Four Months Home...

Yesterday was the four-month anniversary of Tinsae being home from Ethiopia! Wow, where did the time go?!

Tinsae is a beautiful boy with a big heart! He has an infectious giggle when someone is playing with him and a big personality to match his sweet smile! Tinsae is a joy to everyone who meet him and could make anybody’s day brighter!

Since Tinsae has come home he has grown in so many ways. He has grown to trust his mom and dad and his big brothers and sisters. He tells each of us, “I love you”, “I love you more” and “I love you the most” every day. He gives big bear hugs and likes to kiss our cheeks, forehead, chin, nose, and lips. He loves to snuggle under a blanket or in mom & dad’s bed. 

Tinsae LOVES to tease! He will take your place on the couch and just wiggle with anticipation when you return to find him! He likes to tickle, blow raspberries on your tummy, give you a wet-willy, pinch you in the butt, tickle your feet, or repeat silly phrases that his siblings have taught him, “Cassie has a boyfriend!”

Tinsae started going to a babysitter, Danielle, on December 19^th. He LOVES going to the sitter’s house! He likes playing with the other children, doing art projects (cutting, gluing, glitter, etc), going sledding, and even taking naps. He’s been learning colors(pretty much knows them all), shapes, numbers, letters and more. He’s been working on his phone number and home address. AMAZING!!!

When he’s at home, he LOVES to follow his big brothers around. He always wants to know where Noah and Muluken are and will try to find them no matter what (think bathroom)! He’s been putting on a brave front by going sledding behind the four-wheeler, but would rather drive it! He likes to help the boys do chores, but those horses are SURE BIG! He doesn’t like to be left behind, so if it looks like somebody is leaving the house, he wants to go too!

Tinsae still shares a bed with Muluken, while Noah takes the top bunk. Tinsae likes this arrangement because then when he wakes up (1am, 3am, 5am), he can always call out to Noah! Luckily Noah has patience and nicely tells him it’s not time to wake up yet! I also like to sleep with Tinsae when Brad is away on business. It’s kind of like sleeping with a tiny tornado! He wants to be touching you at all times, so you might wake up to Tinsae lying across your head or his feet in your face! But, it’s so sweet to wake up to his smile and a “good morning Mommy”!

Tinsae has grown taller and is now wearing pretty much 3T in all of his clothes. He’s still in the same pair of shoes since he came home, but I think I better have his feet measured the next time we are at the store. Tinsae has lost almost 5 pounds since his arrival, which is just amazing to me because of his big appetite! He has slimmed down some in the tummy area, but we really think that is due to all of his running around and wrestling with his brothers!

Tinsae likes ALL of his clothes and does not like to spend too much time in his pajamas (like the rest of the family). He prefers to have a shirt, pants, sweatshirt, socks and shoes on at all times! It doesn’t matter how warm you dress him though, his hands are ALWAYS cold! We also put a blanket over the top of him in my truck in the morning, just to keep him warm! Gotta love that Ethiopian blood!

Tinsae pretty much likes ALL food! And boy, can the boy eat!! Seriously. You wouldn’t believe how much that little guy can put away. Unbelievable!! Tinsae LOVES to eat sweets~just like his momma! Chocolate, candy, soda, juice, syrup, cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. But, I think his all time favorite has to be…KETCHUP! Yep, just like his daddy!

Tinsae also likes to eat out. His all time favorite is chicken nuggets, french fries, orange soda, and LOTS of ketchup! He’ll substitute chocolate milk too, if needed. A close second to his nuggets would be a good slice of pizza. Again, just like his daddy! We really haven’t found anything that he truly dislikes when it comes to eating. He’s pretty easy, thankfully!

Tinsae watches some TV, but doesn’t need it! He’ll watch cartoons with his brothers on Saturday mornings, but doesn’t really care which cartoon is on. When he does watch TV, he likes to lay on the couch and snuggle with someone under a blanket. He’s a pretty cuddly little boy! He does know a few characters: Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse, Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder, and Tom & Jerry. Again, nothing that he requests or really needs to watch!

The attachment piece is a work-in-progress! It’s hard. It’s frustrating. Most others do not get it. We had to rein Tinsae in and prevent him from giving hugs and kisses to ONLY his Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters. This is so hard for me and Tinsae. When others ask “why?”, I feel like such a putz. I want him to be able to show his love to others, but he just doesn’t get it. He thinks it is OK to hang on to complete strangers. He thinks it is OK to play with their hair, hold their hands and take food off their plates. He thinks it is OK to talk to anyone and everyone. NO.MATTER.WHAT. It is SO HARD! I think we should of kept tighter boundaries when we first got home, but it just seemed it would be easier. Like Muluken’s adjustment. That was easy. Muluken ALWAYS checked in with us. If somebody asked him something, he would instantly look to me to see if it was OK to answer them. He NEVER took anything from anyone, unless I said it was OK. He NEVER wanted to go with anybody else except us. So when Tinsae came home, we thought it would be the same. WE. WERE.WRONG! We have to tell Tinsae NOT to say “I love you” to everyone! We have to tell Tinsae NOT to be touching, hugging, hanging on, to just anyone. He STILL does NOT get it and I STILL look like a schmuck when I tell him NOT to touch others. Everyone thinks it is SO CUTE and say, “that’s fine”, but deep down, my heart is breaking because IT IS NOT OK!!! So, at four months home, we have a LONG way to go on the attachment piece.

I honestly could not imagine NOT having Tinsae in our family! He is absolutely adorable and perfect in every way. We have a lot of things to work on and teach him, but that will all come with time. I love his sweet and innocent voice and his excitement to discover something new! He is an amazing little four year old boy and we are so blessed to be his family in America! We LOVE you, Tinsae!!!