Our Amazing, Wonderful, Hilarious Poloo

Mia and Adee Memories Remember when…. You were a tiny baby and so warm and cuddly and I was supposed to babysit you and you slept on my stomach for 8 hours!   I didn’t move at all and I feel that we really bonded. (so sweeeat!) We used to go to Toys “is” Us every time you came to Atlanta!   We would always buy a toy and/or a DVD or game and usually a candy!   Every time we went, you had a specific toy in mind.   One time, you wanted a red elephant and since we couldn’t find one, we had to buy a wooden elephant and red paint and then we went to my house and painted it. Some of the other specific toys you wanted were a red helicopter, a very noisy lawnmower, and a small Oscar the grouch!   We also used to look at each other and laugh when a kid was being spoiled and crying for something.   You were so well behaved!   Once, you asked a sales associate named Mario, if he knew there was a video game with his name!   We also started taki...

Coming home on weekends during law school when I knew Aden was there - so I could see how much he had grown since the last visit.  He always smelled like soap because Mama would give him a kitchen sink bath. I loved how he devoured mama fu noodles and I'd always let him run his little feet on top of my head while he ate in the high chair.  I remember when Mia would put him on my back and I'd crawl around the whole house pretending to be his horse.  I remember when he had a really bad cold, and he still kept trying to kiss everyone.  He didn't speak yet so he was basically just lunging at everyone without warning haha.  In the end, I think everyone caved and let him kiss us.  When he was a little bit older, he would stomp his feet whenever he would see me.  That was our way of saying hello.  I'd stomp my feet and then we'd go to the basement where he would play with the VCR and keep putting cassettes in and out.  I'd always ...

On November19th, Rabia, Aden, and mom arrived for their visit! That afternoon, we went to Lalla Oceanside Grill in Cannery Row for dinner, where Rabia got her fave local dish, sand dabs, and the three of us enjoyed bread pudding and tres leches for dessert while Shiraz took the 3 kids to Dippin Dots!   The next day, we went to Aabha for lunch, then into Carmel-by-the-Sea to walk around. The girls wanted to play on Carmel Beach, and the others didn't want to get sand in their shoes, so Shiraz took mom, Rabia, and Aden for a ride to Big Sur, all the way down to Bixby Bridge. At one point Shiraz took Aden and the girls to Olive Garden, Rita's, and then later to Costco for samples and for crepes that Aden really liked, so he could take them back to GA! The next day I took them all to Pacific Grove. we stopped at Cafe Arianna for gelato, browsed Bookworks, and strolled through downtown PG. Afterwards, I needed to take them home in two batches since Shiraz was tied up, so I first t...

March 28th: In Atlanta! The kids put on a Star Wars play, which was sooo cute, although Aden was supposed to play Darth Vader but decided against it at the last minute :( Rabia filled in, with very hilarious results 😂 June 30th: We're in the middle of a move back to California, and the girls and I decided to come to Atlanta while Shiraz races cross country to get to Monterey before the moving truck does 😏 We had a Harry Potter part 2 party there, since now both girls love Harry Potter :) Particularly Ilana! And then the 3 kids had a mini-HP play afterwards! Rabia and I took the 3 kids to LegoLand the next day - Aden and Inaya loved building, and Ilana loved riding rides with Rabia!

April 7th: We did a belated surprise birthday party for Ilana, and then the next day had Aden's very elaborate Harry Potter Birthday Party! I tried to make Golden Snitch cake pops at Rabia's request, but they were a complete fail. Aden loved his party, though. On Sunday morning we did an Easter Egg hunt - we did it indoors because of Aden's allergies, and we planted them throughout the basement. Kids loved it :) August: We're back in Atlanta, and the family had a surprise birthday party for Inaya followed by an almost play from the kids 😂 It was a superhero theme, but never quite made it to production in front of a live audience! November 30th: On Tuesday the 24th, mama, Rabia, and Aden came to visit us for Thanksgiving. Ilana was originally insisting that she wanted to go to soccer (it would have been her last day), and wanted Nano to come pick her up afterwards (they were flying in at 3ish, and Ilana's soccer ends near 5), but the morning of, Ilana ...

April 9th: When Aden came up for his birthday party, he had gotten a Magic 8 ball - I heard the kids screaming excitedly downstairs, and found out that they had asked the ball if I was having twins this year and it said yes - they were so happy! Not. Going. To. Happen. For his birthday, Ilana spent days cleaning pennies to give to him, and presented them in a box with a 5 dollar bill, a picture, and a green bowl - so cute. He was confused but gracious! August 31st: August 13th - my mama arrived!!! They were staying at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor for APPNA, and we pretty much stayed the whole time too :) Mama had a large suite for her and Ilana, and Naya and I bunked with Humera, Shoaib had a separate room and Rabia & Aden had a separate room. Ilana was so thrilled by mama's suite, and kept running around yelling "we're staying here, we're staying here!" The next day, the family came to our house for a birthday party for Naya - I went and got a cake ...

January 8th: The break overall went well - we didn't really go anywhere, just went to Columbus one weekend to help Rabia with the move from her house to the apartment. Aden and Ilana are so happy together :) All the kids ran shrieking around the house and then the apartment, exploring together. April 7th: Rabia's family met us at for our first trip to Disney, and the kids loved being together there! They were so cute and excited to meet up together in the morning for their Disney day. Ilana wanted to go on all the rides with only Rabia and Aden. We did manage to do a few rides together, but then went our separate ways since they had a shorter visit and Aden had very specific characters he wanted autographs from, like Peter Pan and Princess Ariel :) May 3rd: The kids and Humera put on their second play, Aladdin, with Ilana as Jasmine and Aden as Aladdin, Humera as the Genie 😂 It was so adorable! They knew their lines so well, and kept poised even when Inaya kept quietly c...

January 13th: Visiting Atlanta, and the family did an early fourth birthday for Ilana - Aden and Rabia came too, and he was so sweet and loving with the girls, as always 💕 May 29th: Family beach trip! They rented a house on Navarre Beach, and as usual the kids had an amazing time together. They played on the beach, took adorable photos, Aden and Rabia came to our house to swim, Aden and Ilana took the kids electric car out for a drive, we went to Bippy's for fro yo, and generally had an awesome, amazing time! September 18th: On Saturday, the kids put on their play that they had been working on, which was adorable! Humera went all out with props and costumes, and the kids knew their lines so well :) Naya ambled in to get in on the action, and everyone just went with it. Afterwards, Lani and Aden were so excited that they kept planning more performances and coming back to show us :) And Naya kept hiding behind the mural/curtain and rushing out laughing. It was r...

February 11th: Ilana’s 3 rd birthday weekend, so Rabia and Aden came up Saturday and we had a Hello Kitty party at the house. A few hours later, I forced Ilana into another outfit for the other party we were going to - she just wanted to play with Aden, so I had to drag her physically out of the house. At the non-family party at Darvish (a Princess Jasmine theme), other kids started trickling in, although Lani still spent most of the party playing and fighting with Aden! March 8th: Ilana did better than I expected during Aden's birthday celebrations. Rabia had it here, and it was a beach theme, and for the most part Lani let the day really be about Aden :) She did shout out in the middle of the birthday song, that it should be sung to them both; did blow out the candles; and did "help" - i.e. snatch - with the unwrapping of the gifts, but did pretty well overall! Aden was very sweet and gracious through it all! Later it was storming and the kids were with Nano in the ...

