Will I Ever Sleep?

Towards the end of March, Ryan was not sleeping well at all. No new teeth appear to be coming in. Most times he would wake up I could find no real reason. Sure there was the occasional (too frequent in my mind) loud nice that would wake him up, but most of the time I had no idea why he would decide to scream instead of sleep.
I have always believed that Ryan has the potential to be a good sleeper. While things like crying it out didn't work for Justin, I felt that Ryan was different. Unfortunately, to allow him to do this disturbs Justin. It is bad enough to have one of them up in the night, but to start a cycle where both of them are up and cranky is more than I was willing to handle. This past week Ryan finally pushed me to the point of trying the cry it out method with him.
Now Justin would cry and cry until he would either throw up or he would fall asleep pulled up to the bars in the crib, fall over, and then wake up again. Ryan likes to fling his body around violently. He will hit his head or manage to hurt himself and get bruised up. I didn't care. I was going to let him scream his high pitched, blood curdling, I-am-going-to-die scream. Ten minutes later, there was a loud crash followed by brief silence and then continuation of the screaming. TB mastered the art of climbing out of his crib.
Because he has been such a climber, this probably shouldn't be such a surprise. He has always been too zoned out in his crib to try it. Often in the night he would stand in the crib and face the wall while calling for me. Sometimes he would just be in there sitting, too groggy to even get his balance. No longer! We have graduated to a toddler bed now, like it or not.
The first night was very rough. By the third and fourth night, things weren't so bad. He may choose to initially fall asleep on the floor rather than his bed, but he does fall asleep. I sit in the room until he doses off. Ryan has only gotten up once for each of the past two nights. J
Unfortunately, now it is Justin's turn to not sleep. He got me up FOUR times on Saturday night and three times last night. Half the time I can't understand what he is saying. Last night he told me that he wanted his mommy. Uh-huh. I told him I was Mommy and that seemed to satisfy him so he could go back to sleep for awhile. Tiny also sometimes cries in the night and will then push me away and call for Mommy. These boys just have sleep issues. Great. By the time they start sleeping well regularly, I will probably no longer be able to sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time. L
Is it a wonder that I am in such a brain fog half of the time?

Religious Confusion?

I had been trying to explain to Rob where something was in Namibia and of course he knows street names and I know landmarks.  I thought that the white and baby blue mosque would be a good landmark he would know, but it wasn't.  Only fair I guess since it turns out the street is Sam Nujoma, a major street here.  I should have know that, but I digress...

Islamic Center and Quba Mosque, Windhoek

     As we were approaching the intersection, I pointed out the small corner grocery store that carries limes and fresh cilantro as well as a few other hard to find things.  Justin noticed the mosque and wanted to know what it was.  I told him that it was a mosque, a kind of church.  He wanted to go to that church.  I tried to explain to him that there are lots of different churches and that this church was not ours, it was for Muslims.  All of this, of course, going over his head.

He insisted that he is a Muslim.  I told him that he was not.  He became upset with me and said that I called him a Muslim when we lived in Japan.  This had me quite puzzled.  I could not think of why he would think that.  Seemed pretty random to me.  I could not come up with any possible scenario in which I would call him a Muslim.  He had to clarify for me. 

"Mom, you used to call me the Muslim when I was little!"  That statement was enough to help me figure it out.  Justin's nickname for a long time was Muzz or The Muzz.  His memory, connections, and misunderstandings amaze me.  What a sweet little Muzz he is. :)

Easter Party

So, pretty obvious who didn't like the Easter Bunny. I figured that we should have a picture taken anyway. This is a snapshot of how it was for TB at Easter. Justin, on the other hand, was a bit amused. He told me that it wasn't a real rabbit, just a person playing hide-and-seek in a costume. Luckily he didn't look for the person. That would have been a bit  awkward.    

Justin had a blast dying eggs. Next week we will be dying some at home. I am hoping that the novelty of egg dying has passed and he will be able to choose more colors than blue AND be able to keep his hands out of the dye. His hands remained quite blue today. Always lovely.

All the egg hunting, egg dying, and eating, must have worn him out because Justin took a nice nap.  Too bad his brother didn't follow his lead.  Too bad Justin didn't want to go to bed tonight because he had a nap.  Sigh.

Easter Bunny's On Its Way

Tomorrow we are going to an Easter party.  We will see if the boys have a good time or are too freaked out by an Easter Bunny the size of an adult human.  Hopefully we will have some cute pictures to put up for tomorrow.  For today, here is a picture of the cookies Justin and I made.  How great is it to have a little kid?  Me making them with him is fun and cute.  A woman in her 30s who is not particularly talented in the area of cooking is a bit strange.  See, he makes what could be strange and turns it into fun and cute.
The bunny face cookie cutter was something that my mom sent us along with other Easter goodies.  Thanks, Mom!  We didn't use the flower cookie cutter yet though.  It is more of a spring kind of thing and I am afraid that fall is definitely on its way.  Still dark at 6:00 am and right now (6:30ish pm) I am watching a gorgeous sunset.  I know they will be fun to decorate in the spring though, and TB will be old enough to help!

Smarter than Mommy?

Ryan already thinks that he can outsmart Mommy.  Sadly enough, he often can.  He loves to torment his brother, so I try to keep him away from his big brother whenever Justin is in the bathroom or doing something quietly in his bedroom.

