August 22, 2010 - R.I.P.

On Friday the 13th, I laid my 20s to rest...begrudgingly.

I have had a lot of people remind me that 30 is still young and to just get over it. But it is hard to get over when I vividly remember for so many years (those "teen" years, you know) legitimately thinking that 30 WAS, in fact, quite old! It never occurred to me that my mother was 36 when I was born and that I still don't consider her to be that old (you know what I mean, right Mom?).

But when I turned 20 and my brother turned 30 (we share a birthday separated by 10 years), because I have considered him to be my peer since I was about 2 years old, I thought, "Poor guy. He's 30!" And I'm sorry to say that it did make me feel a lot better this year to think, "Well at least I'm not 40!" (seriously, Mark, no offense...***)

The truth is that I am very happy with "where I am" in my life at this age and have nothing to complain about, but I also really, really, really loved my 20s. I had academic, professional and personal successes beyond what I ever imagined and, despite a few medical bumps along the road*, think that my 20s will be a hard decade to beat. But of course I have to beat it because I am way too young to have already lived the best decade of my life, right?!

*If you add up all of those medical bumps my body's actual age might be something closer to 82, which should give me a much bigger complex than the little old number 30!

Ok, ok, ok...enough of my 30-year-crisis. Despite my unwillingness to age, I was celebrated very well by family and friends in Denmark and ended up having a lovely birthday.

To start with my husband bought me a reminder that he doesn't think my life is over yet.

Then when we were on Als (the Danish island where Kristoffer was born), Johannes and Marianne got me my first "kage mand" (cake man) to celebrate my birthday with them.

Back in Varde, Kirsten and Hans also got me a second "kage mand" to celebrate my birthday!

Watch out fire department, there were even 30 lit candles on my cake!

The Danish flag was hanging in their garden (not really blowing that day) in my honor...

...and Grace led her own little parade to celebrate her Mama.

The table was laid in fine china...

...and many foods that I love were served...including my biggest pregnancy craving:

McDonald's chicken nuggets!

We may be the first people ever to eat McDonald's chicken nuggets on fine china.

It was an incredible meal and both Rocky and I were very satisfied!

Then Kristoffer and I were off to Bornholm for Morten and Elsebeth's wedding.

They kicked off their weekend by presenting with me with my third and fourth "kage kvinder" (cake women). I was so honored that they celebrated me during their big weekend and was reminded that Kristoffer's best friends, over the years, have become my friends too.

Kristoffer has assured me that no Dane has ever gotten FOUR "kage mand" (can you believe it?!) for his or her birthday and that I should feel very special to have accomplished a new record for my new decade.

So thank you to my Danish family who celebrated me and also to my family and friends at home who sent cards and gifts and emails...nobody seemed to get the message that I didn't want to turn 30 but, since I had to do it, thank you for making me feel so special!

LMW

***To be fair to my brother, Mark is a very young, very cool 40 and still manages a pretty good jump shot when playing ball with his soon-to-be-33-year-old-brother-in-law:

August 21, 2010 - Faces and Places (take 2)

Since I last blogged about our trip to Denmark, we had even more vistors and also ventured away from Varde (where Kirsten and Hans live) to visit family and friends in other places. Grace, as usual, did very well through all of the disruptions in her routine and we enjoyed seeing a lot of family and some good friends too.

Martin and Grace blew bubbles in the garden.

Kirsten and Hans hosted a lovely lunch with Oldemor, Gert, Kitte, Marianne and also Martin and Simone (not pictured).

Grace tried to get used to her cousin Mads (son of Kristoffer's cousin Aja), but when I was feeding him a bottle she made it very clear that she was not happy about it. Here she is giving him her most sinister look!

But later that day she realized he wasn't too much of a threat given that he seemed like to bubbles as much as she does.

We went Flemsburg, Germany to celebrate the wedding/we had a baby/we built a house/Tommy is 40! for Hans' son Tommy and his wife Mirja. Leander also just turned 1 this past week.

Marianne, Martin and Simone reminded everyone at the party that "All You Need is Love"!

And we got to see Tina, Thomas and baby Louis too!

The happy couple and their "first dance"!

After partying all night long we went to stay with Farfar and Marianne in Nordborg for a few days. Grace liked the view from up high!

She also really liked to feed the ducks by Farfar's house with Far, Farfar and Marianne.

Then we went to Tandslet for a few days with Rasmus, Jytte, Nikoline and Josefine. Grace and I taught the girls and their friend Emma how to play "wonderball"!

And the girls enjoyed a photoshoot with Kristoffer...

while Uncle Rasmus was chasing Grace around the garden!

She loved that game, but eventually took a rest to blow bubbles with Josefine.

Finally, Kristoffer and I dropped Grace back in Varde with Farmor and Hans headed off by ourselves to Bornholm, a Danish island on the other side of Sweden, to celebrate the wedding of our dear friends Morten & Elsebeth. It was the first time we spent a weekend away from Grace and it turns that we had a great time without her and she had a great time without us!

