Spring Break Fun

Mehandis, my good friend Dara and I took a train trip to visit my parents in Chicago - to kick off my spring break. We had a weekend that was packed with activities and it was a blast.

Mehandis had the chance to go to his first park with us. He got a kick out of the slides. We then went to an authentic Mexican restaurant and all needed a siesta afterward. Grocery shopping was even fun when we were able to do it at Whole Foods (these are not found "up north"). The five of us walked to the Chicago History Museum, where we learned lots about this great city and worked up a great appetite once again. The pictures below show how Mehandis enjoyed his (and my) first experience with Thai noodles. I fared better getting more of the noodles in my mouth, versus hair and floor.
We also made a spectacular Ethiopian meal together. This consisted of injera, mashed vegetables and doro wat - with some of the spices I brought back from Addis Ababa. Once again I enjoyed the leftover injera for breakfast the next morning with some peanut butter spread on top... you have to try it! We also were able to do a Michigan Avenue shopping before we got the last seats left on the home bound train.

The next morning, on Easter Sunday, we rose before the sunrise and made it to the 7 AM Easter service. Michael's sister Erin joined us and then helped to throw together a tasty brunch. While Mehandis caught a nap, the 3 adults had an Easter Egg Hunt. Michael and I have done this for each other for the past 9 years. Then we headed to the lake to celebrate not only Easter but Michael's dad's birthday. Michael's sister Joanna is showing off the festive table below.

Everyone had a blast playing with Michael's dad's birtday gift - Rock Band! Mehandis even tried to drum along on the pots and pans. I got some play time with Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive".
One of the things on my spring break "to do" list was to start Mehandis's scrapbooks. This is a little overwhelming given all of the paperwork, not to mention pictures, we have accumulated over the past year and a half. I was successful in sorting out the mountain of "stuff" below. And I even have the first page ready to go. Starting is always the hardest for me!
Oh yeah, Michael took some time off on Wednesday so we could all take a trip to the zoo together. This was a first for us as a family. Mehandis made his piggy nose, when we talked about the pigs. And said "Ele, Ele" for the elephants.

I don't think he even saw the peacock.
I think he may have enjoyed pushing and steering his stroller around the Family Farm the best!
Here's to a great Spring Break!!! Thanks to all of the friends and family that added to the fun. And to add to the fun of March Madness - Go Louisville!

2 Games in 1 Entry...

A language activity I play with my 3 to 5 year old students follows. Can you look at the pictures and tell me what is happening? Let's see if you can fare better than my students.

Okay, I admit that I didn't have the right answer when I played this game "real time". My first thought was that I must store my potting soil under the kitchen sink. But I will give you a clue: check out what is hanging out of the garbage can. The rest of the story is pretty self-explanatory.



So here is the real "dirt"... this past weekend I was attempting to tidy the house. I knew Mehandis was playing in the kitchen with the cupboard contents - tupperware, root vegetables, pots and pans. When I made my way back to the kitchen I found Mehanids as pictured in photo #1. Truly, I thought he got into potting soil (which is actually kept in the garage)... but then realized that it was the grounds from my morning coffee. Yikes! I was a bit ashamed that my son, who is born where coffee was first introduced, had to have Folger's as his introduction to caffeine. Then I also thought about what a straight jolt of caffeine could do to a 15 month old. Turns out he crashed soon afterward into a 3 hour nap.

Oh yeah, the following pictures show that our household is no longer Canada. I decided to put our first child-proof lock onto the cabinet containing our garbage can following the "break-in". Michael Moore would be disappointed.

Okay, now onto the second game. I would like to start a new blog... since our current blog's address, michaealandmicheleadopt, doesn't best represent our family as a whole. I did think of a new address; however, Michael wasn't too thrilled that it was primarily "me-focused". So... any suggestions? There will be a prize for the winner!!!

6 months post-placement & 15 months old

One of the agreements we have with our international adoption agency, is to send regular reports and pictures of how Mehandis is doing. This starts 3 months after Mehandis is home with us, then 6 months, then 1 year and ever year thereafter... until Mehandis's 18th birthday. Well we have reached 6 months "post-placement" and continue to have so much positive news to share for the reports. Our son makes us laugh before we go to work, makes it hard for us to take our eyes off of him (due to his cuteness factor) during church, helps us to relax when we (or at least half of the "we") are quite task oriented, and brings tears to our eyes with gratitude for the joy he adds to our family. He gets an A+ on his 6 month post-placement report. The following photos are the pictures that will be sent along with the report. Every report needs to have: A close-up
A family shot
A picture showing interaction
And a photo in front of his school, or if not age appropriate... a picture of our choice.

Oh yeah, this also coincides with Mehandis's 15 month birthday. He is now fighting Chewy for some common domain. This includes cabinets, cat brushes (which I found Mehandis gnawing like our cat does), milk top rings and cat food. Michael & I both found cat food in our son's mouth last week.

Chewy... I hope you let Mehandis know that taking your food is unacceptable. But I guess you tried to teach him "an eye for an eye" when you got Mehandis's leftovers off of his tray yesterday. Sibling rivalry?