Thanks!

 Hi again! Yes, I know that official Thanksgiving is over, but I figured it wouldn't be a bad time to take some time to chronicle the things I'm thankful for.

1. This may seem a bit odd, but I actually am thankful that all around Amman are curbs and door sills that are just the right size for me. I've tried out quite a few (just about every one that I notice), and almost all of them make for great places to sit and to observe life from.

2. So thankful that Mom & Dad are finally starting to understand me! I've tried articulating much more clearly (ba--bo, said with great enunciation and expression), and every once in a while, they actually get it! It helps a lot if I also use gestures. For example, when I hold my arms up and stand right in front of them, they usually get it when I say "up."

3. Yes, I know this is a recurring theme, but WALKS and the outside.  Dad and I still get out every morning, usually right about the time that Mom heads out to work. And Dad was smart enough to pick up this great jacket for me. Mom initially laughed at him--she said something about it being size 4T?--but it works great on the cold mornings, especially when it's a bit drizzly.




















4. Fun things to do around the house, like helping Mom in the kitchen and play in my sandbox. Again, Dad wins the prize for thinking ahead: he bought several clear tarps and covered over my play area so that I could play in the sand, even in the winter. As an added bonus, when we hang clothes out there to dry, they dry faster than they would otherwise . . . apparently it's almost like a greenhouse or something?

5. FRIENDS!!! I love where we live: all I need to do is walk outside, and I am almost guaranteed to find at least someone out there to play with. On Thanksgiving Day, Mom had the day off, so we invited my friends over to make and decorate sugar cookies (we'd been using the cookie cutters in the sand, but we've decided that cookie dough is much easier . . . and a heck of a lot better tasting!!). Of course, I slept through most of the event (what's all this about a schedule?), but I woke up in time for cookies and milk. Not a bad combination, I've got to say!

And I could keep going and going and going with my list . . . but I think it's time to head outside again :)

Fall(ing)

It's started to get a bit colder here in Amman, which means that I get to wear socks under my sandals (something Mom says she picked up in the Pacific Northwest?) and jackets on my morning walks with Dad. Apparently, it is now "fall," which means Mom is back at work, and Dad is working hard to cover my sand box so that I'll still be able to play in it, even when it rains.



As Mom said in our last post, I've been pretty busy--and still am--but when I noticed that there was only one post for October, I realized that I'd better do a bit of "catching up."




I have a new nanny this year, and I love playing with her! We spend a lot of time walking up and down our "haara" (the dead-end alley our house is on), playing in my sand box (or going down the slide), reading books, dancing to music, and sometimes playing with the kids in the neighborhood. One thing is for sure: we always have a great time! She's also taught me where my eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and tummy are (though I have to pull up my shirt to show you my tummy), and we're working on the sounds that dogs and lions make.

I did do my first face-plant a few weeks ago, and wow, did that create a scab! (Kids: do not attempt this at home!) Right on the tip of my nose. I guess maybe Mom & Dad were on to something when they kept reminding me to go backwards (slowly) off of steps: even one can do some pretty serious damage!

Fortunately, the rest of the news is good. We had a visitor from America a little while ago:  the mom of one of my mom's good friends came to Israel & Jordan on what she called "the trip of a lifetime." (Hmmm. I wonder if that was because she got to meet me?) We went over to see her at her hotel, and I had a lot of fun running around the lobby and exploring the pool (the rocks by the pool are the perfect size for putting in my mouth!). She also made me a great hat for winter. I even tried putting it on my softball, and it fit really well. Mom said it looked like I was carrying around a little doll. Wonder what that is. (Side not from Mom: yes, I am embarrassed to admit that Katie does not, at this moment, have any dolls. Trucks, yes. Blocks and shovels, yes. And lots of stuffed animals. But we're going to need to look into doll purchasing some time soon!)

So: other things that have been keeping me busy. Well, I help Mom & Dad a lot. Not long ago we harvested olives off of the trees in our garden. I made sure to inspect them all by looking at them one by one (sometimes) and also by dumping them out and letting them roll all over the patio. They looked pretty good. I also love to help Mom in the kitchen. The sink is especially great: I help with the water--making sure that it still splashes and (at times) tasting it to make sure it still tastes right. I like to help Dad outside: I'm quite adept at moving sand, and I'm very good at finding little rocks.

And, of course, I help with the neighborhood kids by playing with them. Most recently we've been experimenting with the properties of sand & water as well as with how to increase speed by reducing friction (they've found that it helps to throw some dry sand on the slide before sliding down: it makes you go a lot faster!). Oh yes, we've also been experimenting with trajectories: if a tennis ball is thrown upwards by a three-year old boy, with a wind speed of x and at an angle of y, then where will the ball land? Haven't totally figured that one out yet.

But all in all, life just keeps getting more and more interesting--and more and more fun! 

I think they call this "sheer delight"!