Three Month Update

  I’ve been in Zambia for three months now. It’s exciting to feel like I’m more than half way done the process, but also daunting to look forward to all that still has to happen. My mom, Isaac, and I had our adventure to Victoria Falls which was amazing. Our other touristy excursion was to the Kalimba Reptile Park. My patient and her daughter took us there as a thank you for the speech therapy. We were thankful that they took us as we would have likely never found the place on our own. The park was quite a ways outside of Lusaka down a long dirt road with of course very little signage. It has a large collection of poisonous snakes, crocodiles, and tortoises. I think our guide really enjoyed explaining all the different ways the snakes could kill us. There was also a pool there which of course was Isaac’s favorite part of the day.  

Even the tortoises each nshima here. Note: Nshima is a traditional Zambian food made from cornmeal. It's eaten at most meals similar to mashed potatoes.

First time on a slide. It was a hit.

  I’ve had another wonderful month with Isaac. Really, he’s just amazing to be around. He has two sounds now, “g” and “b”, which he was really excited about learning. As a speech-pathologist and proud mama, I just love listening to him babble away. We still get the squeals of excitement and the occasional raspberry which make my day. Isaac has been through another round of teething and now has two incredibly cute top teeth. He really leaves a mark now if he gets a chance to bite down on you. Unfortunately, he really enjoys biting my mom’s arms, legs, and collarbone – ouch. Despite my fear of him choking, I’ve introduced him to Cheerios. He has so much fun eating them. Whenever my mom and I are having something to eat, he’s not happy if he doesn’t have a pile of “Os” in front of him. Isaac is so close to crawling. He’s able to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. He’s also started moving backwards a bit. Somehow, he hasn’t quite figured out how to move forward. It’s only a matter of time until he’s fully on the move. He’s also getting so much stronger in his standing and can stand holding onto the furniture with just some spotting support. I’m absolutely amazed at all the changes that have occurred in the past three months. 

Isaac with his "Os"

It's fun to make a mess and chew on the bowl too.

Isaac's new hat. I couldn't resist.

Isaac trying to climb out of the bath. Never a dull moment with him. I just love his Popeye arms.

  I feel like this month could be called the Paperwork Month. Whether I was waiting for paperwork, driving to get paperwork, being frustrated at not getting my paperwork, or working on the paperwork for my visiting permit, it seemed like paperwork occupied a lot of my thoughts and worries. All of our paperwork is now in with the social workers. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for an outstanding police report which is delaying our paperwork being sent to the court. No paperwork, no court date. It’s very frustrating. I’ve also had a “bang your head against a wall” frustrating time with the Immigration office and getting my three month visiting permit. I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say I spent several days there last week and still have to go back tomorrow. It feels a bit like the women who work there really enjoy making this process as difficult as possible. I was worried that I might be the problem, but after talking with one of our Zambian friends who has to deal with the Immigration office as part of her job, I found out that actually they are horrible to everyone who walks into the office; foreigner or local, it makes no difference. Tomorrow when I go in, I’m going to bring Isaac with me in hopes that a cute baby will help my case.

  We had a lizard living in our car for two days. My mom and I had a good laugh as we tried to shoo the lizard out of the car without any luck. I would go back to the car and find it sunning itself on the back seat head rest, but when I would open the door, the fast little guy would quickly hide under the seats. We finally had to just leave the car doors open for several hours. I think he’s gone now. 

Our stowaway.

 

  I was really excited to see this chameleon slowly moving across the top of our wall the other day. I had never seen one before, so it was a really neat experience. They move so slowly. I guess it's good they have excellent camouflage. He was really shy and didn’t want to get his photo taken. Fortunately, my camera has a good zoom.  

  This past month has been a big gear up for Christmas in the grocery stores and malls. It feels strange to think about Christmas when it’s so hot out and even stranger to walk through the grocery store listening to “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”. My mom leaves for Vancouver on Christmas Eve and Markus arrives on Christmas Day. Isaac and I will be very sad to see my mom get on the plane home, but can't wait for our reunion again in Vancouver. I'm so grateful for the time my mom has spent in Zambia with me. It's very special to see how close her and Isaac have become. Christmas this year will definitely be a unique, but wonderful time for my family. We’re going to miss everyone back home so much, but I can’t wait for Isaac, Markus, and I to be together for our first Christmas as a family.