Eliza Rose: Eight Months Old

Happy 8 months Eliza Rose! This girl is so much fun and a happy little girl. Eliza has transitioned from only sitting, to planking and almost crawling. She can get around a room pretty well by pushing or pulling, and she gets into the crawling position often. It won't be long before she gets her legs going!

Eliza weighs around 20lbs. She wears 9 month clothes and is in size 3 diapers. She eats 5/6 times a day, and she continues to enjoy her normal foods. Her sleeping has improved and started sleeping through the night again most nights, and only wakes up occasionally. She still naps 1-2 times a day, and sleeps 11-12 hours a night.

We can see more and more of both boys' personalities in her. She has the curiosity of Caleb and contentedness of Benjamin at this age. We love seeing her personality come out and blossom each day! Eliza loves watching everything her big brothers do, and they are so sweet with her! It won't be long before she is following them around and getting in the mix. 

Happy 8 months Eliza, we love you!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter and Happy Spring! We had a quiet holiday this year and celebrated at home. We celebrated on the American Easter this year because we were going to be out of town for the Orthodox Easter that they celebrate in Jordan, which fell one week later.  Leading up to Easter, the kids went to an Easter party, we decorated eggs (thank you grandpas and grandmas for the kits), and read about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Our family tradition is to have a ham on Easter Sunday. Ham is an extra treat in this part of the world

We are thankful for the gift of salvation that is freely given, because of what Jesus did for us. Happy Easter, He is risen!

First (and last) T-Ball Game & Caleb's Broken Arm

The boys were excited to play t-ball again this year, and their team sponsor was Petra Engineering.

They had a few friends on their team from last year which was fun for them. Both boys had good hits and had a great game.

Eliza and I found this spectator at the ball field :)

 After the game, we went to lunch, and then to a park to play for a while. Caleb came up to us and said he fell and thought he hurt his arm. He was in shock because one look and his arm was visibly displaced, so Nathan grabbed him securely, I got the car, and our family was off to the hospital. Rule number one, never break a bone on the first Friday of Ramadan, during prayer time....it was very difficult to find a doctor to see Caleb and the first hospital we were sent to was a chaotic mess. A fight broke out in the Emergency room while Nathan was getting Caleb triaged, and Eliza and Benjamin were getting antsy, so I took them home.  The x-ray showed that the broken bone was right near an artery, which could have been very dangerous if his bone nicked the artery. We are thankful that Nathan was able to keep his arm stable during the transport and triage.

Tes came to rescue and watched Benjamin and Eliza so I could go back to the hospital for Caleb's surgery. The good patient in the second hospital getting checked in and prepared for surgery.

Coming out of anesthesia after surgery. I'm not sure what it is like in the U.S., but they called us into the recovery room after surgery, and they asked us to help wake him up.

They said it's common for kids to wake up very upset, but Caleb woke up calmly and was happy to see us and baby teddy at his side.

Nathan stayed the night with him in the hospital and he was out by the middle of the following day. Two pins later and a few weeks of being casted for our brave boy.

Caleb had a cast on for only 3 weeks. Apparently the location of the break is tricky, and the orthopedic said it was more harmful to immobilize the joint longer than needed to be to heal the break. So at 3 weeks, he had the pins removed, cast off, and had a clear x-ray. He was in an arm sling for a week to remind himself to take it easy, and he has quickly regained his strength and can now extend his arm all the way and even do push ups again. We are proud of how brave Caleb was through this experience, and hope this is the 4th and final broken bone during our time in Jordan!

Spring Break, Beit Sitti, Jerash, and Early 40th

Part of my mom's visit was over the boys' spring break. They Ubered all over Amman, visited the Children's Museum, Royal Tank Museum, they went to the movies twice, and to an indoor play area. The boys and my mom had a great time, and Nathan and I were thankful for the time they got to spend together, and for her helping us during the school break! I don't have pictures of their week of fun, but lots of fun was had!

Over another weekend, a few ladies from work, my mom, and I took a cooking class at Beit Sitti, which means 'My Grandma's House.' We learned how to cook Jordanian specialties: maqloubeh, mtubbal, salad, and pita bread. It was a lot of fun to learn how to cook each dish with everyone, and so delicious eating the end result! They gave us lemon with mint when we arrived.

They prepped some of the food because it would have taken too long, but we cooked most of it! For the maqloubeh, which means 'upside down' in Arabic, you line the pot with cauliflower, potatoes, add the rice with an special spice mixture, add the chicken and broth, put the lid on and cook for 20-30 mins.

Then...dump it upside down! Mom was the lucky volunteer to do the flipping :).

All the cooks...the ladies :).

Up close of our masterpieces. The mttubal is mushed/chopped eggplant that is made by charring an eggplant over an open fire, peeling the outer layer of the charred skin, then slamming it with a knife on a cutting board until it has the mushy consistency. It was smokey and so good. The salad was chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, onions, with a delicious molasses dressing. The pita bread was so easy, flour, water, and sugar...high temp oven for a few minutes, then it's fluffy and done. I had 3 servings of food! They are supposed to email us the recipes, but we are still waiting :(. 

Another weekend, my mom, the kids, and I ventured to Jerash. We explored the  famous Oval Plaza, Roman Amphitheater, and Temple of Zeus. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being outside and seeing all the greenery and flowers blooming!

As many know, my mom and I share a birthday, and this year was my 40th, so mom wanted to celebrate early since she was leaving a couple of weeks before our birthday. She got a nice cake and firework candles (not shown), and my dad skyped in to sing us happy birthday! Happy early 112th birthday to us:).

It was fun having my mom here for the month, exploring new parts of Jordan, and we are very thankful for the time she got to spend with the kids and how much she helped us with them during a busy time. We love you mom, and look forward to our next visit.