The weather is still beautiful and I had another great week. The theme at school is the zoo, so we had a lot of play and work about zoos.
During Circle time we did our weather and calendar, made a book of our first and last names, read Baby Koala, looked at different zoo animals and talked about different foods they eat (penguins – fish, giraffes – leaves, lions – meat, polar bears – meat, fish, etc.).
Next week my theme at school is dinosaurs! And I even got homework. Since I don’t have anything dinosaur-related to bring to show-and-tell, Grandma got really creative and helped me make a couple dinosaurs to take to school.
On Sunday I watched the Bears game with Mom and Dad and started learning how to catch:
Halloween week was really fun, with a halloween party at school and of course trick-or-treating with the family. Of course, the theme at school this week was Halloween. I got to wear my red beta fish costume — thanks Mom for ordering it for me!
We all had a great time telling the class about our costumes and sharing our Halloween show and tell. We read books called Scarecrows Halloween Words.
I had an especially fun time shopping with Dad on Satuday and doing the rest of our weekly errands (and other errands like pumpkin picking!).
On Sunday I helped Dad cook and he even let me cut tomatoes with a really sharp knife! Of course, I like tomoatoes so much that I ate about half of all the tomatoes I cut up!
And finally after we were done cooking, it was time for trick-or-treating:
As an extra-special treat, we even stopped by Julie’s house; she got me some ice-cream for my Halloween snack.
We had another week of beautiful weather and another week of fun at school. This week, our theme was farms. Our library books focused on farms, both fiction and nonfiction. We read When the Rooster Crowed, talked about things on a farm (animals, tractors, crops), completed calendar and weather chart, looked at pictures of friends, and, of course, sang a tractor song.
Here’s a random video of me hanging out with Dad:
But the biggest highlight of the week was that Aunt Sarah came to visit us and spent all day Friday playing with me. We had so much fun!
Well, Dad was gone all week on a business trip so I got a bunch of quality time with Mom and Aunt Claire.
My theme at school this week was bears!
Our library books focused on bears, both fiction and nonfiction. Today our class read Corduroy by Don Freeman. We also had a new friend start today, his name is Asher. We now have 14 girls and 2 boys in our class.
On Tuesday we focused on learning about the letter F and on Thursday it was Drake’s birthday so we all got a yummy birthday treat.
The weekend continued a week of unseasonably beautiful weather! On Saturday we had fun outside in the yard and then more fun inside after I changed out of my wet clothes.
On Sunday, Dad and I went for a walk around the block looking for leaves to take to school!
I had a great week, starting off with my visit to the hospital on Monday. It’s been 4 months since I broke the three bones in my hand and the doctors were checking to see if my bones were still growing like they’re supposed to. Yep, they sure are! I did a great job getting X-rayed and my bones are looking great. It’s a good thing I drink so much milk!
School was fun this week; the theme was pets. We had so many things to do with our pets that the days were really busy.
During circle time we updated our calendar and weather chart, talked about animals that people have for pets, looked at different pictures of pets, read The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!, and sang a song called “Six Little Dogs”
Dad was at his annual Vegas trip over the weekend, so I hung out with Mom & Aunt Claire.
On Monday I had orientation at the school I’m going to be starting at tomorrow. Mom and Dad took me to school and I spent a couple hours playing with the kids and teachers. Everyone seemed really nice!
Mom & Dad had been talking about my new school for a while, but I didn’t realize just what a big deal it would actually be. On Tuesday, Dad woke up with me and Aunt Claire got up extra-early to be part of my big day. It’s been about three months since I left the day care I used to go to. We got all ready to go and off we went!
I was so excited to get to school and spend more time with my teachers and my new friends. I had a wonderful first day, except that I didn’t want to use the potty at the times my teachers told me told. I’m used to going whenever I want — not whenever someone else tells me to!
The theme this week is “All About Me.” We’re reading books about families and learning about all of our body parts. Oh, and we even had a fire drill!
Dad picked me up from school and I was so happy to see him. We got home and had a family dinner with Mom and Aunt Claire. On Wednesday Aunt Claire took me to school and I had another great day. Thursday was good, too!
