Here's an overview of how things went in Ethiopia and how things are now that we're the proud parents of two.
Solomon gets an A for his behavior on the plane! My niece Ashli and I had him trapped between us so he couldn't run up and down the aisle. He whined a little but I had plenty of new toys and snacks for him whenever he became too restless. I've read so many horror stories about traveling with toddlers so I was quite impressed with his behavior. By the time we took the flight from DC to Atlanta, Solomon acted as if he was a frequent flyer! My friend Lisa gave me the idea about taking injera on the plane. This was a brilliant idea because Solomon would not eat any of that airplane food! I even put some berbere (traditional Ethiopian spice). The flight attendants said it was against regulations to heat his food up so I was forced to gave it to him cold. That didn't make him a bit of difference because he ate it all up. I also had a snack cup of apple sauce which was a big hit. I was however, able to get him to eat the yogurt served with his meal.
For the most part, our transition is going smoothly although there were many tears from both Solomon and Addison the first 48 hours home. Most of these tears resulted around Addison getting used to sharing her mommy, daddy, and toys. She goes from smiling and giggling at him to crying if he touches one of her toys when she's not in a sharing mood. I can tell that Solomon likes Addison. She can make him smile when Aaron and I can't. Of course we're using that to our advantage to make Addison feel like she has an important role in his adjustment. Solomon is generally a sweetheart of a boy but he won't let you forget he's a toddler. I'm amazed at how laid back he has been since coming home. While in Ethiopia, he was very active as he wanted to run, jump, and play constantly. He has a future in professional sports for sure. This boy is coordinated beyond his years and seems to be a quick study with learning new skills. He's very neat as he likes to wipe off the crumbs from his clothing and wipe his hands after eating. He sleeps through the night from around 9 to 6 and upon waking immediately wants to roam around the house to check EVERYTHING out. I'm working on teaching him to say Addison and he sometimes smiles and gets out the "Addis" part. He doesn't like to take off his shoes and totally over-stuffs food in his mouth which I think are both orphanage -type behaviors. We continue to have a difficult time getting him to eat anything besides fruit or bread dipped in a condiment (olive oil, syrup) so we'll be eating Ethiopian food quite a bit in the weeks to come.
The day before I traveled, I exchange his new 2Ts for 3Ts based on all the reports about his "huge/solid" size. Bad decision. His clothes are so large on him he looks like a hip/hop rapper. I'll be buying him more 2T clothing and will save the 3T ones for next year. He's solid but much shorter than Addison.
That's it for now. I'll post more as soon as I get a chance. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our journey:
Solomon LOVES to play ball. This is what we spent most of our time doing in Ethiopia.
Solomon's second passion is riding in cars. It's even more fun for him while holding a car!
Solomon on the plane ride home. He was such a good little traveler! Stickers are my new best friend!
Here are Addison and Solomon preparing to leave the airport. How sweet is this?!!
Solomon entering our house for the 1st time:
Addison's thought: So is he really staying and do I HAVE to share my things?!!
More to come soon!
