All About Fayed

New Blog

2010-04-18T07:36:00.001-05:00

This blog is out of space - I can't post any more pictures! And our family is changing fast - it's no longer All About Fayed anymore! Come see my new blog:

http://husainjohnsonfamily.blogspot.com/

Happy 2nd Birthday, Fayed!

2009-11-13T18:34:00.002-06:00

Fayed turned two yesterday, November 12th! It came and went way too quickly! At daycare he wore a birthday crown all day and had his own special cake and snacks to share with everyone, and when we got home he had another birthday cake and we celebrated with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. His favorite thing was blowing out the candles - he did a great job!

23 Months

2009-10-12T12:58:00.004-05:00

Fayed turned 23 months old today! It's his last month to be just one year old! I just can't believe it. I also can't believe that it won't stop snowing today. Fayed has been very interested in the snow, which he calls by name. He refuses to wear mittens or a hat, so we'll have to work on that before really taking him out in it though.

Fall Updates

2009-10-08T13:41:00.001-05:00

This is my first update in about two months, and so much has happened in that time. I started working full time and Fayed went to daycare for the first time. This was a huge change for everyone, but it’s working out great. Fayed seems to enjoy playing with the other kids during the day, and he’s growing up so quickly. I can’t believe he’s just about to turn two years old already! August and September had wonderful weather, but as soon as October came, it dropped from the 80s to the 50s in just a day or two. We have had to get out the winter gear for Fayed and I was shocked to see how much he’s grown since the last time he wore them this spring (they don’t fit him anymore). This winter should be better since he’s now old enough to stay outside in the cold longer and hopefully we will be able to take him sledding and do other fun things.

More Summer Fun

2009-08-17T11:03:00.006-05:00

We've been keeping busy the last few weeks! Fayed and I met with some of our best mom & baby friends that we don't see very often - we had a very fun day with everyone at the mall and the aquarium! Fayed also got to go swimming a couple more times, and started really enjoying it by the end of it. The weather was very hot and perfect for playing in the water. We also took Fayed to his first drive-in movie experience. He did great, fell asleep just as the first one was beginning and slept through the other three! It was such a late night for us, we ended up getting home at 3:30 AM! I'll miss summer and all the things we can do, but I am welcoming the cooler weather that will be coming very soon!

Little Driver

2009-08-07T13:43:00.003-05:00

We finally took Fayed's car outside for him to drive around. He's bigger now and started showing more interest and control when he would drive the car around inside the house from wall to wall, and he knew when the reverse and when to go forward, so I figured he was ready to take it out on the road! He loves it and has picked it up like a natural! He can back out of the driveway, go down the street, turn around, etc. The first couple times were a little rough, but now it amazes me with how quickly he's caught on. He's going to be a better driver than me by the time he's 3 years old I'm sure. Now he just doesn't understand why he can't drive his Baba's car!

Summer Updates

2009-07-14T21:12:00.009-05:00

Fayed just turned 20 months! It makes me feel like he's just about 2 years old already (although November feels so far away with this great summer weather). We've been enjoying our summer with more outings to the zoo, parks, festivals, and meeting with friends and family. Fayed is doing well, although he has some days that feel like he's hit the "terrible two's" already. He loves Bob the Builder - if I ever turn on the TV, he points to it and says "Bob!" until I turn on that show. He still loves all books, especially one about a tiger that roars and scares all the animals in the jungle (he brings it to us and starts growling). He is becoming more and more involved in reading the books with me (pointing out things in the book and doing hand signals and making sounds that go along with the story). Fayed loves animals and is still very interested in watching the birds and squirrels playing in the yard too. On hot days, I let him play with the water or the sprinkler outside in the yard and he loves that (the problem is getting him to come back in the house!). He's great about keeping on a hat and sunglasses, but he absolutely hates putting sunscreen on his face. This summer has been great so far, and we're looking forward to the next couple fun months before the cold weather sets in again!

