home alone

Yesterday, the little man turned 10 weeks. Kind of a big deal being double digits and all, wouldn't you say?  Today, he was weighed, measured and immunized.  13 pounds and 23.6 inches.  I'd say that's pretty good.  He's filling out nicely. . .I've started putting him into a few 3-6 month clothes (but that may be more because he has very few outfits than he really fits the new size).

 {13 pounds, 23.6 inches and proud of it!}

The other big event of the day yesterday was that Dexter left for the UAE for the week. Five days and five nights, to be exact.  In order to apply for a US Green Card he needs to get a certificate of good standing from the police in Abu Dhabi because he lived there over a year. And they take fingerprints so he had to go in person.  He also needs to pick it up in person, so we're hoping everything can be completed by Thursday so he can travel home early Friday morning. Prayers welcome!

So far, it is going well.  Yesterday I managed to clean all the dishes, pick up the house, get my work out and a rain-shortened walk in! I hope the rest of the week is like that.  The evenings are the hardest and certainly feel LONG, so I was grateful to spend time with Francis and Evelyn last night, and let them take turns holding, burping, walking the baby.  I lounged on the couch, natch.  Today he got some shots, so I hope that means he is calmer and sleeps more for me for a day or two.  I'll take whatever I can get!

And, to keep me busy while Dexter's away, I plan on organizing our closet. Fun times!

A few more photos for the adoring fans (or, Grandma, anyway):

 {enjoying a fire by papa}

 {maybe not so much}

{10 weeks and looking a little surprised}

saying goodbye

This is the time of year when people pack up and head home.  Rift Valley Academy, where many of the missionaries in Kijabe work or have children, closes out for the year in mid July, so it is a natural breaking point for many people.  This year, a lot of the long-term missionaries are leaving.  One couple has been in Kijabe 33 years (!!!) and are heading back to the US in July.  Dr. Rich, the dentist who has been here for 25 years, (and who Dexter is replacing) will leave in July as well. I'll save his story for another post. 

Dr. Tim Mead, Medical Director of CURE Kenya and his wife Jana are leaving Kijabe in July as well.  But they aren't heading home.  Instead, they are heading on to new adventures at CURE's Oasis Hospital in Al Ain.  They're trading in the familiarity and comfort of 10 years in Kenya for a totally new environment and culture.  Tim came to CURE when it was just beginning and built up the orthopedic program here into something pretty spectacular. There are now many Kenyan trained orthopedic surgeons, there's a recognized orthopedic residency training program that will turn out even more surgeons.  This is, for the most part, a direct result of Tim's vision, hard work, and pushing to make things happen.  Kenya is a better place because he followed God's leading to come.

Francis (who is in the orthopedic residency program) and Evelyn and we decided to host them for a farewell BBQ.  Having moved internationally a few times now, I know how chaotic the last few weeks can be. Suddenly, everyone wants to have you over for a meal, take you out to coffee, learn your deep secrets.  Wanting to avoid the rush, we opted for a Friday night in June.

Typical of me, I spent more time taking photos of food than of people, but here are a couple of pictures from the night.

 the guys tending to the fire

Jana tending to the baby

Jana is the one who took time to teach us some Lamaze breathing -- which probably saved me during my 24+ hours of labor -- and to encourage us to talk through disappointments if labor didn't go as planned.  Since I had a VERY different labor planned in my head, this turned out to be a true godsend.  She is also a very gifted quilter -- and has used that gift to share the gospel with Indian women in Nairobi -- and gave Kyalo a beautiful quilt that hangs on his crib.

I'm sorry they're leaving, but think that the UAE needs Tim's passion and expertise now.  He'll be starting from scratch again: no residents, no other orthopedic surgeons at Oasis, etc.  It will be an adventure, to say the least.

And, as a side note: Dexter decided he wouldn't let the monkeys and birds have their say when it came to our (pathetic) corn. So off he went to harvest what he could. We boiled it and ate what we could.  It was actually quite tasty which makes me sad that it didn't do so well, and determined to figure out a way to make it work!

