A Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday

Yesterday was Graham's birthday party and I think he had a pretty good time! He is one happy baby and loved the attention, the people and it seemed like he knew he was the birthday boy! 


While I was in the States, I bought as much as I could think of to put together a Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party. I came up with idea from the book and how much we love to read it as a family and how hungry Graham always is and then when I searched for ideas I was inspired by this party by Pink Pistachio and this party featured on Hostess with the Mostess. I also searched on Pinterest for other ideas and also a web search for crafts that teachers have used in their classrooms with the book. 


I went with lime green and red as the main colors for the party and tried to incorporate as much as I could from the book into the day. 


Here are some pictures....

One of my favorite decorations of the day and a project that took a long time was the caterpillar banner which had a picture of Graham from every month this past year. I made all the alternating green circles and tied together with green ribbon and then made the head. I loved seeing all the pictures of Graham and how much he has grown. 

 

On Saturday the caterpillar ate through a lollipop...so we had lollipop flowers in the grass.

I had every intention of making a cake for him but with John working so much and he wouldn't be at the party I didn't want to the added pressure to have the cake to do so I found someone on camp who did it for me. I originally wanted his head to be red but I still liked it and it was pretty tasty....and I had an insane amount of cupcakes left that John brought to work the next day.

Entry way with lanterns and the goody bags that had a thank you note attached with sparkly green pipe cleaner. Inside were fruit roll ups, Graham's favorite cracker...Ritz crackers, a lollipop, silly straw, bubbles and sunglasses. Most of the items were brought back from the States.

This is my sad picture of the food area. With John working and me being solo doing the party and still watching my two kids, I did awful at getting as much pictures as I would normally. But...you get the idea. I took off the huge painting that is normally there and did the wall in streamers and we had an assortment of food that the caterpillar ate through on his journey. I was going to make cute little food labels to help with the storyline but that project got cut....also not included was swiss cheese as apparently that is hard to find here....white cheddar did the trick.

Since the party had a large amount of bigger kids (all of Peyton's friends) I had planned a couple of crafts to keep them busy although the playroom and the toys outside were more of a hit. We had finger print caterpillar book marks and then also butterfly/caterpillar party hats (idea was from Pottery Barns kids). You can see Peyton's and Graham's hats in the next couple of pictures. It was not fun cutting the many circles for the caterpillars or tracing and cutting out the butterflies but it was worth it.

The birthday boy ready for cake! He was so excited and you could tell he knew what was about to happen!

I am so beyond thankful for these two little ones! Seriously two of the best kids (and such different personalities) and I can't imagine what my life would be like without them. Wish that Daddy could have been in our family picture though! How did I get so lucky....seriously!

Graham was trying to put his party hat back on his head....instead he got icing in his hair!

The big kids hanging out and eating cake...and showing each other their green tongues!

After the party...and after nap time....we opened presents. I thought with all the bigs kids, the craziness, that I just didn't want to add opening presents with all of that. I know it is different but I have been to a couple of parties where parents have done that here and it works. We were able to open them slowly, talk about who gave him what and it was so much calmer. Mostly Peyton opened the gifts and Graham loved the cards. And then afterwards...Peyton kept trying to play with all the toys while Graham watched!

A wonderful day celebrating with our friends here who all make life so much easier by their company! I wish I took more pictures but it was crazy with two kids, hosting a party and not having my other half.   Happy Birthday Graham and hope you had a wonderful first birthday celebration!

I got a door....

My prize for the weight loss challenge was $500...which to me still seems crazy that John would offer that. He is so not like that and it was a lot of money! Anyways, I am glad he had a moment of insanity because it worked out for me! John knew that I loved an old wooden antique door from Afghanistan that I saw when we were buying our buffet from a store called Anteak Factory. The door was a little more than my prize money but I was hoping John would show spot me the difference. When I left for Abu Dhabi, I told him to go and look and see if it was there when he was running errands one night but he told me he didn't have time and he also told me to go ahead and spend my prize money at the gold souk in Abu Dhabi which led me to believe that he didn't go and look at the door. 


So, when I got home on Monday and that night got a call about a delivery, I was so confused. Since I would have to vouch for whoever was coming at security I called John and he told me Anteak was coming and I immediately knew it was the door! I was pretty excited and then both kids started screaming, it was bath/bed time and the guys were lost and spoke awful English so we couldn't figure out how to get them here and I was alone and tired from traveling so my excitement turned into annoyance. But when it was delivered and I got the kids were asleep I was able to be excited about i!

The door is SO much bigger than I thought and I had a very hard time finding a place for it in the house. Where I originally wanted to put it wouldn't work because it was so tall and the front entry has low ceilings and is dark. We found a corner to put it and I like it there but know it would look even better in our future house. I laugh because now we have to buy a house based off of a place to put a door we bought and growing up my parents would do the same thing for carpets they had and furniture pieces from their travels. 


Another piece to take back from our adventures in the Middle East! I love it!

Weight Loss Challenge

In January I mentioned how I tended to not take care of myself at all and I vowed to do better. 


Shortly after that, John and I decided to do a Biggest Loser style challenge to help keep me motivated to exercise and eat right. We decided that whoever lost the greatest percentage weight loss between then and the beginning of March would win $500! It was a lot of fun and we both lost a good amount of weight and just before I left for Abu Dhabi we did the final weigh and the winner was....ME! 


I lost a total of 6% of my body weight (8.7 lbs)! John lost 5.4% and only lost the contest by a pound. Earlier in the week I had went and got my assessment done at the nutrition center and what made me even more excited than the total weight loss was how many inches I lost in my waist (4.72 inches) and hips (3.14 inches) and that I lowered my Body Fat % by 3%. I am just happy to be feeling great, wearing all of my clothes and back on the track to being healthy and in shape! And I am really glad that I was able to get pretty close (2 lbs off) of my pre Graham pregnancy weight by his first birthday! 


I need to get back into the routine of working out again. We spent three weeks passing germs to each other and then my trip to Abu Dhabi and planning Graham's birthday party has really put a kink into working out but I am planning to make sure that I am set up to be successful next week. I am also hoping to get back started on the meal plan in a couple of weeks to make sure that I am continuing to make smart choices while John is working so much and life is a little more stressful. 


I will do another post in a couple of days with pictures of what I bought with my $500 prize....

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday was such a fun day celebrating Graham and I hope that he felt loved and cherished! I had planned for several weeks how the day was going to go to make it as special as possible for him since we were so far from family and John was supposed to be working all day and wouldn't see him. It was for sure harder on me than him without family especially when I thought back to Peyton's first birthday and how much family was able to celebrate with us. But....that is life as an expat and we made it work!


We started the day with his favorite blueberry waffles with strawberries on top and then skyped with Grandma Martha and she was able to sing him Happy Birthday. He then had his morning nap while Peyton and I made him a cake and wrapped his presents. We made a small cake for Graham and a big one for everyone to share but I put a candle on the big one as well so Peyton could blow it out and participate. 


Once Graham woke up we worked on getting lunch together because John was able to get a ride home and come home for lunch! He only had about 45 minutes so I needed to make sure Graham's favorite meal was ready...strawberries, green beans and fish sticks. We were able to eat lunch as a family, sing Happy Birthday and watch Graham make a mess of the cake and open gifts. John had to go back to work but we were so happy he got to see Graham on his birthday!

Peyton decided she was going to eat her cake like a baby...

Mommy totally should have put on make up, done her hair and looked a little more like she has things together! I am so in love with my little man!

Graham got a toy car from G and Papa, some books from Grandma Martha and then a ball popping table and mini tool bench toy from me, John and Peyton. The ball table yielded many screams of excitement which was expected.

We played with Graham's toys and then gave him a bath and he was out for his afternoon nap which was extra long and so we spent the remaining part of the day playing around the house, dancing, kissing and cuddling and playing our favorite game....tag in which we all crawl around so Graham can keep up and end up laughing uncontrollably. A fun day with my incredibly sweet little boy and his big sister!


Next up...his birthday party on Sunday afternoon with friends! I planned a Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party and have been having a blast putting it together. Lots of fun and it is turning out super cute so check back for pictures from that Sunday or Monday!

Happy Birthday Graham Ryerson!

Happy Birthday Graham Ryerson! 

Everyone says it...but I honestly can't even begin to believe that it has been a year since Graham was born. It has flown by so fast! 


In one year he has accomplished a whole lot and his passport is pretty impressive. He moved from Texas to Saudi Arabia when he was 10 weeks old flying in his own business class seat. He has visited 7 different countries...USA, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain (four times), UAE (twice), Qatar, Oman and Canada. He has flown on 10 flights and stayed in 5 different hotels. To say his first year has been a little hectic would be an understatement but he is such an easy going, adaptable and happy little guy and has made all these life changes and travels so much easier. 


It is so hard to believe that it has been a whole year since we met him. So many doctor's appointments, check ups, false alarm visits to the hospital and he was finally here. You were such a sweet calm and quiet baby. And it makes me laugh to think how you had trouble nursing and taking bottles at first and how we were so worried you were not getting enough to eat. You have certainly figured out how to eat!

Graham, you have been such a tremendous blessing to our family. We LOVE you so much and love the fun, sweet, easy going personality that you add to the mix. We love your smile, your laugh, how you shake your head side to side when you being silly and how when you smile you close your eyes and show us your teeth.


You love your sister so much and absolutely think she is the most interesting person in our family. I love that when we drop her off at school every morning you give her a big hug and kiss and tell her "bye bye," and then when it is time to pick her up, as soon as I mention her name you crawl to the door ready and excited to pick her up. You both play so well together and your favorite game is to chase each other around. She knows to crawl so you can keep up and you play tag and laugh uncontrolably with each other. 

I am amazed at how much you eat and how you like everything (besides non pureed banannas) that I have given you. You drink about 32 ounces of milk a day, a waffle for breakfast, cheese and crackers at snack time, veggies and fruit and a grilled cheese (or whatever we are having that day) for lunch, another snack or some kid of baby food in the afternoon and whatever we eat for dinner...typically some chicken breast, potatoes, veggies and some puffs. 

You are sleeping through the night and have two naps a day for about 90-120 minutes each. You do well if you miss a nap and are fussy but nothing too bad and try to go with the flow knowing that at some point mommy will make sure you get your sleep. Your morning nap is your favorite. You are in bed at 7:00 PM every night and barely make it to then...you are just too active and wear everyone out chasing you!

You started stacking blocks on top of each other, trying to put your own shoes on, brushing your hair and mommy's hair and brushing your teeth. You are trying to read books and turn the pages and like to point at things and attempt to say, "whats that." You are very curious, always on the move and never stop unless you are sleeping. You will still cuddle with mommy, mostly in the mornings and love to crawl over to me, tackle me to the ground and kiss me. I love it! I love that you are affectionate and I love cuddling you. You are not walking yet but are testing out standing on your own and love to walk while holding mommy and Peyton's hand.

Graham, we are so thankful for you and so blessed to be your family. We hope you have a wonderful birthday and know that you are loved by so many. I look forward to what this next year brings and continue to pray that you know that more than we love you, you have a Heavenly Father that loves you so much more. I pray for you daily that you know Him and know of His love for you and pray that I raise you to be a man who seeks is madly in love with Him and seeks His will first and foremost. We love you Graham!

These are my two favorite pictures of Graham that I took this year....

Catch Up, Abu Dhabi, Haircuts, New Work Schedule...

So much to catch up on....I have been so busy with the kids, planning Graham's birthday party and also everyone being sick off and on for several weeks that I have hardly had any free time.


So here it goes....

• Last Wednesday the kids and I did another solo travel trip to visit my sister in Abu Dhabi and the best part of this trip was that my Dad was stopping over from his worldwide business trip and so we were able to see him! We flew from Saudi to Dubai and I rented a car and drove the 75 minutes to Abu Dhabi. As always they were both wonderful on the plane, getting the car and I am so lucky to have such great travelers! It makes it so much easier! We had 5 nights of spending time with my sister and my dad which was so much fun. We ate at real restaurants, shopped a little and mainly just enjoyed family time. The kids loved seeing both Ashley and my Dad and hardly slept the whole time out of excitement. 

Waiting outside the apartment for Auntie Ashley to get home from work

Taking Max to the park. The kids LOVED having him in the backseat

Graham enjoyed being fed with chopsticks

• While in Abu Dhabi, Graham got his first haircut! I saw a place that looked like they knew what they were doing and there were several other kids already in their so we went ahead and got his hair cut. My sister and I had to laugh because we have NO IDEA what to do with a boys hair. We were so clueless so I just had them trim it up everywhere and I think it looks good. He was did such a great job and just sat there very serious the whole time. You could tell that he had no idea what was going on but the best thing would be to very still. Such an easy going boy...certainly a different experience from Peyton's first haircut!

Such a handsome and happy baby

• We went to the Gold Souk one day in Abu Dhabi and I found some earrings I loved but couldn't bring myself to pay that much for them and I doubted my negotiating abilities...maybe next time! There was so much to look at and so many nice pieces of jewelry!
• My sister and I were able to go out for a nice dinner one night. I got the kids to bed and my dad stayed behind in case the woke up and I was able to get dressed up, wear heels (borrowed from my sister) and we went to a wonderful Thai restaurant in the Emirates Palace. It was delicious food, a wonderful atmosphere and fun to walk around the ultra glamourous hotel. 
• While we were in the UAE we went to Dubai for the day. My dad was flying out early the next day so we went to drop him off at his hotel and spent the day at the Dubai Mall with him before we had to say good bye. I lived in Dubai when I was in third grade and remember parts of being there but when my dad was explaining what was there when we lived there compared to now I was amazed. It has changed so much. So many beautiful and unique buildings and so much to see and take in. The Dubai Mall was HUGE and had everything you would ever want...including a Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids. I didn't do much shopping...I think I was too overwhelmed with where to start but we enjoyed walking around, having lunch and spending more time with Papa. And I decided that I need to plan a trip to Dubai in a month or so and take advantage of the aquarium, kids play area and so much more! It would be such a fun trip with the kids.
• While we were away, John started his turnaround which is 12 hour days/7 days a week until May. It is not fun for him, for me and for the kids. So far I am on day 3 of being solo and it is going well but I can see how this is going to get old and very tiring...hence me hoping to go to Dubai in a month! I have been able to keep Peyton up to see John every night when he gets home but she has been getting up early as well and I know she needs more sleep so I am not sure how to adjust her schedule and napping is not really an option for her. Graham is going to be hit or miss and hopefully we won't go long between times for him and Daddy.
• Speaking of Graham....he is turning 1 tomorrow! I can't even begin to explain how crazy that is to me. I will of course have a post all for him tomorrow! I am excited about celebrating him tomorrow and then his birthday party on Sunday.