December 21, 2014 (belated) - Eight (Months) is Great

Leading up to Aya's 8 month birthday, she took her 7th and 8th international flights - this time from Dar es Salaam to Billund, Denmark via Amsterdam.  She did really well and was a very pleasant traveler.  Arriving in Denmark she had to get used to being bundled up - not really her favorite thing when she is used to crawling around in only a diaper or onesie!  It was a wonderful welcome from Farmor and Hans, and we were almost immediately Christmas tree shopping!

She turned 8 months when we visiting Uncle Rasmus, Tante Jytte, Nikoline & Josefine in their beautiful new house.  Mama was clever enough to remember her "birthday sign" but not clever enough to remember any chalk.  

Aya is changing so quickly.  Her crawling speed is really fast and she is properly cruising on her own now, even showing more interest in walking...although keeping her feet flat is a challenge.  Like her Mama (and Noah!), she likes to be up on her tippy toes.  She is still pretty awesome in all ways except for sleeping at night.  We hope to take corrective measures in the new year once we are back in Dar and don't have a cold or jet lag or a crazy traveling schedule, etc.  It will be a major and positive improvement in all of our lives to get some more sleep at a night!  Aya is obviously still growing well - she prefers to be fed or self-feed finger food...she is not so thrilled with the spoon or smooth purees.  All signs indicate that she will be a very independent little girl, as she hits away your hand or arm when you are trying to help her do something she wants to do for herself.  She has the most amazing baby laugh - I swear I could listen to it all day.  She adores Grace and Noah, but also seems really comfortable meeting new people and in new settings.  Our go-with-the-flow kind of girl ;)

As we're in the last third of her first year now - it just seems to go by more and more quickly with each child.  She's our charming little love for sure.

And on the same day as Aya turned 8 months old, her brother got a big gash on his head that required a quick trip to the emergency room.  No stitches required this time around - just some steri-strips, thank goodness, and a reminder that it will probably not be our last trip there with our little Daredevil (who was trying to reach his cousin's stash of bubble gum when he fell!).  I'm hoping this is one area in which Aya feels absolutely no need to be like her big brother!

LMW

December 12, 2014 - Holiday Cheer

Before we fly north for the next few weeks, I'll just share some of the holiday spirit the kids have experienced this week.  

First there was Grace's Christmas party, and one of the "room parents" in her class made an Olaf (from Frozen) pinata which was a very big hit.  Along with my chocolate chip cookies (maybe it was just Grace eating them!).  It was a very happy and "sweet" celebration.  Grace is a happy girl at school.  And, actually, we got her first "official" report card yesterday.  It was detailed and positive, and we are so happy to hear how she is progressing physically, creatively, and cognitively. But the bit we were most proud to read was that Grace has a lot of empathy and caring for other children, particularly if they are sick or injured or sad.  Kindness is the most important thing, so that was wonderful to read.  

Then today was the celebration of Santa Lucia at Nordic school for Noah's class - a Scandinavian tradition that we see here every year.  I know I am completely biased, but sometimes I think Noah is so cute that my heart hurts a little!  The video is a little long (including bits from 3 of their 4 songs) but I just couldn't cut it down!  Yesterday they also had a "fancy" Christmas lunch and Jule Man (Santa Claus) came to visit.  Noah couldn't quite decide if that was the Tanzanian Jule Man or the Svenska (Swedish) Jule Man.  Either way, he was pretty happy about it.  

I love Christmas traditions and all the wonders of Christmas that do not include just the receiving of gifts.  I hope that as my kids age they will continue to love these special celebrations and appreciate that giving to others is the true blessing of the season.  Noah told me today that it will be very nice for Jesus on Christmas when it is his birthday.  Indeed.

Safe travels to anyone flying the holiday friendly skies like we will be.  I hope to check in before the new year!

LMW

p.s. Aya got over her jet-lag just in time to learn how to stand up in her crib.  Yeah.  So that's happening throughout the night now.  If I get more than 3 consecutive hours of sleep in the next 3 weeks, it will be a Christmas miracle indeed!  Santa, please!

December 11, 2014 - Holiday Updates

I could start with a lack-of-blogging apology, but really that is just the status quo these days so what's the use?!  Instead, I'll start with a correction...when looking over some papers the other day I found Aya's report from seeing the pediatrician in the US and her stats are way more impressive than I reported.  She is actually 65%tile for height and 80%tile for weight!  The big kids never had such numbers so I feel I short-changed her a little bit by not reporting them accurately.  The numbers now make much more sense when compared to her thighs :)  She is strong, healthy and our most active little one for sure.  Some people are placing bets that she'll walk much earlier than her siblings, but this Mama is in no rush for that!

The rest of our trip to America was great, despite our colds and Aya's permanent sleep issues.  We spent time with both of my sisters, got a lot of shopping done, visited with just a few dear friends, and enjoyed a really nice day with my family on Thanksgiving.  I was too busy enjoying to take many pictures, but here are a few of Aya's First American Thanksgiving.

