Four Month Update

  I’ve been in Zambia for four months now and I’m so close to coming home I can almost taste it - the coffees at Continental Cafe, dinners in North Van, my mom’s cookies, sushi, fresh fish from the fishmonger on the Drive, pizza from via Tevere, my mother-in-law’s tiramisu. I’m so close that I can almost smell it – the salty air down by Spanish Banks, the damp, musty smell of the forest at Lynn Valley Headwaters, the fresh, crisp smell of the mountain air at Whistler. I’m so close that I can almost feel it – the heat of the wood burning fire at my parent’s place, being bundled up against the cold morning air on my walks with Gibson, resting my head on my pillow and falling asleep in my bed, cuddling on the couch with my husband. I’m so close that I can almost see it – the morning light streaming through my kitchen windows, the ice covering Trout Lake, the beautiful tree-lined streets of my neighbourhood. My senses are calling out to Vancouver and I can’t wait to renew my love affair with my home town and share as much as I can with Isaac.

  It feels like this month has been a month of movement for Isaac. He literally hasn’t stopped moving since he started crawling a few days after my three month update post. Aside from sleeping and periods of time in which he is forced to be still such as in the car seat or carrier, Isaac is always on the go. I get a real kick out of watching him crawl. When he really wants to go fast, he puts his head down and just goes for it. He’s such a determined little man. I’m just waiting for the cries when he ends up running into a wall or hard piece of furniture. Last week, he started pulling himself up into a standing position and has also started taking a few steps while holding onto furniture. One of Isaac’s favorite things to do now is to stand holding onto the bars, either looking out to the front or back of the house. This often involves some sort of screaming (in excitement) or head banging movement (also in excitement). His babbling has progressed and he’s become quite the talkative guy. I think his favorite means of communication are still the raspberry or scream, but there are a lot more sounds coming from his mouth now. He even has “ma” down pat and I’m just waiting for the day when I hear a clear “Mama”. I’ve come to realize that even though the majority of babies get to go through these developmental stages, when it’s your child, it’s absolutely magical. 

 

  Isaac and Markus have officially bonded. They are definitely two peas in a pod which brings so much happiness to my heart. Favorite activities together include: rides in the carrier in which Isaac tries his best to bite the buttons off Markus’s shirt, shoulder rides, wrestling on the floor, reading books, building towers of books for Isaac to knock down, and in rare moments, sitting quietly outside on the patio. Markus has discovered a cure-all for Isaac’s cries. If Isaac is fussy or bonks his head as tends to happen now that he’s on the move, Markus quickly gets the “Snuggle Puppy” book. The words in this book are meant to be sung and Isaac just loves it.

Just to clarify, this is Isaac's excited face.

Captain Distructo

  The other day we went for afternoon coffees at one of the shopping centers. We came across a Zambian drummer and dance group. Isaac was absolutely enthralled with the music. He seems to have a wide range of musical interests from Zambian drummers, to Mumford and Sons, to Raffi, to Gorillaz, to the Lumineers. He especially likes it when we dance around with him and swing him up in the air. 

  Isaac and I have started going on runs with the stroller. I realize that this looks incredibly strange in Zambia and get a lot of looks when I’m out, but I just don’t care. It’s been great to run again and to do an activity that I had been looking so forward to doing with Isaac. At first, I wasn’t sure if Isaac liked being in the stroller, but now that he’s used to it, I think he really enjoys the view. He gets an unimpeded view forward which compared to the carrier and car seat, is something new for him. Like his mother, he seems to have difficulty staying awake in moving vehicles. Runs end with him fast asleep in the stroller. I can only imagine future road trips as a family - Markus driving with Isaac and me snoring soundly. Apologies in advance, Markus.

Whew, jogging is tiring. I think I'll just close my eyes for a bit.

  When I think back on the past four months, there have been new roles that I’ve had to take on. The most obvious being a new mom. But there have been others. When my mom was here, I got to be her hairdresser (I think she’s probably happy to be in the hands of a professional now) and her surgeon (unfortunately, had to remove one of the fly larvae from the back of her leg – cuticle scissors and alcohol wipes came in handy). Both of these were a bit of a “Tschopp” job (get it “chop” job – sorry, couldn’t help myself). In the time that I was experimenting with scissors (sorry Mom), Markus was honing his skills in the kitchen. He’s now become quite the gourmet chef and I have been enjoying all the meals that he has made since he’s been here. There have been a lot of power outages lately which has made getting dinner on the table a bit dicey, but also mean that there’s a really good reason to eat by candle light. How romantic!

My men in the kitchen.

  The three weeks that Markus has been here have just flown by. Actually, it was a bit shocking to already be writing this four-month update. Markus is scheduled to fly home on Saturday which I’m just dreading. It’s been absolutely amazing to be together as a family. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for our court date. Last week we found out that our case had been taken to the Head Office and is now being “fast tracked” due to the delays we have experienced. I guess even by Zambian standards, the delay is getting a bit extreme. We’re still waiting to hear when we will get to go to court. It’s the case of another “any day now” situation, but it’s getting a bit stressful as “any day” really needs to happen in the next three days or Markus will need to reschedule his flight. We’re also preparing for my dad to come. He’s planned to arrive on Saturday as well, but again, his flight is up in the air if we don’t hear soon about this ___ (insert bad word here) court date. My dad will be helping Isaac and I on the final leg of our journey as we head to South Africa for the visa home.

  Before I left, my sister gave me four cards, one for each month that I would be in Zambia. I just opened my four-month card today. Yesterday, we were joking around on Skype. I said that as she didn’t make me a five month card, I really need to be home before February 14^th. She heartily agreed and said that staying past five months just isn’t an option. It’s nice to start thinking about my time here in terms of weeks instead of months.

We'll be sad to say goodbye to the pool, but I'm ready for colder climates. Are you, Isaac?