Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday to Mark! He is celebrating his birthday on Wednesday. We are actually going on a date tomorrow night -- the first since Simon has been home! -- so we celebrated with Simon tonight. We think it was good practice for Simon's birthday this weekend. Thank you to our friend Christina for volunteering to stay with Simon tomorrow night so we can go out to dinner.

Happy Birthday Daddy/Mark! We love you!

Family Visit

Still catching up ... back in August, my parents, my sister Heidi, brother-in-law Thinh, and my three nephews traveled to Indiana from Pennsylvania for a visit! We had been looking forward to this for many months -- I still can't believe that their visit has come and gone! We had a really good time. There was lots of playing and time outdoors. Here are some of my favorite photos from their visit.

My youngest nephew, Mason, is 4 years old. He LOVED pretending to be a chef. He wore this outfit most of their visit.

This is my second nephew, Andrew. He's 6 years old and he did a great job playing with Simon. Andrew is really good with younger children.

All of the boys love playing with cars, building things, etc. They had a blast setting up various race tracks and obstacle courses.


Oh my! Another photo of Simon planting a kiss on his friend Ayla. He just loves Ayla! I love how Ayla is looking at the camera like, get this guy away from me! Don't worry, Ayla -- we're working on his manners!

We had a picnic on Sunday afternoon and rented the Boilermaker Special to give us a ride. We had a blast!! Some, who shall remain anonymous, were a little embarrassed about being in the back of the Special but I loved it!! So did Simon and the other kids. They took us all over Lafayette and we had a great time!

This is my oldest nephew, Brandon, who is 9. He and Simon really enjoyed the ride.

Pausing for a photo before the Special had to go to its next party.

My Mom, aka Mimi, is reading to Simon. She was so happy that Simon let her hold him!

Oh these boys!! They just love rough-housing with Uncle Mark!

One night during their visit, we had a birthday party for Simon since my family can't be here on Simon's actual birthday. He caught on quickly to opening presents and like most kids, preferred the toys to the clothing.

Simon's cousins loved helping him to open his presents.

After opening gifts, we had some birthday cake! Simon smiled when we sang to him. We think he kind-of understood -- we just need to keep him from trying to grab the flame with his fingers!

Mmmmmm .... cake!

Simon was alway happy to hitch a ride with one of his cousins. Four boys plus three tricycles equals a few squabbles but they really did ok!

We made a trip to the Columbian Park Zoo -- so fun!!

I love this photo! Especially Thinh as a butterfly.

There was also a photo session with Uncle Mark, a trip to Tropicanoe Cove and an afternoon at Monkey Joe's. I told my nephews that my goal was to show them such a good time that they begged their parents to come back every summer. I think I succeeded!!

Helping Daddy

Simon is really into transportation ... cars, motorcycles, trains, buses ... if it has wheels, he is into it. He especially likes to sit on Mark's motorcycle and will tell you that he's too little to ride. But he is not too little to help wash it! I think these pictures are just too cute. Simon was so proud of himself for "helping" Daddy.

Secret Family Recipe

What a gorgeous Labor Day Weekend! We couldn't have asked for better weather. We made the most of the long weekend -- it was chock full of things to do. I'm still not sure what happened to the month of August but I'll try to catch-up on my blogging over the next week. But I knew that Mark would be excited to share the photos of what we did on Sunday.

Mark has fond memories of making homemade apple butter with his family. He thinks that the last time the whole family (extended family) got together to make it was probably 30-35 years ago. He wanted to revive the tradition before it became a lost recipe. So we all gathered at Mark's sister's house (thanks Jennifer and Steve!) to make apple butter on Sunday. Mark's Mom borrowed the copper cauldron from her sister -- the same one that has been in the family for decades.

Preparing the cauldron for the apples

Look at all those apples! A full bushel, ready to go.

Placing the cauldron over the fire so that it's steady.

Mark's Mom showing the proper stirring technique.

Mark taking a turn while his brother Scott supervises.

Simon and Papaw keep a close eye on the action.

It took several hours for the apples to cook down.

Everyone took a turn at stirring the apples.

Even Simon had a turn but he didn't care for the smoke from the fire.

Now we're getting somewhere! Almost ready for the sugar.

Mark's sister Jennifer ladeled the apple butter into the jars.

