Toddlerhood

Alyssa is 13 months old and officially a toddler! She is no longer labelled "a baby," and all products for her age (e.g., food and toys) specify "toddler appropriate." We can't believe that she is not our baby anymore, but we will always think of her as our Nenewsa (our nickname for her, which means "little" in Arabic).

Our Nenewsa

Alyssa wears size 4 Pampers and Huggies diapers. She also wears more clothes that are size 18 months and shoes in size 3 or 4. Since Alyssa turned one, we have started the weaning process and she is now drinking cow's milk. She doesn't like to drink milk from a sippy cup as much as she likes it in her cereal and oatmeal though. She has tried more foods and loves all kinds of fruit! She doesn't seem to like fish or eggs, and clementines have proven to be a hard food for her to eat since she leaves the peel in her mouth after she sucks out the pulp. It is also hard for her to eat big pieces of food since she doesn't like to bite into anything. As a result, I have to cut everything into small pieces or Alyssa now rips things into smaller bites. Alyssa tries to feed herself with a spoon or fork too. Ever since she started eating solids, I have given her a spoon to hold during meals. Now, she loves to hold her own utensil and tries to feed herself or Mommy. She is getting better at placing the spoon into her mouth, and it is funny to see her attempt to scoop food up with the spoon or pierce food with a fork using either hand.

Drinking Milk for the 1st time

Should I use the salad fork or the dinner fork?

Alyssa has learned to open cabinet doors and loves to open our bathroom cabinets and the cupboards in the kitchen, especially the one filled with Tupperware. She has also started to climb up 1-3 steps on our staircase since she learned to climb up the stairs in the living room at Teta and Jiddu's house. She still manages to move around wearing her first pair of sandals too. I am glad that Alyssa has also learned to obey Mommy and Daddy when we tell her not to touch certain things and to follow us when we go into other rooms. She also loves to imitate us when we say certain sounds and words, especially when she hears Mommy or Daddy yell "Yeah" when one of us is calling the other person from another room.

Getting stuck in a bowl

Say "Yeah!"

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

We went to the pool for the first time after Alyssa's neighborhood birthday party. She loved splashing in the water and playing with her toys. We spent most of the time in the baby pool, but we also ventured into the "big" pool.

Splash!

Alyssa also played in her own pool (given to her by the Karam family) in our backyard. She loved filling her cups and dumping water on the grass.

My big girl pool

We took more walks outside, but the weather started to warm up more and get too hot. Alyssa also got sick for the first time so we stayed home for about a week. She had a viral infection as well as a rash after her fever broke. Daddy was out of town for work in Las Vegas when Alyssa got sick, and I could tell that she was not feeling well because she was not her happy self. I thought her fussiness was due to teething, but her fever lasted a couple days before I took her to the pediatrician. Unfortunately, there was nothing that we could do for the infection other than wait until it passed. Fortunately, Alyssa was a good girl the entire time she was sick, and I loved that she wanted to cuddle more.

Playing

We went to our neighbor Ron's birthday party at the clubhouse one evening and sat by the pool. Another neighbor celebrated his 2nd birthday by inviting lots of family and friends over for a Hawaiian themed party. Most of the big kids played outside with water toys and sand, but Alyssa and Mommy stayed inside out of the heat.

Alyssa graduated to the next level for Baby Fun Time! She is no longer in the Lap Time group, and we now attend the group for walkers which includes 12-24 month olds. Alyssa didn't know anyone at first, but she now waves to the other children and parents and enjoys sitting in the larger room since there are more kids in the new group. The theme for the month was Daddies.

Ready to go the library

Alyssa sent Uncle Patrick a card for his birthday that had pictures of the both of them from the past year. Happy 25th Birthday Uncle Patrick!

We spent Father's Day morning taking Alyssa's 1st year professional pictures. We also took another family picture to commemorate Alyssa's 1st birthday. Alyssa wore the dress that we bought her last year on her first shopping trip after she was born. I always think of that day when she wears that outfit. We celebrated Father's Day by going out to dinner at a local steakhouse since Daddy was craving steak. Alyssa gave Daddy a card filled with pictures of her and him over the past year too. Daddy loved his 2nd Father's Day!

