Sunday, October 24, 2010

We have a name!

Adam and I love thinking of baby names. We really enjoyed it with the boys, and we enjoyed doing it again this time. Over the past few months we have made a list of about 15 names that we really liked. One of the first names on the list was "Allie". This was also at the top of our list when we were pregnant with the boys (before we knew they were boys).

This time, we have a few other names in high competition with "Allie", so we wanted to wait and see our daughter before finalizing a name. However once we saw her photos our decision was easy. Our daughter's first name is "Alemitu". The way it was pronounced to us was "all--eee-me-too". So picking the name "Allie" out of the list was a pretty easy decision to make!

Our daughter's full name will be Allie (Ethiopian family's last name) Fischer. Her Ethiopian family's last name is pretty, but I just can't post her full name on this blog until we have passed court.

Changing her name was a tough decision even though it is pretty much expected with international adoptions. We want to preserve her background and cultural, but we don't want to single her out either. Changing her name completely seemed like we may be trying to erase her past, but on the other hand, to have her go through this life, in America, with the name "Alemitu" could also be cruel. Every single day of her life, she would have to repeat her name so people could understand it. We fear that she would feel singled out when she was in school. We also fear that she may be discriminated against when submitting a resume if the interviewer can't pronounce her name. I could go on and on listing more issues that she would come across daily.

To us, it seems like the every day issues she would have with her Ethiopian name outweigh the few times in her life that she may regret having her name changed. And when she is older, if she ever desires to have her Ethiopian name, we would not hesitate to take her to the courthouse to get it changed.

We hope that she will grow to love her name "Allie" and that she will take pride in keeping her family's last name as her middle name.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Meet Our Daughter!!!!!!!

We have a little girl!!!

We are so excited! We were number 10 on the list, and the referrals were coming in pretty slowly. I received a call today from Missouri while I was cutting hair, and since I didn't recognize the number I just ignored it. Never did it cross my mind how many times I have reminded Adam that if he sees a Missouri number come through, he must answer! I didn't think about it once.

In fact, I didn't check my phone for several hours -- after business hours for our agency. I received a message that said they had a little girl for us. My agency was wonderful, and our consultant had given me her cell phone number. After calling a few times, I finally got in touch with her. The director stayed after hours and sent us paperwork and two pictures.

She is beautiful. She is 4 months old. She is healthy with a little respiratory infection that is currently being treated. Did I mention she is beautiful??

I can't post a picture or forward by e-mail until we pass court. And that will probably be in December or January. But, I have been told that I can print out as many pictures as I want to show people. I plan on doing just that!

I have more details, and I'm sure you want to know "what is next", but I am just too excited and shaky to type right now. So give me a day or two, and I'll fill you all in!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

First Tooth!!


Both boys have had some slightly wiggly teeth for a little while now. After school today, Cal tells Wes that his tooth is really wiggly. Cal kept playing with his tooth all afternoon. When we were at Home Depot, he kept wiggling the tooth, and I told him to try and wiggle it as far as he could. He pulled it down and said a quick "ouch". Normally, Cal steers far away from anything painful, but today he was pretty determined to get that tooth out.

I then told Cal to see how far he could push his tooth. Again he tried, ending with a quick "ouch" -- but no tears or fear. As we were checking out, Calvin told the cashier (yelling and jumping) "My tooth is wiggly!"

Walking out to the car, I told him to just keep pulling, pushing, and twisting and the tooth would come out. He asked "Twisting? I didn't know you had to twist it!" I knew I was pushing a little, but Cal was so determined he kept trying. When we got in the car, he told me that he couldn't twist it but he wanted me to try. I told him I would stop if it hurt. I twisted the tooth once, and he says "ouch!" I quickly pulled away to see his tooth hanging by a thread. I told him that it needed to come out because it was just hanging by a thread, and he told me to twist it again. One more twist and the tooth was out! He wasn't scared at all!

I don't know if we have ever seen him so excited about anything. He called the grandparents and Aunt Jenna. He kept starting the conversation out by saying, "I have something really 'excited' to tell you." He is on cloud 9, and I am so proud of him for being really tough. He told Aunt Jenna that he didn't even cry and that he is a really strong boy because he can open doors that are heavy.

Congratulations Calvin!! One down and like 20 more to go.