Hi friends, we’ve had to remove our latest post for the time being. Sorry if you came here to read it. Hopefully we’ll have another update for you soon. If you know us, please email for an update. We love you all!
Ok so now we’re getting REALLY close - these next lot take us up to the end of October! Enjoy xx
This guy is the ultimate big brother – he’s so sweet and gentle to his little brothers and sisters, even when they don’t deserve it. If any child was made to be the big brother of a ridiculous amount of adopted siblings - it’s him. If you give him one Smartie, he tries to break into enough pieces to share with them all - even if you tell him to eat it all by himself he won’t, he has to share. We know God knew what our family would become when he gave us Jackson!
School is very exciting and Jackson loves going which we’re grateful for. We love hearing him read, getting letters that he’s written and listening to him ramble on with all the things he’s been learning. This child can talk the leg off a chair - he never stops - and his stories take about 12 years to finish, but he has us in stitches on a daily basis so we don’t mind.
Jack has made a great little friend called Phoebe who moved here mid 2011. They play really well together and since she also lives on campus it’s easy for them to hang out. It’s so nice for him to have a good friend so close by.
He always has loads of fun outside in the yard: jumping on the new trampoline, building cities in the sandpit, or planting seeds and watering the garden (which has become his latest obsession after a unit on seeds in P1).
Jack’s really grown up a lot in the year that we’ve been here and we’re so proud of him =)
Better known as Mimy or ‘The Minx’ this crazy girl adds so much joy to our lives. She compliments the others so well and adds so much fun, unpredicatability and life to the family. We wouldn’t be the same without her! Her middle name, “Joy” is perfect for her as she’s always giggling away with a cheeky grin (and usually a plan for mischief), and you can’t be stressed or frustrated for long before she comes along and cracks you up!
Mimy also loves going to school and really surprised us when she settled in so quickly – she’s certainly not the clingy little girl we left Australia with.
She manages to survive on minimal sleep – always the first awake and last to bed - she’s just like her mother!
It’s been awesome to watch Jemima interact with her new brothers and sisters – she really loves playing with Jabari at the moment - as he catches up they have more and more in common. Mimy’s also a great big sister for Shay and Charlie at school.
And let’s not forget her bestie – Imani!! These two are a crack up to watch in action, never a dull moment. They are crazy about each other!
Love you Mimy Mooster xxx
As I write about Jabari I’m still amazed at how far he’s come – this time a year ago he was still living with Babu and Bibi, spending his days alone, unable to talk, walk or even crawl, and having never shown his Grandparents as much as a smile.
He overcame so much of that so quickly, but he has continued to make massive progress all year to the point where he’s now happily at school, confident in meeting new people and showing positive signs with his speech (he loves to babble to Charlie and Shay after they’re in bed!).
He has grown over 18cms since he came home, and it’s been like watching a child go from a 6month old baby to a 2 1/2 year old in a number of months. Amazing. Just watching him progress up shoe sizes and clothing sizes so quickly has been crazy.
He’s such a happy, giggly, crazy and affectionate little boy and we love him to bits. I might also mention that he’s quite the ‘stud’ in his EC class, and the girls all fight over who gets to hold his hand!
Go Jabari!!!
When Shay came into our family last year she was a loud, lethargic and chubby little baby. She was so lazy and would cry about a toy that, despite being within her reach, she couldn’t be bothered to lean forward and pick up! And she could scream like a banshee!
It’s been really beautiful to watch her little personality blossom throughout the year – and especially over the last month or two as she’s started school and become more independent. She’s quite energetic in the backyard now, and on the dance floor – you wouldn’t think she was the same kid! She has learned to communicate in other ways than screaming (what a relief for our ears!!), and is just a sweet little chatterbox now.
Her teacher calls her “Mrs President” and says “that child knows what she wants and how to get it!”, and she certainly knows how to boss around her two littlest brothers. Luckily, she has big sister Jemima to put her in her place.
It’s been pretty special to watch her bond with Anna too – she’s a Mummy’s girl and her little face lights up when Anna enters the room, followed by squeals of laughter, then she tries to stand on her head (who knows what that’s about!?)
One thing will never change with Shay though – her love for Chakula (food)! In Swahili, “kula” means “to eat”, and sometimes Shay can be found gazing into her bowl saying “love you, kula”.