I'm 1!

Daddy had the chance to spend an afternoon alone with Alyssa while Mommy went to see a movie with her friend. They had fun together eating lunch, playing, and taking a walk.

Likes
The pool
(LOVES) Strawberries
All her new toys
Bubbles: Alyssa loves to hold the bubble wand and put it in the soap solution before giving it to Mommy to blow bubbles.

Bubbles!

Laughing with Daddy

Drawing: Alyssa loves to play with crayons. She holds them in her right hand (usually upside- down) and scribbles on the paper as she laughs.

I love to draw!

Dislikes
Water splashing into her eyes
Sour foods: I gave Alyssa a kiwi one day to try for the first time. I thought it tasted a bit sour, but Alyssa seemed to love eating it. After giving her almost all of it, she suddenly started screaming and spit it out. She must have finally tasted the sourness.
Not getting her way

Here comes trouble...

And I am on my way to being "2" cool

1st Birthday Party x 2

Happy 1st Birthday to our lil' cupcake!

On Alyssa's true birthday (May 27th), we practiced for the festivities yet to come. She had her first smash cake (cake #1) while we were in Cleveland. Teta, Jiddu, Great Aunt Rosy, Mommy, and Daddy sang Happy Birthday to Alyssa for the first time. Mommy helped blow out her #1 candle, and Alyssa loved touching the rainbow frosting and large sprinkles after a few minutes of looking at everything. She had a few bites of the vanilla cake, and then we each had a piece to celebrate Alyssa's special day.

Before

After
Smash cake #1

We celebrated Alyssa's 1st Birthday with 2 parties. Both parties had a cupcake theme for our lil' cupcake. When deciding on a theme for Alyssa's 1st birthday party, I thought cupcakes would be cute after seeing a giant cupcake mold at the store a few months ago. After searching online for party supplies with a cupcake theme, I found a great one to use. Ironically, the sample in the catalog had the name "Alyssa" on all of the personalized items. It was fate! I made the invitations in the shape of a cupcake, which opened to reveal the details of the party. I also made a poster that included Alyssa's pictures from each of the past 12 months that she took with Snoopy to show how much she was growing. Teta and I also made a "Pin-the-Candle-on-the-Cupcake" game using felt for the kids to play during the parties while Daddy helped make a 6 minute long video slide show filled with pictures of Alyssa over the past year. The music in the video is "Happy Birthday" by the Beatles as well as a song entitled "Alyssa's Eyes" by Martin Nievera, which we absolutely love and still sing all the time.

The invitation

Pin-the-Candle-on-the-Cupcake

The birthday banner and some of Alyssa's birthday cards


The video slide show

Alyssa's first 1st birthday party was at Teta and Jiddu's house. We celebrated with Teta, Jiddu, Uncle Joe, Uncle Patrick, Great Aunt Rosy, the Saluan families, the Karam family, the Freitas family, and our friends the Kosts, the Sidotis, and the Smolks. Alyssa wore pink leggings with a pink, green, and yellow dress that said "My 1st Birthday" on it with pictures of cupcakes. She also had a "Birthday Girl" bib and a pink #1 crown. Alyssa had a great time playing with all the kids. We woke her up from her nap though to eat cake. She did not want to taste her smash cake (cake #2) even though Mommy tried to be healthy and made a sugar-free banana cake with pink cream cheese frosting in the shape of a giant cupcake for her big day.

My birthday ensemble

Smash cake #2

Teta and Great Aunt Rosy spent countless hours preparing food for Alyssa's party. The appetizers, dishes, and desserts were delicious! We had crackers and cheese, chips, vegetables and dip, pizza, hummus, falafel, kibbee, spinach pies, tabouli, chicken kabobs, kafta, rice (thanks to Great Aunt Rosy), and pasta salad (thanks to Great Aunt Mary Ann). For dessert, we had vanilla cupcakes, fruit salad, Middle Eastern pastries, and a trifle (thanks to Great Aunt Mary Ann). Alyssa's birthday cake was a cassada cake decorated with pink and purple flowers. After eating dessert, cousins Sarah and Christopher helped Alyssa open her gifts. She received lots of clothes and toys, and she couldn't wait to start playing with everything!

