First official family photos

We enjoyed our two week trip to Alberta and B.C.  The weather was great and we visited with many friends and family.  My friend Keith, in Calgary, took some photos of us in the basement of his home.  It looked like a real studio and I think that the photos turned out great despite Sophia being a bit cranky!

Meanwhile we're starting to pack up for the move to our new house on Sept. 3  This will be our third move within one year!  Hopefully we'll stay put for a while...

  

Another new Sophia video

August has rolled around and we've enjoyed some great summer weather.  Our vacation to Alberta and British Columbia starts on August 5.  It will be an adjustment to only have a two week break compared to a month or more when we lived in Abu Dhabi.  We'll sign mortgage papers this week and pay the remainder of the mortgage balance.  We move in a month from now and we have to pack up some things for one final time, or at least not for a few years after this!  It's exciting but a lot of work lies ahead.

Sophia is still on the verge of walking on her own.  It's cute how she wants you to take her hands and help her walk.  She's also so much more engaged in playing too.  I've managed to make a short video of her in July (where did that month go?!)

Summer in the Queen City

Half the year has gone by already and much has happened.  It's been wonderful watching Sophia grow, express emotions, babble, and try to stand and walk.  Her sleeping patterns have improved greatly but Mom and Dad aren't getting enough shut eye. Michael's sciatica and disc problems are bad and a MRI appointment scheduled the day before we leave for our summer vacation will likely reveal the damage to his "old" back.  

Other big news is that we bought a house on June 20!  Darcy and I still can't believe it.  Our agent told us about a brand new listing that day and we literally had to stand in line to view the property.  It was within our price range, close to the University, had many upgrades on the main floor and seemed to have a solid basement.  We wisely bid higher and got the house.  Our move date is September 3 and we hope to live there a long time!

My mother visited us for a few days in June and ironically left the morning of the day that we bought the house.  Enjoy the latest video of our daughter....

Sophia Kestrel in Spring 2011

Hi everyone!  We finally created Sophia's latest video (see below).  She turned one year old and it's been a wonderful time watching Sophia grow and develop.  Spring is in full swing here and Sophia has spent some quality time outdoors in our community garden and front lawn. 

Sophia's Grandma Gain will visit for the first time in June so it will be a special visit.  Our two week summer vacation plan is to drive to Calgary and visit friends, spend three nights at our favorite stay in the Rocky Mountains (Alpine Village), fly to Vancouver and visit Darcy's relatives, and conclude with a few days in Edmonton.

Sophia in Winter 2011

Hi everyone!  Below is Sophia's new video.  She turns one year old on April 23 so stay tuned for her special birthday video.....

Sophia's First Christmas in Edmonton

We had a wonderful Christmas with family in Edmonton.  Sophia's first Christmas was memorable and I've just finished making a video about it.  It's been cold and snowy which made it a winter wonderland.

Sophia Kestrel's new video

Season's Greetings to everyone!  

Check out Sophia's latest video or watch it here. She amazes us every day with something new!

We've spent the last two months establishing ourselves in Regina.  It's the capital city of the province of Saskatchewan which is located in Western Canada.  A snowstorm hit the city the day after Michael arrived and a few more storms hit before we Christmas.  But we've been settling in slowly unpacking our boxes.  Our shipment of belongings from Abu Dhabi should arrive in early January.

Sophia celebrated her first Christmas in Canada in Edmonton.  It was a special time for parents and grandparents.  Her Christmas video should be available in about a week.  

New video of Sophia

Apologies for not blogging much but the last month was a bit busy. We somehow managed to make the fairly smooth transition from Abu Dhabi to Regina in October. It was difficult to say goodbye to some wonderful friends. We've been in Regina barely three weeks and we have experienced two major snowfalls. Quite a change from living in the desert. We expect our 22 boxes of household items from Abu Dhabi to arrive in early December. Then our consolidation of stuff will be complete. More to come as the year winds down and we begin to settle into our new life on the Canadian Prairies. In the meantime here is the latest and long overdue video of our daughter Sophia Kestrel. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Last day in Abu Dhabi

Come on in...the water's fine!

Cool

Jes hangin at da villa wit my peeps, yo

Hi everyone!

Just thought I'd check in with all my fans. I'm working on sitting up and rolling around these days. I'm having lots of fun with my new friend Lily. Soon I'll be moving to Canada. See you soon!

Rental house photos

I should have googled our new rental house's address earlier because I just found some nice photos of it. It looks very cozy despite us not having seen it in person! The realtor told me the old fireplace works so it will be nice to use in winter for ambiance. I'll arrive in Regina on Oct. 25 to pick up our 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring, register and insure it. Other errands to do that day are meet the realtor, get the house keys, ensure utilities are hooked up & buy some groceries. I'll also need to buy an air bed and wait for the movers to arrive. They're supposed to arrive between Oct. 25 and 27. Darcy and SK will arrive on Oct. 28 so hopefully I will have had time to assemble the new crib and assuming the movers have come by then.

