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And of course he had to sleep with him too.
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And on Saturday we took him swimming at the SAS with us.
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What Happens When the Queen Dies?
4 years ago
Monday, November 9, 2009
Barnaby Bear
Calvin was the Star of the Week already the 2nd week of school! Yay Calvin! Anyways, the Star of the Week gets to bring Barnaby Bear home with them for the weekend, and then you have to take pictures of him with you and put the pictures in Barnaby's journal. Calvin was so proud! First we took Barnaby to the Embassy for Happy Hour.
And of course he had to sleep with him too.
And on Saturday we took him swimming at the SAS with us.
On the way there Alayna wanted to have a bear too, so they both held their bears tight the whole way there.
And then we had a birthday party on Saturday night so Barnaby got to come to that too.
Calvin really enjoyed his weekend with Barnaby, and Mommy and Daddy were very proud of our little Star!
And of course he had to sleep with him too.
And on Saturday we took him swimming at the SAS with us.
Play Dates
Since Calvin went off to school on September first and Alayna wasn't starting until the end of October, we had lots of play dates to help pass the time.
On Calvin's first day of school we had my friend Nena and her daughter Tiffany over to play. Tiffany and Alayna were both suppose to be in KG this year, but they seemed happy to be playing dress-up!
We spent several other mornings going to my friend Marcelle's house and swimming in their pool.
The embassy also offered some organized play dates for the little ones since the schools were not allowing them back.
Alayna has really made a lot of girl friends this year. For the first time really. It is so great to see her playing with other little girls. Here she is with her friend Tyra.
And here she is playing dress-up with her "Best Friend Delaney"!
Calvin didn't miss out on all the fun; we did do a few afternoon play dates too. This is my friends Sarah and Marcelle's kids with my kids watching a movie.
Look at the joy on their little faces! I guess it must have been a pretty funny movie!
On Calvin's first day of school we had my friend Nena and her daughter Tiffany over to play. Tiffany and Alayna were both suppose to be in KG this year, but they seemed happy to be playing dress-up!
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Calvin didn't miss out on all the fun; we did do a few afternoon play dates too. This is my friends Sarah and Marcelle's kids with my kids watching a movie.
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No More Thumbs!
Once we got back to Kuwait and over the jet-lag we had decided it was time to break the kids habit of thumb sucking. They both have been thumb suckers since they were babies, and it was starting to really affect their teeth. We talked about it for a couple weeks with them so they new it was coming and offered them a reward if they could go 14 days with no thumb sucking. Then on a mid-September day we sent them to bed with a sock over their offending hand. It was amazing! Neither of them pulled the sock off! Ryan and I were ready for the first few nights to be wakeful and full of tears, but they didn't make a peep all night! It was amazing how easy it was.
After the 14 days they got their rewards!
Alayna wanted Barbie Mariposa,
and Calvin wanted Mario Party for the Wii.
They were both so happy and so proud. And so were Mommy and Daddy!
Update: It is now November 9th and both of them have completely stopped sucking their thumbs and no longer wear the sock on the their hand for bedtime. It was such an uneventful transition, and we couldn't be prouder of them both!
After the 14 days they got their rewards!
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Alayna wanted Barbie Mariposa,
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Update: It is now November 9th and both of them have completely stopped sucking their thumbs and no longer wear the sock on the their hand for bedtime. It was such an uneventful transition, and we couldn't be prouder of them both!
Gurgiyan
The children at Calvin's school celebrated Gurgiyan this year, which is kind of like a Kuwaiti version of Trick or Treating.
Here is a little explanation of what Gurgiyan is:
In the past Gurgiyan night was very important to children and they waited for this night with great anticipation. They would receive lots of nuts and sweets; more than they had ever dreamt of during normal days. Gurgiyan started on the 12th day of Ramadan and lasted for 3 nights. Children made bags out of material with a drawstring top which they hung around their necks to collect the sweets and nuts. In each area the children divided into groups, each with a leader holding a drum or an empty metal bottle which could be hit. They would then start to knock at house doors with a loud clapping and singing and would repeat the song over and over until the door was opened and hopefully the neighbours gave them some nuts and sweets. Girls and boys sang a different song. Today, Gurgiyan sweets and nuts or chocolates are sold by shops in fancy boxes. Children who do continue the tradition are often accompanied by their maids and, of course today sweets are an almost everyday occurrence and not a once a year treat. The children wore a traditional dress.
