Sebastian's birthday.

Birthday boy!

Two!

The present opening begins.

Thanks for all the great gifts everyone!

Eric the penguin.

Bastie the chicken.

The chocolate pancake feast begins...

...who ate all the pancakes?

Bastie!

Venturing out in to the sandstorm.

Daisy and Zach make sand goggles.

It was blowing a gale.

Burj Khalifa in the gloom.

And again.

Dubai Mall train.

Disco mayhem.

Couch mayhem.

Cake!

Two!

Cheese!

The birthday boy leads the conga line.

On Friday 17 February Sebastian turned 2! So he is officially no longer a baby but still very much our baby.

We don't do birthday parties until turning 3, a very good thing as we woke to a stonking dust storm. Bastie wanted to go to The Address to have chocolate pancakes for breakfast so off we drove through the murk. We had to sit inside but the kids managed a quick dash around the pool and gardens anyway. Bastie wasn't joking about wanting chocolate pancakes, he ate about 12 of them. In the afternoon we went to Nat and Jules house where the kids had a great time playing with their three kids then we had dinner, cake and a mad disco. Much excitement and fun for all!

When Sebastian was about 10 months old our happy little baby turned in to a complete grump and he stayed that way for about 8 months! Hence the first half of the past year wasn't the easiest with him. When it was just the two of us at home he was normally so lovely and sweet but other people didn't often get to see that side of him which I found incredibly frustrating. Prickly was probably the best word to describe him. Strangers trying to be friendly generally got an icy glare, he tended to ignore my friends and grumpy strops ensued when other kids came over to play. However, about halfway through the year a miraculous turnaround happened and he's been an absolute joy since then. Happy, friendly, engaging, even a bit of a flirt with the ladies, he's like a different child and we are having a wonderful time with our little Boo. He started at Lisa's playgroup in September and loves going two mornings a week. He has playdates with friends his own age another couple of mornings a week which he really enjoys.

Sebastian is 86cm tall and at the start of the month weighed 12.4 kgs. He unfortunately got giardia shortly after that and lost a quarter of his body weight in a week but he's slowly getting back on form. He has escaped the musical tyranny of Daisy and Zach in the past year and stands up for his right to listen to something other than Justin Bieber. He loves dance music the best but also loves to rock out and his current favourite song is Nevermind by Nirvana (yes!!!). His favourite thing to do at the weekend is just hang out with his family and maybe catch up with a few friends. He loves bolognese, porridge and chocolate pancakes and his favourite drink is juice. He favourite books are Melvin Might and I Love My Mummy.

Sebastian is great fun at home. He loves joining in all of Daisy and Zach's games and in the past year has gone from copying everything Daisy does to copying everything Zach does - especially the naughty things! He is incredibly cuddly and snuggly and plays on his status as the baby of the family by managing to get carried around a lot more than I put up with from Daisy or Zach! He loves bouncing on the trampoline, scooting around on his red motorbike and helping me in the garden. Bastie absolutely loves listening to music and is very definite on what he likes and doesn't like. He loves to dance and also loves the movie Happy Feet. He always has great fun in the pool, loves kicking a football around and is generally pretty active.

Since his turnaround it's been a wonderful year with Sebastian. I still can't quite believe how lucky I am to have such an adorable little chap who brings so much happiness to our home.

Bx

Daisy's birthday.

Thanks for all the great gifts everyone!

The birthday girl.

Modelling some of her lovely gifts.

Six!

Blow!

High excitement after Alvin and the Chipmunks 3.

Dinner at Tribes.

The birthday gang. Cuddling up to Daisy is Adam, her 'boyfriend'.

On Friday 27 January, Daisy turned six! Wow, it feels like both a lifetime and the blink of an eye since she was born.

Daisy chose to stay home and have chocolate pancakes in the morning - de ja vue! For her party this year, Daisy was only allowed to invite a few friends but she got to decide what to do. There were limits however, her first choice of going up Burj Khalifa got turned down as the thought of being stuck in a lift with 8 children filled me with horror. So, she went with a movie then dinner. She invited her closest friends from school, Hannah, Charlotte, Adam, Aiden and Xavier and they all got dropped off at Mall of the Emirates. We saw Alvin and the Chipmunks 3. The kids enjoyed it and went a bit mad dancing at the end. We then walked down to Tribes restaurant which I have to admit was a bit scary. Trying to keep track of 8 (five not our own, yikes) dancing children halfway along the mall on a packed Friday afternoon wasn't the most fun Andy and I had ever had! We all made it, phew, then the kids had a lot of fun causing general mayhem whilst not eating their dinner. The staff at Tribes do African dancing and drumming and Daisy was pretty excited with a dance just for her.

Daisy has had a really good past year. She moved up to the junior school at Repton which is a big step up and she has taken it all in her stride and is doing brilliantly. She is in top streams for maths and english and this term has been really enjoying gymnastics as an extra curricular activity. She had an amazing first term report which said (among other things) that she is an extremely sensible and mature girl who strives to do her best at all times. She has a determination to achieve, is kind, sensitive, helpful at all times and has impeccable manners. She understands what it means to be a good friend and is an absolute pleasure to teach.

Daisy is 117cm tall and weighs 18.6kg. Her favourite colour is yellow. Her favourite song is Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye and her favourite singer is Britney. At the weekend what she likes to do best is go to Wild Wadi, a waterpark. Her favourite food is salmon and her favourite drink in 7up - which I've let her have once! Her favourite books are Rainbow Magic and Magic Puppy books. What makes her happier than anything else is going to the movies.

