Happy Holidays

We went to my mom's again for Christmas, and Fayed had more fun than he did last year of course, but he was still a little shy. I'm sure next year will be even better! Fayed got lots of fun gifts from everyone, including a mini basketball net, Little People & Weeble sets, giant Legos, books, clothes, and lots more. The holidays came way too fast this year! Unfortunately, that couple weeks have been hard on him. First, he fell and bumped his teeth pretty bad, but it ended up being OK. Then he was really sick for the first time as well, and started daycare for the first time. But thankfully, he's fully recovered now and running all over the place again. He is in love with cell phones more than ever now (they're the new "screwdriver" for him), and when I ask him what Tiger says, he growls, and he likes to point out the tiger in a book he has about one. He can spin around in circles, really run, and throws things in the garbage for me when I ask. He's babbling a lot more all the time and says Mama & Baba. 2008 was a very exciting year for all of us, I can't wait to see what 2009 brings!

Fayed's New Cousin

We are so excited - Fayed's first cousin, Arissa, was born on December 6th! She was a healthy 9 and a half pounds, and such a cutie already. Congratulations to her proud parents! Fayed and Arissa are only 1 year apart, so I hope someday they will be close playmates! Fayed got to meet her last night, and I don't think he quite understood that she was a real baby, but it is only a matter of time before they're both running around together.

'Nanas!

Fayed has been early to roll over, crawl, and walk, but he was never much of a talker. He still doesn't really call me mama yet. But I know he understands what we are saying most of the time, and I think he said his first word yesterday! We had a bunch of bananas (which he's been fascinated with for some time), and he saw them on the shelf and pointed and said "'Nana!" I thought it must be baby babbles and a coincidence like many times...but he kept saying it. So I let him eat the banana and we played and he napped and later on last night he pointed and again said "'Nana!" to the banana. And he did it today as well. So I think this is officially his first word - Banana!

Something new everyday

Fayed is growing so fast in lots of ways. He is becoming a little more independant; when we go out, he wants to be let down to run around in the stores, and he does run around as he pleases, following around whatever children he finds or seeking out the Christmas displays. When we visit friends, he is usually not as clingy to me as he used to be. He's also learning so much all the time. He learned to sign for "milk" one day, and I wasn't even trying that hard to teach it to him! He just learned how to ride his electric car, and he can locate his eyes and nose when I ask. When I ask pretty much any question, he will throw up his hands, palms up, and give a "I don't know" sounding squeal. Sometimes he will find the missing part to something, after a few days of being misplaced, and he will bring it to the thing it belonged to - so he remembers what it was for. He also just learned to use a sippy cup, and he likes it a lot. He points and screams at lots of things when he sees them on the table - his baba's phone, bananas, the rice cooker, scissors, pens, and a horse figurine. If I turn on the TV, he goes and shuts it off (after flipping through the channels for a minute). He just got his 7th tooth today! He can run now, and it is hard to keep up with him! He seems to understand most of what we are saying, although he doesn't really say any words of his own yet. That will probably be the next step.

Fayed is 1 Year Old!

Fayed turned 1 year old on November 12! The past year went by fast, and so many things have changed! Fayed had lots of fun at his parties - he got to see lots of friends and family, open wonderful gifts, eat some great food, and even some birthday cake! We had a reason to get our house all finished for the guests, which was quite an accomplishment in itself. Fayed is doing great, still running around all over the place and is such a bright, happy little boy most of the time.

Happy Halloween!

It's Fayed's first Halloween today! We didn't really plan for it too much, we'll probably just go trick or treating around the neighborhood for a little while tonight. I'm going to dress Fayed up as a sailor. I couldn't get great pictures like I wanted (both because of the camera and the continually moving subject), but I made a little card with what I had.

Walking!

Fayed has been walking for a couple of weeks now. He's wobbly and awkward but he gets around quite well and it's very cute! I will put up a video of it as soon as I get my new camera cord. He's also getting more of an attitude. He has mini tantrums when he can't get what he wants - which right now is the radio attached to the kitchen cabinets, curtain rods, pens, his dad's glasses or phone, and real tools/screws. He is also getting sneaky, he will take things when I'm not looking (like my hair brush or small toys) and try to put them down vents or try to throw them in the garbage.

We're getting ready for his 1 year birthday party already! Time has been flying by! He's such a big boy - I was looking at his newborn baby pictures and it is amazing how much he's changed already. I just can't wait for the next step - talking!!

Update!

An update is long overdue! The past month we have bought a house, moved around while fixing up the house and getting things ready, and then finally moved in, and it has been hectic, to say the least! In the process, I lost my camera cord so I won't be able to upload many pictures for a while, until I get around to buying a new one. It is on my very long list of things to do! Fayed has been doing great though everything; he is growing in so many ways! He can walk a step or two now, he can do "so big," clap his hands, pat me on the back, babbles a lot more, pushes around his hippo walker, climbs the stairs, and seems to know what we are talking about. His favorite things are things that he, of course, can't play with - tools (especially screwdrivers), cell phones, car keys, blow dryer, etc. He Loves to eat crackers, sometimes we have to use them in the car to calm him down, and he has just started to stick out his tongue and spit things out that he doesn't like. Fayed's been seeing a lot more of his grandma and aunties as they've been around to help out with the house every weekend, and I think he is finally getting over some of his shyness. He still won't let me out of his sight and I'm the only one that can really comfort him though. It is starting to get cold outside so we are staying in the house most of the time and he is a bundle of energy!

Mama's boy

Fayed is getting to that stage where he's clingy and he only wants his mom! And he won't let me out of his sight...or even when I'm in his sight, he will cry if I turn my back on him and walk 20 feet away. He was more fussy than usual the last couple of weeks, probably because of that. But he's still his energetic, curious self most of the time... He learned he can climb onto the couch, and he's very interested in things that he can't have (things I couldn't even give him if I wanted to, like the smoke detectors by the ceiling), so he just points at them and cries until I'm able to distract him with something else. He's getting more comfortable when we're outside too, he will crawl off of the blanket and stand up in the grass or sand. If he hears music, even if one of us just starts singing, he will do a little "dance." He also loves to play peekaboo with anything he can find...including his own shirt. He still just babbles, no words yet... it mostly sounds like "dar dar dar" and growling. I don't want the summer to end; it will be hard to keep him inside all the time with all his energy - which seems to be growing more all the time.

Growing boy

Fayed is getting so big! I took some photos in the same basket as I did when he was a newborn and about 4 months old and I compared them in this picture. I think he's going to be an early walker, maybe in the next month or so! He goes all over the place now, crawling and cruising so fast - I can't even do the dishes without Fayed "helping." He's a very bright, curious baby and won't sit still for more than 30 seconds; even if he's really tired he will remember he was going to try to get my cell phone or climb up the headboard of the bed, so it is a little hard to get him to sleep at night. He misses Shafeen when he goes to work, and he's excited to see him when he gets home. He also got his 4th tooth this week.

Independence Day

This year is Fayed's first Independence Day - and the timing is pretty good, as he is gaining his own independence each day! He goes wherever he wants now, from one room to the other, under the table, behind the TV, and he does it so fast that a few times I have had to go looking for him! His latest advance is opening and closing cabinet doors (and pinching his fingers in there). He loves eating, and by now we've fed him pretty much anything imaginable, except the unhealthy stuff that we shouldn't even eat ourselves, and he just can't get enough! He sits in his high chair, banging his hands on the table and fussing and growling for us to give him more, right now! His favorite food is still probably sweet potatoes or squash, and one thing he doesn't like eating that much (but he still will, just not with as much ferver) are green things, like peas. We probably won't go to any fireworks this year because he's a little young and would get scared, plus his bedtime has gotten a lot earlier, like around 8 or 9 PM. He's also waking up earlier, around 6AM, but his naptimes (like the one he is having right now) still give me some much-needed breaks a few times a day.

Summer Fun

It is hard to have a baby in the winter - you have to bring along so many blankets, jackets, layers of clothes, socks, mittens, hats, etc., everywhere you go. It is so nice that the weather is finally warm enough that we can just take Fayed out anytime without all that stuff. We've tried to make the most of the nice days by taking him to parks. He doesn't like it that much yet; he is more reserved and hesitant when we are away from home. But he will probably enjoy it as we go out more and as he gets older; next summer should be lots of fun for sure. At least I get to take some great pictures for now!

7 Month Stats

We took Fayed for his 6 month well-baby visit on 6/12 - so he actually turned 7 months that day. He's doing well, weighing in at 17 lbs, 1 oz, and 28" long. I've been really sick, but the Dr. said Fayed seems fine, so that was good. He's still getting into trouble, he bumped his head a couple times last week :( Now that he's in this crawling and pulling up stage, I'd rather he just grow fast now until he can walk and be steady on his feet and not get into so many accidents!

Little Cruiser

I thought I had a few more months before all this, but Fayed now pulls up on the furniture and "cruises" across the couches. He has taken a few falls, but he is also getting good at catching himself, and he's already a pretty tough little boy. He follows me around the house (crawling) if I go into another room and has to know everything that is going on. He will also sit on my lap for a while and enjoy having me read books to him. He has 2 bottom teeth now and wants to eat everything that we do, with a special fascination with pop cans. I wonder what is next!

Previous entries

6/2/2008 I feel like I have a toddler already!! Fayed is pulling himself up on everything and it just takes him a few seconds. Even if I put him in a room with nothing in it, just walls, he will pull himself up on the wall somehow. He's a very strong baby! The weather is getting nicer just in time - I'll be able to take him outside to use up all his energy. Yesterday we went to visit grandma Johnson and had a fun time in the backyard.

5/14/2008 Fayed is officially 6 months old now!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. He gets around all over the place on his tummy and its not safe to leave him alone for a minute or he'll get himself into some kind of trouble. He tries to reach up and climb onto everything: couches, the TV, the headboard of the bed. We have slowed down with the new solids; after he found out what food was and got to have it himself, he hasn't been as interested. He's not really interested in any toys meant for babies - he just wants to have whatever we have now (TV remotes, glasses, pop cans, books, etc.).

4/24/2008 Fayed went to the Como Zoo last weekend with me, my mom, and my sisters. He slept through most of it, but I'm sure we'll go again soon. He also started eating food! He's always so interested in our food when we eat, we couldn't hold off any longer So far he's had bananas, sweet potatoes, pears, and avocados. He loves eating - almost too much! He's also rolling over from back to front any time we lay him on his back (I guess he doesn't like laying on his back), and he's in the very very early stages of crawling (but usually goes backwards at this point).

4/1/2008 I moved the website off of Googlepages and onto freewebs. Everything should work the same, but look nicer. Everything is going fine with Fayed. He's finally discovered his feet, and grabs them to take his socks off or put his toes in his mouth every chance he gets!

3/15/2008 We had our 4 month well-baby visit yesterday, and Fayed is doing well at 15 lbs and 28 inches (I'd say the measured wrong though, probably closer to 25-26")! He hasn't been sleeping that great the past week, but I think he's teething. He can hold his head up and almost sit on his own, and he's becoming more expressive and talkative every day.2/21/2008 Fayed is doing great - his new favorite thing is standing up and trying to "walk" around. He is so interested in everything and needs to see what is going on around him. He's a very wonderful, easy-to-please baby and loves to smile and is now laughing more as well.

2/1/2008 We're almost at the 3 month mark! Fayed is still growing great, and has discovered his hands! He loves to eat his hands, and he is much better at swatting at his hanging toys, or his mom's face, than he used to be. He's also more talkative, and although I'm sure he doesn't know what he's saying, I'm sure I heard a few real words in there! We tried daycare for a few days and it didn't work out at all - but he won't have to deal with that anymore, since I've decided to be a stay at home mom.1/3/2008 Fayed is really growing a personality of his own more and more every day! I'm taking tons of pictures to try to capture every thing - and also so I can get a picture of every outfit because he grows out of them so fast and they're so cute.

12/28/2007 Fayed is now almost 7 weeks old. He's a big boy, wearing mostly size 6-9 month clothes already! He can stand up on his own on the couch and look out the window, which he enjoys. He's still a wonderful baby - he usually goes to sleep for the night around 11 PM and wakes up at 6 AM - a nice stretch for mom. We even took the three hour drive to Houston to visit his grandparents last week, and he didn't fuss a bit.