I’m trying to get more milage out of the fact that my phone has a camera. You’d think that would come in handy and I’d use it all the time but the truth is I rarely think of it. Also, it takes really bad pictures in all but the best lighting. However, with that said these two are viewable.  The first picture is of Nora running ahead of us on the way to the mail center. When she really gets going she throws her arms back (to reduce drag I assume). The second picture is of Kai getting a hair cut. He’s come a long way since the days of “hold him down and cut it short, quick!”  He actaully seemed to enjoy it this time but did establish the ground rule of “only scissors, no buzzer.”
A Few More Pictures
Here are are few random pictures that were taken during Grandma and Grandpa’s recent visit (although they are just of Kai and Nora).
More Pictures
I haven’t pulled the camera out too much since Grandma and Grandpa got here but I have snapped a few. I’ve thrown them together into a quick gallery so enjoy!Â
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Grandma and Grandpa Arrive!
Grandma and Grandpa arrived late on Monday night and are here for a short visit. Kai was beside himself the next morning eager to see them but, after the trip and with jet lag, they were still asleep. Kai would screw up his courage to go upstairs to wa
ke them up but by the time he would get to the door he could only whisper “Halloo Grandma and Grandpa” and then run downsta
irs. By evening we were all awake and together and Kai got some help from Grandma to get his valentines ready for preschool and Nora was excited to have personal book reader. You can tell from the second picture how much she is taken with Grandpa.
Her language has really exploded the last couple of weeks as well. She is trying a lot more words and clearly understanding a lot more as well. She eagerly attempted Grandma (Gam-Gam) and Grandpa (Guh-Ka).
Nora and Kai go on a Trip
It is my first video post!  When I came home a couple of days ago Vangie was playing a game with Nora and Kai where they would pack a little bag and then go on a “trip” around the pillar in the playroom quickly arriving back home. I managed to catch a bit of the tail end of the game the camera though it was tough with Kai climbing on me so that he see the screen on the camera.
[flv:/Video/Nora_and_Kai_Trip.flv 320 240]
Latif Bakery
Our favorite bakery down in Khobar is Latif Patries which is just a few feet from where the north entrance of the old Al-Shula mall used to be before it burned down. The main part is for men only (of course) but a few years back they added a side room where 
women and families could go up 
and place their order through a small window. Ali is the head baker there and he always shows us cell phone pictures of his young daughter and loves holding Kai and Nora. ((who generally end up being passed through the window)) He always gives them a little bottle of juice as well and, for Kai, that is the high point of his visits to Khobar. ((We’ve told Kai that he shouldn’t ask for the juice.  This last time after we ordered he sat squirming in the little seat by the window mumbling “juice” under his breath until he couldn’t take it any more and lept onto the chair and shouted “JUICE!”)) This last time Kai got a tour of the back rooms of the bakery and all I had was my cell phone camera so please excuse the poor quality of the images. Nora took a little bit to warm up to Ali but eventually walked over and gave him a kiss on her own.
Please Sir, I’d like some more…
Recently Nora has been enjoying popcorn and often when I’m in the kitchen she’ll rummage through the bowl cupboard to find her little popcorn bowl. She’ll walk up to me and with big blue eyes say “cone” which is her attempt at “popcorn.” If I don’t respond right away she’ll point in the empty bowl and say “Cone Deh” which is her attempt at “please Dad, when you have a chance can you fill this bowl with some popcorn?”  If I still don’t respond she’ll go to the pantry where we keep the popper, point to it and give me a look like “Dad, I know this is hard for you but try to keep up with me, OK.”
Skin So Soft
At night after a bath, Mom helps Kai and Nora put on a bit of lotion. Recently she’s been giving it to them to put on their face all by themselves. Nora gets some on her hand and pretty much just mushes in onto the end of her nose but she does put her heart into it. Kai ((You can see that Kai continues to love his Superman pajamas. In fact, Superman pajamas are not just for bedtime; he’ll spend all day in them if we let him and we generally do (at least until they get Superstinky) )), on the other hand, does it with style, as the pictures attest.
In other news, the night time temps are still getting cold. When I got up this morning the outside temp was 39.8F. However, we’re getting into the season of wild temperature swings since the daytime high yesterday hit 80F.
Digging in the Dirt
It has turned cold again with the themometer in the backyard reading 40F this morning (With a fair bit of wind to boot). In other news, the grass in our little postage stamp of a backyard isn’t doing too well. We’ve been in three Aramco houses now and our backyards always seem to be blighted. We do see others with lush foilage spilling over their walls so it must be something we are (not) doing. 
Anyway, the upside is that we have a pretty big sandbox! Nora just likes moving dirt but Kai is definitely cooking stuff. He is good at including her as to where to put her sand to further the recipe. The picture of the two of them together is where Superman is directing Nora how to mix sand and water in just the right proportion to make a birthday cake.
Read Read Read
We started reading books to Kai shortly after he was born and he really loves them. We have a bedtime poster ((we took digital pictures of different things to do to get ready for bed: brush teeth, get pajamas, piddle (a creative camera shot allowed this one to be tastefully done), choose books, etc. and made them into a poster. Because, after all, you may argure with Mom and Dad but who will argue with a poster?)) that lists the steps we take at bedtime and pick books is the step he likes best. He’ll scour the house trying to find his favorites and will often end up with a stack of 10 books in bed that he wants read to him. He’s ussually ready to sleep after about 3 but we love that he loves them.
Nora, on the other hand, hasn’t had the same deliberate exposure to books. We still read to her but with Kai also running around there aren’t the same number of quiet down-times that work really well for books. Still, Kai’s interest in them is rubbing off since she’s getting into them ((Kai will choose some books for her at bedtime when he is picking out his own and his choices are thoughtful)). Brown Bear, Brown Bear is a current favorite and she’s getting really into page turning which is great since she is seeing a book as something to interact with.Â