One Year "Meet You" Anniversary!!!

How incredible that a year has passed since we first picked up Mehandis out of his pastel green crib in Addis Ababa. I remember how he looked at us tentatively... as we did at him. It was bizarre seeing a 3D Mehandis when we were used to our paper version. He was brave and let us cuddle and care for him. Later that day we fed him from the little tin cups they had and learned what made him "gee"/laugh. Time has flown and there have been so many "firsts". I guess we are now on to seconds in more ways than one!

The above pictured decoration was put outside Mehandis's daycare class on Monday. Friday afternoon I spoke with Ms. Shelly (Mehandis's new teacher since he graduated to a bigger kid room in the fall) about the news of our upcoming second adoption. She then asked several questions about the process that we had with Mehandis. So I shared that his one year "Meet You" anniversary was coming on Monday the 15th. She must have put together the little clown announcement before she left for the weekend. Very sweet!!! I was most touched.
Here is Mehandis in his classroom ready for his mama's arms.
Mehandis is being held by Ms. Shelly and next to Ms. Dominique (one of his favorite teachers). He was wearing a cuter/sportier outfit that day but needed to be changed because he got a little wet-n-wild at the water table. We needed to hurry home because we had party plans soon to follow!

Aiden, Tsehay and their parents, Greg & Jarusha, met us at Alem. Alem is a 6 month old Ethiopian restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Mehandis and I were warmly welcomed by the owner. He spoke to Mehandis in Amharric (to see if he remembered any) and encouraged the kids to have fun and run around the place. So they did!

Greg & Jarusha are the couple that traveled at that same time as us to meet Tsehay. We are so lucky to have them close by. A very fun family.

Tsehay and Mehandis played a very active game of chase. Quite a few giggles and squeals from Mehandis, Tsehay and Aiden.
May all the years continue to be this happy!!!

Jazz in the Park

Summer staples for my friends and I includes grapes, hummus and wine. This is so we will be ready at a moment's notice to pack up a cooler and head to Cathedral Square... for Jazz in the Park. By now we know the best parking secrets but have slowly migrated from center stage to side/back stage (which we seem to prefer now, too noisy up front you know?). I do have to say that our food and beverage selection has definitely improved since the summer Thursday's of our college years. Although some do still fondly recall EZ cheese & oreos (patent pending), the upgrade from muppet glasses to brie, savory meats and pretty good sweets are appreciated. Though our numbers have dwindled in attendance, we definitely have a core of faithful partakers, who only need to put "Jazz?" in the subject line of an email and we know to start looking for a babysitter!

Last Thursday was the end of the '08 Jazz season. Colleen did a super job getting us motivated to go, despite the threat of cooler weather and rain. Kerbie and Colleen drove up from Illinois and met Dominique, Maira and I (Stefan and Peter were part-time attenders). We had so much fun catching up, celebrating Kerbie's birthday and making plans for more fall/winter outings.

Sometimes we get creative with the location of "Jazz". We have done Jazz on the Porch several times and this year Maira and Peter hosted Jazz at the M's. Don't really know if any jazz was playing, but their backyard was very accommodating to both adults and kids.

Here are the players-

Peter, Erin, Michael and Toph

Handsome Diego
Cynthia and little Griffin
Everyone enjoying good company, a cool beverage... or item's from Dominique's purse.

Here Stefan is concerned that Mehandis has lost a shoe. Mehandis doesn't even notice that it is off, as he continued to run (lopsided) through the yard.
The boys checking out an awesome dump truck.
I have a "great" idea to give them rides in it.
Hmm, guess Mehandis would rather be the driver once again.

Thanks Maira for all of the great photos!!!

Us & "The Kid"

I have to start off this entry with photo ops from events which happened earlier this summer. I still have not ordered pictures from these fun times... so at least I will have some on-line scrapbook samples now.

Ahh Michigan... a great place to be born and to vacation. Here is a photo on top of Michael & mine's fave hiking trail. Maira and Peter first did this hike with us 5(?) years ago. Beautiful view as you can see. Funny thing that happened prior to this photo - I heard someone say "Oh do you want me to take a picture of all of you?". I was touched and said "Sure!" with hearing Michael say "no, no, no" soon after. When did he get camera shy? I then turn to give the camera to the generous photo-offerer and see that no one is looking my way at all. Matter of fact another family is completely engrossed in their own photo session. Hmm... turns out the offer was to the other family and I just assumed someone was talking to me. Fortunately we both realized the error and somebody soon came to the camera rescue to take a wonderful picture of Mehandis, Michael, Josh, Erin and myself.

