Eid-Al-Fitr

The excitement builds.

Check it out, it's....

Barney!

Intermission and time to stuff in some popcorn.

Daisy suits up.

Then hits the chairlift with Matilda.

We had a really nice Eid, it was two days off work for Andy and three days off school with Daisy, both which followed the weekend so it felt like a really good break. I love here how public/bank holidays can come in twos, or even threes! Andy took the kids to Barney one day and another day he took Daisy the Ski Dubai while Zach was at playgroup. Apart from that, we just had a lovely relaxing time.

Ramadan was good this year, the negatives of no eating or drinking in public are far outweighed by the positive of Andy being home early from work every night. He often even made it back in time for dinner with the kids so it was great to be able to have so many family dinners. Not to mention Andy doing the kid's bath time afterwards...

Summer is finally over and we're spending lots of time outside. It's still in the late 30's but early evening is great outside. We go for an after dinner walk round the lake most nights, it's lots of fun seeing the bunnies, ducks and feeding the fish. The kids run round the lake at top speed and have a great time.

Bx

England

Hanging out at the coffee place over the road from Leigh and John's.

Smile if you'd like a chocolate muffin...

*Gasp* It's the central line!

Daisy goes all windswept and pensive.

She's off!

And Zach's after her! These photos were on a hill behind Theydon Bois.

Daisy was thrilled to go on the South Bank carousal. My smile is slightly forced.

Toadstool trees on the South Bank.

Mickey and Minnie!

On the village green.

A quick pause from exploring to pose.

We had a lovely three weeks in England over summer. My cousin Leigh and her husband John very kindly allowed us to stay in their home in Theybon Bois while they were holidaying in the USA. They have two girls, Chloe and Katie who are 8 and 9 and Daisy was beyond thrilled to be staying in a house where two big girls live. And sleeping in one of their beds (thanks Katie)! Theydon Bois is in Essex, but is on the central line so very handy to London. It's a beautiful place with a big village green, duck pond and a couple of pubs, all on the edge on Epping Forest. It felt very very green after the desert.

Julia was there as she was housesitting for Leigh and John and Andy was there for the first two weeks but had to head back to work while we enjoyed a final week. We took things really easy as we all needed some quiet chill out time, particulary as I have vile morning sickness. Again I'm left wondering why it's called morning sickness, named by a man no doubt. We were very lucky as lots of friends made the trip to Theydon Bois to visit and we also had a couple of days going in to London. The kids loved the tube. We spent most of our time hanging out on the village green, feeding the ducks and having pub lunches. Nice!

Stupidly, I kept on forgetting to take my camera out so we have very few photos. Thanks again to Leigh, John and the girls and to everyone who we caught up with, it was wonderful to see you all.

Bx

Zach starts playgroup!

Zach chose his bag. It has space invaders on it and he loves it.

We had another proud moment this week when Zach started playgroup on Monday. What a big chap! He did very well, no tears at all and had a great time. He was most pleased to tell me that he had a biscuit. I'm really pleased that he's started as he has been missing Daisy awfully. He's distraught when she leaves in the morning and often looks downcast and says 'I want Daisy' when she is gone. It's been really nice to have some one on one time with him though and he's been enjoying doing puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles with me.



Bx

Daisy starts school!

All dressed and and ready to go!

Showing off the Repton book bag.

Daisy's class are 'Penguins' and here we are in her classroom.

Daisy had her first day of school on Monday and we are very proud of her. It's called Repton (http://www.reptondubai.org/) and is a 15 minute drive down Emirates road. She's been very excited about starting and has really enjoyed her first few days.

There are 16 children in her class. Her teacher is called Miss Collier who Daisy thinks is really pretty and there are two teaching assistants, Mrs Reeve and Miss Queenie. Repton is huge - 1700 pupils - but the early years wing (3 and 4 year olds) is quite separate and there are lovely classrooms with great facilities set out around a big playground in an internal courtyard. Each classroom has it's own terrace going out to a grassy play area. The early years also have their own little indoor pool.

We had a lovely trip to England, more on that on another post.

Bx

Introducing.......Pookie Three!

It's official - Bec is pregnant again, due mid Feb. Hurrah!

We've just had the 12 week scan and all seems well, apart from Bec feeling dreadful most of the time. Both scans are attached.

It is a little too early to tell for sure, but the guy doing the scan says it looks like another boy!

Daisy wasn't too thrilled about this (I want a pink one!) but she is now very excited and is constantly asking about the baby (P3 for short).

8 week scan

12 week scan

Seychelles

Zach's pretty happy with chips on the terrace of a local restaurant on our first night.

It's the Seychelles!

Enjoying sand between the toes.

We did a lot of mooching on the beach.

The view down Beau Vallon back towards Clef des Iles where we stayed.

The pizza place next to Clef des Iles. Open sides, sand on the floor, perfect for messy kids.

Andy got Daisy a fanta when I wasn't watching. She was thrilled.

Clef des Iles, with the green roof, tucked in the trees. Absolute beach front!

Andy took many many sunset shots from our terrace looking out to Silhouette Island. They were pretty impressive.

Daisy's been teaching Zach how to strike a pose. Just call her Tyra.

Time to work it.

Outside Clef des Iles.

The sea is pretty tame here but it did get fierce at times. Just ask Daisy who got nailed by a big wave.

Another evening, another sunset, another photo from Andy.

Fisherman hauling in their catch outside Clef des Iles.

Dinner at the Hilton down the coast. One of the few times we ventured off the beach.

Walking 200 metres down the beach to the local shop for ice cream was the extent of our afternoon excursions.

In early July we headed to the Seychelles for an eight night holiday. We stayed at Clef des Iles, a two bedroom townhouse right on Beau Vallon beach. The plan was to hang out on the beach and do as little as possible, we managed this no problems. We made a lot sandcastles, did plenty of swimming in the sea and had a fabulous relaxing time.

The Seychelles gets lovely weather year round, it was in the late 20's every day and the sea was warm enough to stay in for hours. Perfect! It was quite different to what we were expecting, very beautiful but quite run down apart from the luxury resorts. In the evenings there were always locals playing football on the beach and during the day there were little roadside stalls selling fruit and freshly caught fish.

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Last day of playgroup

With her teacher, Lisa. Daisy is wearing an outfit that Grandma Julia got in Vietnam, it's gorgeous.

Teacher's help, Lalita.

Daisy, Isla and Nicholas getting a lift home in the mummy bus.

Daisy had her last day of playgroup at the start of July. She's been going for two years so it was very sad. Three of her good friends from playgroup are going to her school which is good.

Bx