A Day at the Beach!

We loaded up the two dogs, the baby and all their gear and headed out to Al Wakra for some fun in the sun. Olivia's first day at the beach. Our dogs are nuts and many people here are afraid of dogs, so we were looking for a spot that was somewhat isolated. In our quest off the beaten path, we managed to get stuck on a soft spot of sand. After one couple unsuccessfully tried to pull us out, they went and got reinforcements...10 guys hanging out on their day off. It was too funny (Mike didn't really think so at the time). After a while, Olivia started crying, Maya was whining to get out and play; what a mess! After we got out, we just decided to stay close and hope the dogs didn't terrify anyone. At the end of the day, we were all covered in sand, but had a great time! No one had as much fun as Maya. As usual, she loved it!

Bird Dog Love

Olivia has finally discovered the joy that is a crazy bird dog! She thinks Maya is great and smiles at her anytime she comes near. She is not too crazy about her barking at everything that walks by the window, but at least she is no longer crying! Watching Maya play fetch is just too funny. Excited arm flapping is in full effect now!

Sweet Potatoes!

Olivia got her first taste of real food once we got back to Doha. The first few bites she spit out, but then realized that was a big mistake! She LOVED sweet potatoes!

Half a Year!

Olivia turned 6 months old January 24th (I am just slightly behind on the blog). At her 6 month appointment, our pediatrician said she is perfect! Thankfully, the urinary track infection scare turned out to be nothing. The ultrasound that she had did allow us to have a glimpse at her insides and all looked good :) We even got to see an ovary! Crazy!

Her stats from her 6 month check-up:

Weight: 17 pounds 3 ounces 75th percentile

Height: 26 inches 63rd percentile

Head Circumference: 54th percentile

I updated her photos for the month here:

Olivia's 6th Month

This month, Olivia discovered the piece of paper for her monthly pic. Here are some funny out takes :)

Fun with Cousins

Olivia's cousins Emery and Delia came to Houston (with their parents, my brother Tim and my sister-in-law Jenny, of course). It was the first time they had gotten to meet Olivia. Rosina and Art also came to Houston to run the half marathon. We had a fantastic weekend!

Cheering on the runners!

Yay Rosi and Art!

Careful with that baby Uncle Timmy

Feet!

Olivia has truly discovered the joy of her feet! She thinks they are fantastic. Here is a shot of her at the doctor's office.

Hook 'Em Horns!

We went over to the Leedy's for the Fiesta Bowl! Hopefully it was her first of many Longhorn Bowl games!!! We had to take away her pompom as all she wanted to do was eat it!.

Rice Cereal

While we were home, Olivia got her first taste of solids, rice cereal. She loved it!!

Laughing!!

Olivia has started belly laughing and it is too funny! It takes A LOT of work on our part to get one, and this is the first we caught on video.

New Year's in Austin

We spent Olivia's first New Year's in Austin with our good friends, Mike and Courtney Rhodes and their little guy Chase. We had a fabulous time...too much wine and food though! We walked down to Austin's New Year's "parade". It was so typical Austin (very eccentic). Besides that, we spent most of the time hanging out at their new house that over looks downtown. They heated the pool and Olivia's took her first dip in a pool!

Dad's babysitting while recovering from New Year's

Chase letting Olivia borrow his old jumperoo

Both napping at a restaurant

Olivia's First Christmas

What a spectacular time we all had at Olivia's first Christmas! This year, we spent Christmas Eve at the Ray's. We had a fantastic dinner over there that included lots of pork :). Christmas morning, everyone (The Stobaugh's and the Ray's) all came over to our house to watch Olivia open all of her presents. Ducky arrived as Santa! Olivia loved it, but loved the bows from her gifts the best!














Apparently, our ceilings are too high for a doorway jumper! I don't think she is meant to just hang there!







After breakfast and opening the grown-up presents, we went over to the Peden's for a fabulous meal.

5 Months Old on Christmas Eve!

It is hard to believe how quickly it goes. It has truly been such a joy so far. Olivia keeps getting bigger and bigger! At her last pediatrician's appointment, Olivia was in the 78th percentile for weight and 88th for height!

