Gotchya Day!

It's October 20th and exactly ONE YEAR ago today we picked up Zaleeya! We celebrated with a party over the weekend and today was a nice normal day. I'll do a more detailed update later, but for now here are some great pics from the last few weeks!

Zaleeya Turns TWO!

Hello! It's Zaleeya's second birthday today, our first with her and we celebrated with a fun filled day of activities that she enjoys (books, playing in the pool, crackers, balloons, stickers, bubbles)! We plan to do a big celebration later in September with the whole family, so today was a lot of mommy and little Z time. :) Pics from the day are littered in the post.

Things continue to go incredibly well as we start to move past the adoption issues and into "normal" parenthood. Moving to Ladera has been a huge help to making us feel comfortable about our new roles, and keeping Zaleeya active with other kids her age. Here is the update...

Her weight continues to increase and she is a pretty good eater on most days. Teething has calmed and her fork/spoon control has improved. She still loves rice and crackers the best. I've kept her away from most sugary stuff and was happy to see her barely interested in the cupcakes that were offered her today! She is not about 21 lbs and looks much healthier than ever.

I am so happy to see many of our attachment

behavioral issues resolving. My favorite change is when we walk into a new situation and she clings to my skirt for a short time (under 5 mins). Soon thereafter she is off and running but those few minutes make me feel confident that she really knows where her "safety net". The grabbing of toys out of other kids hands in getting less and sitting in other moms laps is better too. However she is, and probably always be a very "touchy feely" child and super friendly. Most other kids don't react well to her when she tries to hug and kiss them but she is learning to be "gentle" in her love. :)

She has become quite attached to her stuffed animals since the sleep training process which I know is very healthy and normal. Now, during our bedtime routine, we must be holding: pepe, monkey, doggy, googoo, paula, and blankie all at once! Again it's wonderful to see her developing habits and comforts that represent her attachment to her "home".

SLEEP is amazing! Now after the routine we put her down and walk out of the room with hardly ever ANY crying! She talks herself to sleep in usually under 15 mins and wakes up talking to herself usually about 12 hours later. IT IS GLORIOUS!! Nap however still is an issues. Since her nighttime sleep got better, nap has been averaging 45 mins. Grrrr for mommy

who barely has time to get anything

done! However I really can't complain after all we've been through. It has made a huge differe

nce in all of our lives.

She is talking up a storm! This week's full sentence was "Ziggy Take It Outside". We are counting to three, we know all the names of the characters on Seseme Street and we love to say NO! She loves people and really knows the names of all the people in her life (there are a lot!). We have a few cousin babysitters now ("uby" for Ruby and "eesha" for Neesha and "ofia" for Sofia) As she falls asleep she runs through the names of all the people she saw that day. We especially like our new neighbors with a son exactly her age ("Locu" for Logan) who is her favorite playmate.

We have started some "terrible two" stuff with tantrums that feel a little different than her adjustment tantrums. These we can tell are related to her "wanting" something an

d not getting it. Since we feel more comfortable in our roles we now let her cry things out a bit or ignore her when she is acting out. Our biggest challenge in now "hitting", both other kids and us (especially mom). We've started some times outs and removal of privileges (Elmo gets turned off!) and we suspect it will just get better with time.

I must say that personally, I still have moments of "what have I done!" but in general I am settling into a groove. I do enjoy not having to juggle a thousand things at once! I can focus on keeping house and keeping Zaleeya busy. I have launched a new Jewelry business that I can do casually on the side (take a look at http://www.stelladot.com/zeena) and hopefully I'll take some Pilates clients in my new home studio in a few months when we put Zaleeya into a preschool program nearby. Phew I just can't sit still!

Anyhow enjoy the pics and thank you for reading!

We're moved in!

Yes, I know, 2 months later. Phew! Finally we are moved in and working towards a more normal life. Here is the update in bullet point style:

• We've moved into a gorgeous new home in Ladera Ranch, CA. This town is MADE for families with tons of moms and kids our age in the neighborhood. Unpacking and getting set up is a challenge with an active toddler, but we are working feverishly to be out of boxes and parking two cars in the garage. :)




• Ever since the move 4 weeks ago, I (Zeena) decided to quit most of my day job (only work Saturdays) and spend my time helping Zaleeya adjust. The 2 moves in the last 3 months have been rough on all of us. I finally felt more like a mom, and ready to commit fully to my daughter and her needs. It's been a journey, but I'm finally beginning to enjoy it all. I actually attempt to cook and have dinner ready for dad when he comes home. Who knew I could do it!



