So, we had our time with the judge this morning and he made us raise our right hands and swear that it was true that little Addison is now ours. :) He's now officially Addison Miles Tyree-Rodriguez and no longer Eyob Radames Rodriguez, and now he's an internationally born resident of the state of Tennessee. Woo hoo!
The judge was very sweet and made us take pictures with him. We met back in his cheesy conference room that smelled like vanilla and had ugly posters in frames, but he couldn't have been nicer. He said that of all the nonsense he'll hear the rest of the day, he'll go home feeling great about his job because of little Addison. He carried Addison all around the room, spent time just chumming it up with us and was sincerely moved by his story. All in all, it was a smooth process, and our lawyer was competent and everything. :)
We're confused now about all the gazillions of papers we now have to file to get him a US birth certificate, SS card, etc., but one day at a time. We're still just trying to keep our heads above water b/c he's so demanding and exhausting. He couldn't be sweeter, but he's a LOT of work.
One major milestone reached for December 14th, 2009. Little Addison legally became our son according to US law! :) Finally!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Two and half month personal progress report
Hi, friends,
It’s hard to believe, but Addison has been home with us for 2 ½ months already! We’ve been total slackers about sending out updates, because:
· We’ve been focused on bottles, naptime, bedtimes, baths, feedings, shuttling ella around and getting into a routine
· I’ve been back at work for a while, so during my non-work time I just want to be with the kids
· Holy shit! No one warned us that having two kids would be so overwhelming!
So, we thought it was time to say hi to everyone and to let you know how things are going.
· First and foremost, Addison is happy and healthy and a great kid. The poor guy has been poked and prodded so many times and checked for everything imaginable, and he’s 100% healthy and on track, even by US standards. He weighs 23 lbs and is 29” tall (at 13 months).
· Addison is 100% attached to Radames like you wouldn’t believe. Radames just walks around all day with him on his hip, and then Addison screams bloody murder when he puts him down. Ah, good times. [insert sarcasm]. He definitely knows we’re his parents, but he’s so much more connected with Radames, which is understandable since they are together from 6am until 8pm every day. It sounds weird to say, but we don’t even remember that he’s adopted. He’s just our son, and it feels like he’s always been with us. The adoption seems like a foggy memory from SO long ago.
· Radames has turned into a crazy housewife who complains about dishes and me “messing with his routine”. I think he’s losing his mind, b/c he’s being the best, overachieving parent you could ever imagine. The other day, he went to his man-cave in the basement and watched an entire football game. He emerged elated and claiming that he felt like he’d grown a few new hairs on his chest. (Needless to say, we’re working on him giving himself permission to relax and be a man again!)
· Ella is 100% attached to me in a way she never has been before. Thank goodness we can divide and conquer, but she is SO exhausting. Addison has been a really tough transition for her, b/c she’s so jealous of the attention she now has to share. If I kiss Addison, I have to kiss her twice. If he’s on my lap, she wants to be on my lap. When he gets out of his highchair, she wants to sit there, when I put Addison down she wants to sit in the room in the corner in the dark and watch me rock him to sleep (like a creepy horror movie). She’s starting to loosen up a bit, but the first month or two were pretty unbearable, b/c SHE was so needy, not Addison. It’s getting better though.
· We had his 1 year birthday in NYC on October 12th. We were there to see Radames’ family and go to a wedding, so we got to have a quiet celebration with a few cupcakes and hugs with family. [Note to self: don’t ever drive from TN to Brooklyn with two kids in the backseat again!]
· When we were in ny/ct, we got to see a lot of friends and let Addison do a bit of road show. He got to hang out in the burbs of CT, meet all of his extended Brooklyn family, see people who felt like they knew him already through pics, and eat lots of Spanish food. J It was so nice to see everyone; we can’t wait to go back to see everyone we didn’t get to connect with.
· We just had his 3 month (yikes!) check-in with our social worker who has to send reports back to Ethiopia at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months and every year until he’s 18. I think we “passed” our first check-in. It was really funny because we met her at a Cracker Barrel on the side of the road near Knoxville. As we pulled in, I couldn’t help but think, “little did this kid know he’d leave Ethiopia and end up at a Cracker Barrel in Tennessee!” It was a really funny meeting, complete with Radames sucking on some country ham while I tried to spare the official paperwork from getting country gravy on it. :)
· Addison had his first Halloween; he was Robin. Ella was Batgirl, and they were too cute. there’s a good pic of them attached.
· We are finally meeting with an attorney tomorrow who is helping us with the re-adoption process. Addison is a legal, permanent resident, but he’s not officially a US citizen until we “re-adopt” him via the US courts. That way he can get a US birth certificate, SS number, etc. We aren’t looking forward to all the paperwork and drama again, but we’ve been procrastinating long enough and need to get it done. Next thing you know, he’ll be officially Addison Miles Tyree-Rodriguez. (Now, he’s still legally Eyob Radames Rodriguez.)
· Addison took his first steps on Tuesday evening (Nov. 17th). He’s been teetering and standing, but he finally took his first drunk ol’ man steps across Ella’s bedroom floor. And we got it on video, so we’ll hopefully upload that to our blog soon.
So…we’re here. We’re alive. We’re trapped and will never leave the house again after 7pm, but we’re happy to be a family of four. :)
PS. THANKS so much for the visits, calls, cards and gifts! We are SO behind on the thank you cards, but I promise we’ll get them all out soon.
It’s hard to believe, but Addison has been home with us for 2 ½ months already! We’ve been total slackers about sending out updates, because:
· We’ve been focused on bottles, naptime, bedtimes, baths, feedings, shuttling ella around and getting into a routine
· I’ve been back at work for a while, so during my non-work time I just want to be with the kids
· Holy shit! No one warned us that having two kids would be so overwhelming!
So, we thought it was time to say hi to everyone and to let you know how things are going.
· First and foremost, Addison is happy and healthy and a great kid. The poor guy has been poked and prodded so many times and checked for everything imaginable, and he’s 100% healthy and on track, even by US standards. He weighs 23 lbs and is 29” tall (at 13 months).
· Addison is 100% attached to Radames like you wouldn’t believe. Radames just walks around all day with him on his hip, and then Addison screams bloody murder when he puts him down. Ah, good times. [insert sarcasm]. He definitely knows we’re his parents, but he’s so much more connected with Radames, which is understandable since they are together from 6am until 8pm every day. It sounds weird to say, but we don’t even remember that he’s adopted. He’s just our son, and it feels like he’s always been with us. The adoption seems like a foggy memory from SO long ago.
