The perfect long weekend!

Whoa! Was this past weekend ever full of adventure, action and lots of hugs and kisses!

Aydan's cousins came to visit him all the way from Saudi Arabia. I think as soon as he saw them on Saturday night he remembered them instantly, having just met them a few months ago in Pakistan.

Aydan and Elsa really hit it off. They loved chasing eachother, playing basketball and just playing. Aydan became somewhat addicted to her company. He didn't want her to leave his side even to go to the bathroom. He saw outside the bathroom door and cried, waiting for Elsa to come back out.

Towards the end of the weekend, I think she started getting annoyed by this little kid following her everywhere. She just wanted to sit down and watch some Noggin but Aydan preferred jumping on her back and trying to make her wrestle.

Zaina on the other hand is a different story. She seemed to be terrified of Aydan. She avoided him as much as she could. He really tried to get her to play with him and kept referring to her as 'Baby' but she just ignored him. The funny thing is, as soon as Aydan would go up for his nap or for the night, Zaina went nuts! She would start running around and playing with every single toy Aydan has, enjoying her time away from him. It was so cute!

Elsa and Zaina are here for a few more months and I can't wait to see how their friendship with Aydan grows. They have such a strong bond now, it can only get stronger.

This weekend was the perfect start to what looks like might be a perfect summer.

This video just gives you a glimpse of what our weekend was like:

Who's that Boy?

All winter long I had visions of Aydan having cute long hair. Maybe because I'm somewhat of a celeb stalker and it seems like all of the celeb baby boys have long hair. Considering Aydan is so much cuter than them all I decided to attempt to grow his hair.





All winter we avoided haircuts, only trimming the front a bit.

Well it's May now and we finally got the look we wanted. My crazy toddler has the hair of a surfer dude and I love it!



Sulman and I loved it but everyone else kept telling us to cut his hair because it was getting into his eyes. Not only was it getting into his eyes but he would wake up from naps sweating bullets. He would wake up looking like he just took a bath.



It's only going to get warmer so we gave in and got his hair cut!




We got up early yesterday morning and took him to his favorite hairdresser Sue at http://www.littletotshairshop.com/ and got it all chopped off! And guess what I love it!


Never mind that he looks like such a big boy now but he has his chubby cheeks again! I can finally see his ears now which makes cleaning them a breeze. He looks like a whole new person. The funniest thing is that everytime he looks in a mirror he looks at himself and grins!

The after shots aren't the greatest (it actually looks like a mug shot) but playing in the ball pit afterwards messed up his style. Here he is, the new and improved Aydan:

A note to Aydan: Please forgive me for dedicated a whole post on your hair!

Aydan's first loss.

Aydan's beloved 'Happy' passed away on Friday. Happy is Aunty Akila, mom to his day care provider. The daycare Aydan attends was started by Aunty Akila many many years ago. She raised hundreds of kids and left a good impression on all of them including Aydan. We were introduced to her by my nieces Sophia and Ameenah. They always spoke highly of Aunty Akila along with her whole family. So naturally when it was time to find a daycare for Aydan we thought immediately of Aunty Akila.
Happy suffered from a fall a few years ago which resulted in surgeries on her spine. Surgeries gone bad which made her very weak. Even though she lost a lot of weight, she still spent time with the kids. Her daughter Noreen eventually quit her job to take over the daycare but more importantly spend time and care for her mom.
Aydan napped with Happy. Noreen often told me when I picked him up that Aydan was happier upstairs with Happy. Every single day, while I buckled him into his car seat, he remembered Happy. "Bye Happy, bye" He says it every day.
Happy caught pneumonia and was too weak to fight it. Happy left all her kids on Friday May 1, 2009. She left them all knowing they would be okay with Noreen because she needed rest and peace. She is finally pain free.
While her own family is mourning her loss, how do I even begin to explain this to Aydan.
I've been telling him that Happy is gone to Allah now and when he goes to daycare she won't be upstairs. I keep telling him Noreen is going to be sad but to behave and listen to what she says. I don't even want to think about and imagine what he will do when he goes upstairs to look for Happy and turn to ask Noreen where she is?
Aydan has learned so much from Aunty Akila and I really hope he remembers her. It's amazing how someone so little can talk so much about someone. When he says something new, especially about Islam, and I ask him who told him that, he always says Happy.
Aydan is giving Noreen some time to grieve this week. I really hope she will be okay to take care of all her mom's kids in her mom's house without her mom. And I'm sure when he returns next week, while he's being buckled in he'll say, "Bye Happy,bye!"