Eating Real Food

not exactly my favorite thing to do. I'm not a fan of food. I would prefer to have my bottle and occasionally I would be willing to eat some rice cereal....but that's it man! I am not loving the green vegetable goop or the orange carrot ook that Mommy keeps insisting must go in my mouth. Oh how I miss my 6 bottles a day feeding frenzy.

Beautiful Girl

Fat and Happy

My brother's post on his blog today is about being happy. And, I'll admit it....Akira is one happy boy. He's always laughing and dancing and giving all of us hugs. But, I've got something he doesn't.....I'm FAT! Fat and happy....that's my life! And, I'm lovin every minute of it!

Getting the Hang of it...

Eating rice cereal is getting easier and easier. I'm figuring out how to get it in....and how to get it out. The spit up is getting less, and pooping is getting more manageable. More like a baby and less like a demon spawn from the Exorcist.

I think my body is beginning to heal and to regulate. And, yes....I am getting QUITE chubby! I can't even fit into my clothes anymore....I'm growing out of them at an amazing rate! And, I'm loving every second of it. Mommy tells me to enjoy it now....it's not quite as cute when you get older. This is my moment to enjoy the chubby!

7 months...how the time flies

Today I am 7 months old! 7 MONTHS!!!

I had a pretty good day. I had much of my biological family over to visit me today! My biological Dad came, and my sister Veyce and my 2 brothers Venice and Victor. Also my Aunt Nora and another Uncle (I think he is an uncle by marriage and it wasn't really explained well who he was...but he came to see me!). They are a very nice family, and I'm glad that they want to know how I am doing and that I am well, even if they are not able to have me with them all the time. It's nice to be loved by many many people!

Mommy reminded them that it is my 7 month birthday today and they all sang me Happy Birthday!

Also...Mommy gave me some apple sauce today for my first taste of big girl food. It was ok...but I really like my rice cereal and my bottles best.

Crashin the play date

Aki had a play date today with his friend Aiden. and I don't want to whine (Mommy always tells Aki that whiners are weiners...and no one wants to be a weiner), but I think it's a bit unfair. He gets to do stuff with friends and it looks really fun. I don't really have any friends, and I can't really do much even if I did have some friends. So, I have to come along for the ride. Mommy and Linda are friends and they talk and laugh and have tea and coffee. Aki and Aiden are friends and they run and play and laugh (and sometimes cry for just a second or two)....but whatever they are doing, they are doing it together.

Me, I just have to sit in this silly chair, and coo and gurgle....drink a bit of bottle, spit up a bit of bottle. Hmmmm, I need some friends! Any takers???

Dinner with the fam

We all went out to eat together tonight. Even Twiga came (but she had to sit in the car while we ate). When we all got in the car, Mommy put Twiga in the back since There were two carseats in the car and two adults in the front seat. But, Twiga was having NONE of that. She jumped right over the seat so that she could sit in between Aki and I on the ride. She really loves us, and we love her!

Dinner was cool. The family ate Indian, but for me, I preferred a little subtler taste. Rice cereal is a bit more to my palates liking. Yummmm, rice cereal!

I have my very own lawyer

Jeremiah Siay! This is his name. OK....so he was my brothers lawyer before me. But, Mommy met with him today and officially hired him to set my adoption files in motion! Very very exciting!!!! I can't wait to follow in Akira's footsteps.

oh, and I'm starting to get the hang of this rice cereal thing. It's actually not as bad as I had first assessed it to be. I guess I just had to figure out how to swallow (I don't totally have that one down yet, but I'm getting better every time).

Hanging Around...

Today we spent the day as a family. I spent the day spitting up, Twiga spent the day licking up my spit up and Mommy spent the day trying, in vain, to avoid my spit up.

Other activities included....flailing around on the ground in an attempt to move, screaming, bouncing in the bouncy chair and playing with my Mommy, my Brother, my Uncle and my Twiga. Not too shabby!

Another Day of Firsts

Today I took my first trip to Moshi. We ate lunch, and saw Mt. Kili.

Later in the day, I ate my first solid food....well, at least I had some rice cereal. First time I ate from a spoon. It was....an experience. I don't think that Mommy is a very good aim. I didn't want to just sit there and not even give her a challenge. But, for heavens sake...she's pathetic....no aim whatsoever!! Our power went out so I got to have my first meal with a utensil by candle light though....that was pretty cool.

The Life of a Baby....

Well, it's just not always interesting.

My big brother always has something to write about on his blog...but for me, quite often the present day is sort of the same as the one before. Take today for example.

I did a LOT of eating (or as Mommy likes to call it, loading of the ammunition), and a lot of expelling the food (or as Mommy likes to call it, The Direct Attack). I cooed a bit, I did a little rolling over to my side, I did a lot of squiggly moving and waving my hands about as if I were having some sort of epileptic fit. I smiled a lot, and I cried a little and I slept just about the right amount.

That was my day! I'm pretty sure that my days will get more interesting as soon as I an crawl, but for now....that's pretty much a day in MY life.

Rice Cereal...

....Is yucky!!!

I don't want it, I REFUSE to eat it and if you stick that in my mouth again I will wallop you Mommy! I want my bottle, I want it now, and no ridiculous baby spoon with some nasty rice cereal on the end of it is going to soothe me.

SERIOUSLY!!!

On safari with Sarah

I have had such a fun past few days. Mommy has taken some time off work to spend with Sarah and the family and we have all been together seeing northern Tanzania. We have gone on safari in Arusha National Park and Lake Manyara. I don't really recognize a lot of game animals yet, but I recognize a loving family and lots of attention....and that's been a pretty fun thing to have the past few days.....I'll take more safari any day!

GREAT news!

I'm having a pretty great day! First of all, I met my cousin, Sarah today. She has come to visit us here in Arusha and to meet Akira and I. We love her....it's so so fun to have family come to stay with us. We get to have her here for a whole week! What fun we will have.

Secondly, I went to the doctor today. I weigh 5.5 kilos! This is 12 pounds. Granted it is still very low and I still have a long way to go....but the Dr. Matthews was so relieved to see me doing so much better. He was impressed by how many milestones I am meeting and thinks I'll be caught up in no time. I just needed a bit of love, attention and food! Yay for me! Dr. Matthews kept saying how happy he was and that he was certain now that I would make it and make a full recovery....though I was still going to need a lot of TLC to help with all the residual complications coming from malnourishment.

Milestones

Just to record some of my acheivments since I've been home:

I can do push ups (or at least one push up at a time)

I can roll over from my tummy to both my left and right side (at first it was just my right....but the past 2 days I'm able to go either way)

I can hold up my head in a very stable manner

I can sit by myself (though I certainly need close attention paid as I'm not completely stable)

I can grasp a ball or a toy

I can push/pull/hit/etc various toys to make them light up/make noise/be generally irritating to the rest of the family

I can kick various toys for the same reason as the above notice

I can smile and laugh

I can make a specific sound that is not just a cry or a laugh

Most importantly, I am able to project my poop out of my diaper no matter how securly Mommy thinks she has put that diaper on....I am excellent at finding the weakness the lining and pushing through

Akira's Day in Court

Today is Akira's day. My big brother had his adoption hearing today....and the judge gave the final adoption order....Akira's adoption is finalized! Congrats to my big brother...I can't wait to follow in your footsteps!