· Radames has turned into a crazy housewife who complains about dishes and me “messing with his routine”. I think he’s losing his mind, b/c he’s being the best, overachieving parent you could ever imagine. The other day, he went to his man-cave in the basement and watched an entire football game. He emerged elated and claiming that he felt like he’d grown a few new hairs on his chest. (Needless to say, we’re working on him giving himself permission to relax and be a man again!)
· Ella is 100% attached to me in a way she never has been before. Thank goodness we can divide and conquer, but she is SO exhausting. Addison has been a really tough transition for her, b/c she’s so jealous of the attention she now has to share. If I kiss Addison, I have to kiss her twice. If he’s on my lap, she wants to be on my lap. When he gets out of his highchair, she wants to sit there, when I put Addison down she wants to sit in the room in the corner in the dark and watch me rock him to sleep (like a creepy horror movie). She’s starting to loosen up a bit, but the first month or two were pretty unbearable, b/c SHE was so needy, not Addison. It’s getting better though.
· We had his 1 year birthday in NYC on October 12th. We were there to see Radames’ family and go to a wedding, so we got to have a quiet celebration with a few cupcakes and hugs with family. [Note to self: don’t ever drive from TN to Brooklyn with two kids in the backseat again!]
· When we were in ny/ct, we got to see a lot of friends and let Addison do a bit of road show. He got to hang out in the burbs of CT, meet all of his extended Brooklyn family, see people who felt like they knew him already through pics, and eat lots of Spanish food. J It was so nice to see everyone; we can’t wait to go back to see everyone we didn’t get to connect with.
· We just had his 3 month (yikes!) check-in with our social worker who has to send reports back to Ethiopia at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months and every year until he’s 18. I think we “passed” our first check-in. It was really funny because we met her at a Cracker Barrel on the side of the road near Knoxville. As we pulled in, I couldn’t help but think, “little did this kid know he’d leave Ethiopia and end up at a Cracker Barrel in Tennessee!” It was a really funny meeting, complete with Radames sucking on some country ham while I tried to spare the official paperwork from getting country gravy on it. :)
· Addison had his first Halloween; he was Robin. Ella was Batgirl, and they were too cute. there’s a good pic of them attached.
· We are finally meeting with an attorney tomorrow who is helping us with the re-adoption process. Addison is a legal, permanent resident, but he’s not officially a US citizen until we “re-adopt” him via the US courts. That way he can get a US birth certificate, SS number, etc. We aren’t looking forward to all the paperwork and drama again, but we’ve been procrastinating long enough and need to get it done. Next thing you know, he’ll be officially Addison Miles Tyree-Rodriguez. (Now, he’s still legally Eyob Radames Rodriguez.)
· Addison took his first steps on Tuesday evening (Nov. 17th). He’s been teetering and standing, but he finally took his first drunk ol’ man steps across Ella’s bedroom floor. And we got it on video, so we’ll hopefully upload that to our blog soon.
So…we’re here. We’re alive. We’re trapped and will never leave the house again after 7pm, but we’re happy to be a family of four. :)
PS. THANKS so much for the visits, calls, cards and gifts! We are SO behind on the thank you cards, but I promise we’ll get them all out soon.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Addison Took His First Steps
On Tuesday, Nov. 17th, 2009 (at 13 mo. + 5 days, I guess it would be), Addison finally migrated from his imbalanced stance into a 3-step, drunken old man stupor across Ella's bedroom. He did it several times, and he's been off to the races ever since. Exciting and scarey all at the same time.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Off to See the Social Worker
So, tomorrow we are headed to Knoxville to meet up with our social worker. It's hard to believe, but it's time for her to write up our 3 month "progress report" that we have to send back to Ethiopia. We have to do one at 3 mo, 6 mo, 9 mo, and then every year until he's 18! And I just can't believe he's already been with us over 2 months and it's time to write up our first one. Where did the time go!?
In many ways it feels like Addison just got here, b/c he's still just such a peanut. But in other ways, I can't ever remember our life without him. He's definitely our son, and, honestly, I rarely even remember or think about the fact that we adopted him. It just feels like he's always been with us. I can barely even remember going to Ethiopia. It feels like such a foggy dream, and I have to remind myself that it really did happen.
We also finally made an appointment with an attorney for the week after next. He'll be helping us do our TN re-adoption. Addison is legally ours, but his adoption isn't official in our home state (e.g. no US birth certificate, SS card, etc. can be issued) until we re-adopt him in TN. I ventured out the county courthouse last week to pick up petition filing paperwork, and needless to say, that was a futile exercise. I can understand why people would go postal. I was ready to "go legal" after 15 minutes of dealing with Betty and her idiotic co-workers who had no clue in hell what I was talking about and how to be of any help. Even after being re-directed to the "new courthouse where all the fancy offices are", I still ran into nothing but roadblocks as the nasty bi-otches at every counter were like, "honey, I have no idear whatch you'ra talkin' 'bout." I lef there thinking, "Why!? Why!? Why, Wynne, did you even come here!? Why would you waste 1 minute of your work day trying to deal with this?" We're excited for our lawyer's meeting is all I'll say. He was referred to us by our pediatrician who has an internationally adopted daughter, and from what I understand he's even done Ethiopian readoptions. Fingers and toes crossed.
Every thing is going well with the fam. Addison had his (belated) 1 yr check-up this week, so we had to hold him down while they drew even more blood from him poor little arm. Ugh. I hate that more than anything. I just want to burst into tears. They also gave him four shots in his chubby little thighs. :( And I'm not a big vaccine fan, but I just sucked it up knowing it was best for him. :( I hope we don't have to go for a long time. It's just so unbearable every time we're there, b/c he's getting 3 different types of HIV tests, 4 types of Hep A, B, and C tests, checking his titers to see what vaccines "took" and which didn't (so we don't over-immunize him), etc. I hate it, because he hates it.
Ella is doing a lot better with him now. She is acting a little less jealous and getting in the groove of him just being her little brother. She was driving us crazy for a while, but things are calming down now. Radames has this place on 100% lock-down. He's running the house like a military camp. 6am up, 6:30 feeding, 9:00am nap, 11:30 up, noon feeding, 3:30 nap, 6pm feeding, 7:30 bath, 7:45 bottle, 8:00 in crib asleep. He does NOT like his schedule being deviated from in any way. And he pretty much won't let anyone do anything for him. He is in "I've-got-this" mode, and I'm clearly the window dressing. I'm pretty much taking care of Ella as much as I can, so he's not too overwhelmed, but every time I try to take care of both of them he freaks out and tells me he's got it.
