Dec 7, Mani's bris

Buby and Zaida came in to play important roles in the bris... hold him down and keep him drunk. Uncle Paul and Aunty Toby were there virtually through the magic of the web cam. Mama Jaleh, Dayi Ali, Amu Nersi and Azar were there to lend moral support. Thanks to Nersi for the pictures.

Salma in December (17 months)

Buby and Zaida came in for Mani's bris and couldn't believe how much Salma had grown.
Salma loves her new tea set. Particularly the part where she can dump all the pieces out all over the floor.


Today my friend Joanna introduced Salma and I to the Habitot Children's Museum in Berkeley. Loads of fun. I expect we'll be going back for more. There are many of these hands on children's museums all over the country and in Canada. Great stuff.

What's in a name...

Mani, (pronouned maw-nee' as in Tommy with the emphasis on the 2nd syllable), was a Persian prophet who lived around 200CE. He was also a painter. Here's a link to the wikipedia article. I've also just learned that Mani means "jewel" in Tamil which is an added bonus.

Mani at 7 days.

Mani is born

Introducing Mani Raphael.

Wow! This one was totally different. Substantially easier...for me any way:). Zahra came home after only 2 days! Jaleh is here and is a really big help. Mani nurses really well. From the very first moment he seemed to know what he was doing. Of course Zahra is an expert too at this point. And Salma seems to be happy with her new brother.

I've put a few pictures in web album. Let me know if you like this approach.

2006_11_30 Mani is born

Doing her part... broom broom broom

 

Salma at Tiamat's Birthday

 
 
 

Aloha from Kauai

We took the last opportunity for travel and spent a few days on Kauai. Initially, Salma was afraid of the ocean and the breaking waves. But at some point on the second day, it was as if a bit flipped and she loved it. And the other point of note is that she took her first real strides towards walking. But really, she loved being in the water. We weren't sure which was going to come first, swimming or walking. Here are a few pics from the trip.

catchng up

New Hair Cut

Khaleh Ameneh took the scissors to Salma's hair for the first time. She makes a very pretty boy if we do say so ourselves.

One Year Old!!

A whole year already!





Taking stock: At this point Salma seems to really like music, dancing and water. She crawls with gusto. Talks a lot and has a very cute nose-scrunching way saying "let's be happy together". She definitely communicates a handful of words. "Ummm" most importantly, is food. And certainly "Na". She's not the bravest sole... a little more on the sensitive side. Screaming world cup soccer fans will make her cry. She seems to eat most everything, and it all tastes better when shared. She's a joy.

Camping

The weekend before Salma's birthday we went camping with the greater Warda clan in the El Dorado National Forest on Union Valley Reservoir. It was a perfect weekend and Salma loved the outdoors, sleeping in the tent, crawling around in the dirt, and wading in ice-cold alpine lake water. We took the opportunity to celebrate her first birthday with the crowd of fictive kin.