The Big Sis Diaries

Braids and Cannonballs? Where does the time go?

2009-07-04T17:05:00.003-04:00

To put it as simply as possible, I have decided to recucitate this blog. It occured to me when taking photos and videos on my family's last trip, to Riviera Maya, Mexico; where else would a video of Sasha, not yet three-and-a-half, flipping into a pool (with no instruction, and certainly no encouragement) be appreciated? This kid is amazing. And I can't even attribute it to the genes of the family.

Sasha has blossomed into a very energetic, albeit bossy and picky, pre-pre-schooler. She has enough personality for the whole family. I keep wishing I had a journal with me to write down the things she says. But leave it to her to get up and dance like crazy to the Top 20 Michael Jackson Videos special on MTV; we'd expect nothing less of her.

In the coming days, I'll certainly post more pictures and videos from the past several months. As unbelievably excited as I am to start at Smith this fall, I regret having to leave her, to say the least. I want to make my current time with her count and keep a close record of our time together, which I hope to continue in college during my visits home.

Happy 4th of July everyone! (And on that note, a special happy birthday to Carsten, my youngest brother; I can't believe he's 10!)

Obama?

2009-01-28T16:28:00.007-05:00

Without going into details (so as not to step on anyone's political toes) we're Obama fans in this house. The inauguration, which I got to watch in school, was incredibly momentous, more so than I expected it to be. Watching it, it made me feel happy. There was so much positive energy that it was contagious. In these tough times, it really gave me hope for good things to come. I think the fact that one of Obama's daughters' names is Sasha (or Sasha! for those of you who heard the funny way it was pronounced at the inauguration) is a sign of that.

I wasn't the only one affected by the new presidency. Sasha, as you can tell, learned a bit of politics too. (For the record: Sasha CAN say "president." It won't be long before she realizes the president can- in the basic sense- "make rules"...I wouldn't be surprised if Sasha wants to adopt that role in our family :))

LONG Overdue Update!

2009-01-18T16:12:00.002-05:00

First of all, my ridiculously long blog hiatus (more like abandonment) deserves an explanation. As a senior in high school, I have been extremely busy with college applications and all that goes along with it- and, sparing all the un-interesting details, I can just say that time to sleep was a luxury. But I am thrilled (most of all relieved) to say that that part of my life has finally ended- I'm going to Smith College next year, so I can finally peel my eyes away from Microsoft Word and commonapp.org. At Smith, I plan on pursuing a double major in Education and French, and becoming a certified elementary school teacher. My dream is to someday work for an organization like the UN to develop education programs in third world countries, particularly Africa, and definetely spend time living there. I've always wanted to do the Peace Corps in Africa, but I want to travel after that too, living and working in African countries. I want to become fluent in French so that I can work in French-speaking Africa and/or teach French in the States (since the demand for language teachers is always so great.)

Anyway, first semester has also ended, and midterm exams (hopefully) successfully completed. I'm officially a second semester senior with an abundance of free time (hear that, mom?) That's the ideal, anyway. I just can't let myself completely fail out of school :).

In other exciting news, Sasha has officially graduated from the Terrible Twos and, as of this past Friday, is three. Her growth on all levels has been astonishing. She's seriously a little person now, with amazing senses of self and humor. She's extremely independent and is the only one in the family who does things before she's told to do them. You can always count on her to, with nothing better to do, load the dishwasher.

Sasha has also become extremely girly (I swear she doesn't get it from me, although I'm sure I endorse it by impulsively picking up dress-up accessories and stickers when I'm at the store.) The most common word that comes out of her mouth is probably "princess," although she can get pretty bossy when she gets into the role. A few weeks ago Sasha was trying on a new dress-up dress and our conversation went like this:

My Mom: "Sasha, can Mama wear this princess dress?"
Sasha: "No, Mama's too big."
My Mom: "Well can Susanna wear it then?"
Sasha: "No, Susanna's not a princess."

I know I've said this before, but she's honestly one of the most incredible people I've met...so full of life and energy I wish I had every day. I can't even begin to think about what I'll do without her at Smith one day. In an interview I had with them before I was accepted, I talked extensively about Sasha and I think it made my interviewer want to accept Sasha on the spot.

Along those same lines, I also talked about my Sweet Dreams Project, which is still up and runnning. I came across a minor setback recently because several boxes of donations were returned to me by the recipient without warning, so the money I raised through bakesales to send the boxes was wasted. Obviously that won't stop me though! I'm convinced I'll be in contact soon with other people who will be able to bring them to Ethiopia for me, and then I'll hold another drive probably in the next few months. I also definetely plan to bring the project to Smith and getting other students involved in my efforts.

That's been my life in a nutshell over the past few months! I can think of many more stories and events to impart here, but I think this should do it for today :) I'm back in the swing of things, though, so I'll definetely update my blog more regularly now.

Stay tuned!

June 22nd

2008-06-22T08:28:00.000-04:00

Pre-Sasha

We ordered and ate this cake the day we got our travel date, the date that will always hold a golden glow in our minds: June 22nd. On that day, however, we hadn't actually arrived in Ethiopia yet. Instead, we spent one last day in Dubai as a family of five- especially memorable since Carsten and I both got terribly sick. That made for a very interesting first meeting (more on this to come!!)

One Year Later

On this day in 2007, Sasha had no connection to us (although, of course, we felt connected to her!) Just see what difference a year made! I've never seen two siblings more loving of each other.

Flashback 2008

2008-06-21T08:14:00.006-04:00

Alright, so I didn't really publish this on June 21st. But for the purposes of following what I'm about to do, I've decided to set the date back to the day my family arrived in Dubai from a 12-hour plane trek, our first stop on our journey to Sasha Eraye.

Pre-Sasha

After arriving, completely jet-lagged, we spent two leisurely days in Dubai, mentally preparing ourselves for the life-changing events to come!

Post-Sasha

Sasha is, clearly, the spark of energy in our lives!

For the following posts, I'm going to be comparing photos from that day with photos from a year later, to show how radically our lives have changed! I'll then give a much-needed update on what I have been doing with my life recently. Enjoy :)

Do you remember...

2008-06-20T14:36:00.003-04:00

what happened on this day last year ?

That day will forever stand out in my mind...it was like no other I had, or have, experienced. What are you supposed to think on the day you embark on the journey to bring home your sister from Africa? I had nothing to compare my pending experience with. It wasn't like traveling to Kenya, nor was it like either of the births of my brothers. In no way was it like a combination of the two.

We woke up early that morning, following scattered hours of restless, excited sleep. We proceded to spend the remainder of the day on our 12-hour Emirates flight to Dubai, throughout which time I could not decide which way to direct my thoughts. I was unbelievably excited, probably more excited than I'd been in my entire life. To quote my post from June 19th, 2007- 17.5 hours before we were set to jet off from the home which was now to house six people- "The day I've been waiting for for two years is finally right around the corner- it seemed like it would never happen!! It's amazing to think about how my dreams are about to come true..."

The magnitude of what was about to happen, though, was overwhelming. I can relate it to how I similarly felt when I was seven; I had been begging for an American Girl doll ceaselessly, and my biggest wish was to get one for Christmas (which happened to be several months away.) One day- probably to shut me up- my mom conceded: "Okay, you can have one." I couldn't believe how easy it was; I had completely assumed I'd have to fight my way through her arguments against it. I almost didn't want it anymore. I had been yearning for it for so long, and I was alarmed at how soon my wish was to be granted. Of course, I had waited for Sasha for years. Yet in that time, I had so many visions- conscious and subconscious- of how our meeting and lives would be that, when it came finally time, I became nervous. What if she resists us completely? What if she never will feel a part of our family?

And now, here I sit, a year later. It blows my mind how fast the time has gone. Sasha grew from

a baby who knew nothing about us or what was happening to her to a bold, self-confident toddler who is hyper-vigilant and always- amazingly- in the know. Of course, as we watch her take the initiative to feed the cat or load the dishwasher, we can't help but remember the 17-month-old who followed the nannies at the care center on shaky steps, helping arrange cups and plates and plastic chairs. What I guess I never realized in my fantasies was how much of a person she was. In my dreams, she was my sister, relying on me and needing constant attention. But the attention she demands is not out of need but out of pride. And so, in my first annual reflection on when Sasha entered our lives with a bang, I understand not that she shaped our lives, but I realize the numerous ways she does.

I'm Dreaming of A...Baby? (No, Not an Adoption Announcement; Don't Get Any Ideas ;))

2008-06-01T18:52:00.003-04:00

First of all, I'd like to attribute my severe lapse in blogging to an insane load of work. Although I survived SATs and AP testing, I have finals next week and I'm taking the ACT the day after school's out. Yikes.

I can't help but remind myself, though, the excitement that was practically visible on me a year ago. As you recall, at this time last year, we were in the mere weeks before travelling to pick up Sasha. It was, simultaneously, a weird time, since I had no idea what to expect of the whole situation. Living sisterless for the first fifteen years of my life, I couldn't imagine living- every day- with a toddler girl.

Sasha is, of course, the absolute light of our lives. I'm embarassed by my lack of funny Sasha Stories here, but it's like I can't even begin to describe her. Her happiness is so tangible and so contagious. And she has the biggest heart I've ever seen.

A few weeks ago, our kitty Coco ran away (we actually haven't seen her since, which is pretty disheartening.) About a week after we last saw her, I started researching coyote and hawk relationships with cats, and I just burst into tears. Sasha came up to me with a look of genuine concern and empathy and said to my mom, "Susanna sad." She then, without any prompting, gave me a really long hug. We told her "Coco went bye-bye" by way of explanation- which she understood- but it almost didn't matter; she was completely shaken up by the idea that I was upset, because she's very rarely seen me crying. Recently, she saw a picture of Coco and immediately announced, "Susanna sad" and frowned. Her complete concern for others is so touching.

On a much happier note, the number of referrals our agency has given out lately is astounding! I feel so happy for all the lucky families, and my mom and I are feeling a little jealous. We asked Sasha, though, if she wanted a referral, too, and she sighed, "Noooo." (She doesn't know what a referral is, of course, but we had to laugh.) Having said that, though, I'm not sure how Sasha would take having another child in the house; she's extremely nurturing towards her dolls, and is obsessed with other babies, but she gets jealous if Carsten sits on my mom's lap for only a second. It would definetely take some getting used to.

Although it doesn't seem like Sasha will have to deal with that in the very near future, a family in a neighboring town were just matched with sisters who are 3 and 4. Sasha already has regular playdates with T, who just turned 3, so we think these new additions will be perfect. I'm glad that Sasha will be expanding her network of little Ethiopian friends.

The crazy end-of-the-year happenings, and an eventful year in general, calls for a vacation. Three weeks from today, we'll be heading to Florida to visit Key West, Key Largo and Miami. When we asked Sasha if she wanted to go to Florida, she characteristically sighed "Noooo," (which is her automatic response to anything she doesn't know anything about), but when we showed her a picture of a waterslide at one of the hotels, she pointed to it and exclaimed "Sasha!" I'm already looking forward to it; I'll be glad to spend more time with my family, since schoolwork, work, extracurricular and social commitments have been pulling me away lately. And of course, by the looks of it, Sasha will really enjoy herself too :-)

College Visits (yes, Sasha's already pushing for the Ivies!)

2008-05-14T18:11:00.009-04:00

As a junior, I have been subjected to the stresses and thrills of college searching. It was Sasha, though, who seemed to feel most at home at the Columbia campus. (I was really looking at Barnard, but we strolled through the surrounding areas to get a "feel"- which I loved!)

I was pretty excited to see this flyer posted around Barnard; it's advertising a campus showing of a movie that clearly highlights Ethiopia. Also on campus the day we visited was a festival for children adopted from China. All of these cultural events that hit close to my home certainly drew me toward the atmosphere of the school- I know I'd be happy learning more about the aspects of my life that are most important to me. Now, if only I could get in- their acceptance rate is a little intimidating...

Recognize this? It's the diner always featured in "Seinfeld" :)

100 MORE Things About Me In Honor of my 200th Post

2008-05-09T16:52:00.000-04:00

Since this is my 200th post (and an embarassingly delayed one at that) I have compiled 100 more things about me to bring the number of "things" up to 200 (you can see my first 100 "things" here and here.) Of course, it's really difficult to think of 200 things about yourself, so these certainly won't be as interesting as the last- but by the time you're through reading this, you'll know as much about myself as I do!

101. I have seen every single episode of Friends (multiple times)

102. I can only tie my shoes the little kid way, by making two "bunny ears" and tying them together in a knot. I never learned how to do the more common, wrap-one-lace-around-one-loop way.

103. In Italy, many people drink grenata (a type of iced coffee) and brioche every morning; I tried both in Sicily when I was six, but the grenata I tried was strawberry-flavored

104. I refused to wear pants- ever- until I was seven years old. Up until that time, I insisted on wearing only skirts and dresses.

105. I've always imagined I would marry someone from a foreign country. I guess it remains to be seen if that will happen!

106. I have been playing the flute for seven years

107. I have saved every single magazine I've ever bought or subscribed to since I was seven

108. My backpack was stolen on a trip to Jamaica when I was seven

109. I choose Coke products over those made by Pepsi

110. All of my friends call me Susy, but I prefer my teachers and most other adults to call me Susanna. Somehow, it sounds awkward and unprofessional to me if an adult who I want to take me seriously calls me Susy.

111. My mom has promised on two different occasions during my life to take me to a Broadway play (once when I wasn't able to go on a Girl Scout trip to see one and once when I traded in a birthday party to see a show with her) so now she owes me two. I'm dying to see Wicked- if we ever manage to get around to it!

112. I'm probably one of few Americans who is not fixated by American Idol. For some reason, I'm a little uncomfortable watching other people sing; even if they're good, I feel almost embarassed for them.

113. I don't like olives

114. I've had my hair braided African-style a handful of times, but Sasha never has. It's a struggle to get her to sit still long enough to de-tangle her hair after a bath!

115. I have lived in six different homes in my life

116. Skydiving is NOT on my list of things to do before I die

117. We went to the famous Serendipity cafe in New York City, and were all sorely dissapointed. We had to leave and eat at a street-corner pizza place :)

118. I have two good friends in Norway who I correspond with regularly

119. In Ethiopia, given my oh-so-pleasant sickness (for new readers, all of us were sick in Ethiopia since my dad convinced us it was fine to drink the water in Dubai on the way over...needless to say, it was not fine) I ended up losing a few pounds in the week we were there. The only thing I remember tolerating was the banana bread at the Hilton (which I recommend, by the way, if any of you happen to go there.) The amazing food at our Dubai hotel on the way home, though, made me gain the weight right back :)

120. I have started a tradition of buying a piece of jewlery whenever I travel to a foreign country

121. I've only been ice-skating maybe four times

122. My ears are double-pierced; I got the first set done when I was 8, and the second set when I turned 14

123. I saw Marie Antoinette's room at the Schonbrunn palace in Vienna

124. Carsten calls me "Susan" just to irritate me
125. I love banana boats. My brothers, dad and I went on one in Dubai (it was Carsten's first time) and on one huge turn, we were sent flying into the scaldingly-hot salty water. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but it certainly was a memorable one!

126. My feet are usually a size 5 or 5 1/2- 6 on rare occasions. That means I'm in the lovely position of being able to buy both kids' (for the price) and women's (for the styles) shoes

127. I have been to 21 US states

128. I have four cousins in Michigan who I haven't seen since I was five, but interestingly, I see my two cousins in Norway once or twice a year

129. I've never shared a room with anyone, so splitting a dorm in college will be, admittedly, pretty difficult for me

130. I used to be a Girl Scout

131. I have never eaten at a Taco Bell

132. I looooove Cadbury Creme Eggs; I ask for one every year at Easter :)

133. I went to a Britney Spears concert when I was ten

134. At age two, I got to see the queen leaving Buckingham Palace in London

135. I've never been to Disney World

136. I have never broken a bone

137. I'm terrible at most sports, except for maybe track (how difficult is it to run?) and skiing

138. I took the SATs this past Saturday, and an AP exam Monday...just completing both of them makes me feel so accomplished!

139. I have a strong tendency to burn rather than tan during the summer, so I over-apply sunscreen and use bronzing lotion instead

140. I tentatively plan to spend next summer improving my Norwegian (mostly the reading writing component, since I speak the language fluently) at the University of Oslo

141. I drink herbal tea most days, even in the summer

142. Although my brothers love Star Wars, I couldn't even stand to sit through the first movie

143. Lord of the Rings also couldn't hold my attention; needless to say, I'm not big on science fiction/fantasy

144. I decided to get bangs a few months ago, and it was one of the best hair decisions I've ever made

145. My favorite class in school this year is the one I thought I would like the least (aside from math, of course!)

146. I'm always cold. Unless it's 80 degrees, you'll probably find me wearing a cardigan, or at least long sleeves.

147. Having missed the first few seasons, we decided to rent Lost on DVD to watch as a family so we could catch up. My addiction has been terrible since then: not one to get too wrapped up in shows, I find myself looking forward to Friday nights days in advance, when we all have the time to sit down and watch a few episodes. The rest of my family is equally enthralled, and even Sasha has taken an interest. Please take this as a friendly warning: anyone who doesn't watch Lost is missing something vital from his/her life.

148. My parents told me that when I was three, I told a cab driver, out of the blue, "I'm from Africa. I'm an African girl." Maybe I knew more about my future than I understood even then...

149. Headbands are fashion staples for me

150. I am near-sighted, but didn't realize how truly blind I was until I got my glasses (which I still only wear when necessary)

151. I have ridden on ostriches, camels and naturally, horses, but I have yet to ride on an elephant. I will someday though!

152. Paul Dano, star of Little Miss Sunshine and the recent There Will Be Blood, graduated from my high school six years ago (my English teacher had him as a student). He has a small band, and I saw him perform last summer at the local library.

153. When I was eight, I went on a Caribbean cruise with both sets of grandparents, as well as my aunt, uncle and cousin on my dad's side. It was a fun way for everyone to meet and a lot of memories were made, although my mom still resents that the trip messed up Carsten's (then an infant) sleep schedule.

154. I hate coffee

155. I have the blondest hair in my immediate family

156. I attended a show at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna; the horses performed the same show aired every year on New Year's Day on PBS

157. I saw Harry Conick Jr with his daughter in a neighboring town a few weeks ago. John Travolta, Robin Williams, Sean Penn, and Robert DeNiro have also been spotted in our own town within the past year (our proximity to NYC means many movie shootings in our area.)

158. Speaking of celebrities, Sasha literally bumped into The Sopranos star Joe Pantaliano in a coffee shop recently, causing him to look down in surprise. At this rate, she might be noticed for a TV/movie roll in the near future!

159. Speaking of child stars, Carsten's best friend from school will be starring in an upcoming movie as Marisa Tomei's son; the movie also stars Mickey Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood. I personally find this really exciting; I beg Carsten to have him over just so I can bombard him with questions about it!

160. I never sleep late, even on weekends- waking up past 8 is rare!

161. I have only ever attended three weddings and one funeral

162. I hate rollercoasters

163. I visited Out of Africa author Karen Blixen's home in Nairobi, Kenya

164. I also visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam

165. I'm a naturally slow driver; when I was practicing driving with my dad on the road a few weeks ago, I had to actually pull over to let the car behind me pass. If I can get over my fear of up-to-speed driving, I hope to get my license this summer!

