THE YEAR THAT WAS.

As it is with every year, 2014 had its peak and pit moments. Sitting on my couch with a hot cup of Milo, some homemade banana cake, just having tucked Kamau in bed after our bedtime story (Puppy Woof-Woof) I reflect on everything I have to be grateful for. The best thing about anything new; whether a new notebook, a new day, any new chance is the hope that we have a fresh start. The possibility that you can leave the old (particularly the negatives- hopefully having learned from them) and embrace the new. It is in this light that I focus on all the beautiful moments of the past year and look forward to an even better year.

2014 saw us find out that we had been blessed with the opportunity to be parents to another little angel. The excitement of learning that we will be having a little girl lives with us each day and we all cannot wait to meet her. Every week that goes by is a blessing and even now as I count down twenty seven days to my EDD, I thank God for the role he has charged me with in this miracle.

I go through her baby clothes and imagine her in cute items such as this 🙂

This was the year that saw Kamau get off dependency on us to put him to bed and also the year where we completely went off diapers. W,e definitely, watched Kamau have a growth spurt this year. I say, “growth spurt” because suddenly he could use words like, “awesome” and “really” in their correct context and write! I mean, that little boy I gave birth to the other day can now keep me company (conversation-wise) on a car ride and can write 1 to 5 and a couple of letters. We have homework every week and holiday homework over any school breaks. It’s wonderful watching him grow into himself. He will excitedly inform us how he is “loading (downloading)” a Ben 10 game on one of our gadgets and will explain what’s happening on one of his shows. Matilda is his car and he only lets daddy drive her because he is only fwee (three) and is still not allowed to drive. His words. He is Kamau Mugeke from Murang’a. Ask him; he will tell you so 🙂

Our first Christmas at home saw us put up a Christmas Tree for the very first time since we moved to Karen (going on four years now). I know, unbelievable. It was special because it became a family project and Kamau was as involved as R and I were and I am proud of our first Christmas Tree. We tried to make being home super special as I couldn’t travel and we had Christmas gifts under the trees (in ours and Patty’s house) that the kids got to open on Christmas morning. We prepared a high calorie Christmas breakfast and had a wonderful family day. A new Christmas tradition- we have agreed- and I am already looking forward to the next.

I am not one to prepare a list of resolutions, but I do have a prayer to go along with my goals for the new year. I pray for a safe (and easy) delivery and that our little angel is healthy. I pray that I am a better partner to R this year. I pray that I am the best mother to my babies that I can be and that I find ways to be as involved in their lives as possible. I pray that every lesson I learned about being a homemaker in the past year makes me a better one this year. I pray that I am able to meet the career goals I have set for the new year and more so for the spirit to keep pushing to make my dreams come true.

I have a whole lot to be grateful for and so much to look forward to. My very first goal for 2015 will be to find a new name for my blog and I also hope that this will be the beginning of a whole new journey for us. I appreciate each one of you that visits this space and reads what I share. My followers, while still a humble few, have doubled this year and I am beyond grateful for that. I write, four years later, because of that occasional email I receive from a visitor that says that something I shared helped her in her journey as a mother or mother-to-be. It is that occasional email that gives me the morale to keep sharing.

I can hear the fireworks. Happy New Year! It’s time to wake Kamau for his nightly bathroom visit and tonight I get to tuck him back in bed with a special kiss. Another year with my beautiful family. How I pray for health and happiness for each one of us and a year that makes our bond even stronger.

Here’s to 2015. I wish you and yours joy, success and, above all, love.

xoxo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

JINGLE BELL ROCK!

