Happy 4th birthday John

We recently got new neighbors, and tonight we all got together to celebrate their son, John's 4th birthday. 

There were a lot of kids and lots of playing.

 After filling our bellies with good food, we sang Happy Birthday to John.

 We all ate cake and John opened his gifts. We even managed to get a picture of all the kiddos that were left at the end of the night. It was a fun evening with friends. Happy birthday John!

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

For our family and friends who are not on facebook, here is our ALS ice bucket challenge video, we were nominated by Nathan's cousin, Amy.  The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was created to raise awareness about this terrible disease. Please consider donating to this great cause to help fight ALS. We wanted to nominate our siblings, Aaron and Elizabeth and family, but someone already beat us to it. Mark and Betty, if you were on facebook, you'd be one of our nominees, though we challenge you through the blog!  Mom and dad - we are waiting for your video:). 

Spikey Hair, Fish, and a Visit to the Souk

I've been meaning to post a picture from Caleb's new haircut last weekend, but I was having trouble getting the picture off of my phone. Here is Mr. Spikey Hair Caleb, he likes his new do!

Today Caleb went grocery shopping with me. At the co-op there is a man that sells fresh fish, and Caleb likes to go by to see them.  You need to be careful what you ask for, because here you will get it! Yes, despite me not wanting Caleb to have a stinky fish, this man insisted we take it for free. He actually tried to give it to him without the bag, but I politely objected so he at least it was in a bag. He walked around the store the entire time saying, my fish. Well, as soon as we walked out of the co-op, I found a trash can and dumped the fish. I did feel kind of bad because it was 120 degrees and the fish already stunk.

 Later this afternoon, we went to the souk. It is always fun to wander the stalls and people watch. The souk is always filled with lots of scents, and with the 120 degree heat the smells were strong!

 We treated the boys and us to some ice cream.

We visited our favorite date stand and bought some. Both boys love dates, and the good thing is there are plenty to go around here!

We ended the evening at a restaurant inside the souk. We had kebab, hummus, pita, and fresh apple juice. 

 The moon was shining bright when we left, it was a fun and very hot day!

Little Artists

The boys enjoy painting and making nice pictures for us. Ben drew all the lines and he likes guessing the colors.

 Caleb drew a dragon, our house, his big boy bed, a window, a baby porcupine, a worker man, and lots of other things.  His imagination is great and we love hearing about all the things he thinks about.

Caleb got a haircut today, I'll need to upload those pictures for later in the week. Happy Saturday!

Friends, food, and fun

This weekend we met up with our friend Abeer and her two boys Faris and Firas. We had a delicious breakfast at IHOP, as a belated birthday celebration for Caleb. The boys enjoyed the happy face pancakes, eggs, and fruit, and the adults drank a lot of coffee ;).  This was Caleb's first big outing since potty training began and he did great being out and about.

 We had a nice time talking and getting caught up, and we are thankful for this friendship.

 Faris has gotten so big this past year. He is only a couple of months younger than Ben, and it is fun to get all the boys together. I love how much hair this handsome little boy has!

 Firas is very smart and nice to talk to, and he is so sweet with Caleb and Ben.

We had a fun day, and I'm sure we will do it again sometime soon.

 On Saturday we went to the Science Center and Aquarium. We have been going there a lot lately, since it has been so hot outside. The boys love this dragon on display.

 And of course playing in the sandbox.

 And the found an outer space game where you can acquire satellites from the International Space Station.

At the aquarium, the boys petted a hedgehog. 

And they saw lots of fish and sharks.

It was a fun weekend, now back to work...

Big Boy Underpants

Big boy alert, big boy alert! Caleb is in underwear!

Last weekend we began potty training Caleb. We were ready-to-go with lots of underwear and potty treats. 

He loved picking out his underwear and had a hard time deciding which ones to start with.  Once the week started and we had to go back to work, Tes did a great job working with him. As the week went on, his accidents became less and less.

 He's been accident free for the last 2 days and he is doing great!

We are so proud of you Caleb, you are becoming a big, big boy! 

New Do

Ben got his first haircut yesterday! He and Nathan walked across the street to the Pirates and Princesses kids hair cut place. Ben came home excited with his new spikey hair!

 

After a shower the gel came out. Love this sweet, handsome little guy!