Hawaiian Shirt

Get a load of this fashion statement!! It was way too cute not to take a few photos. Yes, it is really winter here, but in doors, we can let our imaginations roam and enjoy some warm, sunny thoughts, thanks to little bubu's shirt :-)

Mr Talkative

Sometimes Fazal starts talking and ain't nobody gonna interrupt.

It is really cute! Other times he can be quiet for the longest time...but clearly, from this video, he has moments of exuberance :-)

So many people to meet

On Sunday some friends came over to discuss the possibility of initiating a junior youth group, using one of the Baha'i-inspired empowerment curriculums available for this age group (to learn more about the program, go to: www.ruhiresources.org and click on junior youth). So while all the discussion was going on, Fazal got to be held by Sophia and Cecilia, young Baha'i ladies in our area. They were so sweet with him!! We only missed to take a photo with Sophia's brother, Andre, who is doubly sweet.

Jack-in-the-box LIVE! He got excited and just tried to jump from where he was sitting!

Short visit with Em & Cedric

Fazal's new bed

Fazal's bed, built by his one and only papa, is ready for him to sleep in now. We still have some work to do on it, such as adding removeable sides and getting him a proper mattress, but the frame is complete and he's been sleeping on it for almost a week. These are some photos of it in process. It took about 2 full days to complete. Sorry, the carpenter is not for hire!

The Family Going's-On

So what's been going on lately...?

A BIG Congratulations to Hadi and Lua for the birth of their beautiful baby girl on Januaru 23rd!!! We can't wait to meet her!

We also extend a big congrats to Kami and Ramtin on the birth of their second beautiful son, Damian. Much love to you all.

This is Layli, babysitter extraordinaire!! Laylie looked after Fazal last weekend when we were attending a Baha'i gathering and he instantly loved her and they had a peaceful happy day. We can't wait to see her again :-)

Here's the family at the end of the day at Layli's lovely family's house.

Mama and son

See how well he is sitting up now. It's been about a week now, and he gets a little more steady every day.

Keyboard Mania

Inspired by seeing little Miss Bahia's impressive "letter" on her blog we thought we'd share Fazal's deep thoughts expressed in a fit of key pounding and pulling. Or was he trying to eat the keys? :-) Anyway, he seems to love keyboards and computer screens:

“?}?:;/;’’// m b b ggggggggggggggggggggggggggf bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb cv v n cnh m b nm
/l,xp;’aklk q;ds/adddddddddddddddddddewwwwwwwwwwww,e006C s

Visiting koko

For those of you who don't know, Fazal's koko (Christina's mom) broke her arm on Christmas Day. Major bummer. So we have been making regular visits to see what needs to be done around the house that requires more than one arm! Fazal of course, well, he is just good for the soul :-) Today we went over and Fazal finally figured out how to hang out with his grandma even though she couldn't pick him up. They had a nice time, as you can see!

I am sitting!!!

To all my friends and relatives too far away to watch me grow in person, I have started to sit on my own!! See my pictures below? It has sort of come as a surprise to my parents, who have gotten used to holding me, propping me up between pillows (or putting me in my tub car - see previous entry), or trying to convince me that I enjoy lying on my back (ho-hum, so boring). Then starting yesterday my balance got better, and today I was doing it almost without any trouble. Of course, sooner or later I tip over, but still!

See, my bunny friend can vouch for me!
All this drool is starting to make it seem like I'm teething too (well, that and the fact that I have tried to bite peoples' hands)
But when I tip over I don't get upset :-)
Sometimes I get to sit with my dad. Here he is talking to my uncle Cedric on the phone!! I'm sure next time they'll give me a chance to say hi...

Fazal on January 14th

Tub Car

We have discovered a simple way for Fazal to sit on his own, which is more important than it may sound because he can't yet sit up, but he will only stay lying down on his back or his belly for short periods of time before he gets tired of it and wants to be more "involved" in everything. He does a million sit-ups trying to get himself upright so after he exhausts himself he gets upset. And just TODAY he has started to roll over (!!!!!!!!) so we cannot take our eyes off of him for long, even if he's just on the floor. As soon as we figured out what was going on, he had rolled over three times and was under a table!! Thus, the mirable tub car. :-) We put a soft pillow on one side and cover the edges with blankets and voila! he can sit up on his own, watch us as we go from here to there, and play with his knit ball and generally just enjoy getting to see what is going on more than he can from his back. It's like a car because all he would need is a mini steering wheel and he would think he was driving :-)

From the view on the table he supervises his parents
Fazal's first trip to Maine! And of course, the all important first trip to LL Bean...well, he may not be aware of the general interest and history of the place, but we took a photo of him sleeping in front of the big LL Bean boot anyway :-)

First week of January 2008

Anyone see any similarities?

This is the first time he has held himself up like this!! We have also started to make the transfer from bathing him on a little foam mat on the counter top, to this little blue tub. He seems to love sitting in the warm water. Hey, who wouldn't?!

I'm getting pretty good at sitting up - not so tippy anymore!

Childbirth Class Reunion

Today we had so much fun getting together with three other couples who attended the same childbirth preparation class with us. All our babies were born in the month of September, so they are all going on 4 months!! It was amazing to see how similar their behavior is, to compare notes and share stories. When we sat them on the couch for a photo together they were too cute for words!!

THE DADS
THE MOMS

Beginning of 2008

Happy 2008 everyone!

Each day with Fazal brings us new learnings and new mini-adventures. In the first two photos he is showing how he is getting better at spending time on his tummy. He used to hate being put on his belly, probably because he could hardly move and would get very frustrated. But he is getting better at holding up his head, positioning his arms under himself, and moving his little legs and bum, in a sort of practice leading up to eventually being able to crawl. Every day he tolerates being in this position a little longer.


This sweater was worn by Christina's cousins Evan, Emmett and Luke, and now it has been passed on to us. You can see the family name "Wilder" sewn on the front.


Finally, Fazal is talking (squeaking, laughing, shrieking) up a storm. We hope to see many friends and relatives in the coming year - and are saying special prayers for our loved ones in Kenya during these very difficult days. You are always in our thoughts...