Denay's baby shower & Nugget update

First: Nugget update. I'm now starting Month 6. We had our anatomy scan and saw the baby's heart, kidneys, blood flow, spine, ribcage, etc. at this appointment. We also saw a 4D photo of the baby, which was kind of scary looking. Anyway, here it is for you to see.

The doctor says he is "perfect" so all is well.

This weekend we also had a baby shower for my friend Denay who is about 5 weeks ahead of me. Unfortunately, she's going back home to have her baby and won't be back in Dubai...so we had to do something interesting and memorable for her.

We decided to take her for a day out at the beach and pool at the One and Only Royal Mirage, which I think is the most gorgeous hotel in Dubai! It was super hot and humid, but we still managed to cool down in the pool and ocean and have a wonderful time. We had a breakfast at Aisha's house first, where we played with Cindy's baby, Coco, and ate breakfast. It was a great day!

Here are some photos from the Royal Mirage--the photos I took are a little foggy because of the humidity--but as you can see, the private beach is AWESOME!

Here are photos from Aisha and Shahin's house, where we had our breakfast.

Photo of 3 out of 4 of the gals (I had to crop Aisha out, unfortunately, because she didn't have her headscarf on in this photo--but she is here and we love her!!!) I'll add another photo later if the other girls send me theirs.

P.F. Chang's!!!

We were so excited about its opening and HAD to try it. Despite the copious amounts of water we had to drink after eating (because it was SOOOOOOO salty), we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Check it out!!!

Funny street sign

Here's what happens when letters fall off a sign:

Someone buy me this couch!!!

It only costs 26,000 Dirhams (a little over $7,000).

A letter to a baby

Dear Nugget,
Please stop kicking right when I am going to bed. I need some sleep.
Kthxbai.
Love, Michele

Happy Mother's Day...

to all the mothers out there, including our own! We love you, have a great day!

I got my first Mother's Day gifts today, even though I don't think I actually count as one yet--some flowers from my classroom assistant, and a book that my whole class somehow SECRETLY made for me! I have no idea how they managed to do this, since I know for a fact that I have eyes in the back of my head. I almost cried, it was so sweet!

My flowers:

The book & a sample page:

Nugget update!

Nugget is a HE!!!!

And we saw the bits that proved it.

During the scan today, little Nugget was sucking on his thumb. Paul and I will start saving up now for the orthodontic work that will inevitably result from this constant thumb-sucking!

We've got another scan coming up within the next 4 weeks, so more news then. So far, so good. No name yet, so until then, we're still calling him Nugget. Here's the baby: