Well January came and went. So did February. And now it's the end of March! Better late then never I guess.
So much has happened as I'm sure you've guessed. Let's start in January.
January 2022:
We rang in the New Year with family in Manassas. We told Mackenzie she could stay up until "midnight" just like her big cousin. "Midnight" was about 8:30. She got to play games with the adults and then celebrated with poppers and sparklers. When she went to bed she was none the wiser, thinking it was midnight.
The first week of school was cancelled due to a big snow storm that came through dropping 10 inches of snow. It was the most snow we got the whole season and we enjoyed it to the fullest.
A few days later we moved in to an Airbnb in Manassas to get back into a routine of being a family unit and with an added member. Mackenzie started back in school after the break and Finley hung out with Mom and Dad. We learned how to read Bennett's cues and cries and started to figure things out. He cried a lot in the beginning but we were seasoned parents and just let him go. He was usually just tired... or hungry.... He's fine!
Over the MLK holiday weekend we drove up to Pennsylvania for a trip in the Poconos with the Hammonds. It was a fun getaway and VERY cold. We drove back on Sunday and stayed the night in Ashburn to avoid the worst of the snow and spend Monday with the Jacksons. Mackenzie got an early school release on January 27 so we drove up to Liberty Resort in Pennsylvania so the girls could do snow tubing. They had a little kids sledding hill which was the perfect size for our girls.
Bennett and Mommy hung out in the car.
Meanwhile Scott had been working diligently to get Bennett's paperwork finalized for travel including passport, visa and travel clearance. Kiersten did her part with the medical clearance for her and baby.
Finley also had her first dentist appointment and after our primary dentist thought she had a cavity we went to a pediatric dentist who said it wasn't a cavity. Fun fact, premie kids have softer enamel or something like that. She's fine. Moved up to fluoride toothpaste.
Story walk in Front Royal: The Snowy Day!
February 2022:
Our original flight was supposed to be February 8. Well that didn't happen. We push it back a week... and then another week. But we'd only booked the Airbnb until February 8 and other guests had booked after us so we needed to move again. We found another place in Manassas, closer to Mackenzie's school, off Lake Jackson in a lake house for 10 days. It was a fun location and we enjoyed a few lake activities but the house left a bit to be desired.
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| She sure loves reading! |
Amazingly we got Bennett's birth certificate and as soon as we could, went to get his passport. They expedited it and we got it THE NEXT DAY! Incredible! Scott went the following week to the Kuwait Embassy in DC to get the visa which took another week.
Mackenzie's last day of Marshall Elementary was February 18 and it also happened to be the 100th day of school. She dressed like an old lady and had a fun day. Her class, teacher and school has been a terrific foray into public education and we were all sad to say goodbye.
We spent our last weekend in the States in Manassas saying goodbye to the Hammonds. On Monday, President's Day, we went up to the Jacksons for our final days. On February 24 we boarded a plane for Frankfurt Germany and after 10 months the kids and Kiersten said goodbye to America for a while.
Our layover in Germany was 5 hours and we found a playground inside the airport and set up camp. The girls played almost that whole time and then we boarded our flight for Kuwait. After almost 24 hours of travel and barely any sleep from the girls, and no sleep from the parents and Bennett's first flights we arrived back home in Kuwait and all fell asleep on February 25.
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| Bennett's first airplane ride. Sleeping in the lap of luxury AKA bassinet. |
March 2022:
It took us a week to acclimate back to the 8 hour time change and things began to settle... or so we thought! Scott woke up Thursday March 3 with a sore throat so he called in sick. By Friday morning he tested positive for Covid-19. Yay! After 2 years of this pandemic and having been exposed to Covid last summer, Scott finally got it. The Embassy Health Unit told him to self isolate in the house for 5 days and the rest of us could carry on. So that meant Kiersten was now in charge of everything including meals for Scott. Mackenzie hadn't started school yet and she was actually a huge help.
Our first morning back. 
Poor little guy. He just fell asleep everywhere. 
Back to our "private" pool. 
Initially the girls shared a room. 
Craft projects to pass the time.
We made Forky from Toy Story 4.
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| Kiersten's surprisingly comfortable couch bed. |
Sunday March 6, Kiersten and Mackenzie went to her new school to finish her registration process, pay and get her a uniform. Yes this was still during the 5 day isolation window so Kiersten put the baby down for a nap and put Paw Patrol on for Finley and they dashed off. Everything worked out fine. Mackenzie started school the next day and had a good (second) first day of Kindergarten.
