This year for Thanksgiving I was able to make the trip back to the states to see everyone and introduce
Jaydon to more of the extended family. I was able to get a whole month+ off between my saved up vacation and the various holidays in Dec (
Eid, National Day, & Christmas). Unfortunately, Steve wasn't able to get as much time so he stayed behind and met up with us later in CO for Christmas. 1st stop on our trip was to Florida where my parents and aunt have just bought a condo near where my grandfather and other relatives live.
Jaydon and I flew from Doha to DC with Steve's parents (see previous post) and in DC they headed off to Alaska and I caught a flight to Miami. 24 hours of travel time and
Jaydon slept for maybe 5 hours of it - he was a baby zombie by the time we arrived and apparently so was I because I lost his passport on the plane. No worries though - United found it and mailed it back to me. I was so relieved that I've promised myself to resist trash talking US domestic airlines until at least the next time I have to travel on them. Once in Miami my mom and sister meet up with us to drive to Ft Myers. We stayed the night in Miami and drove the next day. It ended up pouring rain the whole drive turning a 2+ hr trip into a solid 5 hours.
Jaydon had had quite enough at this point and was not on his best behavior so at one point we stopped and let him enjoy the rain.
And boy did he, by the time we got him back in the car his pants were completely soaked and he was content enough to sleep for almost the next hour or so (a big relief for everyone in the car).
Aunt Sarah was only able to stay with for a few days because one of the rules in the military is that holidays are awarded by lottery and if you get Thanksgiving then you don't get Christmas. Well luckily this year she won Thanksgiving and was able to give
Jaydon his first Christmas present (a little early of course) in person.
He enjoyed tearing up the tissue paper the most (I think she put extra in it just for that reason) and the cute penguin bag squeaked which provided many hours of entertainment for
Jaydon and Jimmy (my parents poodle) over the next days until it was demolished.
Aunt Sarah had the
foresight to realize that a baby coming from Doha and going to Colorado for Christmas was
likely in need of some warm clothes so she got him some
flannel overalls and this adorable
sweater.
She also couldn't resist giving him a shirt from her squadron - it'll be a few years before it fits but
Jaydon is working hard at growing as fast as he can. With all that fun it was time to get the party started and open up the bar.
Jaydon was quick on hand to help out however he could. The next visitor who arrived was
Jaydon's Great Grandpa Forte who will turn 92 in March.
Jaydon settled right down on his lap and they spent an amazing amount of time just sitting with each other (for anyone with a 10 month I think you can appreciate how rare that is).
They even spent a little of Thanksgiving dinner together until it was time for
Jaydon to have his first taste of turkey.
He was a pretty big fan of the dinner... squash, green beans, turkey, potatoes - what's not to like. But his favorite was
definitely the pumpkin pie and whipped cream for dessert.
After all that eating and meeting people it was time to hangout with Grandpa Forte and relax a little before the next big Florida adventure.
Steve's parents Billy and Helen Connor came for a visit. Helen had been here before but this was the first trip for Billy. Steve and I had to work most of the time they were here but they were happy to just spend their days hanging out with 
Both Steve and his Dad are Civil Engineers so we couldn't pass up the chance to visit the 
We had a view of the 
We also went to the newest mall in Dubai which has a full size 
This was 
I had never seen these in an aquarium before and they climbed right up to the window when you sat in front of them. I think we looked like a pretty good dinner...and so did they. A trip to Dubai is not complete without driving by the 
We also had lunch out by the marina and visited a few other malls including the one with the ski slope but we figured we'd save 
he probably got a good 4 handfuls down before I inserted the pacifier back in. 
It did give him the 
He loved the water and kept wanting to go back in after I took him out. The water is so salty here that he kept floating away and he had a difficult time keeping his legs and bottom 
This picture a quintessential Doha shot...camels, sky scrapers under 
Jaydon's always a good pal to have around. 
And this is Jaydon's very 1st taste of ice cream - in case you were wondering he liked it and the Bjorn was pink for the rest of trip. 
Aiden, Ella and Jaydon on the bus right after their international overnight flight-they were troopers. 
Jaydon also got the hang of riding public transportation - he tried to grab these handles on every train and subway we went in. 
Jaydon was a big fan of the greenery. 
And the rest of these are various family and group shots.
