August 9 - Back home and then...Pittsburgh

On Monday, August 3, Ayla and I, done with Grandparents Tour 2009, planned to get resettled at home. Today, I took Ayla to a doctor's appt. which was significant for one main reason - it was the first time that I was returning to the OB-GYN's office with Ayla since she was born. As soon as I checked in, the receptionist and nurses were so excited to see Ayla! In fact, the first nurse called the others to come and check out the "cute baby." They took some time to play with her before returning to work! During the actual visit with the doctor, my baby started crying really loud but there was nothing I could do. The doctor said not to worry because they were used to crying babies :) The rest of the day, I began to tackle some of the tasks that I left behind before the Grandparents Tour. When Baba came home from work today, he settled back into his "Ayla" routine, he took her outside in the balcony and played with her the rest of the night. Baba was excited to spend time with her again after a few weeks.

On Tuesday, August 4, Ayla and I continued to work on getting reorganized at home. Our little baby is getting very active. If you lie her down, she tries to sit up. And, she has begun swiveling her head from left to right to take in everything around her. Her activity has made me realize how fast she is growing. Not only do I need to spend time feeding and changing her, but I need to spend time playing with her. She is also putting things in her mouth, including her hands, and she drools a lot more. Today, we also set up the baby monitor and....I can't tell you how much easier that made my life!! Until now, I have been so used to leaving Ayla upstairs to

sleep and when she woke up, my freakish super-hearing allowed me to run upstairs and get her the minute she started crying. However, sometimes, I would run upstairs thinking she was crying when in fact she wasn't. The monitor not only put my mind at ease but allows me to get more done when she is sleeping and, to get it done with a piece of mind that my precious little Angel is safe :)

On Wednesday, August 5, I spoke to Ayla's pediatrician and she said that the pain that Ayla was feeling during her party in Tampa last Saturday was probably from teething pain. The doctor said that Ayla would occasionally be experiencing this pain from now on and she needed Children's Tylenol if she kept crying from the pain. And, I needed to buy her teething toys. My heart sank when I processed what the doctor was saying because the first thing I thought about was that my poor baby was crying non-stop last Saturday and I couldn't figure out why and therefore, was unable to help her. Kids count on their mommies and daddies to know everything and I felt bad that I could not stop my little cutie's crying :(.

This week, I also added Ayla's little "lounge chair" (my mom bought this in FL and I brought it to DC) to her bathtub. Boy, has it made life easier. It's sooo freakin' cool. Ayla just lies on it, sort of in a reclining position in her bath tub which I have now moved to the big bathtub in the guest bathroom (this is where Ayla's bath products are). Previously, I used to give Ayla a bath in the sink but now she has outgrown it. While I am giving her a bath, Ayla just kind of lies all chill. She's very cooperative during her baths; she seems to enjoy them a lot :) I have this yellow rubber ducky (like Ernie used to play with in Sesame Street) too which I have been contemplating letting her play with in the bathtub...

Thursday, August 6 is an important day - Ayla's mom's cousin is visiting from Canada!!! I haven't seen my cousin Ayesha and her husband in 7 years so I was really excited that we would see them again. Also, I only saw their oldest daughter when she was 6 months old and now, we were set to meet Rania, her little sister Zoish, and their brother Abdullah. Before we discussed plans to take Ayesha's family out on the town, Ayla and I started to pack for our trip back to Pittsburgh. We were planning to go for the weekend. It was to be a brief return to the Grandparents Tour '09 :). We decided to take Ayesha and fam to Macaroni Grill in Reston Town Center. But before we did that, they came over to our house for introductions. Zaid and Samer met them for the first time and we all saw the kids grown up! Sarah, Samer, Zaid, and I gave the kids gifts (Sarah and Samer gave them these great Disney ones!). Their kids w

ere so precious and very well-behaved. I kept thinking all night how much I want Ayla to grow up and be so well-mannered. And, Ayesha and Mujib were very excited to meet Auntie Fauzia's first grandchild :) The kids kept taking turns wanting to touch and hold the baby. We went to Macaroni Grill and caught up, re-lived old memories. Zaid and Samer got to know the fam better. And, Baby A spent time getting passed around. She seemed amused to see the new people! Afterwards, we walked around the town center, grabbed desert, and took some lovely pictures. It was a great night!!!

On Friday, August 7, Zaid, Ayla and I got up and finished packing before hitting the road for a return trip to Poppy and Dadoo's! On our way to Pittsburgh, we stopped at Babies R Us to get our googleberry much-needed toys. And, we stopped off at Rahila Khala's house to say hi to Nadia Puppo's cousin Tazeen. Tazeen and her husband had a cute little baby, Eshaal (a little over a year-old), who was excited to meet the "baby."

