More K. the National Museum (And More K.)

Once again, today started out with a visit to see the children. When we got there the older toddlers/preschoolers were playing in the courtyard and they told us that the babies were on the upper deck enjoying the sun. Nothing could have prepared us for the sight- we walked onto the deck off the third floor of the center. The babies are all lying on blankets on a big rug warm in the sun- completely naked. I wish I could have taken a photo because it was a pretty funny- all these little naked babies perfectly content out in the sun. The nannies were in the process of getting them all dressed when we arrived. A. didn't want to come out to see the "naked babies" but finally decided that naked babies weren't that big of a deal.

We brought K. down into the playroom and just hung out while we interacted with the other kids in the center. We have been told that all of the children in the center are matched and waiting for their parents, except for 2 waiting children- both of whom are darling as well. (If you want more info on those kids visit the Holt website.) All the kids are happy and well cared for. We have talked to all the babies and held and played with all of the older kids. Tip for travelers -bring the small non-spillable bubble containers and some bubble refills. The kids really enjoy the two we bought, but they all want a turn and the bubble solution won't last long. Also, for travelers- it's not called the rainy season for nothing. So far we have managed to not get caught outside in the downpours but it rains HARD each day.

After baby time we went to a local restaurant for lunch. They had a kind of eclectic menu anyway but when they saw that D. was Chinese they actually wrote out the Chinese foods they could make as they thought that she might like them better. The people here are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Everyone goes out of their way to make us feel at home (including strangers in the airport.) They all love the kids and think they can do no wrong- so the boys are in for a rude awakening when we get back home and D. has yet to meet an Ethiopian man she doesn't like- she's become a big flirt and they are all loving her. After lunch the owner of the restaurant came out and thanked us for visiting and for taking our Ethiopian children into our heart and homes. It was so heartfelt and genuine it kind of made us all tear up.

Following lunch we went to the National Museum of Ethiopia and saw some of their amazing collection of artifacts. Africa and specifically this part of Africa is where humanity is thought to have begun. We were able to see the bones of Lucy, the second oldest human found and a mask of Selam, the oldest and most complete set of bones ever found (also found in Ethiopia). The museum's building and facilities do not begin to do the collection justice. We also took a driving tour of part of the city. There are huge houses right next to huts with the walls made of tarps. We were able to see the presidential residence and the palace of the prime minister. Unfortunately, some of the cultural icons are not situated in areas that make stopping to take photos an option. Many are in the middle of very congested roundabouts so there is not a easy (or safe) way to walk to them. It makes me sad that we are only able to see some of these things from the windows of a bus. Much of the historical and cultural sites of Ethiopia are way out of the city so we will not be able to see them on this trip. However, we look forward to coming back when the kids are older and really experiencing the country and the culture.

We ended the day by going back to see the babies again. We were there during the shift change so we were able to meet some of the nannies that we hadn't seen before. I was able to take K.'s photo with some of them and one in particular took her from me. She said "you mama" I said yes. She patted her heart and looked at K., then kissed her and patted her heart again. She clearly loves her. All the nannies have reacted like this. They are always kissing and hugging and talking to the children. It is really amazing the love they show for the kids. I can't imagine how hard it is to have to say goodbye to them when they leave with their new families.

Tomorrow the care center is closed so that they can operate on a more minimal staffing (since Sunday is a Holy day.) We have the opportunity to visit a church but since the kids have several lengthy formalities they have to sit through, we decided that we are not going to the service. We are heading off to a resort for the afternoon. We aren't sure exactly what to expect since it is kind of cool to swim and so far it has rained all afternoon each day but we will get to see some of the countryside.

The pictures, hopefully

Here is an attempt to add the pictures for the previous post. If you see this we have been successful. Btw, this is B. because it is a computer thing :-)

In Ethiopia and meeting K.

Well we made it to Ethiopia at about 9:00 last night. And of course, we had to have something eventful happen. Our flight makes a stop in the Sudan to drop off and pick up passengers. As we were landing, X. began crying saying he didn't feel well (those of you who either know him or follow our blog know how this story is going to end). We got the bag and poor X. is crying and begging for the plane to land and of course- the inevitable happened and he missed the bag. So I spent the landing trying to calm him down and the "layover" trying to clean up X., his clothes, the seat, etc. He has done fine on all the other flights after the "China Incident" but apparently if it is a little bumpier than normal he gets motion sick. The flight from Sudan to Ethiopia had to detour twice due to storms but at least no one needed changed when that flight ended. D. has decided that she isn't going to sit in her seat for landing and had made sure to end each flight with 30 minutes of screaming, much to the delight of everyone around her.

One interesting thing is that with the kids we have been taken to the front of most lines. We got to the front of the security line, the front of the visa line and the front of the baggage screening line. And our bags all made it from Amsterdam so that was a relief, especially since there was no meal service on the last leg of the flight due to the weather and the kids were starving when we finally got to the hotel.

For those of you traveling with Holt, the hotel is nice, but definitely not the Hilton. The staff is very attentive and they are doting on the kids, which is making them behave badly since when I try to discipline them, I get told "it's okay." Bring extra layers- it is cold in the hotel rooms and even during the days it is only probably in the 60's and raining off and on. Also, if you are a light sleeper bring earplugs as it is pretty noisy outside the hotel- between the cars and the dogs and the rooster- sleeping can be challenging. However- it is next to the care center so this morning we were able to walk over and meet the children.

