The Wedding!

The girls were in my cousin's wedding right after culture camp. It was ironic. I was her Mother's flower girl and woke up the day of that wedding with a fever. I walked the aisle anyways but was miserable. Lemon decided to be up about half the night before the wedding with a full fledged cold. She still sucks her thumb so when she can't breathe, she can't suck her thumb. This in turn caused us to not sleep from about 2-5 in the morning. She was miserable but walked the aisle anyways...a full circle!! The girls looked beautiful and had the greatest time ever. They LOVED the dresses, the flowers, the dancing...they loved it all. They also love their cousin. She is the cousin that traveled to Ethiopia with me when I brought Orange home!!! Here are some pics from the wedding...I will blog (I promise)...soon about the week between camp and the wedding. We did a lot of fun things with some great people!!

Culture Camp!

I may just push blogger over the edge because I plan to blog this weekend about our trip. That could mean more than one blog post a month!! HOLY COW!!

We had a great time on vacation. The first weekend was spent with other adoptive Momma's at the Ethiopian culture camp. We didn't stay at the lodge this year (thank g-d). We moved on up in the world to a hotel. It was great. The girls slept, the Mom's had some drinks in the hall and talked...we had a hot shower and air conditioning. Oh...and we met interesting drunk 57 year old ladies in the hall. The woman sat down and had a drink with us and ended up trying to discuss the whole single mom...adoption and religion thing. It was comical to say the least!!

Camp was again very unorganized but still fun. The girls had a great time with the activities this year. Orange really seemed to get it this year. She asked a lot of questions and was very excited that all the kids there were from Ethiopia. I feel like she got a lot out of the experience. Lemon is still a little too young but still had fun playing with the kids. I really enjoyed talking to the older adoptees and learning their stories.

This year they had an injera lesson which was great... we bought a cookbook and a starter kit. I am hoping we can one day be successful in cooking injera that doesn't taste like cardboard and explode all over the kitchen (maybe I am too optimistic..but we can hope:-)

At one point during one of the younger kid sessions, a little girl next to Lemon overheard me say to her something about her Mom in Ethiopia. This little girl sat straight up and said...she is from Ethiopia. I said yep, she is...the little girl said..I am adopted from Ethiopia too...and her face lit up. It was hilarious and so sweet at the same time!! Kids...

                                          Here are a TON of pictures..sorry for the overload!!

So, Didn't Really Improve on the Blogging Front...

Nope, I failed miserably, it's been a month. Oh well, at least I can admit I have a problem!! The last month has flown by. The girls had camp, we swam, tried to survive the 100 degree weather that still hasn't gone away...we saw some movies, had sleepovers and just stayed super busy. Camp is now over and we are getting ready to leave on our whirlwind vacation. We are going to the Ethiopian culture camp again (YAY), then to Chicago and then to the wedding that the girls are standing up in. We are excited and ready to get out of dodge!

Updates on the girls:

Orange: She just keeps growing and growing. We are now taller than all the kids in our class. We've had some health problems that we are dealing with (nothing horrible) and that hasn't been fun. We did do another bone age on her and this time it showed her at 7 yrs 10 mths +/- a year. I am still not convinced that she is just turning 7 soon. I really think she may be closer to 8 but we will never know. She had a blast at camp this summer and has turned into quite the little fish. She is still boy crazy and just wants to be a teenager already (oy).
Some funny Orangeisms:
1. Mom, whose car are we taking to Ethiopia? Ours or K's? (needless to say we had a short geography lesson after this one)
2. Mom, do they have a magic brush in America that will make my hair grow faster?

