Amelie at Home

I'm having trouble getting started on a post because I don't know where to begin, so I'll start by talking about what's happening RIGHT NOW, and do another post later about how the trip went. For now, Amelie continues to do great and she feels like such a natural part of our family. Thinking back to the days we didn't have her here gives me an odd and empty feeling. She is deeply secure about the world, so she has a calm and trusting way about her. This speaks volumes for her care and treatment at Toukoul. In Ethiopia they view children as great gems and value them so highly...they really walk their talk in that regard. Everywhere we went she was showered in love, smiles and kisses, and we could see she was accustomed to this treatment. She has always felt loved and adored, and that will be with her for a lifetime. She has a deeply inquisitive and serious side, almost as if she is doing calculus in her head, or pondering the origins of the universe. She studies everything so closely, and doesn't have that typical "google-eyed" look we see so often in babies. She has a very wise, old soul. This was so apparent to me when we first met her that I was somewhat intimadated by it...it REALLY feels like she knows more than I do on some level. It's hard to describe.

Her favorite toys are her plastic links and a Dachsund rattle from Cecilia's mother. She likes to take the links and bang them on the table, listening to all the noise she can make and then yelling about it in an excited way. She babbles often, and says "Da-da, Ma-ma, Ba-ba" along with making funny spit noises that the boys laugh about. She is extremely social and interactive, reaches for almost everything, and loves to examine the details on my hands. She reaches for our faces and touches them, and her favorite game is tug-of-war with yarn or fabrics (it always gets her laughing up a storm). Speaking of fabrics, she is very interested in textures and loves blankets. She falls asleep with her right index and middle fingers in her mouth, while her left hand pulls a soft blanket up to her cheek. I think she will be one of those toddlers with a blanket fettish!

Amelie is more like a 5-6 month old developmentally. She can sit up on her own for short periods, roll from back to tummy and tummy to back, and scoots backwards on her tummy. She isn't crawling and her legs are under toned from lying in a crib for so long. I was very concerned when we first met her because her legs just hung like a rag doll, but she is using them a lot now (kicking and pushing), so we'll be getting her a lot of things to help build strength. We got an Exersaucer yesterday that we're still struggling to put together, and we plan to get a bouncy type of seat to give her legs a workout.

Interestingly, when we met her the first three days at Toukoul she seemed somewhat lethargic and just too quiet. Since taking her she has started to blossom. At the airport in Washington DC she started squealing, talking, interacting more and bouncing up and down with her legs. I was shocked, but I think it helped her to get out of the Addis pollution and very high altitude. She was lacking oxygen already due to a chest and sinus infection, and the airplane and airport air (if you can believe it) were therapeutic. Not to mention the 24/7 stimulation and nutrition she was getting from us. She swigs down bottle after bottle of formula and never spits up...quite an eater.

Today she is recovering. The sinus, ear and chest infections have zapped her energy. We switched antibiotics when we got home, so we're hoping to see it all clear up in a few days, but we're thinking when it's all over she will be a different girl. She has always slept through the night, but we don't know if this is due to her illness or not. For a baby that feels so terrible she has been such a calm trooper...we look so forward to getting to know her more!