April 11, 2017 (continued...)
There were still a few tears from L today. He was laying on a chair by himself and when Dave went to check on him, he just started balling while curled up in the fetal position. This seems to be his coping mechanism for fear-- he just freezes up and cries. When the nannies tried to make him sit on my lap, he resisted and cried then too. But he warmed up again after a little while.
He surprises us over and over again with how much he soaks in...
I brought a little photo album with pictures of his new family. I really didn't think he would care or understand what these photos meant. But the instant he received the album he held on tightly and intently stared at the pictures. He sat with the nannies and looked at each and every picture as they translated to him who each person was. Absolutely precious!
I had brought a few articles of clothing from home to leave at the orphanage with L. It was so cute... I held them up to him to check for size and handed them to one of the nannies and he immediately fussed to the nanny and pulled on his shirt insisting that she take it off and put on one of his new ones. He was so proud! (It was so fun to see him wearing a shirt that used to be Cohen Kent's!)
Today we saw a lot more smiles from little L. And even a few belly laughs. Dave was playing hide 'n seek with L and a few of the kids. They were laughing so hard. They'd run outside to find Dave and then run back inside screaming after they saw him. L called him "Dad" while they were playing!
We met the orphanage director, "Sister" and we gave her huge hugs. She speaks a little bit of English. She told us that L is shy but very smart. She gave us baby pictures that she had of him.
There was one older nanny there today who spoke a tiny bit of English too. It was so nice to be able to ask a few questions about L. I asked what he likes to eat. She said soup, stew, bread and milk. She said his appetite is not very good which helps explain why he's pretty skinny. She said he sleeps well at night and takes a nap everyday after lunch. He sleeps in a crib. He seemed very attached to her. She called him her little friend. It was apparent that she is genuinely happy that he has a family now.
When we were saying our goodbyes the nannies asked him to give us kisses and we were surprised he so willingly complied! We both got kisses on the cheek. And just like the day before he followed us to the gate. The goodbyes are definitely getting harder!
When we made it back to the hotel we actually had wifi! It was so nice to be able to write a couple emails and blog posts. We even got to check in with my family and Ben by phone! Sounds like Ben is doing great and we're so thankful for that!!
I was completely exhausted by this point but in true-to-form African fashion, through a comedy of errors, multiple phone calls and messages getting lost in translation, we ended up going to a restaurant with Teddy for an authentic Ethiopian buffet complete with traditional music and dancing. It was quite the show and definitely worth going out for even if we were ready for bed hours earlier. I'm glad we went!
1 comment:
Tearing up reading this! So beautiful. Continuing to keep you guys in my prayer.
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