kitchen cart

Have I mentioned that our kitchen is small? Really, really small.  And completely lacking in counter space - our toaster oven takes up one counter, and drying dishes the other. That leaves us with very little space to work with. I'm constantly bemoaning this - esp when I need to put a plate down and there's nowhere to put it.  A few months ago, my parents gave us a very nice table that fits perfectly in the window.  It added a lot more versatility to the kitchen....but it wasn't enough.  When Jana visited in December even she was commenting about the lack of space! 

We have this little nook in the kitchen and I've long wanted to get a kitchen cart to fill it. But it is harder than you would think to find the right one - I was on the hunt for a long, long time. I admit, I was probably being too picky, hoping for more than what our budget could afford.  I had pretty much given up on ever being able to decide on one when, in early December, we received a very very generous gift card to Target.  I don't know who it is who keeps sending these things to us, but they bring us so much unexpected joy! This card gave us the push we needed to make the decision to just get something - and it turns out that the one from Target is probably the best of the bunch I looked at!

Dexter corralled his friend Joel to help, and we got our cart! Horaay!

Before:

That action packer has been around the world with me - Kenya, UAE, back to Kenya and then on to the US.  I think it is time to retire it!  The main problem with this set up is that Kyalo learned how to open the microwave, start it, stop it, etc.  He went through a phase of putting toys in there, and then leaving to do other things.  Dexter managed to microwave one of his battery operated toys. Fortunately, the house didn't explode!

When we were living in the UAE we got all of our furniture from IKEA.  For a small additional fee it was delivered and assembled (in mere minutes, it seemed) for us.   I do miss those little perks of life in the UAE.  We had no experts...just Dexter and Joel, and occasionally Kyalo, trying to figure it out.  Two hours - and a tea break - later, it was finished!

Supervising

 studying the directions

 Kyalo helping...ish...

 all done!

 in place

everyone's happy

 It fits the microwave and my grandmother's mixer perfectly.

And and added bonus?  Covers up some of that fake wood paneling.

Here's the mess we were left to clean up.  I think we'll be sweeping up little floating pieces of Styrofoam for weeks to come!  

It was a great day! 

21 months

Here we are...a new month, a new year.  And we're inching ever closer to Kyalo being two.  Pure craziness right there.

This has been a good month.  But then, have we ever had a bad one?

Two more teeth have finally broken through.  This dentist's son is sure taking his time to get his teeth! He is talking/communicating more and more...my parents both said they thought just in the week that we were there he was getting better.  My favorites?  "deaze" for please, " 'noh" for snow, and "doh" with a shoulder shrug for cold.  I'll have to get that one on video.

I had to take him to the doctor in the middle of the month, so got him weighed and measured.  He's now 25ish pounds and almost 33 inches tall.  He'd grown and gained a lot since I'd had him there the last time, so that was encouraging.

 he's not willing to show his teeth, though

BFF Ellen sneaking into this picture

Ellen and Kyalo sharing a snack

It is hard to get good photos these days.  I can't exactly ask him to pose.  So I had the camera out for a while in the morning doing my best to get live-action shots {fail}, and ended up watching Christmas videos on the camera with him.

But then, when we were done with that, and I took the camera away?  This happened...

am I the worst mother or what?

For full effect:

So that went well.  I think you can see him saying "deaze" here, if you pay close attention (he does the Sign Language sign for "more" - pushing his hands together).

He doesn't play well alone, unfortunately.  I thought he just needed older - or more - toys, but he certainly has plenty of things: puzzles, blocks, stacking things, pull toys, etc, but none of them seem to capture his attention for too long.  He's always back looking for one of us in a matter of minutes. Anyone have any ideas on that?  My friend Jenny (Ellen's mom) and I are going to start swapping babysitting, each doing one morning a week for a couple of hours. Kyalo definitely does better with a playmate.  And if the fun he had with Talia tells us anything is that he needs friends his age.  I wish Bo, just a couple of weeks younger, didn't move all the way down to Tennessee!

Anyway, here's Kyalo coloring this evening with his new crayons.

Thus ends another month!

holiday party

After the Christmas festivities, we spent a few more days enjoying our time in Essex.  I especially enjoyed all the Kyalo-free time that I had.  Dexter and I even had our first REAL date since he was born.  By real, I mean not going to a grocery store which is what happened when my parents visited us in Kijabe last year.  We saw Les Miz and got dinner together.  Since Dexter's not much of a musical guy, this was a real gift to me.  And he loved it, too!  If you haven't seen it, I do recommend it.

We left on Saturday because we would be hosting our little group of international students for a holiday party on Sunday.  We left a couple of hours later than intended {packing up always proves to be more challenging than I remember} and pretty much the minute we got on the highway the snow started.

The conditions, esp through Connecticut, were pretty awful.  We saw a lot of cars spinning out, parked in the embankments, narrowly missing accidents.  When we stopped for gas we spent a long time debating if we should carry on or not.  We got the weather report from my dad, and decided to press on. Dexter, bless him, drove the whole way. His first time driving in a snow storm.  We sure crossed a lot of firsts off his list.  I was so glad to not be driving, and very grateful to have made it home without incident.  The trip, normally 5ish hours, took well over 8.  Ugh.

So we had to work hard on Sunday to get things ready for the party later in the afternoon.  The unexpected treat was that Dexter had some friends from Kenya visiting NYC and they came too.  Sebastian is German, his wife Kenyan, so we just added to the international mix!

