We have become pretty settled into a new routine as a family of 4. We are still working on some details, like Journey needing 1-2 naps a day and Vivi beginning to outgrow naps, but for the most part we are on a 'schedule', which is a pretty loose term in this house, we prefer to 'follow the child' a la Maria Montessori, but we are all figuring out our new roles and the adjustments that need to be made.
Journey is doing great, she is no longer clingy and I am able to leave her in the play room with Vivi (or without) while I get dinner going or start a load of laundry. If she does find herself alone and isn't happy about it, she doesn't just sit and cry, she fusses while crawling to find me. Our house is coming back together with more time to clean and do chores. We were living out of a pile of clean laundry for awhile while my time was focused elsewhere (at least it was clean, right?) but that pile has gone down significantly. We are doing at least one load of laundry every day because we are cloth diapering both girls, although Vivi doesn't wear one during the day at home, but that's another post.
Journey's 2 teeth have come completely in, so she isn't having the angry biting teething fits (although she only has 8 teeth so we will see that phase again I'm sure!) and her hair seems to be growing and getting thicker and healthier. Between the conditioner we use and the full and healthy diet, I think we'll really start seeing some growth.
I'm excited to see what kind of hair she has, as Ethiopians hair texture ranges from course and kinky to soft and wavy. Little Boy's hair is thick and wavy, not curly at all. Journey's hair is pretty soft right now, but I seem to remember Vivi's being pretty soft at this length too, so we'll see :)
Jenavieve is so far loving having a sister around. She greets her cheerfully every morning (we co-sleep or family bed) with smiles, hugs, and kisses, all of which are returned with a grin from baby sister. She so far hasn't been bossy or mean about sharing toys (or sharing mommy), she even shares things like dessert unprompted and with a smile. She loves to help with everything from 'Joey's' nighttime bottle, feeding her with a spoon or from her hands, and even washing her hair. Luckily Journey isn't bothered by water in her face, and Vivi is very good at pouring and actually made washing Journey's hair easier for me! Getting Vivi's hair washed is a completely different story though...
One strange behavior we are seeing with Journey is that she wants to bite our cats. Being around Vivi for 2 years, they aren't bothered by kids touching them, so they will walk right up to Journey, who grabs whatever part of the cat is closest and lunges at them with her teeth bared! She doesn't do this to any humans, so we aren't really sure what that is all about! Our cats are really good natured and don't fight back, although she did get one cat to yelp as he jumped out of her mouth's reach and hid.
We are still 'laying low', although we are increasing our trips out of the house. Journey gets a little bit fussy when we've been away from home too long so our trips are short. We have been running errands and just happening to run into friends and family so a few people have gotten to meet her. It's hard to explain to people who aren't avid readers of our blog why they can't hold her when she is reaching for them. We noticed that she most often reaches for women, especially older women. This is an orphanage reaction to get attention. You go to whoever will take you because they will give you attention. Even though she gets many hours of focused attention from each of us at home, it is a hard habit to break, and she hasn't been with us long enough to learn that this is forever.
And so, we continue coasting with our new normal...
Journey is doing great, she is no longer clingy and I am able to leave her in the play room with Vivi (or without) while I get dinner going or start a load of laundry. If she does find herself alone and isn't happy about it, she doesn't just sit and cry, she fusses while crawling to find me. Our house is coming back together with more time to clean and do chores. We were living out of a pile of clean laundry for awhile while my time was focused elsewhere (at least it was clean, right?) but that pile has gone down significantly. We are doing at least one load of laundry every day because we are cloth diapering both girls, although Vivi doesn't wear one during the day at home, but that's another post.
Journey's 2 teeth have come completely in, so she isn't having the angry biting teething fits (although she only has 8 teeth so we will see that phase again I'm sure!) and her hair seems to be growing and getting thicker and healthier. Between the conditioner we use and the full and healthy diet, I think we'll really start seeing some growth.
I'm excited to see what kind of hair she has, as Ethiopians hair texture ranges from course and kinky to soft and wavy. Little Boy's hair is thick and wavy, not curly at all. Journey's hair is pretty soft right now, but I seem to remember Vivi's being pretty soft at this length too, so we'll see :)
Jenavieve is so far loving having a sister around. She greets her cheerfully every morning (we co-sleep or family bed) with smiles, hugs, and kisses, all of which are returned with a grin from baby sister. She so far hasn't been bossy or mean about sharing toys (or sharing mommy), she even shares things like dessert unprompted and with a smile. She loves to help with everything from 'Joey's' nighttime bottle, feeding her with a spoon or from her hands, and even washing her hair. Luckily Journey isn't bothered by water in her face, and Vivi is very good at pouring and actually made washing Journey's hair easier for me! Getting Vivi's hair washed is a completely different story though...
One strange behavior we are seeing with Journey is that she wants to bite our cats. Being around Vivi for 2 years, they aren't bothered by kids touching them, so they will walk right up to Journey, who grabs whatever part of the cat is closest and lunges at them with her teeth bared! She doesn't do this to any humans, so we aren't really sure what that is all about! Our cats are really good natured and don't fight back, although she did get one cat to yelp as he jumped out of her mouth's reach and hid.
We are still 'laying low', although we are increasing our trips out of the house. Journey gets a little bit fussy when we've been away from home too long so our trips are short. We have been running errands and just happening to run into friends and family so a few people have gotten to meet her. It's hard to explain to people who aren't avid readers of our blog why they can't hold her when she is reaching for them. We noticed that she most often reaches for women, especially older women. This is an orphanage reaction to get attention. You go to whoever will take you because they will give you attention. Even though she gets many hours of focused attention from each of us at home, it is a hard habit to break, and she hasn't been with us long enough to learn that this is forever.
And so, we continue coasting with our new normal...
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