My girls

Here is Ani and Leena's sibling photo from their old school at Madari Kindergarten.  I like my girls a little disheveled - it means they are having fun. Since Ani started primary school, they now go to Braeburn here in Nairobi.  They both like it a lot, although we miss Madari's small and comfortable setting.  

Getting back into it

Like most reluctant blog owners out there, I have been letting Facebook function as a way to keep people updated on my growing girls.  But, as some people leave Facebook for either security concerns or the time-suck that Facebook can be, I have been asked to get back into the blog world.

So, here's the status of my little -- or should I say not-so-little -- ones.

                                                                              photo by Jean-Marie Detcher

Little Leena is 3 years old now and hilarious.  She is supremely confident.  She walks into a room and says, "Hey everybody, I'm HERE!  It's LEENA!"  and thinks everyone should applaud.  Her favorite things are: Diego, chocolate, comfortable leggings, and playing with boys.

                                                                                        photo by Kim T Seels

Annice is 6 now and started primary school.  She gets up every morning and puts on her uniform and trots off to her class at Braeburn Primary.  She loves school and I love that her name seems extremely boring compared to many of her classmates (Shlok, Ngonie, Yuli, Tirok, King, Milka, Shami to name a few).  Annice is our resident artist and our walls are covered with her creative creations.  Who needs to buy art when you can just have a rotating installation that is continually improving?

Ben and I are just doing our thing and not particularly interesting, but there are potentially interesting elements for the blog in the future - an upcoming Christmas vacation in Egypt and then a hopeful plunge into the Kenyan adoption process.

Negligence

Summer time I am always negligent in my photo and blogging duties. There are so many great photo opportunities as we spend our time in Michigan that I find myself just enjoying the moment and not capturing anything on film. Here are a couple of photos that others have forwarded me. You can see we had fun this summer.


our "shack" in grand haven

leena at the dollar tree

ani having a good time -- she loves michigan!

More coastal bliss

from a look out post at Ft. Jesus

Ft. Jesus - fort carved from a coral cliff by the portugese in the 1500s.

port of mombasa

ani at the hotel

One might think from these infrequent posts that we spend most of our time lounging on the coast. Not quite true, but we did make a journey to Mombasa this weekend. Ben had a work thing and the girls and I came along for some fun in the sun. It's actually been quite cold in Nairobi these days.

Vacation! Part II

We went to the coast again -- this time with the kids and friends. It was fabulous and our friend Olav took some great pictures.

Vacation!

Ben and I took our first kid-free vacation this week. It was absolutely wonderful -- sleeping, reading, relaxing on the beach. We had a cabin on the Indian Ocean and it was very tranquil, with the exception of monkeys breaking into our cabin on the first night.

Photo shoot!

We had our talented neighbor and friend Anne take some family pictures of us the other afternoon. Unfortunately, the kids were having a hard time cooperating. Just when Ani would come around to smiling, Leena would burst into tears. Still, we got some cute shots.

Holiday Season Cheer

Here's a recent picture of us at Aberdare National Park. We spent a night there this past weekend. Beautiful and I just love seeing the elephants wander out of the brush on the mountainside. Also, it was COLD, which put me in the holiday mood. While Thanksgiving makes me a tad homesick for family/friends, I am enjoying the Christmas season in Nairobi.

I like Christmas like anyone else but get worn out by it back in the US -- it's just too much -- (too long, too many parties, too much shopping, too many desserts, etc...). Here it seems a bit more contained. So far, we are able to limit the gifts (3 per kid) and if I feel like a holiday dessert, I make one instead of a sea of them foisted upon me --- granted, I always oblige because I love sweets, but regret the stomach aches after. Right now the girls and I are into singing carols, decorating, and making wrapping paper per Santa's request.

Song writer

Ani loves to compose her own music. Here's a clip of her on YouTube. The wicker chair is her piano and the coloring page is both her sheet music and lyrics inspiration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgk_zw599Qk

Happy Halloween!

We had a great easy-going Halloween. Ani decided to take Leena's skunk costume for her own, so we made Leena a "love bug" instead. Instead of a pumpkin, we carved a pineapple!

B-day Party

Here's a couple of photos from Ani's 4th Birthday Party!

Nairobi National Park

We BBQ'd in Nairobi National Park yesterday and got to glimpse a lion on the way out. She was stalking some zebra, which was fun to watch but unfortunately, the lion had a lot more patience than we did.

Ani turns 4!

Oh dear, where did the time go? Ani is 4 years old today. I love it as kids get older -- more articulate, understanding more, relating more. Every day brings a new observation and a new surprise. Here you can see Ani's b-day presents --- ballet shoes and a watch to learn to tell time.

Leena turns 1!

So, it appears that our camera and video camera were stolen during our travels -- most likely snagged out of our checked luggage before we even left Kenya, but who knows. Anyways, I have not had a chance to take pictures of meeting up with family and friends back in Michigan. There were some photos taken of Leena eating her obligatory 1 year-old cupcake and the ice cream cake for the rest of us. I'll post these here eventually once I figure how to get them off my parents' camera.

Leena is a kick at 1. Adorable, wiry, into EVERYTHING, and with a smile so big it literally knocks her over once in awhile. She is a delight 80% of the time and is making her needs well known the other 20%. I am excited to see other facets of her personality emerge as she gets older.

Walking

This isn't the greatest video shot of it, but you can get a glimpse that Leena has started walking here.

Buddies

We've been keeping busy here in Nairobi. Ani spends most her afternoons playing with her buddies here on the compound. It's pretty ideal for me -- no playdates to schedule, just send her outside to explore and play. I suppose it's not that different from many suburban neighborhoods, but it's new to me in this stage of my life and it's great.

Here's a couple of photos of play -- one on the playground and one during our Easter Egg Hunt this year.

When will I learn....

...that when Ani is quiet for more than 5 minutes, she is up to no good.

"Mom...I need to put on more make-up."

Recent adventures

Mt. Kenya -- Castle Forest Lodge


Ostrich Farm

Forward motion

Leena has been working on crawling with great success. On one hand, we're happy to see her make such progress at under 7 months, on the other, it's time to start baby proofing ;(

Ani or Leena?

My girls look quite similar. Actually, this picture of them is more distinctive than most but it still begs the question, can you tell which one is Ani and which one is Leena?

A. B.