Sleeping

Sleeping is a big issue for the C's.  Big C has had issues with sleeping for a very long time.  Naps seem to have become easier for her now and I thank God for that every time that they go over smoothly.  She needs her flashlights, her Santa pillow, some books and sometimes her Dora doll to be able to fall asleep without tears or a fight.  Sometimes even with all of those things she still has some tears, bless her heart.  I found her asleep like this earlier this week:

Who needs a stuffed animal when you have flash lights to snuggle with?

I am thankful though that my 2 1/2 year old still takes an afternoon nap rather we have to fight for it or it goes smoothly.

Now Baby C on the other hand has been a very good sleeper from about 2 months on.  However, recently she has started rolling over.....
You have to know that when Big C was a baby she started rolling over at three weeks from belly to back.  So with Baby C I have made an effort to not let that happen.  A baby that can not move yet is much easier to handle in my opinion.  My plan was to not do "belly time" with Baby C so that she could not start rolling over from belly to back until I was ready.  She has mainly been held in a sling, sat in a bouncy chair or car seat, or laying in her bed sleeping.  I am not sure where I went wrong but about a week ago she rolled over for the first time from back to belly.  She doesn't like it when she does this because she has never been on her belly and this is strange to her.  So now my good sleeper has started rolling over in her sleep as well and wakes herself up.  Baby C has gone from taking 2-3 hour naps to waking herself after 1 hour to 1.5 hours.  I know that is still a good nap but people, I miss her 2 hour naps!!!!

Baby C rolled over in sleep, long pillow there placed after she rolled so she wouldn't roll herself back and wake up again

A side note, don't get all judgmental about the pillow she is sleeping on.  I confirmed with a doctor that a firm, baby pillow was ok to use.  This addition to her bed is what helped her to start sleeping for longer periods because it raised her some so her acid reflux would not bother her while sleeping.  Seriously, Americans are too caught up in safety issues....

First Drawings

Yesterday I was making a calendar for my parent's trip here next January while Big C and Baby C were napping.  Big C woke up, came out of her room and into my lap.  She saw that I was using the back of a paper in her paint book that Aunty B had sent her.  So she informed me that I was using her paper and she wanted to use it.  I gave her my pen and her book back and she proceeded to draw her first people ever!  I was so impressed that I had to share her work with the blog family.  I am her mom so remember that I am impressed with Big C over everything even how she can throw a fit!  Anyway here is her art work.  My Big C is growing up and I am cherishing every moment that she crawls into my lap these days.

This is Mama K, we started writing Mama together but never got the last "a" written.

The colors coming through are from her painted picture on the other side.  These are "balloon people".

Photo Contest

Our Sunday School had their kick off this morning.  During the month of September each class has had some type of competition going on and the winners were announced this morning during the kick off.  The baby class had "who can drink a bottle of milk the fastest".  Baby C refuses a bottle so she chose not to enter the contest.  Big C's two-three year old class had a family photo competition.  We put in the family photo from the first blog post for Big's C's entry.  As they were announcing the winners, Big C, was in the back playing/talking to herself.  She was quite surprised when she heard her named called but surprised me by being willing to go to the front with me.  She had no idea that we had given a picture to her teacher, that there was a competition and much less that she had won that competition.  So she was very pleased when she was given a wrapped gift.  

When she made it back to her seat and was unwrapping her gift with Papa D we asked her "Why did you get this gift".  Big C very quickly answered with her proud smile "Because I sleep by myself".  hahahahaha  We left it at that.  No need to tell her she won a photo contest.

I'm sorry but I did not think to bring our camera.  Several friends were taking pictures so maybe someone will put it on FB for me and I can send it over here to the Blog.

This is kind of blurry.  Our friend took this picture with her cell phone.

Mama K and Her Girls

Honestly, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a mother of two girls.  Perhaps that is why it took us eight hours to settle on the name for our second girl after her birth.  I could have given you 100 boys' names but when it came to girls I was undecided.  After three months of mothering two girls I need to say that I could not be happier.  My new dreams for our family of two daughters are even more exciting than any dream I had for a family of boys.  I love that Big C is so sweet and caring and that she loves to shop and paint her nails!  I have no idea what is in store for Baby C or what type of young lady she will become but I do know that she is my perfect gift from God.

I am so excited to watch my two girls grow over the years.  I am excited to cultivate their differences and similarities.  I'm excited to help mold a beautiful sisterhood between them.  While I am not naive enough to believe that there will not be arguments between them, especially as teenagers, I do believe they will have a deep love for one another and respect.  I pray that they will lean on each other and not push against each other as they grow and as they walk through the joys and trails of life.  They are my joy.

Not the Next Mia Hamm

Perhaps I am too quick in making this judgment call but Big C is showing no signs of being a soccer star.  Papa D and myself both enjoy a good game of soccer or futsal.  It seems to me that we would therefore produce sport loving children.  I don't think that we have when it comes to Big C.  Today Big C's preschool rented out an indoor soccer field for a sports day.  I was there with my camera in hand to catch the first shots of Indonesia's future star soccer player.  While I may have gotten a picture of the next big star, it was not Big C.  Oh well, I guess we will let her become a star in her on field of choosing.  That's what good parents do, right?

However, she sure was the prettiest player out there and that counts for something!

Shopping With Big C

Big C has been on a roll for getting rewards.  Her favorite reward is buying a new movie usually a Dora movie.  There is one place that has tons of kid movie/shows collections and that of course is her favorite place to go.  The following were taken yesterday.  Big C is very proud of the big girl she is becoming.  Cheers to Big C growing up (even if it makes Mama K a bit sad).

More on Ants (Grandpa don't look at this blog post)

One tree outside of our house was home to thousands of big red ants.  They would go from that tree to our neighbor's mango tree.  Well, yesterday Papa D had enough of the red ants coming into our house.  He took our little saw and went out and sawed many of the branches off of the tree.  In a frantic search of where to make a home the ants clamored onto part of our gate's wall.  There Papa D sent them to their eternal home.  The war is not over but yesterday's battle was a victory for family Kaemba.  Here are some pictures from the battle field.

Ants' homes within the tree

The eggs of the future generation

The gathering on the wall

The end of the battle

Empathy

Are people born with empathy or is it something you learn?  I know that some people are more empathetic than others but I don't know where the empathy comes from.

People who get teary eyed from commercials I think, are very empathetic people.  A 30 second glimpse into some strangers life on a commercial can make them cry.  That has to be because they can quickly understand how that person (or animal) must be feeling.

I think if you are born with empathy levels then Big was born with high levels of it.  Tonight Big C was able to go buy another movie for another successful day of falling asleep by herself with no tears or help from Mama or Papa.  She picked out the 2nd Tinker Bell movie.  After Baby C had gone to bed and Papa D had left to play bedmitton we snuggled up together and watched the movie.  There is one scene when Tinker Bell cries because she misses her friends.  Big C looks over at me and with the biggest tears and lips stuck out far she says in her sad voice "I'm sad Mama, Tinker Bell is crying.  Tinker Bell is sad.  Why is she sad".  I almost cried myself from Big C's face and tears.  I explained to her what was wrong until she understood and said "Tinker Bell just go find your friends, ok, and then you will be happy".

That is empathy.  I think if we all thought a little more about other people and how they feel our world may have fewer tears and more smiles.

I have new pictures to post but I left the camera in the car so they will have to wait for another day.

Coming and Going

One thing that makes life difficult here is the coming and going of friends.  My Indonesian friends are pretty constant.  We have only had one Indonesian family that we are close to move away.  However, my western friends are constantly going to america or coming back.

Starting on October 4th all of my closest American friends will be Stateside.  I am some  bummed about this.  Have you ever lived overseas?  Or have you notice immigrants living around you and seen how if someone is from your home country you become instant friends.  Here I would say, if you are from an English speaking country you become friends pretty quickly.  People from the same cultural background flock together.  There is a comfort in knowing that someone understands you, not just your language but your humor and way of thinking.

So I write this asking for your prayer during the month of October.  I will be feeling lonely as I miss my American friends but don't worry about me I have plenty of Australian, English, Scottish and Indonesian friends here to keep me happy.

Big C Sleeping

For 31 months we have been trying to help Big C to learn how to sleep.  If any of you out there have had children that have a hard time sleeping then you will understand that this has been a learning process for us as parents as well as for Big C as a sleeper.

Big C naps every afternoon for 1 1/2 -2 hours.  This is very nice for Mama K.  Getting her to sleep for nap is what our struggle is with the nap situation.  For months we have laid down with her and patted her bum until she was asleep.  One thing that had to change when Baby C came was the bum patting.  There is just no way for me to do that on most days now.  So with the help of Dora videos Big C has been slowly learning to take naps by herself with zero tears.

Big C excited for nap in her new Dora pajamas! 

Today was one of our successful days.  Memaw sent Big C some very cool Dora pjs which Big C just had to wear for nap!  She was very eager to go take a nap in her new Dora pjs.

After this photo session, Big C decided to read some books to herself to help her settle down.  She had been very quiet for thirty minutes and I was just sure she was up to something.  I was wrong; this is how I found  her:

Big C fell asleep reading her book

Thank you Memaw for giving us more then Dora pajamas; you gave us a peaceful afternoon!  Now Big C is off on a date with Papa to celebrate her being such a big girl.  They are buying a new Dora movie and yes, Big C is still in those Dora pajamas!

Mornings with the Cs

Each morning is a race to get Big C to school and Baby C back down for a nap.  There is not much that is peaceful about this process.  I experienced this as a child as well.  Each morning seemed like a challenge to my parents to get us three kids dressed and out the door.  I can't even begin to count how many times my sister missed the bus over not being able to pick out socks that she liked.

