No Gardener

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Rutendo came to Mommy today and told her that Mr. Antonio (our gardener) was crying because he had a call from his wife telling him to come home to say goodbye. He had taken her home to her family a couple of weeks ago because she "went crazy," and I guess things had gotten worse.

So we paid Mr. Antonio for October and he left, and we don't know when or if he is coming back.

TV & Potty Training

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I really like TV. When I'm watching my Baby Songs video, don't expect to get more than a glance from me if you come in the room. And if you get in the way of me and my TV, you will get a dirty glance. When my video is done, I still keep watching the TV screen hoping something will show up.

Mommy only lets me watch one video a day. Apparently some study showed that babies who watch TV, even educational TV like Baby Einstein, have slower cognitive development than babies who don't watch TV. Sounds like hogwash invented by someone who doesn't want babies to have any fun.

Cuz I know I develop really fast when the TV is on. Whenever the potty chair song comes on, I start trying to crawl to the potty. (Mommy here: Esme thinks the potty is in the TV.)

But Mommy told Daddy that she refuses to potty train me until I can walk. Daddy wanted to start the potty training a long time ago already. Guess I better hurry up and walk so we can all be happy.

Peaches & Oatmeal

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I had hot oatmeal and fresh peach slices for breakfast this morning - no baby food for me! It was very good, and Mommy was very impressed. Daddy says he'll be impressed when I eat mielie pap for breakfast.

On another note, I am going to be very color coordinated, I think. I have started putting together the green block with the green ring and the blue block with the blue ring, all by myself with no prompting from Mommy.

Well, I need to get back to my rattle practicing now. I will be putting on a rattle concert for Daddy when he gets off the phone with his brother.

Table Tennis

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I played table tennis against Mommy again, and I am getting real good. I beat her about 2 million to 12. (OK, it was 21 to 12 or something like that.) I can pick up and hold the bat real good, but sometimes I like to eat it intead of hit the ball, so Daddy has to help me.

She says she'll have a chance to beat me again when I grow too big to stand on the table and am too short to see above the table. We'll see about that.

Drivin' to Boane

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We went to a church dedication today at Boane. Daddy had a different truck without a back seat, so I got to sit in the front with my front-facing car seat for the very first time. It was AWESOME! Who knew there was so much to see when you're riding in the car?!

Everything was very green because of the recent rain. Mommy tried pointing out the purple jacaranda trees and orange kafferboom trees and other things, but there was just SO MUCH to look at! Trucks, and people on bicycles, and kids rolling tires, and chickens, and lots more.

The church was packed. Mr. Domingos was nice and got us front row seats at the dedication, but I was a little scared when the choir started singing and started crying. So Mommy took me outside where I hung out with my cousins and Christian, though I did go back inside for the children's story about Jesus calming the sea. Daddy said the sermon was very good, too. We didn't play "Pass the Baby" at this church.

I was so tired afterward that I slept the whole way home, even with all the sights to see. And then I kept sleeping on until about now.

Runny Nose & Smelly Feet

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Daddy's been in South Africa and left me to take care of a sick Mommy. Fortunately he's back now, so he can take care of her. It got kind of hard when my nose needed scratching and rubbing all night long and she just kept waking up no matter how much I tossed and turned and kicked at her all night to keep her asleep. We finally gave up at 4:45 this morning.

And no, my feet don't really smell - I keep 'em really clean by sucking on my toes. I do like a little toe jam every now and then.

Mites' Stories

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Mommy's been washing her hands a lot lately.

It's payroll time again, which means (if the bank has money - remember, this is Africa) we get to count money.

Of course, the bank doesn't have the right currencies we need to make everyone's pay envelopes, so someone has to take what money we get and get it changed at the market by various vendors. Of course, it's still not the perfect change, so some people get paid 48MT in 50 centavo (2 cent) pieces - a hefty wad of change (Repeat Mommy's mantra: This is Africa.)

And the big bag of coins that comes from the market leaves your hands black after touching it. It also has that unwashed cookfire smell you'd recognize if you ever rode a chapa. Hence the handwashing.

So we've been counting the coins and talking about all the places these coins have been and the things they've seen. We read the story about the widow's mite. Maybe some of these mites bought food to keep a family from starving. Maybe they bought a chapa ride to see a sick or dying parent. Maybe they bought a hard candy from one of the street vendors. Maybe someone invested them into buying some chicks to lay eggs and make money. Or maybe they paid for an elephant ride and a big brass band and a police escort and a Chinese boy who eats with sticks and a big Magician doing tricks on Mulberry Street. Oh, the places they've been!

Rugby Finale

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We won! We won! South Africa won the Rugby World Cup over England, 15-6! We are champions! I told you so! Nah nah nah nah nah!

I got kinda bored during the game. All the points were penalty points - those guys played a great defensive game. But we're still the best!

I had to wear a hat because it was cold by the beach. I don't like hats. Even my cool pink Nike hat.

Mommy thinks I'm funny because I look around and smile when everybody cheers like I think they're cheering for me. What's funny about that? I bet you would cheer for me if you saw me . . .

Walkin’! (With Help)

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For the past couple of weeks I have been figuring out that moving my feet one in front of the other takes me places! You can see me in video if you like.

I still have lots of practicing to do, of course, and I can't do it by myself yet.

Walkin’ Thru My Yard

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First we stop and smell the red roses. I try to eat them and touch the thorns, too. Then we count the coconuts in the coconut trees. There are 22 kajillion of them. We don't stand too close to the trees, 'cuz a coconut might drop on my head.

After that we kick some mangos with a karate kick. Then we count the mangos in the mango trees. There are 41 gadzillion.

We dip our feet into the pool and drip them dry. Sometimes we sit by the pool and listen to the wind. It blows wisps of my hair back and feels good.

If there are any black mulberries on our teeny tiny mulberry bush, I lick at them and Mommy eats them. We smell the lemon blossoms and break a lemon leaf and smell that too. Mommy would try to shake some out of the tree except they might drop on my head. We don't count the lemons.

We check out the little vegetable garden, which has watermelon, cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, watermelon, maize, watermelon, green peppers, watermelon, eggplant, watermelon, cabbage, watermelon, Chinese cabbage, and watermelon. Oh, yeah, and watermelon, too. Our gardener has never gardened before, so it looks a little interesting, but we might still get something to eat out of it!

We say hello to Groban the dog in his cage. Then we check out the prickly fruit tree – the inside is kinda like a custard apple. We pick a couple of red chili peppers and I try to eat them. And we listen to the neighbor's mangos fall on the roof of our back building.

Finally we check out the magenta color of the bougainvillea bush and smell the frangipani flowers. Then we rest up on the front porch before heading back inside.

Dark Continent

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This is Esme's Mommy writing. Esme has a touch of Daddy's flu, but continues to be a sunshine girl in spite of her sniffles.

Interesting how things keep happening to prevent us from getting complacent here.

The little daughter of a 24-year-old Maranatha worker died on Friday. He asked us for help to pay for her casket – US$42. His monthly pay is US$80. A reminder that one in five children die before they are five years old in this country.

Early this morning our gardener came in tears and asked for US$38 so he could take his wife home to her family. She "went crazy" last night. The hospital here said they couldn't help her and he should try a traditional healer (aka "witch doctor"). This in Mozambique's center of civilization (Maputo). He had left her tied up at home to prevent injury when he came to see us.

Last night robbers beat up the guard on one of our school construction sites and stole the mirrors off one of our vehicles.

And a news article came out on Friday stating that AIDS kills more than 1,000 teachers in Mozambique each year, leaving kids without teachers. The student/teacher ratio is bad already, with teachers often having more than 100 students in a class.

Giggle Juice & Peek-a-Giggle

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Mommy finished the taxes – yeah!

For supper I had mashed banana, applesauce, nibbles of Mommy's apple, and apricot juice. Mommy says it must have miraculously been turned into giggle juice, since I giggled every time I sipped it.