It was good, but not for public consumption! 

two months

It is hard to believe that our little buddy turned 2 months yesterday.  He celebrated by refusing to sleep most of the day. . .but then he slept until 5 AM so I'm okay with that! Kinda hoping he'll stick with that.  He is definitely getting bigger! I won't have him weighed and measured for a couple more weeks, but he's growing and he's healthy.

Here's the latest round of photos:

Probably, I get carried away with the picture taking. But I just can't seem to help it!  I haven't really figured out a good way to get a picture of Kyalo that will mark his changes month by month, so I'm just taking lots of photos.  I'll probably figure a good way somewhere around six months or something. . .

random shots

 A random assortment of photos from the last couple of weeks.

 

Chilling on Sunday morning

 He's working on becoming a thumb sucker just like his mama! Makes me so proud :)

 Francis and Evelyn. . . . I'd say they're naturals!

 small smiles for the camera

small tear to break mama's heart

seven weeks

Our little guy turned seven weeks on Sunday, and Dexter thought it was high time to get a picture of the two of them together.

my guys

I've really got to get better with the camera!  

While we were taking a few shots of the boy, we noticed this outside the nursery room window:

Yes, that's our Long Island corn being sampled by a monkey. I don't remember inviting him!  Unfortunately, I wasn't too sure how this corn was going to turn out, anyway.  The stalks seem a little thin and stunted. My mom thinks it is because they don't get enough sun. Probably. And not enough water?  I don't know the first thing about gardening, really, so I was just sort of hoping it would all work out.

I had great visions of planting (or having our gardener plant, anyway) a lot of vegetables here.  Now I'm not so sure. I guess we'll have to do something to keep the monkeys and birds and other creatures away and then we can plant other veggies and replant the corn. And we'll hope!

We have a potato plant growing in our compost pile, so at least there's that.

On Thursday I was given the all-clear from my doctor to resume life as usual.  And then I stopped by the dental clinic and ended up having an impromptu gum graft by a visiting gum surgeon!  And Sunday, I had to have my friend Francis drain an infection in my thumb, so I decided to not resume life as usual just yet, and eat a lot of ice cream.  It seemed the right thing to do. 

I'm grateful to live in a place where I can get such great medical care so easily. 

bath time

Our days are slow, and moving into a bit of a routine.  I haven't managed to get a schedule down for feedings as of yet, but we're generally in a three-hour(ish) cycle of eat/wake/nap/repeat.  It is important to get a bath in the mix, too!  I've finally managed to do bath time alone, without Dexter's help, which feels like a big accomplishment.  It is hard to give a squirmy, wet baby a bath!

Thankfully, Kyalo seems like the bath!

Really, that's the face of enjoyment! I'm sure of it.

The days are cooler here, and our house seems to be about 10 degrees colder inside than outside, so it is important to wear layers!

 

 

 Bath time brings back the curls.

{yawn}

This little outfit is a "newborn" size, and the days remaining in which he can wear it are numbered.  He's growing so much already! Sunday marked six weeks.  He's brought so much joy into our lives in such a short time.

Now, I'm off to tackle some laundry while he naps!

mother's day

Yesterday was my first time celebrating Mother's Day as a mother!  It was pretty uneventful, really, although Kyalo was kind to me and after his early morning feeding slept until 9:30. I'd say that's about as good as a gift as any!  I also got a pedicure in the afternoon with my friend Evelyn.  It was my first one since before my wedding, so I'd say it was overdue! At less than $10.00, I think I may have to treat myself more often.

I had wanted to get some photos of me with Kyalo for our first Mother's Day. We were running late for church (probably because of sleeping til 9:30) and Kyalo was ready for a nap so it wasn't quite what I expected.  Even so, I got this photo.  It is nice to have a photo where I look alive.

How excited does Kyalo look?

Even though the photo above doesn't look like it, the cooler days are coming to Kenya, or at least to Kijabe.  Today has been a weird day of clouds-rain-sun-clouds-sun.  It rains pretty heavy at night, for the most part.  I'm usually still able to get laundry out on the line, which I'm grateful for. 

Since today was so cool, I put Kyalo in this cute hat (made from reclaimed sweaters!) from a dear friend:

Lastly, I just want to say Happy Mother's Day (a day late) to my wonderful mother who has modeled grace and patience and friendship to me.  I hope to be half the mother she is to my children!