Dawit turns one - part 2

Saturday: I spent the day before the big birthday bash nursing Caroline back to health with soup...


... and rainbow sherbet, favorite bear, monkey, fuzzy socks and her nest of blankets in daddy's chair, watching endless episodes of Caillou.


In me, Caroline had a slave who catered to her every whim. My payment in return was a sweet, quiet, compliant little girl who appreciated all the special attention and the chance to spend 48 hours in pj's. I savored those moments because Sunday morning - poof! - they were gone and my strong-willed, opinionated three-year-old was back with a vengeance.

(If you missed Dawit's birthday - part 1, you can see it here. You can also view our photo album from our trip to Ethiopia.)

Sidebar: We think C may be completely potty trained. We haven't used pull-ups at all in the last two days, and she's had two dry mornings. Yay, Little C. Diapers, be gone! Oh yeah, and Dawit is now drinking milk. Formula, be gone! That's two big budget-suckers out the door.

Dawit turns one - part 1

What do you get when you mix 40+ friends, 9 seriously delicious Ethiopian dishes, 3 birthday cakes and 1 sweet little boy on a Sunday afternoon? One seriously great birthday party! We met at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Nashville, Gojo, and I'm convinced every single person left the party a liker (if not a lover) of Ethiopian food.

Our journey to the celebration wasn't without a few bumps. On Friday afternoon, Caroline spiked a 103.7 fever, throwing us all into a panic that had us considering canceling the party -- the party for which 50 or so invites had already gone out, the party for which most of the food had already been bought and some of it already prepped. In a leap of faith, we decided to forge ahead. Nana graciously offered to keep Caroline, which was a shame, but we didn't want to risk passing on germs. So I sent Spence and Dawit to Nashville early to minimize exposure, and I whisked C off to the doc. The doc said if she wasn't tons better in 24 hours, she had the flu (even though she tested negative). So for the next 24 hours, I waited on her hand and food and practiced hygiene that would make the most fastidious germaphobes beam with pride. And lo and behold, she was better. Much better by Saturday afternoon. Still, we decided not to let her go to the party -- just in case.

Sidebar: the restaurant is small, so we limited our guest list to family and friends in Nashville. We hope our out-of-town friends will forgive us!

Back to the party: Shemsia and Ahmed prepared a wonderful buffet of Ethiopian dishes. After dinner, Shemsia brought out a huge tray of bread (that looked like monkey bread). She said a birthday blessing for Dawit, then he and I sliced into the bread and shared with everyone. I haven't been able to find the history of this blessing, but Ahmed said it is akin to singing over a birthday cake, which we did next. CC (AKA Cindy) brought the cake with an Ethiopian flag design on the top. After the crowd slimmed a bit, we had a traditional coffee ceremony. I wanted everyone to experience the culture and tradition of Dawit's homeplace, and I think they did.

My friend Matt took some great pics at the party, which I will post very soon. In the meantime, take a look at our new photo album from our Ethiopia trip. You can quickly zip through a slideshow of the pages. We had all our party guests sign the back page of the album.

Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us. If you didn't get to sign the album, let me know and I'll get it to you.

Here's a teaser of the upcoming pics:

PS. I just realized that my lengthy, semi-witty posts on this blog are no longer possible. It was all I could do to get this typed with kids climbing on me, Caroline dumping a full glass of water on my bed, then bringing me ONE square of toilet paper to clean it up, and Dawit wanting to skid down the stairs head first. Thank goodness pics are worth...well, you know. Gotta go!

Happy birthday, Dawit!

Our sweet little man is one today! We love you!

We've had a very interesting weekend, and I've got a big birthday post coming. But I wanted to share our fall leaves adventures first.

Heard around the Inman house

"Caroline, don't put Cheerios in your brother's ears!"

Orphan Sunday - edited

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday. Spence and I are taking Dawit to this event in Nashville, which features music by Steven Curtis Chapman, and will be broadcast live via webcast for anyone to watch. You can read more about Orphan Sunday at my friend Margaret's blog.

Update: the concert was amazing. It was inspiring to see so many people come together for such a worthy cause. I met several families who are in the process of adopting or who are considering it. I believe you can watch the webcast here. You might even see Dawit - he has a way of attracting the camera. I've not listened to Steven Curtis Chapman much before this, but now I'm definitely a fan.

The coolest thing ever!

We left for Ethiopia on June 3, the day after my 40th birthday. This was my birthday card from Mama Norma, Spence's mom. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this beautiful card left me speechless -- and still does. It's a treasure that brings me to tears each time I look at it. Thanks again, Mama Norma. We're planning a special display for it.

An evening with Barbie, Pumpkin, Minnie and Dino