Global Village

Global Village is located in Dubliland and is home to pavilions of almost 50 different countries around the world. Each country has their own pavilion where tradesmen come to sell merchandise. It is an interesting way to experience many different crafts, foods and cultures in one location. Global Village is only open three months out of the year (since it is all outside) and tonight it was packed! This was the first time Chris and I had seen that many people dressed in the traditional Arabic dress. It was a great "local" experience! I got an early Christmas present from Grandma from the Turkish tent. I got a beautiful hand painted platter, perfect for chips, salsa, guacamole, peanuts, etc... Thanks Grandma!

Dinner at the Atlantis Hotel

Chris is off work Tuesday-Saturday this week for the Eid holiday. It is great to take advantages of days off for holidays that we don't celebrate! The holiday (and days off work are timed well with his family in town.

Tonight we took Vickie and Grandma to the Atlantis Hotel for dinner. What an adventure! With the holiday, traffic near the hotel was crazy! Instead of being able to pull directly into the hotel's main entrance and valet park we were directed to the back parking lot of the property...not convenient for a baby or grandma. We then had to take a shuttle to the back entrance and walk our way through the hotel to get to the restaurant. The hotel is very secure...in the sense that you are only allowed in certain parts of the hotel unless you are staying there overnight. We sweet talked our way past several security guards and used Savannah to get up an elevator. I think it was quite stressful for everyone but we finally made it to the restaurant and were able to enjoy a delicious meal. Grandma, Vickie, Savannah and I took a cab back to the apartment, while Chris made the trek back to the car. In Dubai style, our cab driver didn't know where our apartment was (even though it is less than five minutes away), drove like he was a Nascar driver and spoke very little understandable English.

But...the adventure wasn't over! As soon as we reached the apartment door the fire alarm went off in the building! I guess there is a first for everything. We quickly pushed the stroller into the apartment and made our way down three flights of stairs. Luckily it was a false alarm. (Top two pictures) Everyone ended the evening enjoying a well-deserved beer!

Fun Days!

Yesterday we showed Grammie and Great Grammie how much Savannah enjoys swimming. The water was a little chilly so not sure Savannah enjoyed it quite as much as normal but still a good time and helped ease her into nap time.

Last night we ate dinner at our new kitchen table and as you can see in the picture it was too much fun for Savannah. She couldn't keep her eyes open and feel right to sleep in her Bumbo chair!

Since Savannah is not having any trouble growing we tried on her Cardinals shirt again. The last time she wore this shirt it fit her like a dress, now it is just right.

Savannah also played her first game of cards...Great-Grammie's favorite thing to do!

Savannah is Three Months Old

Savannah turned three months old on Friday! Hard to believe she is already three months old and that we have been here for four months.

Savannah went to the doctor today for the rest of her two month vaccinations. We split the vaccaniations last month because her weight had been low but now Savannah is in the 90th percentile for height and weight! The doctor said she is healthy and "flying off the charts". Luckily her height and weight are porportate so nothing to worry about! Today she weighed 14 pounds and is 24 inches long! Like mom she is "tall for a girl"!

Beer Run

Given that it is against Islamic religion to do anything that alters your state of mind (drinking), expats must obtain a liquor license in order to purchase beer, wine and liquor for their home. Your employer must give permission for you to obtain this license. We do not yet have our license so we had to go with a friend. This involved driving across town to the store. The store was packed and we were definitely the minority. There were mostly Indians in the store and they were buying as if they were shopping at Sams or Costco. While we felt like we were trying to buy beer in college. Several hundred dirhams later we left with three bottles of wine and two and half cases of beer (there is a 30% tax on top of already high prices). The selection is slim. Budweiser is the only American beer we have seen since we arrived in Dubai so we have had to venture out and find other types of beer. Luckily, we have tried a few in restaurants and have found some to our liking.

Grammie and Great-Grammie Arrive

Late Friday night Grammie and Great-Grammie arrived (Chris' mom and grandma). Savannah tried to stay awake to meet them, which resulted in a long night but was well worth the wait. Saturday morning I introduced Vickie to paddle boarding. We took a quick lesson and then paddled around the Burj Al Arab. It was a great morning! I think we may try to go again before they leave and try to find a water proof camera to take with us next time.

Saturday we had a late lunch/early dinner on the Jumeriah Beach Walk and yesterday we had lunch at the Noodle House inside the Madinat Jumeriah Resort. While we were there we visited the Souk, which is small shops designed to resemble the old Arabian Markets.

Savannah has enjoyed having Grammie and Great Grammie to cuddle with.

New Hobbies

Over the weekend, I went paddle boarding. It was a blast. Once I stopped looking down and thinking about what I was doing it was really relaxing a great way to spend a beautiful morning at the beach. I signed up for a group lesson but no one else showed up so the instructor taught me what to do and then we paddled around the Burj Al Arab. The Burj Al Arab (Arab Sail) is a seven star hotel that sits on its own artificial island. It is connected to the mainland by a private bridge and the structure resembles the shape of a sail. (Picture to the right). There are not pictures of my paddle boarding adventure or of me falling into the water since Chris stayed home with Savannah but I plan on going out again so maybe we can get some pictures another time.

Chris has also started playing basketball with some guys from work. It will never replace hockey but I think he enjoys getting out and running around. Although, last week it resulted in a bloody lip and this week he keeps commenting on how old he feels!

Savannah's hobbies continue to be reading, bath time and going for swims. We have been reading to Savannah since she was born but she is actually starting to look at the pages. She seems to love bath time and being in the pool. Unfortunately, she is also very drawn to the bright lights of the TV. She also likes to play on her play mat, especially now that she can reach the toys that dangle above her and has figured out how to scoot on her back but is uninterested in "tummy time" unless it is playing "airplane" on my legs.

This weekend we walked in the "Pinkathon" walk for breast cancer awareness. We also went to El Chico for dinner. This Mexican restaurant is located on the Jumeirah Beach Walk. We were able to grab a table outside and enjoy the nice evening. We also watched the many cars cruise by. It is like being at an auto show, it is amazing how many luxury cars we saw. (Think Rolls Royce, Maserati, Ferrari, etc...). On Saturday we ate dinner at a friend's house. They are expecting a baby boy in December so Savannah will soon have a new playmate.