May 12th: Shaheen threw Ilana a beautiful Big Sister Party on May 2nd, and our lovely friends and their beautiful children showed up to help us celebrate! In true toddler style, Ilana threw a fit in the hour leading up to us going, first refusing to get dressed, then screaming that she didn't want to wear a dress, then refusing to get in the car. One problem was that up until that morning, Ilana and Aden both thought he'd be going as well, but that morning Rabia wasn't feeling well and wanted to get back to Columbus while she was still in good enough condition to drive :( Ilana and Aden were inseparable - and pure chaos - during his visits to Atlanta while we were there. They'd hold hands and run around together, chase each other around, and generally wreak havoc. Ilana was very bossy with him, but then would also listen to him when he told her to not do something. It was a sweet and hectic time! June 27th: Ilana’s so excited about Rabia and Aden coming at the time th...

March 7th: We went to Columbus the last weekend of February for a joint birthday party for her and Aden. I switched her to a forward facing carseat just the day before, which wasn't the miraculous experience for her that I'd hoped - she slept the way there, but was intensely active on the way back. Mom had to entertain her for 2 hours straight, although she of course somehow managed to see that as Ilana being "sweet and good-natured." Ilana LOVES Rabia's house. Aden has every imaginable toy for boys or girls, and Ilana was in love with a play kitchen they have set up. She loved it there so much, but doesn't sleep well there, so our Columbus time is necessarily limited :( Rabia had a Dora & Diego themed party for them :) The kids were so cute and so happy, with each other and surrounded by the family!  May 7th: The last week of April was the annual beach trip, this year to Alys Beach (rather than Seaside.) The area was beautiful, and the house was t...

March 14th: Up until this point, almost her 6 week mark, pretty much all of the clothes I've used for Ilana have been hand-me-downs from her our sweet Aden, who turns a whopping 5 years old next Thursday! Not that she doesn't have her own royal wardrobe, but she's so tiny that none of that fits! Thankfully, Rabia had sent a box of his clothes beforehand, so Ilana's been wearing his tiny little cotton shirts, his sleepsack, and his tiny organic kimonos for weeks. I love the historical connection (if a 5-year-old and a 5-week-old can be said to participate in anything historical!) Mama was telling me that she loves her Trader Joe's trips with Aden so much - they'll get there, and she'll have a cart, Rabia will have a cart, and Aden will have a little cart. When he wants something that he knows Rabia won't agree to, he runs and puts it in mama's cart! He also will go over an aisle and then call "grandma!" over and over, and mama thinks he ju...

April 11th:  Aden’s talking a lot more now 😊 He calls me kikaa and sometimes “thadia”, and he calls mama “Mommy Amo” in the sweetest voice imaginable. May: I left for California and already miss Aden terribly! Rabia is keeping me updated via email and with adorable photos. He has such a busy summer ahead - he's going to be in gymnastics once a week, speech 2-3 times/week, the playgroup that Rabia's putting together 3 times a week, and they heard of an Indian musician in the area who teaches kids tabla, harmonium, and singing, so Rabia is going to have Aden test those out too! July: Aden's super into water toys, so Rabia got him a water slide, so when I went to Columbus, I took a bathing suit :) We had such an awesome time playing! August 23rd: Aden had his "meet and greet" at school today. Apparently, he barely acknowledged the teachers or other kids but was really excited about his classroom that has a little kitchen center in it! Maybe he'll be a ...

February 15th: My baby is still an angel. So sweet, so cute, so smart. They were here Friday-Sunday. He loves feeding us pills, but won’t open the bottle or touch the pills – he knows to let us do that. He loved my Cape Cod white cheddar cheese popcorn, so I fed him a lot of those! He can also recognize his name, and spell it out with letters. Aden’s obsessed with opening and closing my makeup, and if he’s with Shoaib he also seems to want to destroy the contents! February 26th: Aden’s was here for the day, keeping us occupied in every adorable way imaginable. Aden kisses mama and daddy’s photos that Humera keeps in her room – he really puckers up, which he never does! For his last visit, we took him to the aquarium, where he didn’t seem particularly interested in the fish. He was such a well-behaved angel in the food court – I’m always amazed by his perfect manners! He looooved the gift shop, and became particularly enamored of a blue rubber mug. He clutched the bag with the mug in ...