• Azeem is dealing with a longer commute in stride and continues to be amazing at juggling work and heping mom around the house. He is also super dad on Saturdays and spends the whole day with Zaleeya.





• Nana and Nani (Zeena's Parents) now live 5 mins away which is a huge help. Dadi and Bapa (Azeem's Parents) are a bit further away but everyone is making an effort to make it not matter.




• Zaleeya is totally adjusting better ever since we got into the new house. The first few weeks we witnessed a few tantrums (confusion we believe) but then she started really get into a rhythym. She has plenty of words now and has started to put them together (All Done). She has started to ask for specific foods (Crackers) and toys (Elmo!). She has finally developed an interest in books and can point and name a lot of pictures. She still loves putting things inside things and especially LOVES her new little house in the backyyard that the previous owners left for her!




• We're still working on a few attachment issues that have manifested themselves in odd behavior such as sitting in other mom's laps in music class and constantly taking toys out of kids hands. My new favorite book (Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child by Patty Cogen) helped calm me down and explain why she is compelled to act these ways (control, belonging etc) and it's been a great comfort.




• She has gained weight but is still barely 20 lbs and her active lifestyle now makes it harder to gain weight. However she is a great eater and will now try anything. She LOVES rice so mom hides veggies and meat in the rice to get it down! And will eat most fruits. Crackers (chips, goldfish etc) are her favorite as I think they help calm the ever constant teething. She finally mastered the art of eating with a fork/spoon, however mom keeps dog Ziggy nearby to help with the cleanup.



• Our biggest issue still continues to be sleep. We weaned her cold turkey from the bottle and put her back into a crib (old crib, same room decor and color) and she did okay. Mom helped by sleeping next to her again for the first week. However after a few weeks it was apparent that her sleep issues were now becoming a habit and an "addiction" to having mama and dada around to comfort her. After lengthy reading and discussion with our social worker, it was time to sleep train. I must admit feeling quite relieved to start this process ,as some nights it was taking 1.5 hours to get her down (especially with no bottle) and perhaps 2-3 wakes ups a night! No one was happy! We started this past weekend, and as much as it's horrible to hear her "cry it out", we are all now going on 3 straight days of 12 hour night time sleep and 2 hour naps. Her personality is amazing and she has fewer tantrums and is more fun! Sleep was really holding her back. We know it's controversial to make an adopted child "self soothe", we just felt the sleep was more important. In fact, the reason I can blog now is because she is asleep at a decent hour!

Anyhow, enough for now. I'll be better from here on forward I promise! Thank you for tuning in!

Pictures of Zaleeya!

Hey everyone! We have finally moved out of our house and are settled in with my parents, and currently in escrow to buy a new home. PHEW! In the move, I somehow misplaced the camera. Oh no! But I have a few shots from cell phones I wanted to share with you quickly before naptime ends.

Zaleeya is still doing great and is fast becoming a super talker! New words include: Shoes, Bird, Car, More, Please, Blueberry (or a rendition of this), and our personal favorites, MAMA and DADA!

Littered here are pics with her grandparents (Nana and Nani) and Hedy and Emma (from Dillon). I promise to get more family pics ups soon! We are ALMOST at our 6 month anniversary home. WOW!

I Know I Know, it's been 2 months!

Ok I know I'm a super bad blogger, but wow it's been a crazy few months! I keep procrastinating since I need to upload tons of pics and video so I decided today to just post an update and I'll upload later!

