Birthday Wishes

Today is the birthday of my dear little bro, Brian, who is in France. He turns 27 today!!
Just wanted to let you know that we didn't forget you and that the 3 of us here wishes you a very sweet and wonderful year! Hope this year will see all your dreams fulfilled...

Also, last week was the birthday of my sister in law, Fanny (Brian's wife) and my aunty, Vohangy, who is in Mauritius. I was so busy last week, that I completely forgot to wish them both a happy birthday!!

So dear, brother, sister and aunty:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We love you and miss you three lots and lots and lots!!
Bisous
xoxox

Bye Bye Nasim

Tonight was the last night of Nasim in Australia. She is moving to New-Zealand with Farzad, her husband and their family.
So there was a big farewell party at her parents house tonight. We ate pizza & salad with yogurt dip, and then said some prayers for their new married life, then had tea with Persian sweets, then parteee Babeee!! Vibrant and enchanting Persian vibes was on the playlist. And as soon as the first note of music was heard, Mona was the first one on the dance floor.
Everyone had so much fun and we were all so hot and tired after all the dancing!! But it was nice!! Mona really enjoys Persian music!! She was so cute dancing to the music and clapping her fingers together, like the Persians do when they are dancing, she even sings to the songs!! She goes "lalalalalala" and spin around and around on herself!!!! lol...
We left at 12.30am and as soon as we started driving away, Mona felt deep asleep!! She was so exhausted from all the dancing and running around.

Wedding & a night at the hotel

Last night was the wedding of Nasim and Farzad. (Nasim is hubby's cousin).

The Baha'i wedding ceremony & reception was held at the Hyatt Hotel in Adelaide city.

We had such a blast!! Mona was so gorgeous wearing a very white 'princess' type of dress with hot pink boots. She also had a pink overcoat & scarf. I was wearing a long dark purple dress & hubby was wearing a light brown suit. We all look hot and fly!! lol. I assure you we did!! lol...

The wedding itself was very nice and beautiful (like all weddings), but boy did we have fun running around with Mona. As soon as we got there, she was so amazed by the lights, loud music and crowd of people, that she was totally uncontrollable alllllll night long. She just didn't want to sit down basically. Not for the ceremony, not for dinner, and specially not during dancing time!!

As the Baha'i ceremony started, Mona started to cry, because she didn't want to sit down, so we went outside with her and she was joined by a couple of other kids. That's where her shoes were kicked off, so that she could run and play with them. At the first course of dinner, her dress was already ruined!! At that point we gave up and decided to let her have fun!! Which she sure did.

When the dancing started, we though hmmm, we should probably start thinking about heading home, because of all the running around she did with the other kids, she would be pretty tired by now, well WRONG!!! She was so full of energy still at 10pm. She went on the dance floor with confidence and head on, and started dancing to the Persian tunes!! When I say she went head on, i really mean it... she was dancing all over the place. I literally had to run after her to catch up with her dancing and make sure she doesn't get stepped on by the people dancing on the dance floor.

I didn't get the chance to take a lot of pictures of the wedding itself, but I did record some videos of it and of course of Mona dancing!! We bought a video camera on Saturday because I knew Mona would dance at the wedding and I wanted to have this one on video. I will post the videos as soon as i find out how to upload them on the computer.

At the end of the wedding, Mona was getting really tired and wanted to sleep. Well 12.30am is really late for her, so daddy decided that we should stay for the night at the hotel (he confessed that he also wanted to stay there too and that it was fun to do things on the spur of the moment!! lol). So we did. It was really a very beautiful hotel, very luxurious and expensive!! Mona felt asleep straight after drinking her milk on the big king size bed of the hotel room. When she was alseep we ordered some midgnight snack cause we were straving!! And we went to sleep around 3am. Mommy & Daddy didn't sleep quite well because of Mona in the bed!! She really moves around a lot in her sleep and several times we had to put her back in the middle of the bed. But when she woke up, she was so happy, because mommy was on one side of her and daddy was on the other side. We all got out of the bed when breakfast was delivered to our room. We ate like kings!! lol... and was so full that we didn't need lunch!! Mona played happily in the room all morning, discovering every inch of the room and when she started to make a mess we decided to leave. We left the hotel at 12.30pm got home, had some snacks, watched tv together and we all went to take a nap. We woke up around 7pm and made a quick dinner. We just finished eating actually and while i am typing this, Mona is playing with daddy in the living room.