Some of the delicious food

To thank the guests, Alyssa gave the girls favor bags filled with cupcake-themed art supplies. The boys received Cavs headbands and wrist bands and water toys since Alyssa loves the Cavs and water :)

Favor bags, party hats, and poster

#1 cupcakes

After we returned to North Carolina from Cleveland, we had a second 1st birthday party for Alyssa with our neighbors and friends. Almost everyone from our street came to celebrate Alyssa's special day. We grilled chicken kabobs, hamburgers, and hot dogs and ate cheese and crackers, chips, salad, pasta salad, pizza, and oven roasted potatoes. For dessert, we ate strawberries, grapes, pineapple, watermelon, cheesecake cups that resembled cupcakes, ice cream, and chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles. Alyssa loved playing with all the kids, and she decided not to get dirty again and not to smash her giant cupcake (cake #3). She did, however, smash one of the smaller cupcakes and taste it.

Smash cake #3

Opening gifts with Mommy

Alyssa received even more adorable clothes and fun toys from our neighbors and friends. After the guests left, Alyssa opened her gifts from Mommy and Daddy. We hope to give Alyssa a personalized book (hopefully, with a story that incorporates the theme of her party from that year) rather than a card each year. She loves to "read" books, and we hope her love of reading will continue and that she will cherish the books and our messages. In addition, we bought Alyssa a beach pail set, a float for the pool, a bathing suit, sunglasses, and a terry cloth robe. We know how much she loves the water, and we hope to spend a lot of time at the pool this summer. We also hope to take Alyssa to the beach for the first time soon. Now, she is all set with her pool and beach accessories.

Opening the gifts from Mommy and Daddy

Thank you to everyone for making Alyssa's 1st birthday so special and for making this past year even more memorable for all of us. We are truly blessed, and we cannot wait to celebrate even more birthdays with Alyssa surrounded by our loved ones.

Just for Fun:
I came across an article in Parents magazine that asked parents a series of questions after their children turned one. I thought it would be nice to answer the same questions about Alyssa so that she can look back at them, and we can see if the answers change next year.

One word to describe her: Dainty--a lot of people call her this
Tell us more: Alyssa is usually very neat and content most of the time and loves to make us laugh
How many teeth? 4 (with one more coming through)
Drinks from cup? Yes
Walking yet? No, but loves to move around
First words: Dow (light in Arabic), Dada, Mama
Favorite thing in the world: Books and music
Favorite food: Green beans
What makes her laugh? If she hears someone laugh, she laughs too; but, she loves to be surprised with funny noises
Favorite book: I Love You Because You're You by Liza Baker
Favorite song: If you're happy and you know it...
First reaction to new people: Shy, but then warms up once around them for a few minutes
It drives me crazy when: She takes everything out of the kitchen or bathroom cabinets
Cutest thing she does: Imitates us when we laugh or cough
Favorite game: Pat-a-cake and Peek-a-boo

How fun...Alyssa is 1!

oI'm 1 year old!

One year has passed since Alyssa was born! It has been a great year filled with happy and special moments. Aunt Rosy surprised me by having me listen to the message I had left her when Alyssa was born. I remember being so happy when I called, and I sounded so tired on the phone when I listened to the message a year later. Even though it is Alyssa's birthday, we feel that we received the best gift of all and are truly blessed to be Alyssa's parents.

Giggles

Alyssa is wearing size 3 diapers and size 12-18 month clothes. She had her 12 month well visit and received 3 shots. She cried so hard that she almost lost her breath, which was scary, but she was such a good girl the rest of the day. She now weighs 21 pounds, 12 ounces, is 29 inches long, and has a head circumference of 45.9 cm (all of which are greater than the 50th percentile). Even though it appears that her growth is starting to slow down, her hair is getting so long that it almost reaches her shoulders when it is wet. She is getting too big for the travel system carseat too. As a result, we installed the convertible carseat in Daddy's car a couple months ago, and Alyssa rode in it a few times this past month. She is more slender now that she is taller so we had to adjust the shoulder straps and footrest on her high chair again too. She is almost the length of the pack-n-play and can reach both sides of it when she stretches out her arms and legs.

