Our Month in Review

It has been a month since we came home with Tirfe. It has flown by. It has been a really good, loving, bonding month for all five of us. The focus on bonding for our family has been really great, everything else can wait (and it usually does anyway, but now I can do it guilt free and feel good about it!). As our laundry goes unfolded and laying on the kitchen table, I am on the floor playing with the kids, laughing at their sweet and funny personalities and feeling so content with our family. Arlo and Aesa continue to do great with Tirfe, they love her so much, sometimes they are a too-in-her-face with their love, but it is manageable with gentle reminders.

We have had a busy month. We've been swimming most sunny days at my parents house. Arlo is becoming more skilled every time we go, and Aesa is floating around in waterwings. So far, it seems, Arlo is immune to the sting of belly flopping (or face flopping as he often seems to do). Tirfe LOVES the pool.

We also had to put our dog, Dexter, down this month. So sad. We noticed he seemed sick when we returned from Ethiopia, and took him in. He had lyme's disease and a tumor the size of a two liter bottle in his abdomen. We tried hefty antibiotics, and drained the tumor, but it was too much, pushing on his lungs. He wasn't eating or drinking. Our local vet couldn't confirm that the tumor was cancerous, but it was definately going to be the end of him without surgery. Andy didn't think he could survive the surgery, so he made the very difficult decision to take Dexter in and have him put down. Ugh. He was a GREAT dog, the happiest, jumpiest, easiest black lab ever to swim the Kinni. Oh, we will miss him. We are talking with Arlo about death as a result. He is so smart, so intuitive. It is deep stuff and he is handling it well. Trying to put our beliefs into terms that a child could understand without terrifying him was daunting to us, but Arlo takes the information, asks another question, explains it back to us and thinks about if for a day or two. Then he'll ask another question. He misses Dexter in spurts, and feels sad when it hits him. He has taken to diving for balls and sticks in Nana's pool because that is what Dexter liked to do (in the River). It feels good to have this conversation started, a relief that we have the foundation to expand on.

Tirfe has learned so much this month. When we met her in Ethiopia, she was a smiley little lady who could roll over and rock on her hands an knees. Since we have been home she has gotten a tooth (actually, while we were in ET with her), mastered sitting up, crawling, clapping, waving, pointing, and drinking her bottle. She loves finger food and prefers it over baby food. She drinks juice from a sippy every now and then and is extremely proud of herself. She is the smiliest baby I have ever known. She never stops, and it is so cute. It's a nose wrinkled, eyebrow raised, eyes sparkling and smiling as well, gums exposed, wide open mouthed smile. She even wakes up smiley, I am trying to figure out her secret so I can master that one too.

The boys are continuing to mesh really well together. They both seem bigger, more independent, and more willing to comprimise since T came home. Our time together has been quality and quantity lately, so great.

My real objective was to get some new pictures on the blog, I looked at it today and felt ashamed how few I have shared so far! I have so many cute ones with funny stories behind them.

Wishing for health and happiness for you and your families!