I actually had to tell him the other day that he needed to lighten up (imagine me telling Radames to lighten up!), because he's being super hard on himself and uber martyr-like about the chid rearing. I've been working a ton these past few weeks since I've been back at work, and his feeling is "you take care of the business; I'll take care of the family b/c that's my job." How could I ever begin to have to have a problem with that, b/c what woman in the world is so lucky, but...jeez, he's gotta give himself some respite. He needs to call a friend, go to a game, go play some music in the DJ room, something...he's turning into a crazy stay-at-home mom who complains that the bottles aren't in order and that Ella is in bed 5 minutes late. And he's actually quite miserable, b/c he isn't getting his fuel. Work is my fuel, b/c I love what I do and I get to do it with friends all day, but music, movies, friends and sports and solitude are his fuel, and he hasn't been getting any of it. And since we live in a place where none of his close friends live, and it's not a walking city, he's cooped up like a crazy housewife from the 'burbs that's going crazy and complaining about how she can't remember things and how she feels alone.
We're working on it. I've been forcing him to leave us alone and let me do my other job (or being a mom!), just so that he'll go in the basement and watch a game or something. We'll get it worked out. He has to just let go after 5pm; and I've gotta push him outta the mix more often.
Oh, totally random, but if I owe any of you a thank-you card for goodies you've mailed us, I'M SO SORRY. I promise it's on it's way. I've just been swamped at work, and traveling, and then spending every spare minute I can with the kids (did i just say "kids"?!), so I've been writing like 1 per week. We've gotten everything, and are SO thankful. Sorry we've been so rude about that. Well, that I've been so rude about that. Radames isn't really the card-writing type. And he totally get a pass on this one. :)
In many ways it feels like Addison just got here, b/c he's still just such a peanut. But in other ways, I can't ever remember our life without him. He's definitely our son, and, honestly, I rarely even remember or think about the fact that we adopted him. It just feels like he's always been with us. I can barely even remember going to Ethiopia. It feels like such a foggy dream, and I have to remind myself that it really did happen.
We also finally made an appointment with an attorney for the week after next. He'll be helping us do our TN re-adoption. Addison is legally ours, but his adoption isn't official in our home state (e.g. no US birth certificate, SS card, etc. can be issued) until we re-adopt him in TN. I ventured out the county courthouse last week to pick up petition filing paperwork, and needless to say, that was a futile exercise. I can understand why people would go postal. I was ready to "go legal" after 15 minutes of dealing with Betty and her idiotic co-workers who had no clue in hell what I was talking about and how to be of any help. Even after being re-directed to the "new courthouse where all the fancy offices are", I still ran into nothing but roadblocks as the nasty bi-otches at every counter were like, "honey, I have no idear whatch you'ra talkin' 'bout." I lef there thinking, "Why!? Why!? Why, Wynne, did you even come here!? Why would you waste 1 minute of your work day trying to deal with this?" We're excited for our lawyer's meeting is all I'll say. He was referred to us by our pediatrician who has an internationally adopted daughter, and from what I understand he's even done Ethiopian readoptions. Fingers and toes crossed.
Every thing is going well with the fam. Addison had his (belated) 1 yr check-up this week, so we had to hold him down while they drew even more blood from him poor little arm. Ugh. I hate that more than anything. I just want to burst into tears. They also gave him four shots in his chubby little thighs. :( And I'm not a big vaccine fan, but I just sucked it up knowing it was best for him. :( I hope we don't have to go for a long time. It's just so unbearable every time we're there, b/c he's getting 3 different types of HIV tests, 4 types of Hep A, B, and C tests, checking his titers to see what vaccines "took" and which didn't (so we don't over-immunize him), etc. I hate it, because he hates it.
Ella is doing a lot better with him now. She is acting a little less jealous and getting in the groove of him just being her little brother. She was driving us crazy for a while, but things are calming down now. Radames has this place on 100% lock-down. He's running the house like a military camp. 6am up, 6:30 feeding, 9:00am nap, 11:30 up, noon feeding, 3:30 nap, 6pm feeding, 7:30 bath, 7:45 bottle, 8:00 in crib asleep. He does NOT like his schedule being deviated from in any way. And he pretty much won't let anyone do anything for him. He is in "I've-got-this" mode, and I'm clearly the window dressing. I'm pretty much taking care of Ella as much as I can, so he's not too overwhelmed, but every time I try to take care of both of them he freaks out and tells me he's got it.
I actually had to tell him the other day that he needed to lighten up (imagine me telling Radames to lighten up!), because he's being super hard on himself and uber martyr-like about the chid rearing. I've been working a ton these past few weeks since I've been back at work, and his feeling is "you take care of the business; I'll take care of the family b/c that's my job." How could I ever begin to have to have a problem with that, b/c what woman in the world is so lucky, but...jeez, he's gotta give himself some respite. He needs to call a friend, go to a game, go play some music in the DJ room, something...he's turning into a crazy stay-at-home mom who complains that the bottles aren't in order and that Ella is in bed 5 minutes late. And he's actually quite miserable, b/c he isn't getting his fuel. Work is my fuel, b/c I love what I do and I get to do it with friends all day, but music, movies, friends and sports and solitude are his fuel, and he hasn't been getting any of it. And since we live in a place where none of his close friends live, and it's not a walking city, he's cooped up like a crazy housewife from the 'burbs that's going crazy and complaining about how she can't remember things and how she feels alone.
We're working on it. I've been forcing him to leave us alone and let me do my other job (or being a mom!), just so that he'll go in the basement and watch a game or something. We'll get it worked out. He has to just let go after 5pm; and I've gotta push him outta the mix more often.
Oh, totally random, but if I owe any of you a thank-you card for goodies you've mailed us, I'M SO SORRY. I promise it's on it's way. I've just been swamped at work, and traveling, and then spending every spare minute I can with the kids (did i just say "kids"?!), so I've been writing like 1 per week. We've gotten everything, and are SO thankful. Sorry we've been so rude about that. Well, that I've been so rude about that. Radames isn't really the card-writing type. And he totally get a pass on this one. :)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween Superheroes
So Ella was Batgirl today and Addison was her adorable little sidekick, Robin. We did a little community trick-or-treating, and it was so fun to get them all dressed up for the first time. We'll upload some pix asap. I'm sure we'll take 1,000 more pix tomorrow on Halloween. :)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Yes, we're alive
It's been forever since we've posted, but it's been a function of 1. Holy shit! This two kids thing is NO joke! 2. Ella was on fall break for two weeks, so we went to NYC on "vacation" and 3. I've started back to work and haven't had time to update the blog.
