Party Girl!!!!

Saturday was Gabre's Birthday party. Who knew a 1 year old's Birthday party could be so much work. It took my mom and I three days to pull off this party. We had catered Ethiopian food, PB&J for the kids, a candy buffet, elephant and giraffe cupcakes. I will say we had a few laughs Friday night trying to make the cupcakes actually look like elephants and giraffes. It took us all night with a late night run to the grocery store by Scott.
I also made a Happy Birthday sign in Amharic. It was so windy at the park that the sign lasted about 5 minutes. As you will see it took Scott getting on top of the car to hang the sign for that 5 minutes.
We had a petting zoo come for the last hour. Gabre and all the kids loved the baby animals.....so cute. It was a Birthday to remember.

Our 1 Year Old!

Wow, we had quite a week. Tuesday was Gabre's Birthday and we had lots of fun. First we picked up Gabre's Noni at the airport. Then headed to Ester's for some good Ethiopian food and on to the Austin zoo, which is really a sanctuary for rescued animals. It's not a big traditional zoo, but perfect for small children. We got to feed goats and sheep, while chickens and peacocks followed us around. Gabre really loves animals!
The top picture on this post is the REAL Gabre. We somehow captured her personality it that one shot!

MeleKame Lidete Gabre!!!!!

Happy Birthday Gabre!

I cannot believe our baby is 1 today. She is truly a little miracle to us. Today we honor her, her birth mother and her birth country.

Gabre,

Today is your First Birthday and 142 days since you have been in our arms. You are our greatest joy. We love the sound of your giggle. We love the way you pose for pictures. We love the way you fake cough. We love that you greet us with a big smile every morning. We love that your first word was "Dog" or really "Daw". We love how you reach your hand out to greet all new people. We love that you have a loud voice and us it, a lot. We love that you like a good meal or really any meal. We love the sad look on your face when we have to tell you "No No". We love that you perfectly fit in our arms from the moment you were handed to us. We love your tiny feet. We love your curls. We love your beautiful eyes. We love You!

Daddy and Mommy

Got Ethiopian Food?

We had an early dinner at our local Ethiopia restaurant yesterday to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year. This was Gabre's first taste of her homeland food. She LOVED it. As you can see from the below pictures she went to town. We are so lucky to have an Ethiopian restaurant and the owners are so kind to us. They hold and play with Gabre while we eat. We feel right at home.

Here are some cute pictures.

Melkam Addis Amet! = Happy New Year!

Today is Ethiopia's new year, 2001. The Ethiopian calendar is made up of 12 months, each lasting 30 days, and then an extra month is tagged on lasting just 5 days (6 in a leap year). Most of the world's calendars are in fact based on an ancient Egyptian calendar so there are many similarities. Ethiopia is 7.5 years behind the Gregorian calendar because the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church didn't agree on the date of the creation of the world, so they started off from two different points many hundreds of years ago.
We are going to the local Ethiopia restaurant today to celebrate our daughter's heritage. We will be welcomed with warm arms. We continue to be amazed at the warmth all Ethiopians have shown us, from our time in Addis Ababa to our return. They have open hearts for all.

Happy New Year Gabre!!!!!

Hello again!

I have not been a very good blogger as of lately. I have been doing a lot of work on my computer and when I have had some extra time I have not felt like even looking at my computer. The good thing is I have lots of pictures saved up to show you.

Gabre is doing great and we are planning her 1st birthday party, to be held next Saturday. We are having her party a few weeks early, her Birthday is on Sept.23. The party is going to be lots of fun with friends and animals. We are having a petting zoo come for all the kids. Gabre loves animals, I think she gets that from her parents, and it is also a good learning experience for all the kids.

I cannot believe we are already planning her 1st birthday, WOW! She has changed so much in the last month alone. She has found her sense of self.......and how to get what she wants. She can be sooooo loud when she wants something she cannot have. I have a feeling everyone will always know Gabre is in the room and in the world.
She is no wall flower.

Here is to NOT being a Wall Flower!