Elin

2009-06-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Not Quite summer...but close.....April 2009

Carmel and Jamila had their faces painted at the Goombay Festival in April - a Caribbean festival celebrating rhythm.

Pensacola Beach at Papa's school year end party from Pensacola Junior College.

I love the water!!!!!

2009-01-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

I love this video done by my friend Kelly Snook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZifFF9KGtA8

2008-08-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Jammin' Jamila's 2nd Birthday, July 5......
Jamila was a princess for the day.

These are homemade carrot cake cupcakes known as "cuppy cakes" or "puppy cakes".

Jamila had a party at her friend Carmel's house and they had a ball sprinkler.
Run away from the water, stand in the water, run to the water....

Be silly in the water.
Yell out in the water.

In action!

Now it is time for the cuppy cakes!!!! Yeah! I am not sure about the fire though, please help me blow out the candles.

The fire is out!

Let's eat up.
Now open some presents from my friends...with a little help.

My favorite present is the flashing wand.

The parents haning out.
Auntie Esther hugging me and Devin is posing for the camera.

More help with the presents. My friends are so helpful - thank you.

Now presents at home from my grandpa Bill and grandma Nancy and mama and papa. What do I do with all of these?
This makes a nice crown and I love the big hammer.

Hi there!

Playing with my new Diego and tractor set - save the worthog. And trying out my new outfit from the grandparents.
I just love this hammer!

2008-08-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

June............
Hi there all! Summer in Pensacola is hot and it is hard to get outside as much as I want. But here are a few activities I got on camera which were fun especially since the playground time was in the morning. By the middle of the summer we can only go outside comfortably starting around 6 p.m. which is dangerously close to bedtime.

The playground - Jamila's first time going down the slide on her own without Mama going up with her and making sure she is situated just so. :) The pictures speak for themselves. It's all action!

A rainy day - In Pensacola, we get lots of rain during the summer. Sometimes for 1-2 weeks we have a steady downpour for hours thus putting us in the top city for rainfall. I guess we should thank hurricane season for all the rain. Again, all action shots.

Combing out Jamila's hair - I wanted to document how long Jamila's hair really is. For all of you who have curly hair, you know what I mean that the length can be deceiving if you don't comb it out. She has a gorgeous head of hair, don't you think?!

Our trip to the National Naval Aviation Museum - this is the most awesome place to take Jamila in the summer. This museum is free, is mega air conditioned and has tons of room for a little two year old to run free. Not to mention the cool on hands activities, as you can see.

Jamila is in the lower right hand corner or this picture trying to climb the information stand. :) I am sure she is singing "suban" from her Diego dvd.

Checking out the equipment.

This is a great area where there are cockpits from all sorts of planes that anyone can sit in and play with.

2008-08-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Fun loving APRIL and MAY....

Ok, it's been a while since I posted but you should have fun with Jamila and her adventures.

AT HOME on De Luna Dr

Hello everyone, I love sleeping on my Papi.

And getting flying rides too.

AT THE BEACH - Perdido Key with our friends

Papa I want to go in, I want to go in!!!

Making sand creations.
Uncle Martin relaxing and having fun.
I have got to walk on my own.

AT HOME on the carport.

I love bubbles and chalk.

How does this work anyways?

At home chillin...

I love to try on peoples shoes especially mama's shoes.

At home cooking and cleaning.

I love the cookie batter, it tastes soooo good.

We had so much fun making cookies. She loves to help cook.

I have to make sure I clean the carpet and clean out the dirt in the bin.

At the yearly Goombay(rhythm) Festival

A steele drum band...got to love it!

Lots of children's activities were in a special area. This man is a music teacher and this is one of the activities he has available. Beating the hollow piece of wood.
Auntie Esther watching me make lots of loud noises.

Carmel can hoola hoop!!!

I think I will try too...

Or maybe I will just try them on.

Art work at home

Play dough!!! I love it! This is how you roll it.

and squish it. My creation!!!

Mama's creation....

This is my most recent attempt at being creative. The cloth is from Tanzania given to us from family in Tanzania on our visit in 2005.

2008-05-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

March...lots of hanging out

We visited Papa's work the Shipyard.

And had a snack there at the little store.

Look, a boat is being moved on land.

Hanging at the playground.

I love my play dough and wearing my sunflower headband.

I love my world ball!

The train table at Barnes and Noble.

2008-05-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

February brought some fun....

A video of the Africa sing-a-long and my dancing and playing instruments.

Happy and merry Intercalary, Intercalary Days for everyone!!! da da da
I-N-T-E-R-C-A-L-A-R-Y that spells a lot of fun!!!

Let's sing and dance and show some joyous love.

The Sandoval's :)

All the beautiful and smart girls.

Dennis and Papa having deep discussions.

I love playing the piano.

My Grammy came to visit me and we went to the beach. She is lots of fun.

2008-04-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

January......maybe its cold maybe its not.

Jamila style. Ducky slippers, a kanga over the shoulder, Curious George purse and her trusty Dora balloon.

Concentrating on her stockinged knee.

I want to hug Papa and my bear together.

