From Dollars to Dirhams: Adventures in Dubai: Dubai Marina

The girls continue to do well at school. Teresa has made several friends, both at school and in our complex. She still loves the computer and the Wii. I should probably limit her time spent playing them, but I'm amazed at her patience and determination to learn some really complicated games (lately, Roller Coaster Tycoon and Sims II.) Anna is a terrific reader and her teachers started her on the AR (Accelerated Reader) program. She was the "star student" of her class last week and got to bring home her teacher's teddy bear, along with a special journal to write about and draw pictures of the things they did together. Both Teresa and Anna are excited to go with their school to a ballet performance of Angelina Ballerina at the end of this month.

Carrie, my baby, is growing up. She's always been a handful - constantly on the move and getting into trouble. Her nicknames have been "destructo" and "the menace" ever since she started to crawl! Recently though, she'll actually sit still and watch a video for longer than 2 minutes, and she loves it when I read to her now. Her vocabulary has taken off too, and she went from about 10-20 words to 2-3 word sentences in what seemed like overnight. Could it be that she's mellowing as she approaches age 2? I hope so! She loves to give kisses and hugs, too.

Last weekend we walked around the Dubai Marina and then took a short cruise at sea on what was built to resemble a traditional dhow, or Arab sailing boat. It's amazing to see all the construction along the coast of Dubai.