The orphanage was decorated with dried, fragrant grasses and rose petals, and coffee beans were roasting on coals. Kidus and his friends came downstairs, and they all greeted us with smiles. Most of them seemed to remember us from our last trip. The orphanage director told us that they were so excited for Kidus and our family. We sat around a big table, and she talked about Kidus, how he had grown and how much they love him. A few of the older boys talked and wished him well in his new family. Two of them were very sad. It was all very emotional. Kidus was excited to eat popcorn and his favorite bread! At the conclusion of the ceremony, we said Goodbye to everyone and took Kidus back to the guest house with us!
He was very glad to be able to go with us this time. He loved the bumpy van ride and ate bread the whole way there! He also really loves Menge and was excited that he was with us! We ate dinner together with another family and their new little boy. Kidus surprised us with how well he fed himself. In early reports from the orphanage, we had learned that the nannies fed him because he was very slow with utensils and very messy. He did great with his fork and wiped his face and the table with a napkin when he was done. We played for a little while - he loved all the toys that he could put things in and then take them out again. When it was time to go upstairs, he went with Chann willingly. At first he didn't want to change into pajamas, but when we did, he changed his clothes almost entirely by himself. He did not want to go to bed, but eventually Chann got him to sleep, and put him in his bed. He slept all night!! He woke up around 6 Saturday morning, but he was very quiet and just looked out the window. When he saw that we were awake, he smiled at us and crawled out of bed to come get Chann.
