Afternoon At Jacob's

Magnus and Maya went to visit Jacob and Harry this afternoon.  Again I forgot my camera so I had to rely on my phone.  Here are the two big kids elbowing their way into the baby toy area.  Maya and Harry didn't seem to mind though.  Their attitudes were as casual as their dress: Harry - no pants; Maya - pardon my onesie.

The highlight for Magnus was running around with Jacob in his huge garden/backyard.  Here they are with an end-of-playdate obstacle course:

Magnus was getting really tired by the end (yes!!!):

Luckily, he didn't fall asleep in his mashed potatoes when we got home.

Now, what to do about my trampoline envy…..

Weekend Without Daddy

Kendrick took a long weekend away to a remote island in Yemen with his friends.  He is on his way back now, but it was quite a tiring period for us here in Dubai.  However, I consider this his belated Christmas present, since the only thing we got him for Christmas was a cantaloupe!

Ultimately the kids and I managed just fine, and I dragged along my playbook to record as much of the weekend as possible.  I covered three out of the four days.

Day 1:

After school I took Magnus to the skate park (see previous entry.)  Here is Magnus making a "sad" face.

Day 2:

After school, I took Magnus and Maya to the park next door to watch the sprinklers go off at three o clock.  We got early so that they could enjoy the playground for a little while.  

Magnus, who loves riding his scooter on the grass, was arguing with me about staying on the grass when the sprinklers suddenly turned on.  As Magnus ran away from the water, a little Spanish kid ran right toward the water and danced around in the spray for awhile.  

Since the afternoon was still young, Magnus, Maya and I headed over to the mall.  Maya fell asleep on the way over and missed the start of the Dubai Shopping Festival storytime.  Here is Magnus killing some time before the story:

Soon after this picture was taken, the security guard asked Magnus to stop riding his scooter.  So he lounged on the bean bag instead:




Day 3:

We spent the morning in Al Ittihad park.  Maya had a gooood nap and woke up happy.

You should be able to see her top left tooth in this shot:

After the park, we headed over to Virginie's place for lunch. Magnus wanted to watch the cars go over the speed bump first.  We decided to count twenty cars, and discovered that there are not a lot of early birds living in Virginie's apartment.

The apartments next door are very beautiful too:

Here we are having lunch at the restaurant downstairs....

And visiting her apartment for minute.  Magnus is helping Maya zip up her sweater:

That Christmas tree looks like a three hour job ;)

Then we all went to the Mall for another storytime session.   Except after a yogurt, a train ride, and a visit to the potty, we never made it for storytime.

Magnus and Maya enjoying next-gen astroturf:

I tried to stop her, but she licked it.

Merry Christmas Kendrick!!!!  We missed you!!!

Magnus at the Skate Park

This week, Magnus has decided to call me, "Mom" as often as possible.  In particular, he likes to use it to get my attention, and unfortunately it's working.  When I asked him, "who says that?" (i.e. who taught him to say that) he told me that I was the one who says it.  To whom?  Why Po-po of course.  Hmmmm….

Speaking of growing up, I took Magnus to the skate park yesterday.  There is hardly anything less exciting to Magnus than doing stuff with his scooter.  After reading a recent local magazine, I discovered that a skate park was erected less than 15 minutes away from us.  It was designed for older kids and even adults, but I thought that Magnus might appreciate a dedicated space for rolling up and down ramps.  Was I right, or was I right?  He is so excited about the "Scooter Park" that he is even willing to patiently put on his shoes (he usually prefers his crocs) and all the required safety equipment.  

When he went with his Daddy on the weekend, it was quite crowded, so I took him there yesterday before school was out so that he could have the place to himself.  He did have to share with one 15-year old (who was home-schooled) but that made the experience all the more fun.

Maya Watching

I've taken a lot of videos of Maya recently.  She's at a stage where I have more an more confidence in her ability to balance, reach, crawl, stand, and put everything in her mouth.  On the other hand, she's getting good at pushing her boundaries.  On three separate occasions I have taken my attention off her for less than 30 seconds and then found her standing up serenely at the top of the stairs (approx 7 steps up.)  Obviously I don't have any videos of that, but I have lots of her interacting with Magnus, getting mad, and figuring out a way to climb out of her bumbo chair.  We love watching her, even if it means a little bit of destruction (say bye-bye to my copy of pride and prejudice as I type this.)

Hope you enjoy watching her as much as we do!

(BTW, she just started getting her teeth this past week - bottom-front-left tooth and top-front-left tooth.  Now she can gnash her two little teeth in fury!)

