What Mesfin Has Been Doing Lately

Mesfin has been quite busy lately as you can see. Below he is playing with his good buddy Sammy Kiya. They really enjoyed hanging out together and he can't wait to do it again. He also loves posing for pictures when Sammy's mom has her camera.

These are his new buddies Luke and Sammy. He got to play with them the other day. They were really cool.

Above are two of our favorite pictures. First is Mesfin's new ride. He loves cruising around the neighborhood in his car. He constantly honks his horn and waves to passers-by. He also got his first hair-cut the other day. As you can see he was a little confused at first, however by the end of the hair-cut, he was loving it

We promise to update you with more shortly.

A Message from Mesfin

A Few Thoughts from Mesfin

These two are my favorites. They are my Grandma's. They love to play with me and give me lots of kisses. I love them a lot.

"This cute girl with the black hair sure likes me a lot. She is always wanting to talk to me on the phone when she the calls the house. I really like her!"

"This is my cousin Ryan. As you can see we are probably doing something we shouldn't be doing and judging by this picture, we have been caught. I already look up to my cousin, as Thomas the Train is my favorite video to."

"This guy came over to the house a few weeks ago. He and my daddy went out at night and didn't come home until late. I was almost up for my first milk of the night when they got home. I really liked this guy though. He let me play with his computer. I hope to see him again real soon."

"I really liked these two people! They brought me an Ohio State Table and chairs that I am allowed to color on and with. They also brought over a boy smaller than me. His name is Ryan. Daddy said that the nice man who came over, we call him Uncle Nick, goes to Browns games with Daddy on Sundays in the fall. Daddy said that Ryan and me will be going to Browns games when we get older. He also mumbled something about them not being any good, but I'm not sure what he meant"

Our Trip

Many people have asked what we did while we were in Ethiopia so I thought we'd post some more pictures and stories from our trip. Our first day there was spent getting to know Mesfin...his sleeping habits, what he ate, etc. We didn't do much except relax, nap, and play all day. We were surprised to find out that night that Mesfin slept from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am the next morning...12 hours without waking up! We couldn't believe it! Although during the night Mom and Dad didn't sleep much because we were too busy watching our new little man. Here's a funny picture of him sleeping. As you can see, he's restless sleeper. He started the night facing the other way.

The staff at the House of Hope completely took care of us. They made us breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday and helped whenever we needed it. We typically ate breakfast with the other family who was staying at the house too. Lunch was the biggest meal of the day. We usually ate with the Director of the house, who always had good stories to tell, especially ones about Mesfin. We were joined by other families and visitors at times as well. Lunch always ended with a coffee ceremony, which is a traditional Ethiopian custom. The cooks would ground coffee beans by hand and brew the coffee via an open flame. I'm not a huge coffee drinker but even I had to have a cup after lunch everyday. Oh and it was served with popcorn too, yum!

Here are some pictures of Simegn, the cook, with Mesfin and during a coffee ceremony. By the way, Simegn absolutely adored Mesfin and I know that he loved her too. She would sing songs to him during meals to get him to eat and it worked everytime! Too bad we can't sing like her. A couple of times she let Mesfin sit in the kitchen with her when she cooked too. He loved it!

Mesfin's 1st Birthday!

Today was Mesfin's 1st birthday! We celebrated by having a small cake and opened a few gifts at home. We went to the rec center today to see if Mesfin wanted to play in the kiddie pool but he wasn't too keen on the idea. He opted to walk around the pool, meet the lifeguards, and observe what was going on rather than going in himself. Oh well, maybe next time... Happy Birthday Mesfin! We love you!

The Day We Met

Hi Everyone! It's been a little bit since we've posted but we've been a little slow about uploading our pictures. Everything seems to take us a little bit longer than usual these days...I wonder why.

Mesfin's been doing great. It seems that he's adjusting well, as well as having a blast meeting all of his family and friends. He still gets into everything but that's the joy of having an almost 1-year old!

Here are some pictures of when we first met Mesfin at the House of Hope. It's funny to look at these now (it's been 3 weeks since this happened!) because I think Mesfin has changed quite a bit since we've been home. Anyway, we stayed at the Newflower Guest House the night before and arrived at the HOH in the morning to move in for the rest of the week. The director of the house (a wonderful man who Mesfin just loves!) brought him in to the common room to meet us. It was a surreal experience, with us thinking, "Oh my gosh, is this really happening?" And Mesfin probably thinking, "Oh my gosh, is this really happening?" We couldn't believe how beautiful he was, even more beautiful in person than in his pictures. We also couldn't believe how little he was either! What a peanut! Mesfin was quiet and mostly just starred at us but he slowly warmed up as we fed him some snacks and played a little. That began our week of getting to know each other...

We'll post more pictures of our trip soon. Again, sorry it took us so long to post these. Time flies these days!!! Take care!

Some Updated Pictures of Mesfin

Here are some updated photos from our return

at the airport and when he first got back to our home. Mesfin is adjusting well so far, although

his sleep paterns are a little off. We still haven't updated our pictures yet, when we do we will make sure to show them off. Thus far there isn't a food the little guy won't eat and he is keeping mommy and daddy in great shape with his exploration of his new home.

Home Safely

Just wanted to let you all know we are home with our beautiful baby boy. We arrived back to the states yesterday evening. We are all a little off with the time change, hence the posting at 4:00 A.M. Mesfin was even more beautiful in person and his personality has been a tremendous blessing. He met some of his Grandparents yesteray and laughed the whole time. Grandpa Jay gave him a little exam and that his congestion will be okay. He has his first Pediatrician appointment later this week. We will be posting pictures of our trip later, as Mommy knows how to do that much better than Daddy. As Mesfin sits on my lap I'll let him write you all a bit.

Message from Mesfin: " h. 432587yad.v aasdhf;a/std09427398 bAv.bn v
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God Bless.

Jerry and Nicole