Here, Kristoffer is giving some marital advice to the groom.

They made a beautiful bride and handsome groom on the beach; we enjoyed celebrating with old and new friends and were so happy to be here for their special day.

Tillykke, Morten og Elsebeth!

Then, just like that, two weeks went by and Kristoffer headed back to Nairobi this past Monday without us. Grace and I are having a good time (good time = restful for me and playful for her!) with Farmor and Hans. We miss him and will be happy to see him in a couple more weeks when he comes back for us. In the meantime we are enjoying Danish life. I wonder what other faces and places we will explore while we are here?!

LMW

August 17, 2010 - It's Been a "Rocky" 4 months

I have so many stories and pictures to share from the past 11 days in Denmark - we have done and seen a lot! But while I'm getting my act together on those blogs, I'll just share that today I am 16 weeks pregnant with Rocky. I feel proud because it feels like my body has had to work a lot harder this time around; it turns out that my cough/bronchitis/lung infection was full-fledged pneumonia (who knows for how long!) and I've only just really recovered from battling that since the middle of June. We haven't had any more pregnancy complications and I am growing even faster than I did with Grace (or at least it feels that way!). I think we are close to realizing that in another 24 weeks (or, most likely a little sooner than that) we will be a family of four!

At 12 weeks pregnant I looked like this:

And today at 16 weeks I look like this...
...with my shadow appropriately close by :)

I had a dream one week ago that Rocky is a boy, but my very first dream about Grace was also that she was a boy...so I suppose that could mean we're having a girl (or that with Grace I was really dreaming about Rocky?)! We are planning to give this baby a Danish name so if you have any suggestions send them along.

Kristoffer went back to Kenya yesterday and Grace and I have begun our extra month of R&R with Farmor & Hans. I took a two hour nap today, so I would say we are off to a good start!

LMW

August 6, 2010 - Playdate

On June 9, 2009, I blogged about Grace meeting her friend Luna for the first time (along with Luna's parent, our good friends Lars and Barbara). Yesterday the girls had their second playdate. Needless to say, they were both much more mobile and entertaining this time around. Luna is six months older than Grace and it was a great preview for us to see what a big girl she will soon be. Much of their day was spent competing for Kristoffer's mom's attention; Luna was even calling Kirsten "Mormor" (mother's mother)!

We made sure to take the second father/daughter picture of these two military buddies with their little girls. I'm tracking how well all four of them age!

LMW

August 5, 2010 - Hongera*, Kenya!

Pick an article, any article, and read all about Kenya's FAIR and PEACEFUL election yesterday with the excellent result of a new constitution being approved by 67% of the country's voters:

The Daily Nation
BBC News
Jyllands-Posten
The NY Times
The Washington Post
The Boston Globe

I was so happy this afternoon that I actually cried! The new constitution will bring many things to the country, the least of which is HOPE for more equity and equality in their future.
LMW

*hongera = congratulations in Kiswahili

August 5, 2010 - "No more, Mama!"

Grace and Farmor were happily playing a game with some small animals on the kitchen counter this morning, and when I approached to see what they were doing my daughter pushed me away and told me, "No more, Mama!" I was definitely not needed for her private play with Farmor.Here's hoping she feels the same way when I'm the one playing with someone new in about six more months!

LMW

August 2, 2010 - Secret Garden

We made it safely and smoothly to Denmark on Friday and have had a very relaxing few days so far. Grace enjoyed a full weekend with her cousins and helped Farmor pick peas, raspberries, and dig up potatoes in her garden. Far also enjoyed picking cherries from the tree and playing in Grace's new sandbox. I am resting well and slowly getting over my bronchitis/lung infection...with a noticeable baby bump that is about 4 weeks bigger than I was with Grace at this time (14 weeks tomorrow). Our Danish vacation is off to a great start!

LMW

July 29, 2010 - Referendum Ready

In 24 hours we are departing for holiday in Denmark. Kristoffer will be staying for 2 weeks while Grace and I are staying for 6 weeks (he is coming back towards the end for a few more days and to travel back to Nairobi with us). Grace will get a lot of attention and have a lot of fun with Farmor and Hans for most of the trip, while I will hopefully get a lot of rest. And boy do I need it! In addition to being 13+ weeks pregnant and supposedly on "bed rest" for another 3-4 weeks, I have also had bronchitis for the last few weeks which has turned into a painful lung infection. I went to the emergency room last night, realizing that I needed some medical attention before we travel, and told the doctor that I thought I had cracked a rib. It was that painful and I didn't know what else it could be (also I have been vomiting and coughing so much it actually seemed a likely diagnosis). He said, "But you aren't a doctor, are you?" Good point, guy. Turns out that a lung infection can cause pain similar to that of a cracked rib! He didn't seem that concerned about my pain but was concerned about getting rid of the infection; so I am as drugged up as I am allowed to be given Rocky's residence on the inside and hope to be feeling better before our departure tomorrow morning. There is a big part of me that feels like all of my troubles will disappear once I am in Denmark! Let's get there!