This is a self-portrait of Michael and I during our everyother-annual walk around Geneva Lake. I think this around the 20th mile of the 26 mile trek. The next 6 miles would not have me smiling even half this large. Michael & I ended up with bruised toenails, nasty smelling shoes and blistered fingers (actually the blistered fingers was only me from holding the water bottle too long). We did enjoy ourselves overall though... and are anxious to do it again next year, or the next!

So Mehandis has moved from the piano to the ukulele. Thanks to Rebecca and Patrick for showing us the way to stringed instruments.

Thank you Mehandis for showing your enthusiasm for ultimately being another lawn mowerer at our house!

Umm... Mehandis wants you to know that this shirt will soon have to be modified. You see, this was an old shirt of mine that my uncle gave me in the 70's. Perhaps he knew I would be an only child, hence the t-shirt reading "The Kid". Well, we passed this shirt onto Mehandis and he likes it, but knows he can't wear it much longer. Mehandis is not going to be the "only" kid in this family for much longer. We just got word that our paperwork has been accepted by CHSFS's Ethiopia Program for our second adoption!

Play Dates

A big hug goes out to my friends and family who added so much happiness to our summer. Monday I return to school and Mehandis returns to daycare. A bit bittersweet but we have so much fun ahead!!!


I have also become more familiar with the world of play dates... and Mehandis is now doing more of the playing with the "dates" versus along side them. The following 3 photos are from a fun morning with Natalie and Rachel.


My "new" sprinkler find, from a resale shop, leaked a bit more than it sprinkled. But the kids still loved splashing in the puddles it made.

Don't ask Natalie to be the bubble blower of the group;) My speech therapist skills helped out with getting our homemade bubble solution going.
Mehandis loves to do his somersaults any chance he can... especially if sand or water is involved. All you have to say is "tumble" and he goes into a version of downward dog.

Our friend Carrie brought Gisela over for some playtime as well. Mehandis kept trying to get into Carrie's lap since that is where Gisela was. He also rocked his new little friend in her carrier and loved touching her toes. Gisela gave little smiles and kept her eye on Mehandis... smart girl.

Okay... we are now off for the cabin. One last Friday off for Michael before the family falls into the school year routine.

I learned something new!!!

Yippee!!!! I am officially You Tube literate, so now I can post videos on the blog. Just don't tell my husband that I am still struggling to remember how to use the external hard drive.

The video in this post rocks... literally. Mehandis is a dancing machine. He picks up moves from 3 year old friends (like Quinn and Julia) as well ans from things (like the washing machine). He asks to dance at least 15 times a day... and we happily oblige. What a great way to exercise and bring a quick smile to our faces :)

What I've Done My Summer Vacation

You would think that I would have tons of time to post pictures and write little blurbs on the blog since I am off of work this summer. However, it seems the computer is a little harder to have access to these days. We have started a pattern of finishing dinners at 8:30 or 9 and only computer is taken by Michael to work all day. We have lost our wireless, and thus sitting in the office on-line does not seem the most appealing after 9 these days. But geez... we have had a lot of fun off-line. Check it out-

Mehandis graduated from his first swim class, which ran from June to July. We met some potential playdates and babysitters through the process. Our little guy never did get the nack for blowing bubbles; however, he charmed the teachers ever time. Erin came along for the last class. She sat in the upper balcony and still managed to get the following pictures.
I was amazed how the group of 18 to 36 month olds got to understand the routine and learn a bunch of new songs in the process!
Mehandis is supposed to be learning how to blow bubbles from me here; however, he ended up getting a belly of water and belches instead.
Here is Mehandis and I doing his favorite back float to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He is now saying "diamond" in the bath whenever he lays on his back. Another little aside is that he is loving to stand up in the bath and pretend he is the parent - pointing his finger saying "sit down" with a stern look.

I took the Amtrak to Chicago with Mehandis and myself earlier this month. We stayed the week and had a pampered and perfect time. Mehandis, or should I say my mom especially, loved Lincoln Park Zoo. He kept running back to this egg tube and fought his way to either end.

