Taylormade

May 31, 2009





The new team got here and only 6 of 17 bags arrived with them. Notice to anyone flying here London is notorious for losing luggage. We were able to meet lots of new faces and hear stories of home. Noah is still a couple days away from his due date and we are waiting and trying to stay busy before he arrives. I do feel lots more irritable, and more pressure as if he has dropped. My hormones are even rubbing off on Drew. Or it could be the city traffic.

May 30, 2009








Grana is here!!!!! We are so excited to have her here. It really makes it real that we will be welcoming our son into the world SOON I HOPE. It is hard to plan things for the next week when you really do not know when and where you will be when he decides to come.

My mom locked me in a room while she laid out all the goodies she brought from all kinds of people. It was a baby shower in suitcase. Complete with mints, teacakes, and chocolate candies. Even confetti for the table. YES I am holding a gallon jar of dill pickles. I was so happy to get these. I was amazed at all the fun things for Noah. I was excited to write down gifts in the baby book under showers given. And we got the car seat, so he can safely ride home from the hospital. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE GIFTS. We are overwhelmed with the generosity.

May 29, 2009





We were able to spend some time with new friends from MS. It sure was fun helping them barter for things at the market. We were sad to hear that they have been sick with African germs. It is always good to catch up with people from home.

May 23, 2009



THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Our PL family. We received all kinds of goodies when the group arrived in town tonight. Drew especially liked the ESPN magazine, and snickers. We were excited to see such cute things for Noah and some yummy season packets. I loved the foot scrub. And lotions. Thanks again. We appreciate you and miss being there to spend this time in our lives with you.




We also got our rocking chair that I had to have for Noah. My dad went and picked in out from Bass Pro Shop. And the group was kind enough to bring it along with them. I am looking forward to sitting and rocking our little guy. Drew is trying it out.

May 23, 2009








I am in the nesting period FINALLY, I have been unable to really settle down and have a place to look forward to being with Noah in. Until now. Unpacking all of his things that we brought from the states has really been fun. All the little clothes, diapers, blankets, the quilts made for him, the little towels that are hooded and will wrap our little son so warm, and the pack and play that will be his bed. It is really interesting to watch Drew play with all the gadgets. To put something together and not read the directions. Which he is actually pretty good at. The baby carrier I think will be his favorite. He keeps talking to my belly telling Noah to come. He absolutely can not wait to have his son in his arms. I can honestly say I can not wait to see it either. Maybe this will help Noah come, now that there is a place ready for him, people ready to see him, and a grana coming to see him. My mom will be here in one week. I can not wait.

May 19, 2009

We shared a date night with our friends and their little one Micah. We went to a place called Divino, it was really good, and had a wonderful atmosphere. We will definitely have to revisit and try more dishes. Since being in our new place and waiting for Noah, we have either had to cook. But my vote is to go out to eat.

May 17, 2009


NOAH WAS NOT HARMED IN THE TAKING OF THIS PHOTO !!!!!!




Trying to help the baby drop????? Well not really, Drew did not allow me to jump. Someone already made that mistake (HENCE the hole already in the trampoline). This is the playground area at the new flat we have moved into to prepare for Noah. It has a half court basketball area. Drew has found the zip line. He is like a big kid.

We finished up our Lamaze Class today. Trying to work on breathing and mock labor. They taught Drew how to massage the pressure points. We learned all about breastfeeding and even got to talk to a ped doctor at the end of class. To talk about immunizations, feeding and sleeping schedules. We will definitely have to remember to bring music to the hospital.

May 16, 2009





We attended our first Lamaze/Birthing class today. We are doing a crash course. We started off by talking about the birth philosophy. Our birth plans, laboring positions, pelvic tilts, the birthing ball, and relaxation techniques. We met some other moms who will deliver about the same time we will. Tomorrow we will go back for round 2 and talk about breastfeeding. I was so proud of Drew for being so attentive and willing to be involved. He was learning how to keep me focused on breathing.

This week we have been busy at the Dr.s office. Drew is trying to get over a bacterial infection ( that we thought was malaria, again, but wasn't) and I have been to working on this sinus cold. I finally received some low dose meds that are okay to take during pregnancy. No antibiotics necessary. I was ordered to take naps or rest in the afternoons (which I am totally fine with) and to drink more water. Noah's heart rate is strong ( I always enjoy listening to it) and he is as active as ever. The Dr. did mention that she suspects he might surpass his due date of June 2 by some days. That he is quite happy in his "home" (aka my uterus). We are excited about my mom coming in two weeks and then our little tyke can come whenever he decides.

May 14, 2009

We caught up with some our friends in the city today. It was really good to receive and give hugs. I miss talking and sharing life with these two. They are so dear to us. Later we stopped by the Dr. for Drew. It turns out that he has a bacterial infection and what he thought was malaria (again) turns out to be from something that he has eating in the past weeks. That is just part of living in Africa. So with a little fever, and now some antibiotics.... he should be good as new SOON I HOPE.

