Thought I'd update on some fun things we did in the last couple months...we took an RV up to a beautiful beach on the central coast, and Daly had her agra hadig.
Here are some of our favorite pictures from the beach...
Watching the sunset...
Amazing sunny day at the beach...
As proud ABC's (Armenians By Choice), we couldn't wait for Daly to cut her first tooth (agra) so we could celebrate with an agra hadig. This is a beloved Armenian tradition. Baby is put on a blanket with items signifying different careers placed in front of her...
We chose things like a judge's gavel, a book for education, a flower, a gold watch to represent wealth, a bible, a basketball for sports, a stuffed animal, a plane for travel, among many others. Whatever she picks up first is said to foretell what baby's future occupation will be.
It took a little effort to get all the way over to the items, but our Daly girl eventually rolled over and grabbed the prescription bottle!
Then came the guesses of what that means...a pharmacist? a drug counselor like her Jumbo? The final part of the tradition is the grandmas sprinkling hadig (we improvised with sweet cereal) over baby's head. The wheat symbolizes fruitfulness and success, while the sweetness is a wish for happiness in whatever her future holds. Thanks so much to everyone for being there, and to Maral for all your help!
Most importantly, Daly was surrounded by the love and support of her family and friends, which we know will be with her the rest of her life.
Yes, I realize our Daly girl will be eight months old next week, but I have a good excuse...I'm a working mom now! I've started training to teach classes part-time at The Little Gym! I will be working with kiddos from 10 months to 3 years old. So excited!!
Daly's really starting to fill out her jacket (and check out those thighs!) These were taken on the floor of her own big girl room...she's sleeping in there all by herself now...and has even started making it through the night!!
Little girl has grown up quite a bit in her seventh month! She is still loving to eat solids like Mommy and Daddy. Her favorites are oatmeal and sweet potatoes and squash. She is working on crawling! She will scoot a couple steps, and then stop and sit up...(to make sure you're watching and smiling!) We have a feeling she's going to be just a cloud of dust very very soon. She's also babbling A LOT. She's just recently added "dadadadada" to her repertoire, much to Ryan's excitement!
This is her tough girl stare...don't mess with the baby...
The Weisenberg family had quite a September! We very narrowly escaped Ike (we are still not used to this hurricane thing...we're more the earthquake type), celebrated Daly's half birthday, and moved into a new apartment.
With Ike fast approaching, and not wanting to heed the call of our state officials to "hunker down" and ride out the storm, Daly and I took the opportunity to travel with Ryan and the Comets. The team was scheduled to have a home game and then fly to Chicago for the last game of the season. The home game was rescheduled, and we caught the last flight out of our airport before they shut it down.
So we took a little "Ike Vacation". Chicago was really fun, although they had record breaking rains while we were there (everyone blamed us for bringing the storm along). The Comets got a big win and we were looking forward to getting back to Houston to finish out the season. Houston didn't want us back just yet. They asked everyone who had left to stay put.
We flew to San Antonio instead, where the WNBA had relocated the game to a university in the area. Daly was so excited to have her own bed...
The Comets won again and after a few days in San Antonio, we took a big bus back to Houston. We were incredibly blessed to come home to electricity, running water, and very little damage. There are homes here that are still running on generators more than three weeks after the storm. The city felt sad, but not devastated. Tree branches broken, power poles down, billboards ripped apart, windows blown out, very few working traffic lights. I know the coastal areas were not so lucky.
Ryan, Daly, and I got together with the Comets to volunteer at our local food bank to get supplies out to people in and around Houston who lost electricity and couldn't get into grocery stores for food, water, and ice. Daly was a great supervisor...
Once we settled in, Daly's 6 month birthday snuck up on us! This is how she spent most of her day, lucky girl...
She is really starting to get into books. She loves to grab the pages and turn them back and forth. Before bed time, Daddy read the perfect story to end her big day, "Curious George and the Birthday Surprise"...
In the midst of all this, we found a new apartment that we absolutely love. It's a brand new community, has more square footage and our big balcony overlooks the gorgeous pool (where we took Daly's 6 month pictures)...
Loungin...
Now that she's mastered sitting up by herself, Daly loves standing up. She is getting so strong...
This was a true Texas moment. Jethro called, he wants his overalls back...
Our girl is five months old! As you can see, she's working on sitting up on her own. We call this her 'tripod'. She is smiling and laughing more than ever and everyone she meets falls in love instantly. Can you blame them?
Getting Daly dressed the other day, I realized I had put her in the exact same outfit she wore home from the hospital...
5 months later (with a little personality!)...
I absolutely love to see the nervous looks on peoples' faces when I walk down the middle aisle of a plane with this little girl...diaper bag on my arm, blanket, woobie, and rattle in my hands, her binkie around my finger. I can read their minds...'please don't sit here, please don't sit here, maybe if I don't make eye contact, she won't sit next to me."
When we do eventually sit down, our girl changes their minds instantly. If she's awake on the plane, which is rare, she has everyone smiling, soaking up what a joyful baby she is.
Daly is a great traveler, and enjoys it even more now that she can sit up and see what's going on outside the window.
