Stephen talked about setting up a separate blog - linked to this one- for our Kenya adventures, but we haven't gotten around to it yet. So here we are, en route to Nairobi. The drive from Iowa up to Minneapolis went fine and we even had a few more horus with my brother, sister-in-law and niece. Then to the airport where there were hardly any people...and onto to a half full plan. Lexi did get a bassinet again and Stephen and I had enough room to stretch out as there were lots of empty seats.
Now we are in the KLM lounge in Amsterdam waiting for the flight from here to Nairobi. We have taken showers, changed clothes and eaten and so are feeling pretty good. Nairobi is practically in this same time zone so we are hoping to adjust today and then be set for tomorrow - yeah, right. Hopefully, we will get a little sleep on the plane and then won't feel too tired on Sunday. I start work on Tuesday but most of our home set up stuff should be done so I am hoping Stephen can handle the rest on his own.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving day with my parents and aunt and uncle. Plenty of traditional food and lots of together time. We do have pics to share but I don't think Stephen has had time to upload them to the links on the blog - so watch this space!
November 24, 2007
November 16, 2007
A Littlier Cousin
Now we are onto stop #4 and Alexandria has met her younger cousin, Sophia. And Sophia is certainly smaller - she is SO light to pick up! It's hard to remember when Lexi was that small. I am starting to get tired of this traveling around - and I think Stephen may be to. We have one week left to go befroe we depart for Nairobi. But we don't get to Nairobi until a week from Sunday, though, so the that trip in itself will be a pain.
We have rented a car in Minneapolis so that we can get around and make the drive to my parents for Thanksgiving. The car (with insurance that we had to get as we don't have any car insurance elsewhere) costs more than Stephen and my domestic US air tickets. Go figure. It is an SUV which seems horribly large but we don't have a lot of extra room with all of our stuff in it.
It's nice to see Brian and Jen - I think it has been over 2 years since we have seen them. That's quite a long time, though I don't think they have changed much - there's just now an additional person in their family! Their new house is very long and they seem to have plenty of space as well as a nice backyard.
November 11, 2007
Comparing babies
You know how when you have kids and they visit a friend's house and play with that friend's toys that your child doesn't have and then your kids come home and tell you that their friend has cooler toys or that you have to buy them the same thing? Well, Lexi isn't old enough to be playing at friends' houses or to have friends of her own in the first place, but something like this happened last night (maybe it happened more to me). We arrived in Chicago yesterday evening and were picked up by our hosts, Randy and Becky, whom we went to church with when we lived here, and I also worked with Becky at the ELCA. They are expecting their first child, also a girl, in just a few weeks, and so have bought and unpacked all the usual baby equipment and toys. We are getting to test some of these baby items out for them and use them for the first time. One piece of equipment is a swing that plays music and lights. Miriam (Sarah's sister) and Andy had the same model (but with a fish theme that played different music) that Lexi used a bit while we visited them in Salt Lake City. Randy and Becky's new swing has a nighttime theme, so in addition to playing various songs, it plays cricket noises and projects star patterns onto a mosquito-netting-type cloth that partially surrounds the seat. For some reason, Lexi has been much more captivated by the swing in Chicago than the one in Salt Lake City. I've never seen her more delighted. She loves sitting in this swing and watching the stars and bear in the mobile above her head go around as well as the stars swirl around her. The look on her face is wonderful - she gets her mouth and tongue moving too. We need to get her something similar in Kenya, and I hope they have a swing like this for sale there. She is definitely at that age where she needs colorful and moving things to look at. We didn't buy much baby equipment and toys for her in Geneva because we knew we would be moving shortly after she was born. But now that we know we will stay put for a while in Nairobi, we'll make some serious purchases of baby furniture and equipment.