May 12, 2009










Today I am 37 weeks and feeling HUGE. Drew and I have been all over the city today to encourage Noah to drop down. I have been trying to walk alot and get some much needed exercise. For some reason I am gaining weight a lot better here. It has nothing to do with the ice cream, fried chicken, or all the good dairy food here I can assure you :)!!!! I have had the LUCK to get a good ole sinus infection though. And since I can only take Tylenol, I have been blowing my nose and drinking water non stop. We have a Dr. visit tomorrow to see how ready Noah is to meet us.

Tonight we went to visit some friends. We always enjoy seeing them, and can always pick up parenting tips. But tonight we wadded through the downpour of rain, only to cook hamburgers at their place in the dark. Then the electricity came back on in time to eat. And they finally talked me into playing the Wii. It was actually pretty fun. Though I am still horrible at the hand/eye coordination thing. It will be something I work on. I did come in 3rd by some miracle.

May 8, 2009






Today we met this sweet little girl. She is the new baby of our neighbors'. She was having her first cold but was still such a good baby even for being sick. They allowed me to hold her for most of the visit so I could practice. Drew practiced also. They were giving me all kinds of advice on becoming a new mom. Later some women in the family came over who have been helping since the birth and started to prepare the dinner for the family. They all pitch in and take ownership of the baby.
They have all these remedies for taking care of children. They shave the babies heads as soon as they are born.

May 7, 2009








We just got back from our scan and Noah weighs 6 lbs and 4 oz already. Four more weeks to go. The cord was not around his neck, his head was facing up below my belly button. But it was smooshed too far forward we could not get a good look. But I think that he looks a lot like Drew. The mouth looks like him. He had his mouth open and his bladder was full so he is obviously practicing swallowing.

Blood flow was good from mom to baby and the heart looked good. He will definitely have drews' calves because he kicks non stop. I thought the bigger he got he would get cramped and stop all that roughness but NO. I just seem to be poking out more.

After the appointment we meet up to go out to the Chujio Filter plant. They also make jikos (stoves made of clay ceramics), and flower pots. The tour was much different than last time as they have expanded the factory and had more space for shipping, and advertising. It was neat to see how easy fast they can make these filters and what a difference they make in the lives of people who need clean water. It will soon be arranged to ship more filters our way in the North so we can help distribute them to nearby homes.

May 4, 2009



We read up on some parenting info at the book store. I thought this was a funny title. BONDING WITH YOUR BUMP. There is really no way around it.




Drew thinks this is the newest funny thing I can do with my stomach. It comes in quite handy. Except when Noah is moving and knocks it off.


Here are some funny stories that have happened to us lately. All goes along with pregnancy. Drew loves reminding me that I am so forgetful these days and I usually prove him right. I think Noah is zapping my memory.

We went to church the other day and there were these two little girls about age 5. After I passed and gave them a hand shake and a good morning. One little girl with beautiful red hair, pulled the other aside and said in the most matter of fact way. "She has got a baby in there." I thought it was so funny. There is no hiding the belly now.

Later this day we went to Nakumatt (our version of Walmart) and I was sitting on a bench outside, eating ice cream (for the 4th day in a row) ( I got permission from my doctor) and waiting on Drew who was picking up a few items. And I suddenly looked up to the check out line and saw this guy. I thought to my self, "Wow, He is awful handsome." Then on second glance, I looked and saw that the guy I was looking at was Drew, I had just not noticed him at first. Talk about loosing your memory. Just for a second.

Well today we went to a specialty shop looking for corn chips. (Tostidos) when ever you find these you buy as many as you can. These and Dr. Pepper are our vices when in the city. Drew circled the parking lot and waited as I ran inside. Well after looking all around the store I found what I was looking for. I walked up to them, and accidentally walked too far into the shelf. I knocked a jar of salsa off the shelf with my belly. It tumbled to the floor crashing, breaking the glass jar, and leaving a splatter of salsa all over my linen pants. I of course went to the counter and told the lady how sorry I was that I did not realize my size. And asked for something to wipe off the salsa from my pants. She did not make me pay for the broken jar but, I could feel her pity on me. Drew of course laughed non stop when I finally got back in the car and relayed my story for him.

May 1, 2009








It was a national holiday here and we celebrated with a cookout. We had burgers, potato salad, deviled eggs (my fav), cabbage salad, and chocolate cake. It was yummy. The guys were in charge of grilling the burgers and as you can see they got a little over zealous. They first of all put to much kerosine, and then it dripped out the bottom burning all around the grill and even some on the grass, then it died down after about 15 minutes of flames, so they got the fan out to give it some oxygen. Finally the burgers were ready to cook. And were delicious. Our good friend Windy brought us a precious gift back from the states for Noah. I just love it and will enjoy how cozy it makes his space feel. Thanks again Windy.