Diattakounda

11 February 2009

Pictures from Joseph's Birthday Party

Joseph the Tiger turns Two!

Who knew that face painting was one of Cindy's many artistic skills? The kids loved it!

Joseph enjoys watching Jack get his face painted

Jack is pretty amused by his new appearance

Joe the Tiger and Jack the Cat- what a feline team!

"Grrr!" Joseph is getting ready to turn into a tiger...

Sydney is one of Joe's classmates

What a fun truck!

Getting ready to play "Ring Around the Rosie"

Jack the Conductor!

06 February 2009

Our Little Boy is Two?

Don't let the Christmas wrapping paper fool you- Joseph is opening his birthday present!

Me and Joe out to a birthday lunch with Nama

Joseph is waiting for the train to come

Joseph looks a little scared on the train, but rest assured- he loved every minute of it!

Joseph le Artist!

Today Joseph turned two years old. What a happy big boy he has grown into! When asked what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to go to the train station. So to the train station we went! Joseph and I rode the big Metra train from our town to Nama's town. Joseph got to hand the ticket to the conductor. He wore his special Thomas train hat for the occassion, and packed his Thomas bag full of toy trains and train books. On the 25 minute train ride, Joseph was very serious. At one point, when I was being silly, Joseph said to me in a very serious voice, "No playing Mama!" It was then that I understood what a big boy Joseph must have felt like riding that big train. When we got off the train in Nama's town we went out for a special lunch, and then it was time to take the train back home. Once we were back home, we called Youssou on the phone. Joseph could not talk fast enough to tell his dad all of the exciting things he saw: "Choo choo, engine, tracks, engine, horn, engine, conductor, engine..." All in all, a very exciting day! It's hard to believe that in just 24 months, Joseph has grown from a tiny, delicate, completely dependant infant who did nothing but eat, sleep and cry to a talking, walking, very independant, train-loving toddler! Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

24 January 2009

A New President

After seeing Obama swear in on January 20th, Joseph was motivated to announce his future candidacy for President, via a t-shirt that says "Future President, Washington DC".

Another photo op with President Obama- it's almost like really being there!

Joseph is heading to Nama's house with his blue bunny

Cindy Nama and Nama are reading "Stinky Face" to Joseph. Someone is sleepy!

As the month of January comes to an end, we are sad to see the holiday season fade away, but we find comfort in falling back into our normal schedules. Youssou is back in school, super-busy with three classes this semester. I am taking one class now and also starting to work on my master's thesis. I will be evaluating a pilot program in the Sine-Saloum region of Senegal that brought solar power to rural villages. I am hoping to find a grant so that I can travel there this summer to do some field work. If anyone has any good suggestions on where to search for graduate grant money, please let me know! Joseph enjoyed his winter break from school, but is happy to now be back with all of his friends. He is old enough now to tell us about his day each evening. We get to hear who was biting, who was crying, who got time out, and all of the other juicy details of Joey's adventures in daycare. It's so hard to believe that he is almost two already!