Here are some pics from last night.

Kids are funny!

This cute little story is from Sarah, from the Baha'i Homeschooling Yahoo Group:

so...my daughter, 4.5, and I are in the truck and talking about Abdu'l-Baha.
I have been asking her open questions lately to see what she'd tell a stranger who asks her "what is Baha'i?" etc.
I asked her who Abdu'l-Baha was and she replied...."he wrote prayers....teaches us about God....and sells cars."
I laughed so hard I almost peed.
Almost as good as last summer she saw a man with a long white beard driving a beat up old truck and stopped at a stop sign and she said, "Mama! It's Abdu'l-Baha!!!"

I've read Abdu'l-Baha had a great sense of humor...this is good...lol
Sarah

Spiritual Education of Children

The first meeting of the Baha'i Education Committee of the community of Marion was held at our house tonight.
It was very exciting for me to be part of the Education Committee of this huge Baha'i community. I had missed serving on committees since we moved from our previous Baha'i community a year ago.
Needless to say, that little Mona was also present at the meeting. She was comfortably seating on my lap, pen in hand, scribbling on my note book and commenting and giving her opinions as soon as she felt it necessary to do so!! Everyone seemed to enjoy her company though! lol...

We had to elect for a secretary for the committee 4 times!! Yes you read that right!! 4 times!!
The first 3 times were a tide between the previous secretary and myself. So at the 4th round of voting, the previous secretary remained secretary and I became her assistant!! lol.
On a serious note though, there is so much to be done in the area of spiritual education of our children. There is already a Baha'i Sunday School (Baha'i Children Classes) running, where a few other kids from other neighbouring community attend (in total 30 kids attend the Baha'i School and they are divided into 5 classes of different age groups). The only thing is that the school is on only for 2 hours twice a month. This is evidently not sufficient considering how important the spiritual education of children is.
The committee had previously tried and tried again to open the Baha'i School on a weekly basis, but due to fewer participation of students, reluctance of parents to bring their children on the excuse that Sundays are family days, and of course the lack of resources - no teachers = no school; which all of this combine has reduced the chances of maintaining the Baha'i School on a weekly basis.
This year the emphasis will be on "the importance of spiritual education of our beloved children". In hope that this will help the parents and community members grasp how urgent and important it is to have Baha'i School at least on a weekly basis and also to have their support and generate more resources. Teachers are so needed.
I sincerely hope that we do achieve this goal, as this matter really has high priority in my opinion. Prayers are most welcome!

Below is an extract from the document entitled "Foundations for a Spiritual Education"

The Nature, Purpose, and Outcomes of Spiritual Education

1. Spiritual Education is the Indispensable Foundation of All Other Knowledge. A spiritual education in which children come to know and remember God and to recognize His Manifestation is the purpose of all knowledge and provides the context for its proper application.
2. Spiritual Education Must Be Systematic and Ongoing. Educational programs for children must be well-planned and organized, sequential, and continuous.
3. Spiritual Education is the Foundation of Human Happiness. Without a spiritual education children cannot achieve happiness in this world or the next.
4. Spiritual Education Involves Striving to Attain a Balance between material, intellectual, and spiritual education.
5. Children’s Education Begins with Training in the Principles of Religion so that each heart will be attracted to the love of God. This love of God will be the cause of their obedience to divine law and their avoidance of wrongdoing.
6. The Purpose of Spiritual Education is to Bring into Being a New Race of Men. Spiritual education causes the highest level of spiritual potential to become manifest in human beings. Without a spiritual education man succumbs to the lower nature. The purpose of education and training is to strengthen the spiritual aspect of the human reality so that it will overcome the material, or lower, nature.
7. The Purpose of Spiritual Education is to Teach Children to Have High Aims toward which they steadfastly progress.
8. Human Action. Unless education results in the appearance of spiritual characteristics and virtues, it is useless, even harmful. Yet, if a person achieves both spiritual radiance and intellectual excellence he becomes noble and luminous.
9. Education is a Universal Law whose Purpose is Service to the Principle of the Oneness of Humanity and the Establishment of the Unity of Humankind. The Oneness of Humanity is a fundamental principle of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings. Consciousness of it is a primary purpose of all Bahá’í educational programs. This universal law is essential to the unity of humankind.
Summary:
The Bahá’í writings establish the essentially spiritual focus and character of Bahá’í education. The purpose of spiritual education is to help children develop and manifest inherent spiritual attributes and qualities. Such an education is essential for all children. Ensuring that it is provided is the responsibility of every Bahá’í. The development of divine qualities is crucial to the progress of human civilization, its unity, and the realization of true human potential.

