KOOZA!

Cirque Du Soleil- Kooza

Mekhi LOVED Cirque Du Soleil! I took him to his first show called Kooza and it captured his attention for the entire 2 hours. I could tell he didn't care too much for the death-defying daring acts like the tight-rope artist that fell after his first attempt to hop over someone's head (it was like something out of a movie.. there was no net and he barely caught himself by grabbing the rope on his way down) but finally got it on the 3rd try. At that point, even I couldn't watch anymore but was relieved to see that they put a net up by the end of the act. As always, Mekhi quickly made friends with the vendors-- receiving free popcorn, milk and a keepsake ball. Check out Mekhi's reaction and pictures from the show. (click on the image above)

Thanksgiving 2008

Good times and sad times! Despite the loss of our beloved grandmother, confidant and friend, we all had something to be thankful for. I'm thankful for a healthy & happy baby boy... Mekhi. Check out pics of him hanging with the fam (literally 'til 6am), wrestling with his nana, and playing RockBand 2 at Game night with the cousins and much more. (click the image above to see the full photo gallery)

Awwww

Here's a video of Mekhi chillin' with his cuz Zaire. He gives him a kiss (ok, several) but it's the cutest thing ever. (click on the image to view the video)

Down, But Not Out

I spent the weekend with either food poisoning or a stomach virus... not sure which but I hope to never, ever go through that again. Anyway, I wasn't to sick to catch Mekhi playing with a box a pads. He tore my room up, moving his toys from his room to mine but I was too sick to care and just laughed at the things he found entertaining.

1-2-3 JUMP!

While Mekhi was off spending time with his dad, I was off jumping out of planes! It was the BEST experience EVER!! Check out my video!

It's a Hit!

The daycare told me that Mekhi LOVES Beef Stroganoff. In fact, one day he ate 6 servings in one sitting. So, I decided to make some for him. I used Paula Deen's super easy recipe and substituted the steak for ground beef since that's easier for him to chew. He absolutely LOVED it... he kept saying "mmm mmm". LOL! I can't wait to make it for him again. Check him out in the video below. (click on image)

From Beef Stroganoff

No-No

Guess who's shaking their head and saying no-no? You guessed it, Mekhi! It's so funny it's hard not to laugh at him especially since his timing is perfect! Like when I picked up cookies at the grocery store... Mekhi said "no-no" before I could toss them in the cart. Or, when I tried to give him his medicine for his ear infection... I pulled the bottle and the syringe out and he quickly shook his head and said "no-no". I have to be even more careful around him these days because he picks up on everything and remembers EVERYTHING!

Are You My Mommy?

This month's theme at the daycare is "All About Me & Family". They learn to recognize themselves in pictures and they're learning about their body parts. We were asked to bring in pictures of immediate family so there are pictures of me, Naeem and grandparents hanging around his classroom. Today, they asked Mekhi to point at mommy and he pointed at me... my heart melted when they told me that (I wish I was there). First of all, I didn't know that dude knew who I was and 2nd I didn't even know he knew how to point! He hums a little tune that sounds a lot like mommy around the time he's hungry or when he's tired but other than that... he hasn't really uttered the words.

First Kiss

This morning was pretty normal-- nothing unusual or out of Mekhi's routine until we reached his classroom at the daycare. A little boy (who we'll call Larry) walked up to Mekhi... they stared for a sec and then greeted each other with a small kiss. I didn't actually see the kiss but I turned around to see Larry walk away from Mekhi then Mekhi turned to follow him. When Larry turned around Mekhi puckered up and leaned in for another kiss... Larry returned the favor. What the...? I couldn't believe my eyes and was speechless... did my son just kiss another boy? I'm sure this is normal and am told that he's just exploring himself and others around him. He just picked up a new skill (kissing boys) and will probably be on to girls next week (thanks Taz, I feel a little better). Well, I'm ok with that (I guess)... at least he's not putting Lucy in headlocks today (like he was on Monday). Now, I wonder if this has happened before?? Couldn't he have just hugged him or dapp'd him up??

Rehoboth Beach Trip 2008

We decided to take a 1 day trip to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. The usual suspects were there... Marae, Melanie, Scoop, Mona, Tala, Tanaz, Betty, Thu, Thuey, Derrick, and Kris. Mekhi had a great time playing football, hittin' the waves with Thu, soakin' up the sun with the ladies and even Derrick built Khi a nice car in the sand... much nicer in person than the pics. Check out the pics from the trip.

Mekhi's First Birthday!

This was a very eventful week for Mekhi as he celebrated his first birthday with family and friends. Thanks to everyone that made the trip to make this birthday special and memorable. Here are some pictures from his party at the daycare and the house. Enjoy!









(click on the image above to see more)

Simpsonize Me!

Haha, soooo cute... here's a website that will create a Simpson carton version of you from any photo. So, of course I had to create one for Mekhi. Go to www.simpsonizeme.com if you want to create one for yourself.

Park Party

Mekhi's first Memorial Day Weekend was spent with his cousins Zaneta, Emmanuel and their son Zaire. Mekhi enjoys being outside so we decided to go to the park. Here's video that Wes took of Mekhi taking his first ride on the slide. Enjoy!

