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.
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