K. was in her crib along with several other babies. When we walked in they said "which on do you think she is?" No pressure there! The kids started to walk to one bed when I saw her in her bed. She is still very small and definitely has some motor delays (so Julie M-if you are reading this, I'll be seeing you soon.) I think she found her brothers and sisters a bit overwhelming, but in her defense, I find them overwhelming sometimes too.
We spent about 2 hours at the care center and then left for lunch and a brief driving tour of the area. Then B. brought the kids to the hotel for a nap and I went back to the care center with the other families to spend about 2 more hours with the kids. The care center is a beautiful old house. It is bright and spacious and the nannies seem to dote and love on all the children. They all appear to be doing so well. We were able to play with several of them while we were there and we tickled and talked to all the babies. I was able to get her to laugh and smile so I think so far our transition is going pretty well. We will visit with her again tomorrow for a couple of hours and then we think we will be able to take custody on Monday. We are being told though that we should not have the children out with us unless we have a good reason so I suspect we will have to sign her back into the care center when we go out into the city. After we said goodnight to the children, we went for pizza -Not brave I know, but for this trip I think the familiar is better than anything for the kids.

Hopefully we will have pictures later today.

for those of you who have asked about the bear

He is here and luckily was in one of the bags that made it with us to the airport. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about. This teddy bear has traveled around with us for almost 10 years now and we take his photo in front of landmarks or other things that represent a place. I then compile the photos into a scrapbook and my preschool class can see places they might not know about. For instance if we talk about a mountain, they can see what a mountain looks like. The bear is somewhere in every photo so it is kind of like a where's Waldo book too.

He was originally from the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagra Falls and has been as far away as Paris, London, China and Australia as well as all over the US. In Amsterdam he was able to meet Van Gogh bear at the Hard Rock Amsterdam

Our last day here

Our last bag has made it's appearance so for this moment we have everything we left with- I hope I can say the same thing this time tomorrow.

Today we started at the Van Gogh museum. One nice thing about seeing art museums with young children is how fast you can see everything and still feel like you got your money's worth. We were disappointed thought that "Starry Night" is not on display here, but in New York. A. did a report on Van Gogh for school so it was "boring cause I already know all this stuff"

Then we took the kids to this underground playground. It is an old converted walkway (the kind which allow pedestrians to cross under busy intersections) There were 5 or 6 of the those maze climbers (you know the like the habitrails for kids that they have at Chuck E Cheeses) They were rated by age, though to keep the biggest kids separate from the smaller ones. There were lots of chairs for the adults and they even provided books and magazines for us to read. Now maybe this is a cultural thing and the children here are better behaved than at home but based on what I saw it is a universal truth that if you put a group of children together in a large space designed for movement and you don't have any adult supervision the end result is Lord of the Flies just without the pig. Poor D. was walking past a child when he pushed her for no apparent reason. She just shook it off (but if you know her then you know the risk that kid took). He was only 2 or 3 himself, but his grownup was no where to be found. After about an hour or so, we had had enough and came back to the hotel for a brief nap (unfortunately, no one actually napped)

We ended our trip here with a canal tour that had a pizza and ice cream dinner. We actually docked so that Domino's could deliver the pizza to the boat. The meal didn't arrive though until about 8pm so the kids were a little crabby until then, but after stuffing themselves everyone was much better behaved.

We are now back, trying to re-pack everything but I thought I'd post one last time before our internet times out. Wish us luck and safe and healthy travels out next post should be from Ethiopia (although I may not be able to post until Friday night Ethiopia time)

About photos....

Because we are going through an email posting system and because my camera is taking photos at a high resolution and because the computer we are using doesn't have my photo managing software (so I can't compress the files) and because my email system has a limit on file size for attachments we may not be able to post as many photos as we did for China (also it takes about 4 minutes a photo to upload and that is using a wi-fi connection- I am dreading dial up) We will try to get as many up as possible, but wanted to give everyone who only wants to see photos a heads up....

Windmills and Walking

Our day started out with the delivery of another bag- which my hair and skin are grateful for. Still no word on the bag with the car seat and the Baby Bjorn in it. We went out to tour windmills today. A brief train ride out of the city brings you to an area with several old style windmills- you know the kind from the photos. We also passed several wind turbines on the way to see them. So the kids were excited to see both the new and the old ones. We were able to climb up into one but had to climb back down when D. decided that she didn't want to have to hold our hands. The railing around the platform was pretty open and she is pretty small so we decided better safe than sorry. She did not however agree and voiced that disagreement loudly and insistently. So we came back down.

The kids all seemed to enjoy the area- there were farm animals which D. loved and plenty of things to take photos of which the boys loved. X. had a disposable camera which he used up within the first 8 hours of our arrival in Amsterdam so he has been using my small digital camera. Hopefully it will survive his "photography". We went to the Hard Rock Café for dinner which the kids enjoyed until I wouldn't let them each get $35 teddy bears in the gift shop. They did get over it when we stopped for ice cream though.

I thought that we walked a lot in China, but I think Amsterdam might be even more walking. A. has been holding up (and keeping up with us) like a champ- the little kids are getting to ride in the stroller so it is not nearly as challenging for them. My shoes (which I wear all the time) are given me a blister which makes me think me I don't walk nearly as much in normal life as I think I do. That would explain some things though….

We got back to hotel and a helpful KLM employee got on the phone and found the missing bag on the ground in Detroit. Apparently they have been looking for the bag using the wrong description. There is no "car seat bag" on their chart so they entered it in as a "duffle bag/back pack" (despite the fact I said it was "blob shaped with wheels") and reported it as "blue/turquoise" despite the fact I said it was a blue/gray color") The bag is supposed to be on the last flight out tonight (but probably on the first flight on Wednesday) so we are likely going to go to the airport on Thursday, pick it up and turn around a check it back in for the trip to Ethiopia. We hope it (and the other 4) make it to Ethiopia.