Toledo Zoo

About an hour south of Livonia is a wonderful place called the Toledo Zoo. There was no better day than today for us to visit for the first time. Not a single cloud in the sky, temperature hovered around 82 degrees, my parents were in town visiting...if only Randy could have been home to share the day with us.

Helaina soaking her feet in the "creek."

Not sure if all toddlers are as fixated on rocks and sticks as our sweet child, but this girl WILL NOT LET GO of her treasures...rock in the right hand, stick in the left. When outside, that's pretty much all we do, play with rocks and sticks.

They had an interactive section that was perfect for babes just her age.

Helaina's first ride on the Carousel. She did great! Mom on the other hand, forgot just how fast those things turn! I was holding on for dear life!

Senior Prom

Here is a salute to our beautiful cousins that attended their Senior Proms recently.
Emann was STUNNING! She will graduate from Ladywood High School later this May.
Unfortunately, I was not able to see my cousin Alexis in person. It's obvious from this photo, that she was a true beauty as well. Alexis will graduate from Kouts High School in early June.

Drum roll please (and comedic relief)...Senior Prom 10 years ago!

Catholic Central High School graduation 16 years ago!!!

From Phoenix to San Jose

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy?author=Greg+Wyshynski
*Check out Puck Daddy's blog entry from Thursday, April 29 9:56 am*
"Red Wings could be fined for breaking San Jose's curfew"

In true Hockeytown fashion, the Red Wings won game 7 last night in Phoenix, score 6-1. Immediately following the game, Randy and the team flew to San Jose for round 2 of the NHL playoffs. The Wings are 3-0-1 on the season verse the Sharks, so we're very optimistic about the next round.
To follow the Wings check them out on Playoff Central:
It's probable Randy will not be returning home till early next week. As the playoff grind continues, we are thankful for this amazing opportunity!

Welcome Home Sitty Salwa

Today we welcomed home Randy's grandma, Sitty Salwa. She left for West Palm last November, when Helaina was only about 8 months old. Helaina has grown so much since then, and Sitty was more than excited to see her. She brought beautiful handmade gifts for Helaina, and we spent the afternoon visiting with her.

Unfortunately the Wings didn't win today, and tomorrow Randy will be back on a plane to Phoenix for the "must win" game 7 of the series. If they lose game 7 on Tuesday evening, that will end their season and Randy will be returning home to us. If they win, they will fly from Phoenix to either San Jose or Vancouver to begin the second round of the playoffs. We still have plenty of faith in our mighty Wings and wish them best on Tuesday! In the mean time, we'll be holding down the fort while Randy is away.

Our Little Helper

After a full day of play, we begin to run out of things to do together. So, Helaina has become our little helper. She responds to 1 or 2 step commands pretty well, and we are making good use of her increasing cognitive skills :)!

Helping mom fold the laundry.

She's very good at giving me the socks! We are working on matching them.

This past month her language and vocabulary has exploded! I was updating her baby book and thought I'd make a list of all the words she is saying. As of this weekend, I had written over 70 words that she says on a daily basis. Recently, she began saying a few 2 words phrases. Randy's parents speak Arabic to her, and at the beginning I was learning the words and phrases right along with her. At this point, I can't keep up!!! She'll say something that I think is babbling, and Randy will say, "No, that's Arabic for airplane." (as she's pointing to the sky at the airplane flying overhead) She's even got my parents learning a few words in Arabic as well! Not sure why some babies talk sooner than others, but at this stage, we are enjoying her ability to communicate. I'm sure some experienced moms out there will be the first to tell me that this may mean trouble in the future :)!

Randy's Home!

Randy arrived home safely from AZ yesterday afternoon! Helaina and I were anxiously awaiting his return. In the morning when I'd get Helaina from her crib, she'd hear a small noise and say "Da-da? Da-da?" She new that he was normally here in the morning and wasn't quite sure why he wasn't coming to tell her good morning.
This is a photo from the Phoenix Coyotes' Arena. The Wings won 1 out of 2. They play 2 home games this week and then head back to Phoenix. Randy's partner will be traveling to that game, so we'll have Randy home for at least another couple weeks.
**A great big THANK YOU to Randy's parents for all the help this week! We love you!