We took Addison swimming for the first time while we were DRIVING up to New York. It was so adorable. I'll try to upload a picture soon. He was so excited...well until I accidentally put his head under water while I was spinning him around in circles and he coughed so badly that he threw up in the pool! Needless to say, we did a casual exit from the pool at that point. :)
Everything is going great, though. Addison turned 1 on the 12th. :) So hard to believe. And Ella is doing a way better job with him and with the fact that he's here to stay. It's just been such a major adjustment for her and we've had to give her lots of TLC.
Radames is being a single dad of two now while I'm at a conference in Vegas this week, so I can only imagine how he's holding up. He's just so amazing, and I'm so fortunate that he's my husband. He holds us all together and never bats a lash. I have no clue how I would be doing this without him these days.
We took Addison swimming for the first time while we were DRIVING up to New York. It was so adorable. I'll try to upload a picture soon. He was so excited...well until I accidentally put his head under water while I was spinning him around in circles and he coughed so badly that he threw up in the pool! Needless to say, we did a casual exit from the pool at that point. :)
Everything is going great, though. Addison turned 1 on the 12th. :) So hard to believe. And Ella is doing a way better job with him and with the fact that he's here to stay. It's just been such a major adjustment for her and we've had to give her lots of TLC.
Radames is being a single dad of two now while I'm at a conference in Vegas this week, so I can only imagine how he's holding up. He's just so amazing, and I'm so fortunate that he's my husband. He holds us all together and never bats a lash. I have no clue how I would be doing this without him these days.
Friday, September 25, 2009
We've Made It Through Another Week
Wow. This new life is demanding. Hats off to people with more than one child! One seems SO easy now. And life pre-kids seems like such a foggy memory. Are we really the parents of two kids? How did all of this grown-up stuff happen? Aren't we still 25?
Ella is settling into a groove and gettig less jealous this week, so that is good, but Addison has had a fever for the last 2-3 days, so our house has been a wreck! He isn't sleeping through the night anymore, so that is messing up Radames and me big time. Yesterday was not a good day at the Tyree-Rodriguez hosehold, to say the least. Ella went on a very long playdate after school, just so that we could catch our breath and not make her have to have a miserable day, too. (Thank you, Polly, for taking care of Ella on Thurs! You have no idea!) Radames ad I took naps in shifts after being up all night, and I pretty much barked at everyone who came within my path. Poor Addison cried almost all day long and couldn't sleep, so Radames took him to the doctor while I took my fat ass to bed...for the good of all mankind. Today we found out he has a urinary tract infection. :( We feel SO bad for him. He got some Septra this afternoon, so hopefully he'll be able to get some more sleep tonight. I don't know if poor Radames could make it if he doesn't, since he volunteered to do last night b/c I did the night before.
Tonight we all got dressed and went to dinner with friends. It was a big deal for us, since we are homebound these days like we are on house arrest. We decided to call friends and ask them to join us, since it was one of the first times we'd all been showered and out on the same day. :) We had a great time. Lots of food and funny stories while the kids entertained one another. It was just so nice to veg out for a little while, let Radames drink and beer and let me gossip with a grown up. We stuffed ourselves silly, then piled in the car to come home and raved about how we had so much fun as we drove home. Then we looked down at the clock and realized it was 7:58!! And our night was over! Gosh, how times have changed! Did we really just have a rockin' night that ended before the time we would even left the house in old days!?
Ella is settling into a groove and gettig less jealous this week, so that is good, but Addison has had a fever for the last 2-3 days, so our house has been a wreck! He isn't sleeping through the night anymore, so that is messing up Radames and me big time. Yesterday was not a good day at the Tyree-Rodriguez hosehold, to say the least. Ella went on a very long playdate after school, just so that we could catch our breath and not make her have to have a miserable day, too. (Thank you, Polly, for taking care of Ella on Thurs! You have no idea!) Radames ad I took naps in shifts after being up all night, and I pretty much barked at everyone who came within my path. Poor Addison cried almost all day long and couldn't sleep, so Radames took him to the doctor while I took my fat ass to bed...for the good of all mankind. Today we found out he has a urinary tract infection. :( We feel SO bad for him. He got some Septra this afternoon, so hopefully he'll be able to get some more sleep tonight. I don't know if poor Radames could make it if he doesn't, since he volunteered to do last night b/c I did the night before.
Tonight we all got dressed and went to dinner with friends. It was a big deal for us, since we are homebound these days like we are on house arrest. We decided to call friends and ask them to join us, since it was one of the first times we'd all been showered and out on the same day. :) We had a great time. Lots of food and funny stories while the kids entertained one another. It was just so nice to veg out for a little while, let Radames drink and beer and let me gossip with a grown up. We stuffed ourselves silly, then piled in the car to come home and raved about how we had so much fun as we drove home. Then we looked down at the clock and realized it was 7:58!! And our night was over! Gosh, how times have changed! Did we really just have a rockin' night that ended before the time we would even left the house in old days!?
Monday, September 21, 2009
We ARE alive
Sorry it's been so long since we've posted. We are alive. :) But we are in over our heads over here. This two kids things is a whole hell of a lot of work, so we've just been hibernating, doing what's necessary, bonding, satisfying (what feels like 20) kids who want attention and just enjoying the time off of work.
Addison is doing great. He sleeps 11 hours a night, then takes two naps a day... and is completely on Eastern time. He eats like a champion and is just such a smiley, happy-go-lucky kid. He's TOTALLY hooked on Radames, which is just so amazing to see. He grabs Radames' neck when anyone comes around, and he even looks to Radames for approval when he comes to me. It's just so beautiful to see these two adorable guys so connected so soon. Radames walks around with him on his hip all day long like a girl from around the way (insert LL Cool J lyrical flashback). And then at night time, Addison wants nothing to do with me. He just wants Radames to put him down. The other night when I sat and rocked him in the dark like I used to do for Ella, it was so hard to watch him wiggle and worm around twisting his neck to the door, just waiting for Radames to come in...so completely disinterested in me and so in need of his daddy to shhh shhh shhh him to sleep. It's taken me a few days to realize that in this process I can't have an ego. If that's what Addison wants and needs; then that's what Addison is going to get. It would be pretty unfair to make him the slightest bit uncomfortable after everything he's been through so that we could go half-sies on the childrearing so that I don't feel left out. And knowing that I'll be going back to work soon anyway, it probably is best that he's latched onto Radames if he needed to pick one of us to bond with more quickly.
