PJ's First Cereal

Weekend of Firsts

What a fun Memorial Day weekend at the Ghaffari household!! Michael took an extra day off, so we've had four days together to just do whatever we wanted, and it was great!! But, of course, this is a blog about PJ so I must focus on her exciting weekend of FIRSTS. I was talking to Rachel on the telephone on Sunday afternoon while Payton was contentedly nursing. We did the usual side one, burp, side two, and then she was sitting on my lap sucking or gnawing on my thumb while I carried on my conversation. I think Rachel was in the middle of a sentence when I totally interrupted her and squealed out, "OH MY GOSH! I can feel teeth! TEETH!! PJ has two little teeth emerging in her lower front gums!" I was all giddy and silly and Rachel was reacting right along with me. It was hilarious! We all knew she has been teething for quite awhile since she's been such a drool baby ever since 3 months of age, so it was no surprise to finally FEEL and SEE them. I was so excited that I started prying open her mouth to see them and I think she got a little annoyed with me. HA! Payton is 5 months and 1 week old, so I believe she is right on target for her first tooth emergence (although, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a little early...she IS in the 90th percentile for everything - sheesh!).

I tried to capture a picture...now don't get grossed out!



Sunday afternoon, Michael and I attended our friend's pool party and Granny Linda stayed home with PJ (she is the quintessential grandmother who can't wait to see her grandbaby - what a blessing to have a babysitter whenever we need one!). So it was a nice little date for us and a good opportunity to catch up with some long lost friends. Well, I am a social drinker, I'll admit, so I had a few margaritas and thoroughly enjoyed myself. But when it was time to put Payton to bed, I decided it would not be a good idea to nurse her...obviously. So it was MOMMY'S first time to put her baby to bed without nursing...she drank breastmilk from a bottle instead. She did great - sailed right through it - and fell fast asleep almost immediately! It was Momma who had the hang up! I was almost in tears...mostly because I realized that she was growing up so so so fast. She's getting teeth, not needing to nurse as much, and...well, you see my point. My baby is growing up!! :-(

Every night when we go to bed, we always check on Payton and open her door for the night. When I checked on her Sunday night, she was hilariously positioned in her crib and both of her arms were out of her swaddle...so she slept most of the night that way. It was another milestone! She's big enough to not need to be swaddled anymore. Because of the danger of SIDS, babies don't use regular blankets as covers. We had a zip blanket in the back of her closet that we found, but it's too hot for summer and she's already too long for it...but I had to photograph it anyway. :-)

To add a final touch to her weekend of firsts, PJ tasted her first serving of rice cereal on Monday after her afternoon nursing session. She did amazingly well...and swallowed most of it...the whole time! I think she is more than ready to start solids but, because I'm a schmaltzy mom, I've been putting it off. She was really excited about the whole experience, and we caught it all on video! Here are a few photos from that special moment.

PJ sits in her highchair for the first time!
First Cereal

Check out the video of her first cereal above!

So there ya have it! Memorial Day 2009 weekend was quite a momentous occasion for our little Payton Joy. These moments will fly by, no doubt, but it's up to me to catch them (by blogging, photographing, recording, etc.) every step of the way! I love our kid so much...she is the biggest blessing in the world!! She just awakened from her morning nap, and Michael is changing her...then it's time for some more cereal!!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. We love you!

Not quite as expected

I had the evening all planned out perfectly. To celebrate our anniversary last night, I was going to prepare a nice Italian dinner (lasagna and salad), serve some of my brother-in-law's homemade blackberry wine, and then present my first ever homemade chocolate pie to Michael for dessert. We had been to see the Cirque Du Soliel show a couple weeks ago as our anniversary "date" and gift to each other (tickets ain't cheap!). So it was going to be a nice, relaxed evening together at home.

Since PJ always goes to bed around 7:30pm, I put the lasagna in the oven so that it would be ready at 8:00pm right after completing our usual bedtime routine: play with Daddy, bathe, read a book, nurse, and then rock until asleep. As soon as she was asleep, I put the last minute touches on the dinner, and started to serve it up!

Then Payton started to cry. I assessed the situation and soothed her as usual, rocked her back to sleep, and went back into the kitchen. Five minutes later, she woke again. I repeated the process only this time it took 45 minutes for her to fall back asleep! At 9:00pm, I reheated the food since it had been sitting out during that whole time, poured a large glass of wine, and sat down to begin our "romantic" dinner. Then...

She woke up again!!! For a minute, I thought she was playing a joke on us. I mean, are you serious? SHE NEVER DOES THIS! Of all the nights for her to go through something weird, it would be THIS NIGHT?? Dear God, make her stay asleep!!!! Ah but no...my prayers were unanswered.

I tried two more times to soothe her back asleep to no avail. Michael finished his meal and then swapped with me so I could finish mine. By 9:45pm, Michael decided to just let her get up. Oh, of COURSE, Daddy gets to be the FUN GUY!?!? Little PJ was wide-eyed and smiley and absolutely changed my mood from COMPLETE frustration to smooshy love and adoration within a matter of minutes!

So the three of us laid on our bed for about an hour and just played and talked. Michael said, "Payton just wants to celebrate with us!" She played and cooed and giggled and stole our hearts that much more. By 11:00pm, she nursed and easily fell asleep for the night.