The bedroom area in our house consists of a long, narrow hallway with the master bedroom on one end, Justin's room on the other, and Ryan's room, the boy's bathroom, and the half bath on one side.  The half bath is in a bit deeper than the other rooms, and we have a linen closet and the dirty clothes hamper tucked inside that little nook.

When Ryan is annoying his brother, I yell at him, chase him, shoo him away, or something of the sort.  He has determined that the wisest course of action is to leave when asked, hide out in the little nook, and once I have walked past him, return to annoying his brother.  This plan worked only a couple of times (at least that I know of!) before I caught on.  See, he will probably have to be at least 18 months before he can fool me all of the time! 

One time when I chased him out of the bathroom and he hid in his clever little hiding spot, I continued past him just a little bit and then turned to wait to see what he did.  The look of smugness on his face was priceless, as was the look when he realized that he had been caught.  Sneaky little boy!  We both laughed!

A couple of times when I have been singing to him before a nap or bed, he has pretended to be asleep.  I don't know what the point of that is.  I put him in his crib and leave.  He gets ticked off and we begin the process again.  Guess he doesn't think all of his plans through yet.  That's okay, neither do I.

Ryan continues to amaze me with how much he understands.  He knows where things belong, he knows what he should and shouldn't be doing, and he knows how to at least try to be sneaky.  He is stubborn and fights to get what he wants.  He will intentionally injure himself for attention.  I can just see his little thought process. "Oh, Mommy isn't giving me undivided attention.  I will show her by flinging my body backwards into space and hitting my head and doing heaven only knows what else in the process.  My fake cry is lousy, but if I am hurt I can sure shriek.  Maybe there will even be blood or bruising..."

Justin Be Nimble!

Since the boys both continue to enjoy the nursery rhyme Jack Be Nimble, I decided to have Justin make his own little candlestick.  He painted a paper plate and a toilet paper tube.  You can see in the picture that we only had a leftover birthday paper plate.  I cut the center out, as the plate was so big, and used some of the outer edge as the holder for the candleholder.  After the paint dried, I cut the bottom of the toilet paper tube so I could staple it to the plate.  I also stapled on the handle.  I know, that means that Justin wasn't doing it himself, but who really wants to deal with a frustrated 3 year old?  We added some torn tissue paper as a flame.  Yay!  I wonder how many days hours it will last before one or both boys destroy it?  I kind of hope soon so I can throw it out before it becomes a sacred treasure.  We have a small pillar candle that we use to act out the rhyme so we don't need anymore clutter.  I just thought that Justin would enjoy painting a little bit and creating something.  I also printed out the words to the nursery rhyme and cut them out so he could try to put it in order.  Simple enough that he doesn't need to be able to read the words, just know the rhyme and use initial sounds to help him paste them in the right location.

Guess it is time to come up with another nursery rhyme.  I am getting sick of this one.  We did Baa, Baa Black Sheep awhile back ago, but it wasn't as much fun.  You ever try acting that one out?  Boooooooring!  Maybe Little Miss Muffet or something.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and...

TB enjoys singing (listening) and moving to songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" so I try to get Justin to sing along with me.  It is cute to watch Ryan try to imitate his brother.  Sometimes Justin gets tired with it before Ryan does.  When this happens, he has to find a way to liven up the song.  This usually means modifying a song, always in a way he finds silly.  This week the song became "Med, moulders, mees, and moes" until Justin decided that lacked the silliness he was aiming for.  I was so proud of myself for keeping a straight face when he started to sing "Head, shoulders, knees, and penis" with accompanying movements.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  I can only hope that the absence of a reaction on my part means we won't have to hear that version too often.

And, as you may note, Ryan has also taken to wearing Justin's underwear on his head.  Got to be just like his older brother.  Lovely.

Mr Observant

Today one of my projects was to go through the bag of keys we got when we moved into our house.  Some were labeled, many were not.  I pulled out my handy dandy label maker (a gift a few years ago from my friend, Lisa) and got to work labeling the keys.

Our bedroom and bathroom doors have the old fashioned European keys.  Now I know most people just leave them in the lock, but not us.  Our first night here, Justin locked himself in the bathroom and couldn't figure out how to UNlock the door.  We removed the keys.  While I doubt he would repeat the incident, Ryan might.  Even if no one got locked in, keys would likely get removed and put in a special safe place never to be seen again.

Now believe it or not, there are times when we MIGHT want to keep the kids out of the bedroom or bathroom.  Since Ryan has now learned to open doors (stupid easy to open handles instead of knobs), it seemed wise to have keys reasonably accessible.  A hook on the back of our bedroom door is an ideal place.  Less than an hour after I had added the keys to the hook, Ryan came to me and took me to the door.  He pointed up to the keys and made unhappy grunting noises.  He doesn't miss a thing.  It makes it very hard to put anything past him.

Tiny's Vocabulary at 15 Months

When Justin went  in for his 18 month check up, I was hard pressed to come up with 10 words that he could say.  I started carefully keeping a log to watch how his vocabulary was growing.  Before long, I could no longer keep track of everything he could say.  His vocabulary had expanded greatly and included being able to identify all uppercase letters and most lowercase letters (stupid b,d,p,q) before he was two years old. 

