Ivy's party

you know that Journey song- "Don't Stop Believing" that's enjoying a second life because of GLEE?

It's called "justa small town grill" around our house (and car)

and it's a sing-along/ karaoke/ dance favorite for all.

Ivy just about cried when she asked me to play

"small town gourl {grill/ girl}" over and over and her birthday party until I finally figured out what song she was requesting.

Unfortunately I didn't have it on the i-pod we were using that night.

Fortunately, the i-pod has been properly synced and the dance playlist updated.

She is hilarious this girl.

She had a great, low-key birthday party with a handful of families from church and the neighborhood, that we love.

We ate dinner by the pool,

swam,

squirted water-cannons (the party favor),

pretended to take lots of pictures (I didn't have a memory card in my camera and didn't realize it until after most of the party was over and she had blown out the candles. I was just snapping away for nothing- so sad),

sang

and danced.

and she was spoiled with all sorts of girly things.

I came home and updated her dance playlist (fixed the i-pod glitches)

and to thank everyone for the gifts and the fun- I burned a CD of our kids' dance playlist that she will give to her friends when she sees them this week (if you're local and reading this- act surprised)

in case you're wondering what makes my kids get their groove on

here are the some of the songs on the kids playlist- these are the ones I put on the CD (in alphabetical order- although I didn't put them on the CDs that way):

Bop til you Drop -random kids mix

the Boys are Back- HSM3

Don't Stop Believing- GLEE

Dancing Queen- ABBA

Finger in the Air- random kid mix

Forever- Chris Brown

Freeze- again from the random kid mix

Funkytown- Alvin and Chipmunks

Honey, Honey- ABBA

I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas

Knock on Wood- Studio Group

Kung Fu Fighting- Cee-Lo & Jack Black

Life is a Highway- Rascal Flatts

Love it when you Call- the Feeling

Night to Remember- HSM3

Party in the U.S.A.- Miley Cyrus

Sweet Caroline- GLEE

You Belong with Me- Taylor Swift

some aren't necessarily dance songs, but they are highly requested in the car so I included them.

any dance favorites around your house or in your car, that I should add?

Ivy savoring the last moments of her party before we cleaned out of the pool house and walked home.

oh, one more sidenote: I finally had to carry a screaming Ivy away and up to bed. It was late and she was getting irrational with her new toys and her brothers. She kept crying that she didn't feel good, her head hurt, he's not sharing, it's mine, etc.

I told her she must be tired from such a long birthday and to just lay down and rest and I would lay with her.

she just cried and cried and said "but i don't want my birthday to be over!"

it was sad.

and there was a part of me that was ready to plan one more party just so she could celebrate one more day.

Hunting for eggs.

Yes Nancy*, we already had Easter- you're so funny.  

We're 10 hours ahead- not 10 days behind silly! 

*(addressing comment she made in the previous post).

Although, we didn't go to church on Easter Sunday.

We went to church on Good Friday, Ivy's birthday was Saturday (we spent the day cliff jumping and swimming in a wadi out in the desert), and Sunday was Easter (and John was back to work). Asher had Spring break for 2 weeks (before and after Easter- we had a lot of fun!!)

The good:  Separating and celebrating the commercial holiday of Easter (bunnies, egg hunts, parties) from the Spiritual holiday of Easter.

Example: 4 egg hunts 4 different days (before, after and on Easter)- none on the same day as we went to church

The not as good:  It was easy to forget that Good Friday was our substitute for Easter Sunday (over here) and therefor not recognize the Easter holiday on the Sabbath because the commercial holiday was still 2 days away (does that make sense?  it does to me, but it's late)

and the really really good:  Cadbury mini eggs!!! (cost too much, but oh so yummy).  I was pleasantly surprised to find a good little variety of Easter candy and decorating stuff in some of the more Western grocery stores here.

the pictures:

pictures of the kids hunting for eggs at a pool party with friends (above) and at home on Sunday morning after the Easter bunny came in the night (below).

not pictured:  Canyon!!!! (sorry little man, that's what happens when you're sleeping)

the Church/ Primary egg hunt where they hid the chocolate foil eggs (in this weather!?!- chocolate was everywhere!  Good thing that was a swim party too)

Ivy's birthday party egg hunt (also a swim party- not sure what pictures I have.  They may be coming soon).

obligatory pre-church photos in their "Sunday best" (Never happened, but I haven't given up. I've got some good tips to go on now- thanks everyone)

30 something....

parallel lives

30 years

30 days

and about 

30 hours apart.

d.o.b.: 11 march 1977

d.o.b.: 11 april 2007

There are times when I see how similar we are, and I smile or laugh in understanding and connecting with my kindred spirit. 