166. When I was younger, I decided that my first car would be a white Volkswagon bug that I'd splatter-paint myself. Now I just want something small, simple, affordable, and above all, safe!

167. I get really tense before going to the dentist

168. I like the smell of gasoline, even though I know it's unhealthy to inhale it

169. I long- and vow!- to go to Paris, Thailand, Egypt, India, Singapore, Uganda, and South Africa in my lifetime

170. I have been asked to co-host a website for "tweens" affected by adoption; more on this later!

171. I really like British singer Lily Allen's music

172. I love fruit, and eat a ton of it daily. Better that than candy, I guess!

173. One of my favorite actresses is Natalie Portman

174. I have never been stung by a bee

175. I realized a weird sequence in terms of birthdays in my family: our cats were born on the 1st of a month, Kristian on the 2nd of a different month, Carsten on the 4th of another month, me on the 8th of a month, and Sasha on the 16th of a month. In other words, the date doubled gives you the date of the next person's birthday (yes, I admit that math has been ingrained a little too deeply into my brain- and it's my least favorite subject!)

176. My dad has ONLY Norwegian blood- no one in his family, up until now, has married anyone other than a Norwegian.

177. My mother, conversely, is about as American as you can get (aside from those of Native American ancestry.) Her great-great-great (x10)-grandfather settled in Rhode Island a few years after the Mayflower docked in Plymouth, so even though she has Irish and English blood, she can pretty much be considered American since her roots are in this country for pretty much as long as it's been settled (by Europeans, of course.)

178. I have decided I would only ever consider getting a dog when I'm older if it's small, almost completely silent, and doesn't jump

179. When indulging in unhealthy food, I always go for the sweet over the salty. Both Sasha and my dad, however, would much rather have chips over cake.

180. I love accents in general, but British and African ones in particular

181. I run between 2.5 and 5 miles a day, time permitting, just for exercise- although running on our basement's treadmill, in front of a TV, makes it so much better! (I'm honestly less motivated to run when there's nothing interesting on.)

182. I just returned from 48 hours in Boston for our school's music trip. I've probably never laughed so hard in a short time span in my life.

183. A hedgehog has decided to make his home in our backyard

184. My cell phone, digital camera, and iPod are all pink :)

185. The walls of my room are painted two different shades of pink (see a trend?)

186. Both of my brothers called me "Dada" when they were babies before graduating to calling me "Sana", but I called myself "Nana" and Sasha (who was a little older before she started to call me anything) calls me "Su-nana"

187. I have only been to Florida for 24 hours

188. I'm taking a semester of African Studies in school next year and I'm already looking forward to it!

189. I have held a job at my local YMCA since September; I babysit kids whose parents are at the gym or pool, and I sometimes work at pre-school birthday parties. This summer, I'll be working for several weeks as a camp counselor there.

190. I don't like anything coconut-flavored

191. I've kicked around the idea of dying my hair jet-black, with bleached-blonde layers on top, after high school, just for the sake of doing something different and unexpected of me. We'll see in the next eighteen months if I dare to go through with it!

192. Although we own both a Wii game system and Guitar Hero, I have never played either one. I have absolutely no interest in video games, except for The Sims, which I occasionally play on the computer.

193. I would love to become a better cook. I've tried out a few recipes on my family, and so far, no one has been poisoned, so I take that as an encouraging sign!

194. I have only read the first four Harry Potter books

195. I don't like sushi

196. I list Run's House and The Soup among my weekend guilty-pleasure TV watching

197. I'll be writing my college essay about visiting AHOPE and how the experience affected me

198. Speaking of college, I refuse to look at schools farther than a few states away; I want to be close enough to Sasha that I can visit home every few months

199. I am also only looking at small liberal arts schools in village settings (with the exception of Barnard, which I adored and would give anything to get into, even though it will probably be a stretch for me!) I prefer closer-knit environments, since that's what I'm used to. I would, however, like a place with more diversity than where I live now.

200. It took me several days to compile this list, which is (part of) the reason why it's been so long since I've last posted. It's really difficult to search your brain for 200 things about yourself- try it sometime!

The "Sweet Dreams" Parade Marches On!

2008-04-11T16:05:00.004-04:00

I've mentioned my Sweet Dreams Project here several times, but it's really taken off in so many directions and with such speed that I'm finding it difficult to find a minute to sit down and relate it all here! Now that this afternoon marks the beginning of a week-long break from school, I have the time- and peace of mind- to update all my volunteer-hungry readers how my project is growing.

Last year, as I need not tell in detail again, I collected over 200 pairs of pajamas for AHOPE in Addis Ababa, which I personally delivered last June when my family travelled to pick up Sasha. Of course, I realized the profound discrepency between what they have and what they deserve, so I made it my mission for this school year to spread awareness about how others in my community can help. Although it's difficult to track people down to get the backing for giving my presentations (and my hands were sore from typing what seemed like hundreds of e-mails a day!) once I touched base with one person, others began clammoring for me to enlighten them with my presentations. Every week now, I present to several freshman and sophomore classes about AHOPE through a PowerPoint presentation, and explain specifically what they can do to bring a little more joy to these kids. Two days ago, I presented in my school's auditorium for hundreds of students which- although slightly nerve-wracking at first- went very smoothly. I actually had three people come up to me following that presentation, each of them suggesting I contact people they themselves are in relation with who can probably help me (the owner of a second-hand shop who routinely gives unsold items to charity, for example.) I don't, of course, expect each of my audience members to drop everything and donate to AHOPE- but if I reach just a few people, that's a few people whose outlook I shaped on poverty and need elsewhere in the world. Of course, the more money/donations I can solicit for AHOPE, the more comfort and joy those children will have.

As part of my presentation the other day, I showed a clip from Sasha's video Lifebook, which is a documentary CHSFS made about Sasha's life and history. I of course omitted anything private, but I did show a part that gave a brief overview of Ethiopian history and culture. Seeing that video again instilled in me a strong urge to go back; unlike wanting to go back to a particular vacation place I may have travelled to, I feel so deeply connected to Ethiopia now. There is no question I'll be back at least a few more times in my life (hopefully for more adoptions, whether the children are my siblings or my sons or daughters!) but I want to experience more of what Sasha came from. I'd love to volunteer there, maybe for a summer while I'm in college, just like Melissa Fay Greene 's son Lee did for AHOPE. I feel like as repitive as presenting bi- and tri-weekly on the same subject may be, I learn more about myself and how much this cause means to me with each presentation.

Another opportunity for me to spread awareness fell right in my lap. As I picked up my local paper a few weeks ago, the front page jumped out at me: the church a few streets down from our house is rallying support for an organization they started to support orphans in Ethiopia. Mind you, this is completely separate from my efforts, and our town is small by most measures. I was so excited that I e-mailed them right away; they responded, saying that they'd love to have me present at one of their masses or religious education classes one time. Although I have a lot going on, I fully intend to do this, and I'm also looking into contributing through their organization as well. It's through a church, of course, so there are some religious connections to it, but anyone can contribute, as far as I know. Please go to http://www.hoeministries.org/ to learn more!

Finally, I'd like to speak about my next big Sweet Dreams-related project. Counting on the support of the school that last year accounted for the 200+ pajamas I brought to AHOPE last year, I've started a drive collecting new and gently-used sheets and blankets. When I went to speak with the student organization of third-to-fifth-graders who are helping arrange this, they were beyond enthusiastic, especially since many of them remembered me and almost all of them remembered my drive. The posters they made to advertise the drive displayed the passion they have for this, and it reminded me again of what I'm doing. As much as this will nicely polish off my college applications, Sweet Dreams really isn't about that. This project simultaneously brings hope and happiness to AHOPE's kids and presents an important window into the lives of the less fortunate for the kids in my community.

I realize this post is incredibly long, but thank you for taking the time to read it. I know that if I can make one person think differently- more introspectively- about the world we live in, I know I've done my part. Please visit http://www.sweetdreamsforahope.blogspot.com/ to follow along on my project!

Daily Moments In Which I'm Kicking Myself For Not Having My Camera Ready

2008-04-04T17:54:00.003-04:00

For all the videos/pictures of Sasha I post here, there are a million more events/silly moments/funny expressions that go un-captured, so I will attempt to relate a few especially notable occurences here, in words:

1. At the dinner table a few nights ago, Sasha managed to get a hold of the bottle of honey mustard dressing, unscrew the cap, and pour about a pound of it onto her pasta. Looking at how her plan for a delicious meal went awry, she shook her head sadly and sighed to herself, "Oh, Sasha."

2. For about an hour last week, Sasha decided she wanted to be a kitty. Although she understands everything we say, she doesn't use many words in general, so it's funny how she gets ideas in her head and then carries out her plans without saying anything out loud. On that day, Sasha spontaneously dropped to the floor and crawled around, saying, "Meow, meow." She insisted on eating her lunch from a plate on the floor, without her hands, and then chasing a little rubber ball.

3. This next moment is cute for the same reason. Sasha followed the boys outside but came in a minute later, stating matter-of-factly, "Cold." She then crossed the room, went into the closet, pulled out her jacket, and promptly went back outside. This was all done without speaking and without any help. I love this especially since it represents her utter confidence in herself and abilities; she completely recognizes and takes advantage of her place in the family, and relies on nobody to do what she wants to get done.

4. This is a prime example of Sasha's very keen observational skills: in CVS the other day, Sasha marched over to the crate of inflatable balls, picked one she liked, and proceeded to the check-out line. She stood in line just like everyone else, even standing exactly the way the other customers were standing and sighing with impatience from time to time, just as they were. After a minute or so, Sasha decided that, as princess of the world, she had the right of way. She stepped out of line, cut to the very front, and handed her purchase to the cashier. My mom came up behind her and said, "Sorry, Sasha, we're not buying that today,"and Sasha- without complaining- looked down sadly and reluctantly returned her ball to the crate. This was all done without a word out of her, which almost makes it cuter, if you can envision it.

I take these instances as signs that I should wear my camera around my neck at all times...

A year ago today...

2008-03-22T16:41:00.003-04:00

...we saw this heartbreaking face for the first time.

If you remember, March 22nd, 2007 was the day we were officially matched with Sasha Eraye. This day came at the end of an agonizing month and a half in which we had to decide whether or not to accept our first referral, and at the end, we had to turn it down with a heavy heart. Five days later, however, we received a call from our agency, informing us of another very special little girl. She was 14 months old, and although she was a peanut in figure, her personality shone through like the world was in the palm of her hand. She has certainly grown tremendously in a year, but the smile you see above is no doubt the same one that currently melts hearts by the day.
I'm telling you- what would we do without this girl?!

Keeping Culture Alive

2008-03-08T20:23:00.003-05:00

Like all adoptive families, we feel compelled to keep Ethiopia a big part of all of our lives. Before bringing Sasha home, we were concerned that, given where we live, we would not have as many resources as we would like in order to do this. Fortunately, we've found that actually having Sasha with us has opened more opportunities:

There is an Ethiopian restaurant about a half hour from us, which we go to every once in a while, and there is another in that area that we haven't had the chance to try yet.

We also discovered an Ethiopian restaurant a literal two-minute walk from my grandma's house in Michigan, so we go there whenever we visit (which has been already three times since Sasha came home.)

My mom spoke with a woman who works at our local supermarket the other day, and she is a native of an African country (I'm embarassed to say I can't recall which one it is now.) She said she takes English classes at our local community college, and that there is an Ethiopian woman in her class. She then promised to let this woman know about us, so when my mom goes back to the store she'll see if there is a way to contact the Ethiopian woman.

Best of all, Sasha and my mom now belong to a playgroup for Ethiopian-adopted children. There are currently four or five families that belong, and they meet around twice a month. Sasha's best friend so far is a little girl I'll call T, who is roughly 9 months older than Sasha and came home from Ethiopia this past Christmas. I actually met T's mother before T came home at Melissa Fay Greene's talk, and I met the two of them again this past Thursday. (10th graders had standardized testing in the mornings last week, so freshmen, juniors, and seniors got to come in late :)). We met at Border's, and Sasha immediately innitiated play with T. Although T was a bit shy at first, they soon started interacting very sweetly, and were best friends a half hour later. At one point, the two grabbed hands and ran away together; the mothers and I started looking everywhere for them, but they had just gone off to innocently play Ring Around The Rosy. Oh my gosh, it was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen.

Kind of stemming from this, my mom met a woman in a neighboring town the other day who happened to have a dark-skinned little girl with her, too (around us, that's not something you see every day.) Naturally, my mom and this woman talked, and it turns out her little girl- who is now 15 months- was adopted from the Caribbean. My mom invited her to join her Ethiopia playgroup and she obliged, so hopefully we'll be able to expand the circle this way.

For now, it seems like we have a nice set of resources to maintain Ethiopian culture and identity, but of course, we'd like to strengthen our ties to Sasha's birth country. My question now is: for any readers who have adopted from Ethiopia- or for any other country, for that matter- do you have any suggestions/recommendations on how to keep your child's roots prevalent in your everyday life? This is very important to us, so we're happy to hear anything!

A Day in the Life of Sasha

2008-03-03T21:19:00.002-05:00

Attending Kristian's at-home cello concert

Watching Carsten's school concert

Playing dress-up! (She purposely turned so we could get a shot of the wings.)

Helping Papa bake a cake!

Taking a bath in the sink at her request (demand.)

Do you think we have enough craziness for one family?

2008-02-28T16:41:00.013-05:00

I take that back. Do you think we have MORE than enough craziness for one family?!

If we ever add more children to the family, I don't see how they could possibly compete with this one.

Sasha was an absolute riot when our social worker came for another post-placement visit last Tuesday; more on that later!

Ellis Island

2008-02-20T19:14:00.010-05:00

While you're taking pictures of magnificent foliage, you might want to snap a shot of my lovely popcorn-filled mouth.

Two Ethiopian languages, English, Norwegian...might as well learn Dutch, Spanish, and Yiddish too. (As for myself, do you think there's any chance my AP Government exam in May will ask the origins of the word "filibuster" as extra credit??)

Look mom, no jacket! (Though unfortunately, the unheard-of 55 degree weather that day was only a tease of spring.)

Hmmm...admire the pretty view of NYC, or steal my mom's makeup to maintain my youthful glow? (Given the fact that I took two pictures of her doing this, it looks like she won me over on this one.)

Here's the Video! (SEE POST BELOW)

2008-02-15T16:31:00.009-05:00

Running with Scissors...and More Gushing about Sasha

2008-02-15T16:31:00.006-05:00

Actually, with Sasha, we really don't need to be concerned about that. At barely two years old, she can hold scissors correctly and cut perfectly, as demonstrated by the following video. How smart is this little thing? Maybe it's just me, but I find that pretty impressive.

Oh, just a note on the word little: the doctor noted today that Sasha is now in the 75th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. At the time of our referral, she was below the charts in both categories. I think I see a model in the making...

Okay, I admit the following will sound like bragging on my part, but since I'm not genetically related to her, I feel almost as if that gives me a right to go on and on about how perfect my sister is.

Of course, Sasha has grown tremendously since her homecoming. In fact, I almost find it frustrating because there is no way I can explain it all here. She's obviously an absolutely adorable child, and strikingly pretty (although my dumb camera can never capture the perfect picture!) She has this charm though. I can't explain it. She's the most social child I think I've ever seen, and is so aware of her surroundings and other people. She knows exactly what you're feeling all the time. Yesterday, I was frustrated because I couldn't get a good picture, and she immediately stopped cutting and came over to give me a hug. She has this instinct to pick up the most minute facial expressions and personal actions and this is heightened by her amazing memory. One time, Carsten got a slightly pained look on his face when he was having his temperature taken, so Sasha makes that face whenever the thermometer comes out.

Sasha's acute memory became very clear when we went to Michigan last month for my grandfather's funeral. In my grandparents' appartment, my grandfather had had a room to himself where he had to stay at all times. Sasha would go visit him in there and play little games in the only ways my grandfather still could, like Peekaboo. When we walked into the appartment this past January, Sasha headed straight for his room and, finding it empty, asked in confusion, "Where'd he go?" After we distracted her, we thought she had forgotten about it, but she did the same thing the next day; it's almost like she had decided in her mind that he'd be gone for the day but would of course be there the next day.

Today, I overheard Sasha saying to her baby doll, "Wanna-go-see Papa?" in this really tender voice, just like my mom says to Sasha when they go to see him in another part of the house. When Sasha and her baby walked into the office, she chirped "Papa!" and demanded that he kiss her doll.

She also, I think, has more than just a touch of undiagnosed OCD. In the doctor's office today, when my mom said it was time to go, Sasha said, "Okay, okay" but refused to leave until everything she had played with in the waiting room was in order. Even the little subscription card that fell out of a magazine had to go back between the exact pages it had been in before. I find this incredible that she's already like this at not even 25 months old, but I do recall that the nannies at the care center reported her to be the exact same way at only 16 months of age.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that Sasha met another little Ethiopian-adopted girl this past Tuesday. Both our mom and the little girl's mom met for coffee at a local shop, and Sasha had a ton of fun interacting with this other girl. The other girl is about eight months older than Sasha, and came home this past December. Sasha, as always, was the one to initiate the play; it's so instinctive for her to take the lead in everything. This, in combination with the fact that she's soooo hyper-organized, should make her a very powerful businesswoman; but then again, her height and exotic beauty would also transform her into a supermodel!

Proving Once and For All That Toddlers Have a Much Greater Vocabulary Than We Give Them Credit For

2008-02-10T11:08:00.000-05:00

First, I have to give a brief background on why I asked Sasha that question in the video, before anyone thinks I have no better way to cure boredom than to ask young children what kinds of non-human creatures they are:

I take a course called Child Development in school, in which I get to work with the kids who attend my high school's pre-school. Part of the curriculum of the class is to develop a curriculum for the children. I have a friend in another class who was telling me how she had to develop an aquatic-themed program, including learning stations on the different sea life animals, etc. I told her that I highly doubted three-and-four-year-olds had the slightest idea what "aquatic" meant, but as you can see, the above video proved me wrong. I mean, Sasha obviously has her home in the sea- see her shiny scales?

(It's also very clear, though, that Sasha wanted us to make no mistake about the fact she was getting very tired of this question.)

Look Who's Feeling Better?

2008-02-07T19:07:00.001-05:00

Overall, the surgery went extremely successfully. Sasha was a little trooper, and as always, everyone in the hospital was absolutely smitten with her. According to my mom, she wanted to do everything herself, including all the tasks the nurse was supposed to perform on her. In fact, she was the one to notice one of the leads had fallen off during a test, and promptly let the nurse know.

Although she wasn't the happiest of clams once the anesthetic wore off, she's absolutely, 100% her same, crazy self now. She's definetely happy to be home, though- she screamed, "SU-NANA!" when I came home from school today, and she almost started hyperventalating when Kristian walked through the door a few hours later. On the whole, things really couldn't have gone more smoothly- but we're all so glad to have our healthy baby home!

Superbowl Recap & Sasha's Surgery

2008-02-04T17:15:00.002-05:00

As MA natives (well, actually, no one in my family is, but we lived there for ten years), we're pretty avid Patriots fans. Here in CT, our town is almost equally divided between the Pats and the Giants, so it made for some interesting Superbowl hype.

Needless to say, we were all tearing our hair out at the end of the game (although admittedly, I don't understand football, as many times as I ask my dad to explain it to me.) My dad and Kristian were especially depressed. Sasha, however, was completely ecstatic. I SO wish I had taken a video- seeing her react to the end of the game was absolutely the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Responding to the cheers of people in the stands, she began to run across the room and back incessantly, only stopping to dance and spin in a circle. She started clapping and screaming "YAY!!!!" over and over- this lasted for a good fifteen or twenty minutes. The fact that there were commercials made it even funnier though. At the breaks, Sasha would stop and patiently watch the TV, only to resume her passionate enthusiasm when the football came back on. All the while, my brothers and dad were sulking, and Kristian was close to tears. We, of course, had no idea what a huge Giants fan Sasha was until now, but then again, what would make her want to support the Pats? Unlike the rest of us, Sasha has never even been to Massachusetts.

On a different note, I just wanted to mention that Sasha needs to have heart surgery this week for a heart murmur. There is nothing to be concerned about at this point, but please keep her in your thoughts as we hope for a seamless recovery.

Second "Sweet Dreams" project a success!

2008-02-03T14:35:00.004-05:00

You can read about it here .

Chicago Bears Player Adopts from Ethiopia

2008-02-03T14:35:00.002-05:00

Follow the link below to watch the video!

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/multimediapopup.asp?MM_FILE_ID=1038&PLAY_CLIP=Y

More from Sasha's Big 0-2 Day!

2008-01-27T15:32:00.001-05:00

More from Sasha World

2008-01-18T18:49:00.000-05:00

Bowling (Norway)

Playing a game she made up called "Put your head in the sink" (also Norway)

Just a cute little side note: Sasha made up a new song about me today. It goes like this: "Su-nana, Su-nana, Su-nana, Su-nana" (repeat until you get tired of it.) Be sure, also, to sing it in a very soft, high-pitched voice, with a bright smile on your face :-)

Guess who's 2????

2008-01-16T13:48:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SASHA!!!!

14 months:

16 months:

17 months:

18 months:

19 months:

20 months:

21 months:

22 months:

23 months:

Look how much you've grown!

Looooooong Overdue Christmas Recap

2008-01-15T16:01:00.000-05:00

Okay. I understand I haven't posted in who knows how long (well, 14 days...yikes!) but so much has happened that I don't know how to begin. It seems like a lame excuse, but trust me, the drama has just been unfolding and unfolding. I'll start at the beginning.

We were supposed to leave as a family for Norway on the 20th. That day, my mom had a really really terrible headache, so my dad brought her to the doctor while us kids were at school. The doctor suggested she take the medicine he gave her and rest, so my dad booked her a ticket to Iceland for the next day, thinking that he'd take us to Iceland and she'd follow 24 hours later. So we left, leaving her home.

Well, she got 100 times worse. She was actually brought to the ER, where she stayed for four days, to make a long story short...so she didn't come to Norway at all. She had planned to come after she was released, but she then found out her father passed away. Talk about a merry Christmas.

I'm not going to go into more detail, but we enjoyed ourselves in Norway to the extent we could. The family loved Sasha, and she was definetely her cute self, but the entire situation was a bit off with my mom's absence. We still managed to have a pleasant time though, as you can see by the pictures!

This past weekend we all attended my grandfather's funeral in Michigan. I'm so happy Sasha had the chance to meet him twice in the few months between her homecoming and his death. As ill as he was, he was able to play little games with Sasha that she really enjoyed, and I can't count how many times he said, "Oh, she's such a doll." I'm grateful they had that time together.

I'll go into more detail about the trip later, but school's sending me for a loop this month. Mid-term exams are this week, which puts a strain on me especially since I had to miss two days of review last week to fly to Michigan. I'll promise to update later, because there's so much to tell!

On top of all this, another big (but happy!) event is happening tomorrow. A very special little girl will be celebrating her second birthday...I'll leave you guessing as to who she could be! :-)

Here are some pictures from Iceland/Norway. I'll add more amusing captions next time!

Walking up the long hill to Perlan (The Pearl), a restaurant/Icelandic cultural center in Reykjavik

View of our Iceland hotel from Perlan

Going crazy in the extreme wind

Having fun with a Santa Claus figure in Perlan's gift shop

Being a goofball in Perlan's cafe

Sasha in awe of a wax figure

Wax Viking statue outside Perlan's Icelandic heritage museum

The famous Perlan (view from our hotel room- sorry it's fuzzy!)

Waiting for our taxi in Reykjavik

Caruso, the restaurant in Reykjavik center we always eat at

Reykjavik by night

Holiday street musicians

She's a hamster! (Keflavik International Airport)

Putting on a smile in church!

Sitting pretty with her big brother

O Christmas tree!

Kristian took this one (the only picture of his I kept...the others were terrible.) I think this looks almost professional though!

Cozying up to Carsten

I don't know what to say about this except for that it appears Sasha had one drink too many...

A doll!!

Trying desperately to comprehend the concept of Santa...

Sasha scares me a little in this picture...

Getting overly excited by a game of air hockey

Preparing for the walk into town center

Best of 2007

2008-01-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

First of all, I'm just going to confirm that yes, I'm back from Norway (we got in at 5 am yesterday.) Sooooo many dramatic things have happened, though, that I'm going to save all that for a later post. I also have many pictures and video clips from the trip, and I promise to post those as well. Since I have a lot on my mind now and because I'm still quite jetlagged, I'm going to conserve my energy so that I can explain everything more eloquently at a later date. In the meantime, I've decided to start my own Meme called "Best of 2007."

Best Events that Happened:

Adopting Sasha, duh!

Best Places I Visited:

Dubai
Ethiopia
Birmingham, Michigan
Virginia Beach for my school's music trip
Iceland
Norway (because we got to show off Sasha!)

Best Books I Read:

Love In the Driest Season
The Namesake
Angela's Ashes (okay, I'm kind of cheating here, since I started it in 2007 but haven't finished it yet...love it so far though!)

Best Movies I Saw:

Waitress
The Painted Veil
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Namesake
Pan's Labyrinth
Juno (this one barely counts, since I saw in December 31st, but it's very good!)

Best Music I Listened To:

Littlest Things by Lily Allen
If Everyone Cared by Nickelback
Ethiopian music

Best Gift I Gave:

200+ pairs of pajamas to AHOPE (although I really have to give credit to all the wonderful people who donated!)

Best Gift I Received:

A digital camera (not to put this on the level of the gifts listed below)
Smiles from the AHOPE kids
Sasha's love and laughter

Best Accomplishments:

Everything involving The Sweet Dreams Project, but being able to visit AHOPE especially
Improving my PSAT score by 100 points (with 50 points in math, my weakest subject)

Best Lessons I Learned:

Live in the moment. As inclined as I am to worry about, dread, look forward to, and obsess about the future, true happiness comes from focusing on the present.

I now tag: Nikki , Ellie , Erin, and Holly .

Happy New Year!!

Just wanted to wish everyone...

2007-12-20T07:16:00.001-05:00

A very happy holidays! This evening we're heading to Norway for Christmas to show Sasha off to my dad's side of the family. It should be fun!

I'm bringing my camera and video camera, so I'll have a lot to show when we get back on the 30th!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Sasha

2007-12-16T07:33:00.000-05:00

Before anyone calls Child Welfare, we honestly do not let Sasha drink soda on a normal basis. The way she reacted when she was granted a little sip from my mom's Fresca, though, was so funny that we had to let her do it again. The first time she tried it, she scrunced up her face and shook a little from the carbonation (she does do it a bit here), but in this video, she realizes that we're all laughing at her so she tries to be extra cute.

New Blog!

2007-12-13T08:19:00.001-05:00

Check out my new blog! Here is where you can find all you need/want to know about my my Sweet Dreams Project, including statistics, upcoming events, and more!

http://www.sweetdreamsforahope.blogspot.com/ .

I also want to give a huge THANK YOU to Nikki for the incredible design!!!!

*Note: This blog will most definetely NOT take the place of this one! I'll be updating both faithfully :-)

Part 3!

2007-12-13T08:19:00.000-05:00

Installment #2!

2007-12-08T11:10:00.000-05:00

CHECK THIS OUT!!!!

2007-12-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

Please meet Chris, a Korean adoptee commencing his journey to find his birth family. He posted on our agency's adoption forum, and my mom was really impressed and moved by the vblog he began to keep track of his progress. I, too, found the insight he revealed through his video eye-opening. I think the fact that he puts everything in such a postive light is uplifting. I often hear "horror" stories about adoptees resenting their adoption, and it's really refreshing to see someone who is not trying to find his roots out of spite or anger but curiosity. I talked to Chris through a private message and he was glad that I'm willing to answer any questions he has from the adoptive side, but I find that my window into his world is just as, if not more, valuable. I want to follow his journey not just for his sake (although I wish him the best of luck!) but also for Sasha's. As my mom said, this vblog is a lesson ALL adoptive families can learn from. I really want to understand how Sasha might feel about her adoption as she grows older, especially since there will probably be a time she'll be more inclined to turn to a sibling than a parent. Since I'm not adopted myself, Chris's journey will teach me a lot.

Without further ado, I introduce Chris. While his video journey is priceless to all adoptive partents/siblings as well as adoptees, I encourage everyone to watch and wish him luck on such a life-changing endeavor! I will contine to post Chris's vblogs as they are made.

value="http://www.youtube.com/v/injzNMJS5Fg&rel=1">

For the record, I just want to add that the adoption situations that I'm personally connected to are nothing but positive. I have two friends who were adopted, one domestically and the other from the Phillipines. The one who was domestically adopted has had contact with her birth mother and talks to her quite frequently, and is pretty open about it and has nothing but good things to say both about her adoptive parents and birth family. My friend adopted from the Phillipines has not had contact, but her oldest brother was also adopted from that country (they're not biologically related.) The middle child of that family was biological to their parents. Her relationships with all her family members are very positive and, from what I can see, more or less the same. With both of my friends, I didn't know that they were adopted until almost a year after I met them.

All of this makes me feel, for lack of a better word, good about Sasha's future. I want her to feel connected to her home country yet completely comfortable in the one she was raised in, as well as with Norway, as the rest of us are. My whole family embraces many cultures- I want Sasha to be no different! (Speaking of cultures...we leave for Christmas in Norway on the 20th. She'll meet her paternal relatives for the first time and experience her third heritage. I smile at the fact that Sasha, born in Ethiopia, will soon be fluent in Norwegian and feel at home in a land used to snow and cooler climates. She'll certainly be an international girl!)

Ethiopia Trip Video

2007-12-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

As I think I've mentioned before, I'm working on my Senior Interest Project to raise awareness on how others can help AHOPE. As part of my presentation, I created a short video of our trip to give people a (very small) taste of Ethiopia. Believe it or not, this took a lot of work, even though it doesn't look like much. I admit it's FAR from perfect since this was my first experience with a video camera, but I thought I'd give you a preview before I presented it. I do, however, pride myself in finding good music...I think it fits the video pretty well :-)

Enjoy!

(The video is posted at the very bottom of the page, since for some reason I couldn't post it directly onto the post. I had to resort to posting it in the template.)

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2007-11-30T18:09:00.000-05:00

So Sasha has been having a lot of fun lately playing with the little girl next door, who is six months older than Sasha is. Before I continue, please keep in mind that this child has a Danish mother and an Indian father- in short, she hardly looks like Sasha in any way.

At a playdate the other day, the two were sitting side by side, eating bananas. Noticing this, Sasha's little friend cried in excitement, "Mom, look! We're twins!"

Thanksgiving Re-cap and Other Sasha Happenings

2007-11-25T15:53:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving, as low-key as it was, was made all the more fun and festive by Sasha. We had guests visiting, and Sasha was at her absolute best- she was a paragon of charm, wit, and intelligence, and oh my goodness, she could not have been cuter. The whole family melted in her presence, to the point where the mother- my mom's best friend- practically begged my mom to take Sasha along when the two of them went shopping by themselves on Saturday like they do every year. Of course, she's a gorgeous child, but her cuteness has nothing to do with that; her personality is something I simply can't describe. She is so smart, and her sense of humor is incredibly stong. As all children should be, she was shy of them at first, and was wary of them trying to hold or hug her, but she totally warmed up to them by that evening. She was very sorry to see them leave.

Her communication skills are getting better and better. She's always been good at letting us know what she wants, but she has gotten better about using language lately. We can have normal, albeit very simple, conversations with her now:

Sasha (taking my hand and pulling me toward the refridgerator): "Num-num?"

Me (taking a cheese stick-her favorite snack-out of the fridge): "Do you want this, Sasha?"

Sasha: "Okay!"

(I hand it to her.)

Sasha: "Thank youuuuu!"

We're pretty sure that she understands everything we say, but has a little more difficulty responding in words. For example, when my mom told Carsten he had to take a shower, she asked, "Bath? Bath?" knowing that that meant that it was her bath time, too. Today, we all had a laugh when we drove by a McDonald's, because Sasha laughed, pointed to it, and cried, "Num-num!!" Don't get me wrong, we really don't go all that often, but Sasha loves the french fries so much there that she knows by now where they come from.

She also responds to simple comands; if we ask her to put her jacket on, she'll do it. The only main confusion she has now surrounds names. She calls Carsten "Car-car" and says some form of "Kristian," and also says "Su-nana." She also consistently responds to her name now, so she knows that she is Sasha. Today, though, when I was tapping her chest and saying "Sasha" and then tapping my own and saying "Susanna", she would say, "No no no no no, Su-nana," and tap her own chest. We couldn't help laughing at her defiance, and whenever we laugh, she fake laughs, knowing full well that she think that she's hilarious.

Her defiance also comes through in her choice of clothes, as I've mentioned before. Every day, she insists on wearing her Ethiopian dress (case in point: below pictures) and that Iceland hat she was shown wearing in a past post. We've had to hide them because they're all she ever wants to wear, and she still manages to find them. As hysterical as it is, we're afraid that her Ethiopian dress is going to get torn up and stained soon- as you can see, it's already starting to wear out a bit.

As I've said thousands of times, this kid is incredible...hopefully this above video can show a snapshot of her character! (I put it on simply because of her blank expression at the end of the video...it made us crack up!)

Sasha's Fashion Sense

2007-11-16T16:48:00.000-05:00

Here is Miss Sasha, raiding her very stylish older sister's closet to add to her original accesories.

Sashe loves to mix and match various pieces of clothing for a very eclectic ensemble. Here, she sports a traditional winter hat from Iceland, a pretty pastel sweater, standard jeans, and of course, a rainbow umbrella.

Here she is in an outfit that my mother picked out and that she approved of.

In all honesty, Sasha really is very particular about her clothes. She'll let you know if she finds something especially cute or pretty (like on models in magazines, or what we're wearing), and likewise, what she doesn't like (there are certain things in her closet that she absolutely refuses to wear at certain times.) It's also true that she loves to go into my closet and pick out items of clothing-particulary hair accessories- that she wants to wear. She definetely takes after her big sister ;-)

On anoter note, Sasha is 22 months today! The time has flown by. In a mere two months, she will be two years old. Looking at her, I can imagine her being two, since she has the qualities of many two-year-olds and is pretty mature-looking, but it's astounding how much she has grown in under five months. Of course, the bigger she gets, the more amazing she becomes!

Remembering AHOPE (VERY LONG)

2007-11-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

*photo courtesy of AHOPE website

As I have posted about extensively before, I have been working very hard on a small organization I created called The Sweet Dreams Project, which I began last year for my Senior Interest Project at school. The purpose of a Senior Interest Project is to explore an area of study you're interested in, and use the information you gain to somehow improve yourself or the community. It can really be anything, and of any size- you get 0.5 credit for it from the school, and it really polishes off college applications. Mine, however, has become one of the big focuses of my application, since it's so big and so important to me. Through it, I want to benefit the AIDS orphanage AHOPE in Addis Ababa, both through donation drives and raising awareness about how other people can help.

I began my Sweet Dreams Project last year by holding a drive through my brother's elementary school, collecting pajamas for the AHOPE kids. To my delighted amazement, I received over 200 pairs, and probably could have collected more if I thought I had room to bring them all when we went to Ethiopia. (I have more info on the drive here .) We managed to bring almost every single pair we found decent enough to bring with us. I know that I haven't yet talked about the experience, and it was such a defining moment of my life that it has taken me a while to come up with what to say. Since it's a Friday with no homework that needs to be immediately completed, I thought I would do that now.

On Friday, our last full day in Addis, we went to visit AHOPE. Sidisse and Gelila, who run the program, knew who I was right away (they said they'd be expecting me) and welcomed my family very warmly. They led us into Sidisse's office, which was small but cozy, and, after offering us seats, proceeded to tell us about the program they run there.

They explained a bit about how AHOPE was founded and how it is currently managed. It has a headquarters in Washington state, where donations are collected and subsequently sent to AHOPE Ethiopia; this goes to fund AHOPE's biggest projects, like building structures and buying necessary supplies. Because AHOPE lives solely on donations, it is, needless to say, not the most wealthy of institutions (I'll talk about this more a little later.) They were very grateful to accept the two big garbage bags filled with pajamas and a few other toy donations we had brought for them, explaining that receiving items like this was relatively rare since the money donations often go towards funding education and building materials.

We were then taken to see the children. What an (I can't even think of what adjective to put here) experience. I know this sounds so cliche, but it really makes you think differently about the magnitude of opportunity and even materialistc possessions that we really don't appreciate enough. The children were all sitting in front of a TV, a few broken and dirty toys scattered here and there. Their clothes were ill-fitting and far from clean. They all seemed to be some degree of sick, with molluscum and runny noses, and the air smelled of poor health. Everyone was doing their best to remedy the status of the children, I could tell; but it is undeniable that they needed so much more.

This included, most visibly, attention. From the start, my family was completely swarmed by little kids- one boy in particular jumped into my arms when we walked in and didn't let me put him down for the smallest fraction of a second. All the kids had fun showing us Polaroid pictures of all the AHOPE children posted on an old bulletin board, proudly reciting the names that were written underneath. They burst into peals of excited laughter when I repated back to them the names they so confidently informed me of.

After seeing the younger kids' compound, we visited the old kids' compound. Many of the children were away at the public school, but those who remained (the kindergartners and some older kids who were for some reason not going to school that day) were eating lunch. When we were taken in, we were met by stares; I could see the wheels of thought churning in their minds, trying to figure out what a white family with children, accompanied by a little girl who looked much like themselves, was doing there. When they learned that we were American, they excitedly began to practice their English on us, smilingly informing us of their names and ages in heavy accents.

We later saw some of the bedrooms, which were cramped, cement-floored rooms crowded with bunk beds. One of the most touching moments of my life occured then, when I saw a little girl playing with two of the rattiest, broken Barbies I had ever seen. In most American households, those Barbies would have seen the trash long ago, but this child was playing more animatedly with these dolls than many children do with much newer, perfect-condition toys. It was certainly very eye-opening.

