Our Little Rock Star

When we got home from work this evening we found ourselves sharing our home with this cute little rock star. We didn't realize it but apparently Zander has developed quite a following among the inhabitants of Uptown Mirdif: Gima takes him for a walk every day and I guess he gets a lot of compliments, so today she got him dressed to impress.

In Gima's words, "Everyone appreciates his nice outfits." I mean, seriously? How could you not?!

Thanks, Uncle Joost, for the cool shoes!

A nanny AND a stylist! Gima is the real deal!

Zander Robs the Cradle

Not long ago, our friend Dora hosted what amounted to a New Parents Night at her lovely apartment. The guests of honor were Zander and Luciana, a two-week old Colombian sweetheart. As you can see, Bas made the introductions between Luciana and her mom, Melissa.

And even Dora got some snuggle time with the little guy! So did Zander knock Luciana's tiny socks off? Only time will tell, but considering that Bas and I met in Colombia who knows what the future holds?!

Our Busy Bee

Its summer in Dubai, so what better way to spend a Saturday morning than at the doctor's office? Not to worry, it was just Zander's three month check-up. Here he is hanging out on mom's lap waiting for the doctor.

As for the results, he is a cuddly 6.2 kg/13.7 lb and has grown to 62 cm / 24.4 in. According to the charts he has now passed delightfully average and is now well on his way to keeping up with dad's height.

In other news, I went back to work at the beginning of June. That first day was really tough -- especially walking out the door -- but it has actually been a fairly smooth transition. Gima and Zander have a nice routine and while my work isn't quite as insanely busy now as it was before I went on maternity leave I am busy enough to keep my mind off of my smiley little man.

That said, it didn't take too long for Bas and I to realize that we were probably going to drive Gima nuts if we each called several times a day to see how Zander was doing. So now its just one of us calling Gima and then reporting back to the other one. Gima has also figured out if she sends us text messages during the day we stay out of her hair a bit more.

Zander is also sleeping better once the sun goes down and now only needs one visit from his folks in the middle of the night. He's even surprised us by sleeping through the night twice, so we always go to bed hopeful (particularly the doting parent with the night shift!).

Of course, we're all sorts of lucky with Zander, which means that it wouldn't be surprising if he starts sleeping through the night this week...just in time to have his little clock all screwed up with the 11-hour time difference between here and Montana. And that says nothing for the 26 hour door-to-door journey he'll endure first (not to mention his parents!). But at least that means he'll stay awake for the fireworks on the 4th of July!

Just in case you can't wait for Zander's North American debut, here's a sample of just how cute and alarmingly busy he is every morning. Enjoy!

How Times Change

It wasn't so long ago that these boys were more likely to be snapped playing football or enjoying a pint of Heineken. But now they're also great looking dads! What a difference a few years makes, right?

Zander Mania Sweeps Holland

This is the happy soul who fell asleep in Dubai but woke up in Holland (well, that's a bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean). Zander's first flight was a great success, and as you can see here he is a fan of flying. Europe is a bit colder than the Middle East (particularly at 5 am), but Oma Tonny brought jackets of three different thicknesses to the airport in case we weren't prepared (which we weren't).


We had a very nice week with Bas' family and friends, all of whom are now confirmed Z-Philes. Here's just a sampling of Zander's Dutch cuddle time:



And we didn't even come close to getting pictures with everyone who stopped by! Thanks so much for the wonderful presents (the blue mouse in the picture above is a new favorite) and for the great week.

When CA meets DXB

Fresh from California and her first international flight, Aunt Teresa came to Dubai to rock Zander's world. These two had an instant bond, which was fantastic because it meant that Ma and Pa ter Laare got a few nights of sleep when Auntie T took over (hours of uninterrupted sleep have to be the best present we've received so far!).

But Teresa's trip wasn't all baby-related; this IS Dubai, you know, shopping paradise of the world. And she certainly didn't waste any time...


Spending time with my sister was fantastic and we were all sad it was just for a week. But in that week Teresa really got to learn what this part of the world is all about. Besides hanging out with her favorite nephew and shopping, she rode a camel ...

... and really got in to local culture (perhaps a bit too much)...


We are also incredibly grateful for Teresa introducing us to the bouncy chair, which I am positive is one of the best inventions on the planet. The guy or gal who thought it up deserves some sort of award.


Teresa was also in town just in time to go to the doctor for Zander's 2 month check-up. As of that time (about two weeks ago), our little guy weighed 5.14 kg / 11.33 lb and has grown to 57 cm / 22 in. The doctor says he is smack-dab in the middle of all of the growth charts, so I am pleased to announce that in addition to being gifted, Zander is also delightfully average.


While Teresa's trip was short, it was definitely sweet and we're all looking forward to seeing her in Montana next month.

Ain't nuthin' but a Z thang

I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but Zander's shirt reads "Mommy's Little Ray of Sunshine." Seems appropriate for this post-Mother's Day update!

We've had a busy couple of weeks. Gramma Kathy and Grampa Doug were in town two weeks ago and cuddled up a storm with our little guy.


It was great to have them here and from the sounds of things they'll be back again soon. It was fun to show them our lives and to give them a taste of Dubai -- not to mention let them spoil our son rotten. Bas and I were even kicked out of the house one night, ostensibly so we could have some quality time together, but we all know it was so they could have Zander all themselves for a few hours! (Btw, it was Gramma and Grampa who were responsible for the Obama shirt in my last post, so a round of applause!)

Since then we've been getting into a bit of a routine around here. While not exactly sleeping through the night, we can more or less guess when Zander will be waking up. The other night he slept for 4 straight hours, so here's hoping he'll continue that trend.


We celebrated Mother's Day early because Bas left on Sunday for a week in Kenya. Friday being our day off, we thought we would just be able to rest and enjoy our cozy threesome, but someone small and toothless had other plans. He spent most of the day alternating between crying and sleeping (more of the former, less of the latter), so Bas and I traded off with naps ourselves. He took the first sleep shift and then spirited off with our son to the mall while I crashed during the second shift. They came home a few hours later with a special Mother's Day present: a very pretty diamond ring. Bas says that when Zander asks for an allowance that he will have to wait a year because he'll be paying off my ring first. :)

As for Mother's Day itself, it was a day of laughing at the hand of fate. In the morning my beloved raced out the door to catch his plane. In the afternoon my son spit up all over me, so much so that it also splashed on the floor. And our evening adventure? Pooping in the bathtub, of course. Ah, motherhood. Thankfully, once the great Crap Exodus was over we had a pretty uneventful night. (Why did no one tell me that excrement played such a huge part in being a parent? Its ridiculous!)


When we got up this morning (and even when the night goes well I am still surprised that we greet the new day relatively unscathed) Zander was feeling chatty. So I popped him in his playpen so he and his new teddy bear could catch up with one another. Turns out the conversation was a bit more physical than vocal, but as you can see, Zander has no trouble expressing himself. I shot this with my phone, so apologies for its Zapruder-like qualities. PS. Super cool outfit courtesy of Gramma Carol who got Skype this week and got to see Zander having breakfast yesterday!

Coming up next post: Aunt Teresa comes to town!