I updated her pictures from the month at snapfish.com:

Olivia's 5th Month Pictures

Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail

Ducky and Pong Pong hosted a fun cocktail party the night Mike arrived. Good times!!

With Cousin Jolyn

Cousin David and Rebecca

Rosina

Michael a little jet lagged

Picking Up Daddy

Eileen, Olivia and I went to pick up Michael at the airport on December 23rd. We actually went in as his plane was delayed and it was a good excuse to try out Olivia's Christmas present (a new stroller). It was fun seeing families being reunited for the holidays, as well as hearing Christmas carol Karaoke while we waited!! It was too funny!

Yet another ridiculous bow!

Olivia bored while waiting

He's finally here!

O's First Christmas Tree

It is amazing the deal you can get on a Christmas tree just a few days before Christmas! Ducky and Pong Pong went with Olivia and I to pick out her first tree, as Daddy hadn't arrived in Houston yet. When I was changing O's diaper in the car, I heard Pong Pong say, "We'll take it!". I hadn't even seen it yet! He was excited about the discount and that they would let us borrow the stand...that meant one less job for him to do! The Rays all came over to help decorate and get into the Christmas spirit. Olivia loved looking at the tree with Auntie Carrie!

Flying with an infant

What a trooper Miss O was! She was an excellent travel partner. She did really well on both flights and during our layover in Amsterdam. She slept about 80% of the trip and was a happy baby all the times she was awake. Walking around the airports, I strapped her into the Baby Bjorn and had a backpack with all of our baby gear, so I was hands free. We had the whole row to ourselves on both flights and were able to secure a bassinet seat. After takeoff, the flight attendant brings a bassinet over that clips to the wall of the bulkhead. It was fantastic! I have a feeling traveling with her may never be as easy.

Poor Tilly

Tilly managed to injure one of her toes months ago. It had a major infection that just wouldn't go away. The vet we had been seeing wanted to remove the entire toe!! I wanted to get a second opinion to confirm such a drastic option. We finally found another vet in town who has been wonderful! Tilly is an incessant licker, even with an Elizabethan collar. The only solution was to wrap her foot. So, Olivia and I have had to go to the vet every other day for a month to have her toe bandaged. It has been quite the ordeal! While we were in the Dubai, the vet even came to our villa to change her bandage for free! We have finally turned a corner and it is almost healed! Olivia and I have spent so much time at the vet, we feel we made some new friends! :)

Country, not the bird

Thanksgiving is not a holiday over here, so as in previous years, we celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday. So Thursday night we went to one of our favorite restaurants here, Turkey Central. That is the country, not the bird!

Friday night we went over to our friend's for the third annual Thanksgiving potluck. We had a fantastic time. This year was slightly different than in years past...lots of babies.

Olivia discovering the boys already!

Athena is nervously watching as Aimee and Jade are racing.

Dubai

While I was at home this summer, my resident permit expired. So, last weekend we had to do a quick "visa run" trip and decided on Dubai. We both have been there, but not together. Olivia and I have been in Qatar on tourists visas which only last one month, which can then be extended for an additional month. So, our two months were up and we need to leave the country to re-enter on new visas. We took the quick 45 minute flight across the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf to the rest of the world). Luckily, we have tons of miles because the "5 Star Airline", Qatar Airways, also has 5 star prices, even for the quick flights.

On our first morning there, we asked the hotel concierge for some ideas about what there was to do in Dubai. His three suggestions were 1. Dubai Mall, 2. IBN Mall or even 3. Mall of the Emirates. Wow, sounds just like Houston, Texas. We did go to two of the three malls he suggested over the course of the weekend. One had a giant aquarium and the other has the indoor ski slope!

It is often nice to get away from Doha, even if it is to another Muslim country. Dubai, however, is much more progressive than Doha...we got pork at brunch!!!

I posted the photos from our trip on our Snapfish site:
www.raybabies.snapfish.com/snapfish

4 Months already

It is hard to believe she is already 4 months old (and still no hair)!!

I have uploaded pictures from the past month in O's room on snapfish: www.raybabies.snapfish.com/snapfish