The kids were all so cute. Here is Calvin eating some of the candy he got.
And this is his friend Matthew.
The kids had a fun day and I feel so blessed to be able to be living here and exposing my kids to different traditions and celebrations. What a blessing!
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Here is a little explanation of what Gurgiyan is:
In the past Gurgiyan night was very important to children and they waited for this night with great anticipation. They would receive lots of nuts and sweets; more than they had ever dreamt of during normal days. Gurgiyan started on the 12th day of Ramadan and lasted for 3 nights. Children made bags out of material with a drawstring top which they hung around their necks to collect the sweets and nuts. In each area the children divided into groups, each with a leader holding a drum or an empty metal bottle which could be hit. They would then start to knock at house doors with a loud clapping and singing and would repeat the song over and over until the door was opened and hopefully the neighbours gave them some nuts and sweets. Girls and boys sang a different song. Today, Gurgiyan sweets and nuts or chocolates are sold by shops in fancy boxes. Children who do continue the tradition are often accompanied by their maids and, of course today sweets are an almost everyday occurrence and not a once a year treat. The children wore a traditional dress.
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The kids were all so cute. Here is Calvin eating some of the candy he got.
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And this is his friend Matthew.
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Calvin's First Day of School
Calvin started school on September 1st as scheduled. But Alayna, who was also suppose to start school that day, did not due to the swine flu scare.
Calvin is in Year 1 this year at The English School of Kuwait. It was still very hot here (about 115*F) everyday so you can see he is a little sweaty.
On the first day they let the parents walk the kids all the way into their new classrooms.
Calvin did want a couple extra hugs, but for the most part he was very confident and excited about school.
Bye Mom, you can go now!
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On the first day they let the parents walk the kids all the way into their new classrooms.
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Our First Cottage Guests
Grandpa and Grama were nice enough to come up to the cottage with us for one night so that I could get a few little projects done before we went back to Kuwait. It wasn't all work though. We all had a nice time. They ate outside with the kids.
Went for a swim.
And of course,we had cocktail hour!
The next morning it was just so peaceful. When I first woke up there was fog over the lake.
And then by the time Grandpa and Grama were having their coffee the lake had turned to glass.
It is so beautiful!
Since we were leaving for Kuwait in just a couple days we had a few things that needed to be done, and one of them was haircuts for the kids. Grama was thinking ahead and brought up all her tools so she could cross that off the list while we were up north.
And outside haircuts are much easier to clean up!
Thanks Grama and Grandpa for coming and being our very first Cottage guests!
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| From Grandma and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
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| From Grandma and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
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| From Grandma and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
The next morning it was just so peaceful. When I first woke up there was fog over the lake.
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| From Grandma and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
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| From Grandma and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
It is so beautiful!
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| From Grandma and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
Since we were leaving for Kuwait in just a couple days we had a few things that needed to be done, and one of them was haircuts for the kids. Grama was thinking ahead and brought up all her tools so she could cross that off the list while we were up north.
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| From Grama and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
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| From Grandma and Grandpa first trip to the cottage |
Thanks Grama and Grandpa for coming and being our very first Cottage guests!
Alayna's 4th Birthday
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On August 17th Alayna turned 4! I can't believe my baby girl is already 4 years old. This year she was lucky enough to get 2 parties! The first one was on the 16th at my parents cottage. And yes, it was yet another princess party for the third time!
My Mom's side of the family all came up to help us celebrate.
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
The next day was Alayna's actual birthday and we drove back in to Milwaukee for party #2.
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
While I got the cake ready Grandpa entertained the kids with a good old fashioned tickle game.
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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| From Alayna's 4th Birthday |
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