France Perparation

Preparing for a vacation with a 2 month old is COMPLETELY different from Micah's and my previous, child-free, vacations.  Our typical vacations include many locations, lots of hotel room changes, rugged terrain, small towns, lots of driving, jam packed days,  etc.  While these types are a blast and we get to see lots of places and do lots of things we realize those days may be over for a while.  The idea of having to pack all 3 of us up every day to switch locations does not sound fun.  Also, the idea of a remote location with a 2 month old is a little scary.  So we decided on a location not too far from home, very civilized, and minimal traveling during the trip.  We have one hotel in Paris for 4 days and one hotel in the Normandy area for 4 days.  In Paris our days are somewhat planned but with no "group tours" and with flexibility in mind.  We understand that everything might not go as fast as we are used to or as planned.  I mean, we have to stop at least every 3 hours just to feed the little guy.  In Normandy we are renting a car and driving to Mount St. Michel for a day and doing a D-Day tour.  The D-day tour is the only group tour we have planned that I'm a little nervous about.  I don't want our baby to put anyone else out so I've already been praying.

Another thing that is different is packing.  Typically I pack either the day we leave or the day before but with little man, I started packing days ago.  There is just so much more to think about when taking a baby along.  For example, I'm bringing a couple of bottles which means I need dish soap and a bottle brush to wash them. Then there is the question of how much of everything do we need? I was so consumed with packing Jacob's stuff that I was forgetting lots of my own.  I thought I was mostly done packing myself and realized I didn't pack make-up or jewelry.  Both of course I could live without but I'm happier to have them.  I'm just hoping I didn't forget anything important for Jacob. At least if I do, we will be in Paris and I'm sure we can buy what we need. 

Although getting ready with Jacob now is difficult, I can only imagine that it will get more difficult in the next year or so when he starts to have more needs.  Right now he is still pretty happy with eating, sleeping, and a little bit of play time. 

All that being said, I cannot wait to be in Paris and have my hubby and my baby all to myself for a week. I can't wait for the family photos with the Eiffel Tower, wearing normal clothes, sipping wine, and being outside in pleasant weather. 

Au Revoir!

Evan Jay Sperling

Micah and I are the proud new Aunt and Uncle of Evan Jay Sperling.  He was born August 21 at 8:11am.  He is 7lbs. 7oz , 18 3/4" long and a cutie.

We just can't wait to get to be in Oklahoma and meet the little guy and let our both of our little guys "hang-out".   Even though it is hard to not be able to be there now to meet Evan, we were able to facetime with everyone at the hospital.  Technology really helps when you live over-seas.

We are so happy for our wonderful family!

Bahrain

Finally! I was finally able to leave this oppressive country for a day. Even just a day out of Saudi can do a lot for the morale. Micah was able to take this Monday off for a quick trip to Bahrain. We had to take this trip to activate our visas (when we get our Saudi visas we have to leave the country within a certain number of days). Plus I just really needed to get out of Saudi and off of Murjan. We left Murjan at 7:30am and headed for the land of the slightly free.  Our original plan was to eat breakfast at Ric's but the causeway customs was busy and took longer than we had hoped so we headed straight for City Center mall. It was a little sad to not get biscuits and gravy and pork bacon but we will be in the US soon so I guess it can wait.

Shopping in Bahrain is amazing compared to Saudi except for one issue, the prices. I guess we pay a premium to shop in a bright pretty mall with modern clean restrooms and places to actually try on clothes. However, in the end I didn't really buy much because I kept thinking about how much cheaper I could get everything in the US or even Saudi. It's still fun to shop in freedom with no prayer time closings and no abaya.

Micah and I had learned previously that city center was opening a Potbelly Sandwich shop. We LOVE Potbelly. It was our lucky day because it was finally open. Yes, we did eat there for lunch and dinner.... This was Jakes first Potbelly experience. Doesn't he look excited?

Another task on our agenda was to attempt to see a movie. I know, we are crazy thinking we could take a 2 month old to a movie, and not just any movie....we went to see Batman.  I was fully prepared to have to leave the movie at some point with a crying baby. However, I'm proud to say that Jake's schedule worked out perfectly and he slept through most of the movie and ate through the end. We were able to watch the whole movie without a peep from him!

