Bumbo

Alyssa, a nurse at the hospital, gave Aliya her daughters old Bumbo. I can't believe how awesome it is. Aliya sits so well in it. I wish I would've started using it earlier. It is a great toy. I set it up in the kitchen and we cook together. Aliya is a great helper.

New York here we come!

Aliya, Mom, Dad and I are headed to New York! I have not been to New York since I was a kid so I am really excited. If anyone has any suggestions on must sees, let me know! I am slightly nervous because this will be Aliyas first flight. I hope she is a good girl and not one of those babies that drives everyone nuts the whole time we are in the air. If anyone has any tips on how to keep her entertained and quite, pass them my way! Luckily mom, dad and I all have seats in the same row. Aliya will be sitting on my lap. I'll let everyone know how it goes when I get back on Sunday Sept 20th.

I'm so proud of you Dad!

Check out dad's certificate! He worked really hard to type 12 words a minute with an accuracy of 97% I am so impressed, dad! You Rock!

Laylat al-Qadr

Laylat al-Qadr — the Night of Power — commemorates the night during which the first verses of the Holy Qur’an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). It is symbolic of the spiritual dimension of life, which for Muslims, gives meaning and purpose to their existence and holds the promise of a noble spiritual destiny.

On this night in 610 AD, the angel Jibril delivered the divine message from Allah to the Prophet, who had withdrawn for prayer in the cave of Hira. The Holy Qur’an describes Laylat al-Qadr in Surah 97:

We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power. And what will explain to thee what the night of power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission, on every errand. Peace! This until the rise of morn!

Ismaili Muslims observe Laylat al-Qadr on the 23rd night of Ramadan, in accordance with traditions received through Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Bibi Fatima. It is a night of special prayer, reflection and remembrance of Allah.

Mom and Dad

I love my mom and dad. Adam and I are so lucky to be blessed with the best parents in the world! I am so glad Aliya will have a chance to know them and have them in her life.

Nanimaa

Aliya loves to visit Nanimaa! Nanimaa beat Aliya in the hair growing competition! Aliya is going backwards and is losing hair. Maybe she should race Nanabapa on who looses all their hair first! She has a better shot at winning!

Puppets

Mom and Maa were both at different Costcos at the same time. They both bought Aliya the same jungle themed hand puppet animals. When maa came over to visit mom she saw mom had the same ones! Maa went back to Costco and switched hers for farm animals. These hand puppets are so cute. they have big eyes and you wear them like a glove so you can manipulate their hands, feet and face! Aliya really liked them and was playing with them. She was a little scared of the rooster but smiled and laughed at the cow! We haven't played with the jungle set yet. There is a lion, hippo, monkey and giraffe in that set. She also got a penguin book from nanimaa. I love the penguin book!

The Most Beautiful Blanket

Aunt Dani crochet the most beautiful blanket for Aliya. It is the softest pink with raised teaddybears, hearts and stars. The little bears have bowties made of ribbon. Aliya is so very lucky to have Aunt Dani who loves her so much she spent so much time and put in so much effort to make her this wonderful blanket. I will cherish it forever! Thank you so very much Aunt Dani! We love you!

Aliya's 3 babysitters

Rob and I went dinner the other night so Robs Mom, Aunt Terri and Aunt Dani Came over to babysit Aliya. She loved being with her 3 Grandma's. Rob and I had a great time and can't thank them enough! I hope she was a good girl. Next time they come to babysit we may stay home with them, it looked like they were having so much (counter intuitive, I know).

Never Forget

As we reach the eight year anniversary of one of America's greatest tragedies, all of us should look back with great respect, to honor those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. Pay tribute to the heros and pledge to never forget. God Bless America.

Happy Birthday Fua!

Mazzaros Italian Market and Coffee Bar

Ashley and Lola took Aliya and I to Mazzaros Italian Market at Coffee Bar yesterday. This place is really great! They have a huge selection of meat, seafood, cheese, wine, fresh pasta and groceries! They also have a deli, a coffee bar and a bakery. I ate a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich while I was there and brought home a sun dried tomato and spinach Lasagna, garlic bread and a piece of canolli cake. Rob loved the food and can't wait to go there! If you live near St. Pete you should check it out! The address is 2909 22nd Avenue North 33713 Next time I go I am going to order the hazelnut encrusted chicken and bring home the walnut and Gorgonzola cheese pasta. Not sure what I want from the bakery yet but whatever I get it is bound to be good! Check out their website at http://www.mazzarosmarket.com/index.html

90% restaurant.com

Mom gave me this great tip! Restaurant.com is having a sale! You can get $25 gift certificates for $1! All you have to do is type coupon code ZOO in when you are checking out on the "my cart" page and the discount is taken off! I got $130 of gift certificates ($325 Value) for $13! Just be careful because they come with exclusions and terms. Most of the $25 gift certificates can only be used on $35 or more purchases. Still your $35 meal only costs $11! It is really straight forward what the terms of use are. When you click to add the restaurant to your shopping cart the terms are listed right under the button! Happy Shopping and Eating!!

P.S. Expires Sept 12th at midnight!

http://www.restaurant.com/

Wrights Deli and Cafe, We finally made it!

