Lyla's 18 month stats

Actually they are her 19 and 2/3 month stats because we didn't get to the pediatrician for her original well child visit in October due to the sickness that was October and early November.

Weight = 25 lbs, 13 oz
Height = 19.5 inches

Ethiopia Lesson

Tommy has enjoyed Ethiopian cuisine ever since he discovered the Blue Nile Cafe. He takes everyone there from co-workers to our parents to Steven when he was less than one and Tommy was taking care of him during the day.

Since that time, Tommy has been experimenting with Ethiopian cooking. Has bought all of the spices you would ever think to need. Berbere is the spice most identified with this type of cooking. It is actually a mixture of all kinds of spices and can be very flavorful but somewhat overpowering at times. You have to get it just right!

And then there is injera. Injera is a flat bread that reminds me of something that has been fermented. It has tiny holes in it and it is very acidic. I have started to like it but it still isn't my favorite. Traditionally, Ethiopians don't use silverware, they use the injera to scoop up their food. That doesn't bother me, it is just the taste that I need to get used to. Tommy tried to make it one time using club soda as a substitute for the yeast process. It was pretty much a debacle so now he buys a stack of it from the restuarant.

Here is a picture of his beef wat or stew. It is made with berbere, onions, lentils and beef. It turned out really good. He is becoming quite the experimental chef and I really like that he tries new things. Exploring the culture of Ethiopia has only just begun.



Side note, even though he cooks he still has somethings to learn in the kitchen...

Now if only someone could instruct my husband to the fact that there is more than a top shelf to our refrigerator. I know I am anal retentitive about loading the dishwasher, I know I am particular about how the food cupboard is arranged but the refrigerator is just a matter of space. If you put everything on the top there is no room. Things get hidden and then turn yucky and other things tip over and spill. It is my goal to enact a put it back where you found it rule in 2011. Wish me luck.

After Thanksgiving festivities

A trip to Arkansas wouldn't be complete without a ride on Papa's tractor.

Grandma got us in the Christmas spirit right after Thanksgiving. Broke Tommy's rule of waiting until after Pearl Harbor day but our kids sure liked their new t-shirts.

We had to take a break and get out some energy at the park.

The sense of wonder

In case you can't see it, there is a dady long legs crawling on the front of the car. He was fascinated by it.

Happy Thanksgiving

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving...

Grandma's ability to take a break from cooking to read us a book about dinosaurs!

A cousin who will take pretend naps with us on the stairs (daddy, what were you thinking?)

A big family, at a big table, eating big amounts of food!

Black olives that fit perfectly on little fingers

Longhorns

I was in Austin for business on November 10 and have a couple of hours to waste after my meeting and before my flight. So, I headed over to the campus co-op bookstore. I went over to the children's section not to buy my kids University of Texas gear but simply longhorn T-shirts. This only makes sense when you see the pictures of Papa's new Longhorns.

The new venture on Sugarloaf Mountain is cattle raising. Tommy tells me they had a cow or two when he was growing up but now they have a full-fledged herd. Well, they have three female longhorns and one male calf. And the mommas are going to have babies again in the springs.

Lyla has been so funny since we got home from visiting the mountain. When she sees the pictures of the longhorns she'll cover her ear and say "loud in my ear." So cute!

Our journey to our Third Gem begins

When Steven was born I asked Tommy if he would find a necklace for me that I could wear to keep my babies close to me when I was away from them. He didn't find one for me, he had one made. I call it our three gems but only two with us so far.


When we got engaged we discussed how we would form our family and adoption was always our intention. After Lyla was born, I had a dream. It was the sign for me that our desire to adopt was the right thing and that we needed to seriously start considering what we were going to do. Then Tommy had a dream; he hates admitting it but he did. Call it kismet, call it coincidence, call it what you will, those dreams were the confirmation that our plans were exactly what was meant for our family.


Today we started the journey to fill the spot reserved for our third gem. We made our application for international adoption. We are excited that it is finally time for us to say "we're expecting" again but only in a different way!



So, the details ... we have applied to adopt through Children's Hope International. I learned about this agency several months ago when a staff member was interviewed on NPR. It still seems silly to me that I pushed for this agency because of a radio program but I think that there are reasons certain things stick in your head or stay with you.


We have chosen to adopt from Ethiopia. It's okay to be shocked. Ethiopia is not somewhere that most Americans think of when learning of adoption but the need is so great. We also have one of those nagging "signs" associated with Ethiopia. This was one of a handful of countries that Tommy really pushed for as our honeymoon destination. No, it is not touristy but there is such great history to the country and sites there are just as amazing as what we saw in Egypt but not as well known. I guess Tommy will get his trip to Ethiopia afterall, actually two.


The process is long and detailed. We expect to be busy with our homestudy and dossier for the next 3-4 months. We will have to assemble more paperwork about ourselves than I knew even existed! Then we will send everything to the U.S. Department of State and then on to Ethiopia for approvals. Then we wait and the time for that is unknown, anywhere from 4 months to 12 months. After we are matched with our child then we are assigned a court date and travel to meet with the Ethiopian judge. Then we come home without our child, we think this will be the hardest part. Our second trip will be about a month later where we will meet with the U.S. Embassy and receive our child's passport. The whole process is expected to take 12-18 months.


I am sure there will be lots of questions and we are happy to answer them. We are so very excited to begin this journey!

Bow Party

Lyla finally is growing hair!!! We affectionately call it her cockadoodle-do (you know, like hair-do). It is so fine that it all sticks up on the top and feathers back like a cock's comb.

She is interested in wearing bows and clips but only for about ten seconds and then she wants to actually see it and pulls it out. We'll have to keep working on it. I started the "working on it" process the other morning and it turned into a bow party that involved Lyla, Steven and Kira. Kira was such a good sport!

Sickness Strikes, again!

The announcement of fall at our house does not come in the changing of the leaves, cold nights or time change ... it comes in the form of fever, chills and unfortunately this year, vomit.

Last October was a nightmare and this year it seems that our timeline has just shifted a little later to November. It started last week with a call from daycare to come and get Lyla as she had a fever. Mark off anything productive on Thursday afternoon and Friday. Then another call came on Monday that Lyla had vomitted. What?!!? she was fine all weekend. Monday night was yuck-o, poor little sweetheart. Kept her home on Tuesday and Wednesday, again not a very productive family. Then the call came today, Steven is now down for the count.

This is just ridiculous, what is coming next?