our little prince!

Well, considering we haven't updated for months... we have a lot to catch up on! But one thing we will share right away: We are expecting our first child, a baby boy, in early February!

We are thrilled, excited, and nervous all at the same time. In fact, we likened the feeling of realizing we were pregnant to the moment the rollercoaster ride starts down the track. You can no longer get off, rather you are committed, and so you might as well enjoy the ride -- all the ups and downs, the screaming and the laughter...!

We are especially happy to be living in our new apartment compound (gosh, another thing to update) because two other ASD couples who moved over here with us are also expecting, all within a few months of each other! It's nice to feel like we have a safe and supportive community during this crazy time in our lives.

We've been doing a pretty good job of scouting out baby stuff in Doha and supplementing, when necessary, with better (and often less expensive) products from outside the country. Babyshop is definitely my new favorite place to get supplies here in Doha -- it's not overpriced like some of the other stores (Mamas and Papas, Mothercare, Prenatal...) with lots of selection on basics like onesies and blankets as well as bigger items like pack 'n plays and furniture. We recently picked up a Graco Pack 'n Play, a glider rocker/ottoman, and a safety gate for our stairway from this store at fairly reasonable prices. The secondhand market in Doha for baby supplies is alive and well, on QatarLiving as well as ASD's (in)famous classifieds list -- although ASD is slim pickings since it seems like everyone is pregnant this year, and we're all due at around the same time! Luckily we did manage to pick up a Mothercare baby bath and an Evenflo high chair from some fellow teachers.

But most of our purchases have come from outside of the country. Nick's parents (bless their hearts) carted over our preferred car seat and stroller on their recent ten-day visit, along with the Bjorn front carrier. And two good friends just ordered our crib and mattress from Ikea during their recent trip to Dubai -- I scouted around in Doha and was thoroughly unimpressed with the quality (low) and the prices (high) of the available cribs here, and Ikea has higher safety standards than US manufacturers, with excellent prices. One of my closest girl friends is coming back this weekend with a 50-pound suitcase full of books that were ordered in the US for my baby book shower (set for the end of this month!). And when my dearest mother comes to spend two months with us as the baby is born, she has already been told that the majority of her two suitcases will be packed with things for the baby -- cloth diapers and liners, breast pump, Moby wrap, mattress covers and sheets... Well, that's just how shopping is here in Doha!

But to be honest, the thing that has made us the most excited about welcoming the new member of our family in February is the hand-painted nursery walls that Nick's mom and I slaved over during their visit. It was Suzi's grand idea to do a Little Prince theme (I contributed the desire for some stripes, and helped pick out the colors), and the credit needs to go to her for formulating the plan, sketching and painting by hand, and finishing it all in three days of hard work. The pictures don't do the actual walls justice -- it's just such a special thing to have in our home, and our only sadness is that we won't be able to take it with us when we eventually move back to the US!

Enjoy the pictures of the nursery walls, the artiste herself, and, of course, the expanding baby bump!