Festive weekend

This weekend we were in the Christmas spirit. On Friday I wrapped our gifts, and on Saturday we went to the Embassy's children Christmas party. 

On Friday we spent most of the day at home and we went to the park in the afternoon. Ben strolled around the house with his walker. He does a great job standing on his own, but he really likes to crawl.

 He loves these chocolate croissants we buy at our grocery store.

 On Saturday afternoon we went to the Embassy Christmas party. They had crafts, food, and even Santa Claus came to town. Caleb was so excited to see Santa that he did not want to take a nap!

We don't get family pictures often, so we were glad to have a friend take some pictures of us.

 Caleb had fun feeding Santa cookies....and winning candy. I think that is all he ate this afternoon.

 Ben liked sitting on Santa's lap. Caleb freaked out as soon as he saw Santa, he wouldn't go anywhere near him. So, my hopes of getting a brother's picture did not happen today!

 Caleb may have eaten candy all day, but Ben ate just about everything on Nathan's plate. I think Nathan was able to get a few bites.

 We visited with some friends and lots of kids.

 All that junk food and running around makes a kid thirsty!

 I made several attempts throughout the day at a brother's shot. Sadly, this was the best I got. Caleb thinks it is funny to run away when I try to take a picture of the two of them together. Maybe he is trying to say, "mom, put that camera away!"

Neckie Thingies

The boys love to play with anything that goes around your neck. In particular, Caleb has a strong fondness for my medal from the 10k a few weeks ago. It's the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up in the morning or from naps. He wears it everywhere we go. It goes in the car to preschool, and it would go in his crib at night if we let him!

Ben prefers necklaces to medals. One day soon, he will want to wear it around his neck instead of trying to taste every bead.

Love these boys!

Say Cheese!

A few months ago, my DSLR camera broke. It has been a sad few months without my camera, but I was glad to have a working point-and-shoot and a cell phone camera. I just got a new camera in the mail yesterday - thanks dad and mom P. for sending it to me, and it was an exciting day! My old DSLR was a 30th birthday present from Nathan. I loved the camera, it took amazing pictures, and it has been many special places with us. I upgraded a little on the new camera, and wow it is nice! I have a bit of learning to do, but for now here are a couple of pictures from the 50mm lens that I was so excited to use again. 

Happy Tuesday!

Ben is 14 months

We have a happy 14 month old boy. Ben got a new tooth the other day, now he has 9. This month, Ben is starting to point a lot at what he wants. He can find a fish, cat, boat, train, plane, ball, truck, and cup, to name the main things. Ben can stand on his own, but he likes to crawl fast. He loves to push balls around the house and stack and push over blocks.

 Tes adores Ben, and today while we were at work, she made him a chocolate cake, card, and balloons. We all enjoyed the cake before dinner!

 Happy 14 months sweet Benjamin!

Cock-a-doodle-doo

Ben woke up with a fever again last night, he is getting another tooth, and then we had two early risers this morning. What better thing to do on a Friday morning, than go for a long walk and to play at the park. We were out and about so early we were up with our neighbor's roosters. 

 Trying to catch a rest at the park....

 We got a short family nap this afternoon, and went to a big park that we drive to. It was a beautiful day to be outside. The weather felt like we were in California! This park is great, it has lots of walking trails, several playgrounds, and a McDonald's.

Play hard, eat lots of chicken nuggets and French fries!

 Their version of chicken tenders has bones.

We had a fun day playing at the park today!

Oh mis-mis tree

Our tree is lit, our decorations are hung, our home feels merry and bright. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

 

Caleb and Ben love the Christmas tree. Caleb says goodnight to it every night, and in the morning he walks down the stairs and say, 'oh mis-mis tree,' like it is the first time he has ever seen our tree. Ben is mesmerized with the lights, and will stare at the tree for a long time. We have non-breakable ornaments on the bottom and the rest on top. Our tree has a big bald spot in the middle, but it's just another joy of having two little boys!

Parent-Teacher Conference

Last week, we had a parent-teacher conference at Caleb's preschool. Caleb loves to go to 'pre-kool' as he calls it. His teachers are Ms. Grace, Ms. Elaina, and Ms. Lynn. Out of a class of 18 kids, he is one of now 2 Americans. We are very satisfied with the school's learning environment and their staff. The kids learn through play, crafts, imagination, language, circle time, and even yoga!

Caleb's teachers said that he is sociable with just about everyone, except for a kid named Kareem that he apparently steers clear of. He will jump into most activities without apprehension, and they said he gets excited to move about the school. We knew a couple of the kids talked about Caleb at home, and at the conference his teachers told us that just about every kid in his class has had family members come to school to see who Caleb is:).

Caleb's teachers say he has the most robust vocabulary in his class, but in all fairness English is his first language. Most of the kids in his class speak only Arabic at home, and they are learning English at school. They said he listens very well most of the time, except during Arabic class when he does not understand much.  He is learning the virtue of patience. Caleb loves to read books and he is the first to hop in the teachers lap for story time. During circle time, they said Caleb sings the loudest in his class!

I wanted to share the comments that Caleb's teachers prepared for the report:

Caleb is a very enthusiastic boy and assumes responsibility well. He is very cooperative and takes an active part in all our activities. He takes pride in his work and most of the time tries his best. Caleb is picking up on numbers, colors, and shapes, and he is starting to recognize letters. He enjoys the rhymes and actions in circle time and he loves to play in the village.

Caleb can sometimes lose concentration, but with encouragement can regain it. Caleb is a joy and thrives on one-on-one small group environment. It is lovely to see Caleb's smiling face every morning. He makes everyone laugh with his wonderful sense of humor.

We are so proud of Caleb! He has adapted very well to his new settings, people, culture, and forms of learning. We love you Caleb!

PS- I am not a crazy parent who lingers around and takes inconspicuous pictures of my child....well, I am at times, but these pictures were all taken by the preschool and shared on their password protected website:)

New do

Caleb got his haircut yesterday afternoon, it was getting shaggy. We went to pirates and princesses kids cuttery.

Caleb was less than thrilled during the 2 minute haircut and head shaving... 

Once he saw himself in the mirror, he loved his new do! When I picked him up from preschool today, his teacher said he was showing everyone his new haircut:)