A Few Firsts

A few firsts for Elise this week included spaghetti dinner, climbing up all 14 of our stairs and surprising mommy at the top (daddy was "watching" her!), feeding the ducks, a new big girl car seat, and, unfortunately, a fever. I took a few pictures of the spaghetti dinner and car seat, but I didn't have the heart to take a picture of her sick-she was just too miserable. Thankfully the fever/cold ended on Monday afternoon, and she is back to her happy self today. We had her 9 month appointment on Monday and she's doing great! She's still tall, 65th percentile in height, and thin, 25th percentile weight, which we don't understand because she eats all the time!

She loved to climb in and out of her new big girl car seat as it sat in the kitchen.

Hopefully she'll like it just as much inside the car.

Feeding the ducks at Huizenga Park. Daddy had to hold Indy back or none of the ducks would even come near us, and mommy had to hold the bread or Elise would have eaten it all!

Spaghetti...what a mess! She LOVED it and even figured out how to slurp the noodles into her mouth, too cute. Notice Indy standing by.....

She stopped just long enough for me to take her picture, and then it was off to the stairs! She's sporting her Calvin t-shirt. Thanks Aunt Angela!

He's Home!

Here is a picture of our new nephew, Felmeta Judah Hoekstra, who came home from Ethiopia on Saturday.

Bryan and I had prepared ourselves to meet a shy, crabby, and overwhelmed 3-year old little boy who had just traveled over 30 hours. We figured we'd need to give him some space, be gentle and not too affectionate. We couldn't have been farther from the truth!

Felmeta is a very energetic, happy little boy who was so excited to see all of us. He came right up to the large group gathered at the airport and gave us high-fives. He immediately took Noah's hand and even said both Noah and Ella's names. He was excited to show off his light-up tennis shoes, and eager to check out everyone. He even gave Elise a kiss and put her shoe back on. Jessica says that he "has a smile that won't quit." He is going to be such a fun part of our family!

Jessica is an excellent writer and has kept a really good account of their adoption journey thus far. Her blog is linked to mine, if you want to check it out.

9 Months ago......

Elise Jolea is 9 months old today! I say it every month, but holy cow is she growing fast! In the last week she has learned to wave (mostly at herself in the mirror), clap her hands, and get into anything and everything that's less than 3 feet from the floor. Life around the Linn house is more fun and busy every day. :)

Nine months ago I was 10 days overdue, uncomfortable, and slightly annoyed at my sister Jessica's excitement day after day about the baby. I know the Bushes and the Linns were all very excited to meet our baby girl, but nobody was as excited as Jessica. At the time I thought she was just crazy. She was crazy enough to call every day, drive past the hospital looking for our car, wake up in the night wondering if we were in labor, and drop by in those last few days with treats to brighten my day.

Now the tables are turned. Jess and Paul are on their way back from Ethiopia right now. Their plane took off about an hour ago, and I can think of little else than the little boy sitting between then in seat E, on his way to a whole new life with the Hoekstras. And I might be going a little crazy. Crazy enough to check my email almost hourly, constantly figure out what time it is in Ethiopia, and look at Felmeta's pictures over and over again. I just can't wait to meet their newest son.

Turns out neither one of us is crazy. Sisters are just like this. It's in our going crazy that we show each other how much we love them.

I can't wait until tomorrow. I can't wait to see them walking up the gate, probably tired, holding on to the newest Hoekstra. I can't wait to see this boy from halfway around the world make his place in the Hoekstra family.

Finally, I can't wait to see what the next nine months will hold. In 9 months Elise will probably be talking. And I bet that she'll be able to talk about her cousin, Felmeta, who looks nothing like her but is as much a part of our family as she is.

busy girl.....

Bryan and I were trying to get dinner cleaned up, and we found Elise entertaining herself IN the dishwasher. It was hard to tell her "no" when we're both laughing and taking picttures. :) Her other love is the refrigerator. She is such a busy little girl, and we are just trying to keep up!