Hard at work

Olivia and Tarek had a busy day…  I wonder what they are working on?

Olivia & Tarek hard at work.

Add comment August 1st, 2009 by Melissa

Camel ride

Riding a camel with Mimi

Last weekend Tamer, the boys and my parents and I went to a Middle Eastern festival at a local church.  We all enjoyed the music and delicious food.  Tarek loved jumping in the bouncy caterpillar.  And then to top off the evening, Tarek and his Mimi went on a camel ride.  Tarek thought it was pretty fun and loved that the camel was named Nick (like one of his cousins).

Add comment July 31st, 2009 by Melissa

Teaching him all he knows

Tarek loves to read to Aden and I find it super adorable!

Add comment July 22nd, 2009 by Melissa

How a fun summer evening ends

See the previous post for earlier parts of the evening…but after treats the kids had some time to play and Ethan found the hose.  At least he was kind and didn’t spray his momma or me!  =)  After this fun Weezie and I put five kids thru the bath in under 45 minutes.  Impressive, really.

Aden loves the climber and will not be left out of the "big kid" fun!

Ethan finds the hose...we know what's coming next.

Tarek thinks it's Olivia that is about to be sprayed!

Then he realized it was him that Ethan was aiming for!

Olivia had her turn!

He looks like he's enjoying this, doesn't he?

1 comment July 21st, 2009 by Melissa

Summer fun

We’ve been so busy with our friends this summer.  We’re fortunate to have such great playmates!  These photos were taken at Weezie’s–after a great dinner the kids enjoyed a summery treat.  It was a beautiful summer evening, one the kids didn’t want to end.  I will post the after treat photos next.  =)

Ethan

Aden loves cones!

Olivia couldn't wait for a spoon for her ice cream!

Tarek

Jack joined in the delicious fun too!

Add comment July 21st, 2009 by Melissa

Beach babies!

We just arrived home after a fabulous vacation at Beaches in the Turks & Caicos.  Tamer took many beautiful photos!  I still need to look thru them all, but here’s a sneak peek at some of our adventures. 

We knew Tarek loved the beach but weren’t sure what Aden would think.  As you can see from the photos–Aden loved the sand and waves as much as Tarek does.  Unfortunately, he decided to “try” the sand.  He put a whole handful in his mouth before I could stop him.  He hated it–yet tried it again, three more times!  Silly boy!  

Here’s our beach babies!

Tarek and his cousins took turns getting buried in the sand.

Tarek loved laying in the waves!

Aden's first beach experience. He loved the sand and the waves!!

Um, sand is not so delicious. Blech!!

2 comments February 25th, 2009 by Melissa

Jama days

We love “jama days” at our house, in fact Tarek often asks for them.  These are just days we chill at home, in our “jams.”  Jama days are some of my favorite days as I just get to hang out and play with the boys.  We especially love these days during the winter!  

Tarek's jama day!

Aden's jama day!

Add comment February 25th, 2009 by Melissa

Dance party

Dance party with momma and Tarek

Tarek and Aden both love music so we often have dance parties at our house.  Here’s some photos of our most recent dance party.  We were listening to one of Tarek’s newest favorite songs: Lollipop by The Chordettes, an oldie by goodie!  

Lolli-POP!

Lollipop--baboomboomboom.

Aden and daddy joined in the fun too!

Aden loves music too!

Add comment December 3rd, 2008 by Melissa

Gotta get a Gund

Tarek loves "Dragne"

Some friends of ours sent Tarek a Gund Dragon which he quickly named “Dragne.”  This was the first stuffed animal to which Tarek was really attached.  He immediately took it to his room, while all other stuffed animals stayed in the living room.  Dragne became a friend that slept and traveled with Tarek.

Last week Tarek complained of a hole in Dragne and asked me to fix it.  I was set to get out the needle and thread until on closer inspection, I realized a needle and thread were not going to fix Dragne–he was really falling apart.  I was shocked as Tarek is not overly rough with him and Gund is a very good quality product.  I have friends that have washed Gund stuffed animals over and over again, without much effect on the product!  So, I try my hand at Gund’s customer service.  I call Gund (which is not an easy task, as they do not list their phone number on their website, but I was persistent in finding one to call!).  I spoke to a customer service representative and explained the situation.  She agreed that this should not have happened.  She asked for my email address so she could email me a label to use to send in the stuffed animal and said they would send a new dragon to us, as soon as they received our dragon (so they can inspect it for quality control).   I explained to her that I wasn’t sure that would go over well with our three-year-old as he sleeps with this dragon at nap and bedtime every day.  She said, “considering the circumstances, I will send you a new dragon and a shipping form, so when you received the new dragon, you can send us the torn one.”  Wow, fantastic customer service!  I held my breath, though, hoping the new Dragne would arrive soon.  

When Tarek woke up from his nap, I explained to him that he was getting a new Dragne in the mail and we would send the old one, with holes in it, back to the store, so they could fix him.  Ironically, after my plea to keep our old Dragne until the new one arrived, Dragne was exiled from Tarek’s room–he was not pleased with the holes in Dragne!  He said he would wait for the new one to arrive!  Kids.

A week later a package arrived from Gund.  I let Tarek open it and he was SOOO pleased to see his new Dragne!  ”No holes, momma,” he exclaimed!  He hugged and cuddled the new Dragne and was so excited to see him.  He took the new Dragne right up to his bed and found the exiled Dragne and put him in the box.  The new Dragne has been happily accepted back into his place of honor, in Tarek’s bed.  

So, thank you, Gund, for the fabulous customer service.  I really appreciate that we were able to keep the old Dragne until the new one arrived, making for a happy momma and a happy three-year-old!

Add comment November 9th, 2008 by Melissa

Here comes winter!

Oh my!  This is what I woke up to this morning…I had NO idea it was coming!

I got Tarek out of bed and showed him the snow.  He promptly announced, “Momma, it’s WINTER!”  Yes, Tarek, and believe me, by the end of winter, you’re not going to be so excited about it.  So after breakfast, when Aden went down for his first nap, (there was no need to drag him out to the cold!) Tarek and I got dressed in our hats, mittens and boots and headed outside to check out the first snow of the season.  The snow was quickly melting (thank goodness!) but Tarek loved it anyway.  He kept running after me with hands full of snow, trying to “get” me.  Once he actually did–as a very unsuspecting victim, bent over to pick up snow, he got my exposed lower back with a hand-full of snow.  I screamed.  He giggled like mad–one of the sweetest sounds in the entire world!  

Here’s a few photos of Tarek enjoying his first snow of the upcoming, bitterly cold, seemingly never-ending, Minnesota winter.  (Can you tell how much I enjoy winter?  HA!)

Proudly showing off his cold cheeks and his Hawkeye hat!

Gathering snow to "get" me!

Catching the falling snowflakes in his mouth.

Add comment November 7th, 2008 by Melissa