Let's Bowl! Let's Bowl! Let's Rock and Roll!

Here in Doha there is an expatriate mothers' social network called Doha Mums. I joined at the beginning of the year after attending a walking group and newcomer's social at the Landmark Mall near my home. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. They have a website for sharing ideas, asking questions and selling items. They also have events that members host, like playgroups, craft making, and educational seminars or speakers. It is a great resource and has helped me get used to life here. www.dohamums.com One of the fun events that a "mum" hosted was bowling at the Qatar Bowling Center on Ladies Day.

First, the Qatar Bowling Center is government owned, but privately managed. It was used during the Asian Games which Doha hosted several years ago. It is a very nice facility with great parking and viewing seats for an audience and VIPs. http://www.qatarbowlingcenter.net

Second, Ladies Day is a day when no men or boys over the age of 7 are allowed in the facility. This allows the ladies to come and play without wearing their abyas (a black long sleeved robe worn by Muslim women in Arabic speaking countries, often with a head scarf or veil www.dictionary.com).

Third, George has never been bowling before, so this was a great opportunity. I invited another Doha Mum who has just moved here to Doha from Dubai and has a little boy, Benton, who has become good friends with George.

They had a blast!

It was hilarious watching the boys try to throw their balls down the lane. Benton is a little older than George and a bit stronger. He had some technique compare to George's "drop it like it's hot" technique. They rarely watched the ball hit the pins. It just took too dang long to get all the way down there. Their attention spans weren't that long. We concluded that bumper lanes are nice, but they need to be a lot shorter, too. And speaking of attention spans, by the middle of the second game they were playing chase and follow the leader around the audience viewing seats. My friend, Tiffani, and I had to bowl a few balls to finish the game.

Regardless of all this, the boys had a great time, and we did too... just watching them.

George's 3rd Birthday Blowout!

George's 3rd birthday was terrific!

WE HAD FRIENDS

BALLOONS

A BOUNCY CASTLE

CAKE

AND LOTS OF IT!

George was thrilled to have everyone sing, "Happy Birthday to you" to HIM! He had the cutest grin from ear to ear when he heard, "Happy Birthday dear George". It was precious!

He knew exactly what to do when the singing was done, blow out those candles!

Next came the presents.

His friends were so generous. Some even helped with the unwrapping!

We loved all the homemade cards.

It was all smiles for mommy and George. A really fun day!

We are so grateful that George was born. As each year passes we realize more and more what a miracle he truly is. He has made our lives more rich, our love more deep and our joy more full. We truly a celebrate this little life that came to our family.

So, Happy Birthday dear George. Happy Birthday to you! And many, many more!!

A Swimming Good Time

George started swimming lessons last fall, then took a break during the winter. We started up again in May, when things warmed up. He had a great time and revealed a personality trait that has it's postives and negatives. He is very independent! I thought that group lessons would be great for him. I thought he'd like to see what his friends are doing and want to do it too. No such luck. While other kids went into the deeper water with their moms and dove underwater or jumped off the side to their moms, George just cried and screamed to be brought back to the step, his comfort step. He could care less what the other kids were doing, he wanted to do his own thing and discover what he could do on his own.

He loves the water and has really come a long way, but on his own terms and by doing his own thing. I think formal, paid swimming lessons are a thing of the past, at least until he needs to learn the right stroke technique. Our summer will be spent in the pool, mostly. So I expect he'll get to jumping off the side and diving under with mommy eventually.

The video clip is of George swimming quite well, on his safety step, of course.

Easter

We had a very happy Easter! Since Easter is on Sunday which is a work day here, our celebration was a little atypical. There was no Easter ham(pork products are not allowed in the country). It was Easter Friday, not Easter Sunday. And the Easter Bunny came to our house Friday night leaving a basket full of goodies for George to find Saturday morning.

He also left some eggs in the backyard (or back garden as they call it here) for George to find. George knew exactly what to do when we said "Find the eggs!"

He was really quick at finding the eggs. In no time his basket was full.

"All done hunting. Let's see what's in these things!"