Papa is reading a book to me and my friend, Carmel. I love my Papa.

Let's go for a walk in the cool air and look closer at the neighbor's lawn ornaments.

2008-01-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

December is finally showing some cold weather for here.

So sweet...that is mama for you.

Jamila loves instruments of all kind.

She learned how to blow a couple months ago so she makes all sorts of noises with her slide wistle.

Some weekend mornings, we go to McDonald's for a very inexpensive breakfast. Jamila enjoys running around and peeking in the corner booth we sit at.

This is a new McDonald's and we really like the decor and the feeling here. It is much warmer in design and in terms of air too.

The booth is big enough for her to walk on from mama to papa.

Just tired out but she never forgets her trusty loveys.

On Christmas Eve we went to our friend's home out near Perdido Key about a 20 minute ride from our house but very close to the Gulf of Mexico. I had to have fun with Jamila's hair and use her little dress one last time.

Taking pictures of an 18 month old is hard but try and 18 month and a 26 month and it is near possible getting the faces. Samantha and Jamila are looking at the dogs in the yard.

I am not sure how she stayed still long enough to get this shot but maybe it was a mistake.

Miss Carmel at your service.

Dominic with Jacob - aren't they cute?

Esther and Kelly talking about everything. Kelly made a wonderful dinner with apple curry pork chops, shrimp soup, spinach strawberry salad, rice and two kinds of bread/cakes-apple and banana I think. YUM, YUM!!

Samantha playing with her daddy, Matt.

Martin playing with Carmel.

Time for a nap and a cuddle or two.

2008-01-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

November, not cold yet.....

so we had a lovely time at the annual Greek Festival hosted in the Greek Orthodox Church parking lot.

The entrance to the church but we were outside, as you can see in the next pictures.

The boys dance and...

The girls dance and Jamila really wanted to dance with them. Before the formal performances, there was Greek music and everyone could go dance freely. That was Jamila's favorite part and she put up a big fit when I took her away from the performances. Whew! That was hard work because she loves to dance.

But we got to our table and ate some food and clapped along with the music. Jamila is trying to clap to the rhthym.

And now to inspect my cheerios one by one in my Papa's hand.

Sometimes we go for a walk along this finger of the gulf that goes inland. There are many different type of birds each time we take a walk. We can truly understand the migration of birds living in this area.

Any walk or outing is a time for investigation for Jamila. She especially loves nature and animals.

There are many interesting sticks, dirt and grass here.

Now some pictures of Jamila's busIness.

The best way to wear the boas is to wear them all at once. And I know this thing Papa uses must be interesting but how does it work.

Some days it is cold enough to wrap up in a blanket while watching Elmo or Diego. GO DIEGO GO!

Please get me out of this seat. Auntie Sarah I love my sweater with the bunny buttons. Thank you!!!

Ok, mama puts things in and takes things out so it is time for me to help her and make some noise too.

Jamila's first piece of artwork with fingerpaints and a big brush. She did not like the way the paint felt on her fingers so we used a brush. And she had fun!

Papa is the best toy. He lets me play on him.

Mr. Cool!

2008-01-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

Where is Fall anyways - it's October??

October was beautiful with clear warm days and wondering if it would ever get cold. Perdido Kids Park was built by volunteers out near Perdido Key and one of the military bases.

As you can see, it is awesome! It's all wood and there is a smaller playground for the younger children even though they love to run around on the big kid playground too.

Jamila is not too sure about many of the walkways and tunnels.

But she will check them out a little.

One of her favorite activities is the swing where she gleefully says "WEEEE!" and giggles her heart out.

And the chimes are fun too because they make lots of noise.

What a day, it's time to go home!

Thinking or meditating?

My favorite activity is to read books. And mama has made a book bin for me so I can look for the books there.

Finally, Googlie Zoo, just what I needed.

Quack, quack I said when I saw myself in the mirror. Halloween was fun! We went to the Library for a story and got the black balloon and a used book. A perfect Halloween.

2008-01-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

Adventures in Mobile with my Grandpa......
At the end of September my Grandpa Bill came to visit and we went to Mobile for a day. We first ate at the only Indian restaurant in the area and then stopped off at Starbucks for a coffee before going to the ZOO.

I love this chair at Starbucks since it was the only thing I was allowed to play on.

Does this look like a barn to you? Well it is and the entrance to the Mobile Zoo. It took us 30 minutes to get there from Mobile and my parents and grandpa were not sure we were ever going to reach it. I was getting cranky too. Tooo much sitting, not enough running.

The barn was the entrance and had some animals in it too. Here is the calf that I found though it wanted to nibble my stoller but I did pet it and got to mooooo!! too. There were other animals too - a squaking parrot and some lizards and a giant snake.

Then we went out on the trail where there were all sorts of animals - bears, monkeys, tigers, elk and many other animals as you can see.

I got to ride around in the stroller in the hot sun and feed peanuts to the animals.

Some more animals in a non-concrete environment. The Emu's like to peck and snap their beaks but they were very curious just like me.

I got to walk around some too and run and look at the grass and dirt.

