Out With the Old

H has for the most part been an easy going child from the get go.  He transitioned from bottles to sippy cups in three days, was potty trained at 21 months, and transitioned from crib to big boy bed with absolutely no issues.


But there's one thing we've had trouble getting rid of:

THE PACIFIER.


I know we should have gotten rid of it long ago, but it has been as much a crutch for us as parents as it has been for him.  At least we made sure to adhere to the pediatrician's recommendation of the 3 C's (car, crib, crisis).  But as tomorrow begins a new year, we will begin it as a year with no pacifiers (for this kid anyway).


We'll see how it goes...wish us luck!  Perhaps it will only take 3 days to transition?


As for changes for me, my biggest challenge will be to let go of the frustrations that have plagued me since we've moved here.  It seems that it has been a constant 1 step forward, 10 steps back.  But I'm trying to look forward with a positive attitude for both the known (vacation in Paris, new baby, a trip home!) and the unknown. 


Happy New Year everyone!

Preparing for Christmas a.k.a. "Decorating on the Cheap"

In preparation for the holidays, we purchased a 4 ft. Christmas tree at Lulu Hypermarket for a whopping 39 dirhams.  Add to that a couple of boxes of ornaments (6 dirhams total), lights (16 dirhams), and a tree topper (9 dirhams) and you have our $20 Christmas tree.

H and E set up the tree the day after Thanksgiving.

The final product:

Stockings brought from home (the only Christmas related things we packed):

Close ups of our cheap foil ornaments:

A lot of these broke so if you look closely at the picture of the tree you can see lots of these little "presents" sitting at the base...

Our only "real" ornament and it's not even a real ornament.  It used to be one of H's toys that broke but will now be part of our ornament collection.

I'll post pictures of our Christmas celebration after Friday.  Santa is treating H pretty well this year...all the presents under the tree are for him!  E and I are treating ourselves to a family trip to Paris instead. : )