A new friend for Luka

Well, it's been a bit of a rough week for mommy with being back at work full time.  Fortunately Chris is around and Ouma is still in charge around here, so everything runs like clockwork.  Amazing how you do eventually get into some semblance of a schedule.  That does not make up for the feeling of missing him after having spent almost every waking moment with him for the past nearly seven months.  Between pumping at work and running home at lunch time to breastfeed, I do feel a little bit like the milk cart again, but all worth it I suppose.

The good news, and most important thing however, is that Luka seems to be thriving.  He has literally gained almost 1kg (2.2lbs) in the three weeks since moving to the Tropics (not in small part thanks to the diet of avocados, mangoes, bananas, sweet potatoes and pretty much everything else you put in front of him...)  Since moving to Timor, we have discovered the beauty of walks in a stroller (we didn't have one in Cape Town), yoga, dive trips,  tropical fruits and vegetables, and our new favorite - swimming in the US Ambassador's swimming pool!

Add to that all the new friends around - and Luka seems to be in heaven!  To top things off, we were fortunate to have found a lovely woman from the Philippines, named Lucy, to care for Luka while mommy's at work.  With her friendly demeanor and soft spoken nature Luka took an instant liking to her and is pretty much permanently smiling these days.  As one of the most important decisions in my life, I have been so grateful to have my mom here to help me with getting Lucy accustomed to Luka while I am at work.  Something about the detachment of not having the mom try and train the nanny has helped the whole process run smoother, and who better to be the nanny trainer than the Head Nanny herself.