Almost 2

I was scrolling through pictures of Norah today- just one of my many past times here and I realized that she is almost two.  In honor of that achievement, I found 2 pictures of her that I love....  Get ready, because these are two really good ones taken by her mother:

Both pictures involve things hovering right by her, merely trying to surprise her.

Frog Baby

When I was little and it was bath time, my dad would always sing this song to me:

"Frog baby

Little frog baby,

Little frog baby of mine.

Frog baby,

Little frog baby,

Little frog baby of mine."

Now that I am regularly giving baths, I can't help but sing that song.  Because look at them....

Don't they look like cute little frogs?

And they love the song.

When I was a little girl...

Last week when we were at the park, I taught Aliza an valuable technique of park playing...

How to swing on your belly:

I told her that when I was a little girl and there was no one to push me on the swing, I would still have fun by swinging on my belly.  I even phrased my story like that, "When I was a little girl..."

After she asked me to show her a few times, she proceeded to swing on her belly.  All the while telling me that when she was a little girl she used to do the same thing....  I'm glad we have so much in common.

Park Day

We officially have a weekly Park Day now.  Norah, Aliza and I head to the park shortly after breakfast and spend some good time outside.  Last Thursday was our first time and it was pretty cute watching the girls explore and get used to the park.

The Tunnel was definitely a favorite.

So were the swings.

The funny thing about Norah is that she likes to occupy her time there with things that she does at home too.

Like taking care of her babies (above).

And talking on the phone (below).

Aliza on the other hand, spent her time improving her climbing abilities.  I was pretty impressed!

And there was a bit of social time with the other kids there too.

Both of the girls were trying to help this little baby onto the swing...

While it didn't really work, the gesture was sweet.

The Katie and Kate Show!

Tonight, special viewers got to experience the Katie and Kate Show!   Katie, of course, stole the show and it was wonderful!  Here were some of the highlights:

First there was a Brother and Sister act!

That's right, the man behind my dear Aunt Betty is Gig.

And then Katie and Kate (names interchangeable) brought on some guest stars:

Cousin Brad

The one and only Baba

And at one point, during Cousin Karen's scene, they even showed their "seeing double" magic trick!

Hopefully, we'll get a spot on primetime television by 2042.

Bastakia

I went to Bastakia today with my friend Kezia for a late lunch and trip through the old souqs.  I got some cool pictures and discovered a few new things...

You can't quite see it in this picture, but the people on the benches lining the white wall were taking a nap as we passed by.

The camel was actually in Bastakia today!!!

It was glorious.

This one's for Kimberly.

We were dove watching during lunch.

I will never wear sandals to the souqs again.

I discovered today that tennis shoes are the way to go, no matter how much they compromise your style that day.

If I were these abra drivers, I would take some advice from the napping bench guys a few pictures earlier.

Seagulls were everywhere today!

Beat Boxin'

I went to the city centre the other night and was surprised to see a group beat boxing.  It's found all over the world...

52

This weekend was officially the first time I went to 52 for any extent of time.  And boy was it worth it...

Rodger's New Title

Once upon a time there was a very important family vote.  After the vote was cast the life of our family, as a collective whole, changed for what I think was the better.

What am I talking about....

I'm talking about the day my mother was renamed.  She is no longer grandmother to any of her grandchildren (except for the rebels), she IS Baba forever.

If you don't remember, or don't know what I'm talking about...
do a little research here: Shirley's New Title

Today marks an important day for my father, Rodger.  It is his birthday.  Earlier Aliza, Norah and I left a Happy Birthday message for him on his cell phone.  Then Aliza, in my father's honor, changed into a pink party dress and pretended like we were celebrating his birthday over dinner tonight.  After all was said and done, I sat in my room and contemplated my life.

People are always asking me certain questions (really it's all they talk to me about):
#1 question, of course: Who did you inherit your good looks from?
Who did you get Benjamin Button disease from? (actually that one's from my mum)
Who does your sense of humour come from?
Who taught you to love the sea the way that you do?
Who made you love calisthenics?....
and on, and on, and on

The answer:

That's right, THIS GUY

While contemplating these things tonight, I realized that I've been sitting on ANOTHER gold mine my whole life.  Not only that, but I have been blind to my father's pain: not having a new name to match my mother's.  How could I have been so cruel...  I have another chance to change history and while this one isn't centered on my family voting (honestly the other one wasn't either, but don't tell them that), I feel like I have a firm grasp on what my family would want.

So, as a birthday present...  Rodger's new title is:

Gig

Making the pair of them:

Baba and Gig

Happy Birthday Dad!

Picnic in the Park

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this sooner: Picnics.

I always talk about how I'm a picnic-er and surrounded by like-minded, picnicy people.  That's a given.  But I didn't realize that there is a hole in my picnicy identity.  I've been partaking in way too many fake picnics and not enough real ones.  So Kate and I went on a picnic this week.

Here are the sights and smells of our picnic:

What beautiful grass looks like.

I rarely see it, but it exists.

The Spread

The Park

The Smell

Conclusion: There's no longer a hole.

Calisthenics

According to Wikipedia, calisthenics are a "form of dynamic exercise."  I usually stretch during the mornings (like my father always does) reaching my arms into the air and letting out a large, "Ahhhhh."  Or sometimes I say, "ARgy, Argy, argy, argy."  I get that from him too.

This morning, I was argying and Norah looked at me like I was crazy, so I decided to try something and see if Norah would be game.  These are the exercises we came up with...

Morning Calisthenics with Norah

"Dynamic Jumping"

"Dynamic Toe Touch"

More toe touching

(she really likes that one)

"Dynamic Twisting"

"Stretching into the Air Dynamically with Baby"

Fireworks in the Desert

On December 31, 2010 (such a long time ago) I went to see some fireworks.  Some friends and I found a spot in a vacant sandy field.... wait, would I refer to it as a field?  I don't know if that's the term one would use after vacant and sandy...  Anyway, pressing onward.  We brought our own plastic chairs and sat waiting for the fireworks to bring in the new year.  In the distance we could see Festival City Centre, one of the many malls here, and the Burj Khalifa.  Both had firework displays.

Oh, and I wore a jacket and all my knitwear (including the slippers I made).

That was probably the most exciting part of the night: actually being cold.

It was awesome!

Some of us were more camerafied than others, as you can see.

It's easier to sneak up on fireworks if you have a tripod and you're wearing a lot of green.

The Festival City Centre show.

The Burj Khalifa show.

I wish I could have really captured it because the fireworks were coming off of the building...

I've never seen anything like it.

Our view of both displays at the same time.

The remains of 2010....

Smoke.

New Year's "Resolutions"

Kate and I enjoyed our last meal of 2010 together at MORE cafe, one of my favorite restaurants.

I had a really good MORE Rooibos tea latte, pictured here:

And after Gloria gave us the idea, we went over some of our New Year's resolutions...

taken from:

Don Whitney's “Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year or On Your Birthday”

Ah Ha...

Remember what I said about Camp Style not transcending past camp?

More proof that I was wrong...

Real 3-D glasses resting on the counter of Forever 21...

in the real world.