And one part felt like a jungle with bamboo and some hidden animals in a cage to surprise us.

There are the donkeys, they say EE-AW and they liked the peanuts too. I am really thirsty but I had a great time see you later!!

2007-11-22T03:18:00.000-08:00

What happened to August and September?
My desire to get back to blogging once a month has not happened yet. However, I have hope that I will reach my goal. I am posting this blog in November...hmmmm. When we returned from Colorado we purchased new used recliners and a couch for our front room which Jamila is leaning on in the picture below. We were very excited about the purchase since the furniture looks nice and new and was inexpensive. Any bolded and italicized words in the entry are words Jamila particularly likes and says repeatedly when said or read. Jamila started talking before her first birthday babbling and singing with a word here and there that was comprehensible-baby, mama, square. A few days before her first birthday she exploded with words dirt, bird, baby, arf arf-she learned to bark and she has not stopped for much since then. She loves telling us everything.

Would you like some milk?

Papa and I always have lots of fun. We both like to joke and laugh together.

Jamila is truly a gem and a pearl just bursting out all the time.

The dog now goes woof woof. I realized dogs bark differently - woof woof, arf arf and bow wow.

With my Papa again and he was reading me the dump truck book with wheels.

Jamila watching Dominic vacuum. She used to be so scared of it that we had to take her out of the house to vacuum or do it when she was sleeping with her door shut. Now she is curious but catious.

Please come read to me. I love reading, let's read all day long.

This is my new friend Jacob. He was born in August almost on the same day as his sister Samantha. I love babies!

My breakfast - yum yum- cheese, cheerios and blueberries.

I never bought Jamila her promised balloon (baee) for her birthday so we bought one in September and this balloon was loved and carried around for several weeks. It lasted that long!

This is really interesting and I must investigate how it feels and the colors and this stringy thing - how does it connect?

The BEACH

Another glorious day at the beach. Jamila loves the water and the sand and shells. She cannot get enough of the water and always wants to be in it even when they are splashing in her face.

A family photo at the beach.

DRESS-UP and other activities....

Hi! I love my green boa and my yellow fairy skirt.

This picture is worth a thousand words. She loves her boas and walks around the house with them all the time. The boa and fairy skirt are from the dollar tree-got to love it! The Dora romper is from a lovely Baha'i friend in the area and the cat is from her Auntie Layla and Isabella. The car to her left behind her is also a hand me down from her friends Adalia, Devon and Solace.

I love it when Papa reads to me. Read to me all the time please. Read me the same book over and over so I know it by heart.

I love pillows (piee) and my trusty pink bear. Rolling on the floor, hugging pillows and hanging out down here is fun.

We come to the end of a month but will have more postings soon.

2007-08-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

June and July adventures........

Jamila: Hi this is so funny it made my mama stop and take a picture. I was trying to be funny and I got a laugh out of mama. I have some adventures to share with you.

Elin: I turned around and there she was looking up at me with a big smile and the 1/2 an egg perched perfectly on her head with those curls. Soo cute!! She has a great sense of humor.

Since I am not usually in the pictures this is a stab at a self portrait...hmmm

I love my papa!

When we got back from Colorado I started walking and I would like to show you a picture of me in action. Yippee!!!! I am finally free to follow everyone around and use these legs more. I think I get it now.

Watching the airplanes while waiting for ours...

We made it to Colorado to visit the grandparents Doherty. I love playing with Grammy Debbie. Mama bought me this tutu because she said it was too cute. I like it too as you can see I am practicing pointing my foot.

Grammy Debbie is lots of fun!!! We took a day trip to Ouray with her and mama and my blue monkey. I took Grammy for a walk after it rained. I had to walk down the hill and then back up the hill. I was very focused on the task and I had to bring my new armadillo along too.

Driving outside of Ouray.

A mural by Mr. Richard.....I had to check it out personally by touching it to make sure it is dry.

Mr. Richard painted several walls in the facilitated living residence and now it is a brighter place.

Eastern slope of Colorado....

We took a trip to the eastern slope. These are our friends Catherine, Frederick and Sierra (9 months) in Colorado Springs. We had a lovely dinner of kabobs and salad. Mama gave me some of her food.

Sierra and I both had a drink. I had to have one when I saw her with one. It is only fair.

There is Sierra with each of her parents having a grand old time. Uncle Frederick reminded me of my Papa but it wasn't him so I kept my distance for a while.

We also visited one of mama's very good friends, Auntie Soo-Jin, and her boys, Kyler and Justin. Uncle Josh isn't in the pictures but he was nice too.

Justin sure loves his mama!!

I made fast friends with Kyler. Our birthdays are only a couple weeks apart!!

I saw a picture of a dog and decided to bark since my Grammy's dog taught me how when we were introduced. Kyler is trying to get to mama's camera.

All this traveling made me soooo tired.

Back on the Western Slope....

We had dinner at the Robinson's in Grand Junction and I met Uncle Robin, Auntie Kim and Aunt Kathy. Auntie Kim is now working at the Baha'i National Center where mama used to work. Auntie Kim grew up with mama even though Kim is a bit younger. Uncle Robin just loves playing with me. I love being silly with him!!

