Andy turned 15 months old on Friday! He really is turning into a little man. I was practically absent for 2 weeks while I was giving a training at the hospital to programmers (and then preparing/grading/working all night). So when it was done it really was a surprise to me how much he changed! He is willing to say any word we give him now. And he really wants to do anything that Eden does. If she climbs onto the couch, he’ll climb onto the couch. If she lays down and rolls around, he has to lay down and roll around. If she gets on the bicycle, he, well, pushes her around on the bicycle.

We just now are getting him to say “please” and “thank you”. And “yes” is at least sprinkled in amongst his “no”s. He loves to wave hello and goodbye. He says “mambo” (which is supposed to be “jambo”, swahili for “hi”) or “bye” while doing it and is very happy about it. He loves to push all kinds of buttons (not just Mommy’s): computers, dvd players, and phones are not safe. He likes to point out every “ndege” (bird) that he sees too…and sometimes I have a hard time finding it! He seems to have dropped his morning nap, which is great for Meghan because the kids naps are realigned!

Waiting as patiently as possible for breakfast...

Andy writing some OpenMRS code

Just a quick update on what we have been up to recently.

Ben: Ben led a conference that lasted two really long weeks.  He taught from 8-5 and then came home and worked most evenings until midnight.  He didn’t have a whole lot of time for anything else, but has squeezed in a couple of soccer games, taken out the trash and developed a way for us to have internet at the house.

Meghan: I’ve been busy keeping up with the house, the kids and new friends.  There are always dishes to be done and floors to be swept as well as kids needing to be put down for naps.  I’ve managed to find some time recently to read and have appreciated new friends being willing to run to the store or around town with me to help with the kids.  We have been going to the Sally Test Pediatric Center about once a week and yesterday went to visit three orphanages.

Eden: Eden has been very busy growing up!  As we realized how low we were on pull-ups, we decided it was time for Eden to stop wearing them for her naps.  She doesn’t like going to bed without her milk, but hasn’t had an accident since we started 5 days ago!  Eden also started “school” this week.  Each day during Andy’s morning nap we sit down to do some pages in a preschool work book.  She’s quite proud of herself and is doing really well.  It’s fun watching her think and to see how much she already knows.  She talks about home a lot saying things like, “Remember when Eden went ice skating?” or “When I go home from Kenya, I’m going to the jumping place!” My very favorite is when she talks about people.  She’ll ask me, “Mommy, do you remember my friend Clara?” or “Do you know my Papa?”  However, most important in her mind these days is my birthday.  She really NEEDS to have birthday cake and has been drawing pictures of cakes every day.

Andy: Andy is quickly becoming a big boy.  He is talking much more and runs around like he owns the place.  He’s getting more independent with his eating (which is very sad for the person who has to clean the floors in this family…) and he loves to be outside.  He knows that no matter what, he can do anything that Eden can do!  He’s still easy going and laid back and definitely charms the people in the compound.  He’s always being carried, hugged, thrown in to the air or being given treats by the other people that live here.

Please pray for the adoption process.  It’s taking longer to get things rolling than we anticipated and we’re stuck waiting for approval from the Little Angel’s adoption agency who we have been waiting to hear from since 2009!  Everything else seems to be in place, so once we get over this portion, we’re ready to roll! We know that God has a perfect plan and we’re trusting Him to direct us, but it feels like time is wasting away while we sit here not moving forward.

We really miss some of the conveniences of back home and of course miss our family, but we’ve all adjusted well and are having fun on this little adventure.  Please keep us up to date on your lives at home.  We love hearing about what you all are doing and what exciting things are happening in your lives!

It seems like Andy has changed a lot since we arrived in Eldoret.  He is still very busy and climbs on everything, but he’s more independent and likes to wander and play on his own instead of sticking to my legs all of the time.  He has started going to bed with a toy car.  He doesn’t have a particular one that he likes to sleep with, but he wants one of his matchbox or tonka cars in his hand when we put him in bed.

He has entered into a bit of a shy stage.  I don’t know if that’s just because of his age, or because of all the new faces, but he hides his face against us when new people try to talk to him.  He is used to the Mamlin’s and the women that work in the house (Janet and Maggie) and will let them hold him or play with him.  He learned how to crawl in and out of his pack-n-play and he likes to drag his Twiga and blanket around with him.

He finally figured out how to stand up off the floor instead of crawling to something and pulling himself up.  He also learned how to back down steps.  This is great, except that now he can get out the front door (which is always open) and runs around on the porch by himself.  The other day I found him outside eating berries off a plant.  Ugh!

Andy is talking more.  His new words include saying ‘up’ when he wants picked up, he says Elmo, go go go, hi, Jambo, uh oh and most recently he started saying “no!” which he learned from Ben.  He gets lots of compliments on his eyes and hair and at church there was a little girl who spent about 10 minutes just running her hands through his hair. He was much too busy playing with his car to notice.

We made it! The flight was very uneventful…if you count “sleeping” as an event. Both of them fell sleep early on and things were looking to be smooth sailing (err, flying). However, both woke up within a few hours due to reorienting, some bumps, and other annoying plane noises. 🙁 The last 6 hours seemed more like 16…

BUT we survived and are in the van towards Eldoret! Both kids are sleeping and both parents wish they could!

After waking up Andy caught up on some emails…

Andy is now 13 months and he is changing so quickly these days. He has learned several new words and one more sign. He can say: Mama, Dada, Papa, bye-bye, up, go go go, and he signs ‘more’. Andy is very brave and wants to climb on and over everything. He is bouncing a lot now and is starting to do little dances. He can do some of the motions for The Wheels on the Bus and likes to clap his hands with any song that Eden sings.

Andy is still very happy and easy going although he’s definitely starting to let us know that he has an opinion about things. He loves to play with Eden but every once in a while they get into a little scuffle. Unfortunately for Eden, Andy has a lot of weight behind him these days. Today they were both trying to play with the music table. Andy wanted to use the piano portion and so did Eden. She knocked him down and he pulled himself back to a standing position, pushed in front of her and then sat down, knocking her into a sitting position and placing himself in her lap. I came in to the room when I heard her screaming because she couldn’t get out from under him. 🙂