On Friday, I was so excited that Mom stayed home and played with me all day, except for when she had a doctor’s appointment and I hung out with Aunt Claire.
Saturday morning started off as usual, with a trip to the grocery store, but then we went to Target and Mom & Dad bought me a big girl’s bed! Apparently I’m giving my crib to the baby and I get to sleep in a bed that I can get into and out of all by myself.
Monday was a great day. I’m still getting used to this new schedule, where I am waking up around noon or 1:00. I guess the good thing is that I don’t have any jetlag since I’m basically still operating on Chicago time. I continued exploring Nana’s and Jiddo’s apartment and getting quality time with Danny. I missed Mommy so much that I pretend called her!
Tuesday was another great day as I continued to meet more more new people in my family and even made new friends. I hung out with the grand-daughter of one of Nana’s friends at a place called…FUN CITY! Who needs original names when you can just get right to the point? But much to my surprise, we didn’t have a dinner party planned, so I just got to have dinner with the five of us.
On Wednesday I had another full itinerary. The big stops included a trip back to my cousin’s cafe and then dinner with my cousin’s on Jiddo’s side.
Only one video on Thursday, but a ton of fun again. I’ve adjustred really well to the new language, new food, new people, etc. I hung out with a teeny-tiny baby and also at one of the fanciest restaurants in Aleppo!
The highlight on Friday was that we went to visit Nana’s Dad’s farm. It’s about 20 minutes outside of town, but very relazing once we got there. One of the highlights of my trip was finding the eggs in the chicken nests!
Saturday was my last day in Syria! There was a going away party at the cafe, before heading to the airport. But first I got to feed my baby cousin!
And then the trip home. I slept on the flight from Aleppo to Turkey and also in the Istanbul airport. But didn’t sleep a wink for the first 10 hours on the flights to Chicago. Finally, Dad tricked me into taking a nap. We were lucky to run into Danny in the immigration line…and then I was very excited to finally see Mom!
I woke up with Dad on Monday morning and spent the morning playing with Julie and the afternoon playing with Aunt Claire. On Tuesday I spent all day with Julie, before Claire had dinner with me and put me to bed.
Wednesday and Thursday morning were all Claire. When I woke up from my nap on Wednesday, I was surprised and excited to see Grandpa Yagan! I greeted him with an accident in my bed. Grandpa handled it well – leaving my bed wet but making sure I got cleaned up and my clothes changed. Mom got home around 5:00 before dinner and bedtime.
Mom and Dad were both up early with me on Friday morning. I ate breakfast and then Mom and I took off to run some errands, including Target. I had a fun time with Mom! We got back home and I ate lunch, but didn’t take a nap. Mom and Dad and I started packing up a lot of clothes, some food, and a few other things I would need for my trip to Syria! Later in the afternoon, Mom and I went to pick up our farm share, which included a baby watermelon. Then Dad left to pick up Grandpa and Mom got me dressed in my jammie-jams. When they got home, Dad packed up our car with so many suitcases that I barely fit in. Dad and Grandpa hopped in a cab; Mom and I followed in Grandpa’s car.
We made it to the airport and then we all stood in a really long line to check in. Well, Grandpa stood in line while Dad and I ran around O’hare. Finally I got to show the nice lady my passport and we were all set. We stopped by the food court. Dad and Grandpa ate some food; I just drank chocolate milk from McDonald’s (thanks Mom!). We went through security and I did great! Last time I went through security at O’Hare I pooped just as I walked through the scanner; luckily for me I didn’t this time.
When we got to our gate, I was so happy to see that there was a little playground that three other girls were playing on. They all wanted to touch my hair and play with me. Dad let me play until it was time to get on the Turkish Airlines plane. The plane was soooo big! I think it was the biggest plane ever. We carried so many things down the jetway- my monkey bag, my stroller and my car seat — just for me. Finally we got settled in and I was really happy. Before the plane took off, Dad showed me where the potty was. It was so small! But of course I peed in it! Then we got ready for take-off.
I had so much fun on the flight. I played with Dad’s iPad, I played with Grandpa, I ate the airplane food and some snacks that Mom packed, but most importantly, I slept for most of the flight. I behaved so well and so many people commented on how cute I am.
