Winter Wonderland

Throughout January and February, Mike and I have spent many happy hours dreaming of warmer places! Not that we don't love Pennington and NJ, but our blood seems to have thinned out over the years! Once we managed to pull ourselves back into reality, we did have a nice couple months.

Lewis has been up to all kinds of nonsense! In the middle of January, he figured out how to stand up on his own without having to hold on to anything. That just means that he is 100% walking and the baby crawl has disappeared. Mommy's had to finally admit that she has a toddler now, not really a baby. (Even though he'll always be her baby!) Our favorite new move from Lewis is his head shake dance move. I was doing the thriller dance one day while I fed Lewis lunch. (MJ

is our favorite artist here in the Wasden household!) Lewis got a kick out of it and started shaking his head along with me. He now does it all the time! The funny thing is that it looks like he's saying no, but he's really not. He does it to dance! February brought a very important discovery for Lewis; he realized he can put things inside of other things or on top of other things. This might seem mundane in adult world, but in Lewis world, this was a grand new discovery! He now loves playing with blocks - tipping them out of the crate and putting the back in. His favorite new activity is putting things on top of his firetruck and then very carefully pushing them around the living room. Favorite choices include his toy computer, his cell phone, and our mini hymnal (it's his fav, for some reason!). It's so cute to watch, and mom has visions of Lewis learning to love putting things away now instead of pulling them out...it might be a while though! One more piece of news, Lewis learned how to give high fives. Very cute! And, the word of the month has been "Hi!"

In terms of our family activities...

When we haven't been hibernating from the cold, we have managed to do a few fun things! We spent a weekend in Philly. It's just 45 minutes from us, but it was a fun little get away! Here's a picture of the boys at the Kimmel Center.

Norah had a couple choir concerts leading up to her choir's big performance at ACDA - the American Choir Directors Association conference. I think it's fair to say my conductor was completely on edge preparing to perform for all her colleagues. She worked us really hard, but it was worth it; the concert went beautifully. The other thing I've been struggling through is continued tendinitis in my wrists. It's called Dequervain's syndrome, aka Mommy thumb syndrome. I had cortisone shots in January which were very unpleasant. After they took effect, I had my first two weeks of pain free wrists in over a year. But, unfortunately, it hasn't lasted :-( So, the wrist splits are back out again, and I'm trying to talk to some new people about it. Ahhh! I feel old!

February also brought our snow days! The first blizzard was over a weekend, so Mike and I enjoyed a very fun, lazy snow day at home. The second blizzard came just a couple days later, and Norah's sister, Louise, her boyfriend, Tom, and their little dog, Ella, were visiting. It was such a treat! We loved getting snowed in together! They did lots of shoveling for us, which was SO much appreciated. We played, we made a snowman, we sipped lots of tea, and played a little scrabble. We were so sad to see them go!

Our two most recent excursions have been a night out at NY fashion week. Neosporin Lip Health (Mike's product) was one of the J&J products included in the gift bag at the Heart Red Dress Celebrity Fashion Show. So, we got to attend! We actually had tickets a couple years ago as well, but it was fun to go again and have a night out in the city. Here's me and Mike with Heidi Klum!

Over Valentine's weekend, we went up to the Catskills with Jake, Michelle, and the girls. We had a lovely time playing games, sitting by the fire, chatting, and taking a few little jaunts. The girls went skiing for the first time, which they loved. And we had a fabulous lunch with numerous, incredible desserts at the Culinary Institute of American on the way home. It was a very fun weekend away.

And, this past weekend, we had a lovely visit with Norah's Auntie Tippy and cousin Craig and family. It was so fun to catch up with them and see their kids again!

