Upgraded Seat

This little guy has moved up in the world. Until yesterday, his dedicated seat was a borrowed teal Bumbo chair on top of the table. However, the powers that be (his dad) decided it was time that he upgraded to the Stokke. If the table drumming was any indication, he was very happy and seemed to take to his new chair instantly.

Today has been a gray and gloomy day in Abu Dhabi. All day it has looked as though the rain was coming--but it never did. We (little A and I) went shopping for groceries at our favourite Lulu. As usual, A insisted on a visit to the pet store downstairs after we paid for our groceries (we leave our cart with the security guard in exchange for a button--we were number 299). We saw all the fish (the large yellow ones, the ones with bulgey eyes, the Nemos and Dorys), the turtles, the 'biguanas' and little A even poked a bunny. I am always impressed with how A is very good about just 'visiting' the creatures here--I have yet to drag her out screaming and crying about how she wants to take one home (though we were very close with the 'biguanas').

Sadly, when we came home we discovered our Christmas fish was in a poor state. He has been transferred to fresh water with Aquasafe, and hopefully he will get a renewed lease on life with a little bit of time.

Our maintenance men had to come today--our hot water pipe was leaking (again). This time, my favourite Nepalese gentleman Suresh was there, and I have confidence (perhaps foolishly misplaced confidence, but confidence nonetheless) that the problem should be rectified. I made sure that Suresh left with a bag full of our leftovers from dinner last night (NB-Indian food take-away from Kababrolls---not so great), and my appreciation.

I had an impromptu visit from a friend today. She will soon be moving from ARG to try out life 'outside the compound'. I hope that she likes it more than I did. Her life situation is different than mine (both her children are in school now), and she is not as 'housebound' as I tend to be--so she should fare better I think.

We are having veggie burgers tonight. I had my helper make them last week, following a great recipe I received through a friend of a friend (thanks Andrea and Mel!). Last week, they were not so great--it was her first attempt to make them without me beside her, going through the recipe step-by-step. So, this week we tried again. I 'supervised', and went through each step with her. She was pretty quick to realize what the problem was with the previous batch--she had forgotten the garlic and the capers. We all agreed that this evenings efforts were much tastier.

Baby N has been faring well with his injections--and they have not slowed him down at all. If anything, they are serving to make him MORE active (and hungry). I think that by the end of this month he may gain about 3 lbs (or more). He is also ALL OVER THE PLACE--keeping my adrenalin level fairly high, as I hover over him, hoping he doesn't crack his head open on the tile floor. Now that he is a 'master' crawler, he is no longer content with this skill. Instead, he has decided that STANDING is the order of the day. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand that you can't quite drag your feet along when you are attempting to walk (like he did with crawling).