We have been home for 12 days now and it is amazing to see how well Amaya is adjusting. She is eating well, sleeping well, and adores her little brother Logan (although not when it comes to sharing her toys :-). She is also learning English very quickly. She repeats most words that we say. Her first words were "banana, Dada, Moses (our cat), bye-bye, and blue." Other words she likes to say are "applesauce, brother, baby", and pretty much all the animal sounds.
This transition has been much more difficult for Logan. He has spent his first year as the center of attention and now mommy and daddy have another child who needs just as much attention. He has definitely shown us that he was not okay with this at first. We also think he was a little upset with us for leaving him for another 9 days in the past 6 weeks. And on top of that, he is getting some new teeth which has not helped the situation.
I have to admit that this transition has not been the easiest for Ryan and I either. First of all we are jumping head first into the toddler stage of tantrums and independence. Adding a language barrier on top of that makes it even harder. God has definitely been giving us strength and wisdom for each new day.
It's hard to believe that just 2 years ago we submitted our formal application at Bethany Christian Services to adopt a child from Ethiopia. Now we have 2 beautiful children and so much to celebrate this holiday season. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
