Meeting Aunt Megan and Uncle Jon

Today while Chris golfed with his Grandpa, Savannah and I met my mom for lunch then we headed back to my parent's house for dinner. Savannah finally got to meet Aunt Megan and Uncle Jon! They even came bearing gifts from Megan's recent trip to North Carolina. As you can see by Savannah's long sleeves and pants that the weather is much cooler than we expected (or is normal for St. Louis in May). This outfit was given to us by friends in Detroit and we have borrowed some other clothes from a friend, since Savannah only seems to own "summer attire".

St. Louis at Last-Meeting Great Grandpa, Aunt Kasey, Uncle Matt and Grandpop

We arrived in St. Louis this morning. Thank goodness for a short flight! This afternoon we spent a little time at my mom and dad's house, meeting the dogs and exploring the new toys. Then we were off to Chris' dad's office so that Savannah could meet her Grandpop! While we were there, she got to inspect all of his model airplanes! After that we were off to "Monday Night Dinner" at Chris' grandma and grandpa's. This was especially fun because Savannah finally got meet her Great-Grandpa, Uncle Matt and Aunt Kasey! Our last stop of the day was at Chris' mom's house were we spent the night and of course check out the new toys! Throughout our stay in St. Louis we are going to travel back and forth between our parents homes for dinners and slumber parties.

What a great start to our time in St. Louis!

Homeward Bound...Stop Two-Detroit

We are state-side! It certainly had a different meaning when the customs officer said "Welcome home". Savannah if finally making her US debut!

Detroit has been our home for the last 9 years so we were so glad that we could fit a stop there into our trip. Thanks to our fabulous friends we were able to catch up with a lot of people in two short days. Our friends, Doug and Melissa welcomed us into their home and planned a fun-filled weekend for us. When we arrived on Saturday night we quickly ordered Buffalo Wild Wings (at Chris and I's request!) and spent the evening with our close friends and their kids. Sunday, the guys were supposed to play golf but got rained out. Savannah and I headed to Romeo to visit with my school friends...again at Buffalo Wild Wings. We also stopped by Chris and I's old house and said a quick hello to our wonderful neighbors. I was hoping to sneak a picture of Savannah in front of our old home, but it was pouring rain!

We then headed back to Doug and Melissa's for an afternoon of friends stopping by to say hello, meet Savannah and catch up! We had a wonderful time, were overwhelmed by the number of people who stopped by to see us and are so lucky to have such wonderful friends.

Savannah is 9 Months Old

Celebrating 9 months old in Paris isn't so bad! Nine months has been pretty exciting! At about nine and a half months Savannah has learned to crawl, pull herself up on everything, babble loudly and clap her hands! She also said "dada" while we were in Paris and then

"mama"

a few

days later!

Homeward Bound...Stop One-Paris

Our travels home have begun! We were going to have several layovers anyway so we decided to extend them into "stay-overs". We decided to take advantage of the opportunity and explore Paris, and see our friends in Detroit before heading to St. Louis. Our adventures began with a flight from Dubai to Paris, which started off with a ticket disaster at the airport that was resolved with Chris and the airport customer service agent both on the the phone with Delta for hours, including as we headed through passport control and security. The issue was resolved as we boarded the plane! We ended up being the last ones to board--as the doors were closing. Evidently, Delta/KLM/Air France are all one network of airlines that have different rules regarding e-tickets for infants and the fact that Savannah had not been issued one and needed one before we could board the plane. Savannah was amazing on this flight, she slept through everything....the long wait at the airport working out the ticket situation and the entire 8 hour flight! Chris and I both loved Paris. It is a beautiful city. We were only there for 2 nights so not nearly enough time to explore the city or do it justice but got a good taste, definitely somewhere we would go back to. We did a double decker tour bus, which was a great way to see a lot of the city, especially when traveling with Savannah. We especially loved the sidewalk cafes. The Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe were my favorite. Both are beautiful, plus we did a little shopping along the way. (Savannah had a major meltdown inside the flagship Louis Vuitton store!) We loved the sidewalk cafes, the bustle of the city and the incredible architecture. Notre Dame was the one place we did actually have time to tour inside. Again the architecture is beautiful both inside and out. We had perfect weather as well. Two days of sun and mid 70's, which although seemed cold to us it was great for spending so much time outside. Savannah was fantastic! Despite teething and running a slight fever while we were in Paris she was amazing every step of the way...allowing us to do as much sight-seeing as we could in our short time there. She seems to really enjoy being "out and about".

Mother's Day

To celebrate my first Mother's Day, Savannah and I went to the beach this morning. (Being a Sunday, Chris had to work.) We also enjoyed a fruit bouquet (Chris sent us something that we could share...I am not sure who actually ate more of the fruit...me or Savannah) and then we had dinner with Chris at PF Changs! I am truly blessed!

Continued Current Events

Well, this continues to be an interesting time to live in the Middle East. Yesterday it was announced that US military had killed Osama Bin Laden, 9 1/2 years after the tragic September 11th attacks and the hunt for him began.

Most of the news we have followed is broadcast by CNN or another US news affiliate. We did check the locals papers for their take on the story and it seems pretty similar. Local newspaper articles tend to be short and sweet, containing just the basic facts. (There are local news stations but they are all broadcast in Arabic.) I did see an interview on CNN International where the reporter interviewed several Arab men and women. Most of their sentiments seemed to be similar to what was being said in the US with hope that another tragic event is not being planned in retaliation. I have heard President Obama say several times that this is not a war on Islam, which I think is important living on this side of the world.

As I watched the coverage yesterday I was almost "teary eyed" hearing people sing the National Anthem and wave their American flags in front of the White House. In some ways it reminded me how far away we are and in another way it made me feel closer to home.

Chris works with mostly coworkers from Lebanon and India. They all said "mabrook" or congratulations in Arabic when he arrived at work on Sunday.

The American Women's Association holds monthly meetings at local hotels. There was a meeting schedule for Tuesday, which I guess they considered canceling due to the current events and wondering whether it a good idea to gather a large group of Americans in one location but from the last emails I saw they were going to continue to hold the meeting.

Day to day life in Dubai continues to feel safe. Although, it does make you think twice when the State Department issues a "Worldwide Travel Alert" for all Americans traveling or living abroad, especially as we are gearing up for our trip to Paris and the US.

We certainly picked a historic time to live in the Middle East.