The opposite is going on with Ella. She is in full-on give me my mommy every minute of the day! Overall, she's doing a great job of being sweet and helpful and playful, but she is clearly adjusting and trying to deal with the fact that daddy and (mostly) mommy are giving their attention to someone else, too. She now wants me to wake her up, put her to bed, snuggle with her in bed, read her more stories, take her to karate, come to her snacktime at school, pack her lunch, etc. But, again, if that's what she needs right now, then so be it. It's meant that we are settling (at least for the next week or so) into a Radames-is-primarily-in-charge-of-Addison- while-Wynne-is-primarily-in-charge-of-Ella groove. According to our new family spreadsheet (insert laughter), we try to flip it each day, but by the end of the day, the two little ones end up defaulting back to whom they are digging most right now.
So, all in all, things are going really well. We're trying to get a system down pat and trying to keep our heads above water. Every minute is a bottle, cereal, making baby food, doing dishes, doing laundry, take a work call, Ella's lunch needing to be packed, going to the store for random things, dropping Ella off, picking her up, reading stories, changing diapers, practicing words of the day, going to karate, more laundry, helping Ella perfect her post-#2 wiping skills, and on and on and on. How single women (or men) do this, I have NO idea. It's taking every hour for both Radames and me to do it.
But we wouldn't change it for the world. This is exactly what we wanted, and we would definitely deserve to burn in hell if we even began to complain about anything in our lives at this point. We are so truly blessed in so many ways. I love Radames and Ella and Addison so much, and I just couldn't ask for a sweeter, more comfortable life.
Addison is doing great. He sleeps 11 hours a night, then takes two naps a day... and is completely on Eastern time. He eats like a champion and is just such a smiley, happy-go-lucky kid. He's TOTALLY hooked on Radames, which is just so amazing to see. He grabs Radames' neck when anyone comes around, and he even looks to Radames for approval when he comes to me. It's just so beautiful to see these two adorable guys so connected so soon. Radames walks around with him on his hip all day long like a girl from around the way (insert LL Cool J lyrical flashback). And then at night time, Addison wants nothing to do with me. He just wants Radames to put him down. The other night when I sat and rocked him in the dark like I used to do for Ella, it was so hard to watch him wiggle and worm around twisting his neck to the door, just waiting for Radames to come in...so completely disinterested in me and so in need of his daddy to shhh shhh shhh him to sleep. It's taken me a few days to realize that in this process I can't have an ego. If that's what Addison wants and needs; then that's what Addison is going to get. It would be pretty unfair to make him the slightest bit uncomfortable after everything he's been through so that we could go half-sies on the childrearing so that I don't feel left out. And knowing that I'll be going back to work soon anyway, it probably is best that he's latched onto Radames if he needed to pick one of us to bond with more quickly.
The opposite is going on with Ella. She is in full-on give me my mommy every minute of the day! Overall, she's doing a great job of being sweet and helpful and playful, but she is clearly adjusting and trying to deal with the fact that daddy and (mostly) mommy are giving their attention to someone else, too. She now wants me to wake her up, put her to bed, snuggle with her in bed, read her more stories, take her to karate, come to her snacktime at school, pack her lunch, etc. But, again, if that's what she needs right now, then so be it. It's meant that we are settling (at least for the next week or so) into a Radames-is-primarily-in-charge-of-Addison- while-Wynne-is-primarily-in-charge-of-Ella groove. According to our new family spreadsheet (insert laughter), we try to flip it each day, but by the end of the day, the two little ones end up defaulting back to whom they are digging most right now.
So, all in all, things are going really well. We're trying to get a system down pat and trying to keep our heads above water. Every minute is a bottle, cereal, making baby food, doing dishes, doing laundry, take a work call, Ella's lunch needing to be packed, going to the store for random things, dropping Ella off, picking her up, reading stories, changing diapers, practicing words of the day, going to karate, more laundry, helping Ella perfect her post-#2 wiping skills, and on and on and on. How single women (or men) do this, I have NO idea. It's taking every hour for both Radames and me to do it.
But we wouldn't change it for the world. This is exactly what we wanted, and we would definitely deserve to burn in hell if we even began to complain about anything in our lives at this point. We are so truly blessed in so many ways. I love Radames and Ella and Addison so much, and I just couldn't ask for a sweeter, more comfortable life.
Monday, September 14, 2009
One week and counting
Addison is doing such a great job. He's been with us in TN for a week now, and it feels like he's always been here. He sleeps and eats like a champ, and we're all starting to get into a groove. Sorry we've been quiet, but no news is good news these days. :) Just enjoying our new family and learning to juggle like never before. We did get our photo montage done, though. Enjoy!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Getting Acclimated
Hey, friends and family. Sorry we've been so remiss in posting, but this "new job" is no joke! Boy, do we have a whole new respect for anyone with more than one kid! Our lives have been nothing but wake-ups, bedtimes, feedings, changings, nap times, laundry, bottles, cereal, babyfood, jet lag, and sneaking a shower with regard to Addison and cooking, packing lunches, wake-ups, bedtimes, stories, "homework", karate, participating in the school fund raisers, fending off jealousy urges, and making playdates with regard to Ella. This makes having one child seem like a cake walk! Jeez. This life is no joke!
Yesterday, Radames had a meltdown because I wanted to drive Ella to school and he thought he was driving her and it "threw off his whole morning", to use his words. We ended up having to sit down and create a giant spreadsheet that has every 30 minute interval of the day planned out with who is doing what! We realized that we either need to run this place like a ship or we're gonna sink! There's just so much to do!! How do people do this!?? We're just "learning" basic things like okay-we-must-have-the-diaper-bag-prepacked-at-all-times-because-it's-taking-us-two-hours-to-leave-the-house and the we-must-have-a-bedtime-rotation-schedule-because-we-can't-have-simultaneous-wake-ups-or-put downs. Our whole lives have been flipped upside down. But in an amazingly cute, bit if-I-weren't-married-to-Radames-I'd-have-no-idea-what-I'd-do kind of way. Our body clocks have completed shifted. We accomplish more before 8am than we used to before 8pm! You guys know me...I used to be in bed at 3am and up at 9am. Now i'm in bed by 9pm and awake at 5 or 6am. Ah, what a whole other world. I am one domestic diva these days.
