11 month pictures

Today is Alex's 11 month birthday! In the past month he has become very attached to us, which is wonderful to experience but also makes leaving a room much more difficult. He also did his first sign (all done) and has said his first semi-word (uh-oh). It's fun because he uses "uh-oh" correctly and frequently. You can see how entertaining it is for us in the picture below with his mouth in the perfect "oh" shape. Grant calls them calamari lips!

Pictures from Jamaica

We returned home last night from a wonderful week in Jamaica with Grant’s parents, brother and brother’s wife. It was a great week and it was especially nice for us to have lots of relaxed time with family. Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Grandpa Kent and Rastaman in the giftshop (Yes, the hat was purchased.)

Alex loved the sand. The first time he played in the sand he wasn't wearing a hat. It took three days to wash all the sand out of his hair!

Dad and Alex out by the pool.

What a life...........

Lots of love and kisses (Alex now makes the "smacking" sound when he kisses!)

Ethiopian Christmas (Genna or Ledet)

Yesterday, January 7th, was Ethiopian Christmas. We celebrated with two other families who have also recently adopted from Ethiopia. Kate and Levi (twin children of Matt and Amy) were at the Care Center the same time as Alex and we were in Ethiopia the same time as Matt and Amy. Silas (four months old) was brought to the US just two weeks ago by his parents, Tiffany and Dave. We had a really great time catching up and watching the kids play. I also tried my hand at Ethiopian cooking. Edible, but I'd be really nervous serving it to any one who really knows Ethiopian food well!

Ethiopians celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, with very little western secularization. After a church service there is a meal and people also play a game called Genna, which is kind of like field hockey. The day has come to be know as "Genna" after this game or it is also called "Ledet" which means birth. In Ethiopia, the biggest celebration of the year is Timket which is the celebration of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. This takes place on January 19th.