Ethiopia Day 3-Taking custody of our sweet boy

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The next day we had the morning to shop a little more before we took Wogene into our full custody. We hit an art gallery we had visited on our first trip and ended up buying a piece of art for a friend who asked us to pick up something for her while we were there. It was fun (and admittedly kind of stressful) to play personal shopper for someone and we agreed that if she didn’t like what we purchased for her, it would look just as good in our own home!

We left these on Wogene’s bed for him to discover when he arrived at the guest house–he loved them!

That afternoon we headed back to the transition house where we played for a couple of hours with the kids before leaving with Wogene. One of the little girls at the house told us in her very best English (she stole my heart with her sincerity and eagerness to speak clearly and with good grammer) how much they would miss Wogene and how much they love him yet they were happy to see him leave with his family. There was something about her demeanor that reminded me of Mama–humble, gentle, kind and loving. I know there have been some delays with her coming to the US as well and I think of her every day and how well she will do in this country when she is finally here.

Love these girls–the one on the right reminds me of Mama

Wogene was a bundle of excitement as he realized he really was leaving. Ato Teklu, our attorney, was at the transition house with us and he explained to him that we would be in Ethiopia for a few more days and then leave on an airplane for America. It was so evident how much Wogene loved him and what a positive role model he has been in his life since he had been in Addis. Ato Teklu told us that for a couple of months Wogene was very sad that we weren’t returning to bring him home and I’m beyond grateful now that he was there to console him and explain to him how hard we were trying.

Big hugs from all the nannies–they were so kind

When it was time to leave, Wogene hopped in the van and hardly looked back. I was more emotional than he was! The car ride back to the guese house may as well have been a ride at Disney as he was completely enthralled by every passing car, person, and animal. Even the act of the van going up or down a small hill elicited an enthusiastic, “Woo Hoo!” These kids never leave the walls of the transition home–think of it, nine months in a small courtyard and home, surrounded by concrete walls, shielded from the world. I suppose any of us would be a bit excited by a simple car ride.

We arrived at the guest house and he immediately wanted to go through his suitcase, looking at his clothes. He quickly figured out whose suitcase belonged to which parent and himself and kept repeating as he pointed at them, “Wogene, Mommy, Aba” (he calls L “Aba” and I love it). I had a hidden suitcase full of toys and games to pull out throughout the week, so we pulled out a couple and played in the courtyard with him. A silly side started to emerge and it wasn’t hard to tell that he was absolutely ecstatic about being with us. Sheer joy about sums his emotions that night.

After playing until dark, we ordered some food that was delivered to us and he eagerly ate everything in front of him. His actions became sillier and siller as the night wore on and “slap happy” became my modified description of him eventually! We were tentative to bathe him, only because I doubted he had ever been in a bathtub and would be scared. I should have known better. While he was a little leary intitially, within minutes he was smiling and playing happily. When he was in the tub, I discovered a sizable scar from what appears to be a burn on his foot. It brought to light how little we know about his past and what traumatic experiences he has endured that we will never know about.

After his bath, he happily put on his new PJs from his Aunt Molly and Uncle Daniel, brushed his teeth, and climbed into bed. He was still pretty hyped up so I pulled out a book and started reading to him. One one page of this book, there are several fish illustrated. He counted them in English and to hear his sweet little accent is enough to make the hardest of hearts melt. It’s about the only English he had under his belt, so I was thankful that he at least knew something in his new language!

We knew after his big day it was time for sleep, so we told him “Ma ta, Ma ta” (night night), tucked him in with his Curious George stuffed animal, kissed him on the forehead (to which he acted a little startled–I’m sure there aren’t a lot of good night kisses and hugs in an orphanage) and turned out the lights. Within five minutes, he was asleep and slept soundly all night, unless you count the time I woke up to hear him talking in his sleep in Amharic. If this day was an indication of how well the rest of the days would go with him in Ethiopia, we knew we were in luck.

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