Kamau and Natalie (…his dance partner Chelsea is in the background 🙂 )

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock,
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Snowing and blowing in bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun

Kamau had been humming this Carol for about a month leading to the 1st of December when parents were invited to join Nairobi Academy‘s Pre-prep school for their annual Christmas assembly. A newsletter asking that we send our little boy with a white shirt, black slacks, suspenders and a red bow tie followed a little after. He would hum different Christmas Carols and do a little dance even if he couldn’t remember all the words and we knew preparations were underway. I couldn’t wait to attend the assembly. See, Kamau is now at that adorable stage where he will sing songs- with actual words, when he can remember them- as he goes about his business. You can always tell when he walks into the house because he will be humming or singing all the way up the stairs. I love asking him what song they learned in school as he will sing it for us. I remember my parents would have us stand in front of that cabinet that existed in every household- you know, the one that held the television and your mom’s “special occasion” plates and cups- and ask us to perform a song we’d learned in school. I now understand why that seemed to make them as happy as it did.

The PP2 Pink and PP2 Green children rocked to Jingle Bell Rock! It was beautiful to watch and being the pregnant, hormonal woman that I have become, it took great will power not to cry. Kamau spotted R in the crowd as he recorded his performance and waved and he and Chelsea paired up and began their little waltz. The cutest part was that he was required to help her do a twirl and they executed it perfectly every time! Imagine little people- boys in suspenders and red bow ties and girls in beautiful, red dresses- waltzing and trying to keep to the rhythm. It was a beautiful performance and I was as proud as every other parent in the room with me. We have come a long way since his first stage performance and it is just beautiful to note how much he has grown as a person.

Speaking of growth, the Friday before the assembly, had presented R and I with an opportunity to have a sit down with Ms. Michira- Kamau’s class teacher. She’s a lovely lady and I’d been looking forward to meeting her. She took us through Kamau’s classwork and gave us an insight into the Kamau that she interacts with every day. She explained that one of the things she has noted about him is that he requires a patient hand as pushing him to do any particular thing only causes him to shut down. She was able to put her point across by showing us the differences in an activity he “was into” versus one he wasn’t. Change in mood depicted through resulting handwriting or colouring. I appreciated that she has noted this as it’s something that comes out each weekend as we do our assignment. It’s one of those things that you worry about as a parent and I, especially, appreciated when she said that she will let him be for a while once he gets this way, then sit with him e.g over break until the activity in question is completed. This way, she explained, you did not push the child yet you were able to put across to them that rules are important and an activity must- at the end of it all- be completed. A lesson I will, definitely, be using for our assignments. Another, very interesting, lesson I learned is that children also show growth in their depiction of the human body. Did you know that, Blogiary? The pictures begin with a VERY large head with tiny sticks on the side (hands) and bottom (legs). This, despite proportions, means they understand that the body sprouts from the head. As the child matures (progression of the term), the head gets smaller and smaller in size and the child adds a body under the head and the hands and legs respectively. This progresses until they add a neck between the head and the body. I found this fascinating, having never really thought of it as another measure of a child’s progress.

We learned quite a bit about Kamau in general- including his relation with other children and the teachers and his friends’ parents. Ms. Michira told us that Kamau gives everyone a hug each morning and is very open and friendly. It gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling when you hear that your little person is a bubble of warmth. She also gave us a few ideas on activities we can use to keep him busy- asking that we do bead work with him as it helps improve concentration. We also promised to help her enforce the importance of apologizing once he does wrong by his classmates. Kamau will, apparently, cry when he knows he is on the wrong and due for some time on the “blue chair” which is their “naughty chair” and we’re working on accepting the mistake, facing consequences and apologizing.

Christmas is upon us. It’s been in the air since the Christmas assembly and last week on Friday, Santa visited the Pre-prep children and delivered gifts. There is a board in Kamau’s class where the children had- with their teacher’s help- written what they wanted Santa to bring them. Kamau had asked for Ben 10 shoes 🙂 Santa delivered and an excited Kamau will not be separated from his shoes. We have began decorating our Christmas tree and I love how involved Kamau is in the project. I keep seeing beautiful trees and coming up with different ideas of the end result for ours. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when we’re done.

What a bright time, it’s the right time

Jingle bell time is a swell time.

xoxo!