10 Month s Old Today

Sabah turned 10 months old today. I'm constantly amazed by this little girl and all her milestones that she is continuously hitting. It seems like every day I see her do something different, or see that she has perfected a skill.

She is growing by leaps and bounds. Some ways that I know my baby is getting further and further away from babyhood and closer to toddlerhood:

1) I had to lower the mattress in her crib! :(
2) I had to loosen the straps on her high chair! oink oink
3) I had to lossen the straps on her car seat (I'll have to turn it around soon...that's when I"ll KNOW she's not an infant anymore)
4) Her 9 month clothes are starting to get a tad bit snug....and her 6 month clothes don't fit at all.
5) She can now stay up till 6:30 instead of crashing at 6:00 (I have to wake her up at 6am for all those wondering). I'm so glad to have an extra half hour with her in the evening.
6) She always wants to be standing!

There are tons of other hints that she's on her way to toddlerhood, but that is all I can think of right now.

Sabah is also one spoiled child. And NOT by me. In the last week alone, she has received the follwoing presents:


From my boss Russ and his wife Robyn, she received her first pony (and she LOVES it), as well as the cute little ballerina outfit. I can't wait for her to be big enogh to take lessons and wear it.

And from my dear friends Roy and Joan, who are currently serving a church mission in Louisianna, this beautiful hand knit dress. I don't know how Joan found the time to knit this, she is so busy. Yet another beautiful handmade dress that we will always treasure. Thank you so much.
Happy 10 month birthday my sweet Sabella. Mommy loves you!

Sabah's first boo-boo

So, Sabah is a VERY active child. It seem like just in few weeks , she has gone from a baby that enjoyed sitting and playing with what was in front of her, to this crazy active thing that can't sit still for more than ten seconds. This girl is ALWAYS on the go. And though it definitely keeps me on my toes, I can't always be there every tie she loses her balance (which is QUITE often).

So, last night, as she was rolling from one end of the room to the other, she lost her balance and ended up banging the back of her head on the corner of the entertainment center. Oh, I knew it was painful when she started to immediately wail. I of course picked her up and cuddle with her to comfort her. While doing this, I was checking out the back of her head, when I saw IT. A little cut on my poor baby's head. I felt so bad for her. But, these babes are resilient, and after about 5 minutes cuddling with mom, she was off and rolling all over the room again. I of course did not recuperate that quickly. In fact, after I put her to bed, I must have checked on her 5 times the first hour she was asleep to make sure she was still alive and breathing.

She of course is fine, but man oh man.....I don't like to see blood on my baby. I actually tried to take a picture of it while she was sleeping, but it didn't turn out, so you will just have to imagine it. :)

But, I do have other pictures of this gorgeous girl.....isn't she just the cutest thing?Sabah looking at Habtam's photo

Loving her new skirt

Just couldn't pass up the opportunity to show off her rolls. She takes after mommy on this, but somehow it is much cuter on a baby. Hmf....no fair.


These last two are just her beeing her cute little self.

Meet Habtam

Like many many other adoptive parents who have traveled to Ethiopia, I returned with a heavy heart. I fell in love with the country and it's people and especially ALL the children. And since I have been home, I can not get the children out of my mind. I'm not financially able to adopt another child right now, but I can do something for at least ONE child in Ethiopia. Habtam is not an orphan, but she does need my help. She just turned 10 years old on May 17th, and she lives in Addis Ababa with her mother. Her father abandoned the family when she was young, and her mother works as a daily laborer to earn enough money to feed her daughter and other children. She does not have enough money to buy school supplies, clothing, or other basic necessities. But I do. And believe me, I'm struggling as a single parent, and paying for daycare for Sabah. But I have enough to buy her food, diapers, clothes, and even a new toy or two (or three). So, I know that I can find a way to sponsor this beautiful girl, and hopefully give her some hope for her future. According to her profile report, she is a healthy and active child who goes to elementary school. She enjoys playing hide and seek with her friends. I hope that one day, when Sabah and I return to Ethiopia for a visit, we will get to meet this little girl and her mother, and will be able to witness with our own eyes, what sponsorship can do for others.

My sponsoring her won't change the world....but maybe, just maybe, it will change this little girls life, and maybe SHE will go on to change the world.

She's KIND OF Crawling

Sabah has no problem getting to where she wants to go. She can't quite crawl the "normal" way, but she can scoot around like there is no tomorrow.

This is for you Auntie Mona:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Weekend Plans

I don't really have a lot to update on, but didn't want to go another 3 weeks without a post. So, thought I could at LEAST post some pictures. Please overlook the mess.....Sabah LOVES to rearrange my dvd's for me. ;)

Tomorrow she and I have our first Mommy/Daughter photo session. I hope it goes well. She seems to be catching another cold....but at least she is still smiley. She's at the age though where she DOES NOT like to sit still, so we'll see how many good shots we can get out of her.

Then, Saturday night, Sabah has been invited to her first birthday party. Little Ruby F. is turning one, and Sabah is on her guest list. It should be a fun time. Ruby and Sabah were at Toukoul orphanage together, so it will be fun to see them re-united.

Sunday we have plans to see my good friend John. He hasn't had a chance to meet Sabah yet, and I'm excited to introduce the two.

That's pretty much it for our weekend. We have sunny weather today, but wouldn't you know it....the rain is due back in over the weekend! UGH. I am so ready for summer. We can skip right over spring for all I care, let's just get some WARM weather already.

OK, here are the pics. Only three today.

3 Months Home

Sabah and I have been a family of two (err...sorry Tanner...family of THREE) for three months now. And what a life changing three months it has been for both of us (err....all three of us). Sabah has blossomed so much since she has been home. She has gone from a VERY SERIOUS baby, who was stingy with smiles, to a smiley, happy baby who can get the grumpiest of grumps to smile at her. She is seriously THE MOST content baby I have ever met. Oh, she does cry, but not very often. For the most part, her days are spent eating, playing, eating, napping, eating, smiling, eating, exploring, eating. Yes, she eats a lot, but on her 9 month check up last week, she weighed in at 19.5 pounds and 27.5 inches long..right at the 50 percentile for weight and height. And speaking of her check up...she got a clean bill of health. Her pediatrician was very happy with all the progress Sabah has made since her 6 month check up when she first arrived home. We also found out (through blood tests) that all the immunizations that the orphanage gave her were good, and she does not have to be re-immunized for anything.

Sabah is getting to be so mobile, even though she hasn't mastered crawling yet. She can get up on all fours, but hasn't quite figured out how to move forward. She can also stand while holding on to things, but again, she hasn't figured out how to move her feet.

And on the cuteness front......she has her first two teeth. While we were visiting Mona in California last month, she started to cut her bottom teeth, and now they are almost completely in. She is so darn cute....her toothy little grin.

As for me, I'm back at work as of the first week in February. It has been very difficult to leave Sabah for the entire day, but she seems to be doing well with it. I can't stand only having two hours with her in the evening, but those two hours have been sooooo fun. She is so playful and happy to see me when I pick her up. We play together for about an hour, then we start the night night process. She gets a bottle, then a bath, a baby massage, and a small dinner. Then I sing her three songs and put her to bed. She goes to bed so easily.....I rarely hear a peep out of her after I put her down. She is such a good sleeper. I think that she is a child that actually likes to sleep. I hope it stays this way....cause it just makes life so much easier not to have to struggle to get her to sleep.

I think that is about it for updates. I'm sure I'm forgetting something and will remember as soon as I hit publish post". Well, if I do, I'll just add it to my next post.....hopefully it won't be in another three weeks. I'll try to be better with my updates.

The pictures below are of a dress that a very nice lady at church made for Sabah. It was the sweetest gesture, and we will always treasure it. Thank you Ilena.