Sunday, July 31, 2011

Winkle winkle, you're a star!

Zayd-pie loves his Winkle! (See toy pictured below.) He loves it so much that we own two! It's the perfect size for little hands and it appears to be one awesome chew toy!


Saturday, July 30, 2011

Zayd is Four Months OLD!!!

I simply can't believe how time flies. I will be drinking milkshakes before you know it! (And so will Zayd!!!)

We started the day with some loungin' in bed with our dear friend Peter Puppy. (I made sure to include plenty of *shocked-Zayd* faces to appease his Uncle Jon!)




During bath time, what became a running theme for the day began - it was nearly impossible to keep this hat on little Z's head!


Then, we met up with Miss Aimee for some hummus - yum! This is sort of like a Where's Waldo for Zayd's Birthday Hat...



Back at home, we tried out our newest Babywearing device - Sam's Pikkolo! (Notice the runaway hat AGAIN!) And here is a shot from later in the day of me wrapped up with the little lentil! (We really really believe in babywearing!)



And finally, some play time before our nightly walk, warm bath, and bed time.


So, there it is: Zayd is officially four months old and wiggly as a wallaby! Once he can actually move I am going to have to paint the hat in gripe water and all of the photos will be him licking it. I see no other way to keep this hat on his little head!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Zayd's First Swim!

This weekend Zaydie and I headed to our friends' house to take a dip in their gorgeous pool. The little lentil loved it. We probably spent an hour and a half before he got bored. This is probably the only activity he has ever done for more than 45 minutes. (Walks are a very close second.)



Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A man on a mission

Zayd has truly discovered his mouth. All of his favorite toys end up there. He has also sort of started sucking his thumb but I would really call it chewing his thumb or using his thumb to stretch out his cheek.

Here is the lentil trying to decide which ring to suck on. And then deciding on both!





Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hello, My Name is Tahira...

...and I am a cloth diaper addict. :)

Recently, Itti Bitti Tutto (Australia's number one selling "nappy") were offered up on babysteals.com for an unbelievable price. It was 10:30 at night and I was reading the Cloth Diaper board on BabyCenter when I got the news. I lept out of bed and ran to the computer to buy buy buy. (Or "steal" in the website's lingo.) They were all sold out. The steal went online at 10pm, it was just before 10:30 and they were ALL GONE. And I was super super bummed.

Now, here is the weirdest part. I have an Itti Bitti Tutto. And I don't really like it. It has way too many snaps. And it leaked on me twice. But I was soooo ready to buy a bunch more. That is when you know you are addicted. In my defense, isn't this one of the cutest diapers you have seen? And it is minky (really really soft) to boot!


I know now all of these acronyms that I spent 27 years completely blind to:
  • AI2 - All in Two. It means the inserts come out and you can use the shell more than once.
  • AIO - All in Ones. It means the insert is sewn into the shell and you have to launder them together.
  • BG - Bum Genius
  • FB - Fuzzi Bunz
  • OS - One Size
  • TBW - The Baby Wearer
I know the difference between hemp, bamboo, and cotton for absorbency and trimness, and I can espouse the benefits of using wool vs fleece covers over fitted diapers. (Though I own absolutely ZERO fitteds and ZERO cloth covers aka soakers.)

I DO own, AIO, AI2s, Pockets, and Hybrids. Here is a picture of my stash; first, laid out during laundry time, and then displayed for you!


If you're interested, that's a Flip up top (I have two more of these). The second row features two of my three GroVia AI2 shells and the Itti Bitti Tutto. We then get into Bum Genius pockets and an AIO. I mostly have aplix (fancy velcro) and the few snaps I do have I am slowly trading out with mothers on the Cloth Diaper Swap board. To each their own! I then have two rows of Kawaii pockets - the go to for Sam and Joe. The bottom row features two SoftBums AI2's. There is a third SB in the wash.

I love cloth diapering. I love laying them all out and looking at them. I love that I stuck to a goal and really haven't had much trouble with it. I love that he has the cutest butt in Mahncke Park. (Except all of the other cloth diapered babes out there - you wouldn't believe how many CDing mommas I have met!)

In fact, this is my favorite view from the Den window.

A Brown Bill Gates?

Now, I try and limit Zayd's screen time to nothing. But that isn't possible. Sometimes I *have* to get some Cruise Holidays stuff done with him on my lap (and sometimes I am just messing around on Baby Center). And sometimes its just too hard to turn off Extreme Makeover Weight Loss edition. :) (I REALLY don't let him watch the actual trash I am obsessed with - The Bachelor, Teen Mom, Real Housewives, etc.)

The other morning Nani was holding Zayd and checking her email and he decided he wanted a turn. So, he reaches over and grabs the netbook and pulls it over to himself.


Then he goes about his business.



