Update on Elsa!

We received a new picture of Elsa on Friday!  She looks quite a bit older in this new picture than she did in the first one we received which was taken in February.  Her hair has been cut quite short and she looks a little boyish, especially in the clothes she is dressed in.  Keeping the kids' hair short is common in Ethiopian orphanages to help control lice and other parasites, but kind of makes me sad.  The fleece(?) she is wearing is pretty torn up, but I just tell myself at least it is still keeping her warm.  I look forward to letting her hair grow out and buying her new cute clothes.  In the new picture she has a bit more excitement in her expression as well - her first photo looked a little bit like a mug shot and was rather expressionless.  She is missing her right upper canine tooth giving her an adorable grin.

The missing tooth is also a nice clue.  I don't think I posted anything about it on the blog, but there seems to be a bit of confusion about Elsa's age.  Despite the fact that her history has pretty detailed information that indicates that she will be turning 6 this month, our adoption agency thought that she might be 4.5 instead.  There is some conflicting information in her file.  The missing tooth is much more appropriate for a 6 year old than a 4.5 year old, so we are going to keep assuming she is 6 (or soon to be 6).

Since February she has grown 3 centimeters, but remained the same weight.  She currently weighs 15 kg (33 lbs) and is 105 cm (3 ft, 4 in) tall.  Her medical records indicate that she is very healthy.

We haven't received any new information on Asegre, but in case you were curious, as of June he also weighed 15 kg (33 lbs) and was 101 cm (3 ft, 3 in) tall.  He is also healthy.  They are almost identical in size!

I don't expect to receive many updates on the kids.  I assume that we will get more on Asegre than Elsa since he is living at (or will be transferred to soon) the orphanage that our adoption agency runs in Addis Ababa.  Other families that travel for their court dates or to pick up their kids often take pictures of the kids at this orphanage and post them on a private Snapfish account for waiting parents to view.  Brent and I have already scanned many a photo looking for glimpses of our son, but no luck thus far.  Elsa, on the other hand, happens to live at an orphanage that is very private about the kids living there.  Apparently, many of the kids there have pretty severe special needs and won't ever be adopted, so the orphanage prefers to respect their privacy and not allow photographs.  There are some parents traveling to her orphanage in early October and they have promised to get any information they can.  If they can't take pictures they will at least try and meet her.

On Saturday we mailed the kids' welcome bags to our adoption agency.  The agency's director is traveling to Ethiopia some time this month and will deliver their bags to them.  We should receive photos of them opening their bags sometime after it happens.  I can't wait!