Una Vida Hermosa

Sutton's new favorite snack: beef jerky! She seems to enjoy teething on a big slab of jerky much more than any other teether/toy that we've found.

Maggie's brother Bassam with his two boys Kaden and Kardin. Salem and Kardin are giving Suma, Maggie's mom, a run for her money when she has them both. They are both terrific kids, but they're definitely taking full advantage of being 2 year olds!

The two rugrats! Salem and Kardin enjoying a ride on the trike.

Cute Sutton with a mouthful of corn. Eating pureed baby food is a thing of the past for her...she's all about gumming her way through table foods now. One of these days she'll get a tooth to help her along.

Salem proudly modeling her new galabeya (traditional Egyptan dress) that she received from Maher and Samia, Maggie's aunt and uncle.

We finally had a chance to visit the zoo this week. Although it's sad to see the animals so confined, Salem is so fascinated by them that we try to make at least a weekly visit to the zoo when the weathr allows for it. Sutton's favorite on this visit was watching the elephant drink water using it's trunk.

Salem was so impressed with this beautiful peacock. Nature is so amazing!

Salem's current favorite is the gorilla. In case you can't tell, the gorilla is shading his head from the sun by placing a folded blanket on his head. Salem thought this was quite silly!

Here are Salem and Drue with Drue's parents, Dan and Linda. They have both been working tirelessly for months now renovating and remodeling a home in their neighborhood that was severely damaged with a house fire. The results are absolutely beautiful! Dan says that he wouldn't have had the confidence to take on such a big project had he not learned so much when he was helping us during our home construction. We're incredibly grateful for all the help Dan and Linda gave us with our house, and we're sure that David (this house's owner) must be equally thankful for both Dan and Linda's incredible dedication.

5 Things We're Thankful For Today:
1. Salem's interest in playing with Sutton. We hope this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
2. A resounding 9-0 victory at Drue's soccer game this week.
3. Great mangos!! Mangos are our family's favorite fruit and Costco has some perfect ones right now.
4. Beautiful evenings that are perfect for a fun family walk around the neighborhood.
5. Maggie's parents' willingness to watch the girls so that we could get some yard work done. Neither of us are crazy about yard work, but it's nice to spend a sunny afternoon out in the yard together, even if it is spent pulling weeds.

Wise (or mostly silly) Words From a 2 Year Old
Salem was working hard at trying to get Drue's attention, but Drue was distracted helping his nephew Logan: "Hey Papa, look at me......Papa...look at me......Papa......look at me" Drue had yet to respond. "Hey DAD....look at me." Salem knows all the right buzz words to get our attention. Since Drue only speaks Spanish to Salem, we've always referred to him as 'Papa' not 'Dad', but Salem seems to have quickly figured out that using an 'unusual' word will quickly get Drue's attention!