We are now back from 3 - 4 glorious weeks in the good U.S. of A. Our batteries are recharged, we have some new threads and our equilibrium is totally skewed from driving on the right side of the road. If we didn't get to see you, we're very sorry! It was a whirlwind trip covering manymany miles with just enough time in between to sneak in a few gallons of ice cream and a visit or 100 to Target. We even brought a little of Africa to DC with us... a mere 3 days after we arrived, there was a massive power outage (due to an equally massive thunderstorm) that lasted for 24 hours at Chez Nana's, but much longer at other people's houses. Plus, everything got very peaceful and quite and we felt very disoriented without hearing any generators humming outside out windows. That's just how hard core our life is here in Arusha, ample square footage and UN-provided generator.
I have lost count of how many teeth are in the danger zone that is Millie's mouth. A few too many close calls and I finally learned my lesson and don't stick my finger in there any more. Rest assured, there are plenty and they are plenty sharp. Along with teeth come plenty of words! Ball, no, bottle, dog, no, balloon, car, no, bye-bye, walk, milk, apple, no, nose and loads of things in Swahili as well. She is even advancing from one syllable words and starting to put words together, like "gwak?" which is code for 'Go for a walk?' Moreover, her comprehension is very good and communication between parent and child is becoming easier!
All this independence in the talking department is giving her the confidence to test her independence in other ways as well. She likes to see just how high she can climb on a chair before we stop her and see how many bounces on the sofa it takes before she bounces off. Not to mention she is keen to the secret that green specks in her food = vegetable and has learned to turn her nose up at them.
Millie loves songs. In fact, a few came in quite handy on the flight back from America. The Itsy Bitsy Spider worked wonders on settling her down while the hours trickled by. When possible, we go to a music play group on Friday's and Millie really loves it. Most songs are quite dynamic and interactive but she just gets the hang of it right as the song is ending. Except last week she had built up so much excitement from all the songs that by the time we were singing Old MacDonald she jumped into the middle of the circle and was stomping her foot up and down and flapping her hands makin' her Biloxi, Mississippi relatives real proud!
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