Who the Heck is Abby?

Joseph Loves the Drums!


Cousin Laura Visits

Joseph likes Laura's long tounge

Jamie and Laura

Dr. Murphy and Jamie and the School of Public Services Gala Dinner

Jamie's Last Day at Peace Corps


For the past two weeks, Joseph has been walking around repeating the word "Abby". Although he has developed an impressive repetoire of words, this seems to be his favoirte word, and one that Youssou and I do not quite understand. You see, we only know one person named Abby. She lives in Washington DC and Joseph has only met her once. We asked our babysitter is she knows who Abby is. She proposed that Abby is Abby Cadabby- the pink and purple fairy from the Sesame Street books. Youssou immediatly refused this possibility, not wanting to believe that his son would be so enamoured with a pink and purple fairy. Being the more practical parent, I pulled up an image of Abby Cadabby on the computer, but was disappointed to see no response from Joseph. Next we asked Grandama Linda what she thought. She has a dog named Abby, and she was sure that Joseph was talking about her dog. And she might be right. But based on Joseph's body language when he says the name, my parental instincts are not satisfed with that explanation. Besides, Joseph already knows the word "Doggie" and why would he have a preference for just one of Grandma's dogs? Perhaps Joseph is mentally dyslexic, like me. In that case, he is certainly trying to say baby, but is simply inverting the letters. Any ideas from the peanut gallery?

As parents, Youssou and I are repeatedly amazed by how much our son understands. I can ask him where any of his toys are by name, and he will go find that toy. If I ask him to turn the radio on or the lights off, he does it! And if I tell him to hand his sippy cup to Mommy rather than throw it on the floor, he does that too. To think that he has learned this language just by listening to us for the past year. It's really incredibly. Joseph can say several words too. Here is a brief list of his favorites:
No
Dada
Mama
Doggies
Up
Light
Hot
Ouch
Uh-oh
Ka-ka (for car)

For humor, we have also taught him "Ee Ee Ee" (as in the noise a monkey makes, of course), "aye yigh yigh" and "blah blah blah." It's pretty funny to watch a little baby say these phrases!

While I am on the subject of languages, I have one more thing to marvel at. Shortly after Joseph began saying no, his babysitter asked me if I had heard him say Neit. I may be spelling this wrong, but Neit is the Polish word for no. Our babysitter is from Poland and generally speaks Polish to her daughter and English to Joseph. Apparently, Joseph has been picking up some Polish. More amazingly, he seems to understand to use Neit with his babysiter and no at home.

This is my first week off of work since my job at Peace Corps ended Friday. Judging by the length of this entry, I have a bit more time on my hands than I am used to!

Joseph is greeting the newest citizen of the U.S.


Joseph on Christmans Morning

Joseph is ready for a Chicago winter

Jennifer, Carrie, Jamie, Don & Sandy:

a Peace Corps Senegal reunion in Washington DC

The Diatta's visit the Capitol

Joseph was hoping to have a word with President Bush

Back in December when I created this blog, I had high hopes of being able to add posts on a weekly basis. Although it has now been almost 6 weeks since my last post, here are 6 good reasons why I have not added even the shortest paragraph:

1.) Joseph started walking! His official first step was on January 29th. Watching him walk is about the most adorable thing I have ever seen- so all of my time has been spent gazing at him. If you too would like to become enraptured- copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=4f01dc9b2d3cb0ca0bab2c&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

2.) Youssou became a US citizen! 6 years of paperwork, tests and interviews- and just in time to vote!

3.) Joseph turned 1 years old in February! It is so hard to believe that my little baby is not really a baby anymore. He's walking, talking, dancing, clapping, giving his dad a high-five, and showing me every day that he is "so big!".

4.) I got a new job! As many of you know, my wonderful job with Peace Corps had a five year limit to it. That fives years has snuck up so quickly! I have recently accepted a job offer to become an Adjudications Officer for CIS. The work will be very similar to my work with Peace Corps- primarily interviewing people and determining eligibility. But rather than interviewing Peace Corps applicants, I will be interviewing foreign nationals who wish to become US citizens. The great thing about this is that I will once again get to interact with people from different countries.

5.) We unexpectedly lost my Uncle Stan. For those of you who knew him and his infectiously funny personality, here is a link to a news article about him: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/754345,2_1_AU23_KARNOSCAK_S1.article

6.) I am back in school for the first time since Joseph was born. Although I did take one short class over the summer, I really dived in head first this winter with two full classes; Climate Change Policy and Public Policy Administration. Yikes!

While providing exuses for not updating our new blog, I have conviently also shared all of our family news! Now how is that for efficient? Well, Joseph and I are off to decorate our home for Valentine's Day now... Hopefully our next entry will come before spring!