Emma Hadassah 2 Years 4 Months

This month has flown by! Emma was on a pretty good schedule this month which made our lives a little easier :) She continues to produce more and more sentences and loves to make us laugh.

-Emma loves to sing and dance! She has started to sing some Swahili songs we sing in church and likes to make up her own songs. Her favorite kind of dance party is when she can climb on the coffee table and dance to Alvin and the Chipmunks.

-Emma has a great memory of people who visit us or that she sees on a daily basis. She will randomly ask where grandma, grandpa, and miss Carolyn are (they all visited at the same time), where Mr. Jim and Mrs. Shawn are, and where Mary (our house help), Martha (language helper) and Joy (co-worker) are :)

-She tries to bargain with us now. For example, if she wants to stay in her bath longer she will say “ok momma, two more minutes” I’ll respond with “no Emma it’s time to get out” she then says “ok momma, one more minutes and Emma will get out.”

-Emma loves to help when we cook! Her favorite thing to do is the mixing.

-Emma calls the town we live in Hudududu (Nyahururu).

-She is a bit fearless. She loves to jump from our coffee table to the couch. The other day she fell twice and hit her head on the couch and table. After a few tears she wanted to get back up and try it again. I admired her desire to keep at it even though she fell and got hurt.

-Emma enjoys clearing the table and carrying dishes to the kitchen.

-Emma will ask when we are going to “Niwobi” to check up on baby brother. She is always concerned about him and ask if he is awake or asleep and likes to put her hands on my belly.

-The other day Emma was on my lap in the car crying because she thought someone sat in her carseat.  All the sudden her baby brother kicked and she smiled and said “Bubba kicked me!!” It made her day and she stopped crying.

-When we told Emma we were going back to America in Nov. one of the first things she said was “and GiGi and Paps will take me for donuts!!” Girl after my own heart :)

-A new favorite phrase of hers is “oh that sounds fun!”

-Emma’s favorite song to sing is “Hakuna Matata.”

-Emma has been watching the Lion King lately and the other day she was scared to go into the kitchen because she said there were hyenas in there. I told her the hyenas can’t get her because Jesus was with her and would protect her. She goes “Oh!” then went in the kitchen and said the ‘hyenas’ “Jesus is with me, go away!”

-At night when it’s time to put on her jammies, Emma likes to strip down and run around the house naked yelled “naked baby buns!”

Fun Things We Did This Month:

-This month we had both pastor appreciation day and bishop appreciation day. Emma enjoyed playing with all the kids and eating her weight in chapatis.

-Took a trip to Nairobi to check up on baby brother! While in Nairobi, we took Emma to play on a new playground. She LOVED it! It took her a little bit to warm up to the big slides and to get the courage to do things on her own but after two hours we had a hard time getting her to leave.  When we were ready to leave Emma did not want to go so I asked if she wanted some ice cream…she wasn’t interested. Next, I asked if she wanted and smoothie and she said “Yes!” and was ready to leave :)

-We have been soaking up the warmer afternoons here. Emma has gotten to play in her little pool almost every day. She really wants to learn how to swim but sadly her pool is only ankle deep. Maybe one day we will have a bigger pool kiddo!

Tot School:

-Tot school was great this month! Emma learned her days of the week and months of the year. I have figured out that if I turn something into a song she will catch on quickly.  We are working on recognizing numbers and letters now. She still loves the art part of tot school. She loves to paint and color and just being creative. 

Pictures from this month:

 

 

 

 

 

Emma Hadassah 2 Years 3 Months

It has been so much fun to watch Emma grow lately. Her personality is coming out more and more each day. Here are some fun highlights from this past month. Hope you enjoy :)

Emma has started to say more Swahili words. She doesn’t always know when to say them but it’s cute watching her try. Her favorite words right now are Kuja (come), Karibu (welcome), Asante (thank you), and Tuonane (see you).

Emma LOVES to play in the water. Since the days have been much warmer lately we pulled out her little pool and surprised her one day after nap. She was over the moon excited and now ask to go swimming every day.

Saturdays are dance day! Emma started taking ballet classes in Nakuru last week. At her first class she hung out on the side with me and watched the other kids. Every once in a while she would try and do what the teacher was doing. I think after she gets use to the other kids and the teacher she will be prancing all over the house :)

While out in the village one day, Emma enjoyed chasing the little kids around and pointing out who her mommy and daddy were.

She loves to know peoples full names. She can say her full name and on occasion calls me, Kenzi and her dad, Mark. She also knows her baby brothers full name.

Emma woke up one morning yelling “Mark! Mark!” It was cute.

She loves airplanes and points them out in the sky when she sees them or hears them.

Emma gets super excited when we have visitors over to stay or just for dinner. She will say “they are coming to see me!”

When Mark goes outside to feed the dogs, Emma runs to her room, climbs on her bed, and looks out her window. She then yells at the pups to come see her.

One Sunday, we met with our married couple fellowship group from church at Lake Olbolosat. Emma got to take her first boat ride! She was so excited about it! We went out looking for Hippos, didn't see any, but Emma had a blast on the boat!

While at the lake, Emma would hold her friend Joy like a baby.

We took Emma out to try frozen yogurt for the first time. She especially enjoyed adding all the toppings!

Fun Things We Did This Month:

This month some TMS staff came to visit us! Emma loved having Mrs. Shawn here. They would read together, play with her toys, and do puzzles. Emma was in heaven. It was super sweet. She also got to go and get ice cream with Mr. Jim!

We went to Nairobi to check up on baby brother earlier this month. While in town we got to visit with our friends Sonia and Sonji. Emma loves playing at their house because they have blocks and a monkey doll named Sally who she gets to play with.

We visited Home of the Good Shephard (children’s home with GGFAN-our Kenyan partner organization) one evening and the kids all sang for us. Emma thought it was the coolest thing and kept trying to sing with them and do the hand motions too.

Tot School:

We are back in a routine with Tot School! Emma and I both have been loving it this month! We are in our third week and she already has learned her months of the year, can tell you what month we are in, can say the sounds for the letters A, B, and C, and knows her bible verse. She has loved the art projects and singing all the songs for the month. Our theme is Apples and soon we will be making an apple pie together :)

We have been working on counting to 20 and recognizing alphabet letters. It is so much fun to watch her learn! 

*Sorry for no Tot School pics this month! We were having too much fun to grab the camera :)

 

 

 

 

 

Emma Hadassah 2 Years 2 Months

This month has been super fun as Mark’s parents and our friend Carolyn were in town. Emma LOVED having them around to play with her and chase her around the house with the broom. Here are some fun things from this month.

Emma talked her grandpa into coloring in her big box with her. She very much enjoyed doing this every evening while the rest of us made dinner.

We have been working on recognizing the alphabet while we sing it. I made a felt ABC board for Emma and she has really enjoyed it :)

Emma is forming more and more sentences. Her new favorite phrase: “There, that’s perfect!” And when she eats will say “Mmm, that’s good!”

While watching the Olympics Emma would look for the Jesus statue and say “Where did Jesus go?” When they showed it again she would say “There He is! I found Him! He’s Alive!”

Emma likes to put her hands on my belly and say ‘hello bubba!’ I love you!” and kiss it :)

She loves to take pictures of us with our phones and her play phone.  The majority of the pictures are of our feet, the ceiling, our hand….you get the idea.

She loves singing. Most of her songs are about what she sees while she is singing.

Emma is getting pickier about what she wants to eat. However, if there is ketchup she can dip her food in she will most likely eat it.

Her imagination is growing every day. She likes to ‘make’ us chocolate cake and tea and likes to pretend we are sleeping so she can cover us with blankets.