Crawling

Alyssa loves to be mobile and to sit on her knees and pull up to stand. She even gets on her tip-toes to reach higher. Alyssa used to be a heavy sleeper and sleep only on her back, but now she wakes up to any loud noise and sleeps on her tummy or side. Alyssa is a speed crawler, and we always know when she is approaching since we hear her knees sliding on the wood floors. She loves to play with our DVDs and take them off the shelves. She knows not to touch the media equipment though. She shakes her head any time she sees something that she is not supposed to touch (such as the baker's rack in the kitchen or the computer).

Ready, set, go!

Mooncrawling

Alyssa is a better eater. She eats more quickly and definitely wants more "big girl" food. She loves spinach and has tried spinach pies and spinach with rice as well as bagels, cheerios, chicken, spaghetti, animal crackers, and a taste of Mommy's banana ice cream (which she loved!). She is eating more dairy (e.g., yogurt, cheese) and loves cold strawberry yogurt. Yogurt is the only food she likes to eat cold as she still prefers her oatmeal and most meals served warm. She enjoys drinking water from a cup like Mommy and Daddy, and she loves to feed us food so we take turns feeding each other.

I have 4 teeth...the better to eat with

Feeding Daddy

Hey good-lookin'

In addition to all of the physical changes Alyssa has undergone, her personality seems to be developing more too. She loves to make us laugh and will do certain things she knows will get a positive reaction from us. For example, she likes to gently hit our heads with her hand or head and make us laugh. She also pretends to cough or laugh when she hears us. She has a sinister laugh that cracks us up too.

Sinister Laugh

New things Alyssa can do:

Point at foot, hand, and head when asked location of each body part. She can also point to Mommy's ears, head, foot, hand, and belly button.
Point and say "dow" for light (in Arabic)
Point and say "go" for shoes and/or feet
Point and say "bawl" for a ball
Say "na-na"for food (in Arabic) especially when she hears the toaster oven beep when her toast is ready
Wave hello and goodbye
Say Mama and Dada when she sees us
Put food/cup in her mouth when asked to eat/drink
Push buttons on toys when asked
Crawl to follow us when asked
Put toys away when asked
Brush own hair and/or Mommy's hair when asked

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

Since our friend works at a comic book store on the weekends, we decided to visit him on Free Comic Book Day. Alyssa received 5 free comics that we know she will love looking at and reading when she is older. While at the store, we met "Superman." Afterward, we went to a Mexican restaurant that Daddy has wanted to take Mommy to since we moved to North Carolina. Alyssa loved being in a new place and ate her lunch in the quickest time to date.

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's Alyssa

We were only able to go to Baby Fun Time at the library a couple times, and the theme for the month was Mommies.

For my 1st Mother's Day, Alyssa gave me a paper flower from Baby Fun Time and a card that she and Daddy made for me with our picture on it. I was able to sleep in and spend the day relaxing and enjoying free time with the two most special people.

Happy 1st Mother's Day, Mommy!

We had our first family mini-vacation when we traveled to Washington, D.C. for my cousin Ramsey's wedding. We arrived a couple days early so that we could see some of the sites. We visited the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Library of Congress. We received a tour of the Library of Congress and just missed seeing the Senate in session. Alyssa slept through most of the time we spent at the monuments, but she was awake and talkative during the tour. It was Alyssa's first time riding the Metro while we were in D.C., and she did not seem to mind it at all. It was a challenge maneuvering the stroller on the subway with so many people around, but everyone kept playing with Alyssa. We even met 2 different groups of people who were there on vacation from North Carolina too!



We had a great time at Ramsey and Veronica's rehearsal dinner which was at an Afghan restaurant. Alyssa tried one of the rice dishes and loved it. While there, another cousin kept coming up to Alyssa and tried to get her phone number. Daddy had his eye on him.

Ramsey and Veronica had a beautiful wedding. We loved their slideshow, and Shereif is still talking about how delicious the cake tasted. They gave Alyssa a book about ducks as her wedding favor. We are excited to welcome Veronica into our family and to get to know her better. We wish them the best of luck in Boston!

Dressed to impress

After we returned home from D.C., we enjoyed spending time with the Bregmans at their cookout. The next day, Daddy went to Michigan and Columbus for work. We unpacked and quickly repacked for our trip to Cleveland for Memorial Day weekend and Alyssa's first birthday party (post to follow).

Uncle Ramy and Aunt Dawn welcomed Mia Leighton Danial on May 21st. Mia decided to arrive a few weeks early so she and Alyssa are almost exactly one year apart in age. Alyssa cannot wait to meet her first cousin, and we cannot wait to meet our beautiful niece!

Likes
Yogurt
Water
Sightseeing
Making others laugh
Moving around
Feeding Mommy and Daddy
Skype with Teta, Jiddu, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Patrick

Dislikes
Vacuum: Alyssa does not like when Mommy uses the vacuum.
Wiping hands and mouth: Alyssa hates having her hands wiped, especially before and after her meals.
Taking naps

11 down, only 1 more to go before the BIG O-N-E

Alyssa is 11 months old, which means that she is only one month away from turning the BIG 1!

She is learning to recognize body parts and can point at Mommy's foot, Daddy's foot, or her own foot when asked. She also waves and makes sniffing sounds to imitate us. She has a "fake laugh" when she hears us laughing, and she says "Gooo" as she points to lights. She pushes things away, which I do not like; and she has also learned that she can scream very loudly and practices her new voice quite often.

This was a Q&A session with Alyssa. I did not prompt her with any of the answers. She has learned to respond quicker now, but this video sums up most of the things she has learned over the past couple months.

Alyssa's fine and gross motor development continues to improve every day. She has learned to push and pull all the buttons on the majority of her toys. It is always fascinating to see her learn how to operate a new toy. The latest toys she has mastered are the electronic storybook and steering wheel--she now turns the wheels and pushes all the buttons. Alyssa is moving around a lot! She scoots, pulls up to stand, crawls, and cruises a little. She can sit up on her own from supine or prone positions and rolls around in her crib during the night. She always manages to get to different places one way or another.

Riding my car

One of the first times caught on camera that Alyssa pulled up to stand. I love how she claps (the new way) and starts dancing when she hears the music.

Alyssa has tried more finger foods, which now include cheerios, peas, carrots, mashed potatoes, yogurt melts, bagel pieces, and a taste of some Middle Eastern cuisine. Her favorite foods are oatmeal, pears, and toast. She has also tried diluted pear juice and drinking breastmilk in her sippy cup. She loves to feed Mommy and Daddy her food, and we end up taking turns feeding each other.

Yummy!

Alyssa is still wearing size 3 Pampers diapers and has started wearing some 18 month outfits. Her feet reach the second level of the highchair footrest, and we had to adjust the shoulder straps on her carseat a couple months ago since she is taller now. Alyssa's other physical characteristics have not changed a great deal (except that her hair is much longer), but her personality continues to change each and every day. Some people say that Alyssa most resembles Mommy while other people say that she looks like Daddy; but, we both agree that she has some of the same traits as each of us.

Cutie

Like Mommy
Loves to sleep
Likes routine
Eats slowly
Needs to multi-task (Alyssa needs to be distracted to eat or have her diaper changed. Mommy likes to do numerous things at one time in order to get things done.)
Likes going on walks and shopping
Outgoing once comfortable with people
Learns new things quickly
Sleeps on her back or side at night
Content when alone
Excellent hearing

Going down the slide with Mommy

Like Daddy
Wakes up in a good mood
Fussy and eyes get red when tired
Likes food warm
Easily distracted
Loves being outside
Likes to talk and speak loudly :)
Loves the water
Moves around a lot
Excellent sense of smell, taste, and sight (Alyssa always seems to smell her food before she takes a bite. I think she does this in order to determine if it is something that she wants to eat. When she doesn't want to eat a certain meal, I mix it with oatmeal to hide the smell and she eats it. This is proving to be more difficult the older and smarter she becomes though.)

