Short Update

Amelie got all dressed up for her debut at the elementary school this morning. Sky and Prasad were both begging me to bring her the last two days, so I walked them to school this morning with Amelie in my new, back saving Ergo carrier. She loves being carried around, tummy to tummy and stares at my face almost the whole time. The outdoors calms her so much that we've noticed she can sit outside for hours, just observing everything. Prasad has started calling her his "Observer" (he actually says 'osurbur' and it's cute) and keeps telling everyone how she likes to study everything. We'd all give anything to get inside her head and know what she's thinking because she gets so focused!

Last night she sat at the table and had dinner with Daddy and I, and she is still such a voracious eater. She's been wolfing down the porridge that Prasad and I prepared almost 2 months ago and we have yet to find anything she dislikes. As long as it's pureed enough she will eat it. She has two tiny bottom teeth that just emerged, so she's not able to chew textured foods yet. She constantly has two fingers in her mouth due to teething and a need to self-soothe. One of the first things we noticed about her is that she is a master at self-soothing...any time she gets upset or irritable she cries for a short burst and then sticks her fingers in her mouth with a calm sigh of relief. Her fingers seem to be her best friend, and I'm sure they helped her through some rough times at the orphanage.

We learned in Ethiopia that Amelie had excellent receptive language skills. She understood people in Amharic quite well, and was very responsive to them. People would comment on how much she seemed to understand, and how bright she was. Of course, now she seems almost oblivious to what we're saying but it's good to know that skill is there in her brain and she will probably regain it very fast. At the school today, teachers noticed how acutely aware she is of everything around her. I am so grateful for all these abilities and I find myself constantly trying to imagine a time when we'll be having endless conversations with her.

Meanwhile, she has continued to sleep through the night since the day we took her from Toukoul. She sleeps anywhere from 11-12 uninterrupted hours per night, and takes at least 3 naps a day. When we lay her in the crib she doesn't get upset at all, and always soothes herself to sleep. She seems extremely content in bed. She rarely cries unless there is something serious happening like hunger, fatigue or when Mommy gets her leg twisted in the Ergo, poor girl! Strangely, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop but it just isn't happening (yet). She is an amazing baby, a Buddha Baby, and I feel so blessed to have such a light transition from 4 to 5 children. The universe has been very kind to us this time around.