It's A Girl!!!

Baby Girl Kelsey Marie arrived in our arms on November 26 @ 10:30 PM. She weighed 8 pounds and 1 ounce and was 20.5 inches long. All are happy and healthy!

Happy 4th Anniversary!

How ironic is it that Wednesday, November 26 is our 4th anniversary? Maybe we will receive the best anniversary present ever...our precious baby!

We had dinner at La Paloma, InterContinental Hotel, with my sister and friend, Tom, on Sunday. Michael thought it would be a good idea to request a cake to celebrate our upcoming events! (BTW-Sybil the Sea Bass is highly recommended. I had an amazing salad and chicken tortilla soup...YUMMY!)

Auntie Lori is Here!

My sister, Lori, arrived in Doha on Friday evening. Luckily the baby is holding off a bit and we have been able to see some of the sights of Doha!




































Today, thanks to the recommendation of Sybil, we went to the Ritz Carlton for their afternoon tea! What a treat! I cannot even begin to tell you what a lovely afternoon we had.

We Don't Mind That We're Still Waiting!

Which Takes Us To Today!

So it is really not a lot of fun being so close to our due date. You can't call anyone without receiving an excited 'hello' only to be followed by the disappointed 'oh' when they find out you are just calling to chat!

Last night Michael and I met up with 3 other couples from our prenatal class for dinner. I do believe that people were scared to drink the water after seeing 4 very pregnant looking ladies walk in! I am the first in line to deliver, but of course we know that doesn't mean anything when it comes to babies!

Time to Reflect...Continued...Again

A couple of weeks ago we had a company party to attend. It was really quite a nice evening on the grounds of the Doha Golf Club. While my usual "Dancing Queen" self wasn't out at this late in the pregnancy game, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to join in on the Electric Slide!

Time to Reflect...Continued

Of course I had to dress up for Halloween! This is quite a big celebration here as well, at least in the expat compounds. To be honest, the Arab children get in on the action too! They aren't going to pass up an opportunity to get bags full of candy! And yes, the biggest challenge at Halloween is keeping Michael out of the candy bowl!

Time to Reflect

So I am finally on maternity leave! I actually still feel pretty good and of course am out and about catching up on the shopping and lunches that I have been missing. Plus, Macey is happy to have me home to join her for our afternoon naps!

Just thought I would catch up on a few things...

We are always so blessed to have such wonderful friends who once again came through with two beautiful baby showers. I don't think I ever posted any pictures of my baby shower in Houston. Julie and Adria just did a lovely job of course!









Then Alyson, Lucy and Traci planned a beautiful afternoon here in Doha. I do believe Alyson made me the most beautiful diaper cake I have ever seen!!! There is a lot of pink in these pictures...just wishful thinking! ;-)

No Baby Yet...

Macey is enjoying her maternity leave with her mama!!! (yes, once again...this baby has no chance at NOT being completely and obscenely spoiled!)

Let the Truth be Told

I can remember when we first arrived in Doha, a friend in the compound was telling the story of how her grocery bagger was not at the store that day. I can remember listening to her, half rolling my eyes, thinking to myself are you kidding? She proceeded to explain that this man would bag her groceries, load them into her car and then help her back out of her parking spot. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! I just never in a million years thought that I would sink or rise, not sure which, to that level.

Today as I went to pay for my groceries, I thought to myself...where is my little bagger and how am I going to get my groceries to the car??? ;-) Luckily there was another bagger who was eager to step up to the challenge! See you build a relationship with these people. I can give my regular bagger my keys, tell him which car I am driving and let him go, while I stop at my favorite juice stall for some fresh fruit or juice. When he is done, he will come back in and bring me my keys. Of course I do provide a tip, but truly a very small amount to me is quite a bit to him.

So today, not only was my regular bagger gone, but I got caught by a friend from the compound receiving grocery cart assistance! I must say I was quite embarrassed that I was not pushing my own cart to the car. She of course just laughed!

Living is Doha is rough to say the least!!!

Oh Yes We Did!!!

So of course we had to walk through another baby store this evening. It was like a spotlight shining down from above on this precious little sleeper!!! For those of you who know me, know that I practically knocked people down running to the register. For those of you who don't know me...you have at least determined that I am slightly neurotic! I am considering bringing the baby home in this sleeper as I am wondering if Macey will be a bit more accepting of him/her!!! We will see!

WOMAN IN LABOR!!!

No, not me silly! So tonight Michael and I had our 5th birthing class. Tonight was a big night as we were going on a tour of the labor and delivery floor. Along with 8 other couples, we proceeded on our merry way. The tour started in Emergency, just in case you come in after hours (or in a rush). Then we went to view one of the delivery rooms. Of course the joke was made..."There isn't anyone in there, is there?" The midwife who was taking us on the tour replied that all of the babies were born for the day! So we are all in the room as the midwife is explaining all of the different things about the room and the birthing process. Of course with 9 new mothers to be...we had a million questions. Suddenly, there was huge commotion outside of the room. Everyone froze. Then all you could here was a woman screaming bloody murder. The midwife tried to continue on with the discussion, however as you can imagine there were 18 eyes locked on the door imagining that scream to be one of our own very soon (and 18 soon to be daddy eyes looking for an exit)!

Today we are 37 weeks!