Cooking Ethiopian Food

When we first came home I asked Isaiah several times if he wanted me to try to cook any Ethiopian food. He always said no. One day recently he was skyping with a friend from the TH who now lives in NC and his friend told him that his mom makes Ethiopian food sometimes. So now Isaiah has been asking if I could make some too. When we were in Omaha we bought some injera from the Ethiopian restaurant so I figured now was the time to try. I sure had one happy Ethiopian son! I made Dinitch Wat the first time and Tibs firfir the second. He LOVED it!!!  And I'm happy to say it wasn't too hard to make! Our house smelled like Ethiopia (onions and garlic and berbere) for days!

Nana and Kylie Visit

My mom and my niece Kylie came to spend a few days with us. I love that family is close enough that we can spend a few days together when we have the chance. The kids had a blast! Nana was trying to get Kylie to use the potty. Jacob and Kaleb thought they needed to enjoy the books in the bathroom too. I bet my mom read over 50 books in the bathroom, ha!

And we had fun swimming. I love how Jacob is learning to smile at mama when I have the camera out!

And the big boys were goofing off in the bigger pool!

Great weekend

Last weekend we had the best weekend!! We got together with three other families who we met in Ethiopia last year when we were adopting Jacob. There were 20 of us that spent the weekend together in Omaha (12 kids total, 7 adopted from Ethiopia in the last year). We spent the weekend swimming, visited the zoo, and hung out at the Buckingham's house. It was a wonderful weekend! We have been so blessed by the amazing friends we have met through adoption. So thankful for all of these friends that made time to spend a weekend together!!!
Here are some of the pictures from our three days in Omaha:

Making Progress

Its been awhile since I have posted about Kaleb and his transition. We have turned a corner!!!!! I went back to work for 3 1/2 weeks in May. The first two weeks were hard, he doesn't like change and screamed his head off for the first couple of minutes we were in the sitter's house. (She would text me before I was even down the road that he had stopped.) We talked with our social worker in April about whether or not I should go back to work. She suggested it might be good for all of us. Kaleb will start to learn that mommy always comes back and I will get a little break and rejuvenation. We were a little worried that he might go backwards in the progress we have made with bonding, but it was the exact opposite. I had only left him a few short times with Brad, so he never had the chance to get excited to see him. It was great for him (and me) to see him run to me when I came to pick him up. After about two weeks of going to the sitters, I saw a real change in our relationship. We had many more positive moments in a day! I am so thankful we are still moving in the right direction. Kaleb seems much more comfortable with life these days. He used to get all uncomfortable and wouldn't eat in new places. But last weekend we were all friends for the weekend and he did great. He was in destructive mode and he actually ate dinner. He seemed comfortable all weekend, and it was so good to see!
Our social worker came over in April for Isaiah and Kaleb's 30-day post placement, in May for Jacob's 12 month post placement, and in June for the boys 3 month post placement. She said she noticed a huge change in him too. In April he ran up to her and wanted to be picked up, etc. In May he didn't run up to her and really didn't pay much attention to her. In June (four days ago) he sat and cuddled with me the whole time.
I am so thankful that Kaleb's heart seems to be healing and he loves to cuddle with Brad and I now (he HATED cuddly when we first met him). There are still some hard days, but we are so thankful that we have more good days than bad now.
Thank you for all the prayers for Kaleb and his bonding, they have been working!!

Fun Day

These boys make me laugh and smile all day long! Isaiah thought he was so funny being a mannequin. He really stood there for more than five mins. Some of the workers even came up to me and started laughing, but Isaiah didn't move.

 Jacob and Kaleb love to say "Oh No!" and Jacob likes to tell us "jokes". Here's a little video too!

At the Skinner's Pond

Our friends have a farm with pond a couple of miles down the road. The boys went fishing and for a paddle boat ride. The moms kept the little boys out of the water :) Isaiah was so excited to catch his first fish!!

In the Car

This is what I turned around to find the other day

 These two are so stinkin cute!

Swimming with Cousins

We got to go swimming at a hotel recently. They boys LOVED it!! Cousins Kylie and Taylor were visiting too!

Isaiah LOVES his googles

Jacob was so cold

until he got a snack

Thankful for fun memories with family!

Camping with the Mowens

We spend lots of time in the summer with the Mowens at the campers that are about 30 miles away. Here are some pictures of the boys enjoying the first camping weekend of the year.