We're selling most of our household items to friends in Abu Dhabi. They are moving into a large villa and need a lot of things. So the transfer will be on Oct. 1 and we'll stay with them for 3 weeks. My company will put us in a hotel for our last three nights in Abu Dhabi (Oct. 20-22). Then we fly to Canada on the 23! But there are still many things to do before then...

New video of Sophia and moving update

Check out the latest video of Sophia. She is darling and is much cuter in person. We managed to find a house to rent for a year. We were able to get a screen shot of it (or see photo below). The realtor says that we could move to another house if we don't like thus one. Despite not having seen it we like the area from using Google Earth. I drove around the area and it's close to my new job at the university and Wascana Park. It has three bedrooms, one bathroom, a wood burning fireplace and an unfinished basement. It's had a lot of renovations done in the last few years. 





We're on track to depart Abu Dhabi on October 23. There's still so much to do including securing movers in Abu Dhabi and Edmonton to get our belongings to Regina. Oh yeah, I start my new job Novembet 1! I'm really looking forward to this transition in my career.

July video of Sophia Kestrel

Hi everyone! 

We've been in Canada for one month now and can't believe we only have less than one week left before we head back to the desert.  It's been a busy time in Edmonton with some big changes in store for us.  Details to follow.  In the mean time below are links to the two videos of Sophia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUb5MJZTvJI (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYI4tVjCbSQ (part 2)

June video of Sophia

Hi everyone. Check out the latest video of Sophia Kestrel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH8jgdFVB_U. We fly to Edmonton on June 29 for five weeks. Stay tuned for video of her in July. - Posted from my iPodTouch

More video of Sophia Kestrel

We finally got around to making another short compilation of video clips staring Sophia at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKhjLSm7NPU She is darling but you may want to adjust your computer's sound around the eight minute mark. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Video of Sophia Kestrel

Three short clips of Sophia Kestrel's first week are at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEH99cqsD0E. She's darling and the video doesn't quite do her justice. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Our Baby!

Not much time to write but I posted some photos of the baby on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=220780&id=733446398&l=1d3861a2e6. Mom and baby's homecoming is Sunday evening hopefully. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Counting down the final days to The Arrival

It was another hot, windy and dusty weekend here so it was uncomfortable to spend much time outdoors.  Darcy and I had taken a few walks along the Corniche to stretch our legs.  It's quite difficult for her to get comfortable sitting and sleeping now.  Darcy looks as lovely as ever and the pregnancy has been fairly smooth so far.  The photo below was taken about a month ago or so.

We are narrowing our lists of baby names for both genders.  It's been a surprisingly difficult process.  Darcy's mother was scheduled to arrive in Abu Dhabi on the 21st.  However, the volcanic eruptions in Iceland may delay her trip because her connection is in Frankfurt.  There have been massive cancellations at airports in northern Europe. 

I've had a flare up of sciatica (I hope that's all it is) in my left leg so I've been hobbling around at work and home.  So I haven't used my bike indoors in a few weeks and I've used the treadmill and bike lightly at the gym.
 
Dubai maternity hospitals hike fees 100% - the new prices are what we already pay in Abu Dhabi.

Raids on labor camp restaurants see third of a ton of unfit food destroyed

Confusion over rules leaves cyclists at the crossroads

No more instant visas for Westerners and Asians flying to Qatar - I hope this policy doesn't spread to other Gulf countries.

Four Weeks to The Arrival!

Darcy and I are both nervous and excited about the baby coming in a month from now.  We've looked at dozens of names on websites and books but few have caught our eye.  Hopefully we'll get some inspiration when it's born.  But we'll need to choose a name quickly if it comes to that point as the baby can't leave the hospital without a name on the birth certificate.


I've been really sick with an eye infection and bronchitis over the past month.  I think it all began with the Shamil desert winds picking up a lot of sand and dust and affecting my eyes and lungs.  I missed an unprecedented eight days of work.  I'm almost back to normal but my energy levels have been low.  Luckily Darcy did not get sick as I was worried about passing on my illness to her.  It was windy and hazy again today so I'm hesitant to spend much time outside. 

The baby has been kicking and moving around a lot more now which has resulted in more restless nights for Darcy.  I guess we should get used to not sleeping regularly for the next few years!  Last weekend I practiced tying a baby wrap.  It's pretty neat. 

Some of Darcy's friends from her old workplace organized a baby shower last weekend.  We got some very nice things and the baby room continues to accumulate things.  Today we picked up a free changing table - thanks Rob! 

It's spring break at my work so many of the students are gone but a lot of faculty will be around.  They want to save their vacation time for the summer.  We've bought our tickets to fly home in late June which is only three months away.  And we'll have our baby in tow too!