Ethiopia Day 4 part 2, Paperwork and saying goodbye to special mothers.

Ok so this part of the day has been a long time coming to get posted. We had to be back at Hannah's Hope at 2pm to receive our children's passports and packet of paperwork that we would need at immigration and to get instructions on what to do with everything and more importantly what not to do (lose it or open it). We were told that we should come back to Hannah's Hope around 6pm because the nighttime special mothers really wanted a chance to say goodbye to the children and we would be leaving for our cultural dinner at 6:30.

Here are a few pictures of the amazing,beautiful women that loved Noah Tamirat for the 4 months that he was at Hannah's Hope. I am for ever grateful for all the love and care they gave him.

11 months old.

Ok so I haven't forgotten that I need to finish my trip report I hope to get to that real soon. I also didn't forget that yesterday was the little prince's 11 month birthday. I had planned to do a blog post last night in honor of him but we had some throwing up issues at bedtime and he spent time sleeping on mommy and on the couch so I never got to it.

In the last two nights we have seem some improvement with sleep so we are hopeful that we are getting ready to turn that corner and get back to where we were the first couple weeks with him. He is slowly starting to stand and walk more but does still prefer the crawl. I have also noticed he is starting to turn the pages of books better and is getting the idea of how to play with certain toys other then just banging and throwing them so we are making some progress.
On Monday he had his first trip to the zoo and managed to see some animals before falling asleep. Being a mom is the bestest job in the world even when i'm completly exhausted I love this little guy more then anything in the world.

One month ago.

Just one month ago we were in a very different place. We woke up at the Union in Addis Ababa Ethiopia knowing that our son was just a short distance away. This morning we woke up in our own (much more comfortable)bed at home in Maryland to the sound of our son in the next room. How long and short this past month has been. For a week or so Noah Tamirat has taken a step here and there but on Monday he officially became a walker he took several steps togeather. He doesn't like to do it when anyone is watching so no pictures or video and he still prefers the crawl. Here are pictures of some of our firsts. First car seat ride. Went rather well.Meeting the dog. First family photo. I think we look a bit dazed and confused. First time playing in his room.First sleep in the crib at home..he looks so tiny.First taste of baby food. (he had cereal in Ethiopia but thats it) he loves his bananas. The only things he seems to not like are peas and carrots. Any other veggie is fine and he loves fruits.First bath with momma & daddy. Yes this didn't take place until we got him home. The hot water situation in our room at the Union was unpredictable so he didn't get a real bath there. He loves bathtime.

First ride in the stroller.

There have been many other firsts for him and everything is new for us but we are doing well and slowly settling in to family life.

Ethiopia Day 4 part 1..the birthmom meeting.

Ok so here we are on our next to last day in Ethiopia..Wednesday was an emotionally charged busy day. I have given alot of thought to how I would talk about this day on my blog and what pictures I would post. The first thing on our agenda today was of course the birthmom meeting and we have decided that we will not post any pictures of her online. We do have them in our house but other then that they are Noah Tamirats.

So when we arrived in Ethiopia we were given a schedule for the week. We were happy to see that we did indeed have a birthmom meeting scheduled as did a few other families from our agency. Our meeting was schedule for 11am so the morning was a little bit tense. Noah Tamirat fell asleep not long before it was time to leave for Hannah's Hope so we ended up carrying a sleeping baby down all those stairs and over the rocky path. When we got there nobody was outside (babies were all inside for naps) so we just sat out in the shade and waited. Almaz came out and said that she didn't know how things would go because of the two earlier meetings one birthmom showed up and the other one they waited for but she didn't come. I silently said a prayer that she would have the courage to come so that we could meet her and share more about her with Noah later on. Sean was walking around taking pictures and I had my back to the gate when he came over and said she is here lets go. We walked into Almaz' office and I had butterflies in my stomach. Noah was now awake and I just stood and waited for his birthmom to come in. I handed Noah Tamirat to her and he went without a fuss. I'm not sure if he remembered her or if it was just a brown face like his so he was ok but i'm so happy for her sake that she was able to hold him again. His birthmom is a beautiful young woman and I see alot of her in Tamirat . It was very clear how much she loved him by the look on her face.


Noah played on the floor while we asked our questions . We didn't get all the answers we wanted but we got the important ones and we can talk to him about those when he is old enough to understand. We could tell his mom wanted to know us and know our faces but she didn't want us to see her looking so we tried to focus on Almaz and on Noah. I was perfectly willing to let her study the faces of the family that would be raising her child. Almaz gave her the photo album we brought and read the letter we wrote and you could see her overwelming emotions. I held it togeather the best I could hoping it would make it easier on everyone if i wasn't a blubbering mess. After we had our questions answered we went outside and took pictures of Tamirat with his birthmom and then of all of us togeather. We went back into the office and hugged his birthmom and said goodbye I whispered thank you and we love you(not sure if she understood but I had to say something) and then waited as Almaz walked her to the gate. We know from another family that saw this it was a very emotional time for his birthmom. We will always keep this amazing woman in our prayers, we know that she loved Tamirat very much long before he was born . When we asked why she named him what she did we were told because he was her "miracle" it was always her dream to have a child. That was the first question she answered and it tore my heart out because I have also always dreamed of having a child and I can't imagine the pain it causes to give him up. Someday we hope to bring him back to Ethiopia to see his birthmom if he wants to..We know this is her dream as well. After the meeting was over we talked with Almaz a little bit and then left to go back to the hotel to unwind. Noah needed a nap and we needed to process everything that had happened. We had to be back at Hannah's Hope at 2 to go over more paperwork.

