New Chairs

Before leaving we had the local carpenter build us chairs for Aiden since he loved his buddy Will's chairs. We set them out and he was really excited to have Aiden sized chairs and immediately began arranging them around the house. Then he started to find new uses for them. Needless to say they are now upstairs and waiting until we have carpet again!

Happy Easter!

"Because you have seen me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" - John 20:29

Big Changes

The blog has taken a visible backseat in the past couple of months... it's not that we have run out of things to say, just time to say it all. Here's the Cliff Notes version of last two months to catch everyone up:

1. Sheri and Aiden flew back to Arizona to represent our family at Grandma Joyce's memorial in early February. While they were celebrating Grandma's life and reuniting with family Brandon took an opportunity to see/participate in the infamous Qatar camel races. Basically the Kentucky Derby for Camel's, set along a very long course that invites you to jockey for position in your 4x4 alongside the Landcruisers and Patrols to catch a view of the action.

2. Aiden turned 1 earlier this month and mom & dad got help from Uncle Mark who flew out during his spring break to enjoy Qatar and throw a worldclass 'GREEN PARTY'. Building on the St. Patrick's Day theme we asked everyone to wear green, dyed Aiden and daddy's hair green, put up green decorations, green frosted cupcakes, guacamole & chips, and a photobooth setup with plenty of green props to liven the mood.

3. Aiden is walking! It was only a day or two from stomping out 2 or 3 lunges in a row before he was wandering all over the first floor (smiling and hollaring the whole way as if to say "look, look, can you believe I'm walking?!"). And that has changed the game completely; we turn our head for 10 seconds and suddenly he's teetering on the seat of his push car trying to climb up on the table... oh yeah, he's also becoming a skilled climber and prefer to do so without ropes or spotters. Not sure I'll ever get used to having a little person walk past me with a remote control in one hand and a long trail of toilet paper in the other. As he began walking/running around we've also seen his appetite grow; and his tastes have changed, preferring anything he can feed himself (toast, scrambled eggs, waffles, turkey sandwiches, crackers, juice boxes, and big bites of daddy's hamburgers).

4. Nearly as exciting as Aiden's first steps was the news that we're heading back stateside in May; exactly 3 years after moving to Qatar to start this grand adventure. Hard to believe how quickly the time goes. Fortunately we'll always have this blog to look back and remember all the fun times we've had. From marathon's and the Maldives to Baby Aiden and Ha'Bibi it's amazing to acknowledge and enjoy the multitidue of blessings we've been given. Especially meaningful as we prepare to celebrate Easter one final time in Doha.

Happy Easter and See You Soon.

Sneezing is Fun

Aiden burst into giggles when I sneezed during dinner the other night and since Brandon and I have 'created' sneezes to hear him laugh. Well I guess we are in the copy cat stage as Aiden makes his own sneezes. Good thing we learned with sneezes and not something else!

Hasta La vista Jet Lag!

10 months Already?

Hard to believe that our little man has now been with us longer than he was in my belly! It has flown by with each new trick he has learned. He keeps us on our toes and reminds us how precious life is. We love our little man and are excited to see what he has in store for us.


Of course I can't leave without giving an update on his happenings:

Here they are:

1. Walking while pushing his trolley
2. Has 4 teeth, 5th one soon to come
3. Huge Explorer- loves to climb in and out the dog door, thru cabinets, under benches and on top of toy boxes.
4. Just completed his 4th round the world plane trip
5. Had a haircut that turned him from a baby to a big boy:(
6. Eats us out of house and home with at least 5 meals a day
7. Makes the funniest faces
8. Picks his nose
9. High fives
10. Claps
11. Dances to any song especially 'Stanky leg' (if you haven't heard it you are missing out)
12. climbs stairs
13. Can pull his feet off the ground while holding onto the table ( i am in big trouble)
14. Gives great kisses
15. Says daddy, nana, ooooohhhh(think ET phone home) Just waiting on Mama!
16. Is the cutest little man in our lives!

A Walking Man!

One day home and we are already starting new tricks!