Fayed at 18 Months

2009-05-22T14:38:00.003-05:00

Fayed is officially 1 and a half years old! I have to say I love this age...Fayed is learning to do so many things now and he imitates what we say and do. I think we're over the "rough patch" we had last month; Fayed is so sweet. He loves to go to sleep and to take his naps (most of the time); when he's tired he'll point to the bedroom and say "Nah!" Tantrums are becoming rare now, I'm so glad for that. Fayed is becoming a little more outgoing with new people - he waves and says "Bye bye!" and at the stores when we're asking someone for help and we say "thank you" he also says it automatically. He'll give kisses and hugs to almost anyone who asks. He's finally eating more, but he prefers "real food" over toddler snack food - he especially loves our curries no matter how spicy they are. Fayed has some new interests: stickers, temporary tattoos, and most of all, his Mustang! We splurged on a powerwheels Mustang because he just loves sitting in real cars and we can't get him out of them, so we thought he'd really love having his own, and even though he's a little too young to drive it (but he is pretty good for his age!), he's really enjoying playing with it.

The Minnesota Zoo

2009-05-11T18:08:00.004-05:00

On Mother's Day this year, Shafeen and I took Fayed to the Minnesota zoo. He'd been to a zoo before, last summer, when he was only around 6 months old. Needless to say, he had a much better time this year at almost 18 months! He'd been in love with the ducks in our back yard for weeks now, and I knew he'd love seeing more animals in person. We saw fish, birds, lizards, snakes, leopards, bears, flamingos, camels, and many more...but Fayed's favorite animal at the zoo that he couldn't get enough of - ducks! He also had quite a time with the wolverine - it walked back and forth, staring him straight in the eyes and would jump up at the glass right in front of his face. Fayed did great, he skipped his nap time and never even got crabby. I can't wait to go back to this zoo and the other one many more times this summer!

Fayed at 17 Months

2009-05-01T12:49:00.004-05:00

Fayed's 17th month is already coming to an end! He's continuing to grow and change and become a little boy more and more every day. He's about 33" tall, and still skinny. This month has been a little more challenging; Fayed is not quite as "helpful" as he was a couple months ago, and he's started hitting, throwing things, and having more tantrums than before. We're working on it. When Fayed knows he did something bad and we're mad at him, he goes and gives us a big kiss right away, so that makes it hard to follow through with disciplining him! He refuses to sit in his high chair most of the time, so that makes it even harder to get food into him, so we have had to be creative with that. He is getting better in the carseat, though! One day his cousin Arissa came over, and he enjoyed sitting and rocking in the infant car seat with his grandma, so now every time we get into the car, he can't wait to get into his own car seat and even helps with the buckles (which is a welcome change from having to wrestle him screaming and crying into it every time!). His hair has finally grown back to a good length, and he is such a cutie! The weather warmed up for a week or so but it's gotten cold again, so we're still waiting to get outside regularly. When we do go outside, Fayed enjoys playing with his toy trucks, drawing with chalk, and pushing around the shovel or rake. In the house, his favorite toys are his toy phone, balls, a pop-up Disney character toy, and a few favorite books he likes me to read over and over; he'd still rather play with Mama or Baba than toys any day though!

Day-too!

2009-04-27T13:30:00.003-05:00

Fayed is finally expanding his vocabulary! He especially likes to say words with "-ock" like "clock," "sock," "rock," "lock," etc. He is enthralled with some mallard ducks that have been visiting our back yard, and he points toward them and says "duck, duck!" many times a day. When I say something is yucky, he waves his hand at it and says "uck!" There are many other instances where he tries to mimic what I say, I can't list them all here now. But the cutest thing he's doing now is saying "thank you," which actually sounds like "day-too!" - it's so sweet, especially because he uses it when he gives something to someone else or when he wants you to give him something.

