A Big River Day, December 26, 2006

Today was a big day for River. He has been doing all things to make me tired. I am really exhausted but proud of him at the same time

I left the boys for very few minutes and then found River off the walker banging on the floor ( It was not the first time for him going off his walker ). Another time I had both of the boys in their bedroom, hoping that they were playing with their toys and was taking care of laundry. Then I heard banging on the kitchen floor. Yes, River had crawled all the way from their bedroom, going through the gate and was in the kitchen

It is not like he was making trouble ALL the time. When I was feeding him and his brother, River started clapping and whispering DATH, DATH which made me really excited.

They both were jumping today in their walkers when I was told Jump, Jump and they look really cute doing that.

I did have a very busy day but full of joy which was given mostly by River today

A Merry Christmas Day, December 25, 2006

We had a very merry Christmas together. The boys loved opening the presents and all the toys that Santa and us gave to them. They were almost whole day playing with the new toys and we were enjoying watching them.

In the morning we went to the Catholic church Immaculate Conception for Christmas mass. It was very interesting how the boys were behaving during the mass. Maybe it was a whole new place for them so they were busy looking around. Relic was enjoying the music too. He was clapping listening to the songs and it was really funny. I think Relic got into the spirit of Christmas more. All day he was excited , something like he knew it was a different day.

My family was really nice to call Michael and wish him a merry Christmas.

I guess I have been a really good girl and that's why Santa gave me lots of good presents . I am excited about the little vacuum cleaner that I got. My car has been really dirty and does need to be cleaned. I can't wait to clean my car with the vacuum cleaner that I got today.

River & Relic on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2006

Relic's First Real Word, December 23, 2006

In the middle of night, Relic said his first real word : DATH , a baby version of DAST which means hand in Farsi.

He has been clapping when we say 'DAST, DASTI' and has been really excited about our reaction. He gives us one of those cute big smiles which shows his two little teeth well. In the middle of night when I was changing his diaper, he was clapping, trying to make me excited and play with him. I usually try to not talk with them in the middle of night but not because I feel sleepy then ( I usually go to check email or write things after I feed the boys, waiting for them to go to sleep so I can cover their little bodies with blanket, making sure that they are warm enough ) but because I want them to go back to bed. That's why I ignored Relic clapping. But then he said DATH 3 times and clapped. I was really excited to hear it and couldn't stop hugging and kissing him.

Today I was trying to make Relic say DATH again , but he didn't. That's how babies are. They do things when they want. But I am still happy to hear his first real word

Techtarget Christmas party, December 22, 2006

Michael's office had a Christmas party and we all were invited to. Poor Michael couldn't eat well ( because of the two wisdom teeth that he got pulled yesterday ) but I really liked the lunch.

Even Santa was there and gave gifts to the boys ( I don't know why because the boys were not very good and were pulling his beard )

Playing time, December 19, 2006

Thank you Meagan! December 17, 2006

A Busy Day,December 16, 2006

A lot was going on today :

After the bad night that the boys had ( because they got cold too ) Michael joined us with the cold. Now 4 of us have cold

I had planned to clean the house today, but we couldn't have enough energy for doing it. I had worked on the boys' room yesterday to have the new puzzle mat on which is clean and soft for the boys to sit on and practice sitting a little bit ( It was my friend, Laurel 's suggestion to give the boys more opportunity to practice sitting ). And after practicing almost on hour last night, the boys were able to sit really well today.

I wanted to give Michael some time to feel like weekend, especially because he needed some time to rest because of his cold, so I thought to go to BJ's , Babies R us and SUBWAY by myself and let Michael stay home. But I got a flat tier and because I had never changed the tier myself, had to call Michael and ask him to come and help me. Poor Michael, had to take the boys and come to help me change the tier.

Relic learned to clap a few days ago and River has seen how excited we get when his brother claps and I think he is trying to do that too.

When I was typing the last sentence, I hear River crying. I went to get him and nothing could stop him. I tried to sing for him the songs that always makes him calm down but it didn't work. I tried to give him the xylophone to play, he played a little bit but started to cry and scream again. I don't know what was wrong but nothing could help him feel better. finally after one hour he went to sleep in my arms. My poor little boy ! I hope he can sleep well now ....

I need to go wake Michael up so he can go to get ready for bed then i will have to check my blood sugar ( which I think it is low now ) and get ready for bed. There are a lot of things that we need to do tomorrow

Here I am, tired and sick :( December 13, 2006

I've caught a cold, a bad one which stops me being myself. I can't play with my children as I did ( I don't have enough energy ) and I can't talk with them as much ( breathing is hard for me when I talk ) and I can't hold them as long ( I have to clean my hands before holding them as I have to blow my nose every minute ) , so we are all upset ....