Riding the carousel with Daddy

Daddy making Alyssa laugh

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

We traveled to Cleveland for Easter (as described in the previous post).

After unpacking and settling back into our routine at home, the weather warmed up and we enjoyed taking many walks the past few weeks. Daddy even started taking Alyssa on short walks in the mornings on the weekends. We aerated, seeded, and fertilized the yard and planted flowers and mulched outside. Alyssa also watched us wash the cars and absolutely loves being outdoors.

Enjoying the warm weather outside on the patio swing

Mommy and Daddy took turns watching Alyssa while each had a dentist's appointment. A commercial was being filmed for the dentist's office while Mommy had her exam. So, Mommy will be in a local commercial!

Baby Fun Time themes included frogs, bugs, rabbits, and birds. Alyssa picked out her very first library books, and she loved looking at them for a week. They were 3 board books that included one on sign language, one about birds, and one with various rhymes.

We visited the city park. We have not been to the park since Alyssa was 3 months old. This time, Alyssa rode one of the horses on the carousel while Mommy and Daddy stood next to her and held her rather than riding in the car seat on the carriage like last time. Alyssa also went down a short slide on Mommy's lap a few times. We cannot wait to take Alyssa to the park more often this summer so that she can ride more of the rides and the swings.

Daddy went to Boston for a few days for work. His flight home was cancelled so he stayed an extra night.

I took Alyssa for a free class at Little Gym. She was in the Birdies group which includes 10-19 month old children. She was one of six girls in the class and the youngest one there. Activities included using the gym equipment (rubber mats), walking on her hands with help on the balance beam, playing with bouncy balls, practicing walking with a hula hoop, and playing with bubbles. Alyssa loved popping the bubbles that landed on the mat.

We went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant with the Fergusons. Alyssa and Mary loved waving to the other kids in the adjacent booths.

LikesGiving kisses
Standing
Moving around
Bathtime
Books
Lights

Ready for bed after bathtime

Dislikes
Wiping hands and face
Sitting in high chair
Hats and hoods

Alyssa in 'da hood

Hang 10

Alyssa just turned 10 months old! For fun, we weighed Alyssa with her clothes on, and she was 22 pounds! Alyssa now wears Pampers and Huggies size 3 diapers as well as size 3 shoes. Her hair is getting long enough that Mommy can put bows in it too. She is getting so big and developing an equally big personality.

Alyssa initially learned to clap by patting her hands. She recently figured out how to clap by hitting her left hand against her right hand. She also now gives big hugs and pretends to cough and laugh to get us to laugh and to imitate us. She also imitates most of the sounds we tell her, especially "mama," "dada," and "kaka," as well as sniffing sounds. We especially love that Alyssa makes smacking noises with her lips when we say "give kisses." Alyssa loves to look at any lights and has learned to point at the ceiling when we say the Arabic word for light, which sounds like "doe." With these new achievements, however, she has also started some bad habits--mainly, biting. With 4 teeth, her bites are definitely painful. Alyssa has developed some stranger anxiety too and prefers to be with Mommy. When strangers are around, she likes to hold onto Mommy's hair and makes whining sounds when she is upset, especially when I try to hide things behind my back. So, she fully understands object permanence, which makes it harder to distract her with other items when she wants something.

Old way of clapping

Alyssa moves around much more and scoots to move from one place to another. It is a challenge to get her to stay still during diaper changes, and she loves to stand while holding onto things for a short time and to jump in her exersaucer. She also likes to stiffen her legs when we try to have her sit down. Her feet almost touch the base of the high chair now, and Alyssa has started to put her fingers in Mommy and Daddy's ears, mouths, and noses. We wish she would put more food in her own mouth though. She still has not mastered feeding herself finger foods, but she loves eating "big people" food. In addition to cereal puffs, she has had samples of toast, pinwheel noodles, bananas, avocado, egg yolk, and ka'ak (a Middle Eastern cookie usually made at Easter time).

