Five on Friday! F1 & Islamic New Year

It’s Thursday here – so it’s Friday in these parts!

 

1)      Halloween!!!! Weeeeeeee!!!  Savannah wore LSU attire to nursery school.  She’s pretending to be an LSU fan for Halloween courtesy of a gift from her Tiger godparents!  Her second costume is that of a spooky, but adorable little owl.  It’s kind of warm here, and she’s got a bit of a cold, so trick or treating was a brief event.  I can’t wait until next year when she can walk and kind of have more of an opinion on her costume selection!

2)      Islamic New Year! We’re Catholic, but we love the day off we’re getting on Sunday (the work week isSunday to Thursday).  Depending on how Savannah's feeling by then we're either going to the beach or to Yas Waterworld. The Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf…the dispute over the name is very much a hot topic) is very pretty as long as you have the right view.  We’re still trying to pick a beach.  The main part of Abu Dhabi is an island…for those who didn’t know!

3)      F1 !! I have never been into car racing, but I think it’s probably because I’ve never been to an event of this caliber.  Formula 1 racing here is HUGE! I guess it’s huge everywhere, but I just haven’t noticed.  Anyway, Abu Dhabi is the center of the universe this month (or at least it feels that way).  Last week the Abu Dhabi Film Festival brought a ton of celebrities.  This weekend, the list is pretty endless as to who’s in town…Akon, Nelly, Far East Movement, Jay Z, Muse, Depeche Mode…   We bought these ridiculously luxurious passes that got us into the F1 race all four days and included concert passes to all four nights.  We’ve sold all but 1 night.  We’ve got a teething 10 month old, consecutive late nights out aren’t my idea of fun at the moment.  Talk to me in a year…or after these stubborn teeth arrive!  Anyway, we’re excited to see MUSE!!!!!  They put on a rocking show!  We’ve seen them twice before in Houston, excited to see them on the other side of the planet!

4)      1^st birthday gift shopping for our little one.  We’ve knocked out most of the Christmas list, but as her birthday falls in December, it takes some clever gift planning to separate the two.  This year, we’ve decided to celebrate her entrance into toddlerhood with a big, proper playroom downstairs.  She has what I can best describe, a crawling playroom in a spare bedroom next to her bedroom.  I think we can do better downstairs and besides, she needs room for big clunky toys now that she’s starting to walk/stumble/wobble.  The weather is fantastic out here at the moment, but will start to get warm by March, so it’s pretty important we set out a big proper place for her to stomp around with big toddler toys.  Friday, after mass & lunch, we’re going to shop for all those big must-have playroom toys to get it ready by her 1^st birthday!

5)      Cuddly baby phase.  I know some parents get pretty frustrated that their little one goes through a super clingy phase, but I have to spend a lot of time away from my baby because of work.  She has a live-in nanny who takes care of her most of the time then she goes to nursery school three days a week.  Between all this, I have been very afraid that our baby would never see me as her primary care provider, her numero uno in her  little world.  Well, as we tried to sleep train last week (which we’ve stopped after consulting with her doctor), her attachment to me intensified.  I know it has a lot to do with  her teething (those darn chompers just won’t come!!).  However, it’s just made me love her all that much more.  I am her number one and she’s my number one.  Luckily, she doesn’t go into crying fits when we drop her off at nursery school or when I leave for work, but she clings onto me tight and we have to do a little convincing to let her know she’ll be ok while mommy goes to work.