Finally, we've had a couple close calls as of late. Lewis managed to get both his hands in a tub of desitin before I could get the lid on it. Almost a disaster! He also found a tube of my lipstick and got his whole thumb mushed in it. Luckily I caught him before he started painting the living room! He has also discovered that he's tall enough to reach a large, decorative vase we have in the living room. It's one of the last things that hasn't been put away with baby-proofing. I just don't want to have to take it out! But, he keeps going up to it, waiting for me to turn around and see him, then giving me a mischievous grin and laugh, and reaching up to try and push it over. It's only a matter of time!!!

Look at this kid! To him, making a mess is an art form!!!

Lots of love to you all!

Malawi & Zimbabwe

Christmas in Africa

This year, Peter and Margie absolutely spoiled us with an amazing vacation to Malawi and Zimbabwe over Christmas. We had a marvelous time together.

The trip began with a few days in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. Peter and Margie live in a little cottage at Kumbali, a lodge on the outskirts of the city. Trust Margie to find the most gorgeous setting in an otherwise rather bland city! We spent a couple days napping and recuperating from the long flight. It was about 24 hours of travel, and Lewis only slept for 3-4 hours of it. But, he did amazingly well and hardly fussed at all; the preponderance of goldfish and graham crackers may have had something to do with that, but it worked! Once we were better rested, we were able to visit the city market, the wood carving market, some local stores, and Peter and Margie’s offices at CHAI. It was a treat to meet some of the people they work with and see their world there. We also enjoyed walks around the farm at the lodge and visited the cultural village there.

After that, we headed off on a week long trip to explore the southern part of Malawi.

We began in Machinga District where Margie works. She runs her PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of AIDS) there. One of the highlights of the whole vacation was seeing a community drama put on by her program in one of the village. It was a play about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, and included lots of dancing and singing. We were so humbled and amazed to see the poor conditions in the villages, and so impressed with the beautiful, warm people. Our little white baby was quite a spectacle, and we had hoards of children following us around wherever we went. It was such a neat experience!

After that, we drove into Liwonde National Park and went on a short, self-guided game drive, even spotting elephant! We stayed the night at Chinguni Lodge, a neat, rustic lodge with no electricity. We enjoyed a candlelit dinner with the other guests and went off to sleep under our mosquito nets, only to be woken in the night by the sounds of hyenas screeching as they raced around the lodge. In the morning, Margie (Gogo) spent time with Lewis while Peter (Baba), Mike, and Norah went off canoeing to see hippos. What an adventure!

After leaving the park, Peter and Margie sent us off for an incredible treat! They arranged for us to stay at Mvuu, a safari lodge further up the river. We were also lucky enough to be upgraded (probably because everyone adores Margie!) and stayed in a luxury safari tent! On boat ride there we saw plenty of hippo, crocs, and elephant, as well as beautiful birdlife. After a lovely lunch, Mike and I went for a dip in the pool. Then we headed off on our jeep safari in the afternoon. Lewis was an angel! He was probably more interested in his crackers than in the animals, but we do think he at least noticed the elephant! The game drive was amazing, and ended with drinks at sunset. We had a bit of a night safari drive on the way back to the lodge, which was neat, but extremely buggy – not Norah’s favorite! We headed to bed after staring at the billions of stars and watching the crocodile eyes move slowly through the water in front of our lodge as they hunted.

The next morning brought a little adventure. As we were heading off for our morning safari, Mike was stung by a scorpion that was actually sitting in the baby’s car seat! We were very grateful that he took the sting instead of Lewis, but it did hurt for about 24 hours. Shame! We had a gorgeous boat safari in the morning, and topped it off with another jeep safari. What an incredible experience! Then we were off on the boat to meet Peter and Margie again and smother them with thanks.

Our next destination was the Satemwa Tea Estates. We stayed in a gorgeous bungalow on the hills of the tea estates. It had beautiful gardens and a wide veranda. The tea estates were hundreds and hundreds of miles of undulating hills with bright green, manicured tea growing. It was breathtaking! We were able to do lots of walks and hikes around the estates, spent lots of time playing games and enjoying our bungalow, and even snuck in some quad biking at the end. We also found our favorite spot – the “picnic spot”, high on a hill overlooking the estates. After hiking to the spot once, we decided to drive back the next evening for a birthday tea for our little 1 year old Lewis! Happy Birthday little boy!