I don't know if TB (Tiny Baby) will be such a lover of the alphabet, but at 15 months he has a bigger vocab than his brother did.  I guess I won't have to worry when the 18 month check up rolls around.  Right now he can (meaningfully) say: 

1. mama
2. dada
3. baba (bottle even though it is a sippy cup now)
4. ball
5. baby
6. bye-bye
7. go (and something that I think is  supposed to be "ready, set")
8. bee-bo (The word used for belly button in the Sandra Boynton Belly Button book)
9. there you go (In addition to obvious meaning it also means he wants something.  He will point and say it over and over until you give him what he wants and say it to him.)
10. thank you (his response to you giving him something and saying there you go to him)
11. peek-a-boo
12. uh-oh
13. moo (for cow and other cow like animals)
14. woof (for dog and other dog like animals)
15. roar (for dinosaurs, lions, and other roaring type animals)
16. where are you
17. light
18. tickle
19. goo goo (I think it is supposed to be choo choo since he says it when he plays with trains)

That's all I can think of.  He sure has pointing, grunting, fake crying, and screaming down too.

Viola?

Okay, I know that I make lots of spelling and grammar mistakes.  As I type into my blog right now, I realize that I don't even know where the spell check function is located now that I have changed formats.  You are going to get a lot of mistakes.  That does not change one of my pet peeves.  I absolutely can't stand when people write (or even worse say) "viola" when "voila" is what they really mean.  I don't care if the voila has an accent mark or not, but people, the two words are very different.  A viola is an instrument in the violin family or a flower similar to a pansy.  Voila is an interjection that is defined by Merriam-Webster as "used to call attention, to express satisfaction or approval, or to suggest an appearance as if by magic" in their online dictionary.  Some may argue that it is an easy typo to make.  Perhaps sometimes it is indeed a typo, but I think far more often it is people not having a clue what the word really is.  Maybe I should clean the kitchen or take a zoloft instead of worrying about it. 

Growing Like Weeds!

I just changed my poopy baby and he wanted new clothes too.  As I was looking for a shirt to go with the pants he pulled out, I realized that he is growing SO fast!  I put on an 18 months shirt and he is almost too big for it.  Now sizes are inconsistant and he even has a couple of shirts labeled as 9 months that he wears, but it looks like 24 months/2T is the new shirt size for him.  Of course in pants some of the 12 months are still a plenty big around the waist but getting short.  It looks like I will have a whole pile of winter size 12 months clothes that he will outgrow without ever wearing.  Thank you Southern Hemisphere for messing me up with that!  In theory, having boys both born in December should make hand-me-downs work perfectly.  Not really sure what the winter will be like here.  Not snow and ice, but we won't be running around outside in shorts either.  At least the clothes he won't ever wear are all hand-me-downs worn by at least one other child.  I am sure that there are PLENTY of charities here who can use whatever we have to pass along.

I looked for some pictures of the suburb of Windhoek called Katatura, but don't like to steal people's pictures.  Because I have not yet been, I don't have any of my own.  Here is a link to some that I found:

Katatura 

The pictures were uploaded on 1 February so they are recent.  Looks like the photographer went so some interesting places.  We haven't traveled much yet.  As you can see from the pictures, might be more enjoyable to do some touring without the children or with some additional adult assistance.  Come and visit and we can see some of the country and area together!

Practice Clock or Folding Clothes?

Okay, right now I am watching my boys and (obviously) typing away on my laptop.  I need to stay here or I am sure they will start fighting, become incredibly lonely for me, or something.  That's just the way it goes.  So I should be folding the mountain of clothes before me, and I am sure that I will, but I decided that first I would work on a clock for Justin.  Now Justin has a large Judy Clock and some smaller Judy Clocks so it isn't like he is without one to use, but I thought that if he had one with numbers he could put on that it might add a little something new and be something we could have him play with on the go.

I will print out the clock and the numbers sheets and then cut out pieces as necessary before laminating.  I will choose out a set of clock hands and then use a brad to attach them to the clock face.  I will choose a set of numbers to use as well and apply velcro to the backs of them and to the blanks on the clock.

Will he like it?  He will either love it so much he wants to sleep with it, or be completely indifferent.  You can never tell with that kid.

Potty Training

This week I was talking with my parents, my sister, my brother, and my sister-in-law.  It was almost 7 AM on Monday for me here in Namibia, around midnight for my sister in New York, and a little before 9 PM on Sunday night for everyone else.  Through the 'magic' of skype we were able to talk for free and spend a little time together as a family catching up.


Catching up included an update on Justin's potty training.  He is doing really well.  He wears a pull-up at night because he doesn't stay dry through the night.  I also make him wear one if we are going to be out  and about for an extended period of time.  In the US I would probably just drag him into store bathrooms when I thought it might be close to time for him to go, but here in Namibia... Well let's just say I am never really sure what facilities, if any, may exist.


I am crazy about charts and Justin seems to be the same way.  We have charts for when he says his prayers, when he reads a book, when he follows the rules, and, of course, when he uses the bathroom.  He loves getting to the end of the row or finishing a chart and moving on to a new one.  He counts to see how many spaces are left on a chart and comes up with a plan for how he will finish it.  My sister, Meredith, came up with an idea that I loved--a chart that lists number of days without an accident.  You know the signs you see up by construction sites, at the gates of military bases, along dangerous highways, and probably any other number of places.  How could I not love the idea?

This is what I came up with.  I used Mayer Johnson Boardmaker because I happen to own the program and it was already open in a window on my computer.  I found some construction related graphics at http://www.donotenter.com/cool/ucgraphics/index.htm and http://www.free-clipart-pictures.net/construction_clipart.html and went a bit overboard with my creation.  I will print out the sign and some numbers, laminate them, and then change the numbers to reflect the number of days my boy has successfully used the toilet, night time excluded.  I have a feeling that he will love it!