First Hair Cut!!

Little Mona had her very first hair cut today!!
Her hair is very curly and was getting pretty long and crowded at the front top of her little head.
Also as we have a wedding to attend to this Saturday (Naysan's cousin is getting married - pics of their engagement was posted a couple of months ago!) I decided that she was in need of a hair trim.
So we went to our friend Fifi's home salon and she trimmed her hair.
So now the front top is very short and i have no idea how to style her hair for the wedding!! lol.

My computer is alive again!!!

Well, it's reborn actually!!
The doc, aka hubby, fixed my computer. The power had burned out so he had to buy another one or another casing. So he went to the shop to buy another power thingy and he came back with this brand new awesome casing!!
It's all black with a digital screen at the bottom that gives the time and some other stuff that i don't know yet what they stand for! The screen has blue back light and inside the casing there are also 4 mini blue spot light that looks really awesome when the casing is closed and really amazing when you open it.
Anyway, all my files are safe and Gosh!! how i've missed my computer!!
Here are some pics of the 'flambant neuf' (brand new) casing!!

Mona doing her famous "Tap Tap" Dance

Mona dancing persian dance!

You can even hear her say "mamamama" (asking for more dancing) when they stop!! lol
That's the "mamamamama" i was talking about in my previous post, she does that when she wants something!!

No baby here....

Dear oh dear, Little Mona has been doing quite a few new stuff lately!
She is growing up really quickly and you can see the changes in her everyday.
My little baby is no longer a baby anymore!!

She has been doing something quite funny lately. She will get up, starts stumping her feet on the floor, while at the same time turning around of herself and say the words "tap tap tap tap" constantly!! It's so funny to watch because she doesn't get tired of it and she wouldn't stop even when it makes her head spin!! She will keep doing it until she falls, then gets back up and start all over again!! (I will post a video of her doing "taptaptap" at the bottom of this post!)

She also dances too. She loves kids program that has a lot of singing in it and as soon as she would hear singing, she would run in front of the TV and starts clapping and stumping her feet and singing 'tatalalanana' (she is actually trying to sing the song) and she would try to do the dance movements too, which is really so cute to watch!!

She can count to 3 on her fingers!! She will touch her fingers and say "Oun, tooo, feeeeeeeeee" the 3 is extended like when you say 1,2,3 before you jump!! lol She is so cute when she does it. She can say 4 & 5, but it is not really mastered yet... its just weird sounds for now!!

When you feed her, she will feed you too! She will take her food and say "Aaahhhh" (for you to open your mouth) and put the food in your mouth! lol.. And if you don't tell her to stop, she will keep doing it!! lol. She also feeds her dolls & plush toys imaginary food while she is playing! She would pick something imaginary from her plastic plates and goes "aaahh" to the doll and put it in its mouth and then gives the doll to drink from the plastic cup!! She looks so much like a big girl when she does that!!!

She also understands clearly what we ask from her. Last time both hubby and myself were busy in the kitchen, and she was trying to get our attention by coming in between our legs. So i quickly gave her a cleaning cloth and told her "Go clean the table in the living room for mummy please" I said it just like that, without showing her what to do or what directions to go to and it was the first time i asked her to do that. And to our great amazement, she took the cloth, started walking out of the kitchen and into the living room, went up to the table and started wiping it!! We were both in shock that she understood what i meant!!

She is so amazed with us when we do prayers together. Every night we have family prayers together before her bedtime. We would all sit together and then tell Mona now its prayer time, sit quietly and close your eyes. So she closes her eyes and then quickly opens it to see what we are doing. So when mummy is doing a prayer, she would look at daddy if daddy is closing his eyes, then when daddy says a prayer she would look at mummy to see if she is closing her eyes and when the prayers are done, she would smile and say "Abha" (for 'Abdu'l-Bahá) and then smile and says "Ta" (thank you). We just kiss and hug her at this point!! How could you not?!?! lol...