She is scared of my blow dryer and will close our bedroom door, the hall door, and her tot school room door (our house has a million doors) so she can’t hear it.

Fun Things We Did This Month:

We got to pick Mark’s parents up at the airport in Nairobi with a fun sign Emma decorated. We got to hang out with them for two weeks. Emma LOVED having them hear and playing with them.

We had our 20 week ultrasound and found out Emma will have a baby BROTHER in Dec!!

We had some friends over for a cooking day! Emma and her friend Mary enjoyed eating the cinnamon rolls.

We visited an orphanage and school and did medical checkups on the kids. Emma enjoyed helping Grandma and passing out the suckers at the end.

Tot School July/Aug:

This month we have been working on singing the alphabet and seeing the letters at the same time. We have also been working on color recognition. Emma is doing a lot better with her colors and 8 times out of 10 gets it right. We have started to count to 20. She generally tells us ‘no’ and makes us start back at 1. We did a fun science experiment this month where we got to watch yellow and blue make green! Emma loves to draw circles and loves to count just about anything. However, she usually only counts to 5. 

 

 

 

Dating Your Spouse without Leaving the House

Before Mark and I moved our little family to Kenya we greatly enjoyed our date nights. It was a time for us to get away without Emma and invest in each other and our marriage. We both knew that going on dates once we moved here was going to be a challenge as we do not have a babysitter and there aren’t really a lot of places we can go here on dates. Regardless of all that, we decided we were going to plan a weekly date night and get creative!

Our date night is generally on Wednesday which also happen to be our family day. We take turns planning the date which makes it fun and exciting as the other does not know what to expect. Our dates start once Emma has gone to bed, somewhere between 8pm-9pm.

We have had a lot of fun planning the activities and being creative. Our dates have included game nights, taking a ‘trip’ to NYC, London, and Greece, and camps-outs. We have done themed dates that were for F.R.I.E.N.D.S., the Divergent series, and St. Patrick ’s Day.  We have had food dates such as ice cream tasting and a wine and cheese night. 

 

 

Most of our inspiration for our dates come from TheDatingDivas.com. It is a great resources for people living abroad who cannot always go out for a date but also great for those who are able to get an evening away. 

While Mark's parents were in town we got to go on our first date in Kenya. They kindly watched Emma so we could celebrate our anniversary. Having the opportunity to go out just the two of us meant more to us than they probably know. We spent the afternoon eating delicious Italian food (that actually stayed warm for the whole meal), holding hands, talking about life, and investing in our marriage. It was an afternoon well spent! 

It's not always easy dating your spouse in another country due to lack of babysitter, restaurants/activities, or the fact that people in your host country do not really date their spouses, but it's 100% worth all the effort!! 

Emma Hadassah 2 years 1 month

Emma is now forming more and more sentences that actually make sense. Her vocabulary is expanding daily in both English and Swahili. She very much enjoys playing with her friends at church and loves when they come over to play at the house. Emma is very curious about life and loves learning new things. Here are a few fun things from this month J

I don’t have to worry about telling people I am pregnant anymore because Emma is doing a great job at it for me. She puts her hands on my belly and says really loud where everyone can hear ‘momma, the baby is in there!’ Then tries to explain that there is a baby in her belly too…

Emma has started to sing along to some of her favorite TV shows like Peppa Pig and Daniel Tiger. It’s super cute.

When we go on family walks she prefers to not be held anymore but to walk herself. She will say “Emma can carry herself” or “Emma can walk”

She is in love with muffins.

Emma let me braid her hair for the first time!

Her lamb and two puppy stuffed animals are her favorite.

If you ask her how old she is she says three.

She loves giving us hugs and telling us she loves us. I hope she never out-grows this.

Emma will wrap her arms around my belly and then say she is hugging the baby then gives it kisses and say “oh baby, I love you!”

Her favorite time of day is bath time…little fish.

When she wakes up from her nap and we ask her if she had a good nap she responds with “Yes, I have good nap with my animals in my bed.”

Emma always has a song in her heart and sings all the time.

We tried potty training this month….Emma went potty on the big girl toilet once and we all celebrated by eating some chocolate.

Emma loves corn….like really loves corn.

Emma is now using the word ‘maybe.’ I asked her if her lamb was in her bed after her nap and she responded ‘maybe.’

She loves to sing prayers before we eat a meal :)

Fun Things We Did This Month:

Our pastor’s daughter has started coming down to watch Emma a few afternoons a week so Mark and I can get some work done. Emma is still warming up to having Sharleen around but is adjusting pretty well.

We visited a village school about an hour away from where we live and while there Emma thought it was so funny to wave at the kids and see their reaction. However, if they got too close and touched her she would freak out J

Our friends Beatrice Williamson and her cousin Velma came to visit this month.  Emma loved having Velma around to play with her for 3 whole days.

Tot School June/July:

We are working back into a routine of Tot School.  We have been doing small things lately with crafts, exploring in the Kitchen, and outside activities. We are focusing on her learning her colors now. She can match them well but still mixes up the names.  Emma painted her first picture on a canvas. She LOVED it. Since she is getting more interested in butterflies we did a little lesson and craft about how caterpillars turn into butterflies. She enjoyed the craft but I am pretty sure she still thinks it’s how the caterpillar makes itself a little home then comes out with wings J

Some Pics from this Month:

 

 

Shine Your Light Jesus

We are currently visiting different communities to see where the Lord may be leading us to work, help empower and invest in for His glory.  Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit a school in a town called Rumuruti. It is about 30-ish minutes away from where we live.  The school is located just outside of town close to a few villages.  We visited a nursery school which has nursery classes (starting around age 3) up to class eight (about 14-15 years old). The school had students primarily from the Turkana tribe but also had kids from the Kalenjin Tribe, and a few from the Kikuyu Tribe.

One of our pastor friends who works at the school during the week as a class seven teacher showed us around and introduced us to the head master. They informed us there are just under 500 students at the school and only 9 regular teachers. I am sure you can do the math to figure out the ratio of teachers to students. There is a lack of teachers throughout the country which makes it hard for public schools to spread out all the work and make sure each student is learning the best they can. Many of the teachers teach multiple classes and subjects.

The nursery class was the fullest and had students ages 3-5. There were just under 50 kids in the nursery class and only one teacher.  She divided the class in half and while she was teaching one half the others would wait outside until they could come in for their chance to learn.

While there we noticed most of the kids did not have a uniform. Most of the families in the villages are not able to afford school uniforms. This school has graciously allowed the kids to come to school without their uniforms because they know they would not come to school otherwise.

We were surprised to see the school had a feeding program. All of the teachers made a decision to use some of the money the government gives the school to help feed the kids lunch. This money does not come around all the time.  On days there is no food, a large amount of students do not show up for class. While we were there, the kids got to enjoy maze and beans for their lunch. This is what they have on a normal basis but some days there are no beans so the kids only eat the maze. We noticed that many were carrying their lunch home. The head masters informed us that the kids will take their lunch home so their siblings can eat some too as this is generally the only meal they will get all day.

After we visited the school we took a drive to a few villages where the kids live. We saw how far some of them will walk to school and observed that most of them walk barefoot. We saw where they collect their water at the school and how the whole community uses it, the mommas wash clothes in it, the people bath in it, and everyone including the cows drink from it.

Every time we go out to visit a community I am reminded of how much need there is just in this town of Rumiruti.  The need is great and resources are few. People so badly want to have hope that something better will come but they are too busy worrying about surviving today. My heart breaks every time we visit these places. I find myself asking Jesus to show up in mighty ways.  I ask Him to come and help these people and shine a light in a community where it has been dimmed for so long.

Please join us in prayer for this community and school and for discernment as we seek the Lord’s confirmation as to where He is calling us to join Him.