For my birthday, a whole bunch of people came to see me. Her I am with Aunt Marti. She is very comfortable.

Her I am playing with some of my presents specifically my eggs from Aunt Marti.

Auntie Sine gave me a pig that oinks!!!!

And here is Grammy, Mr. Richard and Uncle John sitting around talking.

Pool time

The days were hot so we had a little cooling off time. Plus I had to keep drinking liquids, that's what mama said. And here is Auntie Sine again. We had lots of fun together!

Here is Dolly, Grammy and Mr. Richards dog who taught me how to bark. I love chasing her around and petting her. I am learning to be a soft touch.

June - the beginning of summer

I love the water and I love to study new patterns. This pool gave me both opportunities.

We had a mini-vacation in Mobile for a weekend. Mama and Papa are very tired but I am full of energy to learn new things and see what is new.

We visited a submarine which is a National Historic Site.

Thai food

Mama had her birthday dinner at the Thai buffet. There isn't much I can eat there since it is too spicy for me. So I think I will make a protest but I am just being silly really.

Having fun with Mama in the Gulf of Mexico. I love the water splashing on me and looking for shells too.

Bye, bye now!!! I will try to get Mama to post more often. I miss you all and hope to see you soon one day.

2007-05-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Jamila has had many adventures in the last 2 months....

I will be 11 months in ten days and I am growing and learning all sorts of new things. I can now crawl and pull myself up with the help of furniture and people. I love taking my parents for a walk to show them the really interesting things out in the world.

Today we went to Pensacola Beach to try going into the Gulf of Mexico but it was too dangerous to play in it. The Hilton Hotel though had the community reggae concert next to the pool so Jamila had her first pool experience. As you will see this pool is great for the children since it has water squirting out. This is Jamila investigating the first high squirts.Daddy helped Jamila to the circle of squirts and this is what happened next...
I decided to run around and step on the squirting water to see how it felt.

Then I decided to sit down on the squirting water and figure out how it was coming out of the ground.

I really like sitting in the water and splashing too but it always seems to get into my eyes. But I keep splashing anyways... :)

Like I said before, sometimes I have to take the parents around to show them the best stuff.

And here we are putting our feet in the Gulf of Mexico but nothing else since the flag warning was for dangerous surf. Some of those waves were too big for me just standing on the edge.

Dominic decided to make chicken wings for the weekend and though messy they turned out excellente!!!

The daily routine of washing the bottles.

African Sing-A-Long....our monthly gathering of fun and interesting conversation.

Dominic, Martin and Lal drumming, cow belling and singing.

Auntie Diane was having fun with me but she likes to hide.

Adalia preparing herself for the singing and dancing. Devin and Carmel practicing their drumming.

A morning at Navy Point...just down the road from our house.

Samantha is taking her mom (Auntie Kelly) around to see the interesting things along the shore.

I decided to sit down in the water and sand to have a more fun time during our visit.

Carmel's 5 th Birthday....

Devin is helping Carmel read her card.

Charlie set a precedence in blowing up those long skinny balloons and I think he was the only person who could blow them up. So all the children kept asking him to blow them up and make shapes.

Carmel getting some Birthday CAKE!!

My Northwest trip...

This is my trip to see my Grandpa Bill and Grandma Nancy and all the other aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. I had lots of fun meeting new people and seeing the scenery.

We had a lovely walk through the park behind Bell Square....

We sat down for awhile and watched the children and parents play and later

we saw some ducks who were just as curious about me. They probably thought I had some food for them.

Here is Uncle Greg, mommy's brother. He visited me many times and he was lots of fun to play with.

I met Great Grandpa Harry and Great Grandma Barbara from the Bush side of the family.

Here I am with Auntie Katy, mommy's sister. :)

Our trip to Oregon....on the way we stopped at Evergreen in Olympia, WA, where I graduated from in 1999.

This is the Library and the graduation takes place outside in the plaza.

Evergreen has not changed-this picture is very typical- only the faces. I stopped to see a professor, Tom Womeldorff, and we were lucky enough to find him even though he was in the middle of a faculty retreat. He is now a dean or something like that.

In Portland, we visited Auntie Mara one of mommy's old friends from New Mexico and her children who are now my friends Soren (big grin) and Rainier (being held).

We also stayed with mommy's other long time friend Auntie Layla from way back in Colorado and her daughter Isabella and we had lots of fun as you can see.

We had a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant with more friends David, Prema and Jonah and of course with Grandpa Bill, Auntie Layla and Isabella.

I am trying to play peek-a-boo with this blanket but it doesn't work.

We then went to visit Cousin Ruben in Rockaway Beach along the Oregon Coast. I had a lovely time with him too. We went to the beach just about 50 feet out his door.

A beautiful sunset our first night with Cousin Ruben.

I decided to sit down and play in the sand while the grownups looked at the scenery. And taste a little too.

The wind was making my eyes water but I still wanted to stay outside.

More beautiful pictures of the Oregon Coast.

We went to the creamery in Tilamook where they make the cheese and other dairy products and I had fun there looking at all the people.

