Moments in My Pocket

I'm so happy to get a few minutes to myself that sometimes I forget to sit back and take in the beauty of the moment. My baby fell asleep in my arms and I sat for a while, admiring her. Her little hand grasping me...her little face, so peaceful in a dreamy pose. I want to put this moment in my pocket so I can reproduce it later and cherish her at this sweet age.

I love it when she begs for my attention in the morning, pushing her crib bumper down to get a glimpse of me. When I pick her up, she kicks her little feet and smiles. She kisses me by opening her mouth and pressing it against my face, smiling as she gazes at me. My favorite noises are the sweet, blissful little mumbles she makes as she plays contently with her toys. I love the way she makes a little grunt when I pick her up, after she's been crying for a while; as if to say "Ha. I've got mommy. I'm okay now." I love her soft little face and her chubby cheeks. I love it when she gives me a sweet smirk and then grabs my face. She hits my face and pulls on it and grabs my lips and my nose and my eyes. Apparently, I'm a fun and exciting toy. I like to give her eskimo kisses and sometimes she rubs her little nose against mine, back and forth.

Oh my beautiful gift.

Ama gave her a baby barrette and it looks so cute in her hair that I went out and bought some more. She's so pretty!

I fed Beebee some chicken two days ago. I boiled some chicken and carrots together and then blended it with a little bit of milk. She didn't seem that excited. I was so excited for her though. I think it would taste much better if I used a leg or a thigh on the bone. I was pressed for time so I just used some ground chicken breast. I'll definitely make sure it tastes better next time. In a few days, we'll introduce potatoes. Then Beebee can have chicken, carrots, peas, and potatoes; almost like a mushy stew!

She went to the doctor two days ago and got some shots =( Poor Beebee. Daddy always gives her a pep-talk before her shots: "You're gonna get some shots now and it's gonna hurt for a second but Mommy's here and Daddy's here and we love you..." My poor baby is always so sleepy and cuddly after her immunization shots. She weighed in at 16.55 lbs and was 27 1/2 in. Her height and head circumference are both in the 90th percentile and her weight is average. You wouldn't think she's average by looking at those cubby thighs and cheeks though.

There goes my five minutes. Beebee woke up from her ten minute nap. Oh gosh =/ =) =D

Cutie captures hearts everywhere she goes

Aliyah is doing so many new, cute things all the time that there's no way i can write them all. She's always on the move...climbing, scooting, jumping...she thinks she can fly! She has no concept of getting hurt (gadum) and just goes everywhere in every way. Right now, she still doesn't go very far, but soon I know she'll need to constantly be watched. She can no longer be left on the bed with a pillow wall around the edges because she can climb the pillows. If I leave the room, I have to put her in the crib.

She skipped sitting up and went straight to crawling so now I'm trying to teach her to sit without falling over. She's usually not interested and crawls away. When I'm holding her on my lap on the couch, she sometimes decides she wants to escape and a few times she actually turned around and slid down off the couch into a standing position! I don't know if it was intentional or not but she's all ready to start walking =D Take your time baby!

She wants to eat every time she sees someone else eating. Anaagee pretends to put food on her fingers from a plate and then offers it to Aliyah. She gets so excited and sucks on her fingers. Yesterday, when I was feeding her some cereal, I noticed that she would take a bite, swallow, and then kick her little feet in anticipation of the next bite. What a cutie =) She loves to drink water...out of a glass or a water bottle. Water bottles, foil, and plastic are her favorite toys. She just got a few toys: a little piggie bank that sings and makes noise when you put the coins in the slot, a little piano with four keys, and a toy that makes noises for her crib. When she wakes up in the morning, her toys will keep her entertained for a little while until I'm ready to pick her up =)

Amin's dad loves her so much! Everyone does of course. She's such a little cutie pie. Whenever someone walks through the door, they ask where she is. Sahar, Yelda's friend and our new Liyana, is in love with her and they play a lot. Rubina, Amin's cousin, never liked the idea of having a husband and kids but Aliyah helped to change her mind. Sheeba's husband thinks a lot of babies are ugly but he thinks Aliyah is adorable and always asks to see her pictures. This little cutie captures hearts everywhere she goes!