This is Ayla's second road trip. Our little superstar has been on a boat, on a plane, and in a car all in 10 days. She's traveled by sea, land, and air - she could join the military :) Traveling to Pittsburgh for Ayla this time was old hat! We got to Pittsburgh around 8 PM and Dadoo, Poppy, and Chacha Adnan were so excited to see her. They all noted how much Ayla had grown since the last time they had seen her. You can tell that Dadoo is a day care provider because she loves little ones and is sooo good with them :)

On Saturday, August 8, the family continued to "catch-up" with Ayla :) They enjoyed s

eeing how much Ayla had progressed since the last time they saw her, how much she could do. Ayla could now sit up. She was smiling a lot more, recognizing faces. She was up most of the day, foregoing her usual napping! I think she was excited to see her grandparents :) Chacha Adnan also got a chance to spend time with her for the first time after a long summer studying for the bar exam. Zaid and I took advantage of the family being able to watch Ayla and we went and saw a movie. It was nice to go out on a quick date but I gotta admit that during the movie, I kept thinking about my baby! After the movie, Poppy and Adnan went to a dinner and Dadoo, Ayla, Zaid and I spent the rest of the day enjoying each other's company.

On Sunday, August 9, our short trip to Pittsburgh was going to come to an end. Whenever we have to say goodbye to the grandparents, it's sooo hard for me because I know they want to spend more time with Ayla. I really wish Dadoo, Poppy, Umi Jan, and Nana Jan lived in the DC area so that they could witness all the precious moments of Ayla growing up. My mom and dad have called me a lot over the past week saying how much the missed Ayla like, Poppy and Dadoo did following our last visit to Pittsburgh. And now, you could tell by Poppy and Dadoo's eyes how much they were going to miss Ayla again. And, we will miss them a lot too but, see them again soon inshallah :) Our wonderful trip to Pittsburgh was capped off by a 7 hour trip home because of traffic but our little jujubee was as cool as a cucumber!!!!

Until later! Saadia

August 2 - Last week in FL

My Dad said that on this trip alone, Ayla has grown sooo much and he couldn't be more right. Her facial expressions, sounds, and movements have developed so much over the past few weeks as we get more and more of a hint as to what Ayla's personality is like.

Monday, July 27, I ran a few errands and then, Ayla and I hung out at home. Waheeda is spending more and more time with Ayla. She loves walking around with her on her shoulder and talking to her. She's also sad these days because she says that she will miss Ayla when she leaves after this week. Weedy has become a second pair of eyes and ears for me: she helps me keep Ayla's things in order; remember when she needs to be changed and fed; and she helps me prepare her diaper bag among other things.

Tuesday, July 28, Weedy and I went to the salon and before we did so, we went out for breakfast at a cool breakfast place. We were pretty excited to discover this place. Mom hung out with Ayla at home. Mom really enjoys spending time with Ayla alone; she recently remarked that Ayla seems more like Waheeda's little sister rather than her niece :)

Later that day, we decided to visit Auntie Nayyar in Plant City. There we were joined by my friend Imrana, her daughter Alina, her mom, Auntie Riffat, her mother-in-law Auntie Ruby, Auntie Razia and Auntie Nayyar's daughter-in-law. The aunties were sooo excited to meet Ayla - a precursor of things to come because Ayla is scheduled to see other members of my Tam

pa community on Saturday, August 1. They took turns holding her and they took a lot of pictures. Alina is 2 1/2 years old and she enjoyed meeting "the baby" so much that she wanted to take Ayla home! Ayla also got some really cute gifts including a nice, maroon langa from Imrana :)

On Wednesday, July 29, Ayla and the family was joined by a very important person - Baba returned to Florida!!! Zaid changed his flight to an earlier day so that he could spend a couple of days in Tampa. Mom, Ayla, and I went to pick him up and he was sooo happy to see his little girl!! He sat next to her on the way home and when he got home, he cuddled with her for a while. After all, this is the longest he has gone without seeing Ayla. And, of course, Ayla was so excited to see her Baba :) Zaid could not believe how much she had grown and changed since he last saw her on July 12. After he played with her, he gave me a wedding anniversary gift - a beautiful set of black and silver earrings and necklace!! I was so surprised because it's exactly what I wanted and I can't wait to wear it. Last week, Zaid received my anniversary present in the mail - nice cuff links. I sent it to him as a surprise because I knew he was expecting me to give it to him when I saw him. Later that evening, Zaid, Waheeda, and I visited Uncle Wali because uncle wanted to see Zaid and, he was very happy to see him.

On Thursday, July 30, Zaid, Ayla, and I decided to take a mini- and, I mean mini-vacation :) We decided to go to Clearwater for the day and night scheduled to come back on Friday. Zaid and I wanted to celebrate our anniversary and we wanted to take little boo-boo with us. We were so excited!! The plan was to go to Clearwater first and meet our family friend Uncle Fida. Un

cle and Auntie Shaheen were nice enough to suggest to my parents a while ago that wh

enever me and Zaid were in town, we could stay at their condo in Clearwater Beach. During this vacation in Florida, Zaid and I have been thinking about a variety of options to celebrate our anniversary. We decided to settle on going to Clearwater for a day and a half and while we are there, to take a dinner cruise and stay at Auntie and Uncle's condo. When we got to Clearwater, we met Uncle first to get keys to the condo. He surprised us and took us out to lunch to an Indian buffet place. It was a delicious start to our mini-break. He also gave us some snacks from his store to take to the condo. We barely had time to get to the condo (nice place by the way!!!) and get settled before it was time to get ready for the dinner cruise. The cruise was amazing!! This 3-hour cruise, given by Starlite Majesty took place from 7-10 PM giving us a chance to see the beautiful sunset and the beautiful surrounding water. There was a live band on board which didn't bother Ayla

when she wanted to catch some ZZZZs :) Zaid and I kept walking around the boat to make sure that Ayla got a good view of her surroundings including the water. We took some really cool pictures on the deck! I will always remember Ayla's little hair blowing in the wind and her eyes squinting in the breeze :) This is a memory that I will always cherish - I mean, I can't believe we took our baby on a cruise!! After the cruise, we headed back to the condo.

On Friday, July 31, we tried to make the most of our half-day in Clearwater before we had to head back to mom and dad's house because we were expecting guests this evening. In the morning, we woke up and had some delicious breakfast from Dunkin Donuts. Then, we went to the beach for a while where Baba went swimming while Baby Ayla and I watched. Again, Ayla really seemed to love soaking up the breeze and water. Our excursion was cut short however because of an oncoming thunderstorm. After we got packed up, we left to go return the keys to Uncle Fida. After a quick lunch with Uncle, we headed back to mom and dad's house. As soon as we got there, we had about an hour before we received guests - Auntie Riffat, Uncle Zaheer, Zahid, Rizwana and her son, Ayub. It was soo nice to see Uncle and Auntie - who seemed really happy to meet mom and dad's grandaughter - and to get to spend time with Rizwana and Ayub for a while. Rizwana was my best friend growing up so it's nice to catch up with her since she lives far from us (Atlanta). Ayub is 2 1/2 years old and we have barely gotten to know him. The one time I saw him was last year, briefly, at Sophia Khan's wedding, which I had to leave early because I wasn't feeling well. Rizwana was excited to spend time with Ayla and Zaid and I were playing with Ayub. It was really cool to see one of our dearest family friends - Auntie, U

ncle, and family - with a new generation of the Tampa community - Ayla and Ayub!!! I remember dad and Uncle with us when we were kids and now, here they were with their grandkids :)

On Saturday, August 1, Zaid, Weedy, and I decided to go to this great breakfast place to introduce Zaid to the local food :) There's nothing like a great brunch on a weekend. Later, we spent time with the family before getting ready for the Ayla celebration at Auntie Tasneem and Uncle Kadir's house. About a month and a half ago when I told mom that Zaid, Ayla and I were coming, she mentioned to Auntie Tasneem that she was going to organize a gathering for the Tampa community to meet Ayla. To her surprise, Auntie Tasneem volunteered to do it! We owe Auntie and Uncle bigtime!! Ayla will have to thank them when she's a little older :) I was wearing a bright, red and orange shalwar kameez and Ayla was wearing a cute, summer, white, sleeveless shirt and pant set which she got from Rizwana the day before. As soon as we arrived at Auntie's house, she was greeted by the anxious Aunties and Uncles who had served as family members for me growing up. For me, it was nice to see this Tampa community who had seen me grow since childhood welcome my baby. All the Aunties came to get a close look at her as mom and I were in the "Aunties" section and Zaid and Dad were in the "Uncles" section. Unfortunately, after a while, Ayla started crying. And, the poor baby kept crying all night. Later, we would find out that she was probably having teething pain. The Aunties took turns trying to hold her to calm her down. I tried. Mom tried. Zaid even took her and walked with her outside. Dad even offered several times to take her. Finally, Zaid, Weedy, and I took her upstairs to one of the rooms. There, Ayla finally started to calm down and feel at ease. I was glad that Ayla was feeling better but sooo sad that she didn't get to go back downstairs and enjoy her party. We didn't even get to take pictures - all the pictures we took were at home when we returned.

On Sunday, August 2, I was feeling sad. My great trip to FL was ending as we were due to return to DC this evening. I had so much fun while I was here - it's nice to return to your

hometown (especially when there is much more to do). I felt like I got a lot of R & R and got a few tasks done. Mom and Dad got to really get close to Ayla and she kept developing very fast while we were her. Weedy got to spend more time with because in DC, she gets so busy. Unfortunately, I spent most of the day packing (while the fam was enjoying spending last-minute time with Ayla) because I had procrastinated! While I was packing, mom brought out a little gift for Ayla and it was one heck of a gift - a little, one-piece Tampa Bay Buccaneers windbreaker!! All my life, mom had gotten me cute, Bucs-related items and now, she had gotten something for Ayla - hopefully, the first of many cute Bucs that Ayla will receive :) When we were driving to Tampa airport in the evening, Dad, mom, Ayla, and I were sad that a wonderful 3 weeks was about to come to an end. When we boarded the plane, Ayla got the "Awww, she looks so cute in her Bucs outfit" look :) We sat down and I continued to remain sad that I was leaving FL. As I always do when I leave Tampa, I started tearing (and I"m

sure in her heart, Ayla was too!). Ayla and I can't wait to come back soon.