Then when I was getting ready for bed, I decided to play peek-a-boo using my diaper changing pad. I've played peek-a-boo before, but this is the first time I did the "peek-a-boo" part all by myself. Except I did "peek-a-giggle" instead of "peek-a-boo," and it was much more fun that way.

Rugby II

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South Africa beat Argentina 37-13! I think my squealing and clapping made the difference . . .

Now they just have to beat England (again) and they win the rugby World Cup! Yeah!

Rugby

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I watched my first rugby game tonight. We went to a sports bar on the beach with a really big screen - the players were really big - even bigger than Daddy. It was the World Cup semifinals between England and France.


I didn't quite get all the rules, but it looks pretty easy. You throw the ball and catch the ball and roll around on the ground with the ball. I can catch balls good - I practice with Daddy - and I like to roll, so I think I'll be really good at rugby once I learn to run.


Anyway, I got to cheer with everybody, and I like doing that! I've even learned to clap now.


I got a little bored during the second half so left with Mommy for a little while, but there were only three points scored while I was gone, so I didn't miss much. England won 14-9. Daddy says France is a better team but they kicked the ball away too much. I can't kick yet so I wouldn't have made that mistake.

Now South Africa will beat Argentina tomorrow in the other semifinal game, and then it's South Africa versus England in the finals. And we already know how that will go - South Africa beat England in the first round 36-0! GO BOKS! [Clap clap clap]

Mornings

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I like mornings. First I get to sleep in as long as I want, sometimes as late as almost noon. When I wake up, I talk to the animals on my crib mobile or watch Rutendo if she's cleaning in my room. When I start talking really loudly, then Mommy comes in.

She sings "Good Morning, Beautiful" while I smile really big for her, and then we open the curtains and sing "Let the Sun Shine In." We look outside the window and talk about the date and the weather like we're weather forecasters. Today Mr. Antonio, our gardener, was climbing up our BIG tall coconut trees to pick some coconuts. And there was a little boy and girl playing ball in the yard across the street. We check out how big the mangos are getting, too.

Then I have to take my medicine. The malaria medicine always makes me grimace, but I don't mind the allergy medicine at all.

Every other day I have to take a bath. It's kind of fun - I play with my rubber duckies, but sometimes I swallow bath water while trying to eat the duckies, and then I choke and I don't like that too much. It's very slippery in the bathtub.

I get to brush my own teeth in the morning - Mommy brushes them at nighttime. Next, she brushes my hair, which feels really good.

I get dressed in some of my pretty clothes - I have LOTS of pretty clothes. Actually, Mommy tries to dress me while I roll all around the bed and complain that she is trying to make me stay still. I like to roll.

Then I eat breakfast while Mommy reads my Bible devotion to me. When I'm done with that, I check myself out in the mirror while Mommy sings "Who Am I?" and "Hello, Esme, How Do You Do?" When I know I look good, then I start checking out the faucet under the mirror and trying to turn the water on.

After that, I get to do lots of different things. I'll tell you about that another time.

My Cousins are Back!

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My cousins are back! We went out to eat pizza and ice cream to celebrate their birthdays. Well, I didn't get any pizza or ice cream, only applesauce . . .

I do get to drink litchi juice all the time, though. How many of you get to do that?

Taxes Schmaxes

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Mommy is working on our 2006 tax return and I am very bored. Won't someone please come and play with me???

Indian Food

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Mr. Riaan came from South Africa to volunteer for a month. We went to Daddy's favorite restaurant. I got to eat pears, but they sure didn't taste like the yummy Indian food smells I was smelling. What's with that?

On the way we passed a man curled up by the side of the road with no pants on. We stopped to see what was wrong. He didn't want any help and said "they" could kill him if they wanted to. Finally he said he didn't like having people watching him, so we left him some money and left. It was a little bit weird.

You Know You Are a Missionary Kid When . . .

