Playing with Gramps

Today Fazal and grandpa decided to have a little floor time after lunch. These two get along swimmingly. Here are some sweet photos!

No I don't want to share my toy with you, gramps!
But I would like to try on (and chew on, drool on, and try to break) your glasses!
Wait...mom is that really you? Everything is so blurry and warped....So cute!

It must be spring...more babies!

Spring has sprung!! We welcome two new babies to the world...

Congratulations to Sandra and Carmino on the birth of their daughter, Adriana

Congratulations to Radostina and Shadman on the birth of their cutie pie, Emma

Fazal says....relax and enjoy the attention!

Taking a Nap

PS. Dear Marcy, we love the hat!

Friends

We were so happy that some friends of ours who we have been trying to get together with for TWO YEARS finally came to our home!! We met this very nice couple, originally from Sudan, in Springfield, and with all of our work schedules, it has been hard to find a time. But perseverance paid off....Ironically, Fazal shares the same name with the husband of the couple! We look forward to many more gatherings.

A red sweater kind of day

Hi everyone! Here are a few photos of Fazal ahora. What is he up to? He loves mashed bananas, and is pretty open to avocado too. Carrots - major mistake. He had his 6 month appointment last week and is a healthy little boy. If you can describe a baby as strapping, I guess you would, because for some reason, many people here have nicknamed him "bruiser". Well, him mama is anti-boxing, anti-football, and anti-pretty much any other sport that can break a neck, so he'll just have to deal. Coaches, stay away. He is quite ticklish, in his ribs and on the soles of his feet. When we pray as a family, he seems to know something is going on so he tries to stay quiet. He laughs loudly a little like a duck and it really makes people laugh...

self-portrait with mama

Gustaff's visit

For ten days, we had the pleasure of having an old friend stay with. We met Gustaff while the three of us were serving at the Bahai World Centre in Israel, and while we are not very good at keeping communication going with our friends, we managed to stay in touch enough to invite him our way, and were thrilled when he offered to come at the end of Feb/early March. He plays African drums and sings, dances, etc., bringing inspiration from his native Cameroon. Many evenings while he was here, he played for groups of people. Fazal just loved his drumming and they got a real kick out of each other (for Gustaff's description, check out his blog). One of the most fun and lively evenings was in Holyoke, where Gustaff combined sharing his culture and his love of his religion, the Bahai Faith. At the end of his presentation, there was a jam session with him and two others, and as you can see, people loved it!

Gustaff, Anis and TJ (from right to left)
The ladies getting down!
It was late, and some people just wanted to digest their food.
Fazal did his best to stay up late, and eventually, while staring at us in disbelief that we were not putting him in bed, he fell asleep in his father's arms.
I had learned, living in Spain for a few months during college, that much to my surprise, people there simply expected their children to stay up late if there was a late-night festival going on. I remember walking down the plaza and a couple of kids saying, "Mom I'm tired!" and she said, "Too bad, it's a night to party, you have to stay up!" I can't remember the name of it, but it was a night where people put up elaborate sculptures in the streets, and then burn them all down! My American friends and I were just laughing at how this could never happen in America because it would break every fire code known to man, but it was SO much fun!! That was a lesson to me that cultures have different ways to deal with their kids, too. Jafred is also taking a Sociology of Childhood course right now, and they discuss ethnopediatrics. A fascinating look at childraising in different cultures. And very relavant to our lives!

Anne & family

We had a short, but sweet visit with Anne and her two sons. She was Christina's roomate throughout college and has remained a good friend even though we live a couple of hours apart. She is now expecting angel #3, this time a girl!! Her older son was toooo cute with Fazal. He said things like, "what are you saying to me baby?" when Fazal would coo and gurgle. We hope to see them more often!

Welcome to three babies!

"O Thou Kind Lord! These lovely children are the handiwork of the fingers of Thy might and the wondrous signs of Thy greatness..." --Abdu'l-Baha

Congratulations to our dear friends on the birth of their babies!!!

Adeolu and Marguerite and their newborn son, Ayotunde

Amy and Josh and their newborn daughter, Elena

Sharona and Ed and their newborn daughter, Dahlia

Best wishes to you all and we can't wait to see more photos!!!

Final batch of recent photos...

Yes, Fazal has his driver's license. He saved up his allowance and bought himself a sporty green mini-coop. He loves to honk the horn to tell us all to get out of the way! (real story: his nana lois thought he could use a fun walker with lots of gadgets to keep him busy at the office, and he loves it)

Today I did a most extraordinary thing. One day shy of my 6-month birthday, I pulled myself up to standing position!!!!!!!!!!! Mom was totally shocked when she turned around and saw me do this. It was just that once, but many times more he pulled himself up onto his knees by holding onto the side of the car seat that was on the floor. Fazal REALLY wants to move!

More recent photos

Eating dinner naked totally rocks, bwana...

I know that I can't eat naked just all the time, but geez, I was sitting right in front of the fireplace, what do you expect?
Hey Mom, I am so bundled up to go outside in the cold, I can't even move! And who taught you to match - this is crazy!
Ready to brave the cold
Fazal's favorite teething toy

Some recent photos

Here are some recent photos...

Our friend Gustaff (who we served with in Haifa) is visiting us and blessing us with his musical talent with the african drum. Fazal is completely mesmerized when he plays the drum and sings. He just squeals with delight!

Doing the Richard Simmons Jazzercise video for babies (just kidding)
Look deep into my eyes...You are getting sleepy...hear only your breath....
Dude, I'm funny...

Watch Fazal trying to hold his bottle :-)

(To watch, click the arrow button a couple of times)

Fazal now...

+Attempts to hold his own bottle while eating
+Can roll from his back to his belly and push up onto his hands and knees
+Slide himself backwards while lying on the floor
+Has two cute little teeth and chews on everything
+Wants to get a hold of things he shouldn't - if there are 5 toys in front of him and one book or pen or cell phone, you can guess which ones are interesting
+While sitting up, can bounce up and down in place, and while standing (wit help) can bend and straighten his knees
+Likes all new foods he tries, but they don't always stay down!