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February 28, 2006

18 Months

Naomi is a year and a half old today! That's so hard to believe. Every day is filled with new, exciting discoveries and it is fun for us to rediscover the world through her eyes.

We went to the Cincinnati Auto Expo on Sunday afternoon. Naomi seemed somewhat intrigued by the sea of people and shiny cars but was thrilled when she spotted her new ride... a VW convertible beetle. Matt also found some wheels he'd like to own...

Today was a beautiful, seasonably warm day which we enjoyed as a family at the Cincinnati Zoo. Nomi loved having time with mom and dad and especially loved the freedom to run around and explore - occasionally stopping to see an animal or two.

Posted by calley at 11:00 PM | Comments (6)

February 19, 2006

Travelogue

I realize I haven't been posting much (at all) lately. Thankfully Cal has kept the content fresh. I thought I'd share an email and some pictures we received from good friends of ours who are third-year medical residents. They've spent the last 6 weeks in Kenya volunteering at a rural hospital, and they also got to visit a young Maasai girl that they've sponsored for several years. TC's readership base includes a lot of travel buffs, and I thought this was a beautifully written travelogue and a touching story you might enjoy.

We wanted to write and thank you all again for all of your love and
support throughout our trip. It was wonderful, and we are very thankful
for everything that we learned. We also wanted to write one last time
to let you know about our trip to meet Kiano, the little Maasai girl
that we sponsor through Compassion International.

We set off Friday morning along the Nairobi-Mombasa Road, battling
billowing clouds of diesel fumes along Africa's main thoroughfare. The
streets of Nairobi faded into vast expanses of savannah, spotted with
the occasional impala, oryx, and zebra. We rumbled along for over two
hours, finally reaching the small town of Salama. A tiny sign, barely
noticeable, indicated a right turn to the railroad town of Kiu. Though
the railroad is no longer in its heyday, the town of Kiu still had some
rustic amenities resembling a town. Omar, the Maasai social worker from
Compassion International, led us further away from the cluster of huts,
delving deeper into the sandy terrain dotted with acacia trees. The
Akamba people of Kiu were soon replaced by majestic, colorful Maasai
people herding goats.

We learned from Omar that most of the men from this Maasai village had
left months before with cattle in search of better pastures. Indeed,
the area surrounding Kiloh showed very little resemblance to grassland.
The acacia trees provided cover for vast fields of sand alone.

Arriving at the Kiloh Child Development Centre, a small, laughing figure
came racing out of the aluminum church as our car pulled in. As soon as
we spotted her joyful sprint, Kiano came to a bashful stop next to her
mother. Dressed in beautifully colored kangas and dozens of strands of
Maasai beads, Mrs. Jipison was a glowing figure in the arid, brown
landscape. Her daughter crept closer to us, shyly greeting her
sponsors. We were also introduced to several other social workers and
directors of the Compassion project at Kiloh.

Kiano guided us on a tour of the site. The school in session next door,
used to hold Compassion sessions on Saturdays, briefly dismissed in
order to offer us greetings. The children, however, were very unsure of
us, running away quickly as we approached.

The three Compassion social workers and project manager knew all the
names of the children we met, and told us more about their work in the
village of Kiloh. Each of the 400 children are visited monthly at home,
and every Saturday all the children take part in a program emphasizing
improved spiritual, physical, social, and economic conditions. Recent
sessions have included information on farming techniques, reasons to
resist female circumcision, physician visits for medical exams, HIV/AIDS
prevention, job training, and a balanced meal (with meat twice a month).

Kiano showed us several other projects located around the site,
including different agricultural ventures as well as water collection
tanks. Kiloh has been experiencing a severe drought for over four
years, and the Maasai people's traditional reliance on cows, goats, and
sheep alone has been tested by the unavailability of grazing areas.
Several cattle skeletons littered the landscape, and the vividly blue
sky offered little immediate hope for the February rains. Perusing
9-year-old Kiano's medical charts, we noted that her growth had
plateaued in the past several years. Despite everyone's best efforts,
the drought has been taking a toll on the village of Kiloh.

We all hopped into the truck for our brief journey to Kiano's home. Set
in a small clearing under an acacia tree, Kiano's family shares an
enclosed pasture with one other family. Kiano led us crouching through
her front door, our vision obscured by the smoke from the cooking fire.
We huddled in the tiny space of her home, sitting on a hard,
cowhide-covered platform where Kiano, her mother, and four other
siblings sleep. Kiano's father passed away when she was young.