The house looks very bad , needs to be organized and cleaned. I need to cook and do the laundry but I don't have energy . Oh, God ! Help me

"Look at this big fish we caught", December 11, 2006

They had moved the chair about 4 m ( 10 ft ) and looked very proud when I caught them. So, as you can see if you need to move to a new house you can call my boys, they are pretty good at this, but I can't promise if your stuffs will not break during the movement 

Our Family, December 10, 2006

Family Christmas Party, December 10, 2006

Jay and Jeanne were really nice and hosted the Christmas party again !

We all had a wonderful time and the boys got A LOT of toys

Twins Holiday Party, December 9, 2006

We had a very nice time at Twins Holiday Party. Talking with other parents and seeing some friends that I hadn't seen for a while and seeing all the twins being excited about the gifts that Santa was giving them was really nice.

Santa was Christine's husband which is Jewish! Their daughter found out that Santa was their daddy, but Christine told her that Daddy was Santa's helper, and for sure he was.

Relic and River cared more about the wrapping paper and wanted to eat it immediately, and we did know it before. But we didn't want the other twins think that our boys were not enough good to get a present from Santa

These days, December 07, 2006

The boys are busy growing up ! I was telling Michael last night how our tiny house is big for our boys to discover every little bit of it : There are still a lot of places that they need to know about, and the most important part is the basement ! They have been looking at us coming out of the basement and and have been looking like  . They are still very interested in how the dishwasher, washing machine and drier  sound. They can sit and watch them for minutes which gives me the opportunity to do little things around the house.

I am almost packing for our trip which will be in 7 weeks . The most important part is what we need to take, considering the little space we will have to take things with us. It will not be an easy trip for me having two little babies  with when their father will not be around, but thinking about the happy ending will give me a lot of energy.

We are also busy planning to go all the Christmas parties which will be a lot of fun

Entry for November 29, 2006

Yesterday my babies' first passports were here by mail. I was really excited to see them. We just need to apply for visa for them now. Yes, my babies are half Iranian but according to my country's rules, because the mother is Iranian and not the father, they are not known as Iranian citizens and must apply for visa to their mother's country. It is really unfair, but what else can we do ?

The closer that it gets to the day of our trip, it gets more difficult for me imagining Michael alone at home and my babies missing their loving father. When ever three of them laughing and playing with each other I ask myself if it is right to take the boys for over 7 weeks.  For sure we will call Michael often but still ....

To be honest, I am not missing my family and friends in Iran much, however it has been almost two years that I haven't seen them. Of course we have been in touch by phone call and email all the time, but it is more because I have been really busy taking care of my babies and my babies are whole my world. But I feel tired sometimes, so it would be good to have some times to rest which I hope to find in Iran. And also my family is crazy about my babies and they do need to spend time with them. I know my babies will enjoy being with them too and thankfully Michael understands all this and that's why he is letting us go ....

A Happy Thanksgiving, November 23, 2006

We did have a wonderful thanksgiving at my brother-in-law's. In Michael's family everybody spends thanksgiving with family-in-law but Michael's family-in-law which is my family doesn't live close so Jay and Jeanne are always nice to invite us being with them and Jeanne's family. They always have a big thanksgiving dinner. I love the part that they stand up in circle, holding hands, listening to Jeanne's mother praying and thanking God for what we have.

This year as my friend Charlie mentioned, we did have great things to be thankful for : River and Relic , our two happy and healthy sons

River and Relic had a very good time tonight. Jeanne's brother Tom and his wife Lana who are musicians had come from California and gave all of us very good time with playing beautiful songs. Jeanne was dancing with River and Relic and they both loved it. They would start crying when Tom and Lana were talking about what to play next. My impatient sons couldn't wait to listen to the songs at all.

The other thing which did entertain the boys was the little dog of Jay and Jeanne. River and Relic were chasing the dog, in their walkers and were really excited about it.

There were a lot of things today that we all enjoyed, but right now I am too tired to remember.

Happy Thanksgiving !

Entry for November 16, 2006

Jeanne is right ! Thanksgiving is almost here and then we will have a family Christmas party, then Christmas will be here and then new year and THEN we will have to start packing for our long trip.

I am really excited about our trip, the only thing is I see three of us missing Michael a lot. It makes me really sad imagining him alone at home

Good Morning Boys!, November 15 , 2006

WOW! , November 14, 2006

Here are my little boys looking into refrigerator like this

Passport Application for the Boys, November 14, 2006

Today we applied  the boys' very first passprts. We are excited about the trips that they are going to take in the next 10 years.

For sure the boys don't understand what is going on but they were really curious when my friend Leoral and I took them for their passport pictures taken.

It is almost the time that we found out that we are having two boys last year and this year they are going to get their passports ! Isn't it wonderful ?