I love standing

Cereal puff teeth

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

In addition to running errands, we went to a consignment sale with friends. Whenever we go out, people often stop us to comment on how cute Alyssa is and to say that her eyes are so big and that she seems so content. We love to hear everyone's comments, but it definitely makes shopping trips last longer.

Pretty Princess

We spent more time with the Fergusons as the weather warmed up and we could enjoy more walks and cookouts outside. We started using the umbrella stroller from the Kost family for short walks and quick errands since it is easy to put in the car.

Ridin' in style

Alyssa and Mommy went to Baby Fun Time each week. The themes for each session included music, ducks, St. Patrick's Day, and Old McDonald. Alyssa loves the time we spend at the library, and I look forward to taking her to see all the other babies and to hear the music and stories.

Mommy got her hair cut a little shorter than usual thinking that Alyssa would not pull it so much if she could not reach it as easily. Alyssa, however, pulls on it even more now since she has to reach for Mommy's ponytails. I know this is a phase, and I will be happy once it is over.

We traveled to Cleveland on the day that Alyssa turned 10 months old. We actually started our trip at midnight with the hope that Alyssa would sleep the entire time we were on the road. The trip took us less time since we did not have to stop to feed or change Alyssa. She did great and slept all night until about an hour before we arrived at Teta and Jiddu's house. Alyssa was timid at first, but she quickly warmed up to everyone again once she spent a few minutes with Teta, Jiddu, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Patrick (who had to go to Indianapolis for work and spent a few days with us before he left).

While in Cleveland, we attended Mass on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Alyssa loved the music and seeing all the people. We were looking forward to having Alyssa participate in the children's procession outside on Palm Sunday, but the weather did not allow it. Since it was raining, the Church had a short procession inside at the end of Mass. It was so crowded and Mass had lasted over an hour that Alyssa started to get fussy. Daddy held her while Mommy held her beautiful (and big) candle. Alyssa looked adorable in her pink Easter dress and hat and her new shoes and headband.

Alyssa visited her great grandparents, the Karam family, and Shereif's aunts, uncle, and cousin; and great Uncle Chuck, great Aunt Rosy, and a few other relatives visited us. We loved seeing so many family members again, which kept us very busy. Everyone spoiled Alyssa for her first Easter, and she received many outfits and new stuffed animals that she loves to play with every day as well as a huge Easter basket from Jiddu and Teta. Last year was the first (and I hope, only) year that we were unable to go home for the holiday since I was 8 months pregnant. We love this time of year because it is a season of rebirth so this Easter was extra special for all of us since we had another person to share it with, and we will always remember it.

All of my new friends

1st Easter basket

It is a Lebanese tradition to try to crack your opponent's egg in this Easter game. The trick is to wrap your hand tightly around your own egg so that your opponent has less of a chance to hit your egg and break it. I apologize for the length of this video, but I love how my parents are arguing in Arabic, great Aunt Rosy's laugh, Uncle Joe's explanations to Alyssa, and Alyssa's reactions to her first time playing this game. We cannot wait for her to get bigger and play it on her own.

Easter egg game

Likes

Diluted apple juice: Alyssa has also tried grape juice, but she seems to prefer a "splash" of apple
juice in her sippy cup.
(Loves) Green beans
Bubbles: Alyssa loves it when we blow bubbles, and she always tries to catch them.
First Words and Elmo Sing-Along books
Baa-baa Black Sheep and Skinnamarink songs: These are the two songs that always make
Alyssa dance
Lights
Pretending to sneeze, cough, and laugh
Playing dress-up: Alyssa does not mind when Mommy dresses her up in different outfits

Dancing

Trying on my bathing suit and looking forward to going to the pool and beach this summer

Paging Dr. Alyssa

Dislikes
Putting on and taking off a bib
Wiping hands
Naptime

Being left alone with anyone besides Mommy for a long time