Afternoon Scootering

Magnus spent the afternoon with his new Winter Camp buddy, Jacob.  They ruled the ramps at the mall before taking a lemonade break:

Jacob then stumbled upon a newly established waterbus route.  Miraculously, both boys were up for a boat ride...

They enjoyed the fountain at the Marina Walk, did some more scootering, tucked in a bite of chocolate cupcake, and by then it was time to go home.  Instead of taking the boat back to the mall, we walked/scootered all the way back in small sprints.  If Magnus and Jacob don't sleep the whole night through, then the universe is just not fair.

What Magnus Said...

Mama's boy:

Magnus: Mommy, you're my big big girl

Misheard:

Magnus: Mommy there's a body on that boat!

Gina: Ummm.. what's it doing?

Magnus: Singing!

Gina: Oh yes, the birdie is singing...

Horsing around with Daddy:

Kendrick: I like… carrots

Magnus: Me too..

Kendrick: I like… broccoli..

Magnus: Me too..

Kendrick: I like.. bacon…

Magnus: Me too..

Kendrick: I like.. Maya

Magnus: <shakes head>

Kendrick: No?  You don't like Maya?

Magnus: No, Maya is not yummy!

Kendrick: I like… green peas..

Magnus: Not me…

Kendrick: I like… french fries

Magnus: Me too…

etc, etc…

Magnus: Now say celery!

I like… celery

Magnus: Not me…

Tit for Tat:

Vanessa: MAGNUS, what's going on?

Vanessa: MAGNUS, what's going on?

Magnus: Stop saying that! 

Vanessa: Stop saying that!

Magnus: VANESSA, what's going on?

Trying to get Magnus to sleep but then...

Gina: Uh-oh, Maya is crying!

Magnus: <gently> Mommy.. let her cry…

What else would he have to pick up?

Kendrick: I have to go pick up my suit tonight

Magnus: Mommy, Daddy has to pick up his soup!

Kendrick takes Magnus to the potty:

Kendrick: Is it pee or poo?

Magnus: Pee and poo!  I'm holding my bum and my weewee!

Wearing his new Timex watch:

Gina: It's time to wash hands!

Magnus: Mommy I can only wash one hand.

Positive reinforcement (because he wants to press G and B1 on the elevator and he can't reach anything else):

Magnus: Mommy, I like it when you press number 2!

Fun with me:

Kendrick: Magnus, do you want to do something fun with Daddy?

Magnus: No….

Kendrick: Really?  You don't want to go to the balloon store?

Magnus: Oh!!!   <scrambles to his feet> Come with ME!!!

Kendrick: You mean come with me, right?

Predator and prey:

Kendrick: <munching sounds>

Magnus: No Daddy, I'm not delicious, I smell delicious!

Truly excited to share:

Magnus: Mommy come and see what I made!!

Gina: What did you make?

Magnus: A big MESS!

Snarky:

Gina: OK Magnus, five minutes is up, let's go brush your teeth.

Magnus: No Mommy, five minutes is down!

Surprisingly not snarky in the delivery:

Gina: Eat your spoon!

Magnus: Mommy, did you mean spoonful?

Brain fart:

Kendrick: Apple pie with ice cream is also called Apple….

Magnus: Jumeirah?

It's amazing he never complained:

Gina: Don't fall into the potty, ok?

Magnus: Yeah, I will flush away.

Pattern recognition:

Gina: Good night Magnus <last name>

Magnus: Good night Mommy <maiden name>

Pop culture influences:

Gina: (to Kendrick) Is <your coworker> Korean?

Magnus: Korean I dunno!

Gina: Magnus… who says that? 

Magnus: Oppie Ganna Star!

Our housekeeper was cooking dinner:

Magnus: Mommy, my nose smells like fish!!

Happy 2013!

Today is Magnus' first back at school.  I believe all four grandparents are watching him over the internet from the school's CCTV feed.

Maya and I took a relaxing walk along the Marina and then did a little shopping at the mall.  When Magnus is with us on his scooter, it's not so relaxing because I'm usually running to keep up with him.  It's good for my cardio and bad for the stroller!

I'm typing as fast as I can before Maya touches one of the buttons on the TV, the stereo system, the keyboard, the mouse, or either of the two remote controls.  It's a losing battle, so I'm going to have to cut this short while she amuses herself under the coffee table: she's practicing her new M.O. "lick first, ask questions later."

Two new wardrobe picks for the new year:

A stripey shirt from Vanessa:

Skinny jeans for Maya:

Magnus builds the "Burj Khalifa" in his PJs:

"Mommy, don't stand on the sofa"

Magnus on his exercise book:

Maya hits some milestones: