Trip To The Library

Since Shirin, Gabriel and Cyrus are visiting friends in Raleigh this weekend I have the time to put up the last batch of pics from last week. It's become clear to me that my perception of time is a bit off. I always think I will be able to get more done (such as doing blog entries) in a day than I do. I also thought Cyrus would be ready for a trip to the library. Oh he liked it alright, but I think the lady behind the desk was happy we didn't stay too long. Evidently my perception of time in terms of child development is also a bit off! It was fun though, and we had Grandpa with us today for the first time.

Kitty-watching while waiting for Grandma to get dressed.

Look at all these books for me to pull off the shelf!

Reading upside down.

Be quiet? What does THAT mean?


The girl that walked by gave us a dirty look as Saeed shushed Cyrus but he thought she was beautiful anyway and watched her walk by. He's a real people watcher!


Leaving the library for now, but we'll be back when he's ready.


Grandpa feeds Sniffy Joe some yogurt before his nap. Notice that "all done" is pronounced "da da" which is not unlike Shirin's "doh doni" when she first tried to say "all done."

Fewell Park

The girls went to Fewell Park frequently when they were little. Back then Cherry Park was new and very hot because the newly planted trees there were still small and provided no shade, so the older, shadier Fewell Park was a better choice. The day Cyrus and I went we had it to ourselves - how nice. Cyrus enjoyed the slide a lot but I couldn't videotape with one hand and keep him safe with the other. In the video you'll see he enjoys walking around in the leaves almost as much.

Grandma sat me on this reptile tail...
I'm not sure I like it too much.

Outta here man!

Obi The Scavenger And The Pool

In my first Grandma entry I mentioned that Obi lies in waiting under Cyrus' highchair for a food donation. Earlier this week I caught him in the act:

He was unhappy at this meal - only a measly piece of bread.

Then, full of breakfast, King Cyrus went for a ride in the wagon.

Getting the pool ready for when mommy comes home:


I thought the water would be lots warmer by the time Shirin came home but it was still pretty chilly. Cyrus didn't care!


It's probably just as well Shirin still had her scrubs on; the better for the little bubsy to hold onto:

A Swim Team Member In The Making?

Saeed and I have fond memories of taking the girls to the pool for the first time when they were very young - four months old. I believe the current recommendation is that you wait till babies are older due to increased risk of ear infection, so Cyrus is only now being introduced to the joys of a pool of water. Cyrus being a bit wary, Shirin decided to don a suit and get in first which worked; soon Cyrus was in there with her. Funny thing though, it was the surrounding stones that were the high point of interest! You never know.

If only Cyrus knew what a good swimmer is Mommy is!

The arm on the right is Tita's (saving a drowning bug)

Busy Baby, Busy Grandparents

This post is really just a bunch of videos showing some typical activities in our lives now that we have a baby in the house. I think he's really really cute, so there will be more videos as soon as they're ready. One day I'll be thinking and speaking more like an adult again, but for now I just say "deh" and "adah"!

Biggest Surprise EVER!

Since my video of Shirin coming home from work the other day was of poor quality, Shirin called on Friday to say she was on her way home and could we please meet her outside to get "take 2" with the correct setting. Dutifully I went out with my camera and when Shirin got out of the car she said, "I have a surprise for Cyrus in the back seat - guess what it is!" I suggested a puppy since she had just come (supposedly) from the clinic, but to my amazement Anahita came out of the back seat. I was truly speechless. The only other time in my life I was that speechless was when I had my ultrasound and was told I would be having twins. Well, the twins were together again and we were all together like old times with the excellent addition of Gabriel and Cyrus.

Video of Tita's arrival:


Can you see how flummoxed Saeed is?

One of the girls' favorite things to do when Tita comes home is to look at the photo albums of when they were babies. Tita couldn't get over the similarities of the facial expressions of Shirin (as a one year old) and Cyrus.

Of course we taught Tita "The Settlers of Catan."

Although Cyrus was shy of Tita at first it wasn't long before they were playing like old chums.

