Saraya is going to be a big sister!

We are officially expecting a new baby in April of 2012. Saraya will be just over 2 years if this baby stays put until my due date.

What is even more exciting...we are having a boy! This will be the first boy for my family and I already feel sorry for him when he has to deal with his older sister and two older girl cousins one day!

We are really excited and I hope to post more soon. Saraya has been doing amazing things lately and we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of her new little brother!

Italy Summer 2011

Nana, Papaw, Saraya and I recently traveled to Italy for a wedding in Tuscany. I made a Mixbook photobook of the trip. We had an amazing time.

I will try and post some about our trip soon but for the meantime, enjoy the slideshow!

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Final Jordan Photos

One of my favorite things to do in Jordan is to visit the local bakeries. They are pretty impressive with their assembly line processing of some pretty amazing bread. Saraya apparently was fascinated as well. One of the guys who worked at the store gave her this piece of bread after she smiled and laughed at him and his co-workers. She enjoyed it.

This picture shows one of my favorite times of this recent trip, actually of any trip I have taken to Jordan. Here is Saraya surrounded by 4 of her aunts (Abeer, Kowkip, Hanadi and Sawsan) and 3 of her cousins. What I loved about this lunch was that it was one of the few times I have had to spend with just the girls in Jordan. It was such a great lunch and Saraya loved all the attention from the ladies. What is even more inspiring is that at this table there is a school principal, a lawyer and a future lawyer, a civil engineer, a computer engineer and a musician. Now those are some great role models for Saraya!

While Saraya had a great time on our trip, she was ready to get home and see Daddy.

Here is one final shot of her. Even after 20 hours of traveling, she was still a trooper.

More Jordan Pictures

Here are some more photos from Jordan.

Aunt Sawsan and Saraya

Shopping for gold for Jiddeh (Grandma)

Playing with Uncle Mohammed

Saif and Saraya

Aunt Abeer and Saraya at the Citadel

International Traveler

From the day she was born, Saraya has been a wonderful baby. She is generally happy, rarely upset and she never seems to meet a stranger. If I wasn't already convinced of that, our recent trip to Jordan certainly solidified her status as the "World's Best Baby Traveler."

She was such a pro. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive to tackle a 24 hour plane trip with a 14 month old all on my own. But it was necessary in order for Saraya to meet her Jordanian family and so off we went.

She was such a good girl. She flew well, even though we spent 9 hours in flight from Cincinnati to Paris and then 5 hours in layover in Paris and then another 5 hours from Paris to Amman. And even more miraculous, when we got there she immediately adjusted to Jordan time even though it was seven hours ahead of EST. I couldn't have asked for a better baby to travel with.

Here are a few snap shots. Try to check back and I hope to post some more pictures and perhaps a video or two soon.

Here she is in front of the Roman ampitheater ruins in downtown Amman.

This is the same hill as the previous picture, only from the other side. It is one of my favorite spots in the whole world. I am so glad I got to share it with Saraya.

Same spot. That large flag can be seen from much of Amman. Our apartment is just behind the flag.

Playing outside in our driveway. Notice the large lemon trees in the background.

Playing on the balcony. She LOVED Jordan!

Spring is here...

And we love enjoying the beautiful weather!

Saraya learning to walk

The Zoo

We recently visited the Louisville with Saraya. She has been once before but she really enjoyed looking at the animals this time. This time she was absolutely fearless when it came to the animals and she would have jumped into each enclosure to touch the animals if we would have let her!

She even got up and close with a silverback gorilla! Here are some shots from the zoo.

Snow Time

Saraya has been a little under the weather with first the flu and now a wicked cold so she hasn't been able to get out and enjoy the snow. She does, however, enjoy looking at it and for some reason she laughs hysterically when we say the word "snow."

Needless to say, we are looking forward to spring. I can't wait until we can get outside and play again. It's been too long!

More Bahamas...

Fish!

One of Saraya's favortie things on vacation was looking at the fish. There were several aquariums and fish tanks and she loved watching the fish swim by.

Nurse sharks...look how close they are!

More fishes!

She loved looking at this big grouper.

How cute!

If you're happy...

I apologize for the dreadful singing in this video but the cuteness hopefully will make up for it.

While we were in the Bahamas earlier this month, Saraya learned how to clap. She also learned how to crawl, how to feed herself and she said Mama for the first time. We decided she must be a warm weather baby.

More pictures from our vacation to follow. Stay tuned!