This week we had our second post placement visit with our adoption social worker. Grace was a little unsure of what we were going to do at the agency's office. She kept asking if she was going to get shots (she has had a lot of vaccinations since coming home). Well, to her relief, the appointment was just a lot of talking about her. She got a lot of attention from our social worker and office assistant. Perfect for our little diva. She loves the attention and commanded quite a bit of it throughout our visit. Our social worker is so sweet. She even had a cup of Starbucks chai hot and ready for Grace and I!
So, how are things going? Really well. I have to say that we are blessed with how smooth the transition has been going. When our social worker, Mary, asked about how the other kids are doing with Grace, I was thrilled to say that things are great. Bryce (who was the youngest for 7 years) is even really enjoying his sister now. He has always been kind to Grace, but I know it was hard for him to give up his role as the baby in the family. Now, he is super sweet with her, plays with her, gives her hugs every day and really seems to enjoy having her around. The other kids have been awesome too. Alyssa puts up with a lot of doll stuff laying around her bedroom, having her hair braided by Grace on a regular basis, and does it all with a smile. Drew is definitely Grace's physical, wrestling, chasing, goofing around brother. She loves the physical attention she gets from Drew. He really loves her to pieces.
I don't think these two could get any cuter. Bryce's shirt is one of my favorite adoption fundraisers. You can check them out here. They are even having a sale on shirts right now...
We were also asked about Grace's abilities at our post placement visit. She is doing great. her dexterity is freaky good. I know I have mentioned it before, but the girl can braid like she is 17. She can hold a pencil and write the tiniest little things (lots of circles seem to be her thing). She is starting to write her name, but prefers to just write what she wants. She asked to do her "homework" every day after school when the other kids do theirs. She is especially fond of me giving her "spelling tests." She will write a word down, wait a second, say "next" and ask for another word - just like I do with Bryce.
Grace still loves her baths. 
All of the holiday preparations have also been a thrill for Grace. She is so excited by all of the decorations and traditions. It is so fun to experience all of these firsts with her. She is going to flip out on Christmas morning...
Thanks again to all of you that helped us support Hope for Dube Bute through our necklace fundraiser. For those of you who didn't get a chance to order yet, I wanted to tell you about a blog buddy/adoptive family that is selling some really cute designs to raise money to also help out in Ethiopia. They were so sweet and helped me get started making necklaces. Please visit their blog to follow their journey to their little boy, and check out Sami's blog (their little necklace making girl) to buy some of her cute designs. They are selling the necklaces to be able to buy shoes for kids in Ethiopia. Those of you who have traveled to Ethiopia know how desperate some of the kids are for shoes. We take this for granted, but many kids in Ethiopia literally don't have shoes. Sami (an 11 year old girl by the way!) has been making these necklaces and selling them and has raised enough money to buy hundreds of pairs of shoes!!!
Check out the adorable feet of a little boy in Ethiopia who received his new shoes (and another who is still waiting)...so sweet.Hope you have a wonderful day...enjoy the season!
Glad that things are going better with Bryce and Grace. It is tricky, isn't it? And the freaky good dexterity......I hear that from every single mom with an Ethiopian sweetie. Grace can sew, dice vegetables as well as I can, dress Polly Pockets- you name it. I really believe that it is because they are expected to fully participate in life and girls do what women do from a very young age. Grace was slow with the writing, but now she's just taking off. At church she showed me that she can write my name too! These girls are full of surprises, aren't they?
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