June 22, 2002
O.K. So that was a bit too long of gap between updates. We'll try to stay a little more current in the future.
So to answer what I'm sure is everyone's first question: Max is doing fine. As of today he is three months and one week old. He's a happy healthy oddly redheaded baby. Today, he rolled over onto his stomach from his back today for the first time and followed up by rolling back to his back from his stomach. He is making a lot more noise and generating a staggering amount of drool. He is still not sleeping through the night on a consistent basis (actually, he's only done it once), but we're hoping that that will change soon.
We did discover that Max is not a natural born camper last weekend. We went on a camping trip with Ann and Jeff and their two children, Garret and Alaina, to Lakes Baringo and Bogoria. Between the three kids I don't think we had more than ten minutes of quiet the entire weekend. Max didn't take very well to the Kenyan roads, we think. After we stopped driving he cried longer and harder than he ever had before and since. It's a very beautiful spot, but it may have to wait until Max is a little bit older. Speaking of being older...there are several new pictures of Max up and, for the first time, sounds. You may have to be a little patient with the Sound section. I'm just now learning how to do it.
As
for Kim and I....Kim and I are doing fine too...in case anyone interested...
Kim has a bit of a cold, but after a very hectic month of May, work is settling down into its normal level of craziness. She would never say it, but I think she's doing very well balancing the demands of motherhood and a full time job. I could never keep up the with feedings at 2 AM and 5 AM every day for three months and still function at work. I'm proud of her.
As for me, I am starting a new volunteer position at a Nonprofit organization in Kisumu. It's a place called TEMAK, which does all sorts of training for single (usually teenage) mothers. They do things like crafts, tailoring, computer training, and hairdressing. You can probably guess from that list which course I'll be teaching...The courses run for 30 hours each and cover things like Excel, Word, Access, and Introduction to Computers. This week I'm starting with Intro to computers and will add classes as we both become comfortable with each other.
Also this week, I hope to start on the Kisumu International School Website. They say they finally have a place to host it, so I'll start putting it together over the next couple of weeks. After that I may start working on the website for TEMAK.
ummm...what else....
I just got back from a week in Uganda. Jeff (of Ann, Alaina & Garret) and I went out to one of my favorite place in the world, the Nile, and did some white water kayaking with Nile River Explorers. My Eskimo roll is coming along very nicely...in flat water. When it comes to rolling in the middle of the rapids I always lose it.
The second day we tried Boogie Boarding the river. I can't begin to describe how cool it was. Cool and scary. The coolest part was surfing in the smaller rapids. If you did it just right you could jump into the very beginning of a rapid where the water is smooth and glassy and stick there surfing as the water rushes past you. If you were good you could do all of those cool spins and rolls that you may have seen. While I wasn't particularly good at it, it was great great fun.
The scary part was The Nile itself. If I haven't mentioned it before, it is a really big river. There are multiple grade 5 rapids and plenty of grade 4's. A grade 5 is one step below impassable grade 6. Huge water and some rocks. HUGE WATER. When you're at water level on a little piece of foam staring up at these massive waves...unbelievable. Also a lot of work. They recommend it only for the very fit and adventurous. I guess I only half-qualified. The last rapid is a grade 5 monster called Silverback. It has four huge standing waves that are each over ten feet tall from the surface. Ten feet is really high when you're laying at the bottom looking up. I could barely move my legs at the beginning, and half way through the second wave my right leg cramped. Probably the fifth time that day I was sure I was done for...it was excellent!
Lest you think me a bad parent for risking my life, I should point out at this point that over the years that they have been rafting and kayaking this river that no one has been seriously injured or killed doing it...
Anyway...that was my week. That's what's going on here in Kisumu. More pictures are on the way and we're busy collecting our Max Videos together so we can send a tape to each family. Now that we're readjusted to Kisumu, expect more frequent updates.
Oh! Almost forgot...if you want a Max desktop...And I've heard some of you do...here's a link: Max or Blue Max
For those that don't know, here's how you do it on a Windows system (everyone else will have to figure it out themselves):
Alternately, you can save the picture (also by right clicking) and right click the desktop itself, select "properties" and then "desktop". You can then browse for the picture you have just saved...either way you should get the result you want. E-mail me at gerardlopez@hotmail.com if you have questions.
Until next time...
