Unh...unhhh...unnnhhhh!

That's the sound Elena makes when she's trying to crawl. She has been obsessed with flipping from her back to her tummy, and now she wants to crawl, but doesn't know how to coordinate her arm and leg movements. She wakes up in the middle of the night to practice crawling. She flips onto her stomach and enjoys the view, then waves her arms and digs in her knees, then cries because she gets stuck on her stomach and doesn't know how to fall back asleep. Just take it easy, girl!

Really?

Did you know that Jihad is a popular male name in this part of the world? To me, this word has only had a negative connotation to it.

But since I've been here for many months now, I have met quite a few people named Jihad. I'm sure their parents thought this name had a really good meaning. Being named Jihad is probably as ordinary as being named Jerry.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So it's November 22 and still 90 degrees. As you can see, Elena is enjoying the afternoon in the shade by the pool, with no need to bundle up as we would have to in Seattle. We are heading to our American friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Elena