1 Week and Counting ...

I know I've been MIA this past week but planning for Mekhi's first birthday party is taking it's toll. Anyway, just wanted to check in and let you know that Mekhi has been sleeping through the night... one week and counting. Yes, we have our occassional midnight snacks (this has happened once or twice) but this is a lot better than the every 2-3 hour ritual road we were going down. Stay tuned!

Sleep Like a Baby (yea, right!)

Now whoever came up with this expression "sleep like a baby" must not have ever had any kids (smirk). Don't they know that babies don't sleep?? Correction, they sleep alright... more like 2-3 hour intervals. Don't get me wrong, Mekhi is very good about taking his naps and going to sleep on schedule at night... the only problem is, he wakes up several times during the night... that joker won't stay sleep. Not cool Mekhi! Recently (with the encouragement of his doctor and several mom friends) I tried the cry-it-out method. Everyone said that it would be harder for me than it would be for Mekhi. Well, I was told that it would be hard for me to hear him cry and not run to his rescue. I was convinced that it was perfectly fine for him to cry for a few minutes... even if it was 20mins or so. If that's the case, this would be a piece of cake. Promptly at 8:30pm, I tucked him in, kissed him good night and whispered "good night, sleep tight and this will be the last time you see me until the morning".

Mekhi woke up at 11pm (cried for 20mins, just when I was about to give in, he went back to sleep)... I'm thinking that's not so bad.. this will be easy. Mekhi woke up again at 2am (cried for 15 mins and went back to sleep. Finally, he woke up at 6am. We both suffered long enough ... so, I gave in to his hunger cries and my engorged breasts. Eventually, he'll get the picture and sleep through the night. I'll keep you posted on how this works out for the both of us.

Mmmmm ... Chipotle!

Mekhi tried Chipotle for the first time today and he LOVED it! I even heard him go mmm mmm a couple of times ... so funny since I do the same thing. Any child of mine would have to love it since it's my absolute favorite fast food! I figured he would like it since he's had red beans & rice, spanish rice and yellow rice before. I should have bought him his own bowl because he ate mine all up. In case, you'd like to treat him to lunch one day... Mekhi's mix had rice, a few pieces of chicken, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce and a extra squeeze of lime juice. By the way, Mekhi likes avocados but I didn't order the guacamole since I don't like it. He might also like tomatoes but they took those of the menu because of the salmonella outbreak.

Water Baby ... NOT!

Mekhi went to the pool for the very first time. I thought that he would LOVE it since he enjoys taking baths and splashing around in the tub. Well, let's just say splashing around in his tiny blue baby bath is NOTHING compared to the massive pool where they have 2 huge water slides, waterfalls and tons of kids running around. He didn't cry at all but you could tell that he wasn't comfortable. We'll try again next weekend... hopefully he'll relax and loosen up that kung fu grip he had on my arm (ouch!).

Here are the pics from our pool outing with his home-boy Jordan, Sophia, Tu and Tanaz.

Look Mom, I'm Standing!

Another proud moment (proud mom in the background) ... my baby is standing all by himself and even took a few steps. I had to keep my composure so he didn't get too excited and fall. He's still so fascinated by water bottles. Enjoy the photos... thanks to Wes and his iPhone.

BFFs

You can often find Mekhi hanging out with his best friend Lucy(She's a few months older than him). She's the only baby in the class that enjoys wrestling and ruff-housing. She doesn't seem to mind Mekhi crawling over her and grabbing her toys (she grabs them back). Here they are dressed alike in stripes and reading a book together (their favorite past-time besides wrestling).

XOXO ... Mekhi

The best part of my day is picking Mekhi up from daycare. He now stands at the window in the evenings waiting for me. When he sees my car pull up, I can hear him screaming and yelling in excitement. But wait, it gets better... when I get to the classroom door he sprints around the corner from the window with the same level of excitement and the biggest smile on his face. It's the best feeling in the world to see someone so happy to see you at the end of a long work day. If you've been blessed to experience one of Mekhi's smiles and hugs... then you know what I mean.

Here's a picture of Mekhi outside the daycare... he thinks he can drive.

I'm a Soldier!

Mekhi's 9-month check-up was a breeze (well, for him anyway)! He flirted with the nurses (as usual), played nicely with the other kids in the waiting room, read a book "Berestein Bears Visit the Doctor" (which seemed to depict our visit exactly.. Dr. Iskander gave it to Mekhi as a gift if you'd like to read it) and even managed to be braver than me. How?

At the end of the visit, Mekhi was scheduled for routine blood work. They prepped his skin and asked me to hold both of his arms tightly so he couldn't jerk away. I was a little hesistant because I didn't want him to associate my face with what was about to happen to him. Also, did I mention that I'm terrified of needles?? Which brings me to my next point, I didn't want my fear of needles to be transfered to Mekhi.

Anyway, when the nurse pulled out her tools... I was the one that had to look away. Despite the grip I had on Mekhi, he just played with a small plastic tube until an ink pen dangling for the nurse's lab pocket caught his attention. When the big moment came, he didn't even flinch. Looked down for a second at the blood being drawn and went right back to eyeing the pen... sizing it up and trying to figure out how he was going to get his hands on it. The nurse even called me out saying "I think your mom was more afraid than you were". Oh, she didn't even know how right she was (did I mention that I'm terrified of needles??)!