Other times I see the similarities to her father or other family members, and I smile and laugh at those times too.

but sometimes I approach friends and family questioning: "was/is your daughter ever like this?" because I need answers.

I really do love all those times.

Because Ivy makes me smile, and laugh and shows me just how much she's a one-of-a-kind little girl.

She's Ivy.

and she's enjoying a wonderful birthweek as the celebrations continue, so am I.

Happy Easter too!

say ahhh

did I mention we've been to the doctor's office more than once in the past couple weeks.

gotta love Dr's that give the kids lollipops (and kids that like to choose what they wear).

Visitors to Dubai- 10 day Stake conference

i love this second picture for two reasons, one it looks like Ivy is being reprimanded, by quite possibly one of the nicest men on earth, and two it shows Ivy's cute hair is finally just barely long enough for little pigtails and I LOVE it!

I'm sorry I didn't share sooner.

We were lucky and blessed with a fabulous church meeting a couple weeks ago.  It was Stake Conference. (read more about it here, it's a good article that gives you the details -)

Elder Holland and Elder Causse along with their wives came to speak to us.  They are both amazing- so comfortable and easy to be around.  

I felt so much goodness from them

I felt inspired to be a little better, but at the same time proud of who I am and what I am doing.

Mostly though, I thought a lot about the circumstances I am living in right now.

I remembered this past summer when another General Authority from the church Elder Neuenschwander came to visit and spoke briefly with the adults in our ward.  He told us that while most of us will say that we are here in Dubai because of our job (or spouses job) that we had a greater purpose in being here.

Again at Stake Conference, Sister Holland stressed the same thing- twice.  Thursday night and Friday morning.

I believed her.

At different times in my life, I have felt very strongly that I was put in that place or situation for a reason.

I haven't really felt that about living in Dubai specifically.  I feel blessed that we are having this experience living overseas with our family.  Blessed that we have a job in this troubled economy.  Blessed that we are enjoying beautiful weather (right now) and that we have made some wonderful friends.  And blessed that while I live far away from most of our friends and all of our family, I feel love and closeness though emails, phone calls, and even blog comments. 

I recognize my blessings, but recognizing my purpose in being here, in Dubai specifically, is more of a challenge.  I feel inspired, motivated and challenged to figure out what that is. For the most part I feel like we are here in Dubai because we chose to be.  John was looking for a job after grad school and finally things fell into place with a job here. It just happened to be half-way around the world from home, but it was a job, we're not the first family like ours to move here, and we won't be the last.  

It's hard to feel like we were inspired to move here, or that this is where we need to be right now. BUT at the same time, it's a little bit exciting and empowering to look at things that way. When I think that I am supposed to be here, that there are things for ME to accomplish HERE, then I realize that I need to step up my game.  That I should be doing more things to put me in tune with the Spirit.  That IF it's true that I am here because I have a Heavenly Father that wants me to be here, then I need to stop thinking and wondering about when and how we'll go back to the States and what I would be doing if we were there.  I need to think about what my talents are and how I, with those talents, can make a difference.  It's also hard because my immediate thoughts are really BIG.  They are outside of my family (because I know my purpose there) and I don't even know where to start or how to get started.  I want to figure it all out.  

I guess I write all this and share it so that I commit myself to living life with more purpose AND

maybe you'll take on the challenge with me, because I'm sure many of you are living where you need to be as well.

smitten

Ivy is smitten; in love; giddy; thrilled; to have a baby brother.

(by the way- I have no recollection of the rules associated with using a semi-colon.  my blog: my punctuation.)  

So, in an attempt to answer some of the commonly asked, post-birth, questions.  I'll start with:

How does [do] Ivy (and Asher) like having a baby brother? 

(punctuation with parenthesis and brackets and a regular colon: same problem)

As I was saying, Ivy is smitten. 