Back in Bellevue....it was a beautiful and clear day just days before we left. Actually most of the time was clear.

Me with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Nancy. I love practicing standing.

I spent some time with Auntie Rochelle and Cousin Brielle too.

And my mommy's good friend, Auntie Malaika!!!

Bye Washington!! We had such a lovely trip.

2007-03-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

The adventures of Jamila......

Jamila is 8 months now and she gets very excited when we go to restaurants. Since everyone else is talking and having a good time, so does she by screeching to join in the conversation and jumping up and down if we are holding her.

At least she now sits in a highchair; and I figured out the best way to keep her busy while we are eating is to give her a finger food, presently cheerios are easiest. There are none in front of her now since she either ate them or had a lovely time dropping them on the floor. She uses her forefinger to stabilize the cheerio and either drags it across the table to get a hold of it with her thumb or if the finger is wet enough she can transfer it to her mouth that way.

Jamila attended her first friend's birthday party at a park that has a great playground built by volunteers. One of the toys is gigantic chime.

Jamila's first time on a swing and she thouroughly enjoyed herself laughing and laughing every time I would push her. The funny part for me was trying to figure out how to position her in the swing so she would enjoy the ride.

Our new house....we have lots of plans to do some remodeling and gardening.

The kitchen....

Dominic and Jamila enjoying the family room.

Our weekend off...

In February, we had a mini vacation to Pensacola Beach just 30 minutes away. Dominic no longer has two jobs so we can relax a little and do some new projects on our house and just hang out.

This was the view out of our window of the hotel at sunset.

Some vegging time in the hotel room.

Papa's kissing me!!!!

I got to meet Uncle Nelson that weekend. He was here for a meeting.

And Uncle Billy is most interesting to me. I think I know him from somewhere but I am not sure.

Jamila found Dr. Roberts intriguing and spent most of her time staring at him while he was holding her. Maybe she remembers him from the Treasurer's Office but really who knows. (He was my boss while I was working at the Baha'i National Center.) It was quite entertaining to watch.

California dreamin'....Jamila took her first airplane trip in January to see her Auntie Sine and they hit it off right away.

Sine and Jamila enjoying each other on the pier where there is lots of wind which Jamila loves.

We took a trip to Hollywood with Sine's family she lives with-Big Patrick and Little Patrick and Maggie the mom/grandmother (not pictured). Too bad I didn't get a picture of Maggie-she helped out with a lot of the pictures. We are in front of the famous Chinese Theater.

Little Pat and I went to two museums. The one pictured above and a wax museum-always a strange place.

We were walking down the street when this guy started making up a rap for Jamila then he made one for Little Pat-that he should be a good example to Jamila. It was really good coming off the top of his head.

We had dinner at Mimi's Cafe because Little Pat got a certificate from school for being a postive helper for some specific group of young people at his school. Jamila loved the different colored lights you see in the background above the tables.

One day Sine took me to this place called the Anti Mall and this parking lot had a different saying for every space.

It took us three passes of the car to get this crazy picture of the Anti Mall. Not that impressive to me. It still had major corporations in it. From the sound of it, I thought it would have been more down to earth but it was a trendy smaller alternative to a mall.

This was the sitting area at the Anti Mall. Very good way to recycle. In Guyana, I remember using those kind of oil drums to catch rainfall in to use later for washing clothes and taking a bath.

Jamila just adores Sine and from the first time they met Jamila was so excited trying to jump around in my arms, smiling and laughing. Of course, she is the doting Auntie and has lots of fun with her little niece.

Sine has her own radio show and we accompanied her to her recording. She is very cool! If you want to catch her show it now airs on Fridays at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time on the web at www.ktstfm.com .

Newport Beach....

Funny, this could almost be Florida but its California. The surfer is more typical of Newport Beach than Pensacola Beach during this time of the year though. And the big difference is there is no white sand which Pensacola Beach is famous for.

2006-12-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

Jamila is now six months old this week January 5, 2007.........

November and December brought visitors and activities. Above is a family picture on Dominic's birthday in November. We got to go out to eat at one of Dominic's favorite places-Fire Mountain. It is a buffet and serves lots of grilled meats-Dominic loves the meat! At least there is a salad bar and veggies too but I enjoy it all.

Jamila is now sitting up though she is still wobbly sometimes and falls over as she is trying to grab things to play with. So I put her in the boppy that used to help me breatfeed her. And there is that beloved octopus that makes noise. Each leg is a note in a scale. Very fun!! I can play chopsticks on it and a few other tunes too. She is almost 6 months here.

Jamila has really gained a lot of weight in the last 2 months as you will be able to tell from the pictures.

I love the highchair and so does she!!! It makes it easier to feed her and she joins me in the kitchen at a different angle now too. She loves playing with that cup.

Jamila loves to try to feed herself so I feed her as much as I can before she starts to take over the spoon which she chomps on. When she tires of chewing on it, I pry it out of her little hand and get another spoonful which she joyfully accepts even if she shows the yucky face at first. She will try the food again and then roll it around in her mouth and swallow or spit it back out. However she is feeling at the moment. At the end of her meal, I let her use the bowl and spoon as much as she wants till she is finished.