Lastly, we saw the kindergarten classroom, which was a narrow room consisting of about twelve desks and some teaching supplies. We met some older girls who had been to New York through an AHOPE for Children-sponsored program, and they were interested to hear that we lived so close to that city. Seeing the classroom and the kids and learning that AHOPE often has volunteers from the States has inspired me to someday return and volunteer my time and efforts as a teacher there. I can really see myself doing that out of college or graduate school, before or after I do the Peace Corps.

When we left, Gelila and Sidisse thanked me for the millionth time for what I did. I do now think that the Sweet Dreams project made a difference, and I'm beyond glad that I did it. Before, it seemed to me that AHOPE was such a well-known institution that the might not need the pajamas, but I know now where the donation money really goes. Although it's great that buildings are being built and education is being funded, it's clear that they can really benefit from better clothes and toys, too. My mom said afterwards that she wished that ALL the donations we had brought we had given to AHOPE, because the donations of everything they had was quite a bit worse that that of our agency's orphanage.

I can't say that I'm proud of myself for what I did, because the discrepency between what I did and what they deserve is much too big. It wasn't generosity; it was justice! It was as much a gift to me as to them, meeting these ruthlessly optimistic, incredible children.

Nevertheless, I was glad to help, and happy that I could make a difference, however small, in their lives. The ladies wanted my contact information so we could keep in touch; they were very pleased to hear that I wanted to do more for them, and I know that any more donations I collect or persuade other people to give whill be gratefully received and used.

Therefore, I have thrown myself head-over-heels into the project this year. I have already spent too much of my time typing this and probably too much of yours by making you read it all, but I can assure you now that the Sweet Dreams Project will be BIGGER and BETTER. More info will be coming in a post in the near future!

Missing Her Already

2007-11-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

My mom left a few hours ago for Michigan to stay with my grandpa, who is in poor health, while my grandma has surgery. She took Sasha with her, and they'll be gone until Sunday evening. Already I'm feeling an odd emptiness in the house. I guess this is how it was before Sasha came into our lives, but her absence is something I'll have a hard time getting used to. I'm going to miss her smiles and laughter when she's being silly and her drama-queen-esque performances when she's upset (she wanted to put on her pink bathing suit this morning instead of her regular clothes, and when I wouldn't comply to this, she threw herself down on the floor and refused to look at me. Of course, she got over it within five minutes.)

I've added these pictures to keep my special little girl fresh in my thoughts...but I'm sure I won't be needing reminders!

Experiments with Hair

2007-11-04T07:49:00.001-05:00

Puffs

Wide Headband

Thin Headband

Halloween Pictures!

2007-11-04T07:49:00.000-05:00

Needless to say, Sasha was a bit skeptical of the "trick-or-treating" concept, but when she figured out it involved taking candy for herself and seeing other children dressed up, she warmed up to the idea :-)

Finally...

2007-10-28T21:37:00.000-04:00

a new video! Please be sure to check it out. It features Sasha, 21 mos., in the famed starring role with Carsten, 8, in an Oscar-nominated supporting role.

This video is rated "S" (silly) because of mild nudity and the craziness that ensued. Sasha insisted, for no apparent reason, on taking her shirt off, which subsequently made her very goofy.

Please also note Sasha's very visible Buddha belly. She's a healthy girl, all right!

Sasha Update

2007-10-19T16:27:00.000-04:00

First let me just say that I'm sorry for the blogging hiatus. I don't think I've gone for this long without posting except for when I've been out of town. Soooo much has happened that has kept me from posting, which also means that I have sooooo much to write about!

I haven't done a Sasha Update in a while. I'll start by saying that her transformation from when we first met her to now has been unbelievable. She has grown up in so many ways, and each day she shows so much more of her true personality!

I have so many stories that if I were to relate a quarter of them, it would take up so much time that I would never be able to publish this post, so I'll try to recount a few standout ones.

Sasha is outrageously girly. We don't know how this happened, given that she really doesn't know anyone that could have influenced her to be this way. But she is. Like I was at her age, she loves everything a young girl is expected to like- pink, sparkles, clothes, dolls, you name it. This is, of course, SO much fun for me, since I've always been a girly-girl and I enjoy reminiscing about playing with the things she plays with and doing the things she does. The more "boy-oriented" toys (which we have an abundance of) she takes little interest in, though. It's interesting to see her reach for the dolls over the toy trains, because, like I said, she doesn't have anyone hovering over her shoulder telling her to.

She has to have a baby doll in her arms at all times, pretty much. It's really heart-warming to see how genuinely affectionate she is towards them. She takes SUCH good care of them, feeding them, rocking them, patting them, kissing to them, singing to them...it touches my heart to see how she has learned what love means at such a young age given her background. She's also very resourceful when it comes to taking care of her babies...when she didn't have a bib for her doll, she took the baby blanket from the doll's bed and wrapped it around its neck before feeding it.

Her affection extends to people, as well. Today, for no apparent reason, she bit Kristian really hard. She doesn't normally do this, and we know she wasn't angry, so we didn't know what to think. My mom told her "No, no, no" very firmly, shaking her finger at her, and showed Sasha where her bite had hurt Kristian. She understoond immediately that what she did was wrong. For the next half hour, she reprimanded herself, saying "No" in an angry tone and shaking her little finger. She followed this by hugging and kissing Kristian profusely. When she saw me, she repeated this over and over again to show how she felt sorry for what she did. Only when Kristian hugged her and began to play with her did she stop; only then did she understand she had been forgiven.

A similar situation occured yesterday, although that time it wasn't her fault. She was waving a piece of paper around when the corner of it hit me right in the eye. Instinctively, I put my hand to my eye and said, "Ow! Ow!" Sasha was very concerned. Her eyes were full of sympathy, and I could tell she thought that it was her fault. She patted me and tried to take my hand away from my eye so that she could examine the injury herself. After a while, we went outside and it seemed like she forgot about it, but when my mom came home an hour later, the first thing she did was run up to her, say, "Ow! Ow!" and point to my eye.

She picks up words much more rapidly now, especially if they're accompanied by gestures/movements. If something goes away unexpectedly, like a plane in the sky, she raises her shoulders, palms facing upwards, and says, "Whereago?" (Where did it go?) Her favorite phrase now is, "So cute!" (which doesn't really sound like that, but we know that's what she means since it's in the same tone of voice we say it in.) If she sees any article of clothing she likes (and she's VERY particular about clothes) she'll say this. She says it every time she puts on a new outfit, or if anything we wear stands out to her. One day, she said "Off, off"- indicating that I take my shoes off- and brought out some pink, sparkly ones for me to wear instead. The black shoes I was wearing just weren't fancy enough for her.

She also often wants to change her own clothes if she doesn't like what she's wearing. One day she discarded her outfit for her brown winter boots and her Ethiopian dress. She'll also change her shoes about five times a day, every day. In a clothing store, she insists on wearing anything that appeals to her. If she gets to try it on, she parades around, smiling proudly and looking in the mirror, saying "So cute! So cute!"

There are so many more things I can say about Sasha right now, but I know it will take up a good chunk of my life to write them all here. In a nutshell, here are a few more things she does:

- She has undiagnosed OCD in the exact same way I do. I can't stand stray marks on papers or spots on my clothes, and neither can she. She's paranoid about having a spot of marker on her finger or having something spilled on her clothes. One day, she was upset that my mom had a little mark on her blouse, and insisted that she try to get it off.

- She has an obsession with the cats. She has decided that it's solely her job to feed them and open the door for them when they want to go outside. She has firgured out that she has some degree of authority over them, and she's basking in it. She tries to chase and hug them, but also loves to tell them "No, no, no" if they're scratching the furniture.

-She looooooves Sesame Street (she refers to the whole thing as "Elmo.") One day, when my dad was watching football, she snuck over to the TV, changed the channel, and asked slyly, "Elmo?"

- Her memory is amazing. I mentioned a while ago that Kristian had taught her a "secret handshake." Several months later, she remembered it without any reminders.

Okay, I think I've covered all that I'm willing to cover, and probably more than you want to read. I'll post again when I get the chance!

Ethiopia Trip Day 3

2007-10-09T15:36:00.000-04:00

We woke up very late in the day Dubai time, missing breakfast by far and being almost too late for lunch (although, of course, our hunger clocks were on a totally different schedule than the one our minds were fighting to put our bodies on.) After taking our time getting ready, we headed straight for the pool. Unfortunately, Carsten suddenly didn't feel well and returned to the room, but feeling himself a few hours later, came back out to the beach. Everything was going really well for most of the day- as you can see by the video, we pretty much relaxed beachside except for a short excursion to visit a swelteringly hot public beach and a big mosque. Towards the end of the day, though, Carsten felt sick again, and, although I was in denial at first, I, too, began to feel unwell. I'll spare you the details, but it made for a very unpleasant night for the two of us. The timing, of course, was absolutely perfect- it was the night before we were set to leave for Ethiopia, and the night before we were scheduled to meet Sasha for the first time. My body and mind have never felt in more of a mess ("mess" is such an understatement, but I can't think of the most descriptive word to capture what I was feeling.) You can probably imagine how terrible it was though- we were all extremely jetlagged and sleep-deprived, collapsing from the heat, and emotionally distraught with our upcoming big day, but if you add a very upset stomach that sends you to the bathroom every hour (forcing you to stay awake feeling miserable in between) to the mix- thus leaving you with about three hours of sleep, that being a generous guess, and knowing that you'll have to wake up so early Dubai time that it would still be morning the day before US time- you probably get a good idea of what a "mess" we were in.

I'm not trying to complain, although I think our experience was worthy of complaining at the time. It certainly makes for an interesting story to tell, and I can't wait to tell the rest of it!

The next chapter is of us meeting Sasha for the very first time. Check back next week to read about it! :-)

In case you've missed the first two installments:

Day 1 of Our Ethiopia Trip

Day 2 of Our Ethiopia Trip

Fall Fun

2007-10-03T19:15:00.000-04:00

Meeting Melissa Fay Greene (warning: long- but worth reading)

2007-09-28T16:59:00.000-04:00

I realize that Friday is usually "Ethiopia Trip Post" day, but I thought it would be more important to recount how my meeting with Melissa Fay Greene went!!

On Wednesday, my mom and Sasha kidnapped me from school after my third period class so that we could drive to the library of a town that was five minutes away where MFG was speaking. (I know, I know. Why I would be missing school when I felt perfectly fine is a question a lot of people wouldn't be able to answer, but those people don't know how much it meant for me to meet her. As some of you may remember, I have been corresponding with MFG throughout our adoption process, and her responses have meant a lot to me. Here is my letter to her (she responded, much to my great surprise, flattery, and excitement, the very next day!!) Looking back, I shouldn't have been surprised by her generosity and compassion to respond so kindly to a young fan (and with such promptness!) I could see what a great person she was when I was able to speak with her.

We went into a room where a buffet lunch was set up, across the room where a desk piled with paperback versions of There Is No Me Without You. When I saw Melissa Fay Greene talking and smiling to another woman there, I felt like I was seeing a Hollywood actress! I couldn't wait till everything had settled down so I could meet her.

My mom and I then ran into another woman there with an adorable Ethiopian-adopted baby, and we soon found out that they were the Daileaders! They had arrived home TWO DAYS BEFORE with their sweet Sophie, and I immediately was overcome with admiration to coming to the talk fresh from a long, exhausting trip. Sasha was fascinated by Sophie and kept staring at her throughout the talk, and would time to time point at her and say "baby, baby." They're pretty much exactly a year apart and the Daileaders live just 15 minutes away, so I can see a new friendship developing in the future for Sasha.

When we were seated at one of the two long tables in the room, we began to talk with some other families who had come. We met several families who were in various stages of Ethiopian adoptions, many of them waiting for referrals. One family was waiting for their travel date and brought the referral picture of their extremely cute two-year-old daughter with them, which was fun to see.

Right before the talk started, Melissa Fay Greene walked by me on her way to the front of the room. She stopped, somehow recognizing me right away! MFG asked if the cutie sitting next to me belonged to me, and I said yes; she then proceeded to ask a few questions before she had to go up to talk. When the host was introducing the guest speaker, MFG leaned over and asked me if I would do her a favor and get her a glass of water. I was more than pleased to perform the task, and I thought it was very sweet and considerate to ask me since she probably knew that was something I could brag to my friends that I did later on. Also, as my mom pointed out, it probably would have been something she would have asked her own kids to do if they had been there, which made me feel a bit special :-).

She spent the next hour reading excerpts from There Is No Me Without You and talking about why/how she wrote it, including funny personal stories not included in the book as well as updated statistics and news. The stories carried me back to our trip and our adoption adventure, and I felt a twinge of nostalgia I hadn't felt before. I have been so caught up with my life now that I don't think about Ethiopia or the adoption process, and all of my memories started flooding back. I resolved myself then and there that I will go back to Ethiopia, and I will visit the children left behind there, even though I can't definitively say when now.

I loved listening to her; even though she's a famous writer, she's so personable, down-to-earth, and warm. Sasha was a very good girl throughout the talk, remaining fairly quiet and disruptive, although she did often lean over me to get a better look at baby Sophie. When MFG was done speaking, the adoptive parents with their Ethiopian children were asked to introduce themselves (there were three, including a family that had come in with their one-year-old baby boy.) After questions were taken and answered, we were able to talk a bit more with the other families and discovered that there were more in our area than we had thought. I hope that Sasha will be able to interact more with these children in the future and form many close friendships with Ethiopian-adopted kids like her :-).

I then asked MFG to sign the family copy of the book I had brought, as well as the copy we had bought there for a relative. She asked me what to write, and caught a bit offguard, I said that she could write what she wanted. When she had done this, we talked a bit more before it was time for us to leave. I honestly felt like I could have been having a conversation with anyone else I know; she was so casual and easy to talk to. I hope she will go on more book tours in the future, because I would love to have more time to speak with her- I have so many questions to ask her. What she has done is really an inspiration (I've found myself thinking that I want to grow up to BE her) but the fact that she seemed like such a regular person was equally admirable- it gives me hope that maybe I can grow up to do what she does in the future.

On the way back to school, I finally got the chance to look at what MFG had signed in the book. She had written, "To Susanna, My youngest and most eloquent correspondant." Wow! She is such an amazing woman. I hope that all of you will have a chance to meet her- it's so worth it.

I Have Fooled You All For So Long...

2007-09-25T20:26:00.000-04:00

In reality, I'm a mean, nasty, cruel big sister. I wouldn't let her leave the room until I could get this picture.

On a much happier note, I get to see Melissa Fay Greene tomorrow! I can't wait to report on how that goes!!!

Day 2

2007-09-21T19:16:00.000-04:00

Understandably, we crashed when we finally got to our Dubai hotel after the long flight. While we were very eager to enjoy the hotel's pretty tropical surroundings, we were all extremely exhausted. We ended up sleeping 3 or 4 hours to replenish our energy, but since we didn't want to remain jetlagged for the rest of the trip, we forced ourselves to wake up after that.

Since it was already late afternoon Dubai time by then, we spent the rest of the day relaxing poolside and beachside. As you can see, the setting of the hotel was similar to many Caribbean beach resorts, but hearing the chantings from the mosques and seeing women clad head-to-toe in black in the ridiculous heat (more on this later) gave us more of a feeling that we were truly not in Kansas (or Connecticut) anymore. Outside of the hotel walls, it was a very different place from anywhere we had traveled before. But for that day, we let ourselves catch our breaths and relax for a bit- the last day that we would all be truly at leisure (story to be continued! :-))

I apologize if these videos are a bit hard to watch. I had to cut out parts of it here and there in order to preserve family privacy and also because filming was difficult at times due to the condensation that collected on the camera (it is RIDICULOUSLY hot and humid there!) Dividing the video into smaller videos was also the only way I was able to post all of it here, so again, I'm sorry if the production isn't quite as flawless as that of a huge-budget Hollywood film (hopefully I'll reach that level of videotaping perfection with time and experience :-))

Such a Cliche, But It Never Fails

2007-09-15T13:53:00.001-04:00

Yes, like all kids her age, Sasha has discovered and is fascinated by the "pots and pans" cupboard in the kitchen.

As I've Promised...Day 1 Of Our Ethiopia Trip

2007-09-14T18:42:00.000-04:00

At 5am on June 20th, 2007, a very excited/nervous/elated family woke up to the first day that would lead into their greatly-changing lives. They double-checked their packing list, discarded and threw in last-minute items, and piled into the family mini van to head to JFK airport, where they would board a 9am flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The 12-hour flight was smooth, albeit long, but 500 in-flight channels certainly helped!

Day 1 blended into day 2 through time change and a very long flight. More on day 2 is coming to a blog near you (specifically, The Big Sis Diaries) next week!*

*I've decided, for the purposes of keeping readers informed on present-day goings-on, to post about one day of our trip each week. Next Friday, I'll post about day 2; the following Friday, day 3, and so on. But stop back before then for more info/pics about the everyday life of this Big Sis and her crazy family!

Anti-Racist SISTER meme

2007-09-12T15:48:00.000-04:00

I was tagged by Dawn over at Meet Dawit (if you haven't been there, please go! Dawit's comments never fail to crack me up :-)) for the "Anti-Racist Parent" meme, or in this case, an "Anti-Racist Sister" meme:

1. I am:

Norwegian (50%), English (about 20%), Irish (about 25%), and just barely Polish (about 5%)

2. My siblings are:

Kristian (11)- Norwegian, English, Irish, a tiny bit Polish
Carsten (8)- Norwegian, English, Irish, a tiny bit Polish
Sasha (19 mos.)- Ethiopian

3. I first started thinking about race, culture, identity when:

Having an awareness of other cultures has been with me from, as I like to think, the time I was born. I was born in Norway, lived there for three years, and have lived in many different houses and two different states in the US since then. I have traveled extensively (I've been to 27 countries to date) and other places/cultures have always fascinated me to a great extent. Having been open to and aware of different cultures my whole life, I've been comfortable with being an "international girl" since I was very young. Although I don't remember it, my parents told me that when I was three, I told a taxi driver that, "I was born in Africa. I'm an African girl." They laugh, saying that I'm probably the farthest thing from being "African", being very fair-skinned with blonde hair and blue eyes, but I don't think that I was too far wrong, even though I didn't know it at the time. Having been to Africa three times and being priveledged enough to be a big sister to a child who has her roots in Africa, I honestly do feel that Africa is a part of me.

4. People think my (first) name is (I don't want to disclose my last name here):

Pretty and classicly fresh. In the words of my mom, "Susanna is a name everyone has heard of but no one actually has too much anymore." When I was young, I kind of didn't like the fact that I didn't know anyone else with my name, unlike my friends with names like Emily, Victoria, Alyssa, and Molly. I've since grown to like it-I think it suits me. My friends have nicknamed me "Susy" which I also like, but only when people that I know well or are around my age call me it (for example, I'd be uncomfortable if one of my teachers, who I want to take me seriously, called me that.) Unlike before, I treasure the fact that "Susanna" kind of stands out in a sea of Kates and Sarahs. I really don't like the fact that there is a Susanna in my chemistry class and a different Susanna in my government class. I don't know how that happened, but I'm unused to responding to my name if I'm not being spoken to.

5. The family tradition I want to pass on is:

Traveling. It's such a big and important part of my life. Given that I have the money and resources, I want my children to be exposed to as many different places and cultures as possible.