We offered our small bag of gifts to Kiano and her mother, including a
stuffed giraffe, school supplies, and several bags of tea. Kiano helped
me spell her name with some colorful bubble letters; she told us that
she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

We joined the others outside under the acacia tree for traditional
Kenyan chai. As I took my first steaming sip, Kiano presented me with
two precious Maasai gifts. The first one, a large beaded medallion, is
worn for weddings and other special occasions. The second present was
placed immediately in my ears by Kiano's brother; beautiful beaded
earrings soon hung down to my shoulders. Kiano then shyly presented a
long Maasai walking stick to Jeff, intricately beaded throughout the
length of the stick. We were humbly overwhelmed by this quiet family's
generosity.

Saying goodbye to Kiano, her mother eloquently thanked us and pledged
her thoughts and prayers at our departure. We thanked Compassion
International for their continuing struggle against poverty. And
despite six weeks of treating Kenyan children at Tenwek Hospital, for
the first time, we truly understood what it meant to deeply know and
love a Kenyan child.

We included a few pictures of Kiano and her family... we hope you enjoy
them! Please check out www.compassion.com if you are interested in
learning more about this organization. Kiano's project site sponsors
almost 400 children, but there are currently 26 without sponsors.
Please let us know if you are interested in helping some of these
desperately poor Maasai children.

Posted by Matt at 12:26 PM | Comments (2)

Zzzzzz...

First nap in the "big girl bed." Woke up proud of herself.

Posted by Matt at 12:10 PM | Comments (5)

February 15, 2006

Doctor, Doctor

Nomi is all of the sudden very interested in playing doctor. She is normally petrified of her doctor as well as the Fisher Price doctor kit but miraculously things are changing. We visited two doctors yesterday - one for me and an unexpected visit for her. She usually starts crying hysterically as soon as the nurse displays the thermometer but yesterday was different. While she was terrified and held onto me with everything she had, Naomi didn't cry. Not even when the doctor came in. She was such a brave girl and I'm so proud of her. So, this morning I opened her closet and she immediately pulled out her baby and the doctor kit and began her examination. We might just have a budding physician on our hands.

Posted by calley at 09:30 AM | Comments (6)

February 14, 2006

Our Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

Posted by calley at 09:45 AM | Comments (5)

February 08, 2006

Latest Interests

Naomi is fascinated with shoes. Any shoes really but especially a pair of my black shoes. She loves to pull them out of the closet, put them on all by herself and walk around the house proudly. And I'd have to say she's quite talented at it. She also loves the stairs and has recently mastered going up and down on her own. It's a great feeling knowing that I won't have to carry a toddler and infant up and down the stairs... although it is great weight training.

On Monday we took Naomi to the Cincinnati Museum Center. The Children's Museum is a great place for kids to explore, play and hopefully learn a few new scientific tricks in the process. She had a great time - the water was her favorite!

Posted by calley at 05:45 PM | Comments (6)

February 05, 2006

Prego Progression

With only 7-8 weeks to go, I'm feeling - well, BIG! Also apprehensive, excited and ready, not ready... a strange mix of emotions really. It's hard to imagine sharing my time, energy, affection and love with anyone other than Naomi (during the day of course) and yet I know it will be as natural a transition as it was with the addition of Naomi. It might sound crazy to say this already but I think their personalities are going to be very different. This new little girl is feisty - ALWAYS awake and active and making sure I know it. We could be in for a treat!

Just for the record, this is the first official belly shot on TC.net. I've been getting some pressure for quite some time to post a picture - this is for you, Doc! :)

Posted by calley at 04:45 PM | Comments (7)

February 01, 2006

17 Months

Our baby girl is no longer a baby... Naomi is becoming a little girl. She changes daily and is extremely entertaining. It's so much fun! Her vocabulary is quickly expanding and she's actually pretty good at telling us what she wants either by pointing, using her words or grabbing us by the hand and taking us to what she wants. One relatively new trick is her ability to show us where her baby sister is. She comes over to me and pats my belly... and then pats her belly and daddy's belly. I think she's starting to understand. Either that or she thinks I'm eating way too much!

As promised, here are some pictures of the girls' new room - from left to right. It's still missing a "big girl" bed for Naomi but you'll get the idea.

Posted by calley at 03:45 PM | Comments (15)