The family assembly line got it all jarred up.

Mmmmmm .... nearly 40 jars of apple butter!

Just had to include this cute photo of Simon and his cousin Braylee.

It was a fun day and we are so happy to have the apple butter to enjoy this fall! Mark's hope is that we can do this every year. He will do his best to keep this tradition alive in the family ... though it may be tough to get him to share the secret recipe! : )

A Special Day

Random Cuteness

Just some fun photos from the last few weeks ... and maybe a video clip or two, if I can get them to load. First up, the classic wearing Daddy's shoes photo.

Making friends with the monkey sculpture at Columbian Park Zoo

Waiting for the train ride at Columbian Park


Simon didn't want the train ride to end!

Whenever the cashier at Target gives Simon a sticker, he puts it in the middle of his forehead and will wear it for hours. This photo was taken about 3 hours after our trip to the store and a visit to the pediatrician for immunizations. Just glad he's smiling!

Mamaw introduced Simon to rice krispy treats and he loved them!

He also loves, loves, loves to read right now!

I love this photo of Simon and his Papaw ... nothing like a little family-school rivalry!

While I was doing dishes and cleaning up after dinner, this is what was happening outside:

Simon is finally starting to understand how to ride his tricycle, though he still prefers to push it around because he can go faster.

Indoor fun on a rainy night ... it's kinda like the Sizzler ride at the fair!

Mark and Simon went to Monkey Joe's last week. Simon usually makes friends wherever he goes and this was no exception.

Simon tries to repeat everything we say and some words are just so cute! He has a tiny voice. The hat is from his vet dress-up outfit and the sticker is still from Target. Oh, and for my sister, the outfit he's wearing is a hand-me-down that I think all three of my nephews wore!

Ethiopia Day 6

Our sixth day in Ethiopia was Sunday, April 11. We went to church with Birtukan, Nesibu and their children. It was a lively start to worship followed by a long sermon in Amharic. The benches were very straigh-backed, close together and difficult to sit on. It was a Protestant service and there was a band and ushers -- it looked very much like a service here in the US. The ushers helped people to find seats and there was always room for one, two, or ten more people in a row. It was amazing how they could pack people into the pews!

Simon liked the music but got restless about 50 minutes into the service so Mark took him outside. He 'raised the roof' with his little hands and flirted with some girls who were also sitting outside. The service lasted about 2 hours. It really wasn't much different than a service here in the States except that instead of shouting 'hallelujah' or 'amen,' the women made a loud sound like 'lalalalalalalalalala' -- it was loud and difficult to describe in words. And the electricity went off and on several times throughout the service. But the people just went with the it and it didn't interrupt worship at all!

After church, we returned to Morning Coffee guest house for lunch -- the doro wat and injera that we watched be prepared the day before. It was delicious but very buttery and rich. Here's a photo of Simon using the injera to eat.


After lunch, we worked hard to get Simon to take a nap. And I even actually got to hold him while he slept for about 30 minutes! At this point, he preferred Mark for everything. After naps, we got ready to go to dinner with Birtukan and Nesibu. They wanted to take us back to the Addis golf club for pizza. While waiting to leave, we realized that both Simon and Ashenafi had the same shirts so we dressed the boys alike! Here they are sharing a snack.

And here's a photo of the golf club entrance. The temperature took a dip and it was a cool evening. It eventually rained quite a bit on our way home. But we enjoyed hanging out on the grounds and visiting. The boys enjoyed exploring and playing with other children. We even caught a glimpse of two weddings taking place at the club. They looked very elegant.

Here's a photo of Mark with Simon munching on some crackers while we waited to go inside for dinner. At this point in the trip, Simon was still eating non-stop.

And I just had to include this photo because I love Simon's eyes, though I think he has a "take me to your leader" kind of look. I think he was actually asking for a drink.

From my journal ... "Today, Simon Kebebe let me follow him, hold him and touch him more. He is still very attached to Mark. Tonight he spontaneously played peek-a-boo with us. When he smiles, his whole face lights up! He even grabbed the hand of a little boy about the same age and tried to walk with him at the golf club -- too cute! He also called me 'Mama' for the first time and pointed at me when Nesibu asked him, where's Mama? He is such a sweet, beautiful boy and I can't wait until he trusts me more."