Aya always smiled for Michael...except in this picture (because I was taking it!).

 Auntie Meghan & Patsy

 Uncle Tim teaching Aya all about fine jewelry...

 OK, this might be a crazy picture...but it was a delicious turkey!  It was so nice to be home for it - thanks so much to my parents for giving me such a wonderful day!

 Snuggles with Pops...

 And Pretty Nene!

Meanwhile on the homefront, Grace and Noah had a "Tanzanian Culture" performance at the Nordic school.  Grace loved the drumming, as you can see in the video below.  Noah was too shy for that, but did proudly show off his Tanzanian safari artwork to Kristoffer (sorry, English-speakers...that video is Danish only!).

They also decorated our small tree before Aya and I came home.  

Good practice for the real deal in Denmark!

Aya has just gotten over her jet-lag today - it took the full 8 days (1 day per hour of time difference) which has been tough on me. We're busy packing up and celebrating the holidays here with school parties.  Tomorrow night we'll be off for three weeks of Danish Christmas. We are all very excited - especially for Aya to meet everyone there for the first time.  So much to be excited and thankful for this time of year.  Happy Holidays!

LMW

November 21, 2014 - 7 Month Surprise!

Greetings from America!  Aya and I made our way to Boston a few days ago.  It was a VERY long trip (to say the least) and she had just started to have a cold before we left so of course it got much worse during the course of the 24+ travel hours.  We flew through Turkey:  first flight to Istanbul (7 1/2 hours) she did great, layover (3 hours) she did great, second flight to Boston (10 1/2 hours + 2 1/2 hours sitting on the plane before take off because of a broken fuel pump at the airport) she did not do so well at all.  Who could blame her?!  

One of our first stops in America was to visit the pediatrician yesterday.  Aya weighs 17.6 lbs (75%tile!!) and is in the 85%tile for her length as well.  She got several vaccinations and a flu shot - which was a necessary evil but didn't necessarily help her feel better right then!  It was great to have a nice long talk with the doctor here, who we love!, because I had been communicating with her closely when Grace was very sick.  She was thrilled with how well and healthy Aya is.  She asked me, "So she can roll over back and forth?"  I was like, "Um...yeah...she's crawling everywhere!"  Our most "advanced" baby for sure.

Aya loves the sound of her voice and makes really funny noises to hear herself.  She loves to watch herself (laugh at herself, talk to herself...) in a mirror.  She is a quick crawler now and is increasingly trying to pull herself up to standing with a few successful attempts already.  The other day when Kristoffer came home from work, she crawled right over to him with a big smile and he was thrilled for the first time that she officially greeted him.  

Aya continues to adore adore adore Grace and Noah.  She also really loves Oliver, our nanny, who she hangs out with a long when I'm on carpool duty for the big kids. Musical toys and balls seem to be among her favorite things.  Also small pets - cats and dogs!  She likes cruising around in her walker or playing in her exersaucer. She still likes her bath a lot and enjoys swimming some of Dar's very warm pools. She is eating a little bit more - trying new things and wanting to feed herself rather than being fed. The doctor said all the feeding guidelines in America have changed and babies can now eat ANYTHING from 6 months old (except raw honey!).  So her meals get more interesting now that there are no restrictions :)  No teeth yet - please come soon!

It's hard to believe that another month has come and gone, and that we're already in America to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.  It's my first time celebrating Thanksgiving at home in 7 years - before Kenya! Before Kids! That was another life for sure. After this quick trip Aya and I will head back to Dar for a little while before our whole family goes to Denmark for Christmas.  It's been so wonderful to have these holidays to look forward to.  

Great job to Aya for continuing to be an awesome little baby (despite still not sleeping through the night - ACK!) and for continuing to make us all so happy (just can't wait until we're happy AND rested!).  I'm hoping that in the next few days she'll warm up a little bit more to my parents - she is not yet interested in being removed from my hip but they sure would love to hold her a bit more (without the crying!).  Here's our sweet girl...7 months old, jet-lagged, and perfectly snotty! 

LMW

November 17, 2014 - It's Easy Being Green

Grace's school has a theme of "the environment" this year, so lots of talk about taking care of the planet, the environments of different countries, recycling, etc.  Each grade gets to participate in a musical concert on the theme of the environment.  Kindergarten, Grade 2 and Grade 4 performed last week.  Grace's grade did a "square dance" kind of number (admittedly, I have no idea what that song was about since I was distracted helping Noah to participate in the dance with Grace because siblings and parents were encouraged!) and a song called "It's Easy Being Green" about all the ways you can be kind to the planet.

It was very cute, despite my (really really really) bad footage and pictures.  Kristoffer was traveling and I had Noah and Aya with me.  And we had to leave the house at 6:25 am to get there.  Clearly, I'm excused from any expectations. I was there! And Grace was proud and happy, as usual.  

Poor Footage:

Poor Pictures (they were supposed to wear green and/or white...Grace had neither so chose her favorite and well-worn dress that has a little bit of both!):

LMW