Daisy loves being queen bee in our home. She always thinks she knows best which drives me slightly mad at times. I can't imagine that will get anything but worse the older she gets! She bosses around her little brothers something wicked but also really looks after them, particularly Sebastian who she would like to carry around with her everywhere - he's not so keen though! She's loves reading them stories and helping them with drawings. She spends a lot of time drawing lovely pictures, writing stories and reading. She loves dancing and playing with Pet Shop toys. She is still doing great in her swimming lessons and loves going to the pool.

It's wonderful seeing Daisy grow up in to such a lovely girl. She's such a help to me in bringing some calm to our home and she can be very witty which keeps me laughing. Thanks Daisy, you rock!

Bx

Zach's birthday.

Present time!

Thank you everyone for all the great gifts.

Roar!

3pm and it's time to party!

The party gets underway.

The trampoline got a good workout.

As did Hannah, the fabulous party entertainer.

Time to eat.

Cakes! We decorated them with Jelly Beans which are Zach's favourite.

Andy brandishes the knife. I got slightly worried he was going to use it on the stampeding children!

Zach was thrilled with his cakes.

The party had a jungle theme. The animal cake was meant to be a lion but looked more like a monkey.

The beautiful birthday boy.

Birthday pjs.

On 20 January, Zach turned four! Yay, well done Zach!

He got to choose whatever he wanted to do in the morning and he chose to stay home and have chocolate pancakes which is what we do every Friday! We had a party for him at home in the afternoon which was a lot of fun. It was pretty big, 48 children and lots of parents but was actually fairly chilled and relaxing. Apart from when rained threatened just before it started and I freaked out slightly. We had a great party entertainer which made things a lot easier. Dinner was pizza, sausages, cucumber, carrots, hommous, bread and strawberries followed by banana chocolate and coconut cake. Which was actually two big cakes and cupcakes as well. Yum.

The past year with Zach has been our most challenging to date. When he is lovely he is so very very lovely but it's been his year to push the boundaries and boy, has he done so! It's all part of growing up though and I am trying to get through it without losing my patience too much. He is having a wonderful time at school and I'm so proud of how well he has taken to it. He got a wonderful school report which said he is always smiling and lights up everyone's day. Awww. His teacher also said she'd like to develop his listening skills. So would I!

Zach is 104cm tall and weighs 15.8kgs. His favourite colour is blue. His favourite singer is Justin Bieber and his favourite song is Never Say Never. At the weekend what he likes to do best is play. His favourite food is curry and his favourite drink is chocolate milk. His favourite book is I Love My Mummy and the thing that makes him happier than anything else is....mummy!

Zach is a lovely brother. He is still Daisy's number one fan although the bigger and more boisterous Bastie gets, the more they are playing together. He loves kicking a ball around, jumping on the trampoline, wrestling, dancing, lego, playing with cars, colouring, being read to and being really really loud. Really REALLY loud!

We are looking forward to another exciting year with Zach. Now he is four he will be starting rugby next season and I'm sure he is going to continue doing brilliantly in his swimming lessons. All in all, he's pretty wonderful and we are very lucky to have him.

Bx

My Birthday

George, Zach and Bastie playing hide and seek at The Address.

Then playing in the fountain.

The kids hang out. Daisy was thrilled to see Sanna again.

Yay!

Cupcakes with my little cupcakes.

Yum...

...yum...

...yum!

With Nat in the foyer of Zabeel Saray.

On 13 January I turned the big 35!

I had a wonderful day, our great friends Tara, Dajon, Sanna and Elleke were in town for a week, they stayed with us for two nights then we went out for breakfast with them and Katie, Mike and their kids to The Address Downtown. The kids all had a great time running around madly and we had a great time catching up. I felt very lucky to be able to spend my morning (and some of the afternoon!) with such lovely friends.

We spent the afternoon at home and had cupcakes with the kids then went our for dinner with Nat and Jules. Andy had surprised me by booking Amala, an Indian Restuarant at Zabeel Saray on the Palm. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous and the restaurant was fabulous. We started with cocktails at a lively bar then moved on to dinner (they did amazing vegan dishes for me) and more cocktails then back to the bar for more cocktails! It was a great night to top off a great day and Andy and the kdis really spoiled me.

Bx

New Year's Eve

We started off with just charcoal in the fire. It was pretty smoky.

Stacks of Chinese lanterns did a fly by.

Up goes the chair! We got through three of them.

The thick weaved seats smoked pretty bad until they caught.

But looked great when they did!

Late in the night and out come the Metallica hands.

We decided to avoid getting stuck in traffic and stayed home for NYE. Our friends Nat and Jules came over and we had dinner and cocktails in the Gazebo. We had a new fire pit but firewood was sold out all over town, the perfect excuse for Blake and I to bash up some Ikea wicker chairs to burn! We needed them, it was freezing! Had a great night, didn't make it to bed until 4am.

Christmas Day

Andy and I got ourselves a Nespresso. We LOVE it!

A frenzy of stocking opening and bed head.

Stocking loot.

Chocolate pikelets and berries for breakfast.

Zach's lego boat.

Just some of the lovely gifts the kids received. Thanks everyone!

Bastie bounces while Benjy scoots.

The kids present, a spring free trampoline. A huge hit.

Christmas dinner.

Crackers!

We had Christmas Day at home which was perfect for five excited children with new toys to play with. Andy, Blake and Adrianne took the kids to the playground in the morning which gave me a lovely relaxing hour or so to cook in peace and we had the Christmas turkey dinner late afternoon.

Bx