May 24, 2007 Journal Entry

Lyle is at the German Embassy now getting Mikiyas' transit visa for the airport. Mikiyas and I have been playing. We were outside for a while with the ball and bubbles. We're now on the bed with toys and his morning snack.

He did very well at breakfast, having bread, cereal and a few bites of egg.

Last night was a rough sleep for him as it appears he suffers from night tremors. He kicks, flings his arms, spins in bed and pushes his head against the crib. He is quite emotional. He did it too against the head board of the bed when we moved him in with us. Poor little guy seems to have suffered a lot in his first year.

I jut got back from taking Mikiyas shinti! He did it! Such a good boy with no problems. This is exciting since it was appearing he might regress back to diapers with his fear of the bathroom. He is now pushing buttons on the crib as he likes the music. He also managed to quickly learn how to take apart the sippy cup and snack cup.

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Robel's dad, Tamirat, came by around 11:00 / 12:00 today. We went up the mountain to St. Mary's Church and the Intato Museum. The view was spectacular even though it was cloudy. Going up the mountain we saw many older women hunched forward at ninety degrees carrying very large bundles of eucalyptus branches. All that work for about 5 Birr.

It was hard for me to pay attention at the museum as my stomach wasn't feeling right. I ended up having my first use of a french toilet. Not the most pleasant experience for me.

Here are photos of the church and the view from the top of the mountain. The red, green and yellow are the colors of Ethiopia so it is not uncommon for important buildings to be painted with only those colors. In the pictures, you can also see Tamirat carrying Mikiyas to the stairs.
















We didn't do the hike down to the Emperor's house, although we were able to see the roof. I wasn't feeling well and it was beginning to look like Mikiyas wasn't either. We drove down the mountain and stopped at the dress market place. I bought two traditional Ethiopian dresses, and one traditional outfit for Mikiyas. The dresses were 550 Birr and 150 Birr. Mikiyas' outfit was 40 Birr. He's so little! Mikiyas' eyes lit up and he smiled when he saw me in one of the outfits [not the one below].
We went right back to the Weygoss. By the time we arrived, Mikiyas had fallen asleep in the car. He awoke at the room and wailed when we put him in the crib. By then, he had a fever. After half an hour of crying, the three of us laid on the bed for a nap. Meanwhile, the other families went to the amusement park.

The rest of the night consisted of playing outside with baloons, bubbles and balls when Mikiyas was energetic and well enough. We fed him shiro and injera for dinner before attempting the bath again. We had a couple of temper tantrums [when taking his clothes off, having a bath, going to the bathroom, and going to bed]. He fears everything.

Mikiyas slept between us this time in bed right from the start. Which meant we didn't stay up getting things done that needed to be done. He woke up twice for me to change his diaper. He is again very restless through the night, having bad dreams. I'm surprised Lyle and I are not bruised with all the kicking and hitting while he sleeps.