She loves to hold, kiss, point out all his facial features/ body parts, use words like "nice" and "soft" when talking to him, and immediately run to his rescue the second she hears a peep of a cry.  All of it has been so cute and very fun to watch.  She's also very excited and helpful when it comes to diaper changes.

the not so helpful stuff (ie somewhat dangerous). She wants to push him "high" in his swing. She tries to give him his binky (pacifier, dummy, whatever you call it) and holds it in his mouth until he starts sucking.  Sometimes he's crying hard, squirming away and she holds it with persistence.  We will keep a closer eye on that.  And, as I said before she loves to hold him but often when her time is up, she won't let go.  I'm sure I will notice many more things as time goes on.  So far I'm only on day 2 without another adult to keep an eye on Ivy and Canyon with me.  

Asher loves his brother, thinks it's cool we have a baby, laughs at his funny faces, and tells his friends and teachers that he has a brother.  However, right now it's pretty much a hug and kiss and maybe holding him every now and then.  He's not nearly as interested as Ivy.  I think it's a gender thing more than an age thing, but I could be wrong.  

Asher doesn't call him C3PO much anymore.  Usually "Canyon" or "baby" or "he" as in "why is he crying?"

Ivy calls him "Canyon", but it sounds more like "Tanny"  "Canny" or "Candy".  I'm sure he'll love to be called "Candy" in oh say 16 years.

Our Suess-y evening

My mom left last night we were feeling quite sad,

but I thought to myself, "there is fun to be had"

By myself, as a mom, with 3 kids, not just two.

I fed them and dressed them, then what did I do?

turn on the computer of of course, isn't that what you do?

Google artists filled my mind with delight

there was fish and a grinch and a cat on their site

Because today marks the birth of an author named Suess

we planned a little party with a perfect excuse.

For dinner we did not eat green eggs and ham

but we stuck to the theme- that's the kind of girl that I am.

One fish, two fish- we ate FISH, that's right!

only our fish was not red, nor was it blue, it was white.

when pop arrived home, on pop the kids hopped

we read stories, and wrestled and no one was dropped!

what else did we do? what else did we make?

we colored Dr. Seuss pictures and ate frosting with CAKE!!!

-----ok, enough rhyming for one evening, I'll leave that to the professionals.----

We're off to a pretty good start with our new little family.

We miss Grandma and wish that more friends and family could come stay with us, hang out with us, and take care of us.

Funny that my mom brought the cute little Dr. Suess onsies with her to give to the kids (that's what Ivy is wearing.  Cindy Lou Who in pink and Horton on the green one).  I think the onsies are cute, but not by themselves without pants on a toddler.  I didn't think I would get much use out of Ivy's for that reason, because once you put pants or skirt on, half of the image is covered up!  (Who designed these shirts anyway?) My mom quickly solved that problem and added a little skirt to the two onsies that she brought for Ivy.  Canyon's remained skirt-less, but I think he's little enough (and it will soon be hot enough) that a onesie and nothing else is ok for the little guy.

question:  how do you spell onesie because clearly the way I'm spelling it is incorrect.  I have lots of red underlining going on.  Maybe it's not a word. How fitting, to use a word like onesie, that may or may not be a real word on Dr. Suess's birthday- he's got to be the king on non-word, words, and non-thing, things. Right?

something new

My mom leaves town tonight and I'll be on my own for a while (well, John is still here, but he has another full-time job).  We're heading out to enjoy our last day. 

I just thought I'd share this cute photo and let you know that if you haven't given up on me or this blog, I will be back (and some of my posts may appear in January or February's archives because I started them but never finished them; the story of a lot of things in my life).

Pre- Christmas family time

We're a desert family now, so we do desert things.

Instead of the sledding and snow angels, sleigh rides, visits to Santa and sitting on his lap, and dressing up in Christmas best.

We got sand sliding and sand angels!

Dune bashing!

sorry, no photos really, I was holding on to tight.

Visiting a camel, and sitting on his hump!  

For some reason he didn't ask what we wanted for Christmas, but he did give us a little ride!

and dressing up like the locals.

Soon after enjoying our desert festivities here in Dubai, we boarded our planes for the U.S. and enjoyed some more traditional Christmas activities in Arizona (a different kind of desert).