Busy Boys at Work

Sometimes Justin can be so cute. He can entertain himself playing and be fun to observe. Once he knows he is being watched he changes his behavior just a bit though. I have wanted to get him doing his hammer play for some time now, but haven't been very successful.

TB, of course, wants to be JUST like his brother.

I -Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Boogies!

Justin was playing with his toy food, making a great party for me. Tiny was also present, though he was more of an uninvited guest. Justin asked me if I would like boogies on my ice cream.

"Boogies on my ice cream?" I asked.

"Yes, because I think that I took some boogies from my nose and squeezed them on the ice cream and then said ha ha ha and moved away from left to right so do you want boogies on your ice cream or no?" he explained.

I guess I should just be glad that it isn't real food.

Seahorse Love

I know, you are wondering how I managed to get such a flattering shot of myself. You have to do what you have to do so I had TB and the seahorse in one hand and the camera in the other.

Justin had (and still has once the rest of our stuff arrives in Namibia!) a Playskool glow worm that he quite liked. I am a fan of the glow worm too, but it does have some flaws. I hate that it plays music for such a short period of time. The new and improved sea horse will play for a full five minutes. It also has two volume settings and an on/off switch.

Grandma got TB the seahorse. When Justin saw it, he loved it too. What a surprise. I think it will be a keeper. Ryan thinks it is cute and I hope that it helps soothe him. Last night, however, it did not. He noticed how bright it glows when there is no other light in the room and took that opportunity to play peek-a-boo with it. He would cover it up with his blanket, pull the blanket down, say "peek-a-boo" and laugh. It would have been a lot cuter at a more reasonable hour of the day.

NOT a Fan!

I just removed myself as a fan from a Facebook page that suggested ideas from the following blog entry:
http://www.freeshipping.org/blog/40-eco-friendly-ways-to-repurpose-household-items

I wasn't sure if it was a bad joke to rave about some of the ideas. Sure, I have been known to make lists on the back of junk mail envelopes. Why not? There is usually junk mail lying around. But to scratch out the address and use for my own mail? I don't think so Tip #17!

#22 Use old light bulbs inside of socks as a darning egg? I confess I had my grandma darn a pair of socks for me. I really, really liked the socks and couldn't find another pair like them. I don't know a lot of people who darn socks. I don't know that it is cost effective. Do people have to take a day off of work to have time to darn socks? If you don't want to be wasteful can't you find other uses for your old socks and buy new ones? I use old socks as disposable rags. Maybe people find that idea strange.

Ideas #18, 19, and 21 involve reusing boxes etc. for kids to play with. That I can understand. My kids often like the box as much as the toy inside. I know both of my children have enjoyed pushing around their diaper boxes (both full and empty). Covering boxes with patterned contact paper though? How much does that cost? How long are these 'toys' going to be around?

#14 suggests saving dryer lint (because it is highly flammable) and stuffing it in empty toilet paper rolls and using as a fire starter. Great. I envision people everywhere saving piles and piles of dryer lint.

#38 recommends using old toothbrushes for cleaning. Uh oh. I do that. Maybe I will be following all of the suggestions before too long.

I hope you are not in such financial shape that you have to reuse your envelopes or use cereal box liners in place of wax paper. If you are trying to make a difference for the environment, there are other ways to do it. Personally, I think that most Americans like to do little things and feel all warm and fuzzy about being 'green' while it hardly even makes a dent. In Japan we had to sort our garbage into a million (okay, not that many) different types. http://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/kurasi/gomi/bunbetu/download/files/tirasi_English.pdf
You willing to do that?

Here in Namibia, things are packaged very differently. It isn't necessarily attractive, but there is a lot less waste. Do you buy your lotion in a bag? You really don't need another bottle if you already have one. Refills in particular are not grabbing your attention as you walk down the aisle.

Go ahead and feel all warm and fuzzy because you reused your Styrofoam meat tray for giving neighbors baked goodies at Christmas (tip #36). Go ahead and leave me off your baking list. I probably don't want to visit your house either. You probably have a lot of junk lying around. Or maybe your house is made out of all the stuff you so frugally repurposed.

Clueless

The other day while I was sitting in the playroom with Justin, I mentioned that we might have some friends over for dinner. He immediately got his brain in gear, trying to figure out where people could sit. He was telling me how we could 'scootch' the table and someone could sit by TB and someone could sit by Daddy. I told him that I thought we would eat in the dining room. Obviously this is something we have not done yet here. He looked at me with a puzzled expression. I repeated that we could eat at the dining room table.
"There's a table in the dining room?" he responded.
I assured him that there was and encouraged him to check. He ran out of the room and returned a moment later.
"Mommy, you were right! There is a table in the dining room!"
I asked him how many chairs. He again ran to check, and was amazed there there are eight chairs at the table. He didn't mention the two other chairs in the dining room on either side of the china cabinet. I figured it was a big enough shock to discover that there is table in the dining room. He was bound to notice it sometime, right? I mean, we haven't been here quite two months yet.

Facebook Apologies

To all my blog readers who are NOT my facebook friends, I apologize for not writing more often. I fought long and hard before getting "into" facebook. I think that FB is, in many ways, a way of keeping in touch that says, "hey, I am interested in what you are up to, but don't care enough to write, call, or send an e-mail!" I still think that is quite often true. I have discovered that it does allow me to keep in touch with people I would not otherwise. Let's face it, I can't even keep my blog up to date, I am behind in responding to e-mails. Perhaps FB isn't such a bad idea. I also thought (correctly) that it would be an easier way to upload pictures of my boys for me mom to see. It is a pain for me to do on my blog and it seemed that my mom always had trouble with flickr. (No offense, Mom!) I have found that I can use FB to quickly send a link to a friend, to share a quick thought, or to let people know that my day is NOT going well. I would hardly send an e-mail out to everyone I know to say that I broke my baby toe! I also enjoy hearing quick updates about what other people are doing. Hearing other people's highs, lows, and day-to-day events helps me feel like I am not the only one who goes through some of these things. So, though it was completely unintentional, I am a facebook user. I will try to keep up with my blog and e-mail. If you want more frequent updates, add me as a facebook friend. Chances are I would like to hear what you are doing too!

Today was quite a day. I decided to make tortillas and had to fight off the ants right while I was making them! My spray bottle broke so I have not been as diligent about vinegaring the counters (more on vinegar later). I was able to keep on the winning side of that fight. :) Then right AFTER mopping the kitchen floor, I discovered two ants in the pantry. Two ants, you may think, is not a big deal. With our current ant situation I doubted that those two were alone. I mean, how often do you hear of only TWO ants hanging out together? I wanted to get the pantry under control as soon as possible, so I started wiping down the shelves with vinegar. I love using vinegar because it helps with ant control AND it isn't harmful to my kids. As I am moving things and wiping down shelves, I DROP a container of sugar and it goes ALL OVER! Now in the best of circumstances that is not a pleasant situation, but on a still damp kitchen floor... Let's just say that sticky sugar floor is not something that I think will help me in the war with the ants. I tried to clean it up as best as I could. In the meantime, the ants were making off with the crumbs from the boys' lunch because I did not IMMEDIATELY sweep and/or vacuum the area by their table. Sigh. Of course I had some help too.

At least Justin and Ryan were decent human beings while I tried to take charge of the kitchen. I didn't get some of today's other chores done, but that's okay. Then Justin decided to go to the bathroom, squat BESIDE the toilet, and poop his pants. Lovely. We got a later start on potty training than is ideal because of our move, but he has been doing great. Last week his big boy underwear arrived and he has been doing well staying dry during the day. A new Duncan train is now sitting in the bathroom, just waiting for Justin to poop in the toilet instead of his underwear. Justin seems motivated. When the time comes, we shall see. He loves his big boy underwear!

Probably the highlight of my day has been that I got to take Excedrin for my headache. I have weened TB! For the past month I have been nursing him only in the wee hours of the morning because it is so much easier to pull him into bed with me at 5:00 AM and lift up my shirt and go back to bed than to make a bottle. A little sad to lose that bond with my baby, but he is 13 months now. I had it easy with both kids. They were good nursers, but would also take bottles. It is nice to have a baby cuddle up with you.
I also got to play a bit of wii. Justin begs to play the monkey game (Donkey Kong Jungle Beat) which means he wants to watch me play it. Ryan likes to think he plays too.
Rob will come home after a long day at work and have a surprise waiting for him. There is a millipede either resting or dead behind the curtains in the kitchen. I have saved it for him. I picked one up once with a little too much firmness and the crunch sound and feel was really gross. I don't like to touch them if I can help it. Rob was also in charge of catching a beetle this morning. I have gotten better about bugs, but I am not a fan.
Maybe the rain will stop soon and we can go outside and play.

Ryan the Toddler

Evidently the medical definition of a toddler is a child who between 12 and 36 months of age (at least according to the online medical dictionary I used and we all know if it is on the internet it HAS to be true ;), right?) I know I always thought of it as a young child who is new at walking. That seems to be a popular definition, again according to the infallible sources of the internet. Either way, Ryan is now a toddler.

It took him longer than his brother, but not by much. Justin was walking a few days after his first birthday. Ryan is going to be 13 months old in four days. If I were learning to walk and had Justin constantly running around me, I would be a bit cautious too!

Ryan has been cruising forever. He has been confident in standing in the middle of the room. The walking just wasn't happening even though he loved to stand. He even loved to stand holding things. Here he is playing peek a boo.

Sometimes I swear that he is teasing me. I would try to get him to walk to me and he would get down and laugh. I just hope that he isn't as stubborn as his mother or we are in trouble.

Well today he was walking 7 to 10 steps in the playroom. He did it multiple times. It was so cute to watch how excited he looked. I finally clapped and said yay and then he went all limp noodle. I couldn't catch him on video. Finally, FINALLY I did. I wasn't the best walk of the day, but it is the one I got.

I am sure that before long I will wish that he weren't walking. It is only the start of more trouble.

And, speaking of trouble, how is this kid? Terrible twos has been replaced by Three year old from hell? It does get better, right? I shouldn't complain. Justin is normally a pretty good child. I think that makes it all the harder for me when he has a meltdown. Obviously in this case he is overtired and frustrated. Doesn't mean he is fun to deal with.

Sorry for all the video clips. Now that we are in Africa I figure I better keep Grandma up to date! Skip over them if you want. Don't feel badly. Sometimes I even find them a bit dull, but I figure better too many than not enough.