Most importantly, Addison is doing SO well. He's so chipper and easy going. He's completely adjusted to the time difference and is now (like in Ethiopia) down by 8pm and up at 6am. Then he naps from 9-11am and again at around 3:30pm and does it all over again. He really doesn't even cry. He knows the system and just so chill about everything. He's definitely attached to us. When we put him down or give him to someone else, he freaks out, so that's a wonderful thing! He just smiles and babbles and crawls all around the house. He LOVES Brownie and the cats and basically keeps trying to eat them! He's definitely one of the gang. :)
Ella's being a great big sis. She loves with the feeding and diapering and is enjoying with his teacher on any and all matters. She's having a blast at kindergarten and is enjoying telling all of her teachers about her new baby brother from Africa.
More to come. But for now, we're a-okay. :) Thanks for all of your love and support! :)
Yesterday, Radames had a meltdown because I wanted to drive Ella to school and he thought he was driving her and it "threw off his whole morning", to use his words. We ended up having to sit down and create a giant spreadsheet that has every 30 minute interval of the day planned out with who is doing what! We realized that we either need to run this place like a ship or we're gonna sink! There's just so much to do!! How do people do this!?? We're just "learning" basic things like okay-we-must-have-the-diaper-bag-prepacked-at-all-times-because-it's-taking-us-two-hours-to-leave-the-house and the we-must-have-a-bedtime-rotation-schedule-because-we-can't-have-simultaneous-wake-ups-or-put downs. Our whole lives have been flipped upside down. But in an amazingly cute, bit if-I-weren't-married-to-Radames-I'd-have-no-idea-what-I'd-do kind of way. Our body clocks have completed shifted. We accomplish more before 8am than we used to before 8pm! You guys know me...I used to be in bed at 3am and up at 9am. Now i'm in bed by 9pm and awake at 5 or 6am. Ah, what a whole other world. I am one domestic diva these days.
Most importantly, Addison is doing SO well. He's so chipper and easy going. He's completely adjusted to the time difference and is now (like in Ethiopia) down by 8pm and up at 6am. Then he naps from 9-11am and again at around 3:30pm and does it all over again. He really doesn't even cry. He knows the system and just so chill about everything. He's definitely attached to us. When we put him down or give him to someone else, he freaks out, so that's a wonderful thing! He just smiles and babbles and crawls all around the house. He LOVES Brownie and the cats and basically keeps trying to eat them! He's definitely one of the gang. :)
Ella's being a great big sis. She loves with the feeding and diapering and is enjoying with his teacher on any and all matters. She's having a blast at kindergarten and is enjoying telling all of her teachers about her new baby brother from Africa.
More to come. But for now, we're a-okay. :) Thanks for all of your love and support! :)
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Eagles Have Landed
We made it home! All in one piece...well, in three pieces. :) We landed on Saturday morning at 8:30ish. It was the longest 17 hour flight of our lives, but Addison was a true champ. He didn't cry one time on the plane! He's so easy-going and happy. He just giggles, squeaks like a dog's chew toy, smiles, eats, dumps and sleeps. :) Now that's a life.
When we touched down in DC we were totally elated. And then when we passed through immigration and then customs and walked through the exit doors, we just cried and held each other and couldn't have been more grateful. We took a cab to the Sheraton where our car was parked, took a long-overdue shower, fed Addison and made the 6.5 hr drive home. We almost drove off the road 5 times, bc neither one of us could keep our eyes open, but we did make it home alive. It was the longest 30-hr trip ever! (I don't want to see a plane again for a LONG time!)
We're all crazy jetlagged, but Addison made it all the way until 4am this morning, which is great considering that his biological bedtime is our 1pm until 11pm! Ella is thrilled to have him here and we're just having a relaxing first day together as a new family. The family is coming over today for a welcome home get-together that we were too exhausted to host yesterday, so that should be fun.
We'll update with pics and more details. Ella's waiting for me to send Polly Pocket down her waterslide now...
When we touched down in DC we were totally elated. And then when we passed through immigration and then customs and walked through the exit doors, we just cried and held each other and couldn't have been more grateful. We took a cab to the Sheraton where our car was parked, took a long-overdue shower, fed Addison and made the 6.5 hr drive home. We almost drove off the road 5 times, bc neither one of us could keep our eyes open, but we did make it home alive. It was the longest 30-hr trip ever! (I don't want to see a plane again for a LONG time!)
We're all crazy jetlagged, but Addison made it all the way until 4am this morning, which is great considering that his biological bedtime is our 1pm until 11pm! Ella is thrilled to have him here and we're just having a relaxing first day together as a new family. The family is coming over today for a welcome home get-together that we were too exhausted to host yesterday, so that should be fun.
We'll update with pics and more details. Ella's waiting for me to send Polly Pocket down her waterslide now...
Friday, September 4, 2009
We're On Our Way Home!
We made it! We passed through all of the embassy appointments yesterday and are now the proud holders of an adorable Ethiopian passport with the cutest mug shot ever! :) And we have his birth certificate that shows that WE are the parents of Eyob Radames Rodriguez aka Addison Miles Tyree-Rodriguez. We couldn't be happier!
We're headed out tonight at 10:15pm Ethiopian time (3pm eastern) and will land in DC at 7am tomorrow. Woo Hoo!
We're headed out tonight at 10:15pm Ethiopian time (3pm eastern) and will land in DC at 7am tomorrow. Woo Hoo!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Everything is great!
It's Thursday morning the 3rd, and today is our big appointment day at the embassy. At around 2:30, we'll go there with Addison and all of our paperwork and give an oath that yes, we are Radames and Wynne and that this is little Eyob Radames Rodriguez, and that we promise to take care of him forever. They'll examine all of our crazy paperwork (tax returns, immigration stuff from the US, adoption decree, etc.) and then, hopefully, say, "Congratulations." In some ways it's just a formality, because he's already legally ours, but this is the part where they finalize his passport, travel visa, birth certificates, etc. that allow us to leave the country. If all goes perfectly, they have all the final docs ready for us to pick-up at 4:00pm tomorrow...and our flight back home is at 10:00pm tomorrow night Needless to say, our stomachs are in knots. Bright side is that there is nothing they can do to take him away or stop the process. But they can delay us and make us have to stay here longer and redo things or jump through more hoops. Wish us luck today as we head to the embassy today and ideally spend 5 uneventful minutes giving them what they need so that we are just one day away from heading home!
Our time so far here has been pretty relaxing. After we caught up on sleep, we've felt pretty good. Unfortunately, our sleep pattern is now lights out at 10pm and up and at em at 6am. Which would be nice if we weren't 7 hours ahead! Our bedtimes in the US are now going to be 3pm! And Addison's is at 8pm, which will now be 1pm! Oh, good times. :) But we haven't gotten sick, the altitude isn't bothering us, no stomach "bugs", no dehydration, etc. And, most importantly, Addison is healthy as a horse and eating like a champion.