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| Her uniform is so cute! |
Scott returned to work on Wednesday and Mackenzie and Kiersten took an antigen test on Thursday. Negative. We followed the rules and all stayed healthy.
So here we are, back together in our house in Kuwait. Things have opened up here and the Embassy is putting on more events for families and kids so we've gotten to do some of those things. Mostly Kiersten and the two littles stay at home because Bennett is still too little and we don't want to expose him to anything. And the air quality is something we are checking multiple times a day. The weather is nice so when air quality is below 100 then we all go out. That sounds ridiculous but in Kuwait that number is tricky to get below. For example, on the Friday Scott tested positive the air quality was 997. We were instructed to close the metal shutters and blast our air purifiers and not to go outside. So that should help paint a picture for you.
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| Orange, hazy sky. You can barely see the buildings next to us. |
On Saturday, March 19, Kiersten participated in a Soccer Tournament hosted by the French Embassy. Teams included UK, Poland, Tunisia, Spain, Argentina, and Italy Embassies and Kuwait Police and Kuwait Army. It was a fun event, even if she didn't get to play as much as she wanted. Hopefully there will be another tournament in the future and she'll be in even better shape than her current 3 months postpartum.
Scott has finally dug himself out of the email hole at work and is very busy. His office had a pot luck dinner last week and we all got to go and meet a lot of new (to Kiersten) people. Mackenzie is doing well in her new school; riding the bus, learning Arabic, making friends and doing a lot of computer work. Reading was the priority at Marshall and here at the American United School (AUS) it's computer and typing. We are trying to get back in the swing of reading and piano. Finley is thriving being alone with Mommy again. We do what she wants when she wants, for the most part. She is talking non-stop and going swimming again! Bennett is finally on a routine. We didn't bother in VA since we knew the jet lag would mess it all up. And by March 6, at 10 weeks old, he slept through the night. And when Kiersten isn't taking care of the kids, she's been cleaning up a storm and purging! Getting rid of things we don't use and baby clothes mostly.
Mackenzie's school bus. 
Coloring eggs. 
Daddy introduced the girls to Tin Tin.
And we are back doing our favorite thing... rearranging the furniture. The girls were sharing a room when we first got back and Bennett was upstairs in Finley's old room. Well now he's down on the main floor, off the kitchen in the "maid's quarters" and Finley is back in her old room in a twin bed and Mackenzie is still in her room. So we needed to move the office out of the maid's quarters and that just shifted everything around. It's still a work in progress but so far so good.
The Mackenzie Update:
- She's really stepped into the role of "double big sister". She helps when Bennett cries, especially in the car and she continues to be the perfect playmate for Finley. She's even helping Finley with word pronunciation.
Impromptu story time with big sister! - She's been learning about pollution and trash in school and she now reminds us to turn off the lights or throw something away or not use plastic if we can help it.
- She is really working on her writing skills and has upped her notes to us.
A musical note for Mom. 
A get well card for Dad.
The Finley Report:
- She's "learned" how to wink. She turns her head so you can only see one eye and blinks.
- She asked to go swimming for the first 2 weeks we were back.
- Those same first two weeks she didn't nap at all. She did Quiet Time but just stayed up and played. By the second week she was getting increasingly cranky and manic by the end of the day so we insisted that she nap and she has been back to normal self.
- She started to call sneezes "bless yous" just like Mackenzie did.
Toddler singing time at the Embassy. - Her new favorite food is cereal which she pronounces 'cee-wall'.
- And biggest news of all! After months of encouraging potty training and then taking a break last year we started up again soon after arriving in Kuwait and we're happy to report that after 2 weeks of accidents and training pants she's 98% potty trained! She knows when she needs to go potty and poop but still has occasional accidents so we haven't moved up to underwear but the training pants were a huge step in the right direction. So happy! She's almost completely night time potty trained too! When the kid is ready, they're ready. Lesson learned.
Cleaning up one of her accidents in the beginning of attempt 2.
And now introducing - The Bennett Review!
- At 2 months Bennett was smiling and cooing.
- He began to recognize all of us. Mostly Mommy, Daddy and also Mackenzie. Finley doesn't sit still long enough for him to be able to focus.
- A few times he spun himself complete around in bed by lifting up his legs and dropping them again over and over and over.
- Man can this boy burp!
- At 3 months he giggles but it's random still. And it is the cutest noise ever.
- He is holding his head up really well now. Much less rag doll than a few weeks ago.
- He's a big fan of the baby carrier now. When we can get out, Kiersten straps him on and he sits there comfortably and almost always falls asleep.