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1. You can't answer the question: "Where are you from?"
2. You speak two (or more) languages but can't spell in any of them.
3. You flew before you could walk (or crawl, or roll over, or sit).
4. Your life story (at the age of 6 months) uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times (or six, or seven times...).
5. You speak with authority on the quality of airline travel.
6. You don't know where home is.
7. You sort your friends by continent.
8. You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.
9. Your wardrobe can only handle two seasons: wet and dry.
10. You go to Pizza Hut or Wendy's and you wonder why there's no chili sauce.
11. You can only call your grandparents at 8am and 8pm.
12. It isn't unusual to find a lizard or cockroach in your house.
13. You are a pro packer, or at least have done it many times.
14. Living out of a suitcase, you find, has it pros.
15. You return to the States and you are overwhelmed with the number of choices in a grocery store.
16. Everyone has a 'staff'; maid, house cleaner, driver and babysitter.
17. Blackouts are quite common, yet after a while no one seemed to notice and sometimes you find yourself reading to the light of your phone or flashlight.
18. Your passport has more stamps than a post office.
19. You have to change your passport because it's full... not because it's expired... and this several times during one year.
20. You carry converters because you actually realize there are different types of outlets.
21. You wake up in one country thinking you are in another.
22. You don't even bother to change your watch when traveling.
23. You start introducing yourself followed by your country of origin....
24. Paying a cop is not considered a bribe.
25. You have free accommodation in any city you travel to around the world because some friend from the old days lives there!
26. You always have to think which side of the road to drive on.

Wedding

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I went to my first wedding today – Mr. Machaieie, our Human Resources Coordinator, got married. There was lots of singing. There were two pretty flower girls. Everyone stood during the whole service (except me in my car seat). And I made friends with Mr. Abel's little girl. She is 14 months old and can walk already.

My cousins are coming back this week!

Brains

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Mommy just read my last blog and says she CAN blame me for deleting the photos off her camera. She can also blame me for forgetting to put yeast in the bread she baked yesterday. (It's good I don't eat bread yet, huh?)

She says that a mother always gives half of whatever brains she has left to her baby when she is pregnant, and she never gets those brains back. (That's why the oldest baby is always the most intelligent . . .)

So now she has to retrain the pathways in what brain she has left, and sometimes shortcuts get taken and things get missed.

It's a good thing Mommy is so smart - that means I'll be smart, too.

Sleep and Other Sundry Topics

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Yes, I know the definition of "sundry" now - I learned it in Bible Study last night.

It is raining today, and there are still lots of mosquitos. It really bugs Mommy when she flushes the toilet and they come flying out.

I still like playing with computers. This week I hit the buttons to print a page on bananas. I really like bananas! Daddy says I almost deleted all the files on his external hard drive. But Mommy can't blame me for deleting all the photos off her camera - she did that all by herself, so now I don't have many pictures of my fifth month. Oh well . . .

And sleep! Who needs that? I am like my Daddy - I like to stay up really late - until 11 p.m. or midnight. Mommy lets me do that, because then I sleep in later and she can work in the morning without interruptions. Sometimes I sleep until 11 in the morning. She says that last night was ridiculous, though - I didn't fall asleep until about 6:30 this morning. I slept until noon and got up so I could post this blog. I like Sabbaths!

Brushin' My Teeth

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My Daddy brought me a toothbrush from South Africa yesterday, so I got to brush my two teeth for the first time today! It is a little green & yellow & pink brush, and he got me Barney toothpaste, too. Mommy won't let me floss yet, though. And I don't have the rinsing thing downpat quite yet.

Six Months Old!

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I'm six months old today! That makes me over the hill, huh?

I have no idea how much I weigh or how long I am. Mommy keeps putting new clothes on me because I'm growing out of my old ones, though.

I have been rolling all over this month (even off the bed once), and of course I sit up all the time by myself. I like dropping things and making toys squeak. No new teeth, though, and I still can't walk yet.

Mosquitos

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There are way too many mosquitos in this part of the world! The rain is bringing them out in hoards. They are African-sized and move faster than their American brothers.

Mommy got NINE bites to scratch this afternoon. Then she jumped around killing them. She got three INSIDE the mosquito net on the bed - there was still one buzzing around in the net that she couldn't get.

They make quite an interesting mosaic on the walls, especially the ones with blood.