Also when i tell her we are going to go 'dada' (go out) now, Mona go get shoes. She would reply "Dada - chooosss" and go get her shoes or my shoes, whichever she finds first and bring it to me and says "chooosss mama dada dada"
And when we are in the car, she would wave to cars that go by and say 'byebye dada' (meaning goodbye i am going dada!!) and then she would ask dad if we are going out by saying in a very questioning tone "Daddy, dada?" It's hilarious when she does that!! The look on her face is so serious as if she really needs confirmation from the driver that we are really going out!! lol

Oh and yeah, one thing she does and which is getting a little bit annoying now, is that whenever she wants something (food, drink, toy, dummy, whatever) she would point to it, and repeat the word "mamamama" until someone comes and give her what she wants. For instance this afternoon, i was in the bathroom putting make up on and she wanted a piece of cake, so she went in the kitchen and stood in front of the kitchen bench where the cake was and while pointing at it would repeat:"mamamamamamamamama" until i came to see what it was that she wanted and give it to her. lol... It's getting irritating a little bit, because she doesn't stop!! She is always wanting something and she wont stop saying it until you come and give it to her!!

One thing that is funny is that she hates getting dirty!! When we are out in a park or wherever there is grass and dirt, if for any reason she would fall, she will never touch the grass or dirt, she would look up at you with a very worried and concern look, holding her hands in front of her, palms up and says "up up up" (please pick me up!!) We have tried everything to get her to touch grass, but there is no way she will do it!! If it was up to her, she wouldn't even go on the grass!!
This morning, we were all outside in the backyard and daddy was playing football on the grass, she was on the pavement next the grass, she wanted the ball, so daddy throw it at her foot but on the grass, little miss sunshine here wouldn't move an inch to get the ball, no matter how bad she wanted it. She would just point at it and say 'mamamamama'. No matter how much we encouraged her to come and get it herself, she didn't budge!! It went on like that for 5 mins till we finally gave in and gave her the ball. lol

It's really amazing how fast she is growing up and i can't believe that my little tiny baby is doing so much in so little time..... I miss her being a baby, but boy how fun it is to live with her now!!
We go from adventures to adventures everyday and everyday is a new day to learn & discover new things.

A little gift for you all...

Celebrity in Training

Here are some wordless pics of our future celebrity:

(She was actually posing for me here)

(Oh no... please... no more paparazzi!!)

RIP Beloved Computer of mine

My dear computer died this evening.
Unfortunately it's quite late and the doctor (my hubby) cannot proceed to do to CPR on it right now. So tomorrow first thing in the morning he will try and bring him back to life.
I hope that Doc is successful, because i don't want to loose everything that is on there (i.e my whole life!!!) I haven't backup the pictures of Mona in ages!! Ooohhh please come back to life dear PC!!
Just incase CPR doesn't work, i wanted to let you all know that the funeral and memorial will be held in the afternoon!

Prayers and a box of tissue are most welcome!
:( sniff :(

P.S: Just incase you are wondering how on earth i am writing this, well we have 1 more computer and 1 laptop at home.. so i am using the laptop right now... but MY computer died... arrrgghhh!!!

No more 'TUTU'

That's it...

I've decided that this weekend we are going to say goodbye to 'TUTU'.
'Tutu' is the beloved dummy (pacifier) of little Mona.
It's 3 am right now over here and i had to wake up to go put 'tutu' back in Mona's mouth!! And this is only the beginning of the night.. I will have to go back another 5, 10 or 15 times in the night! Some times she will find it and put it back in her mouth by herself and other times she is just too sleepy to find it and starts crying and if you don't come at once, then the cries becomes louder and longer till she finally wakes up and then it's really hard to put her back to sleep!
We have considerably reduce the use of the 'tutu' during the day... she only have her 'tutu' when she is about to go to take a nap or when it's bedtime. She occasionally have it when she is tired and being grumpy. And also I think it's the perfect time for her to start learning how to fall asleep and fall back asleep by herself now. So.... as big brother would say: "It's time to go TUTU!"

(In this pic: Mona, Dolly & Bear fell asleep on the couch)

Negotiating the Peace
Some kids relinquish their soothies without incident; others cling for dear life. Here, a pediatrician and a child psychiatrist give you the skinny on pacifiers and when to pull the plug.

Why do children use pacifiers?
Psychologist: Sucking is a natural instinct; ultrasound images show fetuses in the womb with their thumbs in their mouths. Sucking is soothing and helps the baby settle down. In addition, it stimulates the baby's mouth, and the rhythm of sucking also relaxes her gut and the large muscles in her arms and legs.

