"UH-OH"

"Uh-oh" is the key word today! Unfortunately at only 21 months old, Savannah broke her left tibia today. We were at home, playing and making dinner and she just fell funny. She tripped over a play mat we have in her room (which she has done multiple times in the past), she fell funny and caused a spiral fracture, meaning it goes from front to back around the larger of the two shin bones. Of course, it happened while Chris was still at work. I called Savannah's pediatrician's office and they referred me to another one of their offices that has an emergency room built in. It was actually very close to our house, but we ended up taking a taxi, because I wasn't sure exactly how to get there (through the never-ending Dubai construction) and I wasn't sure if I could get Savannah into her car seat without causing more pain or injury. The office was great, we hardly waited and they confirmed it was broken with an x-ray. We were able to wait for Chris to get there before they put the cast on. She is a temporary cast until Monday afternoon to allow for swelling. We will follow up with the orthopedic surgeon on Monday and she will get a regular hard cast then. She was a trooper and so tough!

Kempinski Hotel-Palm Jumeriah

Today Savannah and I spent the day at the Kempinski Hotel, Palm Jumeriah! It was a special through the  "expat women" organization. For the equivalent of about $34 dollars, Savannah and I each got breakfast and a day pass to the hotel's private beach and pool. It was a great deal and a beautiful hotel! I think normally it would cost over $100 dollars, just to use the beach and/or pool for the day. We went with a few friends from our playgroup. While the mom's finished breakfast and got stuff set up outside, the kids got to play in the hotel's kids club room, which Savannah thought was fun, until she realized that I wasn't there. Savannah swam for hours and of course didn't want to come home! She loved the pool's spa jets (or bubbles) and the kids pool was perfect for a hot but nice day outside.

Changes...

A few updates on the "Sparks' Desert Adventure"

My shoulder is almost 100%, I have been released from physical therapy but continue to do exercises at home. Day to day it seems pretty good, but I still have some stiffness lifting my arm above my head and behind my back that I am working on. I also turned in my "official" letter of resignation to Romeo Community Schools. I have been on personal leave for the last two years. Contractually, I either need to return to work in August 2012 or resign. I am grateful for the opportunities that Romeo gave me and to the friends, students and families that I met there. I will always be a teacher at heart and am thankful that I had 9 years with Romeo to help shape me as an adult and teacher.

Chris continues to be busy at work. He is currently transitioning between job roles. Unfortunately, his company is no longer working with General Motors, so he has switched accounts and will now head Mars, Sky News and a pharmaceutical company. To do this, he has switched from the Starcom side of the company to the MediaVest side (but essentially still the same company). It actually worked in his favor to be in Dubai when this all happened. Our friends in Detroit have had to find new jobs and some are still looking. It is also a good opportunity for him to work on something other than automotive (which he has done for 11 years!). With this change comes a new office, new responsibilities and an extra year in Dubai (so two more). Although, it continues to be hard to be so far away from our friends and family, we have so many great opportunities living here...and Dubai is a pretty nice lifestyle. The biggest opportunity is that I can continue to stay home with Savannah.

We continue to try to make the most of our opportunities while in Dubai. In July we are headed to Muscat, Oman for a long weekend and we are meeting my parents in Italy in January! Savannah and I are also looking at heading back to St. Louis in July or August for a few weeks, it will provide us with a little break from the extreme heat and give us some more time with our family!

Trying to Beat the Heat

The temperatures are definitely rising. It is amazing how hot it is getting already...and it is only May! We seem to fall anywhere from 100-105 degrees, everyday. The humidity is what makes it seem unbearable. Going outside feels like you are walking into a wet blanket. Since it is too hot for the beach and park we have been trying to find a few new (indoor) activities to do during the week. So far we have explored the indoor play area at the Marina Mall. It was a good addition to grocery shopping but not somewhere I would go on a regular basis. We also went with a few friends from our play group to "Cheeky Monkey", this indoor place was great for Savannah, lots of slides and ball pits! It is relatively new, so seems clean and uncrowded, which is always a plus. We also went with our friend, Jacob to "story time" at Pottery Barn Kids.

Savannah is 21 Months Old

Today Savannah turned 21 months old. It is hard to believe she will be two in just a few months! She is changing everyday and growing up so fast. She is talking lots, although some of it she thinks is very clear, while we have no idea what she is trying to say. She is also trying to repeat everything we say. It is amazing how much she understands. She climbs on everything and gets into everything. When we leave the house she likes to take her purse, sunglasses and friend (either "Baby", "Bear", "Minnie" or "Ducky"). She also announced the other night that she was going to take a shower instead of a bath! She continues to be a picky eater, loving fruit and refusing any type of meat and most vegetables.  We are still working on getting her to sleep the entire night in her "big girl" bed. She starts out in her own bed but seems to always end up in the middle of ours (where unfortunately for us, she seems to sleep really well.) She still loves to swim, and now can point at the pool outside the window and inform me that she wants to go to the "pool", she likes to read books and color (although not consistently on paper only!). She loves anything "Minnie Mouse" although, Daisy Duck seems to be running for a close second. I think she could watch "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" all day, if she was allowed. She also loves to wear shoes (and loves to make sure we are wearing our shoes) and if she gets to pick out her outfit for the day, she always chooses a dress (yay)! She can find the letter "o" anywhere and we are working on counting, colors, shapes and the other 25 letters. 21 months is lots of fun, busy and exhausting all wrapped into one!