Fayed at 16 Months

2009-03-23T20:02:00.002-05:00

Fayed is now 16 months old! He seems so mature for his age; he always knows what is going on, and he continues to try hard to be a good little helper around the house. But when he’s not helping out, Fayed climbs on everything he can and tries to get into everything, so we have had to baby proof the house to the extreme. He enjoys scribbling on paper now (but only with pens). I've stopped keeping track of when his teeth are coming in; I think he's pretty much got a full mouth of them now. He's starting to enjoy eating food more now, which is a relief to us! He had another cold which lasted about a week and gave us a few sleepless nights, and he’s just getting over it now and starting to be himself. Fayed has also started to have meltdowns sometimes, set off by not being able to have something he wants (like the vacuum, or being able to sit in the driver’s seat of the car). They consist of him crying nonstop and not wanting to be held but not wanting to be set down and not being able to communicate to us what is making him upset – the longest of these lasted 30 minutes! I hope to avoid them as much as possible, but I’m told it only gets worse as they get older! It is a relief that the weather is finally beginning to warm up so we can take him outside and let him run around and play and maybe not get so frustrated! Fayed is a lot bigger and mobile this summer than last summer, and I’m sure he will enjoy going to the parks or zoos much more now. We’ve already taken him to the Children’s Museum in St. Paul a couple weeks ago and he had lots of fun there, and I’m sure we’ll be going back again soon since there's so much to do there. Fayed also looks different this month, because we shaved all of his hair off! It’s just now beginning to grow back to the point it shows up on the camera a little bit; I think he’s cute no matter what, but it was quite a change from his long soft brown hair. It also made me see how bad all the bumps he gets on his head really are. On a sad note, Fayed’s great-grandma Clara passed away this month after a long, hard battle with lung cancer. We’ll miss her very much.

Orlando Vacation

2009-02-22T14:31:00.009-06:00

We all went to Orlando, Florida for a family vacation this month. We stayed from February 14th until February 18th. The weather there was in the 70s every day, and we enjoyed it by going to the beach, swimming, and simply walking around without the jackets, mittens, and hats that are still necessary in Minnesota right now! Fayed did really well on the plane ride - he fell asleep before we even took off and woke up just after landing for the most part. I think he knew it was a vacation, because he wanted to stay up until 11 PM or so every night! He was a little hesitant about the swimming pool at first, but he warmed up right away and loved splashing and trying to walk around on his own. We went to Cocoa Beach, a 45 minute drive from Orlando, on the Atlantic Ocean, but there were cold wind gusts; so although it was breathtakingly beautiful, it was just too cold to really stay there very long and enjoy it more. We also went to Disney and Fayed had a great time there too. I really hated to come back to Minnesota, where the temperatures are still under 20 degrees and there is still snow on the ground, but at least I know what nice weather summer will bring and the fact that it is only a few months away now is very consoling. This year Fayed is old enough to really know what is going on and I think he will have so much fun at parks, zoos, and wherever else we take him in the summer!

Fayed at 14 Months

2009-02-03T10:20:00.004-06:00

Fayed is toward the end of his 14th month now, and he's learning, developing, and changing all the time. He is trying to talk, in his own way. I tell him to say "box" and he says "bah!" I tell him to say "duck" and he says "duh!" Sock is "gock" and the list goes on. He has also become a really good helper. He likes to have little tasks and he remembers where things go. He helps me unload the dishwasher, throws things in the trash, and tosses clothes to be washed down the stairs. He also helps me find things that are lost (and most of the time, he is the one who "lost" it), like the remote, my cell phone, or his other sock or shoe. He's just started "coloring" - he really loves it, but we have to be careful to keep him from eating the crayons! He's becoming a lot better in the car as well, I can even sit in the front seat most of the time now! Unfortunately Fayed has been sick quite a few times this winter; he's met lots of new babies and it seems that every time he meets one, he picks up their cold. He's become a lot more social and plays with his little friends quite well now. It's getting a lot easier to take him out - he loves running around the mall, riding on toddler rides, and we even took him with us when we went to see a movie earlier this month. He has become a little more of a picky eater, and usually he won't have more than a few bites during a meal - sometimes he refuses to eat altogether. He does like a variety of food though, and he has no problem even eating spicy food. He'd just rather be running around playing, and he's grown into a tall thin little boy because of this.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-29T22:56:00.004-06:00

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

2008-12-11T14:05:00.002-06:00

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!

2008-12-05T22:37:00.003-06:00

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

2008-11-28T00:58:00.003-06:00

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!

2008-11-18T12:07:00.003-06:00

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!

2008-10-31T11:44:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-10-22T22:51:00.004-05:00

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!

2008-10-03T12:17:00.002-05:00

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

2008-08-11T20:52:00.003-05:00

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

2008-07-23T09:08:00.004-05:00

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

2008-07-03T11:53:00.003-05:00

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

2008-06-24T21:11:00.002-05:00

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

2008-06-14T11:10:00.003-05:00

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

2008-06-10T09:52:00.004-05:00

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

2008-06-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

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.