We landed in Istanbul, which I was surprised to learn wasn’t Syria. We had a six-hour layover, which Dad and Grandpa were pretty worried about. Well, they shouldn’t have. I had a great time running around and eating. My only disappointement was that we spent the first couple hours at Gloria Jean’s instead of Starbucks, where I could think about Aunt Claire and try to earn Customer-of-the-Day status. So, our six hours went pretty much like this:
First third: sitting at Gloria Jean’s while we got our bearing and figured out where everything was.
Second third: eating at the food court.
Third third: playing Uno at Starbucks.
It was that easy! Finally we headed to our gate, which was on the opposite end of the airport from Starbucks. Dad got really upset that they didn’t let us pre-board, so he made a point to take his sweet time getting us settled in, even if it delayed dozens of people from getting to their seats.
The flight to Aleppo was really short. By the time we ate and played a bit it was already time to land. We got off the plane and got in line at immigration. I got in trouble for not having my birth certificate translated by the Syrian Embassy. Dad got in trouble for not being registered in the Army. After some finessing by Grandpa, we got through, claimed our bags, and stepped out to be greeted by Nana, two uncles, an aunt, and a few cousins. We hopped in a car (with no car seat and no seat belts!) and headed to our condo.
The condo is so nice! There’s so much exploring to do and I really like the pack-n-play that Nana got me. It has a little opening on the side that zips up! Dad let me sleep with it open on the condition that I never left the pack-n-play at night. Finally, at 4:00 AM local time, I went to sleep — just about my usual bedtime: 8:00 pm central time.
I woke up the next day at 3:00 PM (now that’s the life!) after 11 nice hours of sleep. I ran around the condo and pretended to try to eat breakfast/lunch. Then Daddy and I took a shower and got dressed. Then off we went to hang out at our cousin’s cafe.
When we first got there, I was very overwhelmed and shy. Everyone wanted to talk to me and touch me. After a few minutes, Dad took me outside and we strated dancing on the sidewalk. That got me all warmed up and ready to meet everyone. I was so happy to learn that my cousins know how to play Uno! And even happier that they all have fancy phones and cameras that they were willing to let me play with.
During one stretch that I was playing outside, I met an Aleppian boy I didn’t even know and gave him a big hug! I’m not sure who was more surprised: him or his Mom.
We got home, played more Uno and iPad, and then went to bed.
On Monday morning Mom, Dad, Aunt Claire, and I hopped in the car and headed home. I managed to make it all the way back with only three pee-pit-stops, including lunch at Qdoba. But maybe I should have asked to stop a fourth time, because I ended up having an accident in my car seat just 45 minutes away from home; I blame the fact that I was napping! Once we got home we got unpacked and got settled back in…and played:
On Tuesday I hung out with Julie in the morning and then claire for most of the afternoon. Since we were out of town all weekend and didn’t go to the grocery store, Aunt Claire and I went to Whole Foods and bought a lot of food. After my nap we played for a while and then at 5:00 we headed over to Alliance, where Mom was working. When we got back, we all cooked the food that we had just bought.
On Wednesday I played with Julie, Claire, and Rachel, but I hadn’t seen Rachel in so long that I almost forgot who she was! After about thirty seconds, though, we were peeps again.
On Thursday I spent all day with Julie, including some time coloring grandparents’ day cards. The highlight of the day, though, was that the two new games (Hi-Ho Cherry-o! and Chutes & Ladders) that Mom ordered arrived! It was especially good that A/C’s friend Jo, came to visit so we could have more people to play with.
Claire got up early with my on Friday, and Jo was supposed to, too, but she was too sleepy to get up and play! Julie came at 8:30 and we played my new games all day. Mom got here at 2:00 and I also got a new game, this time the card game Uno! Luke, Jo, and Claire played Uno with me. In return, I helped Jo bake a cake! Dad got home to share in the really yummy dinner that Jo and Aunt Claire made. Then it was bed time!
On Saturday, I woke up with Dad and we did the three grocery stores, as usual. We also went to the Take Care Clinic to get our flu shots. Dad went first and didn’t cry; I went second and only cried for one minute! Then we went to get hair cuts. We finally got home well after noon and had leftovers for lunch and then I went upstairs and took one of the longest naps ever!
After I got up, Luke, A/C, and I headed over to Lou’s to pick up pizza for dinner. We ate and then I headed to bed.
I got up with Mom, who let Dad sleep in for a couple extra hours. Then we got my laundry ready and had to change my sheets:
I took a shower and then we all went to the farmers’ market and the park.
When we got back, Mom, Dad, and I went to run some errands, including the Apple store, Piece, and Walgreen’s (the latter I went to without shoes!).
We dropped Mom off for her pilates class, Dad and I failed to find parking on the street, so we parked in the garage (sorry, A/C!). On our way in to the house, we stopped by BoD and got a toasted bagel. Dad added some of our own cream cheese when we got home and I ate half a bagel and left over thai food for lunch. I refused to nap. As a final resort, Dad gave me three books and said “read quietly for thirty minutes and then I will let you come downstairs.” I was psyched!
Dad left the room.
I counted to 30.
And shouted “Daddy, I read for 30 minutes!”
Dad chuckled and gave up. I went downstairs and cooked yummy pumpkin muffins with Mom (while also rooting for the Bears to win). I played games by myself while everyone talked and then I played a quick game of Uno with Dad. Then Mom, A/C, and I went to the fugitive craft fair.
I shopped with Mom and A/C for a while, but then we stopped in front of the DJ (waiting for Dad) and I started a big dance party. I was the first kid to start dancing in the crosswalk (the streets were shut down) and eventually more than ten kids joined in the fun! We were dancing and running around and making everyone laugh.
Eventually we all headed home and Dad and I cleaned Semekeh’s bowl. Then we ate Indian food for dinner. About half way through dinner I screamed. Mom started to give me a look — and then I said:
I woke up with Julie and we went off to cooking class where I had my first cooking class where we made something (pasta ala norma) that I didn’t like. Aunt Claire made my lunch and Nana was here when I woke up. I pretty much saw everyone except Dad today!
Mom took Tuesday off, so I got to spend some quality time with her until she left at 9:00 and A/C took over. Julie made my launch and played with me when I got up. Mom got back home earlier than usual (around 4:30) and so we cooked a really yummy dinner together.
On Wednesday, I was psyche dto spend all day with Claire. We went to cooking class and I loved the pear adn blue cheese bruscheta that we made. I even shared the leftovers with our friend Lisa at Starbucks! In the afternoon, A/C and I had a video chat with Henry and Audrey in Boston! Julie came over for a couple hours around dinner so that A/C could get a break and get some work done.
I spent all day Thursday with Julie, but for the first time in a while, the weather was yucky! It was raining all day and I felt a bit of cabin fever. Julie and I went to Dominick’s and we baked a cake together. That was a fun result of a rainy day.
Julie was here when I got up on Friday and played with me until Mom, A/C, and I hopped in the car and headed out to Aunt Sarah’s house in Lexington. Just as we were stuck in a traffic jam in northern Indiana, I announced that I had to go poop! That resulted in a visit to a sketchy truck stop bathroom. Yuck!
We had dinner at Panera, and met up with Luke just outside of Louisville. When we got back on the road I fell right asleep and slept until we got to Sarah’s at 10:30 and I didn’t even wake up with Mom carried me into my pack and play.
Saturday was so fun! We went apple picking, which ended up also including a visit to a really fun farm and playground.
When we got back home we had leftovers for lunch and then a really nice nap. I got a bruise on my face when I tripped and hit my cheek on the coffee table — just in time for family pictures tomorrow!
I then got to make sushi with Aunt Sarah; I really liked my mango roll!
On Sunday I got up early and ate a yummy breakfast. Dad went with Mom to the hospital while I stayed home and played with everyone. We then headed out to the UK Arboretum for a family photo shoot. I think I was in almost all the pictures!
After the photographer (and Dad!) took over 1,000 pictures we were pooped and headed out to Joe Bologna’s for dinner. It was delicious — I ate three of Daddy’s meatballs! On the way home, we stopped by Coldstone Creamery for dinner and then played at a really awesome park near Aunt Sarah’s house.
margaretyagan 