Everywhere we are going on this trip, there are other new babies or the anticipation of them. In Seattle, my cousin and his wife recently announced that they are pregnant and expecting a girl, and so there was all sorts of speculation about the name while we were there. In Salt Lake City, we got to meet our niece/Lexi's first cousin for the first time. Olivia was born in February this year so is obviously bigger than Lexi. It was wonderful to meet her and see what Lexi will be like as she continues to grow. It was also interesting to compare the two girls, who have very different temperaments. Lexi is much less fussy than Olivia, even at their different ages. I'm grateful we have such an easy-going baby. I'm really loving this stage that Lexi is in and wonder how it can get any better. She is responsive to people and smiles at anyone when they talk to her. She's also gaining more control over her body - holding her head up and using her hands more. As we saw Olivia and got to know her, I know Lexi will be bigger and more responsive like her in just six months, but I actually said to Sarah that I like Lexi just like this and don't really want her to grow bigger like Olivia. But, of course, there's no way I can prevent that, and I've been assured by Miriam and other mothers that it will get even better. It's just that we have it so good with a good baby that I don't know how it can get better, and I'm slightly worried that it could even go downhill.
When we go next to Minneapolis to visit Sarah's brother and his wife, we will meet our other niece and Lexi's other cousin, Sophia, born just several weeks after Lexi. I'm sure it will be interesting to compare Lexi with Sophia in a stage that we have been in recently ourselves.
But now, for the next few days in Chicago, as we stay with expectant parents Randy and Becky, we are giving them a lot of advice and telling them what it's like to have a newborn. And they're trying out having a baby by having Lexi here - holding her and talking to her. They haven't gone as far as trying to change her diaper yet, however.
As we took off from Salt Lake City yesterday afternoon, after spending a few days with her younger sister and her family, Sarah commented to me that we (us and Miriam and Andy) are all grown up now. We all have started families of our own now and are doing responsible, adult things. I had been struck by this too during our visit with Miriam and Andy - more about them than us. If even younger siblings are doing the same things we're doing - being responsible enough to have and raise children, buying houses, being concerned about investments, fixing cars, running errands on Saturday to keep a household running, and cleaning up the kitchen after everyone has eaten - then that means we've truly become adults ourselves, and it's clear from the family and friends we're visiting on this trip that our peers are doing all of this too. Growing older is unavoidable, I know, but sometimes becoming an adult and taking on all the responsibilities that comes with it takes you by surprise. But when you look around, you realize that everybody else is doing it all too, or that previous generations have all done it before, so it doesn't seem as scary.
Everywhere we are going on this trip, there are other new babies or the anticipation of them. In Seattle, my cousin and his wife recently announced that they are pregnant and expecting a girl, and so there was all sorts of speculation about the name while we were there. In Salt Lake City, we got to meet our niece/Lexi's first cousin for the first time. Olivia was born in February this year so is obviously bigger than Lexi. It was wonderful to meet her and see what Lexi will be like as she continues to grow. It was also interesting to compare the two girls, who have very different temperaments. Lexi is much less fussy than Olivia, even at their different ages. I'm grateful we have such an easy-going baby. I'm really loving this stage that Lexi is in and wonder how it can get any better. She is responsive to people and smiles at anyone when they talk to her. She's also gaining more control over her body - holding her head up and using her hands more. As we saw Olivia and got to know her, I know Lexi will be bigger and more responsive like her in just six months, but I actually said to Sarah that I like Lexi just like this and don't really want her to grow bigger like Olivia. But, of course, there's no way I can prevent that, and I've been assured by Miriam and other mothers that it will get even better. It's just that we have it so good with a good baby that I don't know how it can get better, and I'm slightly worried that it could even go downhill.
When we go next to Minneapolis to visit Sarah's brother and his wife, we will meet our other niece and Lexi's other cousin, Sophia, born just several weeks after Lexi. I'm sure it will be interesting to compare Lexi with Sophia in a stage that we have been in recently ourselves.
