Rugby 7's

Daisy catches the on field action.

Zack catches 40 winks.

Last weekend was the Dubai Rugby Sevens. We all went on the Friday and had a really good day. Daisy loved the cheerleaders and the kids were both excitedly dancing to all the tunes. I thought they (particulary Zack) might find it a bit noisy and hectic but they both really enjoyed themselves.

Andy enjoyed himself further the following day when he went back to the corporate stand for copious amounts of beer and rugby watching. I had a great time at home with two grumpy children, one of whom was fond of yelling 'I want my DAAAADDY' and 'I want to go to the RUUUUUGBY. So did I Daisy, so did I. I've baggsed next year.

Bx

Doing the locomotion.

K is for...Kylie!

She's the very small person in the middle.

With Gillian and Kath.

Andy and I recently had a fab night out with Kath, Gavin and Gillian to see Kylie. It was a really fun concert and Kylie is still looking marvellous. The boys were particulary pleased with her appearance in a tiny pink cheerleaders outfit.

Bx

Girl's Christmas Dubai!

Jules gets down with the kids.

Sunset at Beachcombers.

Mitts of the margarita little ones!

Ruth shows of her perfect manicure with a cocktail.

The Rooftop Bar by day.....

....and by night.

Jules, Laura and Ruth kick back at Barasti.

To the left.

We've been spending lots of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather, hence the lack of blogging. Time for a quick catch up!

After much anticipation, we celebrated Girl's Christmas Dubai in mid November. It was our second international Girl's Christmas, last year we celebrated in Paris. Jules (with Coco onboard) came over from Sydney and Ruth and Laura jetted in from London. The girls were here for a whole week although it went in the blink of an eye. It was so good to see them all again which of course makes me miss them all the more now. We did plenty of shopping, and hanging out at nice bars. I was having too much fun to take many photos and unfortunately the ones I did take only highlight that photography is not my forte.

Bx

Bugs!

Change my nappy!

Get me medicine!

Peeky...

...boo!

Angelic...

...to Trouble in .3 of a second.

We've had a quiet week with both kids being unwell. Zack had a gastro which resulted in a trip to the paediatrician. While there I commented that Daisy had a fever....then was back the next day with her. Turns out she had a throat infection but she was only really miserable for one day which was a relief. Poor Zack was poorly for a week and has lost a lot of weight (although he's still reassuringly chunky). Actually it was more poor Bec and Andy, he was pretty perky but gastro nappies aren't much fun. There was one incident that wins hands down the most grossed out I've ever been as a mother award. *Gags*

I had an interesting talk to the kid's paediatrician, he's been practicing here for 20 years and said that kids here get double the amount of infections than in the UK. Mainly down to so many people coming from so many countries bringing in germs galore but he also said the air quality is pretty bad. He also remarked that this year is the worst one he's experienced for illness. I'm hoping we escape the bugs for a while but with chicken pox and hand, foot and mouth currently doing the rounds I'm not too hopeful...

Bx

Pumpkin

Daisy in her 'princess' outfit. Hmmm.

Zack tries to look cool hanging out with the boys.


The girls!

At the Polo Club with Katie, Mike, Lucy and Phoebe.

Spooky.

Costume time again, hurrah! Daisy, rather aptly, was a little devil this year. However, she firmly insisted that she was a princess so that's what I let her believe, don't all princesses have horns? Zack also had a costume, a rather camp wizard, but he's not well with a tummy bug and the pain of two new teeth so I didn't subject him to it. Anyway, dressing a boy up just isn't the same.

We spent the morning carving a pumpkin and making halloween biscuits then we went to Ibn Battuta for lunch. In the afternoon we met friends at the pool then all headed to the Polo Club for dinner.

Bx

The lake

Feeding the fish from the bridge.

Mr White and Mr Brown, reservior ducks.

Daisy checks out one of the waterfalls while Zack checks out the camera.

Nice.

How's the serenity?

The lake (actually, there's two of them) behind our house is a favourite spot for us all at the moment. The temperature late afternoon is perfect for going for a walk and the kids love feeding the fish and the ducks. Much to Daisy's delight, a rabbit has also taken up residence there.

Bx

Little teeth

Brush brush.

Daisy shows Zack how to do belligerent.

Going in for the cuddle....

....and getting handfuls of moob.

Daisy and Zack are both quite fond of their toothbrushes. Now Zack has three (and very nearly four) teeth it's quite a serious business. They are getting on really well. There are occasional tears when Daisy rugby tackles Zack to the floor or Zack pulls Daisy's hair but most of the time they enjoy each other's company. It's great now they can play together although Daisy is quite upset that Zack is no longer a baby and she is asking for a 'small pink one' one on a daily basis. Thankfully this is in addition to Zack rather than instead of him.

Bx