Busy but happy day, November 08, 2006

I did have a busy day with my boys. They have been running with their walkers all around the house, touching , licking and chewing everything that they could reach out from my pants when I was cooking to the chairs ! So I had to run around to stop them : NO ! But who cares ? They would find something else

It is really funny how they look at things:  everything is new and interesting to them. That's why they stare at me grating onions for minutes ( thankfully I was the only one with tears ).

River seems to enjoy cooking. He follows me every step when I am cooking.  Yes, it can be annoying for any person having a shadow with walker on behind  but a mother  definitely enjoys it.

Relic was staring at microwave when I was defrosting some pork chops for 15 minutes ! It is really long for everybody, but for a 6.5 months baby ? too long ! But he didn't have to if he was not enjoying it. He looked like  whole the 15 minutes !

Even when River was running to look into refrigerator , Relic didn't care ( which they always compete who can be closer to the door to watch inside ) , the microwave was more interesting to him.

so I did have pretty funny day with them but the most beautiful moment was when they were trying to reach each others hand through their walkers and when they could do it, they both laughed . I wish I could take a picture, but ....

They do love each other and we really enjoy knowing it

After Haircut, November 05, 2006

The First Haircut, November 05, 2006

Relic and River got their first haircut today. We thought to do it ourselves for the first time. Maybe next time they will go to a babrber shop with daddy or maybe Dai Behrooz will take them with him when we are in Iran.

The boys were really good and made it easy for us to cut their hair. Michael did the most part of it, but I was there to screem if he was doing it very badly.

I was really excited seeing my babies with new haircut. They look much older now and it makes me dream of when they get their haircut before going to college. Time is going really fast and I know it will not be so far away from now. It makes me kind of sad to see that my babies are growing up so fast.

6 month vaccination, November 03, 2006

Today Relic and River got their 6 month vaccination. I wish there was a way to not let them feel the pain, but ....

I did feel bad when I had to help the nurse, holding Relic's little arm and leg to not let him move. Relic was looking into my eyes and I was trying to not cry. I just hope that my little boy can understand how painful it was for me seeing him screaming. I was trying to explain for the boys before the shots how important it was for them to get the vaccination. I know I looked silly at that time but I just wanted my boys to know that  was with them.

Relic was really smart and remembered what was going on as soon as we undressed him and put on the examining bed. But maybe River didn't want to think about bad things and that's why he was still laughing just before getting the shots.

They are sleeping right now and I am trying to move the painful imagination of them crying, out of my mind.

I will miss October, November 01, 2006

We did have a busy but beautiful month. The boys got two teeth each and learned to walk ( or run ) with their walkers. We did go trick or treating in Michael's office and the boys really enjoyed it. The twins Halloween party was great and we all enjoyed it. We went to have the boys pictures taken in their first Halloween costumes and for their 6 month birthday and we are really happy with the pictures.

Yesterday morning the boys were on National TV on CVB Chanel and luckily we could tape it but we were too excited to forget calling the family and tell them to watch the boys. And finally we went with the boys for trick or treating and everybody loved our boys in their cute pumpkin costumes.

October is my favorite month living in Salem and I am going to miss it. But we all know how time goes fast. In one snap October will be here again we will enjoy it even more with the boys running around not needing their walkers.

 

Trick or Treat ?,October 31, 2006

Entry for October 30, 2006

My babies are sleeping, giving me some time to write. I look at them and enjoy how innocent they look. I know they have nothing but love in their hearts. I wish they could stay like this forever, but ... Life can be tough sometimes and teach us things that we may not enjoy to learn.

We have had a very busy month, but October is my favorite month, living in Salem so I have enjoyed every single day of it.

Tomorrow is my very good friend, Charlie's birthday. I know how blessed I am to have a friend like him, because he is always ready to help me when ever I need an emotional support. Of course, I haven't met him in person yet, but it doesn't mean that I haven't been able to smell the bread that he makes  ( Sometimes i think of his bread as a symbol of warmth and support ). He is very good to explain all the good things around him : the love of his wife, the beauty of the area that he lives in and his bread . I can't believe that I have never been in his place ( however Michael and I are thinking about going to see them maybe next year ) Charlie thinks of my children like his grandsons, but I don't think of him as a father, because he is a friend , a very good friend to me ( and my father had never been a friend to me ). I have shared with him many of my doubts and he has helped me to go through many problems in my life.  I have been thinking about getting a special gift for his birthday but I couldn't think of anything  except telling him : Happy Birthday, Charlie !

October in Salem, MA, 2006

You should have lived in Salem to believe how exciting life in October ! 

We have been in two beautiful parties. The first one was in Michael's office where all the kids and some adults were wearing costumes. Our boys were dressed like pumpkins and they looked really cute.  The other party was twins' Halloween party and we all had a great time.

Today Jay,  Jeanne and Meagan are coming to see us.

Relic Rastak, October 27, 2006