100 Days Old

Our sweet Ariyana, you are 100 days old now! Time is flying by and we are enjoying every minute of you.  Our lives have really been so much happier since you were gifted to us!

Daddy was taking us out for lunch! Such pretty smiles you give us. We love each and every one of them!

Mommy love cuddle time!

One of the biggest things I'll always cherish with my daughter is our morning cuddle time. After her first feed, it's become routine for a mid-morning nap and cuddle. It's so wonderful!

'That' Monkey

I don't know what it is about that gosh darn Fisher Price monkey, but Ariyana loves it. Here she's actually looking at herself in the mirror, but almost always she's staring at that darn monkey. 

Must be the bright colors. Keeps her happy!

This is 'new'! She's been sticking her little tongue out these days. It's cute!!

Ariyana is growing up!

Tonight Ariyana is moving to her big girl crib in her room! I already know I'll be checking on her many times, but it's gotta happen sometime! Today, to commemorate her big move to her room, she got her ears pierced. It looks adorable. And she really turning into our beautiful princess.

I never really considered how controversial ear piercing can be for infant. In Arfan's culture, it's very common; more common than not to have ears pierced during infancy. I have no regrets getting her ears done, and I know how to well care for the piercing. The risk for infection is the same as when she would be older, only at this age, she can't mess with the piercing, allowing for it to heal. I don't really feel like I have to defend myself for having her ears pierced now. Much argument can be made for male circumcision - and as a nurse who assisted in many newborn circs, which are completely unnecessary, I find far more harm in a circ than in an ear piercing... I don't feel that I caused any harm to her, that she wouldn't have felt later on anyway -- only, she won't remember it at this age. 

Perplexed @ 3 months old!

Oh, if only babies could talk.
Mine would say, "Enough mommy, get that outta my face!"

3 months old today!

Our beautiful daughter is three months old today! It's going by so fast, and it's so hard to think I could miss out on something by just blinking. 
What is our little girl up to?


** She's sitting in her bumbo chair now, and really seems to like it a lot!


** She's still very much a lovey dovey, always wanting to be cuddled and held. 


** She sure doesn't like to be left on her own for too long. 


** Her favorite place is her room. She loves her changing table - loves to look around and her room. This      is where we get her best and my precious beaming smiles. 


** She is still nursing primarily and has lived on mommy's chest lately. We think she's having a growth spurt!


** She's filling out into her three month clothes now. She doesn't swim in them anymore. 


** Besides mommy and daddy, her Uncle Sol is her favorite person. 


** She has a sleep routine now! Her last nursing feeding is around 830pm these days, and she'll fall asleep in mommy's arms around nine. She'll sleep from then till around 4am and feed again. Then she'll sleep again till 7am. Then she'll feed again and fall back asleep from 10am-1130am. This has been her routine as of lately. 


** You're still in your size one diapers, but I am not sure if we'll be moving up a size after we use up all that we have now. You grow so fast, little girl!


** You love to lick everything. Especially the zipper on your cute little blue vest. 


** Your hair is starting to grow back, but you're still maintaining the bald spot on the back and sides of your head. 


** You love to be carried around facing out. We do this with the Baby Bjorn, you just love to look around and things. 


** You give the greatest hugs during cuddle time when you nap on our chest.


** You've found your feet! They move! 


** We think your favorite color is pink! You're always so happy in your pink outfits!


** You're starting to develop your features now. You have Daddy's eyes, lips, ears, and feet. You have mommy's nose and you're in between our skin color. You're beautiful! You have the longest eye-lashes everywhere. As Uncle Sol said, "Not that I'm gay or anything, but I'm jealous of those long lashes!" LOL

I found my feet! They're so awesome!

<3 My Bumbo Chair!

I'm a Daddy's girl and he knows it!

I love my morning tummy time! I'm babbling with mommy here!

My shrimp and sausage gumbo...

So this recipe has been most requested by many people. So now, I suppose I should write the recipe down. 


Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbs olive oil

1 large sweet onion chopped
1 large green bell pepper chopped
2 large stalks celery chopped
2 Tbs Original Essence
1 Tbs chopped tyme

1 Tbs chopped parsley 
32oz seafood stock
1- 6 oz can tomato paste
2- 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (I use Del Monte with Jalapenos and Green chilis)
2 cups frozen chopped okra

1 pound frozen jumbo shrimp uncooked
1 package (5 links) hot Italian sausage

 2- 6oz boxes long grain and wild rice (I use Near East brand)

Dice the onion, bell pepper, and celery into a medium dice. In a large Dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the salt and cook the onion, bell pepper, and celery until tender about 7-8 minutes and onion is translucent. Salt the veggies at the start of cooking to help release the liquid. Once they are cooked add the seafood stock (TIP: add 3/4 of the box at first and add more (after adding the rice) later to fill the pot and to prevent over-flowing), Original Essence, type, parsley, tomatoes with juices and tomato purée and stir well. Allow to come to just a boil then cover and turn down heat to simmer. Let simmer for 20 minutes. 