Randy's Roadtrip

It's playoff season, and the quest has begun for another one of these... the coveted Stanley Cup. This afternoon Randy leaves with the team and travels to Phoenix, AZ for the first round of the NHL playoffs. He won't return until mid morning Saturday. Helaina and I are sure to miss each moment he's away. Good Luck Wings!!!

Softball Game

Saturday, Helaina had the pleasure of attending her first softball game. My cousins, Alexis and Lindsey, play for the Kouts JV and Varsity softball teams. It was a beautiful, breezy, but sunny afternoon spent at the ball diamond.

Helaina: "Come on, I'm ready to go!"
Helaina: "Let's play ball momma."

Helaina made yet another friend.

Meeting Miss Grace

She is just as I suspected....absolutely adorable and just plain perfect! Jon and Erin were in Valpo visiting his parents this past week, so the timing was great. They brought Grace over to my parents' home, and our family was able to meet Grace for the first time.
The only picture we captured of the 2 babes together. Helaina doesn't have much interest in "playing" with other children yet. She too busy being a little explorer.

I have been friends with Jon literally my whole entire life, from birth through 13 years of school and of course, until now . He is 5 months older than me, and I think it's a bit ironic that our children are 8 months apart in age. Too bad there is about 12 hours of travel time separating us now. The upside? Someday, we'll take a nice family vacation out to Maryland!

Easter Sunday, 13 months old

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Happy Easter to all of our family and friends. We truly hope you had a special day with each of your families.
This year, our family decided to try something new to celebrate the Easter holiday. It was only a small gathering of people since a few of our family members were on a Spring Break vacation. So, Amo Bishara and Auntie Helen (Randy's parents), invited us to Easter brunch at the Ritz Carlton. And oh my...you've never seen an Easter Brunch until you've seen the brunch at the Ritz. Thank goodness Helaina was on her best behavior and looked absolutely adorable in her Easter dress! Our relentless attempts to get a picture with the Easter Bunny

The chocolate filled Easter basket distracted her for a short while

Gorgeous, Gorgeous spread

This sweet table satisfied my sweet tooth...and that's one big sweet tooth!

Amo Jack and Auntie Georgette had an Easter cake made just for Helaina! We are going to share it with the neighborhood kids since they are always over visiting Helaina.

She turned 13 months old this past Friday. Each day she learns so much! She's speaking many words (probably close to 25) and is recalling the names for objects and people without being told beforehand.

Today I was telling Randy I wanted to get a picture of her before we ate brunch. She walked over to my purse, pulled out the camera, looked up and me, and said "camera." Randy and I just looked at each other...I think we both realized in that moment that we have to be very careful what we say in front of her! She's too smart for her own good.

Easter Weekend

We started the Easter weekend at Sedo and Sity's home this morning. They had put together the most beautiful baskets for Helaina to open. Of course it didn't take long for her to find the baskets and begin opening her gifts.
Maybe she'll be a good luck charm for the Spartans today. The outfit is a gift from Uncle Omar. Randy and I may be a house divided though...I just might be cheering the "Dawgs" on this afternoon.

In her basket was several books, chocolate (for mom), and a handmade wooden xylophone.

We had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard.

These warms days of playing outside have helped Helaina get back on her nap schedule. At this point, she's still needing 2 naps a day and that still works for us :)! We are visiting the Khoury family tonight...more picture to come!

Beautiful Spring Day

There is much to be said about the beauty of Spring. Friday was a good day indeed. We watched Helaina continue to explore her new surroundings outside. Randy and I spent an evening out...thanks to Sedo and Teta for allowing Helaina to sleepover. Now we're looking forward to a great Easter weekend!

Elmo

For the life of me I can't figure out how to rotate this video, sorry the view is sideways.

Helaina loves Elmo...he literally makes her dance through the house.