Jacob did awesome the whole day including all the car time. He slept in his stroller while we shopped, he ate when it was time to eat, and played and smiled at us when he was awake. I'm hoping this is a good sign for our trip to France in 9 days!!!

2 Months

Our little man is 2 months old today! Not much has changed since I did the 8 weeks post a few days ago so I won't repeat too much.    We went to the doctor yesterday for his 2 month appointment and vaccinations.  Since he wasn't sick and it is Ramadan I decided to go to the local hospital here in Jubail.  Needless to say I wasn't too impressed.  My doctor in Khobar at SAAD really checks Jacob out. Takes off his diaper to and clothes to check for diaper rash, etc. He really looks at his whole body and explains to me what he is doing while he does it.  This doctor in Jubail listened to Jacob's heart beat for about 2 seconds, looked up his nose, and signed the vaccine forms. Didn't ask me how much he weighed at birth, didn't check length or head circumference and pretty much didn't do anything.  Ohh well, I was really just there for the shots anyway.  We have an appointment with a pediatrician in the US the day after we get back so I will save my questions for that appointment.  One positive thing is that Jake hasn't really had any bad side-effects from the shots except for maybe sleeping more.

Now that I'm done with my doctor rant, he did start sleeping through the night 2 nights ago.  He slept from 10:30pm-5:30am and then eats and goes back to sleep until 7:30 or 8:00.  I'm loving the 7 hours straight. He is a little bit fussier today than normal and wants to sleep more but I was still able to get his 2 month pictures done. Enjoy!

 Age: 2 months

Weight: 11 lbs.

Length: 22”

Eye Color: still blue

Hair Color: still dirty blonde

Eating Schedule: every 3 hours

Night Time Schedule: 7 hours!

Clothing Size: 0-3 (bigger ones) or 3 month

New Activities: He smiles and giggles often, starting to find his hands

8 weeks Insanity!

Jacob is officially 8 weeks old.  Every day I still can't believe he is a part of our lives now and I can't believe how much I love him.  He is such a precious little boy. Jake is starting to grow out of his newborn outfits which makes me really sad.  Of course I have some favorites that I'm not ready for him to not wear anymore. I guess with each size clothing I will have new favorites. He has become such a smiley boy and I love seeing his beautiful smile every day. Click here to read more about Jake at 8 weeks.

This week I also decided to start the Insanity work out.  I tried to start it at 6 weeks but realized my body had not recovered enough yet for that intense of a work-out. So I headed to the gym for lower impact cardio on the eliptical and slowly worked in weights. After my doctors appointment last week and the other exercising I decided to try again.  Today was just the fit test but I actually made it through this time so I think I'm good to go. We will see just how "insane" this work-out is post baby. 

Routine

Now that I'm finally a little over being alone, Jacob and I are starting to find our routine. He really is a great baby and makes it easy to get in a routine.  He is pretty consistently going to bed around 10:30-11 and sleeps till 4:30 or so then eats and goes back to sleep until around 8.  I am one lucky Momma! He then eats, stays awake for little while, and takes a nap on about a 3 hour rotation. It's still hard to get used to living life in 3 hour segments and sometimes hard to get motivated to get things done while he is asleep but I guess thats life. 


First thing in the mornings we head for the gym. He is typically awake during this time but enjoys the walk to the gym and seems to find me on the elliptical entertaining. Only occasionally do I have to get off to walk him around or give him his pacifier. After the workout, we head back home and I put him down for a nap so that I can shower and get ready for the rest of the day.


The rest of our day is very laid back. I let him be on his schedule and at some point find time to eat, do laundry, cook dinner, etc.  I don't have much to do outside the house since it is so stinkin hot (120 AND HUMID) and since it's Ramadan.  Ramadan essentially means stores are open strange hours and no restaurants or food places are open during the day. This makes it even more difficult to go anywhere and it be enjoyable.  Also, most of my friends are back in the US so our social calendar is a little slow.   


I realize my routine will change some when Ramadan is over and my friends are back.  We will have way more social activities then :)  I also know that the routine will always be a moving target as he grows and his needs change but I'm ready for the challenge. 

On a side note, I started a blog for Jacob.  The main purpose of this blog is to be able to make it into a book for his 1 year birthday. So for the most part it's just for me but if anyone is interested it is:

Jacob's World