One year ago today, Eden came home! It seems like a long time ago that we brought that tiny little baby home and now she is so big!  We really appreciate all of the help and support that we’ve been given over the last year.  We are certainly blessed to have so many people that love our kids!

We had a small Gotcha Day Party over the weekend and Eden had a wonderful time. We had several traditional Kenyan dishes and a cake. We put together a scrapbook for Eden of memories and stories from this past year and would love it if any of you would like to share some of your favorite moments with Eden.

Before Eden came home I wrote several letters to her so that if we weren’t able to adopt her she would have some record of what she was like as a baby and where she came from, etc. Below is the letter that I wrote one year ago on the afternoon that she came home.

October 14, 2009

Eden,
YEA!! You came home today!! Whew! It was a long process, but we did it! We went to court on Monday and saw the magistrate. She signed the order granting us custody and guardianship of you. We thought that was it and rushed back to the hospital to bring you home. However, when we got there we were told that the District Children’s Officer had to sign off on us taking you home. It was already after 5 which meant we would have to see him on Tuesday. We went first thing on Tuesday morning and spent a very frustrating 30 minutes with Phillip listening to him talk about how he was too busy to write the letter that day. He said we would have to go back to the magistrate for you to be handed over to us.

So this morning we went to STPC at 8:30. Vivian came in on her day off to get you ready and go to see the magistrate with us. Joyce (the social worker) was also there and Milkah (the attorney) came with us because Ware (our normal attorney) couldn’t attend this morning. You haven’t been feeling well (not too sure what you have but you are on amoxicillin and a cough expectorant) and you haven’t eaten very well recently. And the last couple of days every time you cough really hard you throw up. I hope this sensitive gag reflex is short-lived! You wouldn’t eat anything this morning before we left. I think you were nervous, too. We all piled in the car and went to court. Once we were there we saw the magistrate and moved through things pretty quickly, then she officially handed you over to us and that was it!

On the way home you ate part of a banana and drank a little guava juice. But when we got home I think you knew that this was it and suddenly felt much better! You ate half a piece of bread, then some cerelax with a banana mashed in. Daddy started moving our things across the street (because we aren’t allowed to have you on IU property) and I cleaned up lunch, then brought you upstairs and gave you milk. You fell asleep on my chest before you even finished your milk and then I put you in your pack-n-play for your first nap at home! I’m sitting on the bed watching you sleep and feeling in complete awe that you are finally home and I’m amazed at all the things God has worked out so that you could be here with us. We love you so much and are so glad that you are finally home with us and a part of our family. We can’t imagine our life without you!

Love,
Mommy

Eden is 22 months old today. She is learning words so quickly and mimics everything that we say. She likes to tell us when Andy is sleeping or awake in his car seat and loves to sing. She now sings The ABC’s, Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and The Wheels on the Bus. She gets super excited every time we see a bus (and recently firetrucks). She announces from the back seat “Watch bus!” and screams “BUS!” when she sees one out the window.

She also recently decided that she hates going to sleep. We haven’t had a problem since December but about 2 weeks ago she started screaming and crying when we leave her alone in her room. It’s rather unpleasant and we can’t wait for that stage to end!

Today Eden had her hair braided for the first time. A woman named Josephine came to our house and Eden watched movies, ate cheerios and cookies and sipped juice while having her hair braided. She did pretty well; she only squirmed a little bit. Her hair is very cute and she is quite proud of it. She has a little mirror that she is carrying around and she stops to check herself out every other step. 🙂

Andy is now 7 months old! He is really starting to move around a lot more and interacts with all of us. He desperately wants to crawl and be able to chase Eden around. He lays on his belly and wiggles and squirms, following her with his eyes while she plays. He really loves anything that Eden does. He gets so excited when she comes in to get him up in the morning or after naps and likes to jump in his exersaucer when she is jumping near by.

Andy loves being outside and playing peek-a-boo. He laughs a lot and has started rolling from his tummy on to his back. He is really getting in to the baby food but pretty much refuses to eat anything green. He’s a great snuggler and decided about a week ago that he would like to get up at 3am every morning for a little snuggle time. Last night was the last night for that, though! 🙂 His first tooth is about half way in (note the slobbery clothes) and he has been a trooper throughout the process.

We have several events coming up and will be posting a bunch of pictures over the next few weeks, so check back often!

While I was away for 3 weeks in Africa Eden had the audacity to go and grow up on me. She is now using “sentences” regularly. Meghan overheard her looking at my picture last week saying “Dada, home, please”. She has started to talk in the third person and refers to herself as “Edie”. If she wants me to not carry her anymore she’ll say “Edie walk”.

Eden loves to mimic everything we do (without being prompted). If I slap my knee, so will she. If I clap twice, so will she. If I groan loudly, so will she. Its very cute.

Eden was upset with me when I first got home yesterday. She gave me the cold shoulder for half the ride from the airport…but then for the last 10 minutes she was very talkative, wanted to show me everything, giggled uncontrollably, and wanted to hold my hand. (Andy sat on the other side of me just staring and smiling at me the whole time). Then this morning when we got up she didn’t want anything to do with me. She wanted “Mama” to feed her the oatmeal, take her to the bathroom, give her juice, etc. But then 30 minutes later she was her bouncy self and was bringing me things, etc. I hope she doesn’t hold this temporary grudge for too long!