Later that morning we had a Pegasus Club Easter Party which I helped plan and run. We had a bouncy castle, great food and of course an egg hunt.

George sees the eggs already!

"Which one has the candy inside?"

George and his friends Khloe and Tristan

Thank you Easter Bunny!!

We hope your Easter was fun and happy. It is a wonderful time to celebrate Spring and the new life the world seems to take on. But most importantly, it is the time to celebrate and contemplate the life, atonement, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives and all will live again thanks to His merciful gift.

George's parking lot

George has liked to line up his cars in nice, neat rows from the beginning. Now he likes to have Mommy help him make a parking lot for his cars. We do this several times a week, if not everyday.

He loves to lay on the floor watching the wheels roll as he moves the car into the parking space.

He just loves his cars, trucks and parking lot.

Reward Chart

My aching back made me do it! I was always picking up toys, dirty clothes, dirty dishes, and anything else George left behind. It was time he learned to clean up after himself. I think it's time for him to do some small tasks and learn about work.

Each time we go to the store, any store, George makes a bee line to the toy department. I'm usually convinced to buy him something to appease him so I can get my shopping done. No more! If he has the money, he can buy something. If not, then he has to "save his money" like my mom always said. He can now earn his own money to buy candy, treats or toys. He does this by doing his jobs and earning stickers which convert to money.

Here is his reward chart.

He has five "jobs": let me brush his teeth, put his dirty clothes in the laundry, put his dirty dishes in the sink, put away his toys, and fold his arms for the whole prayer. These are reasonable expectations for our two and a half year old. He has done pretty well. He earns a star sticker for every time he does a job. Five of the star stickers equal one Qatari Riyal (QR), which is about 25 cents. There is one clipped to the top right corner of the chart. He likes doing his jobs and getting stickers. Reminding him of earning stars has helped him to do his jobs happily.

He has earned about 8 QR so far. I bring his money with us when we go to the store. There really isn't much to buy for under 10 QR, so he hasn't been able to buy anything. But it is liberating to say, "You don't have enough money for that toy. You need to save your money to buy it later." It helps in the moment, since I know he's not really going to be able to save his money to buy the 40QR remote control car he so desperately wants at that moment. I think you get how this works.

This last week we went to a mall here called City Center. There was a small toy store near the escalator down to the parking garage. On our way out he wanted to look at the toys. So we went in. I had no fear since he could only buy something if he had the money. He looked at several things. Some he just put back, but some he'd hold out to me and say, "buy it". I told him that he had 7 "monies" and he didn't have enough. But he did find something for 6QR. I told him he had enough for it if he wanted to buy it. He wanted it, so we counted out his money and he paid the man the money. The store clerk put his toy in the bag with the receipt. George was happy. I was happy.

George had a blast playing with his toy jeeps that he bought. He still says, "I buy two jeep." I think he is proud of himself for using his money to buy it.

I'm proud of him for doing his jobs with a smile on his face. My back is happy that I don't have to pick up after him anymore. Now, if I could just make a reward chart for my husband...

Potty Training

I'll do my best to chronical the events of the last couple of weeks without being too graphic. I finally got a week with no appointments or commitments, probably because George had been sick the week before. I thought that now was as good a time as any. I had done plenty of prep work. We have had potties in the bathrooms since he was 18 months. We have been talking about our bodily functions since then as well. I was ready to stop changing diapers and dealing with his active body while trying to change his diaper. During all this prep work, I read a small book called "Potty Boot Camp". http://www.thepottybootcamp.com/ It sounded like the method for me. Ok, I was ready!

First day is all liquids, padded, training underpants, a timer and lots of accidents. We brought in the outside toys, like his car, so he'd been content to be inside all day and rolled up the area rugs.

It ended up not as bad as I had envisioned. I thought that by nap time I would be at the end of my rope and ready to give up. But actually, George did quite well, having many accidents, but a few successes. After naptime, things we're pretty much the same, sometimes he'd do it, other times, nope...gotta clean it up. I was ready for bedtime, I will admit. But I know it could have been a lot worse.

