Ethiopia Trip Two: Embassy Day

Wednesday morning came early, after a long night of soothing our boy. At 6 am, someone banged on our door but by the time we got to it, no one was there and Israel was awake! We got ready and went downstairs for breakfast. I was so excited because my friend Makenzie got to the hotel last night- she and her husband were meeting their daughter today at Hannah's Hope! We enjoyed breakfast together and chatting about Hannah's Hope!

After breakfast it was time to head to the Embassy. The US embassy is on the opposite side of Addis from where our hotel is, so it was a LONG BUMPY RIDE and Israel was not so happy about it. Thankfully a bottle pacified him for the most part!

When we got to the embassy, we had to go through security and then sat in this large waiting room. It was like a DMV or social security office... There was many rows filled with adoptive parents carrying their kids and birth families as well. The front of the room was lined with windows where American embassy workers interviewed everyone. I needed to change Israel's diaper so I went to the bathroom and used one of those wall diaper changing stations. I know that may seem very insignificant but it was my first time using one, so I feel that it is blog-worthy material!! After a 30 minute-ish wait, we were called up to the window. It was pretty simple; the person just reviewed our case and Israel's story, and gave us the visa documentation for Israel. We were told that someone could pick up his passport on Friday so we can go home!

The drive back went a bit faster because Israel slept the whole time! Will and I were exhausted so we took turns resting while the other walked around the hotel. Israel was doing pretty well, but he was a bit fussier than yesterday.

He took a good nap from 11-1 and then again from 3:45-5:15. When he wasn't napping, he was under hypnosis from his amazing hands! He also snuggled us a good bit and we heard his laugh too! It doesn't get old at all! Love it. We tried rice cereal for the first time. He wasn't a fan and I don't know if he's ever seen a spoon before! He was a little freaked out by it and after 2-3 bites he was done!

After the afternoon nap, we gave him another shower and bottle. This was necessary because when I went to change his diaper after his nap, he peed all over me, his outfit, our bed, and the new diaper while I was mid-change. Welcome to parenthood, right?!

After our outfit change, we waited until the restaurant opened and met our friends for dinner. Makenzie and Chris had a great first day at Hannah's Hope, and it was so fun to relive the moments from 2 months ago when we first met Israel! We stayed downstairs chatting for over 2 hours until Israel woke up in his Ergo! He is a champ in the ergo and loves to snuggle.

It was a great second day. Israel was definitely fussier today, but we could expect that from our eventful night before! Even though he had some hard moments today, we had a lot of good moments too! Like when Will took a walk with him in the Ergo, and Israel fell asleep; when Will tried to get him out Israel woke up and just kept smiling at him! And really, for the most part he always wakes up with a big smile on his face! It makes our hearts melt.

I will end this post with two sights we have seen a lot of today (one of these pictures is specifically for Kelly, who wanted proof that my sweet baby cries):

This picture is actually from Trip 1... his cry is so pitiful- lip quivering, etc! But am I wrong to say that he still looks cute when he cries??

This boy is OBSESSED with his hands! He is always staring at them. He can't quite figure out how to grip anything (toys, etc) but he thinks they are a toy meant to look at all the time. I'm just glad he has constant entertainment :)

LOVING our boy!!! Tomorrow (Thursday) we spend all day in the hotel... could be a very long day! Would appreciate your prayers :)