Daniel Fraol and David Behayelu continue to fit in well to the Averill household. They love to talk and they don’t really care that it takes a while to overcome language barriers. Since we love to share stories with them, it has been great in that regard.
Biking along the Puyallup River
They also love to ride bicycles (which is rather fun, especially considering they both learned how within the last two weeks). Behayelu learned two days after Fraol did. We were visting their cousins Mason and MacKenzie. Mason was a great motivator and then they (Mason & MacKenzie) loaned us some bicycles. I think the boys would ride their bikes for hours every day if we let them. We take them to a local park practically every day and we’ve ventured onto the bigger bicycle trails twice. They are getting used to riding with other bicycles, scooters, pedestrians, dogs, etc. (Click here to see pictures of our visit at Julie’s)
At the park with the Titus family
They’ve played with the neighorhood kids and make friends wherever they go. Nobody can resist their smiles and happy attitude. We continue to introduce them to friends and family as opportunities arise. We don’t want to overwhelm with new people every day, but it’s been great for them to meet Margie & Ruli, Mike & Mary, the Titus family, Rebecca and many others. At Margie & Ruli’s they enjoyed looking at Margie’s photo album and doing jigsaw puzzles. At Mike & Mary’s they consumed a number of cows (might be exaggerating here) and roasted marshmallows on the back patio (their first bonfire). We had a great time at the park with Jason, Katie and the kids, as well as Rebecca.
Their energy level is through the roof, as are their appetites! They can pack away the protein, whether it’s salmon, beef, pork, chicken or eggs. Peas and cheese are not favorites at this time, and they’re somewhat picky about fruit juices. They did share that “In Ethiopia, no full!” meaning they never seemed to have enough food. “Good morning… eat. Good afternoon… eat. Good night… no eat.”
They had their first ever dentist appointment. They did very well in terms of sitting still, opening their mouths, etc. As you might imagine, they needed a lot of cleaning but neither had a cavity, which surprised us. Behayelu needs some baby teeth (and fragments) removed and they both need sealants. Not bad!
They had school pictures taken and it is clear from that short visit that they will need much more adjustment before they are ready to join in regular school. They work with Sary-Jo (Momschool) practically every day and they really enjoy learning! They also started attending the children’s program at Bible Study Fellowship on Mondays (with Randy) and they love it! One of the leaders said that their first night attending was his best night in over 20 years of BSF!!! They enjoy memorizing their verse even though they cannot really understand or complete the lesson. They frequently ask if “Bible Study tonight? No? Tomorrow? Tomorrow-tomorrow???” They love it!
One day as we drove by the fairgrounds they got very excited. We received some free passes so we took them for a couple hours on the final day of the fair this year. They rode on a few rides, petted some animals and had a hot dog for lunch. They seemed to enjoy it a lot and have asked when they get to go again. We cannot seem to convey that it’s closed until Spring. (Click here to see pictures at the fair)
The kittens just climbed up on the desk to remind us to write about them. They are adjusting to a noisy household quite nicely. They love people now (they seemed a bit terrified by us for a couple days) and they are extremely cute. The boys like the cats now and enjoy holding them and petting them. The boys laugh like crazy when the cats run through the house at 87.3 miles per hour. Click on the picture to see more pictures of the cats.
Things continue to progress quite well. The house and the blog are falling behind as the boys (and the cats) seem to consume a lot of time and energy. But that’s the way it works with active kids at home.