Going Potty

Hannah's not wearing a diaper today. Even though she has been able to use the potty since she arrived home she won't tell me when she needs to go even when she is wearing panties. So today she's bottomless under her dress. No accidents yet and I'm not even reminding her to go she just goes in the bathroom and sits on her little throne. At one point I checked on her and was reminded of a scene from Ethiopia. On that particular day when we arrived at the care center to pick up our children all the toddlers were sitting on potty chairs all lined up outside near the back door. I had look twice before I spotted Hannah. She was sitting minding her own business until she saw me. Then she was all smiles and wouldn't take her eyes off me. I had only known her a few days and already she was happy with my presence and only wanted more of me. Today when she saw me looking at her she made silly faces and laughed but still wouldn't take her eyes off me.

Getting Bigger

Being silly for the camera

Last week I took Elias and Hannah to the MD for another round of shots. It had been about 6 weeks since their last visit and the pediatrician wanted to see how they are growing. Well, I got proof that I wasn't imagining things when I thought they had both gotten bigger. Hannah has grown one inch and gained 2 pounds and Elias grew one inch and gained 4 pounds. This would explain why clothes are fitting better, Hannah's pants are not sliding off her any more and Elias actually grew out of a couple pairs of pants and a shirt or two. They are still both on the very small side for their ages though. I did hear from a family in Wisconsin who adopted a sibling group of 4 from Ethiopia last year, all of their kids grew 4 inches and gained anywhere from 5-15 pounds. I have high hopes for my two.
I think Maya has been growing also. She put on a pair of pants the other day that were about an inch too short, they had fit her just fine last spring. I measure everyone on a wall in the kitchen last week. Maya had grown about 1.5 inches since last spring, that explains the pants.

In other news. Elias likes school. Saturday morning he was a little sad that he couldn't go to school that day. He did have soccer that morning so his disappointment didn't last long. We stayed busy the rest of the weekend with a party where all the kids got toys, dinner at Playland McDonald's, and a trip to the Children's Museum. Maya loved showing her brother and sister around the Children's Museum, the permanent exhibits of the ant hill, construction zone and the entire Our World room were the favorites.

Hannah started ECFE yesterday. We will go once a week now. She did well for a first day and ended up dancing around by the last song we sang. She especially enjoyed the play dough and the ball ramp. The teacher pulled out a jingle sheet (on old Winnie the Pooh sheet with jingle bells sewn on here and there) the kids used it like a parachute and laughed the whole time. The best part about ECFE was the racial mix, we have a Somali girl, a Latin American boy, an East Indian or maybe Sri Lankan girl and then Hannah. The other 6 kids are Caucasian, everyone was there with their mom. How nice for all the kids to have such great diversity in their weekly playmates.

Hannah has a fun hair-do

First Day of School

Yesterday was Maya and Elias' first day of school. Maya got on the bus without a hitch and I drove Elias to school. I could tell that Elias was nervous but I know he'll love being around other kids all day. I didn't drag out my good-bye to him, I could tell he was getting upset. So after a quick hug and kiss I left him in the care of his very capable teachers. I made a quick stop on my way out to wave to Maya and remind her to look for Elias after school at the buses. Hannah and I waited at the bus stop for the kids after school. Elias got off the bus with a huge smile on his face. Both kids took the bus to school this morning.
Hannah and I have been hanging out looking at each other and laughing. We are both a little shocked at the quiet and calm around here without the other two. We've read tons of books, made bread, and colored pictures. Unfortunately we can't walk to the park to play because Hannah has the chicken pox so the back yard will have to do for now. Hopefully she'll get better soon.