6. The family tradition I least want to pass on is:

Being too far away from relatives to see them regularly. It's too bad that we can't celebrate holidays and important events with extended family, so hopefully my children will have more of that.

7. My siblings' first word in English was:

Kristian- "Ball" followed shortly after by "car"
Carsten- "Yite" (light)
Sasha- "Bye-bye"

8. My siblings' first word in a language other than English was:

Kristian and Carsten- I think it was "ball" in Norwegian (meaning ball, but pronounced slightly differently, with a shorter "a" sound)
Sasha- "Papa" (it's the same in English and Norwegian). As far as we know (though of course we can't be sure), Sasha didn't speak any Amharic since she had only been exposed to it for five months (in the region she was born in, they spoke a different Ethiopian language.)

9. The non-English word/phrase most used in our home is:

I can't say one phrase here, really, since we speak two languages fluently. We speak English with my mom and Norwegian with my dad, so there are a slew of phrases from both languages that are said frequently. We don't speak Amharic at all since Sasha doesn't respond to it.

10. One thing I love about being a big sister is:

Oh man, I have to pick just one???? I think one of the best things is knowing that they're there, that I can come home to smiling faces and funny stories no matter where I have been and what I have experienced. I think of us all being quite close, and I hope it stays that way.

11. One thing I hate about being a big sister is:

I think "hate" is used too strongly here, but I definitely have more responsibilities being a big sister to three. Sometimes it's fun, but there are times when I have to do things that I'm really not in the mood for and have to do anyway. It's worse, though, to feel guilty about not attempting to enjoy them, since every experience with siblings should be seen as a good experience.

12. To me, being an anti-racist sister means:

Just having an open mind. I've been lucky enough to have been exposed to different places and cultures throughout my life, and welcome every opportunity I have to be introduced to more. I'm sure there are many kids my age who wouldn't have been as excited as I was to adopt a younger sibling, but to me, it has meant everything. Before and since we have had her home, though, I've been surprised by the enormous number of people, kids my age especially, who have expressed their enthusiasm and have said that adopting a baby from Ethiopia is amazing in so many ways. More importantly, many have vowed to do the same thing when they're adults, or have tried to convince their families to follow our family's lead. This shows that already, the world is a changing place. I hope that adoption and global awareness and understanding only continues to blossom with time. Being acclimated with other cultures is amazing, and I hope many other people will be able to share my experiences.

I now tag Staci and Alli. Both are big sisters of adopted little girls, one from China and one from the US. I'd like to know about your experiences adopting from different places!

I was featured in "Teen Vogue"!!!!

2007-09-08T19:15:00.000-04:00

For those of you unfamiliar with Teen Vogue, it is, as the title explains, a nationally-distributed (possibly worldly-distributed, too- I've seen it sold in Canada and Europe) magazine for teens by the makers of Vogue. I have subscribed to it for years, and about two months ago, there was an article in it all about Ethiopian-born supermodel Liya Kebede's work in Ethiopia, starting her own organization to support the building and facilitation of hospitals there and being elected UN Ambassador to Women and Children. Well, as soon as I finished reading the article, I wrote a letter into the magazine explaining my gratitude at their inclusion of this great role model's work since I have such a personal connection to Ethiopia. I had never really expected it to be included in a later issue in the "Mail" section from readers- frankly, I had pretty much forgotten about it until I received my issue of it today. I almost fell over when I saw my name in bold letters written in such a widely-read publication, accompanied by my letter! I guess it goes to show that you should really expect the unexpected- I'm sure they get hundreds, if not thousands of letters, and they only have room to feature a few in each issue. I guess I'm a celebrity now! :-)

Unfortunately, I don't think they have a copy of the Liya Kebede article on the Teen Vogue website, but here is the letter I wrote in response to it:

I just wanted to thank you for your story about model Liya Kebede's humanitarian work in her home country. I just returned from Ethiopia, where we adopted my little sister, and I saw firsthand the poverty and devastation there. Because of my sister's roots, I feel a very strong connection to Ethiopia. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a widely known celebrity lending her efforts to strengthen this beautiful and rich culture. I'd like to add that I can completely see where Ms. Kebede's stunning beauty originates- the people there, my sister being no exception, are gorgeous!

The article is on newstands everywhere now! :-)

Friday Update

2007-09-07T15:54:00.000-04:00

Helping Kristian do homework

Looking slick

Taking a cat nap

Cuddling next to Kristian after a lonely day without him

Sorry for the blog hiatus. Unfortunately, given all of the other goings-on around here, blog posting has fallen several notches down on my to-do list.

Things are going pretty well around here. School is so-so, which is probably the best that can be expected of a high school junior, given all of the demands this year. I'm finding time to see friends still, luckily- I'm going to my town's anual carnival tonight with a big group of them, and a pool party tomorrow afternoon. I also start work tomorrow, which I'm pretty excited about. I'm only doing Saturdays for now, but hopefully I can add another day or two after school after my schedule is smoothed out. The pay is pretty good (I'm saving up for a car; I'm paying for half) and as far as high school jobs go, I really don't think it's so bad. After all, I love kids, and a job like this will be great preparation for when I'm a teacher.

Classes aren't TOO terrible so far, either. Honors chemistry is starting to become more brutal, and AP Government is challenging in that you really have to be on top of your work- but otherwise, I can't complain. I do have a lot of homework this weekend, though, which reminds me that I should probably get started on it instead of writing this- but I do feel that blogging really can be as important as homework sometimes.

The boys are relatively happy too. Carsten is not feeling well, keeping him out of school for two days, but I think it's winding down now. Neither of the boys talk about school too much, which is a good sign- they wouldn't say anything unless it was to voice a complaint. Sasha, on the other hand, has been missing us terribly. She's glued to us when we walk through the door, smiling and laughing and chatting nonsensically. It has been lonely for her without us, but she's getting used to the routine her and my mom have during the day. My mom has been teaching her baby signs in order to stimulate her vocal communication with us, and so far it's working. She has picked them up right away and uses them appropriately, accompanied by the word itself.

Other than that, there isn't much else new to report. I know I've said I'll post more about our trip, and I've remembered that promise. I'm planning to write here a journal entry on each day of our trip, taken from the journal I kept while I was there, along with more videos. If I get everything done in a timely manner this weekend, I'll do the first one on Sunday. In the meantime, I posted some pics, just to remind those of you who forgot in the time since I posted last just how adorable my little sister is.

Baby's Day Out

2007-09-02T20:55:00.001-04:00

We have some family friends of ours visiting for the long weekend, so today we went to Essex, CT, for a train ride and river cruise. As they say, pictures tell 1,000 words, so I'll let the next few photos I took (with my new camera!) of the day to do the rest of the talking ;-)

"Even if what the two boys behind me are plotting has anything to do with stealing and selling my dolls, I couldn't care less. This toy train is WAY too attention-absorbing."

"Oh, no. I would never think of trying to steal this pull-along train!" *bats eyelashes*

"Okay, WHAT did my brother just put me on against my will? Since it IS kind of fun, I'll let you get away with it- this time."

Yelling "Hi!" to the traintracks (she's very generous when it comes to greeting inanimate objects. She finds it necessary to say "Bye-bye!"to the dishwasher and washing machine before we leave the house.)

I call this the "paparazzi-catching-a-starlet-as-she's-walking-down-the-street" picture. Doesn't it look exactly like a photo of Nicole Richie emerging from a coffee shop?? (Save for the fact that Sasha was born in Ethiopia, 25 years younger, and is a good 2.5 feet shorter than Nicole Richie. And, of course, a little bit chubbier, too.)

Yeah, so much for Ethiopians not liking ice cream (she stole my mom's.)

At 19 months, she has her bored teenager expression down cold.

"Okay, I KNOW I didn't just hear you say that we have to get off the train soon. "

Ah, the fascination of it all...

"Okay, I can understand you playing peek-a-boo with me, or even making funny faces at me to make me laugh. But that weird dance you're doing to get my attention crosses the line. That's just plain bizarre."

"Oh, you don't think I know what you're saying when my ears are covered, do you? I think I heard the words 'toy train' and 'Sasha's birthday' in the same sentence." (No, we were really just playing peekaboo ;-))

The view of the Connecticut River from the train and the boat. Isn't it beautiful?

"Why hasn't anyone told me about boat rides before?! Under other circumstances, I'd be mad at you for that, but I'm too busy enjoying myself."

"If you'll let me wear your sunglasses, we'll be even."

The face behind the lens. I think readers of this blog forget what I look like since I almost never have pictures of myself on here. I managed to snap a few of myself on the boat...since I have "non-photogenia" disease, I don't often come across ones that I like of myself, but I guess these aren't TOO bad.

Needless to say, it was a great day!

Misc. News from the Palace of Sasha

2007-08-30T16:56:00.000-04:00

So much news that I want to report here has been accumulated, so I thought I should finally squeeze in a post to get it out there!

1) I am once again in my town's newspaper! They did a follow-up article on my delivery of the pajamas. Unfortunately, the story wasn't big enough to post on the website, so I can't put a link to it here, but basically, it described my experience dropping off the pajamas and my goal to do much more for AHOPE through subsequent drives in the future. And speaking of AHOPE, I haven't forgotten about letting in here how that went. It's just that I have so much to write about it that it'll take me more than a few minutes to type out. I'll try my best to get to it over the weekend.

2) Melissa Faye Green, author of "There is No Me Without You", who I have been corresponding with personally through e-mail since before our referral, is coming to a town near us!!!! She'll be stopping by the library at a neighboring town on Wednesday, Sept. 26th. I'm pretty sure I'll be pulled out of school to see her- I mean, it's not every day you get to meet someone that huge in the Ethiopian adoption world (or a bigger world!) and she has after all been communicating with me...she knows all about Sasha at this point! She'll be there for an hour, and since I have my free period for part of it I'd only be missing math, which, according to me, is completely worth skipping ;-). In any case, my mom will for sure take Sasha, but I'm pretty sure I'll go too. I can't believe I'm finally going to meet her! (For those of you who don't know about MFG, she wrote the very famous- at least in the adoption world- book called "There Is No Me Without You" about a woman in Ethiopia who took in orphans and ended up opening an orphanage. It follows the stories of families in the U.S. and other countries who adopted those children, and it's all very heartwarming and heartbreaking. It also talks a lot about Ethiopia as well as the history of AIDS. The website is http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.org .)

3) I was tagged by Staci (http://www.journey2sarah.blogspot.com/ ) for a "middle name" meme. Like Staci did, I'm going to do Sasha's middle name, Eraye- for one thing, this blog is mostly about her, and for another, I don't have a middle name ;-).

E- Energetic. She's like the Energizer Bunny (sorry to refer to such an oft-used synonym)- she keeps going, and going, and going...until she crashes.
R- Resourceful. Language so far has been a bit of a struggle for her, but she almost always manages to get her point across in a variety of (often hilarious!) ways!
A- Attention-hogging. She's on a constant quest for attention and most often gets it.
Y- Young- she has her whole, exciting life ahead of her! She's only 19 months old, but she has so much personality. With such character, one may ask, "Where will she be in 20 years?" The answer? Wherever the heck she wants! (With some limitations, of course...)
E- Effervescent. When I come home from school, the glowing expression of pure joy on her face could light up the room!

Since "Eraye" has five letters in it, I will now "tag" five people: Nikki (http://www.dreamasifyouwillliveforever.blogspot.com/), Erin (http://www.erins-ethiopia-trip.blogspot.com/), Marissa (http://marissalynn13.blogspot.com/), Ally (http://lifewithlillyjayde.blogspot.com/) and Kelsey (http://www.afamilyoften.blogspot.com/ .)

If you've been tagged for this already, just ignore it- or do someone else you write about (like a sibling.) Thanks for tagging me, Staci! This is fun!

*Oh, to give you an idea of how tired I've been and how occupied I have been with hard classes: Going through my next day's schedule last night before bed, I told myself I had AP Band (it doesn't exist) and honors lunch. Hmmm.

First Day Of School

2007-08-27T16:41:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right- this early! I think it's ridiculous. Every other school district I can think of starts after Labor Day. It's annoying, but I'm trying to make the best of it.

School wasn't TOO bad today. Not great, but not horrible. I really liked seeing my friends again, but not many of them were in many of my classes. I'm trying to look on the bright side: better opportunity to make new friends, right? As for my classes themselves, I liked my teachers overall, but I know I'm in for a tough year. I'm a junior now, so it's "The Big Year" for college, etc. I'm nervous, but I also kind of enjoy the responsibility of it all. I do have a lot on my plate this year, though- I have a pretty heavy courseload, with three honors and one AP class. Outside of school, I'm busy, too- I'm president of two clubs and Activities Coordinator of another, and I'm involved in one other club (that's four total), marching band, my job which starts Sept. 8th (I'm going to be a babysitter at the YMCA for kids who have parents working out at the gym), and of course, spending as much time as I can with friends and family. I think it will all be exciting though. At least I know I won't have a problem with boredom!

As for the boys, I think they did pretty well today, too. It was Kristian's first day of middle school, which was a big change, and Carsten moved up from the lower elementary school to the higher elementary school, so that was a difference for him as well. I felt sorry for Sasha having all of her siblings leave at one time, but she was excited to see us when we came home.

I'd love to go on and on about our lives now, not to mention all of the stuff from the past I haven't talked about (like our Ethiopia trip! Sheesh) but I have to go start the homework I've already been assigned (luckily it's not too bad tonight.) Since this weekend is a three-day weekend, I'll make an effort to put up a few posts both about what I haven't mentioned about the summer as well as how school is going. For now though, as you can see, I posted a new "video of the week"- another one of Sasha being a nutball. Enjoy!

Oh- one more thing I want to mention. It has been two months today that Sasha has been officially ours. It's amazing how much she's blossomed in that time!

Kristian: Catastrophe Magnet

2007-08-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

As if the big old lump on his head isn't enough, Kristian and that same friend of his came across a bee nest today and they were both bombarded by them. Kristian now has at least four or five stings covering his body, including on his face. Kristian's friend's mom brought him home (they live down the street), and they excitedly told us about it. Their final verdict? "Man, that hurt!" accompanied by peals of thrilled laughter. Then they ran off to do more danger-seeking.

Boys will be boys.

He Went To Bed And Bumped His Head...

2007-08-20T15:21:00.000-04:00

Except it's more like, "He was being the wild, free-from-school 11-year-old boy that he is and got the hammock knocked into his eyebrow by his friend and subsequently bumped his head."

As proved by the giant, cartoon-like goose egg on his forehead.

Of course, he's an 11-year-old boy, so he bounced back pretty quickly. The doctor told him he had to lie down for the rest of the day, which of course is the worst thing a kid like him could possibly hear- especially since it didn't come with the benefit of getting to miss school.

I guess whatever game he and his friend were playing was worth that bump. No doubt he'll go back to playing it again tomorrow.

*I've just been informed that the game is called, "Egg Sack." It should be called, "Egg Sock" given that after you're socked in the head, you get a giant goose egg there.

Sasha Update

2007-08-19T13:34:00.001-04:00

I will post more pics from our trip, but I thought I'd just give another Sasha update to keep all you eager readers informed on her progress.

She's been officially ours eight days shy of two months, and has been home with us for about a month and a half. This kid, I'm telling you, just rolls with the punches. Like everyone hoped, she's both a boy's girl and a girl's girl. She loves putting on headbands and clothes, and parades around in them, expecting us to comment on how cute she is. She's also insistent in trying on clothes in stores, fully convinced that they're all hers. It's also essential to her that she's in on all the action; she follows the boys everywhere, especially when they have friends over. Today, Kristian, Carsten, and a friend of theirs taught her a secret handshake, and she promptly repeated it, to the delight of everyone- especially her. She just basks in the attention. Nothing is better to her than her entire family sitting in a circle around her, giving her our undivided focus. She doesn't care where we go as long as she's with all of us, as proved by our recent 12-hour car trip. The only thing she's truly afraid of is being alone. For this reason, her most frequent word nowadays is "Mon! Mon!" (Her way of saying"c'mon") acompanied by a "come here" gesture. And nothing delights her more than Kristian sitting on her lap. (Yes, you read that right- not her sitting on his lap, him sitting on her lap!)

This kid continues to be quite the smarty-pants- or at least, the most observant human being I have ever seen. I was at the Gap yesterday trying on clothes, and she insisted on being in the dressing room with me. Without hesitation, she began pulling her own pants off, and pulling them back on when I tried on a new pair of jeans. She then looked in the mirror, lifted her shirt all the way up so that her big Buddha belly was sticking out, and tilted her head to the side with a look of deep concentration on her face. It took me a second to figure out what she was doing- I then realized that I'd been doing that a second before, to see how the jeans fit around the waist. It never occured to me that she would have noticed that. The same thing happened later in the day, when I bent over to adjust the cuffs on my pants. I looked over to see if she observed that, and of course, like Simon Says, she was fiddling with the bottoms of her pants, too. I've never seen a kid that age do that before. She really defines the term "Monkey See, Monkey Do."

Another example was the other day, when I was measuring myself against the wall. I panicked when I did it myself at first, thinking I had somehow shrunk since I was a bit shorter than the mark on the wall I made a few months before (because I'm very petite- 4'11'' at best- I'm very sensitive about this!) When my mom said she would measure me herself, Sasha eagerly decided she needed to be measured too. After my turn, Sasha stood against the wall with a concerned expression on her face. It then dawned on me that I must have been doing that when I stood against the wall, afraid that I'd be upset by my measurement (I hadn't shrunk though, thankfully!) Since when can a 19-month-old pick that up???? Of course, she had no reason to be concerned: she, unlike me, has grown a ton in recent months!

She's less quick to pick up English, but she's getting there. Here is what she says now:

"Bye"

"Kitty"

"Papa"

Some combination of Kristian and Carsten; she applies this word when trying to get the attention of either of her brothers

"C'mon" (or "Mon")

"Peekaboo"

"Eye" (She says it and points to it when we ask her where her eye is)

"Mouth" (Or at least, she tries to say it...sometimes it's just an "mmmm" sound, and sometimes she says "mow"

"Ow" (She repeats it when we say it; she understands it's what people say when they hurt themselves, and sometimes, remembering when she pinched someone, she'll say "ow" and rub herself on the arm)

"Off" (I'm pretty sure she said this when I took her off the tire swing yesterday)

"Elmo" (She says it whenever we turn the TV on. She refers to all of the Sesame Street characters and the Teletubbies as "Elmo")

"Uh-oh!"

"Num-num" (How she refers to food)

"Hi"

"Hello" (She says this when pretending to talk on the phone. Yesterday, she used her half-eaten ear of corn as one.)

Her perseptive language is better though- she understands "no" and certain phrases like "diaper change." Though she doesn't say too many real words, she thinks she's talking. When my mom and I talk in the car, she'll babble the whole car trip, convinced she's contributing. Sometimes she'll pick up the phone and babble with certain expressions on her face that are exactly the same as one of us would have when really talking on it.

This kid is amazing. I jokingly tell her all the time that it's not fair to the other babies that she took more than her fair share of brains and cuteness. In all honesty though, she's totally defied all of the adoption handbooks. Nowhere did we read that a kid could be as amazingly good-natured, hilarious, fun, and totally well-adjusted as her. Not to mention that already her looks have model potential. It makes me want to adopt again, but then I think on it and decide that I should probably just absorb every ounce of her that I can for now :-).