 Kenya nativity scene

 pretty much the extent of our Christmas decorations

next year it will be better

let's hope

a Christmas tree from my friend Jaime, from when I lived in Oakland.  She got it for me because she felt that my apartment was lacking decorations.  So, clearly, I haven't improved in that area of life.  Sigh.

Dental Students

Dexter was in his "comb? what comb?" vacation mode.  Joel (Cuba) Sirisha (India) Seungah (Korea)  Don't they all look relaxed and happy?  Vacation is so great!

Next time we're together I'll try to get a picture of each family, and one of all the kids.

Sebastian and his wife, Jael, and their daughter Talia stayed on after everyone else left, which was a nice catch-up time for all of us. Talia is just a month or so older than Kyalo, and they played SO well together.  I really think that he needs other kids around him all the time, and he'd be a perfect child.

Here's a perfect example.  Kyalo & Talia spent a long time simply chasing each other around the house. The video is a little long, and certainly not overly interesting, but you will get a sense of Kyalo's simple joy.

 

our first tripod photo!

Sebastian is an Ophthalmologist so I was able to ask him about something Kyalo does with his eyes I've been wondering about.  He assured me that's normal kid behavior, but did a quick little exam all the same. Kyalo's been given the all-clear for a little while longer.  Phew!

Dexter and Sebastian

All in all it was a great day.  I really enjoyed the time and conversations I had with Dexter's classmates.  I look forward to our next gathering in the coming months.  

We're now back to our usual schedule...Dexter at school, Kyalo and I going it alone.  10 weeks til spring break!

Happy New Year everyone.

more firsts

There is a long standing tradition that we've had with the Hammons.  I'm not really sure how - or when - it started, but now it is an integral part of our Christmases together: Grab Bag.  This is our variation on a Yankee Swap/White Elephant, with one key difference:  usually Brooke is in charge of collecting all the gifts ahead of time.  In years past this often included regifting some of the things the teachers got (don't tell the students!) or even getting things at the local "swap shop" at the town dump.  There have been some gems of presents.  Vanna White's autobiography stands as the creme de la creme.  :)  This years' gifts were a bit better, and we came home with a new candle, a cookie mix in a jar, and a nerf football for Kyalo.  I loved being part of this again after so many years away, and also introducing Dexter and Kyalo to it.  Their lives are forever changed.

Everyone came early evening on Christmas day, and the fun got started right away.

But first, since we'd had steady snow all morning, Dexter needed to shovel.

His first time!

It was important he clear a path for the guests - we wouldn't want them to miss the house!  I'm sure (or at least hoping) he'll get another chance at this later in the winter.  We need at least ONE good storm, don't you think?

 Alyson and Albert

 all the gifts deceptively wrapped to look appealing

Kyalo picking his gift - don't these boys look changed?

Grab Bag will do that to you

After a raucous grab bag, and exchanging of a few real gifts, we settled into the evening: desserts and conversations by the fire. . .

And there was even an impromptu Story Hour . . .

the newlyweds, getting in some practice

There was even a chance for some games at the end of the evening - and I hope this will be a new tradition.  Pit is wild and loud and energetic, perfect for ending Christmas day, don't you think?

At the end of the evening, Kyalo helped Albert collect his things, and decided to borrow his hat:

gosh I love him

And that wraps up Christmas for another year.

first Christmas

This title is a bit of a misnomer, because, of course it is not our first Christmas together.  However, it IS Dexter and Kyalo's first American Christmas! In hindsight, I'm sorry we didn't do things in our little apartment in Belleville. . .a tree, for one, a string of lights, etc.  I did put up our very few decorations and when all was said and done, hung my head in shame because it just looked PA-THETIC.  Pathetic!  So, we'll try again for next year.

Vacation has been wonderful.  We came to Massachusetts to be with my family last Thursday, and have had a great, relaxing time.  And fortunately, my mom can decorate much, much better than I.  One thing she hadn't done yet, though was get a tree.  Even though we didn't have a Christmas tree much while I was growing up (we hung lights on a ficus plant and called it a day), I wanted to do that, for the true Christmas feel for Kyalo & Dexter. 

Dexter and I went out on a hunt for one, and even managed to barter down the cost of the tree.  I felt proud to succeed at that.  Probably had more to do with being three days to Christmas than my negotiating skills. Whatever.

I actually had a lot of fun getting and decorating the tree, so hope we'll get one for our bay windows in Belleville next Christmas.  Remind me?  I think Kyalo was intrigued by the tree.  He certainly enjoyed helping to decorate it and pointing things out. . .

Christmas morning!

The best present we got for Christmas was snow! There's something about a white Christmas that just makes it seem that much more magical.  It was clear skies when we went to bed late Christmas eve, so I had no hope, but in the morning it was snowing, and a thin dusting on the ground.  It wasn't a blizzard or anything, but better than nothing.

And it made for a perfect setting to take Kyalo out in his new Radio Flyer wagon!

Since there was about .5 inches of snow on the ground, the snow suit was probably a bit of overkill.  But I wanted to put it to use, and at least it kept him toasty and snuggly. 

The evening ended with a gathering of friends for desserts and games.  And a good time was had by all, I would say.

I think it is safe to say that Dexter liked his first American Christmas. . . but he did miss the goat he would have had in Kenya!  Truth be told, I did, too. A little bit.