A little Q & A

Since I've been asked the same questions so many times, I figured I might as well throw some of the answers on my blog. It's not that I am sick of talking about Malachi, the adoption, or Ethiopia, (am I ever sick of talking about anything?), I just thought this might be good for those of your who haven't gotten the chance to ask or are just being kind to us and letting us lay low for a while(thanks btw). So, here they are:



Q: How is Malachi doing?

A: He's doing really well...now. The first week was really hard. I think it was a combination of shock, new environment, jet lag/time change, and he cut a molar(ouch!). It was likewise hard on Ian and me because we were also suffering from the jet lag and time change...plus we have 3 other kids to parent. It was a week of a lot of screaming, a lot of sleeping, and a lot of adjusting. The second week(last week) was much better. Malachi is a generally happy kid. He is walking and coming very close to running. He sleeps fantastically - which has been a lifesaver at the end of our stressful days.



Q: What do the other kids think of him?

They love him! Emma acts the same way with him as she did with her other 3 siblings: She is excited about them, she tries to be helpful(sometimes ends up hindering more than helping), but is generally not affected by them very much. Mckenna absolutely ADORES him(which is how she was with David), and the feeling is mutual. If Malachi is sad, you can be sure Mckenna will try to comfort and entertain him within minutes. He will even let her "hold" him for comfort - which is basically just her giving him a hug. David seems rather non-affected by him - except when it comes to toy sharing. The two of them fight just like any other set of brothers. They both know how to push each other's buttons, but thankfully things haven't gotten too rough when they get mad. To summarize: I can count on Emma to watch him, and Mckenna to entertain him, and David to make him scream.



Q: Does he say any words?

A: Nope. :) He hasn't picked up on any English yet and as far as Amharic, we're pretty sure he doesn't say any of those either. We asked Ian's Ethiopian brother and sister to pay close attention for the week they were here and they didn't hear him say anything. He babbles a ton, though so I'm hopeful he'll pick up some words soon.



Q: What does he think of the food?

In general, he loves it. When we first came home - and even while in Ethiopia, he ate very little. We even tried giving him what they gave him at the orphanage(firfir), but he was apparently just too stressed to eat. Now that he is home and a little better adjusted, he eats like a horse! He definitely out-eats my other kids. I'm sure this will slow down once we rid his tummy of the parasites(more on that below), and many times he is rather scream-y at meal time - but overall he is a great eater and likes just about everything we give him. His parasite tests came back positive for Giardia - very common in Ethiopians. We'll be picking up his prescription for that tomorrow. I'm really excited for the meds to start working(if they do...they only work 85-90% of the time), because then we'll have less diapers/blowouts/laundry!



Q: What did you think of Ethiopia?

A: We loved it!! Ethiopia is a beautiful country with wonderful people. We traveled to many different places and saw many different terrains. Ethiopia is a country rich with culture and history. We loved asking our drivers all sorts of questions and they never hesitated to educate us.

The food is divine(unless you're eating at the Roha hotel in Lalibela where the eggs taste like fish and the chicken is tougher than nails). We had all sorts of foods from traditional Ethiopian to burgers and pizza. Italian food is huge over there(due to a short Italian occupation) and they definitely know how to cook it.

In the capital city, Addis Ababa, it rained every day - but never all day. The weather there was actually very nice and refreshing after being in 115 degree Arizona. However, Dire Dawa felt just like home. It is very close to the Somalian desert(hence the camels walking the streets), so it was very hot and dusty. The architecture in Dire Dawa was beautiful, and everything we ate there was delicious. Lalibela was similar in climate to Addis - wet and 60's-70's. We loved Lalibela and can't recommend it enough if you ever have the chance to go.



Q: Why are there are so many orphans in Ethiopia?

A: We've had this question a lot lately and there really is no one simple answer. Overall: poverty. But there are so many factors that contribute to the poverty, and likewise so many problems that come from the poverty that then lead to orphaned children. I would love to direct anyone wanting a better answer to this question to the wonderful book, "There is No Me Without You," by Melissa Fay Greene. That book talks all about the Ethiopia orphan crisis and why it has become what it is. Excellent resource!



Q: How old is he?

A: ...good question - I'd like to know the answer to that one too! When Malachi arrived at Wanna house, their doctors estimated his age to be 7 months. That was at the end of January. So, by their calculations, he is 14 months right now. When we took him to his new pediatrician here in the states she said, "There is no way he's 14 months. I'd say more like 18-24 months." She said this because developmentally he was acting much older but also, if he was 14 months then he is in the 90th percentile for height. He has many signs of malnutrition and so for a malnourished child to be in the 90th percentile for height...that's a little weird. We did a bone scan which can be off by +/- 4 months. The results came back: 24 months!! That's 10 months older than we thought, which is almost twice the 14 months we were told. Right now, we're thinking we'll choose 20 months(what a weird concept...choose how old your child is), because that's on the younger side and we'd rather err on that side than the older side. Essentially the few months we could be off by isn't enough to make that big of a difference in his schooling. Even if we do go all the way up to 24 months, he'll still be in the same class as if we choose 20 months. The weirdest part about all of this is that when we began this process, we thought we'd be bringing a baby home. Turns out he's less than a year younger than our 2 1/2 year old, so we really have two toddlers. Hopefully they can be buds!

So, overall everything is going really well. We're all still getting used to our new life as a family of 6 with all of the craziness that entails. I have a feeling life won't be settling down any time soon so I might as well just start rolling right along with it... and stop stressing so much.
(btw - the camera has stayed in the drawer since we got home. I'll try to break it out soon, but no promises. I'm lucky if I get a shower - I'm not sure I can add picture taking to the list without blowing a gasket!)