November Fun

I full intended to do a mid-November blog post...and it didn't happen. And since we are jumping on a plane tomorrow and I won't have my computer, I'm finishing up the November post now. :-)

1. Cat in a box. Which got shredded severely in less than 24 hours.
2. Playing peek-a-boo sitting int he window sill. It's a battle we've chosen not to engage on.
3. & 4. Evy - I'm just looking for a yogurt mom Liv - Yeah, what's the big deal.
5. Some of the last beautiful roses from the garden before the cold hits.
6. A sweet note that the teachers wrote for Madi's bff Jaxon.
7. My first homemade cinnamon rolls (no yeast and of course egg free!)
8. & 9. We snuck away for an overnight to attend the Marine Corps Ball and stay at the posh Fairmont Hotel in the Flame Towers. We figured it was a fun bucket list item to do in Baku and the dance was lovely.

I am amazed at the progress and growth Madi has had in swimming this fall. We are looking into starting lessons for the twins in the new year!

My mom had some vacation she needed to use... so we were able to book a reasonable last minute fare for her to come visit us in Baku! Since I didn't have to keep the secret for very long we decided it would be fun to surprise Madi with her arrival. Get ready for your heart to melt and the tears to flow!

1. Binging on American goodies. My mom carried those Diet Cokes in her handbag.
2. Making homemade tortillas solo for the first time. My teacher Laura would be proud!
3. Liv eating a special egg-free cupcake at our friend's birthday party (see Evy getting down on the dance floor in the video below.)
4. Madi and Jaxon making pizzas at Vapianos. The cutest bunny and cheese-less fish I've ever seen!
5. Matching Azerbaijani handmade slippers. We love wearing these around the house and supporting local organizations.
6. Sometimes driving in Baku gets to me. After a particularly long week this was just what the doctor ordered.
7. True love doesn't look like flowers, chocolate, or sparkly jewelry (although I'm not going to say no to any of those things!). Instead it's my non-coffee drinking husband spending a few hours on a Saturday taking apart my coffee machine to fix it. Might have also been to ensure his survival because me with no coffee is not pretty. I choose to believe it's the former -ha!
8. A fun coffee date with friends.
9. This happened. Before Thanksgiving. #noshame.

We spent a lovely morning in the park near Madi's school. The girls enjoyed playing with Grandma and getting outside!

We took the girls to the Winter Fair at the school in our compound and they did pretty well meeting the big guy, loved getting their faces painted (the twins both picked Snoopy and Madi got mistletoe), and playing games.

My birthday was yesterday and my sweet girls sang Happy Birthday to me during breakfast. That afternoon my mom gave us the night away and we headed downtown to the Four Seasons. We walked over to Fountain Square for a delicious dinner at Prive Steakhouse and enjoyed our time together!

It's been a fun-filled November and next thing I know it will be December and the Christmas holidays!