we have a sitting baby, people!

Samory started sitting up last week, and it's made taking pictures of him so much easier :)  Oh, how I love this little guy.  Ugh. He's so cute, it just makes my heart hurt. 

"Birthdays"

So, Samory turned 5 months old yesterday and today is Lamine's birthday!  Is it awful that I'm more emotional about Sam turning 1 month older than I am about Lamine turning 1 year older?  This picture is from a few days ago, and it isn't an awesome picture of Sam, but I still like it. I'll try to post more pictures later.

First Mother's Day

I had a beautiful first mother's day.  Our friends Heather and Chase and Melissa and Bryce threw us a wonderful mother's day brunch, and we spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunny weather. Here's a few pictures of our little cutie on the lawn. 

P.S. He can't really sit up yet. He'll keep his balance for about 10 seconds before toppling over, but his round little belly keeps him propped up for a little while. 

Just one picture

From today.  Thank you for the encouragement after the last post, and I promise to come back and write something about my first mother's day, but here's one picture for now.  Our Internet is running slow tonight, but I'll come back and write more soon.


Prepare for cuteness overload:

Missing this place....

 

I miss the heat, I miss the sounds of prayer being called across the city, I miss the smell of sand and sweat and rain, I miss the sound of taxis honking, I miss the sight of that blue ocean, I miss my neighbors greeting every morning as I walked to school and every evening as I returned, I miss the sandwich shop, I miss fresh mangoes, I miss car rapides, I miss Lamine's family (oh, so much), I miss the sound of little kids calling "toubab," I miss my friends, I miss the community, I miss my life there.  

 Senegal was the place where Lamine and I first fell in love, and for that reason alone, it will always hold a very special place in my heart.  My heart is so full of love for this place. I miss it everyday.  

ETA: 

This is my final post from the blog I kept while studying abroad. I feel the same way right now.

hello, all.

not sure if anyone's still going to read this, but i felt the need to put a little bit of a closing note on this blog. i've been back in the united states for a few days and am missing senegal desperately. it's hard to describe how simultaneously easy and difficult it is to be back. i'm not sure what i expected, but i suppose i almost thought that i would have to retrain myself in some aspects. and that may be true, but it surprised me how easily i was able to slip back into this life-that i could wake up, turn on the coffee maker, look out at the snow....just the little things. in the same breath, it feels so empty here--so quiet. i miss the calls to prayer, the music that is everywhere, the sound of kids laughing and playing football. i miss inshallah's, alxamdulilay's, and ba beneen yoon's. i miss the sense of community-the greetings, the smiles, the handshakes that make any five minute trip to the market last at least half an hour. i miss it all. i know that the taxis honking and the eighteen marriage proposals per two block radius were tiring at times, but i miss it.

i miss speaking french, wolof, and manding each day. i miss the little kids who called me "aunt" and always had something exciting and new to tell me. i miss the car rapides and the sheer force of life in dakar-the millions of people crammed into one small area-just trying to make it day to day and trying to make it beautiful in the mean time. there's no possible way i can list the ways in which i miss dakar--no possible way that i can list the ways in which life was so beautiful there. i miss my friends and the community that i formed. it's so bizarre to think that in only four months, you can put down roots in a completely foreign environment. it's bizarre, but reassuring in a sense. it's reassuring to know that no matter where you go-no matter what languages are spoken-what traditions are held--people are people, and you can form relationships with one another that can transcend any cultural differences or language barriers.