Feeling quite pampered and relaxed, we left the tea estates and went by Mt. Mulange, the highest mountain in Malawi. Then we drove up Zomba Mountain and met Margie’s co-workers at the Zomba Mountain Hotel for a lovely Sunday lunch – a holiday get together for Margie’s team. That was also a treat to get to know the people we’ve heard so much about. While we were there, Margie’s colleague, Olive, showed us how to tie Lewis onto Norah’s back as the African women do. Well, he absolutely hated it! Shame!

That evening we stayed at the Zomba Forest Lodge, a lovely little lodge tucked away up the mountain. It was also simple and rustic with no electricity, but with the most incredible chef named Solomon who made a divine meal for us that night. The next morning, Margie and Norah headed off on a walk to the local village. We had a lovely time until we had to run away from a drunk man who wouldn’t leave us alone. We’re pretty sure he was harmless, but it was rather unpleasant! Unfortunately, Mike spent the morning being so sick that we decided to drive back to Lilongwe that afternoon. Luckily he seemed to have a 24 hour type of bug, but we were happy he could rest up in peace back at home.

We did have a day or so of R&R, games, walks, visits with Margie and Peter’s friends, and time just with the family. That was lovely! We caught a performance of the Kumbali band down at the lodge. Peter also went up and met Fiona off the Illala Ferry that had come across from Mozambique where she is living. It was such a treat to have her there for Christmas, and we loved hearing about all her adventures in Mozambique. We also were able to go to the CHAI Christmas party where we met lots more lovely people and saw them dance the night away! Margie’s friend Phillip was kind enough to babysit for us so we could all go while Lewis slept. And lastly, our great hoorah was finding a broken tree branch off in the bush and using it to decorate our African Christmas tree, complete with little wooden animals.

It actually worked so well that Mike had been sick, because it meant we pushed our trip to the lake back, and so Fiona came too. So, on Christmas Eve morning, we all drove to Lake Malawi and stayed at an incredible resort called Pumalani. It was just heavenly! We all had our own little chalets overlooking the lake. After a swim down at the beach, we sat down for the most amazing lunch. The chef, Kate, was lovely, and her food, divine. We relaxed around the infinity pool, and then Gogo spent the afternoon with Lewis while Peter, Norah, and Mike went for a sunset ride on the dawh – a Malawian fishing ship. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner at dusk. We then had a very quiet Christmas celebration together. Most everyone was rather exhausted, but we still managed to sing a carol, open a few small presents, and eat quite a bit of chocolate. It was just such a treat to be together!

The next day Margie, Mike, and Norah went on a hike to a local village and then kayaked back, just in time for breakfast. We soaked up every last minute at the pool before packing up. It was fun to see Christmas celebrations happening in the villages and people coming from church on our way home. We were completely spoiled by the staff at Kumbali. Once we arrived home, we had about an hour to freshen up, put the baby to bed, and then our Christmas dinner arrived for us - already cooked! It was perfect! We could definitely get used to that!

First thing the next morning, Norah and Lewis flew from Lilongwe to Harare where Uncle John, Auntie Filly, and cousin Michael met them. There wasn’t room in the car for everyone, so everyone voted that the baby should get to fly! That all went smoothly, and Norah had a lovely day relaxing at the Lewis home in Harare. The rest of the crew drove out the following morning and arrived in Harare at the end of the day. It’s a 7 hour drive, but one has to factor in an additional 4 hours of time at the border posts along the way. TIA, as Peter and Margie would say – This is Africa!