Lemon: My little almost 4 year old is about the same, sassy, bossy, trying so hard to be independent but isn't in everything...all around tough. She still cracks me up daily. She is all of a sudden scared of everything which isn't fun. She also enjoyed camp and LOVES the water. We aren't there yet without floaties but getting closer. She continues to be a mess when she eats and I sometimes wonder if I will be buying wet wipes until she is 30:-) She has become quite the comedian lately too. She now does an R. laugh (her BFF). I will have to get video because it is hilarious!
Some funny Lemonisms:
1. After not giving her a snack about 2.2 seconds after lunch. "you are the meanest family ever, you don't like me and you think I am ugly" (ok...)
2. Looking at guesthouse websites with her sitting next to me.
Lemon: What is that Mom
Me: A guesthouse in Ethiopia that we are looking at staying on our trip.
Lemon:: no, not that one Mom
Me: No, then where do you want to stay?
Lemon: Guatemala

And a couple of funny adoption conversations between the girls that I want to document.
Orange: Why is my birthday in September, you got me in March.
Lemon: Who picked you to be my Mommy?
Orange: I wish I had been born a baby?
Me: You were.
Orange: No, I was 5.
Lemon: How do you adopt a kid?
Orange: You pay a bunch of money to keep them safe and then they come home.
And a deep conversation between sisters
Lemon: So Orange, what did you used to do in Ethiopia?
Orange: You know, play and stuff.

Welcome to Our Newest Family Member!!

He is the one on the right:-) Lucky is his name and we love him already!!! (well everyone does but Daisy..on the left)

 His sisters adore him!!

Silly Sisters!

Lemon!

Oh where do I start!!! Lemon is the terrible 2's on steroids....a.k.a 3's. She is stubborn, sassy, has multiple personalities and is very lucky she is so darn cute!! She knows how to work the system too, yup...she is also very smart! Here are samples of some of our conversations!!

Lemon: Are you disappointed in me Mama (after a bad morning)

Me: Yes, I am sad you are acting this way.

Lemon:(looks at me sweetly) I like you Mama (hug, kiss).

Me: I like you too.

Lemon: I so so so sorry Mama.

Lemon: Can I have candy? 

Me: No, you just had cake.

Lemon: I no like you, you are a mean Mama. Mama's are not supposed to be mean. They give candy.

  

Lemon: You not the Mama anymore, Grammy is the Mama.

Lemon: I not your daughter anymore.

Me: Ok, then who are you.

Lemon: I just lemon.

Me: You are a piece of work kiddo

Lemon: Mommy, is that a Mitzvah

Me: Hold your flipping horses.

Lemon: No, you hold your flipping horses

Me: Stop doing that, I am going to count to 3. 1...2...

Lemon: STOP COUNTING

D: Lemon, what kind of birthday party are you going to have?

Lemon: A pool party

Me: Ummm....haven't you been saying for almost 3 months that you want a party outside at our house like your friend Emily?

Lemon: MOOOM...I am done with that now.

I could go on forever, in fact, I should write a novel. Yep, that's my girl....Oh do I love her!!! Even though she is so tough right now, she is still the sweetest girl. She loves to cuddle and to give kisses. She still has a happiness and an excitement within her that is contagious (other than when she is yelling at me). She LOVES her family so much and is so excited when we are all together. If the 3 of us and the dog are sitting on the same couch, she says "look we are a family" and smiles. She also still just adores her big sister but does do pretty much whatever she wants to annoy her.

Oh and her eating habits...oy. She changes her mind daily about what she likes. So for instance, when we are having something with cheese in it, I have to make sure she likes cheese that day. Monday it could be yes but Tuesday it could be no. She will always tell you she likes something just so she can try it. Generally it gets spit out into my hand. Mind you she is picky but she is still growing. My sweet little tiny girlie is a giant. She is 41.5 inches and 44 lbs. She is over the 90% for both height and weight. She is now bigger than Orange was when she came home last year. Crazy!!

Some funny things she still says and does-

Plause it please or you have to recorb that Mom- for the DVR

She won't let me in the bathroom when she poops. I have to be in the hall and she has to close the door and tell me when it is time to help her wipe if she needs help.

If our dog gets a hair cup (hair cut) she asks every day for a week or so afterwards if she still has her hair cup on.

We still need dandaids for any injury. Generally if she hurts her knee, the dandaid is much more beneficial if it is put on the finger (well duh). She has now added that she needs a cast and can't walk if she hurts anything. Can you say Jewish neuroticism ...nature vs. nurture...nurture won.