More interesting news is that Kenya is headed for a very big day. On August 4th Kenyans will go to the polls for the first time since the 2007 election to vote on a new Constitution for the nation. The draft of the new Constitution was approved by Parliament a few months ago and the country will vote in just a few more days. This is a big deal for many reasons:

1. There has not been a national election since the violence that plagued early 2008; Kenyans seem resolute to exercise their right to vote but everyone is treading carefully and hoping (praying, really) that, regardless of the outcome, violence will not ensue and that corruption will not prevent a fair election from taking place.
2. The new document limits the power of all three branches of government in a way that the country hasn't seen before; for example, for the first time the President shall not also be a Member of Parliament from a certain district of the country. Ideally, these new measures will curtail corruption.
3. A significantly controversial clause in the document states that abortion is illegal (as it has always been here) except in cases where a medical professional believes the mother's life is at risk. The church, a powerful institution, believes this will open the door for future laws to be created to allow for abortion to be carried out liberally and they have campaigned actively against the new document (with financing from right-wing American conservatives, we believe) throughout the country, specifically in poor areas where people are not educated and rely on their religious leaders for political guidance.
4. The new constitution also limits the amount of land that can be privately owned, gives power to a land commission to levy taxes on land and even correct historical land injustices, and even gives equal land rights to women (shock! horror!). This is another controversial part of the constitution but one that every outsider agrees is CRUCIAL for the country's future.
5. Finally, there is a little bit of controvery regarding the part of the constitution that exempts the Muslim population of the country from the Bill of Rights and acknowledges their own courts, called Kadhi. This seems to be less controversial than the other two big issues, but has still been discussed a lot in the media.
6. The original and current constitution was essentially written in the UK by Brits in the early 60s, so the proposed document would now be much more empowering for Kenyans to live by today.

Politics in Kenya doesn't get more interesting than this. Last night when I was sitting in the emergency room (for 4 hours...) watching the local news, I learned that over 50,000 Kenyans are going to be criminally charged with registering to vote multiple times. Their names were even published in a public "list of shame"; Go Kenya! That is amazing! Otherwise, 12.5 million Kenyans have registered to vote on Wednesday, which has been declared a public holiday to ensure that Kenyans can safely get to and from their polling stations.

It is expected that the new constitution will be adopted, but it is also anticipated that in pockets of the country (likely the Rift Valley and urban slums) there could also be reactive violence or proactive measures of intimidation. Of course we (we = all expats, probably, but definitely me and Kristoffer) hope that Kenya votes for the new Constitution because it would be very good for the country to do so, even if it might not be 100% perfect by every interest-group's standards. But, we hope even more that that Kenyans are able to participate in an open and fair election without fear of persecution for their choice or their ethnic background. We hope the country can prove to the world that they have learned, changed, grown in the last couple of years.

When Wednesday comes around, I anticipate that the Welsiens will be enjoying a certain lovely garden in Varde, Denmark with some certain loved ones, but you can be sure that our thoughts will be with Kenya as we all eagerly await the outcome of the referendum.

LMW

July 25, 2010 - New Blog

Our friends Meghan and Matt have a new blog to share their six-week African experience. They are going to be doing some volunteering for a few weeks so I suspect their reflections and observations will be really interesting.

Check it out here.

LMW

July 24, 2010 - Kwaheri Karen!

It was a real treat for us to have my friend Karen here for two weeks. I am not that sure that Nairobi was all that she bargained for: she went to two play/mom's groups, Grace's traumatic doctor's appointment (they tried to give her a nebulizer for her bronchiolitis...yikes!), my ultrasound, and grocery shopping a few times! She babysat Grace a few times so that I could sleep and participated actively in feeding and diaper changing. What a trip!

She did manage to see some cultural stuff: Kristoffer took her to visit the By Grace Orphanage, she visited the giraffes and elephants and Karen Blixen sites, and she took Grace on a field trip to the National Museum...
...which Grace slept through entirely.
Together with our family, Karen visited the Kiambethu Tea Farm (our third visit there) and we captured some moments from that day.

She even caught me and Grace in an intense game of peek-a-boo!

We managed to kick Karen out of our house for a few days so that she could go on a safari to the Masai Mara. She had a great time seeing Kenya's wildlife up close and personally, and even had an incredible hot air balloon ride. (Note: Karen was conveniently at the Mara when we had "the Rat" visiting!)

For her last day in Nairobi, we set her up with our other visiting friends, Meghan and Matt, to visit Nakuru National Park for a day. Last night we all went out to dinner to celebrate having such good friends in Nairobi!

But sadly, this morning Karen had to leave us. She is off to South Africa for the next three weeks to participate in an educator's program on oral history.

We are so happy you came to stay, Karen, and we already miss you! I feel so lucky that even though we only worked together for two months in Washington, DC we have stayed such good friends! Kwaheri!*

LMW

*Kwaheri means "goodbye" in Kiswahili