Given the number of photos and catching up I have to do on this entry maybe it is good that the following photos are space efficient? Don't know why these ended up so tiny... but click on them for a full screen showing.

Mehandis and his grandpa running down the Lake Michigan Beach.
Beach toy fun in his "Sunday-Best".
Yikes, my parents hope that my in-laws know that this outfit did come clean in the wash. Michael's parents gave it to Mehandis for a recent family wedding... and I was not planning on adventures sand/water play when we set out in our fancy duds.
Mehandis and I both needed a deep clean when we got back to the condo.

Did you Millennium Park has great ice cream? Just ask my mom and Mehandis about the orange sherbet. Mehandis has surprisingly accurate spoon skills when eating this frozen delight.

Okay, I also learned of the wonders of the Children's Museum while in Chicago. Navy Pier's Museum is awesome... thanks Kerbie for the suggestion and group tickets!

When Mehandis saw the Waterworks area he gladly donned the raincoat and went to "water-work".
I had to throw this photo in so you can understand what Mehandis is doing in the photo after this.
Yep, Mehandis wants to make a guitar out of anything these days. Or a drum. Or a dance move.
Here our little man is hunting for dinosaur bones. He ended up enjoying tossing the little broom and faux dirt down the ramp, more then the actual dig.



Okay, our family is getting pretty brave these days. Not only has our indoor kitty (actually an 11 year old cat) decided to become an outdoor explorer... but the 3 human household members recently ventured on a 2 night excursion camping at Kohler-Andrae. Mehandis loved helping setting up camp. He actually is a great camper - sleeping great for naps and through the night is all that it takes to qualify as this for a 19 month old (in my book).

The ball helped to distract from the fire pit and other 5 to 10 hazards.

Umm, please remind me that Mehandis likes to collect rocks on his tray and in his food when his high chair is not so high.

Mehandis and Michael taking their first water run together.

He kept holding his hands up saying "AGAIN"!!!

No, the MU sweatshirt never did look the same after this trip. But how cute is this camper?

Michael and I felt like kids going down this super fast curly-Q slide. Mehandis was absolutely fearless and went down it at least a dozen times. We had stop him mid-way almost every time to turn him around, so he wouldn't "land" head first.

While I still have not finished the first page of my "Mehandis" scrapbook... I feel good that I have at least been somewhat documenting our activities via this blog. Should make it easier when I finally get it all on paper. Hopefully some of you are still having fun checking our our adventures as well! It has been great hearing feedback from quite a wide variety of people :) Next entry will include video... thanks Natalie for the suggestion. Now I will conquer the next advanced media form!!!

A year ago...

A year ago today I was up early, as I am this morning. A year ago today I had the name "Mehandis" going through my mind all night. A year ago today I went to work and prepared myself to fib if asked the question "Have you heard yet?" (which I did get asked first thing in the morning, to which answered with the half truth of "still waiting"). A year ago today I could not take my eyes off of the referral picture we received via an email, the previous day, studying our soon-to-be son's tiny wet fingers, unbuttoned Mickey Mouse overalls and slightly curved ears.

Yesterday we celebrated the anniversary of receiving Mehandis's referral. It was amazing to look at the photo Michael and I took of our self the previous year, which is now framed in Mehandis's room, and think of all of the joy we have shared as a family since that time. Brings happy tears to reflect on how much our son has added to our lives.

Mehandis, Erin and I went together to the zoo recently and found the Dairy Complex the most interactive. Here Mehandis is in his milk truck, dutifully checking his blind spot for bovine. He gave some "moos" to the cows... but said lions say "meow".
Mehandis did not want to leave any of the animals when he was taken out of his stroller. He gave little yelps of excitement, jumped up and down and kept his eyes on the giraffes, elephants and donkeys. He was also excited to stand, stomp and splash in any of the puddles he could find.
Auntie "E" and Mehandis doing one of their favorite things together. Reading "a book" and another and another! I think she knows more of these books by heart than any of us do.
Mehandis had a great time with his cousins, Josh and Lauren, at the lake this past weekend. I walked in on Lauren teaching Mehandis his basic math facts, via Uno cards. Later Mehandis jammed with Josh on Rock Band, my son likes the guitar best. The three of them enjoyed cooling off in the kiddie pool and we loved watching them.