He's SO cute! He would eat anything you put in front of him, and then he just smiles and coos and shows his 7 teeth from ear to ear. Yes, he has 7 teeth! He's so funny, because he kind of looks like an old man, with a mustache and receding hairline, but then again he looks like a newborn. Radames thinks he kind of looks like Webster. Ha! Developmentally, it's kind of like he's 1 year old and a newborn at the same time. Physically, he's big (about 21 lbs.) and he has lots of hair and teeth, but he doesn't do a lot of the things that a 10.5 month old would do in the US. It's not comparable, of course, because he's been in an orphanage and then in the transition home, and pretty much hanging out in a crib his whole life, but just basic things that you'd expect a kid his size to do, he doesn't do. He doesn't even make an attempt to hold his own bottle, he doesn't really crawl, he doesn't reach his arms up for you to grab him, etc. He just kind of sits there and waits for us to do to him what ever we are going to do. And then he just clings onto our necks with the most amazing death grip. He sort of "climbs" up our chests, almost clawing into us with a very primal baby attaching to mommy way. And he doesn't want to let go. He just wants us to hold him and have his face buried in our chests. It's so sweet, and it's also so sad at the same time, bc it's clearly the first time he's truly attaching. We'll take it though. :) There are WAY worse "issues" to have. He just couldn't be more sweet. We have a lot of developmental stuff to catch up on, but who cares. We are just totally focused on the bonding process at this point, and letting him know that we'll never leave him.
Our time so far here has been pretty relaxing. After we caught up on sleep, we've felt pretty good. Unfortunately, our sleep pattern is now lights out at 10pm and up and at em at 6am. Which would be nice if we weren't 7 hours ahead! Our bedtimes in the US are now going to be 3pm! And Addison's is at 8pm, which will now be 1pm! Oh, good times. :) But we haven't gotten sick, the altitude isn't bothering us, no stomach "bugs", no dehydration, etc. And, most importantly, Addison is healthy as a horse and eating like a champion.
He's SO cute! He would eat anything you put in front of him, and then he just smiles and coos and shows his 7 teeth from ear to ear. Yes, he has 7 teeth! He's so funny, because he kind of looks like an old man, with a mustache and receding hairline, but then again he looks like a newborn. Radames thinks he kind of looks like Webster. Ha! Developmentally, it's kind of like he's 1 year old and a newborn at the same time. Physically, he's big (about 21 lbs.) and he has lots of hair and teeth, but he doesn't do a lot of the things that a 10.5 month old would do in the US. It's not comparable, of course, because he's been in an orphanage and then in the transition home, and pretty much hanging out in a crib his whole life, but just basic things that you'd expect a kid his size to do, he doesn't do. He doesn't even make an attempt to hold his own bottle, he doesn't really crawl, he doesn't reach his arms up for you to grab him, etc. He just kind of sits there and waits for us to do to him what ever we are going to do. And then he just clings onto our necks with the most amazing death grip. He sort of "climbs" up our chests, almost clawing into us with a very primal baby attaching to mommy way. And he doesn't want to let go. He just wants us to hold him and have his face buried in our chests. It's so sweet, and it's also so sad at the same time, bc it's clearly the first time he's truly attaching. We'll take it though. :) There are WAY worse "issues" to have. He just couldn't be more sweet. We have a lot of developmental stuff to catch up on, but who cares. We are just totally focused on the bonding process at this point, and letting him know that we'll never leave him.
The country itself has been quite fascinating. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but, honestly, the country is so unbelievably poor it's just beyond depressing. We've been to a lot of countries where there is poverty, and to plenty of 3rd world places, but this is like nothing we've ever seen. It's not place where there are "the haves" and the "have nots". Everyone is a "have not", and even the few "haves" live by such a different standard. Honestly, the poverty and dispair is just so striking. Literally, there is nothing. An entire city (and this is "the city", the place where life is way better for most) full of starvation. No industry, very little modernity, no signs of progress, no new construction, no western influence (which doesn't mean "progress" necessarily, but there's no foreign money coming in), no clean water, no food, raw sewage running down the street, unpaved roads that have rocks and pot holes about 3 feet deep, thousands of children (and adults) on the streets begging...and on and on. The diesel fuel from all of the dilapidated cars and busses is nauseating. There are cows and goats and dogs and cats walking around all over town. Roosters crowing, dogs howling, kids begging, plastic tarps attached to four sticks as houses, people lying on the streets as if they are dead...face down, covered in dirt and mud, not moving a muscle. I thought that i had seen a dead person on the first day, and i freaked out as we were driving. And then i saw the next one and the next one and the next one. And i realized, they were just sleeping, i guess. But not in a NYC homeless sort of way, in an i have nothing and i'll collapse right here on this rock sort of way. It's so cliche, and nothing i ever thought i'd say, but it's one giant Save the Children commercial. Where you see the poverty and you think, "there's no way," but it's really true. And you can't turn off the tv, bc you're there.
I wanted so badly to come and see an amazing country full of history and culture and to come back and so full of stories and anecdotes that would debunk our western myths about Africa...or at least Ethiopia. I wanted to be able to tell Addison how amazing his country is/was and how he has so much to be proud of. But we aren't there yet. Maybe once we've had time to process it all and get some distance, we'll have a little more perspective, but for now the tales aren't there. The people are AMAZING. So nice and so gracious and so humble, and everyone has taken amazing care of us. And we have seen a few cool things (yesterday we went to the ethnic museum to understand the history of the country and the people a bit more), but the poverty and hopelessness is just so striking that it's hard to notice the positives. We (well, I) just sit around thinking about how i can overhaul the government and the economy (while Rademes drinks beer and hams it up with the other families). :) What do you do where the gov't controls everything and the leaders live in a giant palace when everyone else starves to death around the gates? What do you do when there's no export...no import...no natural resources...no foreign investment...no commerce...nothing... It's just too much to wrap your head around.
Ugh. Now i'm being debbie downer. The most important thing is that we're happy as can be, Addison is ours, and that we'll be home soon. :) Wish us luck today. We'll keep you posted the next time we can log on.