Day two...We got out the "Cars" movie for more motivation to stay inside. I was worried he'd be so into the movie that he'd have too many accidents. George did have more accidents and it was getting to me. So, I really made it clear that when he feels he has to go, he has to say "Mommy, go potty". I had him repeat it several times, and practice running to the potty and sitting down. I got him to tell me what he does when he feels he has to go. I think that is what got it to click.

The magic moment, 11:30am, George says "pee-pee". We go to the potty, he sits down, SUCCESS! YAY! He "self initiated" He said he had to go and he did! (Can you believe what I get excited about?!) Because he did this, Pooty Boot Camp suggests a nice, big reward. He got a gift we planned to give him for Christmas before we decided to travel back to the US for Christmas, a rescue center, with a police station, hospital and fire station all in one with the cars and helicopter included. While putting it together, George got up, ran to the potty and did it all by himself, this time double success with #1 and #2 in the potty! I took a picture to email to daddy (not included here). If any of you know Chris' family, this was completely appropriate.

Outside playing in big boy underpants!

From that time on, we had a few accidents, mostly outside or in new places. I was thrilled when he did it in the grocery store bathroom, but sad when he had an accident in nursery at church. Now, several weeks later, he is reliably telling me he has to go and having very few accidents. I'm thrilled, but carrying around a diaper is much lighter than carrying around the portable pottty. I went from a huge diaper bag to a smaller bag, now I'm back to the huge diaper bag.

We are able to go to parks, go for walks, play at friends' houses, all diaper free. We're still working on dry naps and mornings, but all in due time. Right now, I'm happy with how things are. Next step, is "peeing standing up, like daddy".

Bye Bye Pawipasser

I've had enough!! "Where's my pawipasser?" " I want my pawipasser." All in a whiney two year old voice. Middle of the night, crying, "pawipasser! I want my pawipasser!" Having to go into his room, find it on the floor, and hand it to him. That's it! We are done with the pacifier!

I read Bye Bye Binky by Eric Tager. It's a free, quick five page document online at http://www.bye-bye-binky.com/

Chris had been wanting to get rid of the pacifier for awhile, but I didn't want to lose my 3 hour break in the day during his naps or have bed time struggles. Well, I was out of patience and done keeping up with George's last remaining pacifier. Time to say "Bye Bye Pawipasser".

Saturday, February 5, I poked holes in it. George wasn't phazed. He kept sucking away like, well, a baby. Then, Sunday he woke up coughing his head off. The doctor's diagnosis: croup. So, lots of meds and sleep were needed plus my compassion. So staus quo with the pacifier.

Tuesday, February 8, he's feeling better, but I'm worn out listening to his coughing and whining for the pacifier. So snip, snip, off goes the tip of the pacifier.

Uh, oh! Did I make big mistake cutting up the only pacifier left? Well, he did have a hard time accepting that it was broken come nap time. He wanted it to bring him pleasure, but it just wasn't the same. Now, in his whiny two year old voice he cried, " Mommy, fix it!" I had to keep telling him it was broken and I can't fix it. He finally settled down in his bed putting the pacifier in his mouth, then on his bed, then back in his mouth again. After a few minutes, he fell asleep without the pacifier. But would he stay asleep? I was all geared up for a 45 minute nap. But to my delight he slept for 3 hours, a normal afternoon nap. YAY!

I thought the habit was history, but then he got used to the dfferent feel of the cut pacifier and was waking up with it in his mouth. Drat! Get out the scissors again.

Thursday, February 10, Snip!

This time the reaction was minimal. At naptime he just looked at it, stuck it in his mouth, then said, "mommy fix it". I said it was broken and I can't. He just played with it, then settled down to sleep, sometimes with it in his mouth, sometimes not. At bedtime, he said nothing about it. I did notice that he didn't ask for it much, if at all, during the day. I think it may be losing it's appeal.

Friday, February 11, Snip!

Now, he rarely will put it in his mouth, it's just too little and feels funny, I think. He still holds on to it as he falls asleep. He did cry out once for it in the middle of the night since it had moved around while he was sleeping. His naps are shorter, about 2 hours on average and he is waking up consistantly at 6:30am.

