Zumbathon and Halloween

So Hem, Kiran and I did a 2 hour Zumbathon this weekend. I'd never done Zumba before and was a bit skeptical about it... but it was really loads of fun. Some instructors were way better than others, but the music was always really good and the vibe was very energetic. There were over a hundred ladies there, all dressed in pink as it was a breast cancer fundraiser, dancing in the mud! We've had monsoon like rain in the last week and the field was flooded. Bonus: I won a facial in the raffle! Worth 5000kshs - woohoo!

So on Saturday night we went to the Latin American Club Halloween party. It was an organsied event held at a BIG house and it was just awesome. Benedikt went as Dracula and I went as a witch. We were both Halloween party virgins so didnt realise how under dressed we'd be! Next time we will go ALL OUT. Although our nanny did tell us we looked very scary and that she would run a mile if she saw us at night!


And finally, guess who else was there? Mark Cavendish!
In his off season, clearly. But he has just won the world champ title so he's allowed a few extra french fries.

I am now officially Schneidered

So Benedikt and I eventually got married last month! We'd had to wait almost 6 months to get the relevant documents we needed from our respective countries to go ahead with the procedure. Well actually, Germany took 6 weeks to provide us with Benedikt's 'Certificate of no impediments to marriage' while SA took the 6 months to provide mine! What a schlep. So we'd been unable to actually get married in time for our wedding. But our wedding day is what counted for us, the actual official bit was just a 5 minute paper signing session really.
We'd had to go to an awful, brown, over crowded, run down building called Sheria House in downtown Nairobi numerous times to get it all sorted. What a time consuming mission. But now its done, and we are married, and nothing has changed! Benedikt still forgets his manners :)

I guess I will change my surname when I get round to it. Unfortunately! The main reason I will is because its easier with Nico. When I traveled with him from Germany to Edinburgh I had to somehow prove he was my son! Thank goodness we had a copy of Benedikt's passport.

Then 2 weeks ago we did the Rift Valley Odyssey, a 3 day mtb ride in and around the Great Rift Valley. The riding was really hard but beautiful. One part was really majestic, following an awesome piece of single track contour line along the edge of the rift, with a drop on the left of you, the Longonot crater ahead and Lake Naivasha in the distance. I am currently ultra unfit as I've backed off exercise a lot, so I really suffered on Day 1 and 2. I was really sick on Day 3, so much so that I went to hospital for tests in the afternoon once we were back in Nairobi. Turns out I had an ecoli infection and had to go on anti biotics. It was horrible! But the weekend away for the race was great. Very social. And Nico is STAR camper. He slept through so much noise both nights

Nico @ 14 months

So Nico is now 14.5 months. And this has got to be the cutest stage ever. He is just such a little person. He is doing so many new things these days, and just loves to copy what we do. He dances (badly like his parents) whenever there is music on.... he knows how to make our iphones play music - actually he taught us the short cut! Its a true sign of the times when a one year old knows how to operate a touch screen ;)
He has this habit of screwing up his face now when he doesnt like something which is just TOO CUTE. He even does it on demand!
He also loves when I sing songs to him and is slowly learning all the actions. For example he touches his legs when I sing 'head shoulders knees and toes' and he claps his hands, nods his head and stamps his feet at all the wrong times when I sing 'if you're happy and you know it'.
He has 12 teeth already, including 4 molars. And his top middle two are giant teeth, so he munches on anything these days from carrots to nuts to rocks and shoes.
He runs everywhere now, not just walks. He is seriously fast. And he climbs everything he can! He climbs the stairs, onto our bed, the sofa, onto his stool in his room, to the roof of his pram (!) and up the jungle gym at baby group.
He just has one bottle at bed time now, so no more baby baby for him. He also he prefers to drink from our water bottles or a cup rather that his beakers.

He loves to play hide and seek. And being pushed around in his truck. And he LOVES the hosepipe and anything to do with water. So moving water from one bucket to another can keep him busy for hours. He loves anything outside really so its great we have such brilliant weather here. He loves the dogs too, he pulls their tails and stands on them and laughs when they come into his room or watch him in the bath, he also hits them with things - which they never seem to mind, its more attention!
Between Benedikt, Sara and I and I think we must have covered 100kms already pushing Nico up and down like this: (and he complains if you go too slowly!)


He is so much better co-ordinated with objects too. Like tipping things upside down or squeezing things or pushing buttons and generally learning how to operate the world. He also knows the actions for many things like if you mention a hairbrush he brushes his hair, or if you say flower he sniffs! Its fascinating to observe really. This kid thing is truly entertaining!
He loves to copy Lilian, our housekeeper, and often goes around with a broom. All kids seem to love doing this? Would be handy if it stayed that way.


He is trying REALLY hard to talk. And I think he gets frustrated when we don't understand him. But so far we can make out these words: ball, book, out, go, come, mama, Horse (so funny cos he shouts it like are always doing), this and up. So coming along slowly. And he makes many many different animal sounds.
And scrunches his face when you tell him! And he so understands most things we say to him which is amazing. And he often brings you things when you ask him. Yay, another slave!

He went through a stage about 2 months ago when he didnt want to be fed by me and he also didnt eat himself which was pretty difficult... but after much perseverance and much wasted food, we've worked out what he'll eat and what he won't. Although we constantly try new foods and re-try ones that he rejected before. Now he is eating really well, and eating himself. So its finger foods galore. So in the morning he has a whole banana - he stuffs it in while I get a mango or avo ready for him.... then he'll eat half of that. Then he'll have breakfast with Benedikt and eat half of his oats! At lunch we start off with various veggies which I've cooked nicely or roasted and hope he is hungry enough to try them. Then we move on to tofu and tomato and cucumber which are firm favourites. Then he fills up on pasta! Wholewheat of course, and with a dab of rapeseed oil and nutritional yeast. I do often give him leftovers from the night before too. eg lentils or quinoa. Then at around 5pm he eats ALOT of watermelon and sweet melon himself, while I shovel a fruit smoothie into him. He does eat meat much to my chagrin, but only when Benedikt feeds it to him ;)



Sleep wise he is an angel! I really don't know how we got so lucky but he is great. I guess we have Gina Ford to thank really. Her routines really work well for him. So he is down to just one sleep in the day time now - from about 12:30 to 3pm. And then he sleeps from 7pm to 7am every night and hardly ever wakes up! We are very lucky me thinks.
Check out one of my favourite videos of him:
And great news is that he's stopped sucking his thumb! So no dummy and no thumb. Yay. Although I did think the thumb sucking was a great comforter when his sleep was disturbed