Nov. 6th: Rabia says Aden comes to her to taste her chai, and if he likes it he gets his mug to have some put in. She adds some milk to cool it, then he takes it, sits on his sofa, and watches Sesame Street!  22nd: Mama’s been in Columbus since Sunday, since Rabia needed help. She and Aden seem to be having a great time together. Mama said he keeps giving her kisses and hugs, and kissed her on the forehead when she was changing his diaper! He also told her to come over and put a CD-ROM in his computer, and showed her where. When the program wasn’t working, he got a brush and used it to jiggle the wires in the back of the computer, and then picked up the mouse, held it to his ear, and kept clicking it! Mama said he is also teaching her how to use the mouse 😊 When his babysitter came today, he wouldn’t let go of mama’s hand, even when the sitter tempted him with a trip outside. He’s so attached to her! 💗 He had visited here and I took him for a ride in his stroller, up to ...

September 7th: Aden watches the DVD I made for him for 1 ½ hours, twice a day. Rabia says it’s a lifesaver, and asked if I could make another one. He loves the part where I’m telling him to point everyone out, and hates the bits with him out in the snow. He tries to get Rabia to forward those, but she lost the DVD remote, so he wanders off to play with his toys until that parts done! Today he was at the gym, and when Rabia went to get him the instructor said that when he had all the kids doing rolls on the floor, Aden ambled around with his hand on his back, staring at the kids like they were crazy fools 😂 He’s too cool for that! October 16th: Aden had a routine last time he was here – he’d walk into my room, turn on the tv, demand to have his DVD put in. Then he’d run and grab my bag of chessman cookies, and very importantly sit down in front of the backrest and open the bag. Although he wouldn’t actually get a cookie. He did start eating them one time, though. He’d take one ou...

8th: We went to Columbus  yesterday, to have dinner at Rabia’s new house, with her in-laws. Rabia said Aden loves the house, and runs around so much that he now eats more and sleeps better! My baby, he’s such an angel ladla. We took him his favorite Mama Fu’s noodles, and took Zyka for the adults. We also bought him a Dancing Elmo that sings hokey pokey. 18th: Aden went out on their balcony today barefoot and yelped when he got to the hot tiles. Rabia picked him up, felt that his feet were hot, so took him to the sink. She filled it with ice water and put his feet in – he was so excited that she understood his problem that he kept touching her head and kissing her hair. A couple of weeks ago, Rabia had been watching a DVD I had made of Aden and Shoaib, and the poor baby thought mamu was coming. He started screaming and laughing, and kept trying to get her to open the garage ☹ 20th: Rabia said she woke up late last night, and Aden was sitting on her stomach! Cute!! He sleep...

17th: I haven’t written for so long, and now have almost 1/3    of Aden’s glorious existence to reminisce about! Aden’s obsessed with the song we used in our group dance for Humera’s wedding. He used to watch our practices, and I couldn’t believe it when he started insisting we play the song ALL the time. Then, he’d push me to the center of the room and try to pull me down to the sitting position, the first move of the dance! He still always wants to hear it (sometimes demands it as dinner music), and if I’m ever sitting on the floor, he runs to the CD player to get it started 😂 Last month, mama and I were supposed to go to APPNA,  and had plane tickets and hotel reservations, but then ditched it to go to Columbus instead! When  Rabia  told  Aden  we were coming, and he got all excited and started helping her clean our room 💓 26th: Aden is the cutest, sweetest, most brilliant, most scrumptious center of the universe we could ever hope to have. ...

Humera's wedding was on the 8th. Aden’s babysitter came to the wedding, and Rabia got a room upstairs, so every once in a while he’d amble downstairs in his ADORABLE kurta pajama then leave again. It was perfect, because he didn’t get too worn out in any way. His latest object obsession was a lota, so he held onto it for dear life as he was carried around the hotel! He was kind of nervous with so many people around, but would come to and cling to me so lovingly 💓 We'd cover him with kisses then let him go back to his room to relax!