But now, for the next few days in Chicago, as we stay with expectant parents Randy and Becky, we are giving them a lot of advice and telling them what it's like to have a newborn. And they're trying out having a baby by having Lexi here - holding her and talking to her. They haven't gone as far as trying to change her diaper yet, however.
As we took off from Salt Lake City yesterday afternoon, after spending a few days with her younger sister and her family, Sarah commented to me that we (us and Miriam and Andy) are all grown up now. We all have started families of our own now and are doing responsible, adult things. I had been struck by this too during our visit with Miriam and Andy - more about them than us. If even younger siblings are doing the same things we're doing - being responsible enough to have and raise children, buying houses, being concerned about investments, fixing cars, running errands on Saturday to keep a household running, and cleaning up the kitchen after everyone has eaten - then that means we've truly become adults ourselves, and it's clear from the family and friends we're visiting on this trip that our peers are doing all of this too. Growing older is unavoidable, I know, but sometimes becoming an adult and taking on all the responsibilities that comes with it takes you by surprise. But when you look around, you realize that everybody else is doing it all too, or that previous generations have all done it before, so it doesn't seem as scary.
November 7, 2007
Cousins
Here we are in Salt Lake City. It is SO good to see Miriam and Andy and meet Olivia. Miriam had to run out for about an hour and so Stephen and I were home alone with the two girls. Stephen decided to take a nap as we had gotten up at 3:30 and Lexi was lying quietly in Olivia's crib. I was playing with Olivia on the floor when Lexi decided that she no longer wanted to lie quietly. I went to comfort her and Olivia decided that she was no longer happy. I spent 10 minutes trying to juggle these two babies - no one was happy! Stephen decided to get up and help me. He took Lexi and I managed to calm down Olivia. This won't be a one-time thing, I think...
November 6, 2007
On to the next stop
Our time in Seattle draws to a close tonight (Tuesday) and early tomorrow morning we leave for Salt Lake City to visit Sarah's sister and her family for a few days. We have had a good time here - relaxing, running errands, visiting with family. And we think the family has had a good time getting to know our daughter. She was certainly the main attraction at an open house on Sunday. It was a mob of people and she seemed to be in every picture that was taken that day. Now we are mostly all on the right time schedule, though Dad and Mom still want to go to bed earlier than usual and then wake up earlier. Hopefully, as we move across the country and the time moves with us, we can get on the right schedule.
Aunt Lora bought Lexi a Halloween outfit. Isn't she a cute pumpkin? We didn't do any trick-or-treating though.
November 1, 2007
Back in the U.S.A.
We have officially left Geneva and are now in the U.S. for a visit. Alexandria did really well with the flights to Seattle. She managed to sleep for quite a while in her basinet on the plane and got lots of attention from other passengers. She was only fussy a little and eating helped that. Now the trouble is figuring out what time zone we are on. Lexi has been going to bed earlier than usual and therefore, thinking that 3:30 in the morning must be the time to get up. That makes it a bit hard on Mom and Dad who aren't sleeping well then either. I usually manage my jet lag through sleeping pills but have not been taking them. So I am hoping that within the next couple of days, we somehow manage to get back to a normal sleeping pattern.
It seems odd to be here - and odd to know that we won't be going back to Geneva. I don't think that will really hit us until we leave for Nairobi. TV here seems mostly ridiculous to me and yesterday at the grocery store, I expected to get my $3 in change back as coins - not bills. So there are definitely some cultural differences that we are noticing. I was also extremely surprised on Halloween and the number of adults in costumes. Haven't seen that in a long while.
It seems odd to be here - and odd to know that we won't be going back to Geneva. I don't think that will really hit us until we leave for Nairobi. TV here seems mostly ridiculous to me and yesterday at the grocery store, I expected to get my $3 in change back as coins - not bills. So there are definitely some cultural differences that we are noticing. I was also extremely surprised on Halloween and the number of adults in costumes. Haven't seen that in a long while.
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