ago, so if he did he has an amazing memory. It was just funny that he had the whole thing down pat!

My other recent favorite to his sayings is "Element" (Elephant). He got a shirt from his grandparents and he is sure there is an "Element" on it!

Nataga gets his wish!

We found out this week that Nati got his wish. He has a LITTLE brother on the way!

Being sweet!

What did I get myself into?

Family visits

What a cutie!

Catch me if you can!

Having fun w/my grandparents!

My cousin and I! Don't mess w/us, I'm tough stuff!

As promised

Here are pictures from after he woke up. He still didn't want his picture taken but I got a couple of shots anyway.

1st Haircut

I have been holding off on getting Nataga's hair cut... mstly becuase I've wanted to twist it a way I had seen in a magazine and because Nataga has the "traditional Ethiopian bald spot". If his hair isn't long enough in that particular spot, there is a very distinct patch where hair does not grow! After tons of searching I realized that we would have to put the twists on hold. A lady from chruch demonstrated how to cut Nati's hair. She has raised several foster children and has haircutting down to an art! She was certain I could handle the job. I however, was not so sure! So today I gave it a go and found myself wishing I had cut his hair a long time ago. He looks SO much better. I'll have to post a better "after" photo later, someone was tired of pictures and was ready for a nap!

Thank you mommy...

Today Nataga seemed extra tired. When we got home I fed him lunch and it seemed like all he wanted to do was sleep. He found his bear and favorite truck and started upstairs. So I asked if I could carry his loot upstairs for him so he could go "night, night" (he doesn't like the word nap). He happily agreed! I changed him and put him down for his nap. On my way out of the room we had our normal "Sleep tight, I love you" exit, but as I was closing the door he says "Thank you mommy". How cute is that?! Made my heart melt!

Determination

I love his face in this picture, pure determination!

Now for some fun!

He has lost that baby look for good now!