I am just waiting for the morning she turns 4 because I know that all will be better in this world...right??? If you have something mean to say, don't say it:-)

                                 
                                         Being the model in her sister's photo shoot.
                                               Yes, Orange did her makeup.

                                           Can you say....I know I am cute!!!

Orange...

Update on Orange:

We have completed about 5 sessions of grief counseling in the past few months. I am SO glad we went. I am SO glad we found a good place and a good counselor. I think this has helped us in so many ways. It isn't that Orange didn't talk about Ethiopia or missing her family etc. She just needed to talk to someone else who could give her the tools to deal with her grief. Someone besides her Mom. At the last visit, her counselor said that she was doing great and that we could come back as needed. So far, we haven't had to.

 

It was interesting hearing her tell her story to someone else. I wasn't in the sessions but her counselor would fill me in on the basics after each visit. Some of what she told her was very much fantasy but from what I hear this is pretty common. I think she was trying to make memories of things that she doesn't have any of. She needs to do this so we just go with it. I see her as she grows trying to figure out her story...in her own way. Not sure if that makes sense, it is hard to explain.

 

In the last month, I've seen another transformation in this resilient child of mine. I really honestly feel she knows now that she is here to stay. I know it has been over a year since we arrived home together but until recently, there was always a fear that I could see in her with anything new. Don't get me wrong. She still gets somewhat shy with new things and she still has a rough time with transitions but she comes out of it so much faster and she talks about things in the future. I was worried when camp first started because she was very pissy (this is her reaction to transition now). I worried because her camp this summer changes weekly..different counselor and different kids (same location). I was very concerned that we were going to be dealing with an entire summer of pissiness. My worries were needless, she is doing great! She definitely still wants to know, or needs to know what is coming next. I think she always will and I can't say that I blame her.

 

Let's see, what else...oh, she is entering the trying to lie phase and sucks at it (wooohooo). She hides her face or giggles when the truth is not being told. I am hoping that she stays this way:-) I was happy to read that this is pretty age appropriate. Speaking of age...how old is Orange really??? Oy...I am in another phase of it is driving me crazy that I have no idea. I told K the other day that I think she is older than I aged her. She just seems it around her peers. K told me that Violet just talked to her about this...that she thinks Orange is older than 6.5. I do believe that if she is, it isn't a whole year, maybe she is closer to turning 8 than 7. I will never know and it could very well be that her life experiences make her appear older than her peers. I mean really, when you look at her with kids in her class...she has lived a lifetime already compared to them.

 

Some things that have happened to Orange in the last month or so that I want to document.

1. She attended her first wedding and was smitten with the whole experience.

2. She finished Kindergarten with raving reviews from her teacher (yay).

3. She started camp and so far both counselors she has had have told me how amazing she is!

4. She is getting so good at swimming, not entirely sure of herself in the deep end but getting there.

5. She has hit a stage where she thinks her little sister is the biggest pain in the freaking ass ever, but still loves her! (and really, she is right:-)

6. At the same time, she is becoming motherly to Lemon. This is new and is very sweet.

7. Her button pressing is getting better (not gone yet but better)...and I don't mean my buttons..I still mean computers, phones, remotes. Oy the impulse control has been horrible. I am hoping that one day I will not have to say, "don't touch".

8. She is still very much in love with her first crush E. who is 12 years old. Convinced she is going to marry him and has not wavered on this.

9. Her favorite color is still Orange and I think always will be. She has never, ever changed her mind since she understood colors in English. 

 

I am sure there is more but this is all I can remember!! 

 

I guess to sum it up, Orange is doing great, she is a special girl...she is smart, funny, opinionated, sarcastic, sweet and full of life!! I am so lucky to be her Mom!!! 

 

Oh and FYI- I measured her tonight and she is just shy of 48". Yes, that would be 8" in 15 months. HOLY COW!

 

I leave you with Orange and Violet...Besties!!