Good-bye Dubai (And Abu Dhabi!)

The last month in UAE was a whirlwind for us.  We landed in Dubai after our Italian adventure on 11-Aug, and I returned to work the following Sunday.

Last set of photos from our dear friend, Jo!

We divided our packing into 3 phases - Phase 1 was things to go into our air shipment (50 cubic feet) that would (hopefully) arrive at my father's home in Spring before we got home.  Key thing in this shipment was the double stroller.  We also packed some dress clothes, shoes, and baby stuff that we either had multiples of, or we could live without for a month, to help make transitioning to Houston easier. We were fortunate enough that our friends were going on holiday the week that I returned to work, so we borrowed their nanny for the week so that G could finish the inventory for our move, and sort out what was going into this early shipment.  Phase 1 completed on August 25.

Miss J and Miss J, out with the kids!

Phase 2 was everything we needed for 10 days of interim living plus what we would take on the airplane.  Since my company pays for business class for ALL members of the family (including Baby H!) we were entitled to 8 pieces of luggage and a free baby item (carseat or stroller).  After the carseat, stroller, and pack'n' play, we were left with 6 suitcases and 6 boxes - I think we packed more stuff into Phase 2 than we did into Phase 1, amazingly enough!  We also ended up throwing away a lot of things that came to interim living with us - a lot of medicines that we didn't want to bring, or odds and ends that we ran out of room for.  Phase 2 completed on September 6.

Phase 3 was everything else.  The full sea shipment - which would take 8-10 weeks to arrive in Houston, once it left Dubai.  It's currently scheduled to arrive in port of Houston on November 8, so hopefully it will be at our house the week of November 18. Phase 3 in progress, but the packing was finished September 9.

Our apartment...a sea of boxes...

In the midst of all this chaos, we had some big milestones as well!  L turned 2 - officially a big kid now! We had a pretty low-key family celebration where we took her to a breakfast & indoor play area on her actual birthday, then we had a big joint party with a family that we are close with a few weeks later.

This was the treat that L picked from a variety of pastries - a yummy chocolate covered almond biscuit

Celebrating 2 baby (I mean big kid..) birthdays!  

We also took a trip to Abu Dhabi and stayed in our old apartment building.  Our actual apartment wasn't available, but they did set us up in a nice apartment with the similar layout (it was mirrored from our apartment, which threw me off at times!). We were able to say introduce Baby H to our dearest friend Thuzar, who also happened to be Baby L's first friend.  We took one last spin around the Etihad Towers Observation Deck, went to St Andrew's Church, and reminisced about all the things we loved (and hated) about living in Abu Dhabi.  I cried a few times.  G smilesd and tried not to laugh while I cried.  It was therapeutic.

Baby H, also fast friends with Thuzar!

Thuzar, taking a few minutes from her very busy day to spend time with us

L, checking out the views!

One last trip to St Andrews Church

L & Baby H, cuddling on the sofa where I spent days and days cuddling Baby L

Baby H also turned 4 months old...and had to get her 4-month shots.  It went much better than the 2-month shots, thank goodness! We were in interim living at our hotel apartment by then without any swings or jumpers to entertain her, so we were thankful that the jabs went well.

Happy 4-month old Baby H!

We spent a ton of time saying goodbye to friends and colleagues. It was different from most goodbyes from our past because we truly aren't sure when we'll see a lot of these friends again - though hopefully not too far into the future.  There will always be an extra bed in our home for anyone who wants to visit Houston!

Miss Shelly had a special sing, laugh, and messy play class dedicated to all of L's favorite things

L actually hugged her friend good-bye! (She rarely hugs anyone)

Photo op with friends from Texas who happened to be living in Dubai at the same time as us!

It took pretty much a whole year of visits for L to warm up to this guy (one of my co-workers who became instant besties with G), but it FINALLY happened!

My AMAZING personal trainer, bouncing Baby H on her knee

L and Jo match!  We're a blue and yellow sandwich!

Miss J and the girls in Abu Dhabi

My office going away lunch at the lovely Mitts and Trays out on Blue Waters Island

I have so many more going-away photos, but I'll end with this one, another of my favorites from our dear friend Jo.  

Good-bye Dubai!  See you next time!

Big News!

It's been a little quiet on the Dubai front with L and H because our family has a TON of big news that we can finally share!

Baby H says, "We have something BIG to tell you!"

1.  My amazing sister has accepted a position as assistant professor at STANFORD UNIVERSITY Department of Chemical Engineering!  We're so thrilled for her and her husband, and I'm so proud to call her my sister.

Professor Auntie holding Baby L

2. My father is moving to Houston!  The he bought in Spring (just north of Houston proper) is 40 minutes from the house we own, and about 20 minutes from my company's main office.