Our time in Zimbabwe was just lovely. It was so special to get to spend time connecting with family whom we see so little. Uncle John and Auntie Filly have a beautiful home with exquisite gardens. Lewis had plenty of room to roam! Uncle John drove us around the city, giving us some insight into the situation there and how things have developed. We also spent one afternoon at some lovely local shops. Evenings were filled with Filly’s incredible cooking and wonderful, long, warm meals. Cousin Bronwyn is also living in Zimbabwe this year, so she came for dinner one evening; that was wonderful to see her.

Our last day in Harare was a real treat. We drove out to a game conservancy about an hour and a half away from the city. We spent the day on a lovely game drive where we were able to see giraffe, rhino, lion, elephant, buffalo, zebra, lots of different antelope, and plenty more besides. It’s a protected area, so it’s not quite the same as seeing them properly in the wild. But, it was a beautiful day, and we had a wonderful time together.

And then we were off! This time we had about 36 hours of travel before we walked through the door and fell into bed at home. Again, Lewis did so well. We have quite the little angel traveler here! We feel so spoiled and so thankful for the time that we were able to spend with our dear family and for all of the incredible sights and adventures. What a treat!

Halloween & Thanksgiving

I’m afraid that I’m rather behind on blog posts, so we’re talking a little walk down memory lane to catch up!

Lewis had ample opportunity to wear the bumble bee costume that Mommy made for him for Halloween. When I first finished it, we had to try it on for size. Afterwards I needed to run out to the grocery store, so the bumble bee came with me. Daddy took Lewis to the Pennington Halloween parade the weekend before Halloween. Then, Auntie Fobo and Mommy took Lewis to the Princeton Halloween parade during the week. We also wore costumes the whole day long on Halloween. What a cutie bee!

Over Halloween weekend, we slipped away to DC and had a great little getaway there. Saturday morning we visited Eastern Market, one of our favorite spots. There we met up with both Cat and Fiona, who were both visiting DC that weekend too. We spent the afternoon walking along the mall and then visited the National Gallery. (This was all in costume, mind you; it was Halloween, after all!) After taking in the art, Lewis woke up from his nap. We spent the next hour walking around the marble atrium with him. He was dressed up as a little bumble bee, and went to town crawling all around and pushing his stroller. It was a very cute little spectacle! After dinner at the Lebanese Taverna, a favorite restaurant from our DC days, we went to Debby’s house and spent the night and the next day catching up with her and some other friends. It was perfect!

And then it was off to Boise for Thanksgiving! Lewis had the time of his life exploring Didi and Papa John's house. He also loved some dance parties with Uncle Tyler. Unfortunately, his noggin was a little worse for the wear after the trip; he came home with a few big bumps. That's what happens when you're learning to walk!

We were lucky enough to spend a whole week out in Boise over Thanksgiving. It was such a treat to be with Didi and Papa John, as well as Tyler, Scott, and Cat. Besides cooking and eating a whole lot, Mike got in a couple racquetball games with the guys. Norah tried her first Zumba class at the gym and loved it. And, we spent most of our time just watching Lewis race around the kitchen and family room, showing off his new walking skills. Another highlight of the trip was getting to visit Fluff, Lewis’s great-grandmother, and then having her over for Thanksgiving. It was so special for us to see Lewis meet his great-grandmother. Even though we had a full week, it all seemed to end too soon; we can’t wait to be with the whole Wasden family again next summer.

After getting home from Boise, we only had about 10 days to recoup and get ready for our big Africa trip. Mike worked incredibly hard leading up to both Thanksgiving and our Christmas trip and pulled continual late nights. It was worth it so we could get away for so long, but we’re glad he doesn’t always keep such crazy hours. We also managed to squeeze in Norah’s Messiah performance, which is always a treat to perform. We had a lovely pre-Christmas celebration with Jake, Michelle, and the girls; it’s become a bit of a tradition with our families, and we love it! And, we met Santa at the Pennington tree lighting...Lewis wasn't so sure though!

Next post…off to Africa!