First Father's Day, hearing test, bbq party

It's been a busy couple of weeks for little Miss Netsanet! We went out with both sides of the family for dinner at a restaurant and Net was able to visit with her cousin Elizabeth. They took turns pounding and sliming the glass door that separated our area from the rest of the restaurant (I'm sure the restaurant staff loved cleaning layers of small handprints and drool off the lower 3 feet of the glass later that night ;-) Net did pretty well and didn't have a vomit explosion like last time - progress! It was fun to get together with the family, and to see the babies play together. Elizabeth took her first steps by herself at the dinner, which was a big moment!

This past weekend we took Netsanet to get her hearing tested, at the recommendation of the doctor (standard routine stuff, apparently). We sat in a quiet room where they taught her that the funny noise coincides with a dancing toy that lights up - which is how she learns to look for the noise, and they can tell that she is hearing something. It's really interesting to see how they have adapted vision and hearing tests for babies - I never would have guessed! Her hearing is all within normal range, which was great to know. It was interesting to see her reaction when we walked into the hospital, though. She got quiet and withdrawn, which means she's uncomfortable. I think she recognized that this is similar to the doctor's office where they stick all those needles in her legs. She ended up having a good time, though - no needles this time!

On Sunday we took Net to her first large gathering - my nephew was graduating from high school and all his family members were there (probably about 30 people). Net was a star at the party, and there were tons of kids around. She absolutely loves kids and babies and seemed so happy when she was surrounded by a group of little girls. She played with all the kids and they blew bubbles for her and Elizabeth. She sat in the grass for a while, and got licked by a puppy (loved that!). She missed her afternoon nap and was a little loopy by the time we left, but she had a great time.

At home, she's starting to walk with some help and she is ecstatic about her jumper toy that our neighbors loaned to us. Her little legs are getting so strong! She hasn't progressed to crawling, and I think she might be more interested in learning to walk than learning to crawl. She rolls very quickly, but gets frustrated when she can't follow us out of the room. In Ethiopia, they teach babies to walk and not many get around to crawling, so she might just do the same.

I'll be starting my leave at home with her in 2 weeks. I'm really looking forward to getting out in the sunshine with her, but I'm not wearing rose colored glasses - I know this is going to be exhausting, even while it's fun :) Spending two weeks at home with her when we got back from Ethiopia taught me that she needs to keep a schedule every day, and my back will hurt from carrying her. Ken will have the car at work, so our mobility will depend on walking and the bus. We'll still have fun, though!