Back at the hotel Daddy & Noah took naps. I was sitting looking out the window just thinking about his birthmom and the pain she must be feeling and it all became to much and I finally broke down. Sean was awake at this point and we just hugged and let me cry it out. I went to dry my eyes and then came back to the window as Sean was telling me to look out. Noah Tamirats birthmom was walking past our hotel. I truly belive this was a sign from god. He knew that I was thinking about her and my heart was hurting for her and to see her one more time as she walked past our hotel was a true blessing. Noah Tamirat's beautiful birthmom will always be part of our family.

*next up part 2. paperwork and some more amazing women that loved my son before I did.*

Ethiopia day 4. Shopping

Ok what a wild night it was last night. Our first night with Noah Tamirat. We decided that for a couple different reasons the moses basket in the room wasnt going to work for him and he would have to sleep in bed with us. Well he's congested and would only let us get saline drops in one side of his nose(ok we could have pressed the issue but it was our first night with him and I didn't want him to feel tortured). He slept like a wild man all over the place. At one point he was sitting up and even crawling across the bed sound asleep.
Today is our shopping day. I'm excited about buying gifts for Noah Tamirat from him country but not happy about leaving him at Hannah's Hope for the day. I knew he would receive excellent care but how would he be when we picked him up? Would he be happy to be left there?
We walked over to Hannah's Hope and of course the special mothers were happy to get their hands back on these kids...they love them all so much. Almaz told me to just sit Noah down on a blanket and he started to crawl towards me and cry when I did. Broke my heart and I almost gave up the shopping trip to stay with him.
Have I told you how hot it is in Ethiopia..Seriously so much hotter then I thought it was going to be. So off we go to shop.Here is our travel group with Johannes at the art gallery/italian restaurant where we ate lunch after shopping. At this point I think alot of us just wanted to get back to Hannah's Hope and get our babies. I know I was completly exhausted and it was still early afternoon. The food was good and we did buy a small painting that maybe i'll post a picture of someday.
When we got back to Hannah's Hope we found Noah Tamirat already bathed and in jammies upstairs in a rocker.

How cute is he in his jammies back at the hotel with the new hat and drum that mommy& daddy bought him?

Hanging out with daddy before bed. They spent alot of time sitting in front of these huge windows just watching life go by. I think this is the night we all fell asleep around 5pm We woke up about an hour later and were able to get saline drops in his nose so he slept much better tonight.

*coming up day 5. Birthmom meeting, final paperwork meeting with almaz, saying goodbye to nighttime special mothers and cultural dinner.*

Happy Mother's Day.

I have waited for many years to celebrate this day and today I did so with a heavy heart. Today is not just my first mothers day it is the first mothers day for my son's beautiful birthmom. The difference is there was no card and present for her, no hugs and kisses and smiles from her beautiful son. I'm not sure they celebrate Mother's day in Ethiopia but his birthmom was certainly in our thoughts and prayers today. Happy mother's day to me and to her and to all the special mommies at Hannah's Hope that love our children so much until they come home to us.

Ethiopia day 3 part 2

So this is the walk we took after meeting you. This is the path from Hannah's Hope to the union hotel.

The gate to our hotel.The Union. We were on the 3rd floor room 305. Thats alot of stairs mommy and daddy climbed.Soon it was time to go back and get you for our embassy appointment from this time on you would be with us always. The walk back to Hannah's Hope is a bit of a blur. I was wondering how you would react to us now. The special mothers brought you out to us and you were a little fussy but Almaz said you needed a bottle and they would bring you one out. You were bottle #30. I took you over into the shade and Daddy got your bottle because I thought it best that you not see your special mommies again right away. The ride to the embassy appointment was an adventure for me. In america we can't just ride with babies on our laps and the driving in Ethiopia is a little scary. I held onto you for dear life. You were busy staring out the window at everything going on. Showing us your curious nature. The embassy appointment went smoothly and quickly and soon we were back at the hotel. We had the rest of the afternoon and evening to just hang out and get to know you.


Daddy gives you a baba..your world revolves around the baba.Kisses from Daddy. You seem to really love Daddy. He can make you smile and giggle.You enjoyed just being in a diaper and playing with toys. We enjoyed just watching you play amazed at how beautiful you are. After you fell asleep we went downstairs to eat some dinner. Mommy ate her first meal with a sleeping baby in her arms. We got to visit a little bit with some of our travel group which was fun because up to this point we hadn't had alot of time to get to know them.