This is our morning routine:

6:50 am Baby C wakes and gets her breakfast (nurses)
7:15 am Big C wakes and gets her breakfast of oatmeal or cereal if someone has blessed us with some
7:20 am Baby C is dressed for the day and plopped into her baby chair
7:30 am Big C watches Umi Zoomi while she potties and dresses for school
7:40 am Baby C gets a cuddle and placed back in chair
7:45 am Big C brushes her teeth and Papa D fixes her hair (yes, Papa D does this)
7:55 am Big C puts on her motorcycle helmet and heads out the door with Papa D
8:00 am Baby C gets a cuddle and sometimes she asks for a bit more milk
8:15 am Baby C is back in bed
8:20 am Mama K has her cup of coffee in hand and is blogging/ FBing/ or out the house to visit people

Now you must remember that this is what we dream the routine would look like.  Usually you can throw in 1-2 tantrums by Big C about sitting at the table or not wanting to use her potty.  You can also throw in an extra clothes change for Baby C as she will probably spit up all over the 1st cute outfit we have put on her.  Also please note that I do not leave Baby C alone in the house while napping; our Martha is always here before I leave!

That time span is only 1 1/2 hours but boy does it feel like a marathon!

Baby C in her usual morning post

Big C dressed and ready for school

What's your morning routine like?  Do you have any secrets to share?

BEWARE

If you think you know ants then I ask you to come visit us in Indonesia.  It has become a hobby of my husband to kill ants.  We have teeny tiny black ants, medium size black ants, and extra large black ants.  We have big and little biting red ants.  We have the ants that when you kill them your hand smells sweet.  Papa D just came back from taking Big C to school on the motorbike.  As he walks in the door, I heard him say "Let's kill some ants" to himself.  Ants are not welcomed in the house.  Big C has been stomping on ants since she learned to walk at 11 months.

Here are some the ants that lay dead on our floor at the moment.

Above would be a sample of a small black ant.  They are numerous and annoying.

This is a sample of the large black ant.  I really don't like these because when you kill them you can hear them crunch.  I usually ask Big C to get rid of these for me.

We have been given some great ant killing poisons from friends and family in the States.  If you would like to recommend your favorite method of disposing of ants feel free to comment.

New Blogger

I don't know what I am doing. It's just that I find that I have a lot to say and no one but my 2 year old and 3 month old to say it to a lot of the time. Now I have you.

We went to our church's small group tonight for the people that live in our part of town. Papa D came home with Big C at 6 and said "Oh man, Mama K, I forgot I have to preach tonight at 6:30 at our small group". Here I am holding Baby C thinking about the quiet night and hopefully early bed times that were in store for us tonight. I was so wrong.

Before Papa D finishes his sentence I put Baby C in her chair and dash for the kitchen. I know that we will be fed at the small group but mystery meat scares me. I scarf down our homemade Soto Ayam (traditional Javanese Chicken Soup) while Papa D hoses down Big C in the shower. We each throw some semi-nice clothes on the two girls and run for the car. Ooops, the carseats are not in the car. No time for that now! Big C is buckled up into the back seat and told if she can "duduk manis" (sit sweetly) we will give her a chocolate later. Baby C sits up front in my lap. Oh, the joys of no safety laws in this country. No fear Mom, we only are driving 15 miles an hour tops!

I had dressed Baby C in pink pants, with a bow on them, and a purple shirt. Within 5 minutes of arriving we are told we have a "handsome" baby. Gee thanks, but she's a girl, I promise. I have to get those ears pierced! My beautiful baby girl does not look like a boy to me but I guess no one will believe me until I stick some earrings in her ears.

While Papa D is preaching Big C decides that the one year old boy seated next to us is a very fun toy. You see this boy has some mighty big lips. Big C is entranced with these huge lips. She leans over and squeezes the pour boy's cheeks together so she can make the lips bigger. When she is bored of that she decides they would be fun to play like a guitar. So Big C strums the boys lips. Now she has just fallen in love with these lips and before I know it she has planted a big wet one right smack dab in the middle of those big, juicy lips....that's my girl.

We made it home at 8:30 just in time for another late bed time. Will we ever get our girls to bed at 7:30 like I dream of doing?

For Real This Time

As an American living in Indonesia I am always learning new things. As a new mom living in Indonesia I am learning even more. We are blessed in this family with Big C and our Baby C. They both look pretty in pink and they both have good lungs.

Big C is a chatty one. She likes to sing "rain rain go away" and "twinkle twinkle little star". She often tells us that Santa will make her a sandbox for Christmas or that Memaw lives far away. She loves shaking her boodie....who taught her that you ask? Her Aunty H did of course!

Baby C likes to watch Big C. Baby C is now a three month old and does many things each day; such as nurse, fill her diaper, and sleep. It is so hard to keep up with her pace of life. Baby C is a beautiful little girl even if she doesn't have earrings. Nothing bothers me more than when our baby is decked out in her pink fufu dress and someone ask me if she's a boy. People hear me say this, especially my lovely Indonesian neighbors, boys do NOT wear pink dresses!

Papa D as Big C likes to call him is busy doing this and that in the education field of Indonesia. He often has to take a trip which leaves Mama K and the Cs lots to blog about from their life at home.

As our life's keep marching forward with the ups and downs I will write them down. I'm not writing this just so Memaw, Pop-o, the fam and friends can keep up with us but also for the Cs so they can read about how darn adorable they were way back when.