I guess it's official

Let me preface this post by saying that I am delirious with fever. I know what you are thinking; I am faking so Mr. C would stay home and help me just a little longer. (and he is that nice and he did come home today.) But it is true. Who manages to stay well for an entire week in Ethiopia and then comes home and gets sick? I am putting full blame on Baby C. as I have had to tote him around to about a googillion (did you watch Idol Gives Back . . then you understand) doctors to satisfy all of the agency's requirements. Some germ took up residence in me because of him!! But I am not bitter. Speaking of Baby C., that is what I am really supposed to be writing about.

So, I'll be totally straight with this one. During our process for this adoption, I spent more than a couple minutes wondering if I would "feel" the same about Baby C. as I did/do about Sissy and Brother. I had decided long ago that I was fine with feeling different...but I hoped it would be the same. Here's another tidbit of honesty . . . I am not the mom who fell in love at first sight. It was more like, "Could someone wash off this tiny alien like creature so I can get a better look?" It took time. I felt like they were strangers for a while. It is hard to get to know a stranger who can't talk, and in Sissy's case, cried for 4 months straight. All of this is to say that my standards aren't too high in this area, but I was still wondering if it would be the same.

In fact, it was a lot the same. The nurse handed him to us and we were like, "Nice to meet you. We love your pink clothes. You are way prettier than a newborn and even way prettier than in your photos. You are down right beautiful. Now what?" So a week and a half has gone by and here is where I am now. He is officially my son. I sat with him last night. Alone in his room, feeding him his bedtime bottle and I stared into those huge brown eyes and my heart did the swelling thing. You, know, when you feel for a split second that your chest can't accomodate the size of your puffing heart and you have to take a breath? Then I cried. This is exactly the same feeling I had, and have, with Sissy and Brother( tho less frequently when they are/were two). So, in case anyone is still wondering, it isn't different. It is the same. Just the same.. I don't know if it is as simple as hard wiring? I suspect it is a bit more mysterious than that. God, the universe, fate. . . . whatever. It is a wonderful gift to have given birth and it is an equally wonderful gift to have adopted. Sometimes life really is amazing.

One week down

Well, we have been home with Caleb for a bit over a week and I have to say, he is, as Mr. C. says, the most well adjusted member of our family. We figured out the nuances of his eating habits and he is close to sleeping through the night. He loves his sister and brother and they love him. The first thing they say in the morning is, "Where is baby Caleb!?" This is a shot of how we eat breakfast now . . . He looks stunned, huh? I think anyone would be upon finding that Sissy and Brother were his siblings . . .He passed with flying colors at the International Adoption doc and his immunizations are good so we won't have to redo a bunch of shots . . . good news for him.

Mr. C is back to work tomorrow so it is back to the real world for me. We'll find out what I am made of now, won't we?!

We are home!!

We arrived home yesterday afternoon, and were/are very happy to be home safe and sound. It turned out that I couldn't even send an e-mail to post to my blog while we were gone so this update is a lot later than I thought it would be.

We had a great trip. We spent all of our time in Addis Ababa, the capital city. We wish we could have ventured out to some smaller areas because we think we would have seen a more "real" part of the country. Addis is a huge city . . . way more pollution and smog than we thought there would be. All of the cars are very old so there are lots of fumes! We had a great driver and surprisingly felt safe all week riding in the van without seat belts . . . there is so much traffic that I think even if we had hot someone (which seems like a real possibility as there really are no driving rules) we may bot have even bent a fender. Just like any city, some places in Addis are prettier than others. To me, the best part of Ethiopia was the people. They really are lovely. Beautiful, beautiful people and so loving and open. We never felt uncomfortable and in fact were made to feel very comfortable by everyone we encountered. it was interesting that as soon as we got around Americans again, the stares started and we really didn't experience this in Addis at all . . .

So, now on to Baby C! He is really, really pretty . . . people have to ask if he is a boy or a girl. The nannies shaved his head before they brought him to us which makes him look really cute. He has been very laid back so far. The first couple of nights, when he woke up, he cried a really scared, sad cry . . . and then he would wake up for a few seconds and give us a big grin and be fine. He really just had no idea where he was . . . that was sad. He is a pretty good sleeper, tho he does like to eat in the nighttime which is a bit tiring!! He was great on all of the flights and has started his adjustment to our house well . . . he was excited to see the kids and they were thrilled to see him! The kids, and my in-laws and my friend Sarah were all at the baggage area when we arrived. They had signs and balloons. I cried like a baby when I saw the kids and there was a crowd gathered who were all so excited about him and us. It was very cool.

So, we hope that he keeps adjusting fairly easily. Here is a picture. Enjoy!