Tita is amazed as Cyrus hollers in glee!

At Shirin's excellent suggestion we took a picnic lunch to Winthrop Lake. Cyrus was so cute as he went from person to person to get a morsel of their Gardenburger... Saeed...

...Tita...

... Gabriel...

... Shirin ...

...and me, but I didn't take my own picture. This picture of Gabriel and Cyrus is one of my favorites of them together.

An exhausted Shirin tries to grab a nap, to no avail:


Saeed teaches Cyrus some Persian wrestling techniques:

That night Tita cooked us a delicious exotic meal that she had made up and cooked once before. It was so delicious. I happily ate some of the leftovers tonight for dinner. I'd tell you what's in it but it's her secret!!

Here she is serving it up for us:

Shirin lovin' her dinner.

Here I'm getting some advise on how to eat it.

Gabriel, who has lived in Japan, ate it the way Asians eat long sloppy noodles - get right up next to the bowl!

My interview with Saeed on how he liked it:


We were having such a good time and laughing a lot at the table. This brought on a series of imitation-laughing from Cyrus which just made us laugh more:

It's a bit early but a Father's Day present is always nice to get. Anahita made and framed an 8 x 10 of one of her favorite pictures of her and Shirin as one year olds...

... and there's nothing a Dad likes more than pictures of his little girls.

How can I express how heartwarming it was for us to have everybody home together again. I know Shirin has been campaigning for Tita to move back since she left! We so hope she'll move her life back to the Atlanta area so we can hang out like this more often.

Working Mother

It's really hard to be a working mom. I've watched Shirin over the past week try to be everything to everybody - good daughter to us, good mommy to Cyrus, good wife to Gabriel, good sister to Tita, and all the while working hard all day learning complicated medical procedures at the clinic. It exhausts me to think how she keeps it all together. I've backed off taking care of Cyrus this weekend so that she and Gabriel (and Tita!) can get their Cyrus-fix before they all go back to their busy lives. And frankly, I needed the rest, but for Shirin? No rest.

Playing ball with Cyrus.

Saeed and I waited for Shirin to come home from work one day last week and it began to rain, but we're nature lovers and stayed right there in the rain.

Shirin enjoys a soft yummy cheek.

Cyrus was so happy to see her.

I messed up my video setting again last week, so this next video is pixelated (argh!) but now I know exactly what the problem is and can try to avoid it.


And this is what Cyrus was doing last week while Shirin was at work:




Notice the nice pats Cyrus gives his Grandpa:

Indian Dancing

I'm happy to announce that I have a new friend who also loves Indian music and likes to dance to it. Cyrus loves my Aaja Nachle (click to see music video) soundtrack. If he's in the kitchen he goes up to the stereo, stares at it and then turns around to me and says, "Ehhhh!" That means, turn on the music! He even likes to eat meals with it in the background. This morning Shirin taped him jamming in his chair while eating breakfast. He dances quite often but we never seem to have the camera on and ready to go so a snippet is all you get:

Full-Time Grandma

There were several possibilities for the title of this post but full-time Grandma about sums up all the others. I was thinking about "Gotta Stick To The Schedule" or "Did I Eat Breakfast Or Lunch Today?" or "I'm So Sorry I Broke Your Kid" or "I Took Wednesday Night's Shower On Thursday Afternoon" or "How Come I Have Pureed Carrots On My Shirt When I Ate A Sandwich" but they all sounded more appropriate as titles for country western songs.

For anyone who doesn't know, we are taking care of Cyrus here at home while Shirin is doing an externship at the specialist/emergency animal hospital in Charlotte for three weeks. I took three weeks off of work (which is unheard of) and Saeed only sees the occasional patient during summer break so we're both here. I feel that we know Cyrus pretty well since we see him on a regular visiting basis, but taking care of him and all that involves has never previously fallen on our shoulders. Each of us, even one year olds, have little quirks that you need to know for the day to run smoothly.

