some firsts for zoe (and bibi)

It's been quite a while since I've updated...after my mom left, we had about a week to get ready and then head up to nairobi, kenya for a big meeting with everyone from east africa (which was awesome, and I will blog about that later). So I have a bit of catching up to do on my blogging!

While my mom was here, we took her on her very first african safari...which just so happened to be zoe's first safari too (if you don't count when I was pregnant...you know, the time when Nate got us stuck in a riverbed that I KNEW we would never get out of...the time when me and Nate were both praying out loud for God to please help us get out because we were out in the middle of a wild game park by ourselves as night was approaching...the time when I know the hand of God must have reached down and literally pushed our car from behind because there was no way we could have made it out on our own!!) It's a wonder I agreed to go back...haha, anyway we went to Mikumi game park which is about an hour drive from our house in Morogoro. It was such a fun day, we saw lots of giraffes, zebras, warthogs, monkeys...and towards the end of the day I spotted two lions behind the grass! Nate pulled up beside them and we took lots of pictures. We were clearly annoying them as they kept getting up and walking away from us. But that didn't stop us from following them. And Nate (being the person we all know and love) decided to bark at them to get them to look at us so we could take some better pictures. The female did not like that one bit and gave us a growl to let us know. Finally they walked away and layed down in some taller grass so we let them be.
We had a nice little lunch overlooking a watering hole...but there were no animals drinking except for some really ugly bird. Anyway, here are a few pictures from zoe & bibi's very first safari:

Before my mom left we took her to the beach in Dar es Salaam...which was Zoe's very first beach trip. It was kinda cloudy, but a perfect day to just relax. There was a huge sea turtle that washed up on shore (it was dead already) but it was really cool. We just layed on our beach chairs and looked at the ocean and it was sooo pretty. It was zoe's first opportunity to wear her bathing suit. Nate was a little unhappy because she was showing a little too much skin, but she was super cute :)

(This is one of my very favorite pictures because the rock pier in the background was where I first told Nathan we were gonna have a baby!!)

Showered with Blessings

It's been a while since I have written. But I have a good excuse...my mom is here! She got here about 2 weeks ago and will be here until April 14th. In the short time that she has been here, she has managed to spoil the heck out of Zoe, but she keeps saying "that's what grandparents are for!" I can't really complain though because it's been really nice to have her here, especially to help out with Zoe so that I can do other things that have been neglected lately. Before she came, I didn't know how nice it was to have someone around to help...maybe now I'm spoiled too! Here are a few pictures of my mom with Zoe:

My sweet friends here in Morogoro planned a baby shower specifically so that my mom could come (since she wasn't able to be at any showers before Zoe was born). It was so sweet...we ate, talked, and laughed a bunch! We played a game where we tried to tie our "babies" (we used 2-liter water bottles) onto our backs like Tanzanians do. I have to admit...I was not really good at it. And the decorations were beautiful...they hung a clothesline across the room and pinned up all these cute little outfits for Zoe and they even had special chairs labeled mama (swahili for mom) and bibi (swahili for grandma, which is what my mom is called). The girls had been working on a quilt, they each made a square and then put them all together...it's absolutely beautiful. I feel so blessed to have these women in my life...they definitely a gift from God! Here are a few pictures from the shower:

And that's not all! Since we've been back from Kenya, we have received so many packages from friends and family back home. It's been amazing to get things like: funfetti cake mix, candy, devotional books, adorable outfits for Zoe, girl scout cookies (thank you Cathy!!), and so much more!

Also, my birthday was this past weekend and it was really special to have my mom here with us. The day was wonderful. It started with Zoe sleeping until 9am...yay!! My mom made us fruit smoothies for breakfast, and a funfetti cake. We watched movies and watched lots of episodes of "24," which my mom brought with her and we are now addicted to. Nate went out and picked us up all sorts of good food for dinner and I opened presents. My sister sent this really fun game "fluxx" that we have been playing alot, nate's parents sent me a book and my favorite twizzlers....yum! My mom and dad gave us season 3 & 4 of "24", a UGA shirt, and more twizzlers :) And Nate gave me a few tyler perry movies that I've been wanting for a while! It was a great day. Here are just a few pictures from my birthday: