Almost There

So much to tell. I know I have been very quiet the last several days. Quite honestly, I’ve been a little depressed. I miss my children so badly that my heart aches inside my chest and my eyes well up with tears more times a day than I care to count. But I am trying to be strong, because I know they are doing their best to be strong for me. And, like I’ve said a hundred times, “He’s worth it.”

But since you didn’t come to hear me whine, I will tell you more about Zebadiah. He is the happiest child I have ever seen. Unless of course, you take too long in feeding him or offer him food he doesn’t want. Then, he will throw himself down in the floor and wail. It’s ugly. But he’s quickly learning that just won’t fly with us. He’ll find himself in his crib until he calms down. Which normally doesn’t take long.

Zeb was fabulous on our flight to the capital. He loved looking out the window. He wouldn’t touch the food. He slept for about an hour or so of the four and a half hour flight. And he stays content even with not much to do. He didn’t cry once. Here is a picture of him sleeping in my arms. His eyes never fully shut. It looked like he was staring at me. So bizarre.

Zeb likes to sit with either Mike or me when he is ready to go to sleep. He will give us a kiss, then lay his head down on our chest, stick his thumb in his mouth and go to sleep. We then put him in his crib and he sleeps peacefully (mostly) until it’s time to wake up. Today, he was sitting next to Mike when he fell asleep. It was very entertaining. I captured it on video for you.

Zeb has also learned that if you want to play quietly or snuggle, then go to Mommy. If you want to play rough and be tickled, go to Daddy. Here he is playing with his Daddy today:

Yesterday, we made it to McDonald’s. THAT was an experience. I wish I had pictures for you. We walked into the biggest McDonald’s I’ve ever seen. And I kid you not, there were about 500 people there. It had two levels, 30 registers, tables everywhere (all taken), and even some touch screen computers built into the wall in several locations. We learned the hard way that you are supposed to find a table, or stand by one until the current residents gets up, then have one person go order your food while the other person holds the table. We ended up outside sitting on the edge of the garden bed. Zeb wouldn’t try anything either. No French fries, no nuggets, not even a small bite of the bread from a burger bun. Silly boy. But even though he won’t eat anything other than yogurt, oatmeal and kefir, he sits very quietly and contentedly while we stuff our faces. Here he is while we ate breakfast this morning:

This morning, after sleeping 13.5 hours, Zeb ate breakfast and then the doctor came to our hotel room for the medical exam. He was here no more than 10 minutes. He measured Zeb and guesstimated his weight, listened to his heart and lungs and then said his heart sounded good, but his weight showed ‘failure to thrive’. He will always be little, but we’ve got to get him to gain some weight.

Tomorrow we have our Embassy interview and will get Zeb’s visa. Then we leave for the airport Saturday morning at 9:00. It will be an extremely long day with one 10.5 hour flight followed by a 3.5 hour flight, but at the end of all of that travel, I get to see my children. I’m gonna bawl like a baby.