My trial by fire began on Tuesday when Shirin left for her first day at the clinic and left us with a lovely but feverish little boy. Tuesday night was rough but with a bit of Tylenol from Grandma and a lot of love from his patient mommy he made it through the night. Shirin dragged herself out of bed with a smile on her face and left for the clinic. Wednesday he was definitely better but still a little out of sorts and that night she had to get up with him twice, unusual for a baby that sleeps through the night. Today the little bubsy did great: two long naps and to bed on time this evening, so hopefully he'll let his mommy get a full night's rest... Grandma too.

And me? I am enjoying this little amazing creature who looks like both Shirin and Gabriel. He already seems to have a wonderful sense of humor and like any kid wants to play, PLAY, PLAY! I have learned, however, that sticking to the schedule his mommy gave me is essential. I thought I could tweek it a bit to accomodate her getting home late but in retrospect that wasn't such a good idea. Cyrus is like a Swiss watch and there isn't a lot of wiggle room so, I gotta stick to the schedule.

The first couple of days were a bit exhausting for me. I'm used to having more control over my activities but those two days consisted of calming a fretful baby, fixing meals, cleaning up constantly and doing load after load of laundry. So did I eat breakfast or lunch those days? Nope, but I did today :-) After such a good day with Cyrus on his schedule, feeling well, and the laundry caught up, I feel like a woman back in charge of her life. Today I ate breakfast AND lunch - yay!

Today Cyrus and I were on a nature stroll in our driveway. This was after I carried him through the yard on my hip showing him all the beautiful leaves and flowers. He was carrying a stone in one hand and bent down to pick up a big green leaf with the other hand and tipped right over onto his forhead. Ouch! He only cried for about 5 or 10 seconds but I could tell he was going to have a pretty big contusion. He let me wash it carefully and was much less worried about it than I was; he just wanted to play. Later I cleaned it again with hydrogen peroxide and put some triple antibiotic ointment on it and he was just fine with all that. It doesn't seem to hurt him but I feel terrible. When I spoke with Shirin on the phone I told her I'm sorry, I just broke your kid, but she said not to worry about it. Apparently they break their kid all the time. Whew!

Last night I was so tired that I actually couldn't take a shower before bedtime and it was during Cyrus' afternoon nap today before I could hop in the shower. Boy did it feel good! I'm sure the folks I walked past in the store later this afternoon were also glad that I'd finally managed to take Wednesday's shower on Thursday afternoon.

Obi has learned to sit under Cyrus' chair during meals. He's gotten some of the most amazing food donations from Cyrus over the past few days. Obi and Cyrus are both excellent eaters and will eat almost anything. I also am a good eater but typically turn away "Carrots and Tomatoes" out of little jars. My shirt, however, is more like Obi and eagerly accepts any flying morsel. I've put three T-shirts in the laundry hamper today alone. My new goal is to make it through the day with the same shirt at the end of the day that I put on that morning. I may be aiming too high. Thank God my sister sends me a new T-shirt every time she travels to a new place.

So, I'm having a ball. With enough sleep (what's that!?) I feel pretty strong and resilient and am fortunate that I can enjoy my grandchild on such an active level. The word "grandma" still sounds like an old woman in a rocking chair with a gray bun on her head; I don't feel like that. One look at how Cyrus runs me around the house, jumps on me, wants me to chase him, lift him up, carry him around, tells me I can still handle the ball of nonstop energy. He may never remember these days, but I most definitely will.

Hopefully I'll be able to put up some pictures and video in the next day or two, but that means waiting for another nap time break when I don't need a shower or lunch. First things first; gotta keep grammy going!

Ruined Bday Videos For Khaleh Tita

As I said previously, the video setting on my camera was messed up (I never changed it ... did evil elves come in the night and switch it?) and all the video from our visit to the birthday boy's house looks terrible. Nevertheless, I am putting it up for viewing only because Khaleh Tita never seems to get enough. Perhaps she will be willing to slog through the pixelated birthday boy videos; the rest of you are off the hook!