BeeBee!

I had a dream this morning that a transparent Aliyah was sort of laying on top of me, sort of hovering over me. She was cooing and doing all the cute things she does and cuddling with me. I knew I was dreaming but I opened my eyes to make sure and she disappeared. Then I closed my eyes again and she reappeared. She was so comfortable and cute and lovely. I love her so much and sometimes my heart flutters for her so much that I think it will come out of my body and fly away with delight.

She's doing so many new things all the time now and I haven't had the time to write them all down. Let's see if I can think of them all. Well she's been shaking her arms profusely all the time now. At first it was just the right arm and now it's both and with such enthusiasim. She's been bouncing for a few days now...jumpy wumpy!!! She thinks she can fly! She tries to jump out of my arms when she gets excited. She turns around and jumps up and down and shakes her arms! She opens her mouth so wide and sticks her tongue out and squeals! She's so happy!!!

I have to really keep an eye on her now or she'll get into trouble. I left her on the bed with Amin once and he was a little too sleepy. When I came back, she was staring at the floor as if she was going to go for it! I told him she was staring death in the face and he swore he had his hand on her but must have been dreaming. She loves him sooooo much! When she sees him, she gets so happy and giggles and squeals and opens her mouth so wide. He loves her right back and tells her how cute she is. Alhamduillah.

She likes to stick her tongue out the past few days. She also makes raspberry noises. Amin plays a game with her where he sticks out his tongue and she copies him. So cute =p

She pet the cat yesterday. She was so excited and intrigued by him. She started jumping and reaching out for him. Aunt Susie stood her up next to him and she pet him so perfectly like she does it all the time.

She has these stacking cups that she love to play with. She bangs them on the table. She was banging them when Anaagee was holding them. Then she accidently banged them together...wow that's new...then she started banging them together. Everything is so exciting and new and fun.

She loves her grandma. Grandma always holds her and does such exciting things with her. Auntie Susie is fun too. She feel asleep with her yesterday. Draven makes her laugh with all his funny faces. Grandpa sometimes scares her as do most men but she gets used to him and hangs out with him at the computer. Grandpa, Haji Baabaa and Daddy are the only three men I know of that she will allow to hold her.

She's having more trouble going to sleep now, especially since I stopped wrapping her up like a little burrito. Huma told me that you should stop swaddling once they're mobile. So her bedtime routine has changed a little since she has so much trouble sleeping sometimes. A bath at 9 or 9:30 gets her a little sleepy. Sometimes she goes to sleep right afterwards if she's really sleepy. Otherwise, I'll continue with the same routine, reciting Quran and singing to her. Sometimes she likes to eat right before dozing off. Other times, she'll eat and then I'll rock her a little bit or pat her before I place her in her crib and put a light blanket on top of her. She'll roll over on her side or stomach before falling asleep. I usually have to fan her while I'm feeding her and I like to hover above the the air purifier fan to cool her sweaty little head. I guess eating can be a workout if you're flapping your arms and jumping at the same time. It's also hard work trying to fall asleep so fanning and combing her hair with my hand helps. It makes her hair stand up even more =)

What a beautiful daughter I'm blessed with! Her eyes are so pretty and it looks like they'll stay this way...insha'Allah. Her eyelashes are gorgeous! Her little lips are so pretty. She's so cute without teeth that I almost don't want her to get any. I love to kiss her little fingers and toes...her toes are like little logs. MashaAllah!!!!

She still gets a fever and her gums hurt every now and then but her teeth haven't surfaced yet. Grandma says she can feel them trying to come through her gums. Oh no! She's going to bite me!

I gave her some of my mushy, chicken flavored rice that I was eating the other day and she loved it so much. She started complaining so loud when I didn't give her more so I mixed some with her rice cereal. She loves to eat. I decided to let her try all three vegetables (peas, carrots and sweet potatoes) before I move onto the fruits (bananas, apples and pears). So this week is sweet potatoes and then we'll do pears next week insha'Allah.

She's growing so much in so many ways. There are so many changes and milestones every day that I lose track of all of them! I love this time. She's so sweet and cuddly but also playful and silly. She's my little Beebee! I'm trying to savor every moment, take it all in and enjoy her. =)