So excited for Dad's retirement and move to TEXAS!!!

3. And finally - We are moving home!  I was offered (and accepted) a position in HR as a staffing advisor for projects, which is actually a dream job for me.  I used to say my job in Baytown was probably going to be the funnest job I'd ever had (is funnest even a word? Well, it is now!) but this job might be even more fun!  My job will literally be to talk to people about their jobs and help match them to the right next job. How cool is that? 

Baby H says "See? I told you it was BIG!"

There is a hugely sad part for us to leaving a year earlier than we planned.  Miss J, our live-in nanny, can't come with us.  If I could legally bring her with us, I would, but our options are very limited since she is a Filipina.  At best, I think I could bring her on a temporary work visa for a year or two, but then it would be very difficult for her to return to UAE, so it is with a heavy heart (and a lot of tears from L, Miss J, and me!) that we are working on finding her a new family that is hopefully as awesome as we are.  Silver lining is that if we end up moving to Vietnam (like we hope to one day), she can easily visit us there during her annual leave.  We are heartbroken since she has become a part of our family - she's so much more than just a helper and nanny.  She is a second mother to my girls, and she has taught me so much about parenting. I'm still struggling to imagine what our lives will be like without seeing her cheerful smile every morning. Especially since we hadn't planned on moving home for another year, I thought I'd have more time to mentally prepare myself.😢😢😢

Miss J snuggling Baby H

And Miss J with Baby L 18 months ago!

H and L will also have this in common - both were born overseas, and neither of them will remember where we were living when they were born.  H will be slightly older than L when we moved from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, but not by much! On the one hand, my friend reminded me that's it's good to be wanted by the company. On the other hand, it is slightly irritating that I have to have the anxiety and stress of moving during both of my maternity leaves.

Soaking up what's left of my maternity leave with my girls before the chaos of moving starts! 

We're also sad to be leaving our friends in Dubai. I remember during my maternity leave in Abu Dhabi, I felt pretty isolated because I knew I was leaving long before I delivered L -- so I didn't make much effort to make friends during our short time there. In Dubai, we settled in, made some really great friends, and will be very sad to leave them.

Enough about the bad parts of moving - we are so excited to be closer to the rest of our family (Miss J notwithstanding). With Dad moving to Houston, L & H will have both sets of grandparents and one set of aunties and uncles nearby to love on them. Plus the other auntie and uncle are only a short flight away in the Bay Area.

We're excited for cooler weather. And easily accessible pork. And easily accessible alcohol. And one-stop grocery shopping. And COSTCO!!!

We're excited to be in our own home again - our apartment has a phenomenal view of the Dubai Marina, but there is construction of a new building that will obstruct our view by the middle of next year. Plus we have AMAZING neighbors in Houston, so it will be wonderful to see them again and introduce them to our girls.

As all my friends and family know, change is really hard for me -- I like living in the bubble of uncertainty because uncertainty is like a world of possibility. Thankfully, I married a man who hates uncertainty, but can weather change like a champ -- and he has put up with my daily swings of excitement to go home and crying because we're leaving. G is my rock, and he is SUPER thrilled to go home!

There is so much that needs to happen between now and the big move (including a summer vacation to Italy!) and we will continue to share our journey back home!

Early Adventures of Baby H: Baptism in Dubai

When I was pregnant with Baby H, my sister asked us to try to meet her in Italy in August since she was planning to be there with her in-laws for their 50th wedding anniversary.  We tentatively said yes, pending Schengen visa approval for Miss J (approved!) and passport and UAE visa stuff sorted for Baby H (almost sorted!).  We very very very briefly entertained having Baby H baptized in Italy, since we wanted Danielle & Jonny to be her godparents and we would all be there at the same time.  I started looking into the logistics of it though, and quickly decided a UAE baptism with proxy godparents would be much, much easier.  Had I known you could proxy godparents, Baby L would probably also have Danielle & Jonny as godparents, but having Dad and Mary is ok.

We asked Eric, one of my coworkers, and his wife Tracey to stand in as proxy godparents for Baby H.  His family moved to Abu Dhabi just before G and I did, and his family also moved from Abu Dhabi to Dubai just before G and I did.  Eric had given me tons of advice about moving (both times!) and his family was kind and welcoming to us, we asked them to stand in and they immediately said yes!

Eric and Tracey, sweet proxy godparents to Baby H!

Since Eric was moving back to the USA over the summer, we had a short window between when Baby H was born and when Eric's family was scheduled to leave.  The Catholic Church in Dubai has baptisms every Tuesday, so we settled on 04-Jun since it would be during Eid (and thus we'd be able to easily find a dinner venue that would let us eat before sundown). This also happens to be G's birthday, so dual celebration!

