Birthday Festivities

We celebrated Jonathan's 32nd birthday on Saturday. After a leisurely morning sleeping in, Jonathan enjoyed homemade biscuits, country ham, and cheesy eggs for brunch. The highlight of the morning was definitely Guy's smiling delivery of the birthday card he personally decorated for his dad. Jonathan declared he had never seen scribbles so precious and heart-warming. After eating and opening his gifts, our little family spent the rest of the day playing and resting together. We ordered take-out for dinner from an Arab restaurant and I baked my first cheesecake. It was a really fun day, and best of all, Jonathan felt loved and appreciated!

A Visit With Friends

My friend Amena (whose engagement party I went to a couple of months ago) came over to our house the other day. She wanted to meet Guy and look at the pictures I took of her during the engagement ceremony. It was the first time she'd ever been to my home, and I was disappointed to learn that she'll be moving to Saudi Arabia in a couple of weeks. Her fiance is Palestinian, but his work is in Jedda. Her sister came over with her and we enjoyed talking together for a while. Guy was a bit uncertain about them, but quickly warmed up to them once he could actually see their faces (a rare privilege for any young man)! When people come over for a visit, they almost always come with a gift in hand. Amena gave me glasses (for drinking), a decorative picture, and some potpourri in a heart-shaped box. Guy got this pink bunny and a rattle that he loved, but I took the latter away since he almost choked on it after ten minutes. Amena is on the right and her sister, Hidaya, is on the left.

Detox

Before Jonathan's parents left, we jokingly said that Guy would have to go through some serious detox after their departure. He had non-stop attention for over two weeks, and he obviously loved the constant sweet-talk and cuddles he got from his grandparents. The truth is that we've all been going through withdrawal! I've had to readjust to listening to myself talk all day, and Guy's had to get used to playing on his own for chunks of time. We had a fantastic time with Mimi and Papop and all three of us really miss them. Jonathan and I really love hosting people in our home, especially when they are as special as our parents! Here's a few pictures from their time here:

Snuggling with Papop

Who says you can't play dress-up with a boy? Jonathan's parents bought Guy a miniature kafiya, and we all thought he made the perfect shepherd boy.

Guy LOVED swimming! It made me so happy, since going to the beach and playing in the pool is one of my favorite summertime activities.

Here's our little couch potato. We rarely put him in front of the TV, but while we were traveling we had one in our bedroom. Guy was fascinated with it.

We traveled north of Amman and visited a Crusader-era castle.

Jonathan, Lou and Becky

Cuddling with Mimi

Fashion show! Fashion show! Fashion show at lunch!

When Jonathan's parents came to Jordan for a visit, they brought with them a bunch of clothes that my mom bought for Guy. I haven't figured out the art of purchasing children's clothing here. It seems I have two options: expensive or used. Frankly, neither appeals to me very much. When we were home (in America) over the holidays, I tried to buy clothes for Guy for the next several months. However, I didn't do a great job, and my six month old (who wears nine month old clothes) was running out of things to wear. So my mom shipped some outfits to Georgia for Jonathan's folks to bring to us. Here's a few pics of some of his new threads!
Love the lion on the bottom! It also has a bib that matches.

Cute shirt. The hat was from some friends of ours.

Preppy boy. This outfit also has a vest that goes with it, but he threw up on it so...well, you know how it goes.

I love this one because it has feet on it. I feel like I am constantly putting Guy's socks back on, so an outfit like this is pretty convenient.

These overalls are adorable!

Thanks Grannie!