Early Adventures of Baby L: Granddad and Mimi (or Granny?) come to visit!

This past week Baby L had the pleasure of meeting her grandparents on G's side of the family! They were so so excited to meet her, and she took to them right away.

The G's parents were scheduled to arrive at Dubai airport on Wednesday evening.  This actually worked out really well for us because he needed to do an inspection on our new apartment (for those following along, we got the property we were hoping for!), so G left around lunchtime, did the inspection and took some measurements, wandered around the Marina for a bit, then went to pick up his parents.  Similar to when my dad flew into Dubai, we decided the trip would be too long for Baby L, so she and I snuggled on the sofa and had our regular evening routine. Luckily Mom & Dad's flight arrived an hour early, so they got back to Abu Dhabi around 9pm instead of 10pm. This gave the grandparents time to shower Baby L with gifts and play with her a little bit before everyone went to bed!

Thursday was a pretty slow day - Mom & Dad needed to recover from jet lag, and G had schoolwork to do, so we mostly hung around the apartment cuddling with Baby L. We went over to Marina Mall for burgers and hot dogs at Shake Shack late in the afternoon, then pretty much called it a day.

Baby L snuggled between Mimi and the sofa - she is clearly enjoying it!

Friday we gathered up the whole family to go to church. We went to the Anglican Church instead of Catholic Church so Mom & Dad could see where G & I usually go to service.  This was Baby L's second time to Anglican Church and this time went much better than the first time. She made it through most of the service without crying, and even then it was only because she was hungry.  G and I also brought a bottle this time so I wouldn't have to try to nurse her in the middle of church (or in the nursery, which was still only separated from the main sanctuary by a giant glass wall). I'm not real shy about where I whip my boob out to feed her, and something about breastfeeding at church the first time we took her felt super awkward.

Baby L with her Granddad before church!

Baby L looking totally gangster in an outfit made for her by a member of her Granddad's church in Baytown

Later that evening, we went out to walk around the Corniche. Temperatures are dropping in Abu Dhabi, so with the breeze off the water it was actually quite pleasant along the beach. Clearly everyone else thought so too because tons of people were out enjoying the evening.  After the trip to the beach, we ordered room service from Li Beirut, the Lebanese restaurant in our complex - we had a delicious spread of cold appetizers and a main course of mixed meat grilled Arabian-style.  

Baby L's first trip to the beach!  She slept through all of it. :-)

Saturday was another slow day of jet lag recovery - G and Dad went to the post office to drop off the last of our thank-you notes and pick up his new Zoolander-esque phone. Mom and I stayed home to snuggle some more with Baby L (well, Mom snuggled with Baby L - I just sort of hung out and provided the boob when she was hungry). We all went out to Al Wahda Mall for pizza at Russo's - we know, we know, Mom and Dad didn't fly all the way from Houston to eat at Shake Shack and Russo's (which are both also in Houston).  Abu Dhabi doesn't really have "local cuisine" though, so we felt justified! 

Baby L sleeping like...well, a baby!  Sorry Mom, I know you didn't want me post the photo, but you both look great!!!

By Sunday, Mom and Dad were fully recovered, and we had high tea at the Observation Deck 300.  The theme at the Etihad Towers this month is "America", so we had "American" style tea - whatever that means. We had few good laughs about how tea really isn't an American thing, how we dumped the tea in Boston Harbor, etc, etc.  Regardless, the sandwiches and sweets were delicious, and I even caught Mom and Dad being like Millennials glued to their phones.  Baby L, of course, slept through the whole thing.

Yummy tea pastries!

Our parents are like Millennials

Group selfie!

After tea, we went back to the apartment so Mom and I could change into darker, more conservative clothes and I nursed Baby L before heading to the Sheikh Zayad Grand Mosque.  Obviously, no trip to Abu Dhabi is complete without a quick tour of the SZGM. Similar to when my dad came to visit, we didn't think Baby L was up to the full audio tour, so we just did a quick buzz around for photos before heading home. G carried her in the Ergobaby, and she, of course, slept through the whole thing again. I just love watching my husband with our baby, I get to see an extra tender side of him that makes my heart melt.

Family photo at SZGM!

G also took this incredible photo as we were walking in - we didn't realize how good it was until after we left since the glare from the sun made it hard for him to see his phone screen.

Gabriel snapped this fabulous photo!

We were all pretty tuckered out after such an eventful day so we took it a little easier on Monday. We met my supervisor for lunch. He gave Linh an adorable little farmgirl outfit! I'd been looking for a pair of overalls for her, so this was perfect. After lunch, both Mom and I were tuckered out, so we took a nap while Dad and G took care of Baby L.

Dad playing with Baby L while G supervises. Mommy and Mimi are taking well-deserved naps

We had our last major tourist attraction on Tuesday. We had lunch at the Emirates Palace, where G ordered the famous gold leaf camel burger. Really, the super touristy thing to do would be to have high tea at Emirates Palace, but I think one high tea per trip is probably enough decadence! And the views from Observation Deck 300 were definitely better.

Gold leaf camel burger

Baby L's first trip to Emirates Palace!

After lunch, we headed back to our apartment, with a quick stop at the conference center portion of our building. I wanted to get a photo of Baby L with both her Granddad and Mimi, and there is a beautiful ceiling backdrop just before the Jumeirah Hotel ballrooms.  Which brings me to the title of this blog post - Mimi or Granny?  Mom had originally decided she wanted to be called Mimi because she didn't want the same name as G's grandmother (whom he called Granny).  After a day with Baby L, she thought...well maybe Granny is ok?  G and Dad said it's too late - she'd already committed to Mimi.  So...we'll let Baby L decide when she's older. She's the first grandbaby, so she gets dibs!!

Mom and Dad with Baby L at the conference center of our building

When we got back to our apartment, Baby L's first friend (Thuzar from housekeeping) had a surprise for us! Thuzar had been so kind to Baby L, and we all love her. She'll be on vacation when we make our big move, and we are so sad that we'll be leaving her - since she's staying in Abu Dhabi for her vacation, she promised to stop by before we leave for Dubai.

Baby L loves the bear and plant that Miss Thuzar gave her!!!

We're so sad to see Mom and Dad head back home to Texas tomorrow - we probably won't get to see them again until we celebrate Baby L's first birthday in Connecticut next summer. Maybe after a few more Skype sessions, we can convince them to visit us in Dubai early next year ;-)

Baby snuggles with Mimi are the best!!!