The Christmas Story According to Justin

When you have a 3 year old, the birth of Jesus has a rough time competing with Santa and presents. Kind of an abstract concept. I bought the Fisher Price Nativity set thinking that it might help a little in the whole explanation of the Christmas story. Certainly it would bring some excitement into Justin's life. I mean more Little People and animals can't be a bad thing!

Not as interested in it as much as the Santa stuff, but he seems to get some of the basics. He has told the story in his own words a few times. I have learned some things from his accounts.

1. There wasn't enough room in the hotel and if they went in the hotel it would go ka-pow and explode everywhere because it was way full.

2. The wise men liked to sing a lot, mostly "dum de dum de dum" as they walked along.

3. On the way back home, one of the wise men stepped on some icy ice and he said "whoa" and fell down.

4. The presents were heavy so Mary and Joseph had to help lift them.

I wish I could remember all of the interesting things Justin threw in the story. I finally got him to consent to being recorded. Unfortunately the recorded version was not my favorite. He gets a bit camera shy and needed a lot of prompting. Tiny kept getting in the way too. Oh well. I imagine that when he is older he will enjoy watching it.

The Spirit of Giving Through Regifting

This year we have taken a new approach (at least for us) on the idea of regifting. We have been here in Namibia for less than a month. There are all sorts of expenses associated with moving into a new home. We have been stocking up on food basics (flour, sugar, salt, spices, pretty much EVERYTHING!), cleaning supplies, pool toys :), outlet adapters (I HATE the stupid plugs here), bath mats, door mats, and a million more little things that add up. Everyone thinks of Africa as a cheap place to live, but let me tell you Namibia is NOT a cheap place at all. So anyway, our focus is on getting the things we need to try to get settled in.
BEFORE we came out here, we also spent a lot of money on things like a wii and some games, a bike for Rob, some food from Costco, toys for the boys, clothes, upgrades to Windows 7 and some other software, and heaven only knows what else. It isn't like we haven't bought anything. Some of the things could have been Christmas presents if we had waited.
So now Christmas is going to be here in a couple of days. The boys are taken care of, but Rob and I did not buy anything for each other. My mom and dad got us some things from our Amazon wish list (Thanks, Mom!), but other than those three gifts we have nothing under the tree. No big deal for us, but I suddenly worried about what Justin will think. Big three year old that he now is, he might actually be upset about that. He doesn't let a thing get by him. This is where the regifting comes in. I found some earrings and a bracelet in my jewelry box that Rob will help Justin wrap up for me. I grabbed a book, swim goggles, and a new comb from one of Rob's unpacked boxes and Justin helped me wrap those up yesterday. My sister sent me a book that she just finished reading and I will have Rob give that to me. (You don't mind, do ya Mer?) I need to grab something small that I can wrap for Rob from me. Justin and Tiny each have a present to give to each other too, but theirs are actually new things.
Silly, it might seem, to wrap things that we already own. Rob and I really don't care. I mean do you think he will be excited to get the goggles he bought before Justin was already born? Well, he might be if he forgot he had them, but that isn't the point. Justin was so excited to wrap something up for his dad. He will be thrilled to see Rob open the present and oooh and aaah over it. I guess in our regifting the real present we will receive is seeing the smile on Justin's face and enjoying the excitement of our kids. Cheesy, perhaps, but true.

Christmas

We got the tree decorated. Justin was able to help put things on the lower branches. Ryan was able to take things off of the lower branches. It became a race to see who was faster. My busy little boys! Justin wanted to climb on a chair to reach higher, but we nixed that and forced him to stay within his reach. Parents can be so mean. The first ornament on the tree was one that Justin made at the Embassy Christmas party. He was so proud of the ornament. It is, well, let's just say that it is a treasure because my 2 year old made it. I don't think we have to insure it or anything. He had so much fun with his "project" too. My mom got him started on the idea of doing projects. Projects can be a variety of things involving glue, paint, markers, crayons, etc. I need to be better about getting projects for him to do. It isn't like I don't have anything. A lot of my teaching stuff is here and I have several things that Justin can do. It just gets to be a pain with Tiny helping all the time and Justin needing help but not wanting to have help.

Okay, back to Christmas. Yep, in that picture Tiny has something small in his mouth. Justin makes it nearly impossible to keep things even close to baby proof. Actually, since Tiny is over a year now I guess it is 'toddler' proof. My baby is so big! Ryan loves to stick anything and everything in his mouth except when I want him too. He will eat ants, paper, rubberbands, and the like, but will turn up his nose at new foods. Why is it that kids do that? Don't say that those things taste better than my cooking. At the Embassy party, Justin was a bit shy of Santa. When the gifts started coming out of the bag, Daddy was able to persuade him that maybe approaching Santa was not such a bad idea. It took awhile, but Justin did warm up enough to get his present and talk Santa's ear off. Probably better when he was shy. Ryan, on the other hand, was very different. He cried even getting near Santa. The picture of me with Tiny and Santa was the happiest Tiny was during the whole Santa time. Isn't it strange? I know it is common for small children to be afraid or shy of Santa, but my kids are generally so outgoing and love everyone. Justin was already blabbing about Santa non-stop, yet seeing him in the flesh was another story. Probably even stranger than kids being afraid around Santa is the need we parents feel to push our kids onto the lap of this stranger (don't we usually say DON'T go to strangers?) and try to get a picture. What are we thinking? Beats me.

Ryan at 1

Not very exciting, I know, but if I don't put it here I will forget.