Last week, Jamila and I spent the day with Carmel and Carmel had a great time helping me with Jamila. Jamila finds Carmel fascinating and Carmel feels the same about Jamila. I love this shot!

Dominic with the two CUTIES!!!!

In November, the Kumi and Kambuga families started an African Sing Along and the first gathering was a great success. The children danced around the whole time and the community was introduced to some languages they never heard before.

Also in November, there was a Baha'i Winter School at Pensacola Beach and we got to stay in the hotel. This was the view from our window. Every evening we went to sleep with the soft lulling of the waves and every morning we woke to the same sound but with some birds. It was such a relaxing way to sleep and wake. We met a lot of wonderful people too.

The following photos are 4 months old....

I love her serious thinking look. All I can say is look out world!! Here comes Jamila.

And one of my favorite sleeping pictures. She just fell asleep in mid play.

Peeping out to see the world...

The Kumi family joined us for Thanksgiving dinner in our apartment.

Daddy's little girl for sure.

The following photos are 5 months of age...

December brought many visitors to our little apartment and more smiles from Jamila too.

I love that smile!!!

My dad came to visit after one of his work conferences and boy did grandfather and granddaughter have fun together.

We went to see Perdido Key which is about 30 minutes west of where we live and has a national park so the beach is untouched in that area.

The developed area off in the near distance.

Jamila in control of her food. One of the most amazing parts of being a parent is helping your child become independent. From the moment the child is born, you as a parent are trying to help the child to do things on their own. Every so often, though, I get a tug on my heart strings when I see how much she is now able to do on her own and she does not need mommy to do that anymore. It is a great process to be a part of and to watch.

Grandpa bought Jamila a baby play station otherwise known as a saucer and boy is it fun. The first time we put her in it, she methodically went around the circle trying out every toy then went to the one that interested her most. We were amazed!!

The cute hat was made by my step-mom for her first dear grandchild.

Full view of Jamila's new toy. She gets involved in each toy at different times. There is a mirror and sometimes I leave the room for a minute and come back and there she is staring at the baby in the mirror. It is very cute!!

Carmel getting to hold Jamila!! Yippee!!!

We got a visit from Auntie Tae-Jin and Uncle Vahid from Michigan.

One of the days we went to the beach and there were tons of shells being washed to shore so we went looking for whole ones and that was lots of fun.

Jamila loves Papa's hats. Or is it Papa likes putting his hats on Jamila? One of our nice sunny days for the 10 rainy gloomy wintery days before.

2006-11-13T18:16:00.000-08:00

Jamila is 4 months old.....

Thanks everyone for your heartfelt comments about my last posting on isolation as a stay at home mom. One of these days when we get a second car, it will help me to be able to get out during the day. I feel close to all of you in spirit even though I can't be with you physically. I never felt this isolated before because I had options to get out and also I never had to take care of somebody 24 hours 7 days a week with no long breaks. I am learning to take advantage and fully utilize my short breaks. My time is no longer my time alone but really for the family. Being a parent truly makes me appreciate my parents so much more than before. Dominic feels the same. There was no way for us to know the position our parents have been in until now.

I really miss Chicago for the public transportation and for it being convenient in a big city way. Jamila is 4 months now and this picture of her with Dominic getting ready for one of their walks is sooo sweet.

This is one of Dominic's photographs after a family dinner outing. I like to go out to eat once a week just to get out but to be with the family too. And since both Dominic and I are usually exhausted by the middle of the week or the end of the week it is good to take a break. Dominic works 7 days a week right now so he is constantly without a break.
I love this picture!!! Jamila is talking to all the dangling things. There is a mobile furthur above her not pictured that she converses with regularly. She is always trying to figure out what is going on and why things make certain noises or look new. You can see in her eye and her expressions she is really thinking hard.
This is the first smile caught on camera. What a brilliant smile!
And here is her serious and intense look when she is studying things. She also has a popping eye studying look when she can hardly believe what she is seeing. She is so interested in the world and can hardly get enough most days.

Tummy time for Jamila. Some days are better than others with this activity. She was enjoying her tummy time in this picture.
Everyday, Jamila and I have a dancing, bouncing, flying play time to my world music. She smiles and laughs out loud. One of her favorite songs is an East Indian song called Aaj Mera Jee Karda from the Monsoon Wedding soundtrack and another favorite is Maria Salome by Saida Karoli from Tanzania who is from Dominic and Jamila's tribe, the Haya.

2006-10-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

Isolation as a mother in this country is a very big and real issue. It is such a blessing to stay home with the babies of our world but what a lot of work it is and sometimes just trying to make a meal is a real feat. I can see why there is post partum depression here in the U.S. and wonder if this issue is as great in other countries where the mother and parents are supported by the whole family especially the female members. And I also wonder as those countries become more industrialized and more big city oriented if post partum depression increases. This is the scoop, there is no real community set up in the U.S. for stay at home mom's unless you live in the same city or area as your family. And even then, depending on the way the supporting family members live life, it may not be that supportive. There is very little time for community oriented activities without a time limit. Even if you can meet up with some friends, many times there is a time limit because they work 40-60 hours a week and they work hard so their time is really precious. Our society is just busy.