Apparently Zayd had mail to check also. :)

My Little Emeril

Making dinner has gotten so much easier! I can now prop Zayd up right next to my cutting board and prep area. He gets Peter puppy and I get two free hands to speed through dinner the way I used to!
Don't fret, followers. I am always right next to him. If I need something from across the room I am sure to take him along.
I can't wait till he is able to "help" with prep. At this point I think he'd be able to play in the spinach salad and thus evenly dress it. He could probably mash an avocado for guacamole!


Thursday, July 14, 2011

March 29th 2012

So, when most people think about their child's first birthday they probbaly imagine what the child will be like and what kind of party they want to throw. (I already have a lot of the party stuff worked out.) BUT, I am different. Almost daily I think about what I will eat on March 20th, 2012 when I get to reintroduce soy and dairy to my life. When I get to stop being a soy-free vegan. (A nearly impossible task, I can assure you.)

Here are some things I daydream about:
  • Tofu lettuce wraps from PF Changs.
  • Everything on the menu at Quan Yin in Houston. It is an all-vegetarian restaurant where the menu reads like any typical Chinese restaurant - moo shu pork, sweet and sour chicken, kung pao beef, but it is all vegetarian! It is also frequented by monks and I rather enjoy eating in a restaurant full of robed monks. Makes the meal feel special!
  • Buffalo wings from Green Vegetarian restaurant here in San Antonio. And then the same order from Yard House. :)
  • A sushi roll with something pickled, cream cheese, and SOY SAUCE!
  • Tofu pad thai from everwhere.
  • Green Curry tofu from anywhere.
  • Grilled Cilantro Tofu from Thai Siam in Sugar Land.
  • Manchego cheese.
  • Chai from an authentic Indo/Pak restaurant.
  • Saag paneer.
  • Jalapeno Poppers from Alamo Drafthouse.
  • Yogurt. Unsweetened low fat yogurt. By the bowl full. I might add granola, but I might just eat a pint of yogurt.
  • Pineapple, Tomato, and Jalapeno pizza from Papa Johns. Love it!
And then there is dessert which really deserves it's own section.
  • A bar of the finest milk chocolate Central Market sells.
  • A vanilla yogurt "Nutter Butter" shake from Cheesy Janes.
  • Some super fatty chain restaurant's brownie a la mode.
  • Midnight 2% organic chocolate milk. (I can't remember who makes it.)
  • Horizon organic vanilla milk.
  • Chocolate Macaroon cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.
  • Homemade chocolate chip cookies with milk. Maybe midnight chocolate milk...
  • In no particular order (and not all at once) a peanut butter twix, a take five, and an assortment of Reese's items.
I really thought this list would be considerably shorter...
I am going to gain so much weight... :(
Actually, by then I might weigh nothing and need a push to get back to healthy!

Born in a Tub

Zayd loves to take baths. LOVES it! He is so fond of the water that we bathe him twice a day. Once when he wakes and then right before bed. He is getting more personality everyday and it has transformed what used to be our sweet routine activities into absolute joys. An explanation in pictures:

Here is Zayd when I laid him down on the bathroom floor so I could prep. Just my normal little guy.


And here he is what happens when I start the water. He starts excitedly wiggling around and "clapping". (Note: I recognize that he is not actually clapping. But if it isn't clapping he certainly does pray a lot.)

And when I said, "OK, let's get your clothes off it's bath time!"
He totally knows what's about to happen. And I love doing things that make him this joyful. It is a wonderful way to finish off the night before I give him his baby massage, dress him in jam-jams, and rock him to sleep under his projected solar system "nightlight".

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Zayd's First Picnic

We packed up a lovely picnic and headed over to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens to enjoy the sunset. Zayd enjoyed the first thirty minutes of the outing but insisted on being home and in bed by the time the sun actually dipped below the horizon. Here is him when he was still enjoying the family outing.





Friday, July 8, 2011

Zayd Look-alike Contest

People are always saying that Zayd looks like Sam.

And recently people have commented that my baby pictures look a lot like Zayd.

But, I think this 25 year old photo REALLY wins the look-alike contest.


Yep, that's my brother. He's older in the photo than Zayd is now but give him time. Sorry for the grainy-ness but taking a photo of a photo is difficult. How lucky would Zayd be to look just like JB!?!

Well, OK, maybe Zayd's face will never be *quite* as slender as Jon's was...

While Moms is Away...

Sam and Rachel will make Zayd his own talk show.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

On a Roll!

That's right ladies and gentleman, my little man rolled over!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Zayd's First Fourth!





Farm Dude

We have so many important posts to make but they have to wait until we make it back to San Antonio.  To hold you over, here is Zayd in his new jammies. His Auntie brought them over from Pakistan. Notice the wording spaced between the adorable cows.




Sunday, July 3, 2011

Photo Booth! Take Two

We went to Dave and Busters for AJ's birthday yesterday and found A PHOTO BOOTH. Here is Zayd's first photo booth picture sans my belly!


And here is the little man with his Nani and Nana:


Some have argued that this picture brings memories of one from many years ago: