How are you?

Today, we tried to teach Tem how to answer this question. He responds in one of two ways...

1. He either repeats the phrase back to us so that the conversation goes something like this:
"How are you?" -us
"How are you?" - Tem

2. Or today he answered like this (something he must have learned at the orphanage):
"How are you?" -us
"I'm fine. Thank you, teacher." (He emphasizes the last syllable so that it sounds like this: "I'm fine. Thank you, tea-CHAIR.")

Haha.

Best Video Ever.

Videos from Ethiopia...

Meeting Tem for the first time...

Tem and the other kids at his orphanage singing before he left

It is hard to keep updating the blog; everytime we think of something to write, its time to run off to something else...

Tem and Tessa have kept us busy, but they make us laugh all the time!
Maybe its their ridiculously fast conversations they have with each other in Amharic.
Or the way they can spend hours making beaded necklaces.
Or Tessa doing her hair in the mirror for half an hour and continually saying, "Yes! Yes!"
Or watching them put in a home video from our summer camp for the 50th time, laughing at the same parts everytime.
Or their insane love for pizza (seriously they could eat it for every meal; tonight Tessa ate two pieces of lasagna because she thought it was "pizza").
Or Tessa walking around the house using whatever English she knows: "I love you, sister! Broccoli head! Shoes! DVD! Yes!"
Or the way Tem hides behind the door every day dad gets home from work to jump out at him (Tem thinks it is the funniest thing in the world).
Or Tessa's "nap times" when we usually discover her sitting up in bed playing with dolls or pretending to read books.
Or their excitement to ride in the car (they run around the house looking for their shoes saying "Mequina! Beep! Beep!")
Or Tem attempting to take notes in church by copying the diagram that the pastor puts on the screen.
Or Tessa singing part of the Ethiopian national anthem while she rode the carousel at the mall because she saw a flag.

Ice Skating and Other Adventures...

We recently took Tem (we haven't switched to Trey yet; he is just so used to his name and this is working well for now) and Tessa ice skating downtown. They are quickly getting used to putting on all of their snow gear. All we have to say is, "Tem, Tessa. Coats!" They scurry off and find their coats, snowpants, hats, mittens, and boots. (Even if we are just running to the store)

We didn't know what to expect when we took them ice skating. Tessa's first reaction was to make a licking motion and say, "ice cream?" Nope, Tess. Ice skating. Get ready for an adventure.

Tessa was nervous right away, not even wanting to touch the ice. Tem took off on shaky legs and soon fell and hit his head. After some tears, he was right back up, determined to master this new American skill. Eventually, with our help, they seemed to be somewhat enjoying it. When we skated off the rink, both the kids said, "No, no, no." (With a wag of their finger)...They wanted to keep skating...

After the new experience, we headed out for an evening walk around downtown. Tem is quickly learning several English words. He would point to an object and tell us the word in Amharic and English. The night was great. As you can guess, both Ethiopians quickly drifted off to sleep soon after we got home :)

And here's just a few more pictures from the last couple weeks...

Adjusting...

As you can see, the kids are starting to adjust to life in the Warners household. Bathtime and playing in the snow are two favorites...

SLEDDING IN THE WOODS!!

I am being reminded in so many ways that we have lived in a very different world than our new Ethiopian children. Ben and I just took Temamen and Tessa out sledding. I'm thinking they're gonna love Provin Trails since it's in the woods and we can pull them around on the sled. Wrong. Tem was fine with going down the hill and loved that part but as we started going into the woods, he looked scared to death and said, "Anbesa!! Anbesa!!" (my Amharic spelling is terrible I'm sure:) Abnesa means "lion." Then I realized that in Ethiopia, you don't just go out for a walk in the woods. There are wild animals. The kind that can eat you. Does this mean that our children will never be backpackers?? Hope not. Eventually they will learn that a walk in the woods in America is very different than a walk in the woods in Africa.
Another big adventure is trying to figure out what they like to eat. Almost everything I put in front of Tessa she wrinkles up her nose and pushes it away.......except eggs, bananas, and french fries. Somehow we have to convince them to drink milk too. Until then, lots of Flintstones chewables:) Tem is a little more adventurous in the eating department, but his taste in food must be very differenet than mine. I gave him some apple pie this morning and he took one taste and looked like he was going to puke!! We'll figure this out eventually and probably hit the Ethiopian restaurants once a week or so........