We're Home!

2007-08-17T17:13:00.000-04:00

Whew, do I have a lot to tell.

In a nutshell, the cottage renting didn't work out this year, unfortunately. Normally, we rent this really great house facing the water with a private little beach- it's secluded, pleasant, and relaxing. To our dissapointment, it was booked out this year, so we decided to rent a different cottage nearby. We were hoping to make due this year, go back to the old one next year, and pretend that the year without our beloved beach house would not stick out as "breaking our tradition."

The other cottage looked cute on the website. It was smaller, but quaint. Another family we know rented the one next door, so we thought everything would be fine.

I think you can probably guess what comes next...

You guessed it. It wasn't fine. The cottage looked old, falling apart- even haunted. My mom even said, and I quote: "This place makes me feel depressed about life!" Okay, so maybe we're exagerating- but only a little. It was really just not good. But we figured we could put up with it since we mostly spend our time on the beach anyway. As long as we only went inside to sleep, we could survive.

Well. Unlike the owners promised, there was absolutely no beach. It was on a bluff, and after going down thousands of stairs (or so it seemed) we reached about a two-foot spot of wet sand. Honestly, you couldn't stand there without getting your shoes wet. How could eight kids total- not to mention supervising parents- fit in there, even if everyone was on their tip toes? The answer was no way. We just couldn't stay there. So we left.

Luckily, very luckily, we had a back-up. My grandparents live in Birmingham, Michigan, under an hour away, and we were already planning to stop there on the way home. So, willfully forgetting this bad experience, we booked a hotel near to my grandparents' (given that my grandfather's health is not at all great and they live in an apartment, it seemed unfair to burden them with lots of kids and luggage.)

It ended up being a lot of fun. We visited my grandparents every day, and they were so happy to meet Sasha and just spend time with our whole family. It was also a great change of scenery for my grandpa, who is on permanent bedrest now. It made me feel so good to hear the way he talked about her to us, marvelling at how utterly beautiful and amazingly well-adjusted she is. Sasha really took to him too. She insisted on playing with her toys in his room, and had an ongoing game of peekaboo with him.

Since we spent nine eventful days there, I can't really describe each one in detail, so I'll mention the highlights of our trip:

1. Visiting the Detroit Zoo. Seeing all of these animals was a big first for Sasha, but while she was fascinated, she was a tad bit confused. We walked into the penguin house and when a big penguin walked out, she flapped her arms excitedly and called out, "Kitty! Kitty!"

2. Going to an Ethiopian restaurant a half a mile from my grandparents'. Again, she could not stop stuffing her little mouth!

3. Celebrating my 16th birthday there on the 8th. (I can't believe I'm eligible to get my learner's permit now!) We spent it with my grandparents and had the most gorgeous cake. I'll have to post a picture of it here- it was truly a work of art! Oh, and speaking of pictures, I got a digital camera (pink!) for my birthday! You can expect many more pictures here now. I'm already having fun with it- I have a few cute pics of Sasha playing dress-up.

4. Taking the People Mover around Detroit and going to Greektown. Sasha, apparently, loves Greek food. (But not fruit or sweet things. Go figure.) We also went to this outdoor plaza with many, many fountains in a row. Stripped down to her diaper, Sasha had the best time. I'm kicking myself now that I didn't have my video camera there, but my dad did take a video of it, so I'll post that here later. I'd say about 95% of the people who walked by her playing in the water commented on how adorable she is, many of them businessmen. It was like she was a big celebrity, the way they were exclaiming, "Ooooh, just look at her!!!!"

5. Going to the Detroit Science Center to see the "Our Body" exhibit. It featured real human bodies, which was SO cool.

6. Driving back to Lake Erie for the day to visit a family friend who has a beach cottage there. Sasha was the center of attention, and had a great time in the sun, sand, and lake.

I should also mention that I was really impressed by how well Sasha did in the car, there and back. Of course, Elmo and Barney DVDs helped, but we got through the drives with only one stop for lunch each way. She hardly fussed. Amazing.

I'm so mad at myself that I didn't videotape more. I have to get into a better habit of that. I will post, though, a video here of Sasha at a restaurant on the way home, just being the typical goofball she is. It's nothing particularly funny or surprising, but it's just a little glimpse of her personality. I added it to the sidebar; I'm starting a new tradition called "Video Of The Week": every week, I'm going to post a new video I've taken of Sasha, the boys, or just anything interesting my camera happens to capture!

And We're Off...Again!

2007-08-03T18:20:00.000-04:00

We will be away for the next two weeks, doing the same trip we do every year in August. This will be Sasha's first vacation with us (not counting the few days we spent in Dubai on the way home from Ethiopia.) We'll be driving to a cottage we're renting on Lake Erie in Ontario with some family friends- my mom, growing up, used to own a house in the same area that she went to during the summer, so this is a nice tradition for us. On the way back, we'll stop in Michigan for three days to visit my grandparents and uncle who live there so we can show off our newest addition :-). This will be our first time introducing Sasha to extended family! (Unfortunately, all of ours either live several states away or in a different country.)

Driving to Canada means 12 hours in the car, so I have to give my family credit for taking on this risky- and possibly dangerous- journey! In the past, we've had no problems- we have a DVD player in the car, I have my iPod, and the boys have comic books, so the trip has been relatively smooth. Of course, it will be totally different with an 18-month-old. Having said that, she was an angel on the way home from Dubai, so maybe it won't be as horrendously horrible as one can imagine driving for that long with a young toddler. Having said that, she has been noticeably antsier (is that a word?) since coming home, since she's realized there's so much to do when not sitting still and so many people to give her the attention she greatly takes advantage of. So, this is an experiment. Wish us luck.

Luckily, we will be breaking up the driving into two days, to mitigate a little of the potential problems that might come in this situation. We'll leave early tomorrow morning (my mom said 9, which of course will mean 10 or 11...we've had problems getting out of the house on time even before Sasha joined us) and driving six hours to Batavia, New York, to stay overnight before driving the rest of the way the next day.

I'm really looking forward to this. This is the fifth consecutive year we're doing this, but it will be totally different with an 18-month-old baby sister in tow- and not just having her will change things. In Michigan, we're going to go to an Ethiopian restaurant, which we wouldn't have gone out of our way to find had we not become so strongly linked to that African country.

I highly doubt I'll be able to post until we get back- unless my dad lends me his coveted work laptop, which I'm not counting on- so I'm leaving you this picture for you to enjoy for the next two weeks (above.) Friends of ours sent Sasha a "welcome home" gift, which included this cute vest. Sasha, being Sasha, put it on and refused to let anyone take it off her for the rest of the day.

Love Thursday

2007-08-01T20:11:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Kitties!...and More About Sasha

2007-08-01T20:11:00.000-04:00

I can't believe Coco and Fifi are two! I remember completleting our "first adoption" so well...seeing them for the first time, at two months old, I couldn't believe that these tiny things would be ours for the rest of their lives. Now, I can't imagine life before them!

I feel the same way, already, about Sasha. My family ran into another family we knew today, who had an adopted daughter from China. The mother said to us, "It's just a miracle, isn't it?" I watched Sasha smile and wave at them coquettishly, then run and bury her face in my legs. I couldn't imagine a greater miracle.

She's doing so wonderfully. Like I said, she'll immitate everything in a snap- when Kristian has a nosebleed (the poor thing suffers from them frequently) she'll grab a paper towel and hold it over her nose; when someone in the family sneezes, she immediately tries to, too (though she can't really conjure one unnaturally.) She still displays actions we think she learned at the care center- she pretends to make her stuffed animals wave at us, and today she even grabbed Coco's paw and made her wave. Her physical abilities are excellent, though we're still working on language. For a child who spent the first 12 months of her life listening to one language, the next five months another, and the next time month TWO more, naturally it would be confusing. It didn't seem like she picked up much Amharic at all, so we think that she kind of gave up trying to learn. But she is gathering words now slowly but surely. Her first word was "Papa", which she still says when she sees my dad. Her most clear and frequent word is "bye-bye"; literally, whenever there's any indication that she or someone else is leaving, she'll wave and say it over and over again, even if it's just leaving an empty room in our house. She also says "hi" when she waves, though "bye-bye" is more common. She says "kitty" very distinctly as well, giving very definite pronunciation to the t's. She attempts to say "peekabu" which is more like "ababu"- she played it with the trees outside today, which she thought was hilarious (like I said, very strange sense of humor.) As far as names in the family go, we're having a little more difficulty. She for sure says "Papa", but we haven't really heard her use "Mama" in the right way. She says it, but she doesn't connect the word to her mom. Whenever she does say it though, often mindlessly, my mother responds; our theory is that eventually she'll make the connection herself if my mom keeps answering to it. When we point to her and say "Sasha", she'll point to herself and say something like "Papa", but she doesn't respond at all when we call her name. As for the boys, she tries to say a hybrid of their names, but only when she's repeating us or hears us calling them. She hasn't attempted to say my name at all, but I'm not concerned since "Susanna" is a little hard to say. I'll wait to be insulted until she can say everyone else's name clearly and not mine :-).

However, her receptive language is really good. When my mom says, "Sasha, do you need a diaper change?" she'll march herself to her room and reach her arms out to be lifted onto her changing table. We're working on teaching her her body parts; so far she'll point to her eye and mouth when we say the words, and she tries to say them herself; "eye" is almost perfect and "mouth" is some kind of "mmmmmm" sound.

Overall, she's just a very, very good girl. Her behavior does reflect that she's been a little spoiled since coming into our care, but only in a very normal way- while she was perfectly happy to go with the flow when we first met her (and she still is really good that way), she does fuss sometimes if we have to take something away that she wants- but again, only normal for an 18-month-old, right? As far as moving her from place to place, she's quite calm about it- none of the tantrums or fits I see from other kids her age. I admit that she is very spoiled with attention though- we often call her the queen, and the rest of the family is her entourage! She's definetely picked up on it. If she hurts herself and starts crying, she immediately seeks the sympathy of everyone in the family. If my mom is there to pity her and no one else is, she'll fake-cry (very obviously) when she sees someone else in order to get them to give her attention. Even if she's totally over it and someone walks into the room 10 minutes later, she'll pretend to cry again just for the sympathy! It's so funny the way she picked that up by herself- but I think she's always been like that. When she was at the care center, we received a report saying that she'd refuse to eat if the nannies didn't personally feed her. Of course I don't want her to grow up thinking she's Paris Hilton, but I think that she should be allowed a length of time after coming home where she can keep the rest of her family under her control. At some point she has to figure out that the cats won't always obery her, though- she still hasn't figured out that they're not human, and still mimes to them to bring her things and gets angry when they won't take what she's offering them. Hmm, maybe she's not quite as smart as I thought...(just kidding :-))

The Many Faces of Sasha

2007-07-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

We went to an nice, outdoor seafood restaurant last night and poor Sasha once again became the victim of my new photo-snapping obsession. She still managed to have fun though, marvelling and waving at the many children and birds, and even getting to pet her first dog!

(Sigh) You have got to be kidding me. MORE pictures????

I'll settle this by just refusing to look at you.

And yet she still continues to take pictures of me. Shocking!!!!

I'll give her my good side...although I'm sick of pictures, I KNOW I'm too beautiful to resist!

Alright, alright. I won't give her my BEST smile, but I'll give her something.

This is getting so old...

Now, really. Aren't you starting to get tired of this?

Well, it's sure starting to wear me out...

(Yawn)

One Month Ago Today...

2007-07-27T17:05:00.000-04:00

Sasha Eraye became officially ours. She has fully blossomed since then into our special little princess. She's a beauty, so charming (attracting and sustaining the attention of everyone everywhere!) and extremely hilarious. There are way too many stories to recount here- it seems like every five minutes she surprises us in some way. She mimics absolutely EVERYTHING- and I truly mean that; she's so observant that she picks up on things that we normally would never expect her to notice. Yesterday, the boys were pretending that someone was chasing them, or some weird little game like that, and they were running in slow motion, falling, and covering their mouths in shock. Sasha immediately copied them, and when my mom was telling my dad this later, she picked up on what my mom was telling him, got out of her seat, pulled everyone in the family out of their chairs, re-enacted the little skit she and the boys were doing before, and was adamant that everyone do exactly the same. If any of us sat down for a second, she would march herself over and try with all her might to hoist them back up, dragging them back to the middle of the floor with her little hand. It was one of those "you had to be there" situations, but it was so funny the way she right away picked up on the game without anyone showing her how or even paying attention to her at that moment. She's just so amazing. A woman at the diner we went to this morning said, "Oh, you're all so lucky to have her." Couldn't have said it better myself!

I Hope You Don't Mind Me Showing Off My Sister!

2007-07-24T19:30:00.000-04:00

Okay, these next few pics have a story behind it: Kristian (age 11) was changing and Sasha took his discarded clothes and begged to put them on. We all know Kristian's clothes can often be baggy on him (he's a stringbean) but this is ridiculous!

Sasha and Kristian have such a cute, albeit goofy, relationship. She just adores him!

Here are some I snapped just playing outside with her. Isn't she gorgeous?

This has been a fun summer for us since we very recently got our driveway paved and Carsten got this big inflatable waterslide for his birthday (okay, that was our excuse to get it...but we've all been having fun with it, Sasha included!) Here's a picture of Kristian and a friend of his going crazy on it, with Sasha playing in a makeshift pool in the forefront...the ones below were taken right after the waterslide picture, hense Sasha's lack of clothing. She- like many other Ethiopian kids, as I've seen- for some reason LOVES that helmet!

Today's the One Year Anniversary...

2007-07-21T20:11:00.000-04:00

of this blog! I can't believe I've reached this point. The earth has made one full revolution around the sun- more or less- in the time that this blog has been in existence. (You can look at my first few posts, pre-Sasha, pre-referral, and pre-being-on-the-waiting-list, here: http://bigsisdiaries.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.htmlt It really is hard to believe. I told my mom about my "blogiversary" and she said, "You're kidding! If you asked me to guess how long you've had it, I never would have guessed a year."

I feel like the adage "what a difference a year makes" is appropriate to include here, yet only in some respects. If you think about the big picture, certainly our lives have changed over the past year. I mean, we've added another member to our family, and from Ethiopia, for goodness' sake! Yet at the same time, it's remarkable how completely normal things are and amazing how they're only very slightly altered by having Sasha with us. I never would have imagined I could have thought this the day we first met her at the care center (which, by the way, I promise to finish my post about!) but we all feel like we've had her forever. We've had virtually no problems from her, and she's the biggest ham you could ever meet- in normal and not-so-normal ways! (She does totally random things spontaneously all the time. She's not afraid to, out of the blue, walk around the house with an open-mouthed smile, waving at inanimate objects, and the next second drop to the floor and crawl very quickly and for no apparent reason, always reaching out to pull us down to join her.) She's a complete goofball in every sense of the word, so we couldn't have a more perfect fit for our family. Her spontaniety isn't restricted to odd behavior, though- on a whim, she'll just reach out and hug you or blow tons of kisses at you. She's the sweetest, funniest, most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and I know I've said that over and over again, but she couldn't be better, really. And though each aspect of her has been the best addition to our lives, things move on as they always have, without interruption. Except for her very "actiony" and on-the-go nature, leaving us often exhausted at the end of the day (luckily she sleeps through the night!) she's a quite low-maintenance child. It's never hard to entertain her, and she rarely ever cries or throws big fits and tantrums.

So although the waiting process felt like a never-ending, winding road, it's finally come to an end. In the moment, the time felt excruciatingly long, but looking at the big picture, it feels like no time at all. It's shocking that I've been documenting our journey for the past year, and that it extended for a year before that, because now, it's as though she's been a part of our lives for all of my life. This is, of course, impossible, since she celebrated her 18-month (now officially 1.5 years!) birthday 5 days ago, but I'm so, so glad that I'll have the rest of my life with her!

*Today is also momentous because it marks the exact halfway point in our summer vacation. I can't, and don't want to, belive that either! It's also special because the seventh and final Harry Potter book came out, as everyone knows. I'm a little behind- I'm just now reading the fourth- so please no one spoil the ending!!!!

Ethiopian Dancing

2007-07-18T17:37:00.001-04:00

My First Video from Addis

2007-07-15T14:49:00.000-04:00

I'm still not sure how much I want to post from our trip, so things may get a little out of order, but here's a video I took of us driving through the streets of Addis Ababa. Don't worry, PLENTY of Sasha videos will come, now that I figured out how to do it!

Oh, and I should add: the voices in the background are Norwegian; my dad is talking to my brother. And the music is Ethiopian- it was playing in the van we were in. The perfect soundtrack!

My First Half Hour Alone With Her and This Is What Happens...

2007-07-13T14:02:00.000-04:00

My mom had to leave the house for a very short while earlier today so naturally I was in charge of keeping an eye on the baby. We were playing outside with chalk when I noticed she needed a diaper change- of course, she wanted to take the chalk with her. When we were ready to go back downstairs- Sasha still clutching the bucket of chalk firmly in her hand- she decided it would be oh so hilarious to start throwing the chalk down the stairs. Of course, I tried to make eye contact and told her "no, no, no" very firmly, but I guess it wasn't too effective since the look of pure happiness on her face when she was doing it kept me from keeping a straight face. Eventually I composed myself and told her no very seriously, but she often tests how far she can get away with things and kept throwing the chalk, even though she clearly knew she wasn't supposed to.

I did end up distracting her and took her outside, but went back in when my mom came so that I could explain the situation before she saw the mess and drew the conclusion that I let her run wild in the house unsupervised. Sasha could tell right away that I was "telling" on her, and literally tried to kiss up to my mom by grabbing her face and kissing her on the mouth. She then turned around and tried to hit me. This child, I'm telling you! Naughty, maybe, but certainly crystal-clear in the head!

When she did this, we both firmly told her no and my mom started stroking my face, saying "soft, soft on Susanna" the way we tell her to do with the cats (and usually ignores out of excitement.) She repeated this and then kissed me on the lips, almost by way of apology, but then turned around and pinched my mom. She really tests us to see how we'll react to these things, if we'll punish her or let her get away with it. We have to tell her no, of course, but it seems that she usually then feels guilty and tries to make up for it. If she's physically harmful to anyone in any way, it's either for this reason or because she thinks it's funny- or, even if she doesn't think it's particularly funny, she forces a laugh to convince us that it is (we don't fall for it.)

All in all, though, I can't complain. A SW came a few days ago for a post-placement visit, and she did all the right things: she showed she was attached by refusing to let the SW hold her, yet was independent enough to not cling to us and roamed around the house; she was all charm and smiles, blowing kisses to the SW when she left, yet showed a bit of her flair for drama: after eating four cookies (we do spoil her a bit) and not letting her have another, she threw herself down on the floor and started fake crying. She resisted anyone trying to hold her and take her hand, and turned her back, refusing to look at anyone. It's always so funny when she does this, because we know she's not really mad; she gets over herself very quickly. I definetely can see her becoming an actress!

How Utterly Adorable is This Girl?

