Measurement - 16th percentile for height/weight, but growing at the appropriate pace for her size
Attitude - Bossy; diva; completely runs our house; sweet; belly laugher; funny; cuddly
Favorite Things to Do - Play with her brothers; Watch/Dance to the Wiggles or Care Bears ("She-She")
Speech - She just started talking more in full sentences (i.e. "No Mommy, I don't want to sit down. No Mommy, I don't want to eat" -- at least she's polite about it). She also calls her grandmas and great-grandmas "Papaw". All grandparents are "Papaw". I was a little sad when an Ethiopian man recently spoke Amharic to her and her face didn't show any recognition.
Dare Devil - Don't throw her up in the air, but she loves going on theme park rides. Her favorite thing to "ride" is a swing. She loves to swing, and HATES to get off the swing.
Water - She is a little fish. She loves to jump in and try to swim back to me. She loves the pool ("Wa-Wa"), and she stays underwater most of the time she is in it.
Brothers - She adores her brothers and tries so hard to keep up with them. For the longest time, she called both boys "Wes". Then she started calling Calvin "Dough-Kah". And now she calls them "Wessy" and "Cal". Occasionally, she will yell at them in a bossy manner saying "BOYS!" or "GUYS!"
Result of head butting Wes |
In the tornado ride with her brothers. |
Sleeping - She is still an amazing sleeper. She sleeps about 12-14 hours a night and takes a good 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. We've let her sleep in our room a handful of times, but it doesn't always go well. She stays up for hours, laying quietly, and playing with our faces while we try to sleep.
She has to have her baby to sleep. |
Diva - Her bio mommy must have been a girly-girl because that describes Alemitu perfectly. She loves wearing jewelry ("Gee-Gee"), high heels, sunglasses, and sparkly shoes. She is very particular about her shoes.
Naked, but in her high heels |
Food - She doesn't eat much, but her doctor is okay with it since she is still growing at a good pace. Sometimes she will devour her food, but mostly she picks at it. She will attempt to eat anything you put in front of her. Recently, she almost ate 2 cheeseburger patties for dinner while we were in Indiana. She loves to dip everything in ketchup ("bucket") or ranch.
Hair - She has gotten really good at sitting still to get her hair done. On occasion she will cry through it, but most of the time she sits calmly and watches The Wiggles while I braid her hair. (30 minutes - 2 hours) As soon as I tell her "All Done", she has to find her daddy and brothers to show them her new hair. I received the biggest compliment while we were in Nashville recently. An Ethiopian man was shocked that I was the one who had braided her hair. He was amazed at what a good job I did, and told me that my style was just like the girls wear their hair in Ethiopia.
Games - Alemitu loves to play little games like stealing your spot or stealing your blanket (thanks to my mom). She'll tell you to do or say something, and then she'll yell at you after you do/say it. She has a great belly laugh and sparkle in her eye as she tries to trick you with something or other.
Trouble - Alemitu definitely succeeds in running this house most of the time, but sometimes we have to be the parent and put her in time-out. Just like her brothers, she goes in time-out quietly and waits until she is released. Even though she can be demanding and bossy (i.e. yelling at people to "sit down!"), she is really a good girl.
We love her so much, and Adam and I often talk about how we can't imagine not having her in our family. She brings us so much joy and love. Here's to another great year!