14 November 2017

My darling Abby Jones, you are so much fun. I can’t believe you are almost three. You love to laugh and have fun. Tonight me, Mimimo, Bepops, and Ruth Michael were playing Bible story charades. You watched although you weren’t quite sure what we were doing. After a little while you looked at me with a big smile on your face and said, “what are we doing?” As if you didn’t really care one way or the other because you knew it was fun but you were just curious. It tickled me so I laughed and you LOVE to make me laugh, so of course you kept asking me the question again hoping I would keep laughing. I laughed every time because it was such a fun game for you.

You still love to hold my hand, mostly my pinky. You have hated being in the car seat since we arrived in the States. You always want me to reach my hand back to you so you can hold it while we drive. If you ask me something and I say “no” you say, “no, I mean LATA” (later). When we were walking from church to Baumhauer’s in Tuscaloosa we passed a fire hydrant and you asked what it was. You don’t see many of these in Kenya. Two times now you have noticed the fluorescent lit-up EXIT signs in a building and asked me what it says. Last time it was in church so I tried to whisper “exit” to you. You said, “eggs and toast??!!” We were at a shoe store and you asked why none of the shoes matched (they only put out one of each pair for display:). Your sleeves must always “pull down” and your pants legs must always “pull down” and they cannot be pulled up too high at the waist, either. The tongue on your shoe must be pulled out properly. You hate wearing jammies, but I make you now because it is so cold. You don’t like any type of pants other than leggings and say they are “distabing” (disturbing) you. You love to eat “cholocolate” (chocolate). You mix up potatoes and tomatoes. You say you don’t like potatoes but it is actually tomatoes that you don’t like. You love for me to cuddle you at nap time and at night. When I leave you to sleep at night you always yell “check on us!!!” You love to do school with me and “Kikal.”

Overall, I think you are an amazing kid. You are two, almost three, and we are dragging you all over this country, sleeping in different beds, eating different foods, meeting different people, and taking lots of long car rides. You behave really well and mostly get along with others, but you also stand up for yourself when something is happening that you don’t feel good about... not always in the best way. When we were at James and Caroline Crownover’s house I think you head-butted their daughter, Lilly, in the nose... I don’t know exactly why... but she really cried so it must have been forceful. Sometimes I see a little fire come out of your eyes when you are upset or I am punishing you, but you are always quick to say, “sorry, mama” and then you want to love on me and make sure we are okay.

You love your family. You say and do everything that Kikal does. We went to Tuscaloosa while Iddy went on the fall retreat, and you said, “where is Iddy? Why did we leave him?” You hate for me and Papa to leave you but you are okay if you have Kikal and Iddy. You like to say “I’m not a baby, I’m a big gal” and when I ask if you are a baby you say, “No, I’m Abby Jones!”

21 November 2017- I was wearing a pair of cowboy boots and you said, "I wish I had shoes like you that make noise when I wear them." (My boots click when I walk:)

Song from school:

Pop pop pop
Pop the balloon
Pop it loud everyone to hear
How many do you have?
2, 2, 2
That's the number of my "yaz"

You miss Malindi so much and ask to go back there all the time. You love to go to Flat Rock Park at Mimimo and Bepops' house and you call it "Flat Wok Kauk."