I chose a dress that Granny gave to L that she never got to wear.  Baby H also had some white and silver mittens that Ba Ngoai gave her, and I found some matching gray socks.  I had also picked a white and silver headband, but I never managed to get it on Baby H during the baptism ceremony.  I took some photos of her wearing it later, along with her baptism quilt.

G wore the same shirt and jacket that we had made L's baptism, but opted for jeans so he could wear his boots like a true Texan. Ba Ngoai had given L a pretty white and pink dress that seemed appropriate.  I was at that awkward stage where my maternity dresses were too big, and my normal dresses were too small, so I dragged myself to the mall and took a page from Meghan  Markle's book, opting for a belted trench dress. I like it enough  that I'll probably have it taken in after I lose the baby weight!

I asked Jo, my favorite photographer in Dubai, to come take photographs, and as usual, she was fabulous.  Here are my favorites - G and I joke that it was Baby H's baptism, but L totally stole the show with her wide eyes and adorable curls. We invited some of our other expat friends to join us for the baptism, and L -- who is super shy around new people -- let Jin hold her for almost 20 minutes!  It was a long night since the baptism included a full mass (unlike L's baptism, which was short and sweet. I actually don't remember most of it because I had a fever and felt miserable that day), and while we couldn't have our family with us for H's baptism, we had our "expat family" with us, and that made it just as special.

Baptism was held at St Francis of Assisi Church in Jebel Ali

Our shy little L let Jin, who she'd only met that evening, hold her for almost 20 minutes!!

Our expat family!

Baby H: Squishy Baby Portraits

While G and I have been making a conscious effort to spend time with L and make sure that she knows she's special and still loved, I also want Baby H to have some things that are uniquely hers.  I love our family portraits in Baby H's First Photo Shoot, and I knew that we'd also have some more family photos at Baby H's upcoming baptism, so I let myself get suckered into a newborn photo shoot for Baby H through Pink Pepper Photography. More on that later.

I'm actually not a huge fan of studio newborn photo shoots - babies wrapped in gauze and put into baskets of flowers or covered in pearls really aren't my thing. It's not that I don't think the photos are super cute - they are - it just seems kind of over done.  Plus, newborn photographers prefer babies around a week old, if not younger, and since both my girls were in the hospital until Day 5, I just couldn't fathom being organized enough to get booked into a studio.  Enter Pink Pepper Photography...I'll call them PPP for short.

At the private hospitals in UAE, they offer free passport photos to infants - which is brilliant because most babies born at private hospitals are children of expats and will need a passport right away, AND PPP gets the parents' phone numbers. They also make sure to include a coupon for a free one-hour  photo shoot, plus 1 free digital photo from the shoot. I didn't end up getting a passport photo from them because Baby H wasn't being cooperative, but I vaguely recall giving the hospital photographer my phone number, so of course they called me a few days after we got home from the  hospital.  The gal on the phone was really friendly and made it super easy to book the session - so I figured, why not?  It's free, so there's nothing to lose.

Now, I know that there's nothing really free. I actually hate this model - where the photo session is  free and you pay per image. I usually work with photographers where I pay for their time for a session, and the I get a full gallery of images. I'm also loyal to photographers that I like - for example, when I lived in Abu Dhabi, Lacey did all of  my professional photographs, and in Dubai, most of my photo sessions are with Jo - because I love their work.

But.

For all the reasons I listed above, plus, I didn't want to drag G and L through another family photo shoot, I took Baby H to her portrait session with PPP.  The photographer (I can't remember her name) was really sweet and was a pro with Baby H.  I was impressed with her juggling of her camera, Baby H, and Baby H's pacifier to get some pretty great shots in between H's fussing. Obviously, since the business model is pay-per-image, they do not allow cell phones or external cameras in the studio, so I couldn't take a picture of the  photographer at work. You'll just have to trust me that she was pretty great at working with my baby!

 Once the shoot is over, you have  to go back to the studio to view the photos - again, no online gallery to protect the business model.  I did my homework ahead of time and prepared myself knowing the budget I wanted to spend, what the current promotions were, and exactly how many images I intended to go home with. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't, I would have ended up spending way too much money for images that I didn't  love! And sure enough, the coordinator sat me in a really comfy room and play sappy music while she scrolled through my adorable baby's photographs - 56 total. Since I had a target number of images, I put my "work" hat on to get down to 21 images, and I'm proud to say I was 100% successful at not spending any more than my budget!

So -  here they are!  Well, 16 of the  21. I excluded one series because they will be used in Baby H's birth announcement. If you'd like to receive a birth announcement, and you're not currently on the Christmas Card mailing list, please update your address in our address book through Postable.

And yes - I get the irony that the very first series is Baby H sitting in a basket of flowers.