RYAN
At 12 months:
your child is 22.7 pounds, and that is
at the 45th percentile for weight.

your child is 32 inches, and that is
at the 95th percentile for height.

-Cruising well, standing on his own, and (unfortunately) an EXCELLENT climber, but not walking yet.

-Day before first bday took two steps and then a full body lunge to Mommy.

-Ravenous Beast! Wants to do it himself and have it look like everyone else's food.

-Signs eat and want, otherwise screams or points

Leaving Idaho for Washington DC

November 20, 2009

We needed to get up at 3:30 in the morning so we could get to our 6:15 flight out of Spokane. Ryan decided to get up at 1:00 AM. Great. I really needed an extra early start to a long day. With my parents helping out, getting to the airport and checking bags was not a problem. Getting through security with my two boys, two carry on bags, a car seat, a stroller, jackets (snowing outside and you never know what it will be like on the plane), and liquids is enough to wear me out. Justin is able to get his own shoes off and on, so that is one helpful thing he can do. He wanted to help push the gray plastic bin along too. Sweet, but not as helpful. We got through and put back together again. United does NOT let people with young children board early. That meant I had to wait until seating group two. I am capable of carrying all my things and dealing with my boys, but it is difficult. Someone offered to carry my stroller.

On the plane, the flight attendants were friendly, but not helpful. Perhaps they don’t like one adult traveling with two small children. I only had TWO carry-ons. One was a small backpack and the other a small bag. We are talking under the seat kind of carry-ons. The airlines RECOMMEND that you have a seat for infants and use a car seat, so you would think that when you do that they would be helpful. Nope. I had to lug it clear back to my seat and buckle it in while balancing Tiny and keeping an eye on the ever-friendly Justin. The flight was uneventful, which is good. Justin announced that he could see Denver and that it was going to be a great day.

Off the plane with the car seat, carry-ons, and kids. Someone saw me reaching for the stroller and helped me get it set up. I loaded up Justin (Tiny rides in the ergo baby carrier. I had a hard time shelling out $100 for a baby carrier, but I have loved it and have not regretted it.) and put one carry-on over the stroller handles. That meant wearing the backpack on my back and throwing the car seat (in a travel bag) over my shoulder. We had a little over two hours to kill. Now I can get around, but it isn’t a lot of fun to carry all that stuff and navigate. My plan was to find a play area and camp out there for awhile and then change diapers and get food before we boarded the next plane. Can you believe that an airport the size of Denver’s does NOT have a play area? Great. Justin and Tiny both wanted to burn off energy and there are only so many appropriate ways to do that.

Justin wanted to go up and down escalators, which was a no go. Can’t do that with a stroller and a bunch of junk. Then he asked me where Grandma and Papa were. Oops. Even though we had talked about the trip, he somehow hadn’t realized that they weren’t with us. I thought we were going to be in for a major problem, but he accepted that they were back home. He was excited to see Daddy again so I focused on that. I couldn’t find anything that Justin wanted to eat. We got a McDonald’s happy meal for him and Tiny to share. Tiny ate more. Justin was thrilled with the toy—a nerf blaster of sorts. Great airport toy, something that fires darts. I told a little white lie about needing Daddy’s help to put it together (and then Justin showed me that he knew how!) and told him how it might get lost or broken if we used it before the hotel. Diaper changes went smoothly enough and we headed for our gate.

The boys were active, but stayed within a small area and left other people alone. Many friendly looking people commented on how I had my hands full. One woman offered to carry the stroller to the gate for me and get one of my carry-ons to my seat. When they didn’t ever call for people with small children, she even went up to ask. Nope, they don’t care. Go ahead and bump people’s arms as you go down the skinny aisles with a hungry baby and a huge car seat. We got to our seats and a man held Tiny while I got his seat installed. A couple sitting across from us said that they had three small children (visiting Grandma) and knew how difficult travel could be. They offered to help. They ended up sitting with Justin when I had to change Tiny. They also helped with the car seat, a carry-on, and a sleeping Justin when it was time to get off the plane. They were very nice. Another woman brought us the shoe Justin managed to lose somewhere along the way.

Justin expected Daddy as soon as we got off the airplane. I was glad to find Rob waiting at baggage claim so Justin didn’t have a complete fit.

It was a long day, but made easier by the kindness of strangers. So next time you travel, if you are able, help out someone who looks like they can use an extra hand. Don’t just say you will help if they need, be specific so they know you are sincere and what you feel comfortable doing. Offer to wait in line to buy their food or to save them a table while they get it. Volunteer to hold/watch a child so a mom can use the airplane bathroom without taking a dozen “helpers” with her. See if you can carry a bag on/off the plane. Let the woman with the screaming kid get in front of you in line. It is amazing how much small things can help. I have been very blessed in my travels and have been able to get through hard times a little easier because others were willing to help. And, the next time you are inconvenienced, you are allowed to be annoyed, but remember it could be worse.

Outsmarted by the Kids

I got Tiny a couple of sippy cups, which he seemed to really enjoy. So did Justin. I don’t really want Justin to use sippy cups because he is almost three and does not need them. He does have a couple of sigg water bottles that he can tote around with him. He likes those. So does Tiny. In fact, Tiny LOVES them. They are spill resistant, but not spill/leakproof like the sippy cup. Tiny ends up making a mess. Not so bad at home, but on the go or in hotels he can get wet enough that he needs a new change of clothes. Tiny now rejects HIS cups and wants only Justin’s. Sigh. I decided to ask Justin to drink out of Tiny’s cup. A few minutes later, guess who was interested in his sippy cup? That’s right; Tiny just wants whatever his brother has. Now Justin doesn’t want to give Tiny back his cup. Back to the drawing board.

Officially Our New Home

We made it to Windhoek and got introduced to our new home. It has a strange layout and will take some time to get used to where everything is. It is also SO much larger than our place in Tokyo! We have a kitchen large enough to eat in, a spacious living room/dining room, a den/computer room, a play room, a screened in porch, laundry room, three bathrooms, a water closet (toilet/sink only), good sized master bedroom, and four more bedrooms. Now three of these bedrooms are on the small size, but I think we can manage. [Symbol] We also have tons of storage space which is always good. The garage is detached. Not sure if that is a pro or a con. It isn’t like we get a lot of bad weather here, but it means further to carry groceries and things.

Mini Crisis Resolved

Our first night in Windhoek we had our first mini-crisis. Justin was happy to explore our spacious new house. He wanted to experience everything. Unfortunately, that also meant locking himself in the bathroom. The bathroom has one of the European style skeleton keys. He was able to twist it to lock it, but not to unlock it. I heard him shouting, and discovered his situation was probably the only one of the day that truly was shout worthy. We have other similar locks in the house, so no problem, right? Since Justin couldn’t unlock the door on his own, we had him take out the key so we could try other keys. Rob even tried unscrewing the door plate where the handle and lock go. No success. The door meets the floor quite tightly, and no key was going to be passed through that way. What should we do?

I asked Justin to read me what it said on his key so I could match up the other keys in the house. The keys are a snug fit and it isn’t easy to just go through them quickly. Justin read me the letters on his key.

“S-O-L-I-D,” came his cute little voice.

Of course that would be the side he would read. All the keys have that on them. He was able to turn the key over and find what we actually needed to know. No other key was coded the same way though.

Rob went to check out the windows on the bathroom while I continued to talk with Justin and keep him calm. I could see through the keyhole that he was playing with the toilet paper. I don’t like him to unroll it or make little TP balls, but when he is locked in the bathroom it is probably not the time to enforce proper TP use. Rob was able to compare the bathroom window to other windows of the house and give Justin directions on how to open the bathroom window. It is a two part process that is not particularly easy. Justin had to raise a handle and unscrew a hinge latch. Standing on the toilet (something else that is generally a no-no) and listening to Daddy’s step by step instructions, Justin was able to get it open and pass the key through. From there it was just a matter of Rob coming back inside and unlocking the door.

I was so proud of Justin. Rob was able to keep him calm so Justin was able to get through the ordeal without becoming upset even though he really wanted to get out. Justin was able to answer our questions and to follow the directions he was given. I think he did better than a lot of kids his age would have done.

The keys are now all removed from the doors. I had planned to do it anyway, but Justin’s little adventure got me to do it a little sooner than I otherwise would have.

Quarters I Need

No, not a plea for free money, I actually need these quarters to complete my 50 state quarters collection. It is hard to do when you spend most of your time overseas! The quarters I still need are all from the PHILADELPHIA mint and include the following states:
Wyoming
S Dakota
Washington
Utah
Oklahoma
New Mexico
Arizona
Alaska
Hawaii

Those of you who will be seeing me when I am in the DC area, look through your change now. :)

Mail in Namibia

I know I haven't written much for awhile. I have been putting pics on Facebook and posting video on YouTube without noting it in the blog. Since I am at my parents' house right now, there isn't a big need for me to keep my mom up to date. I should get better again once we leave Idaho.

We are leaving for Namibia on Thanksgiving Day. We will not have APO mail there. Several people are curious about our mail situation while we are there. We will be able to get mail through the diplomatic pouch. All the long, boring details can be found at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/22183.pdf, but I have copied the most relevant information and pasted it below. The post office also has some information at http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#wp1113914. One thing it notes there that I think is worth mentioning (since I have two small boys) is that no weapons or things resembling weapons, INCLUDING TOY GUNS.

U.S. citizen direct hire members of the foreign affairs community and their family members may receive via the personal pouch letters and packages at a maximum size limit of 17x18x32 inches (no single dimension can exceed this limit) and maximum weight of 50 pounds.

In addition, aerosols, alcoholic beverages, ammunition, items for resale, bulk supplies, corrosives (acids), currency, explosives, firearms, flammables, glass containers, illegal substances, incendiary materials, narcotics, plants, poisons, and radioactive substances are prohibited. It is now permitted to send 16 ounces of liquid per box; liquids include anything that flows, such as syrup.

Using express mail services does not get mail to a post any quicker because the express mail service is only from the point of origin to Dulles. Packages may be mailed at any post office in the United States or sent by United Parcel Service, FedEx, DHL, or other non-postal means of transportation (although these also only speed the material to the Dulles starting point).

When using the Dulles, VA, zip code, for security reasons, nothing in the address field should reference in any way the mission, the office, your job title, or anything official about where you work.

All parcels should be securely packed and sealed. Insured and registered mail services are not available for items sent through the pouch and the Department accepts no liability for loss or damage.

FYI: Theoretically, you shouldn't have to pay Virginia sales tax to this zip code since it is only for diplomatic pouch. Don't count on all online vendors to have this in their system however.

Hope this answers questions for people. Let me know if you have others. I will do my best. Most things should be able to get to us fine according to these restrictions. We have many restrictions on what we can send out.