Saturday, February 12, Snip!

This time it was cut shorter AND cut vertically. He tried to put it in his mouth, then told me it was broken. He holds on to it while he falls asleep, putting it on his thumb or finger. I think the attachment is unraveling. Yay! We were running lots of errands today. As we were still out and about past his nap time, he became very tired and cried for his "pawipasser". I tried to teach him to say "I'm tired" instead of "I want my pacifier" since that is really what he means. It didn't work, but he is falling asleep without it in his mouth.

We keep snipping away each day, it gets smaller and smaller. He thinks it's a silly game to say, "mommy, fix it". I think the time is nearing for complete dissolution of the attachment to the pawipasser. He even said, "Throw it away." But I think he will be one of the die hards that will grasp on to the nub until it gets "lost".

Good Morning!

We walked into the kitchen to get some breakfast and found some visitors outside our kitchen door...

Yep, peacocks! They wander around the compound eating whatever they can find, mostly cat food. We thought we only had two outside our door, but...

Then, one would fly away

and another would appear behind the last one.

It was a nice surprise and fun start to our day. George kept say "good morning peacocks" and "fly away peacock". What a fun memory to have of living in Doha.

Our Christmas Holiday

We didn't plan on going to the U.S. for the Christmas holidays. But when we saw $800 roundtrip tickets, we said, "Let's Go!" We planned to visit all our family in the tri-state area of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. We did it! And it was great...mostly. Seeing family and visiting was the best part, the flights and traveling was the worst. I'll try to concisely summarize 3 weeks of vacation...

Our driver came to pick us up at 11:30pm. Chris and I stayed up expecting to sleep on our 2am flight. George went to bed at his regular 8pm bedtime. We figured he needed as much sleep as he could get. We didn't realize that we needed the same consideration.

As we drove to the airport, we ran into a traffic jam! In the middle of the night?! Yes, that's Doha!

Our flight was pretty smooth, except for a bumpy landing. We all slept, some, but not enough. We arrived to Heathrow airport in London exhausted and bleary eyed. Chris spent his 6 hour lay-over shopping for swiss chocolate. George played with his cars and other kids. I nodded off sitting in the uncomfortable airport chairs. We were glad when we could go to our gate and board our next flight going to Dallas.

One funny observation while in the London airport. In Doha, all the restroom stalls have spray water hoses for an"extra good cleaning" when you finish your business. Because of this all the restroom floors in Doha are wet. When I went to the restrooms at the airport in London, I was thrilled to find the floors in the restrooms were dry! The things we take for granted...

We landed in Dallas late at night and went straight to our hotel after getting our rental car. George was having nothing to do with the portable crib, so being exhausted, we let him sleep with us. Needless to say, George slept great, but Chris and I didn't.

We made our way to Texarkana to see Chris' brother Tim and his family, Sharon, his wife and two boys, Carter and Brett. They are very close in age to George, so we knew they would have a blast together. And boy did they! They played with cars and trucks, jumped in the leaves, rode bikes, and more. We really enjoyed our few days of visiting, playing and eating great food, like juicy steaks, BBQ pork, melt in your mouth chocolate. Yes, our holiday eating binge had started.

Chris, George and Uncle Tim

Brett, Carter and George

George and cousin Brett

After our days of playing with cousins, we packed up for the two to three hour drive to Nana's and Papa's. Of course, sleep deprieved George fell right to sleep in this car seat. Our visit there spanned Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It felt great to be with family and feel of their love for us and their interest in us and our far away home in Doha.

Grandma Betty Holt, Presley, Taylor, George and Papa George

Chris, George and Papa George

Christmas Morning

George loved the horses at Nana's and Papa's. He wanted to go outside and see them all the time, even when it was dark and he couldn't even see the horses. He got to play with his cousins, Taylor and Presley at the school playground where Chris played when he went there for elementary school.

George and cousin Presley ("Pesley")

George getting a back scratch from Aunt Jessica.

George still had trouble sleeping and ended up learning to sleep in a big kid bed while on this holiday. That was something we didn't plan on doing until sometime after he was three years old. George has his own timetable with some things.

The car was loaded with all our Christmas goodies from Santa and we headed out on the longest leg of our journey, Kingsland to New Orleans, about 7 hours. We arrived at my sister, Amy's house at about 4 in the afternoon. We exchanged gifts and let the kids play. Her daughter, Emily played" Jingle Bells" on her keyboard while George stood nearby and "sang". That was George's favorite Christmas song this year. He still sings it sometimes. Nicholas and I played "I Spy" on the computer. Cooper and George had fun playing together, too.

Time flew and we were off to my mom's home in Gretna, on the Westbank. It was so comforting to be with my mom in her and Don's home. We sat back and relaxed, eating more chocolate and pork products. George played at a couple of parks, showing Grandma his swinging, climbing and sliding skills. Their neighbor has a large, furry, white dog that George loved to see. He wanted to go outside and see him all the time! Luckily, Don loves to play with the dog, too, so the two of them made the dog fat by feeding him endless biscuits. This is where George really learned to sleep in a toddler bed. We had a couple of nights with him coming out after we put him to bed and crying at the door. I was exhausted and Chris stepped up and put his foot down. George listened and is still doing great with his crib converted to a toddler bed. My mom and I did some shopping on a rainy day, our favorite thing to do.

George getting rocked and sung to by Grandma Becky. She is singing "Over in the Meadow".

George and Grandpa Don

Sadly, our time in Louisiana was over and we made our way to Houston. We were growing tired of staying in other people's homes, eventhough it was family. We decided to get a hotel room in Katy. There are small benefits, such as not having to clean up all your stuff out of the shared bathroom each time you use it. We really are grateful for our family letting us stay with them during our visits. It is so great to spend all that time with them. Especially when these kinds of visits aren't too frequent.

We enjoyed our short time in Houston. We attended our former ward, Katy 2nd. It was such warm, familiar feeling walking into the chapel for sacrament meeting. But it felt odd attending their Sunday School and Relief Society since I was serving in primary for the last 3 years of our time in the ward. George walked right into nursery and started playing like he had never left. It was fun to see how his friends had grown in the last five months, Lucy, Eliza, Katelyn and Brooklyn. Yes, George had many girlfriends in Katy.

Our time ran out quickly in Houston. We had to take George to the doctor for a cough he developed. We needed to shop to stock up on some items that are either impossible to find or are way too expensive to buy in Doha. We also spent most of one day in the Houston Temple, which was wonderful! We're pretty sure Doha is in the Swiss temple district. That's a bit far for regular attendance.

Our journey back to Doha included a 5 hour layover in France. We left Dallas an hour late, so that made our layover an hour shorter. Charles deGaulle Airport was a nightmare, old, confusing and backward. We were glad to get on our last airplane, Qatar Airways, next stop, Doha, home.
We all slept on this last flight; George, in my arms for the last 4 hours. My arms were so tired, I could hardly move them to put him in his seat for landing. He stayed asleep for the whole approach and landing. He woke up when they turned on the lights and people started getting their bags.

YAY! We're home!

We thought we were home free, but when getting our luggage from baggage claim, we never saw our car seat. Yikes! Why did that have to be the thing that was lost?! Chris finally got to talk to someone about it, tracked it and found it was coming in on a later flight. We had to drive home without it. I held George in my lap as I sat in the back seat. Luckily Doha doesn't have a law about car seats. Often we see children riding in the laps of adults or standing up in the car. With the way people drive over here it makes no sense. The risk is too high. We had a great driver take us home, so I felt some security in that. We arrived without incident, and promptly began to unpack some neccessities. After getting George to his bed, we kept unpacking until we realized it was 3 am and we needed to sleep. Then began our struggle to get back on Doha time. Now, a week later, we are pretty much adjusted. We are sleeping okay, have been to the grocery store, a couple of times, have been to church and visited with our neighbors and friends. I even organized and went to our walking group. I think things are getting back to normal, or least to what we know as normal in Doha.

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year holiday. Ours was special since we were with family. We look forward to what this new year of 2011 holds for us. May it bring you happiness and peace.