This contrasts drastically with the Tanzanian culture of you have time to talk to anyone even if you will be late for work. And you can get off of work for funerals, weddings and many other happenings without getting fired if you stay beyond your expected time off. I really like the idea of having time for people and miss that kind of thinking.

There must be a middle ground between these two cultures. I know that in Japan, it is way worse in terms of time especially for the father in the family. I hope one day that we can work but not work ourselves to death. I hope that we can actually have time to volunteer to help others that may need our help. I hope that we can have time to help ourselves in a more person to person community building type of way in the near future. This means not worrying that we only have an hour to spend with a friend and if we go over the time then our whole world is off kilter.

2006-10-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

Jamila is 3 months old.......
And she has been having lots of adventures in her life. I have been behind the last 3 weeks in posting because I became so tired I started going to bed early around 8 or 9 and I usually post after that time when Jamila is sound asleep. This is one of the first times I have had time to post some pictures.

One of our weekly family outings to the beach. We go in the late afternoon early evening when it is not as hot. She was bearing the hat mom put on her.
Dominic and Jamila in the warm Gulf of Mexico. It is like bath water and the color is gorgeous.

Sometimes Jamila is not so sure she likes her carseat but eventually she can sit in it for an hour without too much fuss.

Our self portrait while at home in the nice cool apartment.
Our sleeping angel. She looks like she is meditating. This is the look she gets in her carseat when she is not wanting to be in the carseat but is tired enough she can fall asleep.
Mom taking pictures of me and that flash always makes me surprised.
This is Jamila's front carrier which she loves to be in when you are walking. She usually falls asleep in the evenings when nothing else works.
Our friends Martin and Carmel visiting us.

Some action shots of Jamila in motion. I can never quite get the shot I want but these are fun.

2006-09-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Life before Jamila is hard to remember now. This is mostly because no matter how prepared you are for motherhood or parenthood, you are never totally prepared. How can you imagine something you have never experienced before to its fullest implications? There is no way even with the best imagination in the world. I do think it is worth the imagining and then you find out how much better and harder it really is than you imagined.

Motherhood is great, wonderful, amazing, full of surprises, frustration, love, dedication and million other things that might bore you to tears. I can say this, I do not miss working. I only miss the daily contact with friends and co-workers. The work itself I do not miss. I think one reason for this is I have been able to do so much of what I ever wanted in my life that there is no room for wishing I could have done something. I have traveled around the world, finished a degree, served my Faith, made numerous friends around the world, married and best of all I have continued to grow and apply what I have learned to make my life to continue to have more meaning. Having a child now is right and will be an amazing adventure. There are still many things I would like to accomplish but I don't feel stiffled or cut off from the possibility of reaching those goals later in life. A very good friend of mine always says that women can have it all just not all at the same time. It is strange that it seems to be that way for me. The things I would like to do I still have time for and if I don't finish them I know I have lived my life fully with love and dignity. All that really matters is the love of my family and friends anyways.

2006-08-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures of Jamila...8 weeks old

Jamila and I hang out in our apartment most days finding things to do and resting since she still loves to sleep. It is hard to believe that she has been in our lives for only 8 weeks. I remember things before she came but it is fleeting just like other times in my life where there has been a multi-dimensional change in the way I live. Now my focus is Jamila and trying to get enough time in with Dominic when she is resting. My energy is all on the family for now. And keeping myself healthy and happy.
This hat is from my sister, Sine, who wanted to give Jamila something not so obviously girly. Soooo cute!!!!
Bathtime with Papa, one of her favorite things to do. And it makes her sleepy too.
This may sound strange but Jamila picked this shirt out for herself. How you may ask did she do this? Well we held up different shirts up for her to look at and this one had the most favorable reaction of the raising of her eyebrows and opening her eyes wide. The other shirts made her cry.
Jamila seems to really enjoy Hand Hand Fingers Thumb. She gets very wide eyes and starts to try to talk while I read it. Also her legs get into the story too like she is very excited about the story pumping away.
This was a gift from one of my friend's children, Paula. Paula thought Jamila would like this octopus and she figured right. Paula is about 2 1/2 years old and she has great taste. The legs of the octopus when sqeezed make the notes of the scale. It sounds a bit like a harmonica.
These are Jamila's foot rattles to help her realize her feet are attached to her since she really moves those legs like she is going somewhere and fast. She really likes the cow but not the sheep. In fact the sheep made her upset when it was held in front of her and the cow made her smile.
Jamila is laughing and smiling without any sound and we finally caught it on camera!!! She really likes the pink pig with the corn-she always is looking at it and talking to it.
Such a sweet picture of her having sweet dreams. I love watching her sleep. There is something so special in being able to see Jamila in all her states and the sleeping one is the most vulnerable and oh so peaceful for her and for me.

2006-08-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Why Pensacola?

