Learning about Levi

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Learning about Levi

These are some of the things we are learning about Levi Yishak.

He loves airplanes. We are right in the path of the airport and he is constantly running out on our veranda yelling “Aeroplane, daddy!” He wants Sean to come see …EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

If it has Spiderman on it, he’s a fan. He has Spiderman underwear, pjs, toothbrush…the works! He never drops his Spiderman backpack. He loves it so much that he already has it packed for the airport and takes it everywhere we go..down to breakfast, on a walk, in the car, whatever. He also found a pen and wrote his name on it. On the outside. Yes, we’re dealing with a child who’s had to fight for everything all the time, and even still, nothing belonged to him. Note to selves: keep all pens out of reach for awhile until we can communicate well enough. Ah, it’s a process.

Despite the above, he’s SO generous. He is constantly giving us stuff. Playing cards, coloring pages, cars, and even his tissues. He says, “Mommy one, Daddy two, and Levi Yishak three!”

“Shintabet” is our favorite word. It’s Amharic for “go to the bathroom” which he does a lot and with horrible aim. Let’s just say he loves to sing and dance while going shintabet. I feel sorry for our maids.

If there’s music playing, he’s dancing. He’s got the moves! We’ve already recorded him dancing to “Moves Like Jagger” and it’s hysterical. He’s a ham!!

He loves to sing and loves mama to sing with him. LOVE this! He also makes up songs. I couldn’t tell you how many times he has sung, “Mommy, Daddy, Levi” to the tune of something! He sings on key, and has a sweet , sweet voice. My favorite thus far is “Amazing Grace My Chains are Gone” in Amharic. It is precious!

He is incredibly smart. He memorizes things constantly. If we tell him an English word once, he remembers it. So fun to watch him soak up things.

He makes some of the funniest faces ever. He’s quite expressive. Once I am able to upload pictures, you will see just what I mean.

He is always saying, “Ready, sketti, ….GO!” No idea where that came from, but now we say it, too.

He’s competitive. He just blew every kid at the other guest house away in a race. Yessss!

He sleeps and plays hard. Our first night he slept 10 hrs, and once he’s awake he’s full force. There’s no in between stage. We are glad he loves to play soccer 24/7. He’s used to being outside all the time, which is a great thing except he doesn’t understand that he has to wait for us. He could do what he wanted before. He has little fear of anything or anyone…another thing that we will have to teach him.

He eats a LOT. We have noticed some signs of hoarding and binging already. This is common for children in an orphanage where they haven’t had much to eat, and fear that they might not get more. “Tinnish” has been a frequent saying today -“Small bites”- especially after he put five bites in his mouth all at once. We also had our first battle of wills when he asked for cheese and crackers after a very big lunch today. He threw a fit, so he had a “time in” which is like a time out. Putting a child with abandonment issues away from you is working against trust and security which he needs right now, so time in’s are where he has to sit still in front of us or beside one of us. He sat against the wall and pouted with his lip out, and when Sean still wouldn’t give in, he turned around to the wall. After a couple of minutes, he got up and said, “I sorry, Daddy” reached up to hug and kiss him. Sean told him he loved him so much. All was well. If it only would stay this easy, but yeah, that is not realistic.

He loves to march. He is fascinated with police, much like his big brother was as a little boy. It is SO funny to see how alike they are! We brought him some camo shorts (police here wear blue camo), and he couldn’t wait to put them on and march everywhere he went and salute. Another future airman, perhaps?

You will probably notice in our pictures (once we can post them) that Levi’s face is broken out all over with “pimply” looking bumps. He has a skin infection right now, another fun part of being in an orphanage/home with little cleanliness. It is not contagious to be around him. He just cannot share towels or sheets with others until it’s cleared, which could take 6-8 weeks. It doesn’t itch him or bother him at all, and we are thankful for that.

He loves hugs and kisses. He is very affectionate. He also loves babies and small children. Wants to help them and make them laugh. While we were waiting at the Embassy today for our interview, he talked to all the little ones around us, and even tickled several of them. It was sweet.

He’s an encourager. We will be playing with him, whether it’s cars or coloring, or soccer, and he always says, “Good job, Mommy!” or “Good job, Daddy!”

He can’t wait to go home to America. Our first morning, he woke up, went to “shintabet” and walked back in the room and announced, “Four days  America!” and grinned that huge smile. Then, he started doing flips, handstands, and back bends.

We are in for an exciting ride for sure.