Week 32 ( Aug 6- Aug 12 )

The weeks went by very fast while my dad was visiting us in Boston. Everyday we tried to do something fun. We went to the parks, ate out, did grocery and generally just spent quality time together. It was just great to see Zain interact with my dad. The best part was that Zain warmed up to him almost instantaneously, from the time he arrived in Boston. I had feared that living with us alone without constant family contact in person might be an issue for him. Luckily, it wasn't and he had the best time with his Na-boo.

It was really hot during most of my dad's stay but we still managed to go out and do our thing. At Zain's age I like to take him out everyday because he has so much energy and if we stay at home all day, I know, he and I will both drive each other crazy. So normally we go out after breakfast for a couple of hours of activity and then come back by nap time. We did pretty much the same with my dad except we included a lot of shopping sprees during the outdoor time. Week 32 also marked the 3rd official haircut of Zain and it was a much better affair than the ones before. 

Following are my week's photographs:

Day 218
Two and a half men walking hand in hand

Day 219
Some beautiful pop of color right outside our house

Day 220
The never ending playground fun during summers 

Day 221
3rd Haircut was a much better experience than the first two times 

Day 222
Putting practice while Na-boo is looking around for his golf gear

Day 223
Chilling out at home with Na-boo

Day 224
Who doesn't like climbing a speed bump?

Hope you enjoyed the photos and keep checking back for more updates. Until next time, take care! Adios ☺︎

Week 31 ( Jul 30- Aug 5 )

It is such a blessing to have a healthy and happy family and we thank Allah for it all the time. The one thing that makes us sad though, is living so far away from our family especially our parents. Both my parents and my husband (Samer's) parents live in Pakistan while we live in Boston. Sometimes, the distance doesn't feel that much in this age of technology. With the Facetiming and Skyping generation that we have become, it makes us feel closer to each other despite living far away from each other. However, once we had our son, Zain, we realized that he was the one missing out on all the love and affection from his grandparents. He sees them almost daily via Facetime and interacts with them very well now, at the age of 22 months. Still, it is not the same as being with them and them being able to hold him and play with him. So we were very excited when we finally planned our first trip to Pakistan this year with Zain. Preceding that, was my dad's visit to Boston and then we were all traveling together to Pakistan. 

The highlight of Week 31 is the arrival of my dad to Boston and Zain's first meeting with his grandfather whom he lovingly calls Na-boo. Na-boo is a condensed version of Nana-Abu which is actually the word for maternal grandfather in Urdu.

Hope you enjoyed this post and the photos of the week. Thank you for checking my blog. Keep coming back for more posts. Until next time, take care!

Day 211
Where am I today? Exactly where I want to be

Day 212
Summer is incomplete without this giant bowl of banana split

Day 213
Zain's first experience of a live show, he was so excited to see kids performing that he would try act out like them

Day 214
To do or not to do? In this case get wet in the rain

Day 215
Trying to reach the tree without any luck!

Day 216
The day Zain met his Na-boo for the first time

Day 217
Zain showing Na-boo around his local fav spots

Week 30 ( Jul 23- Jul 29 )

I am not too proud of the fact that I haven't been able to keep up with this weekly post in a while. However, the fact that I am still continuing on with it, says something about my determination. Despite breaking the schedule during and after our Euro trip, I am still trying to catch up. I have only missed a few weeks at a stretch and I know I should be able to recover considering I am in Pakistan for an extended vacation. The best part of this vacation is that I literally have no household chores, which essentially takes up all day, taking into consideration I have an active toddler at home. However, the social calendar is jam packed here. I still think I should be able to catch up during this trip and be on track by the time I head back for home mid October.

We have had such an incredible summer MashAllah that I truly feel blessed. I will try to write about each week as I post the photos but I think they may not be as descriptive as I would like to be but that is something I can live with as I like the photos to speak for themselves more. Week 30 was pretty fun as we were smack in the middle of the summer with the heat turned on full throttle. Summer is the time to be outdoors, so, heat or no heat there are plenty of play days. Visits to the parks are frequent and keep Zain happy, except the part where he actually has to go back home, which is always a struggle. That is where bribery comes in handy.

Day 204
Future soccer player maybe?

Day 205
After class, park playdate is always welcomed by these two

Day 206
No visit to the mall is now complete without a stop at the Lego store

Day 207
Creepy paper Mache of my least fav character

The other highlights of the week were a surprise baby shower that was for three of my friends who are all having baby number two this year. We became friends because of our babies number one. There are two boys and a girl joining in our baby bunch so we are very excited. As I write this one of the boys has already arrived, so welcome Ben and I can't wait to see you.

Day 208
Ready for the surprise triple baby shower of my friends

Day 209
Beautiful arrangement by friend Christine hosting the baby shower

We also went to the Stone Zoo this week, which is the smaller of the two Zoos in Boston. We like going there more often because its really close to us and has fun kid events throughout the year. Looking forward to their Halloween trick or treat this year since Zain had such a great time last year.

So glad to finally write again. Hope you all are having a great summer. Keep coming back as I will be publishing the next few posts of the missed weeks in succession.

Day 210
1st visit to the Zoo this summer by these curious toddlers