the elsa questions.

so, okay. 

 i have lots of questions to answer---and i've split them up into a few different categories, which means a few different posts.

first up today are all your burning questions about elsabeth:

{elsa wearing a pair of dirty, broken, upside down sunglasses that she found on the ground in ethiopia.  clearly mr. anderson was the caregiver during this moment}

how old is elsa?

3, almost 4---friday is her birthday :)

what is elsa's native language?

amharic.

will she continue to speak it, even after she's learned english?

i don't have any experience with this, but i've been told that no, she won't be speaking much amharic after fully learning english.  the main reason is because we aren't speaking amharic to her.  but, she might surprise us all and be bi-lingual.

is there a language barrier between you all?

at this point, we have had no frustrations with communication.  she can hardly speak english, but we have always been able to tell what she is trying to say, or communicate.

she speaks some english...they taught her some at the orphanage, but since being home, she has picked up so much more.  i treat her like i do kohen, and sign certain things to her, while i'm talking.  not sure if that will help her communicate or not, but it's more of a habit i guess.

who named her?  did you change her name?  can you change her name?

she was born elisabeth, in ethiopia.  but, in ethiopia, they pronounce it as elsa-beth (without the "i").  so, we decided to change her name to elsabeth, so that people would pronounce it the same way she's always heard.  for short we call her elsa.  and she now responds to elsa all the time.  she even calls herself elsa. 

changing your adopted childs' name is completely up to you.  i would say the older they are, the more unwise it becomes to change their name.  but, a baby, for sure.  and technically, we only changed the spelling of her name.  she still goes by elsabeth, which is what she's always known.

does she understand that we are her parents?

well, that's hard to tell.  she calls me mommy and she calls mr. anderson daddy.  i think for her to fully understand something like that, she has to be in our family for a while.  she is used to change.  changing where she lives.  changing who takes care of her.  i have no clue if she understands that she is staying.  i have no clue if she understands that when i leave to go somewhere, i'll be back.  i'm sure it will all come with time.

what food/drink does she like?

she's a good eater, and will pretty much eat whatever we put in front of her.  even if she isn't sure of what it is, i usually just have to say "elsa, eat your food" and she'll start eating, and eventually finish.  she loves eggs, bananas and rice.  and of course, sweet treats.  she can't say no to sweet treats.

{elsa, snapping a picture of her dirty feet}

what has been the biggest challenge since she has come home?

i think the biggest challenge has not necessarily been elsa, but all of the things i've had to deal with, on top of adopting a child.  the same week elsa came home, we found out that my mom is really sick.  so, i feel like i've been living here, taking care of the kids, with my mind in another place.  she really has been so easy, and i honestly can say there haven't been many "challenges" with her.  we are dealing with some health stuff with her, but if that is the biggest challenge we face, then we are certainly blessed.

does elsa sleep well?

yes!  holy cow that girl sleeps good.  even the first night home, we were expecting to be up with her at like 2 in the morning, cause of the time difference.  she went right to bed with the other kids, and didn't wake up till the next morning.  she's done that ever since.  crazy!

she also takes about an hour nap every afternoon.  goes right to her bed, lays down and falls right asleep.  i swear the girl will be chatting up a storm and then 2 seconds later, totally snoring.  she's a great sleeper.

what was her first tantrum about?

well, she doesn't have tantrums.  i know, can you believe it?  i'm sure those will come one day, but as of yet, she doesn't throw fits.  now, she does get an attitude.  she likes to throw her shoulder at us and be a little snarky, but we are not allowing that behavior, and it's quickly diminishing.

what were the details with her coming home?

yes, sorry, i'm now remembering i was so vague that week.  well listen, i didn't want to tell the intranet world that i was home alone with all my kids, for 7 days.  so, i had to be vague.

i'm sure you all remember that our paperwork could only be turned in on wednesdays.  well, that wednesday, it didn't get turned in.  we were so disappointed.

the next day, i get a phone call from our agency, saying that they tried again (on thursday) and the embassy accepted the paperwork and approved it!  and we were given clearance to travel for embassy the next week!  this was a huge mountain---totally moved!

so, we find out on thursday that we can travel and mr. anderson leaves saturday for africa.  2 days later.  it was such a whirlwind.

they returned 1 week later, together :) 

 gosh, it seems like that was forever ago.

{elsa, waiting to get on the airplane, in ethiopia}

what size does elsa wear?

3T/4T---yes amy, send any clothes you'd like :)

how is she adjusting?  how are the other kids adjusting to her?

she is adjusting really well.  i'm sure i'm breaking all of the "bonding" technique books when i say we are just trying to normalize life as quickly as possible.  we do take time with her, but as far as life, we are just throwing her in, with the rest of the kids. 

 i think that's actually been good for her.  having the other kids around has made things much easier, i'm sure.  she just goes with the pack.  she really is a smiley, happy little thing (when she's not tired, or hungry---look out!). 

i even had to fly to KS this weekend (to visit my mom)---i went by myself and left the kids home with mr. anderson.  i was worried about leaving her behind, and what that might do for our bonding, but she was fine.  i mean, totally fine.  i talked to her a few times on the phone and she didn't even let me get a word in.  she just talked and talked and talked about all the fun she was having (in amharic, of course--but i understood a few random words).  and when i returned they were all waiting for me in the airport (my "welcoming party")...she was jumping up and down screaming "mommy, mommy" when she saw me.  it was such a sweet moment.  so, adjusting well?  i think she's doing great.

the other kids are doing good too.  they have been really loving towards elsa.  it's funny, when they talk to her, they speak in english, but with an accent.  like, she'll understand it better if they throw an african accent in there.  it makes me chuckle.

milo has reverted to doing baby things (talking in baby talk...wanting to take his sleeping buddy around everywhere with him).  i think it's attention that he's wanting.  we're working through it.

other than that, they have welcomed her into our family...and have loved her, and been very patient with her, even when she wasn't so deserving of it.  they have big hearts.

how long was elsa at the orphanage?

she spent almost a year at the orphanage that we adopted her from.  she came from another one, prior to that, and we aren't sure on the exact amount of time she spent at that one.

how is she doing with grieving her losses?

like i've said before, she seems to be doing really well.  she'll have moments where she is crying to herself in her bed (at bedtime), but all i have to do is go in there and give her a big hug...tell her i love her...and she usually stops.  not sure if she is crying because she is overwhelmed/sad, or just doesn't want to go to bed.  who knows?

we make it a point to talk about africa with her...and i talk about her friends at the orphanage and we go through all the pictures and she says all their names.  we talk about how those kiddos are going to be in families too.  she is always very smiley when we talk about her friends. 

i have a group of girls (5 of us) that meet once a month (we have all adopted from ethiopia, or are adopting from ethiopia).  all 6 of our ethiopian children were at the same orphanage together...so our kiddos knew each other!  isn't that amazing?  we all live here in central florida, so our kids will always have a connection to one another. 

what will we do with elsa and school?

we already have her enrolled for pre-k next year, with milo.  assuming the summer goes well and she continues to pick up english well, then we will put her in pre-k in august.

there is always the option to not put her in school, if we don't feel good about the situation.  we will just play it by ear.  the orphanage taught her colors, abc's and counting way high (like, she keeps going and going and going). 

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so, not sure if i missed any questions regarding elsa?  if i did, leave them here and i'll answer them in this comment section.  over the next week, i'll be answering the other questions---regarding adoption, kids, and a whole bunch of random stuff like, what kind of shampoo caedmon uses.  i know, his hair is fabulous.



happy wednesday...the week is almost over. 

that's reason to celebrate over here.