Party Animal

It’s a great feeling of knowing that your baby has someone to play with. Since Iman has turned 1, we have managed to successfully find a handful of parents whose company we enjoy… and whose children Iman feels comfortable with.

And with this handful of people came a calendar of social events. Last week we attended a birthday party for Saif, one of Iman’s friends that turned 3. Iman had a great time grooving to the music. She shared chips and juice with another 2 year old and participated eagerly in all the games. I loved watching from the side lines. My baby is so big she’s got her own little social life!

At the same party we all got invitations to attend a birthday at Burger King this Friday. One of the girls is turning 2. It’s so sweet that Iman is making friends and enjoying their company. And it’s even more amazing to watch all the kids play kiddie birthday games.

Being the over excited party planner that I am… my mind is already ticking for Iman’s 2nd birthday! When she turned 1, we hardly knew people with kids, so Iman’s 1st birthday was all about “our” friends. But I have a feeling that next year is going to be really different. I can’t wait!!

Too much of a good thing is always BAD

Yesterday at lunch Iman ate 2 bottles of jar mixed vegis. Iman who has always been a picky eater, DOES NOT eat much. And she never sits and eats anything. It's always a struggle to get anything into her mouth.

BUT... yesterday we were at a friend's house. I sat her down and fed her lunch. One bite after the other, little pause in between. At the end of the second bottle, Iman gave me a funny look. Then for the next minute or so I got to see the mixed vegis all over again! They kept coming and coming and coming...

There was puke all over her, me and my friend's carpet.

The tragedy is that yesterday I had put Iman in brand new clothes. A purple "Old Navy" top, really trendy jeans AND new shoes.

:(


PS. That was the last puke story I will write about. Promise.

Knowing where you are needed the most

We all have our "places to get to" and "places to be", but it's really cool when we know that we are really needed where we already are.

Last night after I put Iman to bed, I continued my routine as usual. After about 2 hours or so...

As I was doing the bathroom rituals I heard Iman crying from the room. The time that it took me to get dressed and get to her was a little long. And in the mean time Omair tried his best to pacify a really bad situation. The more he tried to calm her down, the more she cried. He tried to sing... she cried. He tried to pick her up... she cried even more. When I finally made it into the room, I lay down next to her, she hugged me and quietly went back to sleep.

All she really needed was her mommy.

:)

Weather Woes

Changing weather is a bad omen for all parents. As most of you are looking out of the window and admiring the clouds, the rain and the wind, Omair and I have a whole other list of things we are looking out for.

In previous years the winter season in Dubai was really exciting. Not only did the weather change, but it brought endless prospects of “things to do”. Outdoor seating at dinners, picnics in the park, BBQ’s by the beach, sheesha under the stars... It’s a wonder how much good weather can do (or actually how much WE can do in good weather!).

But winters are a little different for moms and dads. We’re on the look out for runny noses, coughs and colds. Making sure that our child doesn’t get “too exposed” to the winter air. Since it’s flu season, we have protect her from the wide array of germs, and that’s a HARD job.

Now the weather is great to go to the park… and previously I would always encourage Iman to go and play with the other kids. Now when she innocently progresses towards a coughing toddler, it’s all I can do to keep from screaming “STAY AWAY… HE’S GOT GERMS. GERMS! GERMS! GERMS! RUN IMAN RUN…RUN FOR YOUR LIFE”!!!! It’s a dangerous world out there, and we can’t sterilize everything.

Having said all that… let me assure you that there will still be outdoor dinners, picnics and BBQ’s and we’re definitely looking forward to sheesha!

Happy Winter everyone… enjoy the good weather while it lasts!

Holiday Traditions

I’m a big holiday person, so every year on Eid, I make it a point to add whatever I can to make our celebrations special. I grew up in a family where holidays were always “overdone” (is that even possible???). My early childhood was spent in a predominantly “American” environment and my siblings and I enjoyed Christmas more than Eid. Obviously Christmas came with the tree decorations, the presents, the cookies and all the other holiday traditions. Eid however was very bleak and didn’t incorporate anything to look forward to. So my mom and dad made it a point to spruce up our Eid traditions in order to get us excited.

We made it a rule that everyone had to buy everyone presents. That meant that I buy something for my siblings and parents, and they all buy something for me and each other. Before iftar on the 29th roza, we all brought out our wrapped presents and laid them on the coffee table. If that night was “chaand raat” we were allowed to open our presents, if it wasn’t, then we had to wait a whole day before we were allowed to open them. Along with the presents, my parents added Eid lights and decorations. We bought the set of little white twinkling lights, and each year on “chaand raat” we used them to decorate our living room. Mom added her share of tradition in the kitchen, making sure each of us had a job to do for the “sawaiyaan”. Two of us chopped the badam and pistas while the other looked after the stove. Then my dad would take me and my sisters out to get mehndi done on our hands. And of course, in all the excitement, we wouldn’t eat enough dinner, so when we came home starving and our hands all covered with mehndi, he would sit us all in a row and feed us dinner from the same plate. It was the best night of the whole year, and by far….MUCH better than Christmas.

Now that I have a family of my own, I have borrowed my parents traditions and added them to Iman’s life. This year when I pulled out the twinkling Eid lights, Iman was overjoyed and pointed excitedly yelling “Happy Eid Lights”!! Omair and I bought her presents and… as always, we got a few things for each other. Unwrapping the packages was great, Iman couldn’t believe she was tearing something and we were letting her! Afterwards I took her into the kitchen with me and helped her stir the spoon… a nominal contribution, but a tradition that we will carry on for life.

Dr. Phil said in one of his episodes that we make memories for our children by adding traditions into our lives. I think he’s right. My parents helped create some of the most happiest memories I have, and I hope that some day Iman will say exactly the same thing.

Eid Mubarak To All!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Eid. No blogging for me during the holidays... but I'm just popping in to let everyone know that I have updated Iman's website with Eid pictures, so please visit...

www.freewebs.com/iman_zuberi

Enjoy!