first night

i thought it was time for an AJ update. i apologize for not posting pictures. there is no problem uploading them but we're having trouble getting them to attach to an email for some reason. i will try again tomorrow. if i could
summarize our first full day together in words, i would have to say this has been blissful. AJ is such a treasure. but really, aren't all children? our time together has been so special and worth every single day of waiting. what a gift

we feel we've been given to take this child under the care of our family and love him as our own. this morning we woke before Alemayehu did. his crib is about a foot from our bed, so jeff and i just laid there staring at him. he slept
great, all night through. he woke at 7:15 am, and this was better than we'd expected as the transition home staff told us his typical wake time was 5:30 when all the other kids woke. we brought him into bed with us and he laid between us
looking very serious, clearly trying to process his new surroundings and the pale people on each side of him. he didn't seem afraid or nervous, just very subdued. when we played cars in bed together he became much more animated and playful
again. for breakfast he gobbled up the scrambled eggs and bread with jam. we enjoyed the morning playing ball and cars and he was so happy just to hang out. this afternoon we went on an excursion up mount Entoto again and it was obvious
that travelling in a vehicle was not something he's done often. he was nervous of the noises and loud trucks, even stray cats and dogs. it's so cute to hear him saying words in Amharic, and even jeff and i are picking up a few. just
this past hour has been hilarious too. we clearly have wrestler #6 joining the crew. he is all out belly laughing while jeff rolls and tumbles with him on the floor. he keeps putting his head down and coming back for more, and
getting upset when jeff stops. Adam and Hudson, you'll soon be tackling (gently!) your brother and he'll be able to hold his own and have a blast with you, if he can stop giggling, that is. we really need to get some mats for the basement...this evening we're off to a traditional Ethiopian dinner with entertainment. not sure how jeff will do, considering he will be having injera and doro wat, and definitely not french fries tonight. one more thing. he's got "mommy" and "daddy" down~ music to our ears... more soon from Ethiopia.