our thanksgiving week

i can't believe that thanksgiving has come and gone and we are now in the christmas season! we had a wonderful thanksgiving, so many friends and family with us to celebrate. the kids were so excited to have a houseful of people. elias was so excited that he couldn't sleep- that is until thanksgiving dinner was on the table and proceeded to fall asleep while eating his supper. did i mention that both of my children had frosted mini wheats for thanksgiving dinner after yelling "yucky, yucky, yucky" at everything on their plate? i think next year thanksgiving dinner will be much easier to prepare though (and much cheaper!)

on saturday we had a second thanksgiving feast in richmond, virginia with reza's family. we all had a lot of fun and are so glad that baba jon is back in the country! the kids did a great job with all the travel, that is, until the last fifteen minutes. elias woke up from a very deep sleep and started screaming so loud that ada felt she should compete. back and forth they screamed and cried until we got out of the car and into the house. ah, home sweet home.

ada at her thanksgiving performance at school. can you read her banner? yep, you read it right "i am thankful for MOM", not my family, not god, not cookies, just ME. no pressure, really.

li is still slightly obsessed with his power tools, esp. his chainsaw. here is is going after auntie m. no, he doesn't want to cut down trees. he wants to cut off body parts. speaking of chainsaws, reza got out his chainsaw to cut up a log this weekend for a bonfire. upon starting it he quickly realized that one of our tikes had diligently taken a screwdriver and loosened every screw on it! are they talented or what? i am not sure who did it, but upon hearing reza yelling outside, ada said "i think baba is upset that someone was messing with his chainsaw. i think it was elias". hmm, suspicious. and she has her own slight obsession with tinkerbelle, the tinkering fairy that is very good at fixing things.

li worked hard to entertain everyone on thanksgiving day.

the thanksgiving spread. and if you look closely, check out the artwork on my fridge. i love it. land of mermaids and princesses with curly-cue hair.

eating.

li with baba jon.

li, amelia, auntie laila and baba jon

we visited a toy store in richmond and santa just happened to be there checking on the children. ada walked right up to him and told him her name. she proceeded to sit on his lap, and then, terror struck. by the time he asked her what she wanted all she could say was "nothing". then she refused to take her treat from him and walked away. i think it was just a dress rehearsal for us. we are going to try it again when we are a little bit more prepared.

terror.

a nice walk on campus sunday. after starbucks gingerbread lattes and pumpkin scones. yum.

she caught a ladybug.

and shared it with her brother.

my family. soon to be one person larger. can't wait!

ada's thanksgiving celebration at school!

a little bit of everything and a big thank you.

the day nande arrived. li was too excited to take a nap, until i decided to get him out of bed...

mala and elias. i have not a single picture of joanna and i. mala is one of the sweetest (and most well-behaved) toddlers in the world! i hope my next is just like her! and did i mention that mala loved ada, and in return, ada loved mala. i can't wait for ada to have a little sister.

my favorite boys in the world, and they are best buds too.

ada with baby lea. after leaving our ever-too-short playdate, ada repeatedly said "remember baby lea, she was soooo cute!" and really she was, i'll take one please!

us. and my huge belly.
sunglasses, belly and all. poor kid was almost too tired to function when we met up with anna, jay and babies clara and lea.

i should start with the big thank you. early this week my mom came up and worked miracles on my little house. this woman had an agenda (and my kids didn't even notice because she gave them so much attention too!). she sorted, washed, folded and organized all the baby clothes and accessories that our pending arrival will ever need! she removed every stain from the baby's hand-me-downs (have i mentioned that i am so NOT good at doing laundry!) and now our little girl will have pristine used clothes. almost as good as new! nande also babysat one evening so reza and i could enjoy a fine sushi dinner. the kids adore her. finally she proceeded to clean and organize my laundry room and basement closets, something i have had on my to-do list since i moved in. i am eternally grateful to have such a wonderful mom, thank you!

this weekend was fun-filled with visits from lots of old friends that we don't see nearly enough. how wonderful is it to have so many visitors! when we lived in boston (and shreveport for that matter) we missed having people come to see us all the time. don't get me wrong, we had visitors (not so much in shreveport, but who can blame them!) but this is the primary reason that we moved to chapel hill. it is so wonderful to have so many family and friends stop by to visit. we love it and so do our kiddos!

i have been a total slacker with the camera lately. tooooooo busy with preschool, playdates, doctor appointments, christmas shopping, cleaning, preparing to host both thanksgiving and christmas at our house... i could go on. point being, i don't have many pictures to show for our wonderful visits, but please know, they are all appreciated.

ok- bedtime.

his weekend

i just wanted to post some pictures of elias' birthday weekend. he was a little under the weather, but we managed to have fun (snotty, teething fun anyways.) grandma came to town for the big day too! she was only here for less than two days, but we tried to make the most of it!

ada also had a great weekend. reza and i surprised her with a brand new bigger bike! she was absolutely thrilled! we gave it to her when elias was napping and she rode it the rest of the day (and every day since!) she has perfected her riding enough to be able to ride it to school, so monday morning she and reza rode to weaver street early before school, shared hot chocolate and then he dropped her off. how fun is that (especially for ME)!?!

the day after elias turned 2, he decided he better start acting the part. i can honestly say that i think the terrible two's have struck our house. HUGE fits, throwing himself on the floor at any point in time, and still incredibly sweet at the same time. it makes for long days, but i suppose it is all a part of growing up. i think ada secretly likes it though-- she is now viewed as the angel!

ada gave li so much love on his birthday. it was so foreign to him, he didn't know how to handle it!

a new truck from ada.

sick-faced but cute.

grandma, her baby, and baba's little girl

cake time! reza went to whole foods and picked a delicious "chocolate bar" cake. we, grown-ups, loved it. the kids, well, not so much. they prefer the harris teeter special!

ada on her new ride!

at the museum of life and science on sunday.

on the train. li's favorite part!

my little boy is two!

my very own little man is two today. it makes me want to cry. why does he have to grow up? he is absolutely the most perfect specimen that god could create. he is ever-so-charming and hilarious and seeks the attention of every single person he stumbles across. he never fails. he makes every single one of our days better. we laugh more because of him and get the best snuggles and kisses every night before bed. ada adores him. he has made her a better person too. he is whimsical and carefree, yet witty and incredibly bright. he is strong, fast, and sneaky. he should never be out of our sight for even one minute (did i mention that he emptied an entire tube of toothpaste on every wall, banister, hallway of our upstairs this morning? it still smells extra minty up there.) he loves bikes, trucks, motorcycles, music, dancing, chocolate milk, kraft macaroni and cheese, pancakes, train rides, swimming, running, riding bikes, but mostly he loves his family. he loves ada. he loves his baba, and he loves me. and he always shows us. we are lucky.

he is so self-motivated, he will accomplish so many amazing things in his life. but he will always be my little boy. and he will always be perfect.

the day he was born. 11/06/08. 1:21pm, 9lb. 1oz. 20 in.

his first day at home.

love.

elias' first birthday. one year ago. so many changes.

my little man.