7th Heaven

Alyssa turned 7 months old the day we returned home from Cleveland. Since the day was spent driving in the car, the realization that she is one month older did not settle in until days later.

Alyssa is still wearing Pampers size 2 and 9-12 month outfits. She outgrew her winter bunting in one month so she now wears a winter jacket that she loves. She, however, does not care for her winter hat. Her sitting has improved greatly, and she loves to reach out with both arms for objects that she wants and for Mommy to get her. Alyssa has also started waving and usually uses her right hand to wave back at people. It is so interesting to watch her look at her hands when she waves as if she is practicing to get it just right. Sometimes her waves face her, which makes it even more adorable. The cutest thing is that she shakes her head "no" too. We practice having Alyssa stand daily, and she is standing with full weight on both of her legs. She can also hold onto the couch for short periods of time while standing too.

Hi!

Alyssa is always very sociable and loves looking at other people, but she gets very quiet around strangers and still uses her defense mechanism (hands behind her head) any time someone gets too close to her too soon after first meeting her. Her cries are also louder now (and keep getting louder each week). Alyssa soothes herself to sleep though by rubbing her head or gently pulling the hair on the back of her head. Even though we did not have much of a routine while we were away in Cleveland, we have settled back into our bedtime and nap time routine. Alyssa sleeps all night and takes 2 one hour naps during the day.

Helping Daddy do some work

Alyssa likes to mimic sounds and gestures and babble to get attention. She has mastered the sounds for "Mama" and "im" (which is the Arabic word for Mom), and she continually practices saying "Dada" and "baba" (which, ironically, is the Arabic word for Dad). She likes to make panting noises too. She curls her tongue in different ways. One way, in which she makes a U shape, is from Daddy who inherited it from his mom. She loves to curl her tongue and make all sorts of sounds and bubbles with it.

Alyssa is eating more solids. In addition to the green vegetables, she has tried carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, pears, and apple sauce. She also eats oatmeal every morning, which she absolutely loves. Her favorite foods seem to be the sweet vegetables.

You can't tell by my face, but I love carrots!

Here is what we have been up to the past month:

We spent the beginning of the month doing our Christmas shopping. Alyssa loves to go to the stores and watch all the people, but it was difficult navigating the stroller through all the aisles.

We attended our development's Children's Holiday Party. Alyssa met Santa Claus for the first time, and all the neighbors loved Alyssa's outfit and how well-behaved she was at the party. Alyssa enjoyed looking at the beautiful Christmas tree in the clubhouse.

I've been a good girl

We took our first professional Christmas pictures and sent out holiday cards with a picture of our family. We tried taking pictures of Alyssa in her christening outfit, but she was too tired.

We travelled to Ohio for the third time since Alyssa was born. We wanted to share Alyssa's first Christmas with our families, and Daddy had his work holiday party in Columbus. Teta babysat Alyssa while Mommy and Daddy went to the party. Teta said Alyssa did great and went to sleep without any problems. We visited Aunt Hena and Uncle Ahmed at their home in Columbus for the first time before we drove back to Cleveland. It snowed in NC the day we left for Cleveland, and our neighbor sent us a picture of our house covered in snow. We have not seen snow at home since we came back, but it did snow in Cleveland while we were there. It was the first and only time Alyssa saw the white powder!

Snow in Cleveland

While in Cleveland, Alyssa had another play date with Reese, Isabella, and Maggie. The Dads joined the Moms and kids this time. We also saw lots of relatives and visited Teta and Giddu almost every day so that they could spend time with Alyssa.

We attended Mass on Christmas Eve. Everyone kept smiling at Alyssa, and she loved listening to the music. She would babble as the music played and then stop as soon as the music stopped. After Mass, Alyssa opened a couple Christmas gifts from Teta and Jiddu. They gave her a stocking with her initial on it. After Alyssa went to bed, we opened our gifts from each other.
On Christmas morning, Alyssa opened the rest of her gifts from Teta and Jiddu, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Pat. She received a ton of toys and clothes from them. Alyssa would get scared if the wrapping paper was ripped too quickly or loudly. She loved playing with the tissue paper though. After visiting Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, we then went to Great Aunt Rosy's for lunch where we opened more gifts. We had dinner at Shereif's aunt's new house with his family. Alyssa received more toys and clothes from them too. It was a hectic, but memorable day as we celebrated our first Christmas together as a family of three.

Can you find me?

Our 1st Christmas

Ready to eat

Likes:
Christmas lights
Christmas music
Tissue Paper
Family
Sweet vegetables and oatmeal
Waving
Panting and curling tongue

Dislikes:
Having mouth wiped after eating
Winter hats
Not adhering to a daily routine (e.g., skipping naps, going to bed late)

A couple short videos of Alyssa laughing with Snoopy and waving to Jiddu.