Goodbye Pop-pop!

My grandfather passed away last night. As one of his six grandchildren, I am thankful that we were able to spend so many of our adult years with him and introduce him to his four great-grandchildren. He was a very kind, gentle, and loving man.

We'll miss you, Pop-pop!

OUCH!

Poor Rana burned her hand on the stove on Tuesday evening. She was in quite a bit of pain for the first few hours, but managed to fall asleep and by the next morning, she said that it only hurt to touch it. It is healing quite quickly, but the doctors covered it in a special cream and bandaged it all up this morning to protect it, as you can see in the photo below.

Because of the bandage, they recommended that we keep her home for a few days. Thankfully, my semester was just wrapping up, so I can actually take the time to stay home with her.

Rana is pleased to be able to spend more time with her baby dolls, who, as you can see, are also starting to wear big girl underwear. ;) Rana has been cooking them tea in her little kitchen, though she is pretty insistent that "Rana no help Mama in the kitchen!" because she's afraid to get too close to the real stove!

Face Painting

Rana's teacher painted her face today at daycare.

She's been admiring herself in the mirror since we

got home, so we decided to take pictures of

each cheek to document the lovely designs. ;)

2 Years, 8 Months Old!

Rana was thrilled when the sun came out this week and temperatures were a little more conducive to taking walks and playing outside again. We greeted the ducks and soaked up lots of fresh air. Rana is especially relieved that she hasn't had to walk in her snow pants, which she loves wearing, but she always complains that her legs are "too heavy," so she needs "Mama (or Baba) carry me!"

It's Superbowl Sunday!

GO STEELERS!

More Pictures from Saudi Arabia

The whole family in the same place at the same time

for the first time in a long time!

Najeeb's father with nine of his ten kids plus Rana

(His oldest daughter, Hanin, was away for a few days here)

The boys

An early morning excursion to select a few choice lambs (for dinner!).

Lalo and Nado showed Rana how to pose for pictures.

Rana followed Baby Ahmed around, offering many kisses.

Lots of dance sessions!

There were heavy rain showers in Jeddah while they were there, which resulted in major flooding throughout the city, as there aren't any drains or underground run-offs for water. It only rains a couple of times a year, so they aren't usually necessary. However, when they do get a heavy rainfall, the city is incapacitated. The electricity was off for three days, cars were swept away in the current, houses and roads destroyed. Najeeb filmed this little clip a day after the rain had stopped, but it still gives you an idea of the chaos that was caused by the rainfall:

Life was returning back to normal by the time

Najeeb and Rana left, but it was definitely

a dramatic end to a busy visit with his family!