While the pot is simmering, cook the Italian sausage in a separate pan until cooked through. Once cooked, cut sausage into bite sized pieces and add to simmering pot and stir to combine. 

After the 20 minutes has passed stir the pot very well and continue to simmer for 30 more minutes uncovered. 

While simmering during these 30 minutes, cook the long grain and wild rice according to package directions. Once rice is cooked add rice to pot along with the okra. Stir to combine well. 

Simmer 10 minutes longer and add the shrimp and okra to the pot and stir to combine. Cover and simmer 12 more minutes. 

Sample for taste and adjust spice level as desired. 

Happy baby girl

We are getting loads of happy smiles from Ariyana these days. She even gave us a preview of her little giggle. The other day, she and Daddy had a full on babbling conversation. That'd have been a good one to record. Unfortunately, as soon as I whip out the phone to record, the cute moment is over. At least I'll have it in my memory. 

We are getting very anxious and excited for June and our wedding/vacation. My father and one of my half-sisters will be joining us on the trip. I'm so thrilled that they will be able to come down! Wonderful, it's going to be an amazing trip! So far there's going to be around twenty people going on the cruise with us. So excited. The other day, we were browsing in the mall, if anything, to get out of the house. We picked up a few super cute dresses and outfits for Ariyana. I can't wait for warm weather so that we can all get out of the house more!

If only I can figure out how to move

After Ariyana's morning nap, she gets her morning dose of tummy time- as if I was carrying out doctors orders, or so it seems as I type that. For the most part she likes her tummy time, but here, in this picture, taken a couple of weeks ago (I'm late in blogging it), she gets frustrated when she can't figure out how to move. She sure tries though! Love the tongue and her determination!

Mr. Bunny & I

Before Ariyana was born, and I was very pregnant we were walking around the mall, to save my sanity from being cooped up in the house due to freezing weather. No big huge, pregnant me falling on the ice. While at the mall, we stopped in at Build-a-Bear and made her a cute little bunny. For the most part it's sat on top of her dresser. I decided it was the perfect photo opportunity. I'm only sad that I didn't get a picture like this when she was a newborn and super tiny! Oh, well. 

Happy Valentine's Day

There is so much love in my life I just can't stand it. I'm so blessed to have the most wonderful fiance, and our sweet baby girl in my life. As she sleeps and I snuggle with my man, I realize that it's only going to get better, and life is just so good. 

Tonight is the night!

I can't believe that it's really happening. I'll be going back to work tonight for the first time since I went on maternity leave. Yeah, I dropped a ton of hours, and only working when I can... but I lost all my benefits. I don't see any other way to do it though. I could work more, but half my paycheck would go to paying a sitter to watch Ariyana - and it's just not worth that to me. So, I'll work when I can, enough to at least pay my car payments and insurance. I'm going to miss my peanut and my man, but I'm already used to not seeing him when he's away -- I haven't been without my little girl for quite a while now. *sigh*. 

*** Giving Daddy hugs ***

The way she sleeps

What I'd do if I could fall asleep like a baby - well Ariyana in particular. It cracks me up at times when I find her asleep in the most unusual positions. This morning was no exception. 

Sleeping with her arm in the air. Here you can see her little bald 'line' where she rubs her head back and forth. It cracks me up.... I'll have to get it on video if I get the chance; when there is a lot to look at she'll turn her head left to right, back and forth repeatedly to try and see everything. And will rub the hair right off. Much as the way she did the top of her head when she was still in my belly. 

Ho hum.

This is why I don't make resolutions. I still wish I was reading more. Since my last entry, I haven't even opened a book. And to be honest, haven't yet started back on my workout routine. And yes, I confess I made myself pancakes this morning for breakfast. Not quite part of my low carb, healthy diet. Ariyana has been sleeping quite a bit today, so I got a bunch of house-work done. I must really be bored, because honestly, the house hasn't been this clean in ages. Aside from my man's laundry (which after several disagreements) he is choosing to do his own laundry - good for him! LOL. -- everything else is pretty much done. I even shoveled  the driveway of snow during one of Ariyana's naps. Ugh. Arfan had Army drill today and I was home, bored, all day... again. I'm going a little stir crazy. I miss having something to do besides sit at home with Ariyana. That wouldn't be the case if it wasn't in the extremely cold, freezing winter of Buffalo. If it was warmer at least I could get outta the house, go for walks to the park, something at least. But nah, I'm going stir crazy cooped up in here. Yeah, I get out sometimes, but not on the regular, and to an occasional shopping trip. So Arfan is at drill today, and it's now 730, and drill is over around 530- or six at the latest. I don't mind that he goes out for a couple with Army peoples, I think I'm jealous that he's getting out at all. I miss being more social. It's actually a bit depressing. I'm slowly losing touch with being close with people. The close friends I used to have, pretty well have fizzled out since moving to Buffalo. I look at my text messages, even more depressing. Ugh. Since we got our new iphones at Christmas, I've got text messages from a grand total of five people, including Arfan and Sol. I miss being social. Having friends of some sort... I have friends, just nobody I'm close with... over-time, people developed their own lives, much as I have mine with my new family. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it's hard. Pity party post. Blah.

Ariyana's Ralphie Suit

Unlike most of the rest of the country who has thawed out for good now, Western New York is still very, very cold. To the point where leaving the house really isn't enjoyable and doesn't happen often. In any case, Ariyana gets into her "Ralphie Suit". She's adorable and anything unlike a pink nightmare.

Nesting again?

So for the past week or so, it's been this running joke that I must be pregnant again (No joke, I took a test - and I'm not) because I've been nesting harder than when I was pregnant! Much to the happiness of Arfan, our home has never been cleaner. I took a couple of pictures of our office, because Lord knows, it'll prolly not look like this again for a long time. 

Daddy love

I'm so happy to have found a wonderful man and a fantastic father for myself and our children. He's so good to her and is good to me. Love him. And I get to marry him soon!

Daddy love <3

Getting ready to go out

So on occasion, yeah, we still need to venture out into the cold. This time, for groceries or something like that. In many ways, Ariyana still seems like a newborn because she sleeps quite a bit during the day still. I'll never forget these precious, innocent moments. 

I wonder what she dreams of. 

Resolutions

I've never made a resolution that I can honestly say that I remember keeping. So I haven't made any for as long as I can remember. But I'd really like to continue to better myself, not to fulfill some resolution, but to just simply be a better form of me. It's obvious that I'm trying to get in better shape. If anything, for vanities sake. I don't want to look like a lumpy bride in June. I want to be healthy as well, but for all intents and purposes, I want to look good, dammit! 

Hm. I also want to find joy in reading again. I used to read all the time. I would lose myself in a good book, and I'd tear through a novel in a few days. I'm hoping that Ariyana finds the joy in reading - I think that instead of having her favorite shows, I'd be proud if she had her favorite books. I'm starting early with her. I'm already reading to her in her glider in her nursery. To be honest, she doesn't care much for it. All for about 30 seconds she's interested in the pages, but then she's completely annoyed - or so it seems that I'm putting a book in front of her face. It's still early ;-) 

So... what am I going to read? I have a few books that I've picked up with the desire to read them... but never got around to it. My immediate goal... is to pick one out, and have at least 3 chapters read by tonight. It's hard for me to commit to that, because Ariyana tends to change plans quickly if she'd prefer attention over me getting some reading in. I suppose I'm setting this goal up, because now that cleaning is done, dishes are washed, and she's down napping - I feel like I have a free moment (nanosecond ?) to breathe. She's so peaceful sleeping. 

Losing It

I must say, I'm starting to feel pretty good about... looking good. Not good yet mind you, but certainly better. Arfan and I both have dropped ten pounds in the last month. I still have a bit of mamma jelly belly, but Arfan looks great. All his 'weight' dropped off of his mid-section. I've got a lotta toning left to do! 

I bought my wedding dress and I'm so excited to wear it. I found it on my first day shopping and it was the third dress I tried on. The sample size was a bit larger than me (ego boost), but if I bought that particular one, I could have it for 50% off and when I call in March, I'll be able to have it altered to my size. So I got a killer deal on my wedding dress, and I still have another month of toning up to do before I go for my alterations appointment. 

Ariyana is growing so fast and she's such a strong little girl. For only two months, she's already having it in her mind that she can crawl away already - lucky for me, her body and her mind aren't paired with that idea. But you can really tell that she tries to move! 

My iPhone cut me off

Oh, nobody really needs to tell me that I take tons of pictures of my little Ariyana. My phone always seems to be camera ready for every cute little pose or event. We today, my iPhone cut me off. I got the whole "you-exceeded-memory-capacity" message. Great. So I spent over an hour deleting pictures that were similar to other ones, and then backed up all my photos to my computer by syncing my phone. But until I back those photos up on discs, I'm afraid that if I delete them on my phone, somehow they'll disappear on my computer and they will be gone forever. Not such an irrational fear, as it's happened before. Luckily, with pictures that aren't of my first-born. 

Speaking of which, a picture upload is necessary about now. 

Ariyana playing in her jumperoo from Grandpa Sheppard