Ciao! (as the locals say, bc they were under Italian occupation for a while in the '30s and 40s)
I wanted so badly to come and see an amazing country full of history and culture and to come back and so full of stories and anecdotes that would debunk our western myths about Africa...or at least Ethiopia. I wanted to be able to tell Addison how amazing his country is/was and how he has so much to be proud of. But we aren't there yet. Maybe once we've had time to process it all and get some distance, we'll have a little more perspective, but for now the tales aren't there. The people are AMAZING. So nice and so gracious and so humble, and everyone has taken amazing care of us. And we have seen a few cool things (yesterday we went to the ethnic museum to understand the history of the country and the people a bit more), but the poverty and hopelessness is just so striking that it's hard to notice the positives. We (well, I) just sit around thinking about how i can overhaul the government and the economy (while Rademes drinks beer and hams it up with the other families). :) What do you do where the gov't controls everything and the leaders live in a giant palace when everyone else starves to death around the gates? What do you do when there's no export...no import...no natural resources...no foreign investment...no commerce...nothing... It's just too much to wrap your head around.
Ugh. Now i'm being debbie downer. The most important thing is that we're happy as can be, Addison is ours, and that we'll be home soon. :) Wish us luck today. We'll keep you posted the next time we can log on.
Ciao! (as the locals say, bc they were under Italian occupation for a while in the '30s and 40s)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
We're Here!
We made it! They let Radames through, and he's not in Dubai right now after all. We met Addison yesterday and could not stop crying. He's such an adorable little munchkin. Within five minutes of meeting us, he just smushed his face into my chest and feel fast asleep on his new "cushions" for half an hour. He hasn't missed a beat since. He's eating like a champion, happy as can be, and is adjusting so well. He's on a hard core schedule, so as long as we keep him on that schedule, he's good to go. He slept from 8:30 to 6:30 last night, just like they said he would. (Only "problem" is that that's our 1:30pm to 11:30pm eastern! Yikes! We're going to have some serious time adjusting to do.)
Radames and I haven't slept in a few days, but who cares. We missed the night's sleep coming here, bc we arrived at midnight eastern, but it was 8am here, so yesterday was an incredibly hard day. But we made it and he's ours! And today is our anniversary (8 years!) and we couldn't dream of being in a more "glamorous" place. :)
We'll update when we can, but we're on dial up, so no pix yet.
Woo hoo! We made it. He's ours. He's beautiful, happy and has 7 teeth!!!! (but he's clearly a baby, though. We were scared he was going to be like 3 years old :), but he's definitely a little peanut.)
Radames and I haven't slept in a few days, but who cares. We missed the night's sleep coming here, bc we arrived at midnight eastern, but it was 8am here, so yesterday was an incredibly hard day. But we made it and he's ours! And today is our anniversary (8 years!) and we couldn't dream of being in a more "glamorous" place. :)
We'll update when we can, but we're on dial up, so no pix yet.
Woo hoo! We made it. He's ours. He's beautiful, happy and has 7 teeth!!!! (but he's clearly a baby, though. We were scared he was going to be like 3 years old :), but he's definitely a little peanut.)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
There WILL Be A Dominican in Ethiopia!
It is 8:35AM and this is Radames writing. Yes, after all of the stuff and obstacles that Wynne wrote about me not going to ET in her previous post, I am next to my wife and sitting in the United lounge having coffee as I write this. We had a restless night of sleep because we did not know what to expect this morning. Was I going to get through? If I did, would I get on the plane? Question after question popped in to our heads as we tried to figure out what we were going to do while driving up to Dulles from TN. Due to Wynne not getting any sleep, she got up in the middle of the night and e-mailed our travel agents who had not reached out to us after us trying to get in contact with them all of Saturday. After Wynne's e-mail, she called at around 4:30AM. Wynne told her the situation and she immediately had me ready to jump on another flight from JFK tomorrow night due to the fact that I was going to be there trying to get my passport renewed in one day. We got up at 6AM and we felt pretty good about what was going to happen. Either we were going together or we were going seperately. We were ready for anything.
Our agency director then called and informed Wynne that she had spoken to our in country rep and he told her that he had never heard of such a thing as a 6 month rule regarding passports and visas. He then placed a call to his friend, who by the way is the head of visa officers in the airport, and he told him that as long as a passport is valid, I would be good to go. Great way to start off our trip.
We arrived at the Ethiopian Air counter at about 7:30AM. We calmly hauled our luggage to the first class lane and up to the checkout agent. Wynne smiled and told her how excited we were going to Africa, that this was our first time going, and we were going to pick up our son. The agent calmly looked at our tickets, passports, and other documents. Our luggage was placed on the scale, weighed, and put on the belt. Our tags were being printed and other things were being put in order as Wynne and myself looked at each other waiting for the other shoe to drop as it has happend with everything else in this process. My stomach was in knots as if I was lying to th cops about some illegal activity and Wynne was sweating as though she was being interrogated by Ethiopian authorities. The agent is finishing everything up and she picks up our passports one last time. She looks at mine, turns to me and says, " Have you had your passport renewed?" My stomach drops. The gig is up. I can only imagine what Wynne is going through as she heard this. I say excuse me to her and then she laughs and says,"Oh, it expires in November. I didn't see the year. You're ok." A wave of calmness goes over me as Wynne shows the agent a picture of Addison and she remarks how cute he is. She gives us our stuff and we walk away feeling as though we are walking on cloud nine. Wynne and I look at each other with huge smiles, go through security with a huge relief and realize that we are about to embark on the journey to finally bring home our son.
Our agency director then called and informed Wynne that she had spoken to our in country rep and he told her that he had never heard of such a thing as a 6 month rule regarding passports and visas. He then placed a call to his friend, who by the way is the head of visa officers in the airport, and he told him that as long as a passport is valid, I would be good to go. Great way to start off our trip.
We arrived at the Ethiopian Air counter at about 7:30AM. We calmly hauled our luggage to the first class lane and up to the checkout agent. Wynne smiled and told her how excited we were going to Africa, that this was our first time going, and we were going to pick up our son. The agent calmly looked at our tickets, passports, and other documents. Our luggage was placed on the scale, weighed, and put on the belt. Our tags were being printed and other things were being put in order as Wynne and myself looked at each other waiting for the other shoe to drop as it has happend with everything else in this process. My stomach was in knots as if I was lying to th cops about some illegal activity and Wynne was sweating as though she was being interrogated by Ethiopian authorities. The agent is finishing everything up and she picks up our passports one last time. She looks at mine, turns to me and says, " Have you had your passport renewed?" My stomach drops. The gig is up. I can only imagine what Wynne is going through as she heard this. I say excuse me to her and then she laughs and says,"Oh, it expires in November. I didn't see the year. You're ok." A wave of calmness goes over me as Wynne shows the agent a picture of Addison and she remarks how cute he is. She gives us our stuff and we walk away feeling as though we are walking on cloud nine. Wynne and I look at each other with huge smiles, go through security with a huge relief and realize that we are about to embark on the journey to finally bring home our son.
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