2007-07-12T17:27:00.000-04:00

I see a Gap ad in the making! (Seriously, though, she absolutely looks like a babyGap poster child, given her cuteness and the fact that she's dressed head to toe in the label! My mom and I keep thinking she'll soon be recognized by a modeling agency...the next Liya Kebede, maybe?)

Pictures don't even do her justice; I have yet to capture the perfect one of her. I don't know if I can though- she's best in person! I'll have to get some videos on here so that maybe you can see a LITTLE bit of her ginormous (just learned that it's a word in the dictionary now, so I have to use it!) personality.

Oh, and I WILL finish that post I started a few days ago- I'm just exhausted at the moment ;-).

Sasha Then (Gotcha Day)

2007-07-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

I'd always imagine the day we first met Sasha to be, if not magical, very memorable. It turned out to be not at all the experience I pictured, and it left me a little deflated when we returned to the hotel. Of course, the days that followed made up for everything and more!

We met Sasha Eraye (pronounced E- RYE, among other ways, by the nannies at the care center, meaning "vision" or "future" instead of "good sister" as we originally were told) the day we arrived in Ethiopia. The night before, in Dubai, I was almost the whole night vomiting from food poisoning, leaving me exhausted and disgustingly ill the next morning (we had to get up at 5am to catch our flight, and we were still all extremely jetlagged!) Sitting in the airport, feeling miserable, I wanted more than anything to just go home and sleep in my own bed, a thought I knew I'd regret later. I couldn't sleep on the plane and my stomach felt worse for most of it. I felt slightly more upbeat when we arrived and were driving through the chaotic, exotic streets, happy to be in Africa again since it reminded me of Nairobi. When we arrived at the hotel we called the care center, learning that we could go meet her right away if we wanted. I was excited, naturally, yet I didn't feel mentally prepared. My mom suggested that I stay behind and rest so that I was ready to see her the next day, and although I absolutely refused this idea, a part of me wished we all could wait until I was feeling more myself for the moment I'd been waiting for for two years. The weather was rainy and dreary, the area by the care center muddy and far from pristine, and I started to feel a little depressed. When we got there, though, I felt like I was in a dream; walking in and hearing kids shouting, seeing the clothes hanging on the line outside, I just couldn't believe this was all really happening.

A man that is famous at our agency- I think his name is Massi- led us inside and to an empty playroom. He talked to us for a little while and then left; we didn't know where he was going. When he returned a minute or so later, he was accompanied by a nanny holding a baby girl dressed fully in denim- a denim jacket with a fur collar and denim capris with embroidered flowers, and the later infamous pink, too-small sandals. I remember being startled: "Oh my gosh, is that her?" I asked, I think out loud, even though I knew. My parents started cudding and talking to her right away, and I instinctively went over to her. I felt tears welling, which was unlike me- I don't tend to get emotional. It just felt weird. How was this kid supposed to be a part of our family- this toddler, who we didn't know? She cried when placed in my mom's arms, and we were led to a separate, empty room, with nothing in it but a couch. We were left alone, and although Sasha stopped crying, her eyes remained scared and filled with tears. She looked tired, and I felt sorry for her- she didn't ask to be here, with all of these strange people. It was worthless to coax a smile out of her. I wanted to hold her, but also didn't; I wasn't used to her, and she wasn't used to us. She was so adorable and innocent-looking, and younger and smaller than the pictures we were given. Her little head rested on my mom's shoulder as we surrounded her, and her little fingers were stuck in her mouth. We had been asked before if we wanted this moment videotaped, and we were all glad at that point that we'd declined; it was probably the most bizarre situation I'd ever been in, and a huge range of emotions were running through me.

*FYI- I did finish this post, but somehow most of it got erased (I'm ready to sue Blogger!) I'm so upset I could cry- I just spent hours writing a detailed reflection of our time with her. I guess I'll just have to finish some other day...

Sasha Now (warning: VERY long!)

2007-07-09T06:37:00.000-04:00

Sasha very quickly became the center of all of our lives- in the most positive way possible. I don't even know where to begin in describing Sasha. She is amazingly smart and observant, hilarious and goofy all around, and really, we haven't had any issues at all integrating her into our family. From the very beginning (well, almost) it's like she'd been in our family forever- and I know she felt that way too. We were completely the perfect fit for each other.

Aside from the first few days we met her, she hasn't been the least bit shy about displaying her very, VERY strong personality. She had us all wrapped around her little finger right away; she made it known that she was the queen- but was very intelligent in her methods of getting what she wanted (we've had almost no fussing, crying, or tantrums from her, which I'll talk more about later.) When she wants to go somewhere, she needs to hold the hands of two people. One does not suffice. If my mom is there, one hand has to be hers; the other will be whichever hand she chooses. If I reach out my hand to her, and she has the firm idea in her head that Kristian will be her hand-holding buddy, she pushes mine away and holds hers out to Kristian, even if he's across the room. Then she pulls us to where she wants to go, and if we don't come, she pulls harder. If she wants something, she fully expects us to get it for her. If she eyes something on the other side of the room, she'll sit and point to it until someone gets it for her; if we get her the wrong thing, she takes it and throws it and points again to what she wants. Likewise with eating/drinking, and drinking is the funniest. She'll open her little mouth absolutely as wide as it can go, waiting for someone to put what she wants in it. We call this her "Milk Face" or "Water Face" or "Juice Face" depending on what she's drinking. This goes for all drinks- she opens her mouth wide for her mom's wine (of course we don't give in to this one), or my soda, or one of the boys' glasses of chocolate milk, even if she spots it from several yards away. She's kind of a picky eater, but is very particular about whose plate and fork the food is coming from. In Dubai, my mom and I had a plate of cake, but Sasha only wanted mine, even though they were the exact same thing. She's very headstong in other ways too- especially when it comes to shoes. The first full day we had custody of her, we were changing her clothes and put new shoes on her. As we replaced her beloved, one-size-too-small pink sandals with her brand-new ones, she pushed our hands away, took off the new shoes almost by herself, walked across the room to where the old shoes were, and pretty much put them back on without help. We were totally shocked, both by her strong shoe preference and the fact that, at 17 months, she could put her own shoes on (we don't think, because of this, that she's older; we think she learned this at the care center.)

Also, as we realized later, she's extremely observant and can pick things up right away. It also seems that she has a very acute memory. She constantly exhibits actions and little games and habits that we know she must have picked up at the care center. I mentioned before that she stuck her tongue out at herself in the mirror; also, when we showed her the photo album we sent to her before back at our hotel, she hugged and kissed each picture, which we're sure the nannies showed her how to do. When my mom was showing her Patty Cake, she already seemed to know it. Yesterday, when we were outside, she played this weird little game where she would pretend to take something from my mom, run across the yard a little ways, clap, run back, and repeat it. She's also done strange little things like pretend to pick up imaginary objects on the stairs, stopping, picking it up, going down a few more stairs, and picking up something else. We don't know where this comes from but we think that something must have reminded her of something that she did or saw someone do at the care center.

She picks things up very quickly at home too. One day, she was outside with my mom and I waved to them from my room on the second floor- this probably lasted no more than a few seconds. The next day, as I was walking outside with her, she stopped right under my window and waved up at it, even though there was no one there. Yesterday, Carsten said his finger hurt and my mom looked at it; Sasha grabbed his finger from her and began to examine it herself. When my mom did it again to Carsten later, to see if she remembered, she did; she began to examine his finger again. My mom was telling me a funny story about the way Sasha shivered in the bath and demonstrated it for me, and Sasha, noticing this, pretended to shiver again. We also noticed on the first evening at dinner that she was wiping her mouth by herself and refused help. We have so many examples of this kind of behavior; I think that her mind is just very quick and her memory very sharp, not that she's a baby genius (although these qualities in her aren't bad for getting her into Harvard!)

Sasha is seriously the funniest kid I've ever seen. As one of my brothers claimed yesterday, she's like a Walking Funniest Home Video. Kristian has wanted to keep the video camera on at all times, wanting to submit a funny video of her to get a trip to Los Angeles and $10,000. I wouldn't be surprised if his dream came true, since she does funny things ALL the time. A lot of this stems from her observation, since she tries to do everything we do; Kristian was doing a funny dance yesterday and she copied it almost exactly. She also does really random, unexplained things; yesterday, she tried to feed me paper clips, and when I wouldn't open my mouth, she demonstrated with her own like parents do to babies when they want them to eat. She does so many funny things that I really can't think of them all now, but I will just say that her smile (which she releases VERY often, and sometimes for no reason, the one with her eyes closed and beautiful teeth showing next to my profile to the right) is absolutely contagious, as is her laugh. She begins to scream and laugh hysterically when she sees someone from the family approach her unexpectedly, like when she and my parents picked me up at my SAT class today. She also has a game with my dad that she has to play every evening, where my dad approaches her slowly and she runs away, shrieking with laughter, into my mom's legs. It makes it so much cuter that she yells "Papa!" when she wants him to play, the only word that we're 100% sure she knows (she says Mama, although we're not totally sure she connects that to her mom, and attempts to say kitty and peekaboo though they don't sound totally like the actual words. She also repeats sounds we make and the way we say them; my mom, the other day, yelled out for Kristian outside, and she repeated it in the same way, although she doesn't connect the name to her brother.) We're working on the talking, but given her otherwise strong areas of intelligence, we're sure she'll catch on.

The best part is that she absolutely is attached to us- all of us. She knows that her Mama is the primary caregiver and naturally turns most to her if she's there, but if she's not, she's completely happy with my dad, me, or even one of the boys holding her or taking her by the hand. Today, for example, when my mom was out and my dad was working from home, Sasha woke up from her nap- way too early- and I went in to get her. She wanted me to hold her right away, even though she resisted my trying to get her back to sleep. I took her downstairs, sans tears, and held her hand as she walked around the house before deciding to take her on a walk. She was fine in the stroller as I walked her around the neighboring streets, and when we went inside to watch Teletubbies (which she loves, unless she's particularly restless and eager to move around, which she often is) she leaned her head on my shoulder. She likes to sit on my lap and play with me, but she'll only let me exclusively take care of her if my mom's not there (if she is, she wants us to play with her together.) She absolutely lives in the attention we give her 24/7, and when she sits, she wants to be in the middle of two people (once, my mom was sitting next to her and I was sitting next to my mom, and she pushed my mom away and, in the space she left, pointed at the seat and looked directly at me.) We fear a little that she might be a bit too spoiled sometimes; she came up with a new idea that if she doesn't get what she wants, she'll throw herself on the floor and just lie there (better than kicking and screaming, I guess!) She's also very well-behaved. She does hit people/the cats sometimes, but only when she's excited; this is followed by a fit of giggles. She never does it to be mean, and it's never as a result of her anger. Of course, we tell her no, but when she shows us that gorgeous smile, it's hard to keep a straight face. Still, she understands that it's wrong. She laughs to see how we'll react, but if we don't laugh with her, she stops right away. Sometimes she even shakes her finger in a "no" gesture; we saw nannies at the care center do this to kids when they did something wrong, and we know that she remembers this and is reprimanding herself for what she did.

Sasha has been absolutely amazing; she's perfect all around. Already I can't imagine our life before her!

Here's My Montage!

2007-07-07T06:51:00.000-04:00

I fixed it! It's at the very bottom of the page.

LOTS and LOTS of pictures!!!!!!!!

2007-07-06T06:51:00.001-04:00

Okay, I know that I have yet to post about our trip (I'm truthfully kind of avoiding it because I know that I have SO MUCH to write about and I don't know where to start!) but I had a lot of fun with the camera today so I thought I'd post some (okay, a lot) of pictures! Can you tell that I'm the proudest big sister in the world???? This first set of photos is called, "Fun in a New Green Dress After Nap Time, Eating Pasta and Being Silly" (okay, not the best title...any suggestions?)

"All right, I give in. You got my tummy!"

"I'm cute? You really think so?"

Biiiiiiiiiiig hug!

This is her very coquettish look...she'll be swarmed by boys in high school (if not pre-school!)

She approves of her new shoes (surprising, given that she's VERY particular about shoes...I'll have to tell the infamous Sasha Shoe Story later!)

Her Titanic re-enactment: "I'll never let go, Jack!"

By far my FAVORITE picture of her. It completely shows her personality in a way words can't!

What can I say about this shot? She's just too darn adorable!

"Give me that camera!"

Mmmmm...pasta!

Here she looks like the traumatized person in a horror movie (Do you think she has a Sixth Sense?)

"Why, thank you!"

Her first model headshot. 17 months isn't too young, is it?

Just being silly!

Where is my big brother going and why isn't he taking me?

"Now how many pieces do I have left? I better count so I can savor each one!"

Whatever that thing is that I see over there, I need not worry: I have a fork and I am NOT afraid to use it!

"Stop tickling my tummy! You're making me feel self-conscious!" (She knows how much I love to do that- tickling her, I mean.)

"Wait, what?"

She lets go of this bottle under no circumstances! (Unless it's for petting cats!)

This second set of photos is called "Chasing Cats." She has such a funny relationship with our kitties. The first day we got home, she was deeply terrified of them; when sweet, little Coco calmly walked by her when she was playing, she screamed bloody murder and jumped two miles, leaping into my mom's arms. When we showed her that cats are really nothing to be afraid of and demonstrated by petting them, she allowed herself to get closer to them but became really scared when they moved in any way. Now, though, she is absolutely obsessed with them. If she sees one, she points and flaps her arms violently, screaming baby nonsense, of course scaring the cats away. She then grabs one of our hands and pulls it to indicate that we should follow her; she then runs in her funny, dance-y way (she kind of sways from side to side and pumps her little arms by her side very quickly- it's absolutely the cutest thing I've ever seen. The nannies told us that she had a very unique walk, and they were so right! I really have to tape it and post it here; it's completely worth seeing!) At first, we had trouble with her being very rough with the cats; she would grab their fur and try to pull their tails (the cats, impressively and very shockingly, were very patient with her.) After many times repeating "soft, soft" to her and showing her how we gently pet them, she's caught on. Every time she sees one, though, she abandons everything she's doing and embarks on a cat chasing adventure. Oh, and she has this very strange but amusing-to-watch game involving them: sometimes she sees one and slowly starts toward it, but when she gets halfway there she stops, bursts into peals of hysterical laughter, runs back to where she started, and repeats it again and again. It never fails to amuse her.

"If I lick the glass, do you think the kitty will come?"

"In the lamp, maybe?"

"Let me GO! I think I see one!"

"Be honest: does this outfit make my tummy look big?"

I'm REALLY proud of myself for getting this shot! Isn't it classic??

"Olly Olly Oxen-Free!"

That Darn Cat!

"Oh man, there is no WAY you can escape now!"

"Ooh, I see you!!"

"So close, but yet so far! Let me try Fifi instead."

"One down, one to go! I'm off to get your sister now!"

The poor thing is exhausted!

Soft, soft... (as we all always have to remind her!)

"I'm getting outa here!"

"Oh, you're not getting off that easily!"

Warning: consult a professional hair dresser before putting your precious locks in the dangerous hands of a 17-month-old!

Sasha has overall adjusted beautifully. I'll write a post later on her development and our experiences with her in Ethiopia, but I have to just say that honestly, I've NEVER seen a kid her age with this much personality. This kid is the funniest person I've ever met (yes, I'm comparing her to my friends and my uncle!) She is very determined when it comes to what she wants (more on this later) and she has the weirdest sense of humor. We can just be walking along outside and she'll just drop to her knees and start crawling for no reason, and she frequently, out of the blue, tilts her head back and emits a gorgeous, genuinely happy smile. Today, I was sitting with her, and she decided to open her arms wide and leap into mine; she got off and did this again and again and again. She also decided it was hilarious to bite her baby doll instead of hug and kiss it the way we showed her to do. She also has the adorable habit of waving and blowing kisses at anything and everything, and, without us doing it first, sticks her tongue out at herself in the mirror! Yesterday, in a parking lot, she just walked over (we were supervising, of course) and hugged a car. She also, today, after fake-crying to get attention, reached her little hand up to my mom and rubbed her eyes. This kid cracks us up constantly; I'm still in awe of how blessed we are to have her!

Truly a Day to Celebrate!

2007-07-04T15:30:00.001-04:00

Today is, of course, Independence Day (which we, very un-patriotically, never celebrate, since we're always in Europe this time of year), our first full day home as a family of six, and Carsten's 8th birthday. When I turned 8, in August 1999, I had very recently become the big sister of my second sibling. Now, that very same second sibling has recently become a first-time big brother on his eighth birthday! Although we're not really celebrating his birthday today, since he already had his birthday party with friends before our trip and since we're not physically or mentally prepared for a big celebration today (not to mention that we don't have most of presents due to the time-consuming adoption/travel preparations- yikes!) he understands that his biggest and by far best present is a living, breathing, laughing, screaming baby sister. She wasn't, of course, a true birthday present, but he loves to brag about the fact that he's the first person in our family to have Sasha home on his birthday :-).

Speaking of Sasha, I know that there's so much to post about- and I will. Today, however, is not the best day. Earlier this morning, I downloaded pictures and wrote a long post about our trip, and it somehow got deleted. At that point, I was so frustrated that I gave up. I'm also, for the second time in the past two weeks, sick (if you can really count it as two separate illnesses- to me, it's felt like one long sickness that's spanned our whole trip.) You see, Carsten and I both got really terrible stomach bugs in Dubai on the way to Addis- we hadn't been careful about what we were eating, thinking that unlike Ethiopia, the food there would be safe. My mom and dad soon both got it- only Kristian escaped it, earning him the nickname "Guts of Steel." Even after it was gone, none of us had much appetite and I'm pretty sure we all lost weight (Carsten weighed himself this morning and he was six pounds lighter.) Sasha was also sick when we got her; she had conjunctivitis (sp?) in both eyes and both of her ears were infected, adding to a terrible cold. I now think I have her conjunctivitis, though I'm in denial because I hate putting the drops in my eyes. I also have a cold and a fever now; I'm sure I picked it up at AHOPE, since so many of the kids there were sick. Anyway, all of this is a long way of saying that I'm not totally up for filling up pages upon pages of reflections of our trip. Despite illness, it truly was great overall, and Sasha is too amazing to put into words. I'm sure I'll have to try though ;-).

I'd appreciate it if everyone will not start throwing things at me for holding off for a day. I know it will be difficult to refrain from doing so.

WE'RE HOME!!!!!!!!

2007-07-03T18:44:00.000-04:00

We just walked through the door about 45 minutes ago, and I haven't slept in the past 24 hours, so I'm sure it seems ridiculous that I'm posting now. I'll write much, much, much more in the next few days, and since I brought my video camera and filled up two hour-long tapes of footage from our trip, I'll definetely post some video clips when I figure out how (and when I'm less of a sleep-deprived mess ;-)) I just wanted to let everyone know that we've arrived home safely and happily, and that Sasha is absolutely amazing in every possible way. Of course, much much much much much MUCH more to come, but she truly has been the light of our lives the minute she became ours and surprises us all the time with her intelligence, charm, beauty, and most importantly, her quick and complete attachment to us. I cannot WAIT to share more of our adventures! Thanks for following with me so far!

And We're OFF!

2007-06-19T12:32:00.000-04:00

Well, almost...in about 17.5 hours, that is!!!!

