Hair Cut

Kistet's hair was getting kind of out of control as it got longer and even her special hair product was not doing enough to keep it looking tidy so I decided to cut it myself one evening while she was in the tub. I knew I couldn't cut it in the usual fashion since she has such tight curls, so I took pieces of curls and cut them around the head until it looked even. I haven't given up on the idea of braiding her hair and using all of those cute beads I have, but at this point in our lives that just isn't possible. The haircut isn't too bad for a first try, but it is short.

Party!

Grace had a birthday party last weekend. There were 14 adults, 7 boys from age 5 & under, and 4 baby girls. Boy, was it LOUD! I made traditional Korean ribs (a birthday tradition in our house) and of course we had to have cake! I think it was a hit with Grace. She swiped off some frosting before I could cut the cake and knew immediately that was the good stuff. I don't know how to make any Ethiopian food so we kept the Korean theme, but the girls are now Korean, too, right? They loved the ribs. I still think a Korean BBQ restaurant would be a hit...

Happy Birthday, Grace!

It's hard to believe our little Grace is one today. She has been on the fast track developmentally since we brought her home; in just four months, she went from not being able to even roll over to walking holding on to furniture. We joke that she will outweigh her 3-year-old brother before long! What a gift she has been, and it's a joy when people accuse her of being a "mama's girl". We'll take that label any day!

Happy New Year!

Here are some pictures of the kids from Christmas until the end of the year. Where did the year go? We wish everyone a Happy New Year. We could not have imagined that we would have ended the year with two more beautiful children from Ethiopia! Our family is now complete. We're exhausted, but we couldn't imagine life without all of our kids.

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's hard to believe that the girls have been home for almost 4 months. It's their first Christmas and we are keeping it low-key for the most part. Santa did pay us an early visit, though, and in a few short minutes, there were wrapping papers, ribbons, and boxes everywhere. The kids all had different reactions: James was suspicious and announced after Santa had gone that "He's not the REAL Santa"; Tommy ran up to Santa right away, so happy to see him and put on his new outfit and paraded around happily; Kistet was just excited because of the activity and because she got presents and had pictures taken; and Grace ignored Santa altogether and proceeded to grab as much of the ribbons and wrappers and put them in her mouth.

First Thanksgiving for the girls

We were so blessed to have good friends cook us Thanksgiving meal and bring it to our house this year. With Grace now crawling all over the house, we have four mobile kids to watch. Grace has decided to hurry things along in the last couple of weeks--now she's trying her hand at pulling herself up on things, as crawling is not even a big enough accomplishment for her. We had much to be thankful for.

First Basketball Player

James is playing basketball, his first team sport. Here he's proudly displaying his team shirt.

Almost Crawling!

Grace is ready to crawl. She's been scooting herself forward on her elbows for a few weeks, but she finally got the idea to try to use her legs as well. She now can sit up from lying on her stomach on her own. Amazing what she can do considering 2 1/2 months ago she couldn't even sit on her own!