Rob has been talking about going to eat at this sandwich shop in Tampa called Wrights. We finally decided to go last Sunday and of course they are closed on Sunday. We headed back again on Monday and of course they were closed for Labor Day. We tried again today and lo and behold it was open! Rob had a Reuben and I had a Paris. A Ruben is corned beef, sauerkraut, and mustard on Rye... not for me! The Paris is turkey on white with apple slices and Brie with a little bit of mustard, then grilled! It was so yummy! Aliya didn't have anything but she'll get The Paris in 4 - 24 hours! :) We also shared a red velvet cake cupcake. I'm glad he finally got his Wrights fix! I'm sure we'll be back again soon!

Am I blogging too much..?

Mom came over today to play with Aliya and practice babysitting, she has a solo job this Thursday night, while we were talking I would mention something I did and she'd say "I know I saw that on the blog". Then a few minutes later the same thing would happen. I realized I blog to much and now I have nothing new to contribute to a conversation! Everyone knows everything about me and Aliya!! Aliya loved seeing her Grandma! We are glad she came to visit!

Happy Birthday Adam Wiarda!!

Hyde Park

Rob was off today so when we woke up this morning we decided to go out to breakfast and walk around Hyde Park. Hyde Park is an outdoor shopping area in Tampa. It has brick roads, big shady trees, lots of trendy stores and a park with a playground. It was Aliya first time at a playground.They had a swing there that you can completely strap them kids and babies into. I don't think Aliya cared one way or the other that she was in the swing. She didn't like the slide very much either. I think we'll try again in a few months. Right now it was lost on her. We saw a really cool palm tree growing next to an oak. The oak was wrapped around the palm at the base and the pal swerved to get sun at the top. They were both huge and doing well.

Major Milestone for Aliya

Guess what Aliya had done today? She had her ears pierced! She was so good and looks so cute. I wasn't planning on having it done but we went to the mall we passed by Piercing Pagoda and a 3 month old little girl was having her ears pierced. The lady who pierced her ears did such a good job and the little girl seemed completely fine after a few minutes. I was planning on doing it myself when Aliya became around 6-8 months. The lady told me 3 months is a perfect age because they don't squirm around as much and they don't touch their ears so their chance of infection is much lower. I was convinced and Rob was okay with it. I picked out cute little Zirconium studs in 14k gold (the same ones the little baby before Aliya had, I copied), I signed the liability papers saying if Aliya's ear falls off I won't sue (not settling) and after a few tears (from me, not Aliya) she got her ears pierced. She was so good. She cried for a minute but her dad comforted her and in no time she was flashing big smiles at me and Rob. She looks adorable and they turned out really well! I am really glad we got them done. She still looks just like Rob but at least everyone will know she is a little girl!

White Chicken Chilli

I Don't have pictures but I wanted to put the receipe up for the Chilli I made for the potluck at Sasha's house.

White Chicken Chilli - it is a huge crowd pleaser!



3 cans (15.5oz) Great northern beans

1 16oz jar Salsa

2 lbs cooked chicken breast pulled apart

1 pack shreeded cheese (2 cups)



Place beans, chicken and salsa in slow cooker for 2 hours. Add in cheese and stir until melted then serve! So easy and tastes so so good. I added a bag of mixed frozen veggies for this potluck but next time I think I will only add corn. The peas, green beans and carrots didn't add anything to the chilli but I really liked the corn in it.

Sasha House for Dinner

All the interns and Residents had a dinner at Sasha's House. We had a great time. There were so many kids! It was fun to watch them play. Hungh was the official photographer and he took so many awesome pictures. He also rocks at Dance Dance Revolution. Susan played and held Aliya for so long. Aliya loved sitting with her! Usman brought awesome Rum cake from Wrights. Rob has been trying to get us out there to try the sandwiches, we just haven't made it yet. Ashley (another stay at home mom) and I are planning to get together since we both are home with our beautiful daughters all day. He baby Lola (pic above) is so cute. Sasha played a wonderful host. She cooked great food and was so hospitable. Her and Marks house is gorgeous and they have amazing kids. Clarissa's room has the coolest mural of a unicorn in this fantasy land. Other people who were there were John and his wife and their beautiful blonde girls, Hannah and Ella. James cracked me up with his witty comments I didn't talk to Suzanne or Lorrain but I can't wait to have another get together so I can!

Happy Birthday Sean

We went to Sean and Debs house to celebrate Seans birthday! They had a whole new set up of instruments, Rob tried his hand at the drums but I think he should leave it to Sean and Deb! Jen played with Aliya for so long and Dave and Dakota played Rockband on the TV. Aliya loved sitting with her Grandma and Grandpa Wayne. We ate tons. Deb had bought this cheese spread and I was addicted. I couldn't stop eating it. It was so yummy. We tried the chocolate version of raspberry elegance cake and the consensus was that the regular version is better. We also saw Earl the huge Banana spider outside.Deb had some really funny Blone jokes, my favorite was Blonde on Sun: A Russian, an American, and a Blonde were talking one day. The Russian said, 'We were the first in space !' The American said, 'We were the first on the moon !' The Blonde said, 'So what ? We're going to be the first on the sun!' The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads. 'You can't land on the sun, you idiot! You'll burn up !' said the Russian. To which the Blonde replied, 'We're not stupid, you know. We're going at night !' It was a lot of fun! We love Sean and hope he had a great birthday!