Our bags are (almsot) packed and everything is (almost) in order. Okay, there's still a lot to do, but that's why everyone has been assigned jobs to complete before tomorrow. I single-handedly cleaned ALL of the old toys with baby wipes and set up a little playroom in the room off of my parents' bedroom, and got her own room in order (I'm kind of proud of myself!) I now have a few odds and ends here and there to do, and once my brothers come back from the neighbors' house, I'll start videotaping the home portion of our adoption adventure- I'll interview the boys on what they think of our trip/the adoption, and include shots of her nursery and playroom. As long as everything goes smoothly and I figure out how to do it, I'll try to post it, or at least parts of it, here when we get back. I also hope to set up a picture montage and recount exactly how the trip was day by day!

I hope that I can post from ET and Dubai, but I'm not making any promises since I don't know if I'll have the time or resources. I definetely won't be able to post pictures, but maybe I can post a few brief updates on how everything is going.

The day I've been waiting for for two years is finally right around the corner- it seemed like it would never happen!! It's amazing to think about how my dreams are about to come true- I've wanted a sister ever since Kristian was born (believe it or not, I actually did want him to be a boy!) Thank you so much for letting me share my emotions and experiences so far on this journey...I can't WAIT to share the rest of it!

Three Days!!!!!!!!

2007-06-17T18:28:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how soon it is! Our house has been busy, busy, busy, and yet we always find much more to do. School finished up for me on Friday, so fortunately, finals are out of the way. But there's still packing and all kinds of preparing- I spent a good chunk of today cleaning the baby/toddler toys we had in the attic (we had TONS accumulated from my, K's, and C's babyhoods- this kid is going to be so spoiled :-)) These next two days are going to be jam-packed of things to do here and there- but come Wednesday, our big adventure begins!!!!

Here is the itinerary of our trip, so if/when you think of us, you know where we are! :-)

Wednesday, 6/20-We leave the house early in the morning for our 11:30am flight out of New York to Dubai

Thursday, 6/21- Arrive early morning, Dubai time. Go to our hotel and relax; go to the beach, re-pack, and take it easy

Friday, 6/22- Spend the day in Dubai

Saturday, 6/23- On another morning flight, fly to Addis Ababa (arrive approx. 11:30am.) Go to the care center and meet Sasha Eraye for the first time!!!!

Sunday, 6/24- My dad goes on the trip south to meet the birth family, while the rest of us remain behind and play with Sasha and the other kids at the care center

Monday, 6/25- I think we have free time on this day; we'll tour the city and go to some museums, and of course, visit the baby. If all goes well, we may take custody of her on this day!

Tuesday, 6/26- Go to the Embassy; I'm not really sure what happens after this, but I THINK the dinner ceremony at the Crown Hotel is in the evening

Wednesday and Thursday, 6/27 and 6/28- More sight-seeing and hanging around the Hilton. We'll definetely have full custody of Sasha at this point!

Friday, 6/29- Our last full day; attend going-away coffee ceremony at the care center

Saturday, 6/30- Leave Addis in the evening for Dubai

Sunday, 7/1- Arrive in Dubai very early in the morning (12:45am). Go to our hotel and sleep before spending the rest of the day taking it easy, going to the beach, and spending time with SE

Monday, 7/2- Spend the entire day in Dubai

Tuesday, 7/3- Leave Dubai on another early morning flight; arrive home with Sasha Eraye some time in the afternoon U.S. time! (Though of course it will feel like night time to us and we'll all be exhausted!)

I'm sooooo excited for this trip and I'm even more excited to spend the rest of my life with our amazing little girl!!!!

Forget the BC photo! Here are some REAL photoes of SE!!!!

2007-06-14T13:51:00.000-04:00

This is incredible: we just received, from our agency, a SEVENTEEN PAGE update on our baby!!!!!!!! Included were describtions of her health, temperament, her likes and dislikes, her daily schedule, milestones, EVERYTHING!!!!!! And of course, the best part was the pictures! We do not think we could possibly be more blessed to be getting this little girl. I have to admit that I haven't ever seen a more beautiful child!!!!

I will post more about what the packet said about her later- but I just can't wait to post these amazing pictures! I will say, though, that they said she loves getting her picture taken- but that pretty much goes without saying :-)

She has hair!!!! (And other musings)

2007-06-10T11:04:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we received SE (not LG anymore!)'s birth certificate. Her pretty little face is now crowned with a mop of curly hair! As adorable as she was in her referral pictures, she looks more femininely cute in this new picture. I want to post it so badly, but I don't know how to post the picture without posting the whole birth certificate. (Anyone know how to do this????)

I cannot believe we leave in 10 days. It's completely surreal. I'm superexcited, of course, but also overwhelmed by the things I have to do (if I didn't have finals to worry about, it would be so much better! The studying is going pretty well though.) Since I got a video camera for my birthday, I want to document this trip as closely as I can, but I want to do an at-home segment before we leave (to show life before/after Sasha) and I also want to start a journal made as a compilation of letters addressed to SE, which I hope to publish someday. The problem is, I think, that I get too ahead of myself- I started thinking last night about what would happen if publishers rejected my work, which is ridiculous since I haven't even started it yet!

In addition to these emotions, I have a bit of underlying nervousness. A friend asked me yesterday if I was nervous, and when I asked her what she meant, she said, "Well, I mean, this person is a complete stranger to you..." and without her finishing her sentence, I knew what she meant. I'm not afraid that she won't like us- I know she will, however long it takes her to adjust. But it's true. Here we are, making this child a part of our family, and we know next to nothing about her. Sure, we know her history, but we don't know the things family members typically know about each other- what she likes and doesn't like; what her fears are; how she would react if I did or said this to her... It's a very weird feeling.

More than anything, though, I'm looking forward to seeing who she is as a person and the kind of person she's going to become.

It really will be an adventure of a lifetime.

Introducing Sasha Eraye

2007-06-06T21:04:00.002-04:00

Click the pictures to make them bigger!!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!

2007-06-06T15:31:00.000-04:00

Our SW called us on Monday with the most amazing news: contrary to what they thought, it turns out that we did make it through court last week! Our baby is officially OURS!!!!

But do you know what THE most amazing news is?

We're traveling...

(Drum roll here please)...

WITH THE JUNE 22nd GROUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It turns out the agency pulled some strings to get people there earlier! The timing couldn't be better, since we leave 5 days after school's out (flights aren't booked yet, but it looks like we'll leave the 20th) but that's still just TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!! I could not be more thrilled!!!!!!

The problem now will be focusing on studying for final exams next week. I keep thinking that the baby should rightfully be my biggest concern right now, but of course, that reasoning is illogical since bad grades will come back to haunt me. I think I can do it though. Only nine days till school is over, and then I can think about the baby, and our trip, as much as I want!!!!

Oh, and now that LG is ours (I still can't believe that!) I can post her referral pictures now! Stand by for one incredibly adorable little girl!!!!

Nothing.

2007-06-01T15:51:00.000-04:00

But at this rate, why would we expect anything different?

Nope

2007-05-25T16:10:00.000-04:00

Still no news. Siiiiigh. At least we haven't heard anything negative? (Trying to see the silver lining here...) It's true that we don't know if we're in the batch of court cases not going through until June 8th, so it still could go through at any time- but again, the waiting is killing us!!!!

To change the subject (which I have to), a brief report on the rodents-in-the-house situation: there have been more than ever. I can't count how many LIVE mice have been brought into the house these past few weeks, and we've had several adventures trying to get them out. Sadly, we can't always save all of them. I think the solution is to always close the doors when they're out, instead of leaving them open so they can wander between the house and the yard like we did before. We've been trying, but I think we have to be more careful...somehow Coco snuck in with a chipmunk yesterday and it took us hours to get Coco away from it (though we THINK the chipmunk got out alive...I don't know what to think if it didn't!)

I hope that this long weekend will bring a flood of fresh, positive information on all fronts along with the gorgeous weather we've been having lately! (Though it's 93 here now, which might be a little too good.) I'm leaving for Michigan with my mom tomorrow to visit my grandparents, and we'll be back Wednesday evening. I think a change of scenery will be good for us, and hopefully when we return we'll be met with some welcoming news!

More Delays

2007-05-21T17:13:00.000-04:00

We've heard so much different information today from the forum about cases getting through court, and what SWs have said about that, etc. Really the only conclusion I can draw is that many, many court cases are getting delayed for a reason no one can fully understand. Our SW was not too helpful in clarifying, but we gathered that we won't be able to travel at least until the end of June, early July- but at this rate we easily could travel well into July. This is absolutely ridiculous- it's making me insane. Forgive me for ranting, but I've tried to be positive, and throughout this whole adoption process, we've had absolutely nothing but bad luck. It's a good thing my family doesn't believe in "signs"- we would have given up a loooooong time ago. I would say that the only consolation we have is that we at least know the child we're getting and therefore we know we'll adopt eventually, but that makes me feel even more frantic to get over there and get her!! It's easy to feel selfish right now, and trust me, I have been thinking a lot about myself- but what makes me truly crazy is thinking that every day, LG gets one day older and spends one day longer away from home. A friend, who really doesn't know much about the adoption process, tried to comfort me by exclaiming, "You have a wonderful, loving family and your parents are doing all the right things. Why can't they just let you bring her home????" I wanted to hug her, but more than that, I so wanted to believe her. WHY can't it be that easy????

Whiling Away the Hours

2007-05-19T19:16:00.000-04:00

Since there's nothing we can do at this point but WAIT, I've been trying to distract myself as best I can. I've seen some movies (Lucky You, which was bad, and Waitress, which was very good) and today, I went shopping- but for me this time! I got some really cute summer clothes, which made me feel better right away. I did get a belated Mother's Day gift for my mom, but nothing for LG this time: my mom counted the clothes we bought for her in the eight weeks since her referral and, not including dresses (which we had several of) she had eighteen t-shirts!!!! Isn't that incredible???? I'm telling you, that travel date better come before we break the bank trying to get LG's wardrobe up to the size of Paris Hilton's! (We are, of course, returning some of what we bought.)

With nothing new to report, I thought I'd mention what my family has decided to do about LG's name. We have had a (very pretty!) name picked out for her for a while, but I'm not going to officially announce it until later. It's not a huge secret, but I thought it would be fun to introduce it along with her picture (if we can EVER post it at this rate...grrrrrrr!)

No News is Good News?

2007-05-18T16:19:00.001-04:00

Who came up with that saying???? The fact that we still don't have our travel date is certainly not good news!!!!

That's right- still nothing. My mom e-mailed our SW at the agency today who said that no one went through court this week (which actually isn't true, since one person on our agency's forum got a travel date yesterday) and that they were seeing a pattern of cases going through court eight weeks after referral. We're eight weeks exactly today. I don't think this would be so frustrating if it wasn't for that we have had so many troubles so far- spending weeks trying to decide whether or not to keep our first referral and then turning it down; switching agencies, etc. In a few weeks, it will be two years exactly since we sent in our application. Of course, that includes our move, which certainly slowed down the homestudy process- but still. After two years of dreaming for my sister, maybe you can see why I think we need to get her home SOON! Our SW said she would look into details on Monday or Tuesday for us to see exactly how the court cases are going along. I guess the fact that only one person got through court this week probably means that our case wasn't even tried, which I guess is good, because it means that it wasn't rejected a second time (I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but I'm trying desperately to be optimistic!)

In any case, I think I've done a pretty good job distracting myself. The house is VERY empty since my dad took the boys to Norway on Wednesday for my grandpa's 8oth birthday party on Saturday (I would have gone, but when I opted not to, it was when I thought I would be missing over a week of school for Ethiopia. Looks like that won't be the case NOW...) That leaves just me, my mom, and the cats. I never knew how quiet it could be without two boys in the house. For once, I miss the constant sounds of GameBoy noises, shouting, laughter, and my mom's voice yelling at one or both of the boys to take off their muddy shoes before tearing around the house that make up the background music of my life at home. Hopefully a little girl's voice will be added into the mix very soon????

Pulling My Hair Out

2007-05-11T15:55:00.000-04:00

I'm telling you, this adoption journey has been the most turbulent one. It won't stop throwing curveballs at us!!!!

If anyone has been counting the weeks from when we got our second referral (not including the one we turned down, which we had received about six weeks prior to the one we accepted) we have been waiting for a travel date for seven weeks. Families generally travel about nine weeks after referral acceptance. But that isn't our concern. FIVE families, all with referrals received two weeks after ours, got travel dates today for the week of June 8th- but we heard nothing. I'm thrilled for them, of course- but I admit I'm filled with many other, stronger emotions! I'm upset and very frustrated that, after all this, we don't have a travel date, and I'm also very concerned that our case isn't getting through court. If that is the case, I don't know when we'll travel.

Maybe I'm over-reacting and acting very selfish. It's just that the "not knowing" is driving me insane, especially since we have to make plans, etc. Most importantly though, I just want our baby girl home!!!!

There is a bit of good news, though: we received an update yesterday that LG grew another centimeter and gained another pound. That puts her right in the 10th percentile for both height and weight. She's healthy and doing great. I couldn't be more pleased about her condition! I'm just getting really antsy to meet her...

*I just want to add: Carsten overheard my mom and I talking and expressed his incredulity at the situation by pronouncing, "This is so not fair!!!!" The fact that he knows so much is kind of funny- travel date, referral, and even names of people from the forum are part of his vocabulary. My mom and I must talk about it too much- not many 7-year-olds know anything about adoption!

Cats and Mice (warning: not for the faint of heart!)

2007-05-10T15:50:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what my house is turning into, but it feels like a big mousetrap. Granted, our house is new and relatively clean, so it doesn't seem like the typical haven for all rodents. But with cats, that's a different story.

I was standing in the kitchen yesterday when I saw Coco batting at something- something moving. I knew immediately what it was. As soon as I cried, "Mouse!" my mom and I pretty much locked ourselves in the office while my brothers chased our kitty around, trying to get a better look. The poor little guy didn't last long. Coco apparently pushed it under a bookcase, and the boys were giving us a very graphic description of how it was twitching. I was upset, but there was nothing we could do except wait for the helpless mouse to die. Kristian bravely took it outside and gave it a proper burial as the rest of us vowed that that would never happen again.

And it didn't- if "never" counts as 18 hours. This morning, my mom was feeding the cats when she all of a sudden saw Coco become extremely alert. She then darted across the basement and started playing with a little gray ball (do you see where I'm going with this??) My mom ran upstairs and hasn't been down since. We assume it's dead, but none of us wants to go check- we reserved that job for Kristian.

We're relatively new cat owners- we've had Coco and Fifi for a little more than year and a half, and this is the first spring we're letting them out. For all of you parents to cats out there- how common is this occurence?! I'm not sure I can put up with this every day of every spring and summer for years to come!!

*UPDATE: We found the dead mouse in the basement. Or actually, it was Coco. I mustered up the courage to go down to run on the treadmill tonight, and as I was running, I saw Coco playing with something small and limp. I knew what it was, but I was too chicken to go look at it- I made my dad go down and get it. I don't even know where they find these mice, but I hope we don't get too many more "surprises" this summer.

Article!!!!

2007-05-03T16:12:00.000-04:00

That's right, the article came out today!! They only used one picture, and it wasn't a bad one (surprisingly!) although you can't see it here (I copied and pasted it from the website- I censored it to keep my last name and town private):

May 3, 2007

****** teen collects pajamas for orphans in Ethiopia

Kids in Kenya are going to get pajamas in the next few months, thanks to donations from *****ians. The pajamas were collected as part of the Sweet Dreams Project by Susanna *******, a sophomore at ****** High School.

In a recent interview with The ********, Susanna said she started the collection for a personal reason, but it quickly grew into a much larger endeavor.

“My family is adopting a little girl from Ethiopia,” Susanna said. “We’re really excited about it.”

It wasn’t just excitement in the air. Susanna got inspired to help an orphanage in Africa.

“What I did was start to brainstorm ways to donate” to an orphanage that is home to children who are HIV/AIDS positive, she said.

This past December, she called an orphanage, A Hope for Children, and found it was in need of pajamas. The orphanage has a headquarters in the United States, but is actually in Ethiopia.

“From there, I talked to the head of the orphanage in Ethiopia,” Susanna said.

Then she began to e-mail the principals of the ****** schools to see if she could hold her PJ collection at one of them. She ended up requesting the assistance of students at **** ****.

“I actually got a really overwhelming response,” Susanna said, she received 130 pairs of pajamas. “In total, I have about 200.”

There are 87 kids at A Hope for Children in Ethiopia. Each child at the orphanage will be able to get one pair, and Susanna will donate some pajamas to another Ethiopian orphanage where Susanna’s soon to be sister is living.

Whatever is left over, Susanna said, will be donated to a shelter in *******.“They are going to go to people who need them. I think that I would’ve been able to get more ... but we are taking them ourselves,” she said. The *******s are scheduled to pick up baby Eraye — Susanna’s new sister — within the next month. That’s when they will take the pajamas.

The project is just the beginning, Susanna said. She hopes she could continue collecting for orphanages through her senior year; that’s why she chose this to be her senior interest project, though she won’t be a senior for another school year.

A senior interest project is a not required half-year project offered at the *HS. Lisa ******, a business teacher at *HS as well as the senior interest project coordinator, said that the project gives students a chance to come up with their own ideas of something to learn and master.

Beginning in their junior year, students have the chance to learn about what a senior interest project is and whether they want to register for the course their senior year.

Once students pick their idea, they must state what they plan on doing, and how they plan on doing it. If approved by Ms. ******, the students are then paired with a mentor, a professional in the field in which the student wants to work.

You'll also notice that they said that they said that the pajamas were going to an orphanage in Kenya. Obviously that's wrong, but the rest of the article was accurate, so I'll let them get away with it ;-)

I also got my shots today. A painful reminder of good things to come!

A Year Of Kristians...

2007-05-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

Happy 11th Birthday, Kristian!

New Glasses

2007-04-30T20:17:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've become the newest member of my immediate family to need glasses (I'm joining my dad, who wears contacts, and Carsten, who wears glasses all the time.) I was shocked at my last doctor appointment to learn that my vision is no longer 20/20, and was diagnosed a few months later with near-sightedness. That means I really only need them for seeing things far away, like reading the board in class and for driving when I start taking lessons this summer (!) The difference in my vision is so incredible though that I want to wear them all the time!

As you can see, I have a phobia of smiling for the camera. But I don't usually look this sinister. My friends, who saw my wild side on the band trip, can attest to that! (Speaking of which, it was fantastic- aside from the fact that the judges at the competition were abnormally cruel-spirited and we got a lower score than we thought we deserved, the weather was beautiful and I could not have had more fun!)

Update #2!

2007-04-25T16:59:00.000-04:00

Wow, we've certainly been lucky with baby updates!

Here's the latest and greatest on LG:

1. She grew another tooth, making that a total of seven
2. She gained another pound (yeah!)
3. She can walk on her own!!!!

Still no travel date, but since we got info on the travel call (upcoming dates of on-the-phone meetings about travel info) it *should* be coming around the corner!

And as for me...I'm heading to VA Beach tomorrow for the music department field trip! We're participating in a competition and going to Busch Gardens. I'm looking forward to a good time, and will blog more when I come back (we get back Sunday at 5am- !!!!)