When do they usually stop?
Doctor: Between 2 and 4, though many doctors recommend beginning the process just after the child's first birthday because it's easier to convince a 1-year-old than it is a strong-willed toddler.
Psychologist: The need for sucking generally diminishes at about 12 to 15 months, though experts disagree on exactly when to expect the child to give it up.

Why do some kids use pacifiers longer than others?
Psychologist: For children who need to suck more than others, a pacifier supplies more satisfaction. As children grow, they may become very attached to a pacifier or to a particular object that is comforting and soothing for them—a blanket, a fuzzy animal, a piece of clothing. These are transitional objects. If a child is excessively dependent on a pacifier and shows undue distress when it's removed, that may be a sign of stress or anxiety. She may need more hugs, talking, playtime, and interaction with parents or caregivers.

When is the best time to intervene?
Psychologist: It's generally a good idea to take the pacifier away at around 12 months. This is a time when a child is mouthing everything in sight, so he won't miss the pacifier. But usually the pacifier just drops out by the time the child is about 3.

Is it true that kids' teeth can be damaged if they use a pacifier too long?
DOC: Dentists say the jaw and teeth become permanently affected by pacifier-sucking by 4 years of age. By 2½ or 3, though, most parents will already notice the changes: The lower teeth protrude, creating an underbite, and the front upper teeth sometimes cannot oppose the lower teeth at all. Between 2 and 4, the changes are generally temporary. So if you can wean your child off the pacifier before 4, the teeth should return to their native position.

What are the best strategies for weaning?
DOC: The key is to let the child use a pacifier for sleep and comfort only, and to refrain from automatically popping a pacifier into the child's mouth out of habit. Parents should try to find alternative ways of calming or distracting the child and gradually withdraw the pacifier over time. They should also remind themselves and their child to view the pacifier as a temporary convenience, not a necessity.

Limit sleep-time use. It's not really a good idea to let your child sleep with a pacifier because losing it during the night or during naps can awaken her and interrupt her sleep. If she's already in the sleep-time pacifier habit, however, she's now old enough to find it again on her own and may be able to soothe herself back to sleep with a minimum of interruption. If waking up to find her pacifier has become a problem, help wean her from this use of it. Be aware that there will be a few nights of problems. Give your child an extra dose of love and attention to ease the transition. You might also institute a special nighttime ritual to substitute for the pacifier.
Article taken from www.cookiemag.com

Mona at the 19 Days Feast

Mona had such a great time tonight at the Feast.

She was running around everywhere, following everyone around, talking to absolutely everyone!!

I have never seen her so much sociable as tonight. She went in everybody's arms and was talking away with them in her baby language! She was so cute!! And everybody said so... lol

She was playing with all the kids in the 'kids room'.

And i don't know what is with her, but I've noticed that she follows little boys a lot more than girls... hmmm i don't know if i should get worried about that just yet... lol

Happy Birthday Darling

Last Monday was my husband's birthday. I had planned on that day, to wake him up with breakfast in bed and give him his birthday gifts, then cook his favourite meal for lunch, and in the evening, dropped Mona to her grandma's house so that we both could go out on a romantic dinner to his favourite Indian Restaurant. Then i wanted to surprise him with a birthday party on Friday at his mom's house with all his relatives & friends.

Unfortunately none of that happened!

Mona & myself got very sick on the weekend, and i didn't get the chance to go get hubby's birthday gift, then on Monday i was feeling worse than even, and instead it was hubby who had to take care of me.

On Thursday, as i was feeling a bit better, we went out and i got him his gifts (a new set blue of pjs with cute little monkeys on it and a jacket from his favourite football team). He loved his gifts!! I must say i had been saving up for his gifts... that jacket cost a fortune!!

So as it happens the birthday party got cancelled and instead as all of the family were getting together on Saturday at one of the aunties house, we decided to surprise my husband there.

He had no idea that we were going to celebrate his birthday. It was a fun night and he really was ... euh ... surprised!! lol...

A little video of Mona running around

Mona... our laundry girl

Mona loves cleaning and playing with household items.
When we are ironing clothes, she cries because we won't let her play with the hot iron.
She will go in the laundry whenever the door is open, and play with the dryer and press all the buttons on it (therefore undoing all my settings!!). She would also take the top and quickly run out of the laundry and go mop the floors. lol..
So today we went out and decided to get her this: