Happy Famiversary!

One year ago yesterday we met Sidamo for the first time. I wish I could say it was love at first sight, but the truth is it was a really difficult day, especially for Sidamo. He cried hysterically when he saw us (probably didn't help that we were accompanied by our agency's camera crew), and he continued to do so every time we saw him for the next several days. Of course we understood his reaction—the poor little guy had already gone through far more loss and transition than any human should have to endure, and here we were foisting another huge change on him. It could make anyone cranky.

After a few days, Sidamo started to take to me, but it wasn't until we got home that he finally accepted Greg. What a difference a year makes—Greg is now the apple of Sidamo's eye. The past year has been one of tremendous change and growth overall. When we met Sidamo he wasn't walking or talking; he was a short and chubby guy and was very much still a baby. He was shy with new people. He now talks a mile a minute (every minute of every day), is a total charmer, and is a little tornado who never stops running.

And, of course, over the past year we've become a family. We've learned to know and love each other, to push each other's buttons, to forgive. Greg and I have learned what it means to love a child as our own, what a parent's pride feels like.

The Famiversary is bittersweet: We mourn the fact that Sidamo and his first family suffered such loss in order for us to experience such joy. We marked the day by watching the video our agency provided documenting Sidamo's life before he met us. We gave him a small gift we bought for him while in Ethiopia, and we went out for a tasty Ethiopian meal. We sent our love to Sidamo's first family; I wish they could see what a loving, funny, kind, and spirited boy their son has become.

We love you, Damo, and I don't know what we did to deserve you in our lives!

Our second or third day with Sidamo, outside the care center where he spent a few months. Sidamo's stress reaction was to fall asleep, so he spent most of our time together sleeping (or crying). Our gender-specific colors (pink, blue) don't have the same meaning in Ethiopia, so it was common to see boys dressed in girls' clothing and vice versa. In this photo Sidamo is wearing three layers of girl's clothes. Pretty cute.

Yesterday, a much happier family.