Christmas Morning

Santa certainly visited Saraya on Christmas Eve! She had lots of new toys to play with on Christmas morning. Nana and Papaw came over to see what Santa brought and Saraya showed off her new toys and opened her gifts from us.

My very own name book!

She finally got the hang of opening the presents.

This paper is pretty...and it tastes good, too.

A new car!

More Christmas pictures to follow soon!

Christmas Card Outtakes

Outtakes from our Christmas card photo shoot:

These first two were almost good enough to make the cut. There were so many good shots to choose from. I love the second one!

This one was really good of Saraya, but Ahmad's hand replacing the ornament was not the look we were going for.

Ahmad was standing behind me singing and laughing and being really silly. In this one she just looks like she's thinking "Dad, what in the world are you doing?"

There were lots of shots of the back of her head. The tree was too tempting.

And so were the ornaments.

In the end, we had several fabulous shots and I couldn't narrow it down to just one so I put three on our card!

Sitting with Santa

Saraya's first visit with Santa. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first...

But then she decided Santa was fun. She particularly liked his beard!

My Greatest Blessings

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It ranks up there in my most favorite of holidays. There are a lot of reasons why. I enjoy just relaxing with family and not worrying about gifts or decorations or the hustle and bustle. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite days of the year.

Last year, there was a whole new reason why. As I lay on the couch after eating too much of Mom's wonderful cooking, I felt Saraya move for the first time. I was about 18 weeks pregnant. It was the most magical feeling I had ever felt.

Fast forward to this year. I have such wonderful blessings to be thankful for. First and foremost, Ahmad and Saraya. I could not have asked for a better father for Saraya than Ahmad. He has changed as many diapers as I have, washed little hands, given baths, laughed, cried, and just been plain silly with Saraya since the day she was born. He is simply the most amazing father for my little girl. For that, I will be eternally grateful.

And speaking of my little girl. She has brought me more joy in the last 8 months than I could ever have imagined. She is simply the greatest gift and fills our lives with so much wonder and joy. This year has flown by and I think back to last Thanksgiving when I was wanting time to hurry so I could meet her. Now I find myself wishing time would slow down so I could enjoy this brief time when she is a baby a little longer.

Here are a few recent pictures of Saraya and her dad. I cannot begin to say how thankful I am to have both of them in my life.

Saraya is helping Dad study

Napping on Dad with her new baby doll

Hairdo...

This is what happens when Daddy fixes your hair...

Huber Farm

This fall we all took a trip to Huber Farm. Papaw was here and the whole family went pumpkin hunting. Here are a few of the shots from that day.

Meredith and Michael fishing

Saraya enjoyed watching them fish.

Meredith and Saraya on the tractor!

Now Meredith is taking Laurel for a spin.

Driving all by herself!

Petting the baby goats.

Give Peas a Chance

Saraya's first shot at eating peas. Perhaps I should introduce new food when she isn't so sleepy!

Summer Days

Ahmad and Saraya recently enjoyed a beautiful summer day outside. Here are some great shots of them playing in the grass and loving the weather. I will be sad when summer is over!

Beach Baby

We took our first vacation with Saraya in August. We went to Myrtle Beach and Nana came with us! It was Saraya's first time at the beach and she seemed to like it. She was mildly scared of the waves but really enjoyed the water and being in the pool. The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed the rest, relaxation and sun! We even made it down to Charleston one day. We had one of the best meals I have ever had while we were in Charleston. If you are ever in the area, go eat atMagnolia's. The food was amazing!

Here are some pictures of Saraya at the beach. Enjoy!

Meeting Papaw

For my residency graduation my parents came to visit Rochester. For Papaw it was a very special trip as it was his first time meeting Saraya. Needless to say, he was happy to see his third little granddaughter in person after seeing her so many times on video via Skype.

Papaw and Saraya had a great time. I think he wore pink just for her!

She's Already Proving Us Wrong...

Saraya had her 4 month appt today, complete with 3 shots! She cried during the shots but otherwise was great. She is 10 lbs, 10 oz (10th percentile) and 24 inches in length (25th percentile).

The doctor was going through the routine development questions and she asked us if Saraya had rolled over yet. We told her not totally but that she had made it 3/4 of the way from her belly to her back but not all the way. Well, she must have heard us because she rolled over twice tonight! We

caught the second one on video, but I can't seem to get videos to post on the blog. Maybe someone has a tip?

Instead, here is a picture of Saraya "reading" in her Bumbo seat!

4 Months Tomorrow

Hard to believe, but Saraya will be 4 months old tomorrow. She's doing great. She's growing like crazy, especially in length. According to our measurements, she's in the 75th percentile for length despite being 5 weeks early. When I plotted her at length as 3 months old (her gestational age) she was at the 100th percentile. Maybe she'll be tall?

Here is a recent picture of her with her Aunt Laura. She's practicing for our upcoming trip to the beach!

A New Room!

Ahmad, Saraya and I just recently moved back home. We have a new house and we were finally able to make a nursery for Saraya. I had been planning this for months and I am so excited to see that the final product is even better than I imagined. Ahmad, as always, did a great job painting and putting everything together. We painted her room yellow and painted one wall with stripes of blue, green, yellow, red and orange. The safari animals are stickers that come in retro patterns. The elephant, for example, is red paisley and the lion is a yellow plaid pattern. I LOVE them. Check out the room. There is even a peak at Saraya in one of the pictures. Tomorrow I promise more pics of Saraya!

Here are the strips in progress....Ahmad did an amazing job. It certainly wasn't easy!

I Am So Proud...

Last week Ahmad got his Associates Degree from Monroe Community College in International Business. I am so proud of him, not only because he graduated with honors, but also because he did it in English which is not his first language. I can't imagine finishing a business degree in Spanish much less Arabic with an entirely different alphabet. I am so, so, so proud of my graduate. And so is Saraya!!! Here she is with Dad on graduation day. She did great at the graduation ceremony (which was about 3 hours long) until she decided to spit up her entire meal onto both her and my dress.

Congratulations, Ahmad! Saraya and I are so proud of you!

Saraya is such a good baby but she is particulary happy in the mornings after she eats. She loves to play and laughs and smiles and talks to us. Here are some pictures from this morning. Last night was her first night sleeping in her sleep sack and she must have loved it because she woke up as happy as she could be.

Getting Big

Trying to help Dad hold the bottle. Saraya and Ahmad are enjoying their time together while Allison is back at work.

Spending Time with Mom

Here are a couple of pictures of Saraya and I spending some quality time together. She loves to read books!