For those of you who don't know the story behind moving to Pensacola, here it goes. After I found out I was pregnant, Dominic and I decided I would give notice at my workplace, The Baha'i National Center. As the time got closer to when I would no longer be working, it seemed that Dominic's luck in finding a full-time job in the Chicago area was not surfacing. So we bit the bullet and Dominic flew out to Pensacola, Florida where our dear friends the Kumi's live. They had told us that there was a very good market of jobs for Dominic. In April, he flew out and got a job offer the first day he started looking and later he also found a part time job in addition to his full time job. This was the best opportunity he had since he was in the States so we decided to move to Pensacola for the time being. Hurricanes and all.....

At any rate, we are now settled in an apartment in a condo community and we have the major furniture set up with boxes here and there still.

2006-08-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Chicago....Hello Pensacola

Such a move across the country has been very crazy. The following pictures are from the last couple of weeks in Chicago and our first weeks in Pensacola. We could not have completed the move without the help of my mom. She rode down with us and helped with Jamila and setting up our new home. It is strange leaving Chicago now that we became somewhat established there. We had made many friends of varying backgrounds and left many Tanzanians there which were our family from the first day we met them. Now we have to establish ourselves again in a new community.

Why do we have so much stuff? And it really isn't that much compared to some other people.
My step-mom, Nancy, me, Jamila and my father in the House of Worship. Jamila's second time there.
The grandparents playing with Jamila.
Two proud fathers with their children-Papa Nii and Jamila.
My birthing team Mojgan, Anne and Kim and my mom was the fourth person not pictured.
Israil and me for the last time in Gilson park. Miss you....
Tae-Jin and Vahid were the last people to see us in Chicago. We had a going away breakfast.
The Kambuga family leaving Chicago.
Goodbye Loyola El stop....
Goodbye yucky traffic on the Dan Ryan...
Dominic the truck driver. He had quite a job driving as you can see from the next picture.

The cutest girl in our lives, Jamila Nyamwiza. She is making all sorts of expressions and we try to catch them but it is hard.

Jamila chewing on her butterfly teether. She was very interested in it.

2006-07-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

21 days old or 3 weeks...

Here is Jamila after a diaper change.

We were hanging out on the bed nursing and making faces at each other. She also has a great time listening to interesting sounds like the rattle that has a squeeky sound and a paper sound. She stops sucking on her pacifier to try to figure out what is happening then she goes back to sucking after a moment or so. She gets this look on her face and in her eye that something is going on and all must be well so I will go back to my pacifier.

Papa and Jamila out for one of our walks to Lake Michigan. Dominick says this is so Jamila can see the world and so God can really see us in the outdoors.

Hanging out with Papa on his legs.

Uncle Aziz, a friend of Dominick's from Tanzania who now lives in the States.

2006-07-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

Jamila is Pronounced Jameela.....

Now I have a few moments to update you all on what is going on this week. We are all recovering from the delivery and just enjoying our time together as a family until we move to Pensacola, Florida, and Dominic's going back to work. Our sleep is erratic as you may know but I take the time to enjoy this time with Jamila and look at her while she sleeps and nurses and looks around at her new world.

I have a feeling she will have this expression when she gets older....

Peacefully sleeping on our bed.

Our first family shots and this is the best one so far. It seems we all have a hard time coordinating pleasing expressions for the camera when our picture is being taken.

So cute...this is her first visit to the House of Worship and it was one of the hottest days.

My father enjoying his first grandchild on an overnight visit from one of his many meetings in D.C.

2006-07-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome Jamila Nyamwiza Kambuga to this new world.

The love of our lives was born on July 5, 2006 at 5:40pm weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches long.

Jamila is both a Swahili and Arabic name meaning beautiful and Nyamwiza is Dominic's grandmother's name from their tribe, Haya, which means the one who is born after twins. Now that his grandmother has passed we wanted to honor her through our daughter.

Papa Dominic talking with Jamila for the first time in person.

Our sweet and angelic snuggle bug.

2006-06-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

No Baby yet.......

So far the baby seems to be very comfortable in its home and is enjoying it to the maximum. It still is moving around a lot and sometimes more than usual. It is harder and harder for me to get up from sitting down. I have noticed the baby is way lower in my abdomin and I think it is slowly moving downward. Here are a couple pictures from the last few days.

My mom and I enjoying Persian food at Cafe Suron.

One of our walks to the lake.

2006-06-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Dominick with our friend's (Mina and Alan) baby Raffi-I can't wait to see him as a father.

A blurry picture but we kept moving and this is the best one of us opening gifts and reading cards.

A group picture from the baby shower my friends Tiffany, Tae-Jin, Touba and Kim had for me. We invited the guys too since it is way more entertaining and interesting that way.

2006-06-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

I am finally starting a blog now that I have a little more time. Or should I say just a different kind of time. The baby is due on Wednesday, June 28 and though I am looking forward to having the baby, I hope it waits till Dominick and my mom get here on Monday, June 26. This picture is from the surprise baby shower party my office threw for me. I was very surprised!!! They definitely pulled it off without me having the slightest idea they were doing such a thing.