So my well defined plan went completely out the window the minute it was to begin. But this night made us realize that our life together, our marriage (which was the whole focus of the celebration night), isn't just about us anymore. It now includes our precious little PJ and is, in fact, what WE are all about! So here's to another three years and beyond of the Ghaffari Family!

A BIRTHDAY POEM

The day after my Momma went to heaven, my Dad greeted me when I woke up saying, "G'morning, Chip...chip off the ol' block!"...and today, he sent me this endearing, precious poem:

To the "Chip"

Christy, from day one we all seemed to know
You were a special gift from Heaven God did bestow.

You were then and still are now sooo very sweet
To wish you "Happy Birthday" is my special treat

All of our memories we know have proven you to be
the "Apple" that fell the closest to your mother, Marty's tree.

Marty and I were always of our little girl so very, very proud
to be the parents of one who always was a standout in a crowd.

"Chip" you were and "Chip" you will always be
So beautiful, and smart it is plain for us all to see.

Happy Birthday "Chip"

Your,
Dad

Here's me and PJ after dinner tonight at our favorite Mexican joint!

Easter & Payton's Dedication

We had a great day today celebrating Easter with our church family at McKendree Church. Not only that, we had Payton Joy's dedication during our church service today! Uncle Jess, Aunt Elaine, Michael's mom, Linda, and two of our best friends, Eric & Leah, and their six year old, Bella, came to support us and celebrate with us. It was so wonderful having all of them there with us!

After the service, Jess & Elaine came to our house for brunch. I had the whole menu planned but things didn't go quite as well as I had hoped. Let me preface: Michael and I went to see the Cirque Du Soliel show, Saltimbanco, yesterday for our third anniversary. When we got home, it was close to 8:00pm (Granny Linda babysat!). Around 9:30pm, I started preparing the recipes for the sour cream coffee cake and crockpot breakfast casserole for brunch. Here's the breakdown:

1) About an hour after I put the coffee cake in the oven, I discovered that the oven was NOT HOT!?!? It had preheated just fine but then just stopped heating. I was SO frustrated! I tried to bake it in our toaster oven, but it just didn't work out. I ended up with a brownie-like or a pecan pie consistency. It was still good but not CAKE!

2) The casserole recipe said to cook it on low for 8-12 hours. That's quite a differential!! I opted for about 11 hours...so when we got home, it was stuck to the sides of the crockpot. It was still edible but it sure looked funny.

3) I stayed up so late (12:30am) dealing with the coffee cake that I forgot to defrost the frozen fruit that I wanted to serve. So I ran water over it for a few minutes before serving it, which made it kinda soggy...and still half frozen.

It's a good thing Uncle Jess, Aunt Elaine, and Michael love me for who I am and not for my culinary skills!!! The entire brunch was a disaster! We had underbaked coffee cake, overdone casserole that looked strange, and soggy fruit. At least the coffee was good!!

My favorite part of the experience, however, was Uncle Jess' comment as we sat down to eat, "This reminds me of a Marty recipe/experiment!" We laughed SO HARD, and I grinned from ear to ear because I consider that a compliment. At least most of mom's food experiments were decent. And, I'm glad to have a husband (and aunt and uncle) who will eat my food in spite of its imperfections!

All in all, it was a fabulous day and a wonderful way to celebrate Easter and PJ's dedication: WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!

Here's PJ's Easter/Dedication Dress!

March 26th...one year ago

It's hard to believe it has already been one year since my beloved mother passed away. I feel strange giving much notice to this day since it's not this day that I wish to remember about my mother. No, in fact, I don't really want to recall this day very often. Rather, I'd like to remember her life every day before March 26, 2008. She was such a wonderful mom to me and my four older siblings. She was my best friend and confidante. She was a beautiful role model as a mother, a wife, a co-worker, and a friend. Her life represented love, joy, patience, consistency, perseverance, FUN and laughter, goodness, gratefulness, and happiness.

My two life-long best friends sent me precious cards to let me know that they were thinking of me and my family today. All day long, I really felt their love, support, and good thoughts. What gets me the most is that the words on each card represented a unique side of my mother. Although the cards were meant for me, I could easily recognize my mother's strength and character in the words:

"Friends cherish the special times they share when they're together. Friends look out for one another. Friends bring happiness into our lives. In every situation you know just what to do, you have that special touch that is uniquely you. I am thankful for a friend whose love is so well expressed by all the little things you do to bring others happiness."

I'm touched to be considered such a friend as mentioned above; however, I believe that I see those same traits in my mother. She was the best friend to me, which means she showed me how to be a friend.

"I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). Every day God's presence is with you...His thoughts of you are countless...and His love for you is perfect."

My mother used to remind me of this scripture on a regular basis! So when I received it in this card, it just went all over me! It was meant to encourage me, and it did, but it also reminded me of the awesome influence and encourager that my mother was to me all of my life. My siblings and I were SO blessed to have parents who constantly challenged us and encouraged us with scripture.

So on this day, I remember my precious mother's life and all that she was to me and did for me. Her example is one that I hope to emulate as I mother my new baby PJ (and any other children we hope to have). So here's to YOU, Mom. I know you're celebrating and worshipping in the amazing, awesome presence of God Almighty! Frankly, I'm a little jealous...but I will join you one day when we will reunite again. In the mean time, keep an eye on all of us because we think of you daily and love and miss you terribly. Give Jesus a big hug for me, will ya?

Payton is 3 months old!