So it's the beginning of March, Zaleeya is now 18 months and she's been home a little over 4 months. Things are good in general! Let's start with the developmental milestones: She is walking like crazy! Running and walking backwards are also on the list. We can now go to a park or mall or other public place and let her stroll around. She hates holding our hands because she likes to explore, but she's pretty good at staying relatively close by. She still loves her Ziggy and Buzz (my mom's dog) and kisses them a lot and takes their slobbery kisses. She is currently OBSESSED with buckling anything that can be buckled including her high chair and stroller buckles. She can really understand us now and will respond to some actions like, let's go take a bath (walks to the stairs), are you hungry (walks to high chair) and let's read a book (gets a book). She has a few words now including "hot", "shoe", "ball" and "dada". She still doesn't have a name for me though. We keep working on "hi mama"!

As for our schedule, we keep it a little more hectic than we probably should. Tuesdays and Thursdays I head to work while my parents pick her up and take her to their place. It's like club med there with a swing and dog and backyard with putting green so she LOVES it! They also watch her once on the weekends so Azeem and I can escape for a date night or afternoon out. We also go visit grandma and grandpa Dhalla and stay there on occasion and the bonding process is going smoothly there was well. She's starting to figure out who her close friends and family are.

Zaleeya still has some sleep issues, some nights waking frequently, but in general it's better. Her eating is NORMAL toddler chaos since we're learning how to eat using a utensil. I wish she was more focused on eating than playing but she's drinking milk frequently and she seems to be growing out of her clothes gradually so I'm not terribly worried about her weight as much. She has gotten a few colds, again normal, but in general she is pretty darn healthy. We feel blessed on this front.

Another reason for being so hectic is that we decided to undertake a house change. We currently live in a 3 story house and it just wasn't working out for us with a crazy active toddler! So we expected a 60 to 90 wait in this crazy market, but after a week after listing we ended up in escrow with a solid offer! We are still waiting to make sure things are moving smoothly before we start packing, but in the mean time we have been looking for houses like CRAZY! Nothing yet, so our plan in the mean time is to move in with my parents to "club med" and take advantage of their unused 2nd floor bonus room. It will definitely feel like INDIA with a bunch of us living under one roof. :)

Anyhow that's it for now. I promise to upload a few things in the next few days!

NAWBO Baby Shower Fun!

Before entering this world or Mommy madness, I was an active participant in the Orange County chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. More important than the monthly educational meetings, are the amazing women that I've met and who have supported me on this journey to motherhood.

Two years ago I participated in the mentor program and was matched with an AMAZING mentor, Beth Adkission, who was so generous in hosting a Baby shower for me this past weekend. We had decided to wait until after Zaleeya was home to do the shower so that everyone could meet her!

With food provided by another wonderful NAWBO friend/mentor Susan Johnson, the shower was so much fun as I got to bond with my favorite business ladies in Orange County. Complete with "Zaleeya Bingo", we drank wine, ate amazing food, and oohhed and ahhed over a creative array of gifts.

Zaleeya has gotten really good at handing social events and Daddy was around to help so Mom can socialize. She waddled around chasing the cats, eating strawberries and attempting to grab at everyone's wine glass and eat the cat food- normal toddler behavior. She was tired after a couple of hours and a bit over-stimulated but it was worth it!

Special thank yous to BETH and SUSAN for an amazing afternoon!

Zaleeya the Dancing Queen!

So check out this video of Zaleeya's new dance moves now that she's walking... Enjoy!

Zaleeya the Walking Queen!

So it's happened. Zaleeya has finally chosen walking as her primary mode of transportation. She actually can walk, turn, walk again, fumble, stand back up, walk again, turn, fall, and get up to walk again. She can also get up on the couch, pat her belly attempting to get Ziggy to "come", and put legos together. Here's a fun video for you to enjoy!

As for the holidays, they were super nice. We went to a fun party on the 23rd with a bunch of my friends from elementary, junior and high school. There were 7 children all under the age of 2.5!! BYOB (Bring your own baby) The house it was hosted in was baby proofed complete with high chair and dino chicken nuggets. It was the most fun I've had since being home. I finally fit in!!

On the 24th we also went to a party where Zaleeya charmed everyone, and she actually had the best night of sleep since she has been home (1 wake up). Her sleeping made Christmas amazing as we visited both sets of parents, napped, ate well and opened a ton of presents (these pics are with Cousin Kaden). However the high from the holidays ended when she came down with ANOTHER cold and passed it on the mom AGAIN! Now we all smell like Vicks.

I must be honest when I say that Zaleeya is doing much better than mom and dad. We still are both suffering a bit from the loss of our old lives. This past weekend we gave each other a chance to get out for a few hours, but when do we get to go out TOGETHER!!?? Some nights I look into my future and all I see is laundry, cooking, cleaning, warding off snot and poop. Maybe it's the post adoption blues, but sometimes I think I wasn't "made" to be a mom. I wonder what hormones I might have missed in the pregnancy process. The domestic gene never really hit me and this transition has been tough.

It doesn't mean we don't love Zaleeya to pieces; she's a pretty amazing little kiddie and fits our family perfectly! Anyhow, I promised to be honest in this blog, so there it is.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Our Version of a Baby Book

So everyone keeps saying, "you should put that in your baby book!". Well honestly, I am not crafty and barely have photo albums, so this blog is going to have to suffice. I figured it will have everything Zaleeya needs someday minus the strip of hair and first tooth. I can actually do video here, so I would say that a blog is better!

So in the spirit of her baby book, today's post is just a quick relay of her current major accomplishments. Still hesitant in walking, she is quite capable but still hasn't quite decided yet that she WANTS to walk as her primary mode transportation. She is finally settled into a schedule of one nap a day averaging 1.5 hours (though today she went 2.5 hours!!) and nightime continues to get better with usually only 1 to 2 wake ups. Mom is still quite tired (yes this is a quite appropriate picture of how daddy finds her most evenings).

She stills babbles a whole lot with her only intelligible word being "Giggy" (for Ziggy). She is starting to understand phrases such as "stand up" and "put your foot down" (when she's at the dinner table- her foot makes a constant apprearance). She likes to play with legos and tupperware and cups and anything she can chew up and spit out. She is teething big time; contantly drooling, fussy, chewing on things and drooling some more. She LOVES the bath and would spend hours there if allowed. And she still tolerates the stroller long enough for mom to get exercise.

There she is in a nutshell! We are venturing out more often now so we even have a picture with SANTA! She was quite facinated by the big white man with funny fur on his face. :)

Blogging during NAP TIME!

Sorry it's been forever since we've blogged. I can't believe the holidays are here and it's been chaotic!

We went to Vancouver 2 weeks ago for the Thanksgiving Holiday! Yes we braved another plane flight but luckily this one was less than 3 hours and a piece of cake. Zaleeya continues to grow developmentally and has even gained a whole pound since she's been home! Her new favorite developmental exploration is placing objects "inside" each other. I giggle all time as she's fascinated with putting things down and inside her top. Not funny though when attempting to change a diaper and finding graham cracker crumbs!


Vancouver was probably premature but it was good timing to meet a whole slew of family at once due to our Imam's visit there (visit http://www.canadanews.net/story/432326 for more info on this). She slept pretty well and ate decently but did end up catching a cold from the chilly weather. :( Aspirating a runny toddlers nose is NO FUN!


She's getting closer and closer to walking. We posted a video below so you can see a few of her first unsupported steps. Daddy is a good walking teacher. I can't wait to see how it goes when he teaches her to DRIVE!



We opted for a small tabletop tree after much contemplation this year to avoid having to stop her from eating the tree all the time. I am happy we have a tree and daddy is happy it's small enough to toss in the trash can at the end of the season. Zaleeya didn't even notice the tree's existence.


Anyhow this will be a short but sweet entry for now since her naptime is almost over! I will be better about posting in the coming weeks...

Online OCRegister Link

Here is the online link to Baby Z's Newspaper Debut!

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/zaleeya-day-sleep-2248197-few-children

The hard copy has about 4 pictures as well as a teaser picture on the FRONT page of the newspaper! Enjoy...

OC Register on December 8th!

Hello to all our blog readers! If you are LOCAL to Orange County make sure you pick up a copy of the OCRegister on December 8th and check out the LIFE section. Our blog and Zaleeya's story will be featured. Fun!

A Day at the Beach!

Hello! So last Saturday we took advantage of the hot weather to hit the beach with baby Z and doggy Z. After taking much longer to get out of the house than expected (welcome to parenthood) we made it in time for an amazing sunset. Today's post is all about sharing the pictures. Enjoy!

How Do I Find Time To Blog?!?

Azeem said to me the other day, "The last blog post was Nov 4th!". I apologize, but honestly, how does one have time to do anything anymore? A friend with two kids sent me a long email yesterday in the middle of the day. I thought to myself, she must be emailing during NAP time! I have learned to shower before both Azeem and Zaleeya wake up and check emails on my phone while she munches on cheese. It's a very delicate balance and luckily getting better by the day.

Baby Z is doing pretty well. We found out last week she had a little stomach parasite- quite normal for kids in her situation so we had to do a course of antibiotics. It's no fun trying to squeeze a syringe of horrible tasting liquid down a squirming 1 year old's mouth THREE times a day. And her diarrhea and fussiness that ensued as a result of the meds was no fun either. However despite this, last week she seemed to start to settle into a groove; I even started sleeping in my own bed for half the night and only moving into her room once she awoke for her midnight changing.

However everything changed this past Monday when she decided to stop taking her bottle. It shocked me as her bottle has been something she SCREAMED for up until now. I even took her to the doctor fearful of an ear infection, only to find out she's teething. Luckily we learned at the doctor that she has gained 7 oz in 2 weeks! I must say I was happy to see I was able to help someone GAIN weight despite my profession. She still doesn't take the bottle, or milk in any kind of fashion, which worries me as it was a large source of calories in her diet.

Feeding time is really quite stressful. She only really likes to eat foods she can feed herself and often wont try a lot of things after a quick sniff. Fish sticks, tator tots, chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, rice crackers and graham crackers are staples. She likes a few Indian sweets and of course will never turn down a piece of cheese. Fruits are veggies are still alluding her, much to my horror and dismay. I'm waiting for the day I drive through the McDonalds drive through; don't be alarmed if I'm wearing a mask so as to not be recognized.

Despite the meds, and teething, she continues to do quite well and seems to be adjusting to her family. She gets very excited when Azeem comes home from work and is still quite clingy to both of us. Despite this, she is great with new people and will play and giggle and explore as long as one of us is near by. She now recognizes our favorite song on the radio and understands when we ask her "Where's Ziggy". She stands on her own occasionally and has taken a few unsupported steps on her own. She is fearless and flexible and fantastically joyous. She cracked me up yesterday when she started to climb into her leggo dump truck. I thought it was cute so I snapped a picture, and then looked up to realize she had paused to POOP. She climbed into her DUMP truck to take a DUMP! Oh my... I guess we should start looking forward to potty training.

As for parenthood, Azeem and I are still struggling with the loss of independence. I particularly have had moments of extreme lows- feeling claustrophobic. However we feel more comfortable that Zaleeya is adjusting so my mom is starting to watch her an hour here and there so I can escape for some exercise and fresh air. We're formulating a plan for me to go back to work 2-3 days a week in January which I know will be good for everyone.

Anyhow it's naptime (of course) so I'll see if I can squeeze in a nap myself. Thank you as always to everyone for the amazing support!

The Day Baby Z Went Down!

I apologize for a long break between posts. Being home now is all consuming, especially since Zaleeya is definately bonding with her parents and getting more demanding of us each day.

But let me back up. Feeling conident and finally excited about our new (adorable) daughter, Azeem and I embarked on one too many trips outside the home last Friday. At the time Zaleeya seemed ok. She fussed a lot getting in and out of the car seat but eventually calmed down and often snoozed while the car was in motion. We attempted a nap that day which barely lasted and then that night her sleep was quite erratic - up every hour or two. Saturday was worse; she didn't nap at all! Both of us started to melt down, especially me and we could tell Zaleeya was especially cranky feeding off my stressed out energy. It's amazing the thoughts that go through your mind when under extreme sleep deprivation!

Finally, again, we called for reinforcements. First I posted on the Dillon adoption forums for tips of how to overcome our problems, then we called in my in-laws for a relief break. The Dillon moms were amazing in reminding us how easily stimulated these adopted children can get in the beginning. We have to remember that ALL she saw for 14 MONTHS was the inside of 4 walls. So we decided to slow way down out trips and visitors, knowing that down the line we can resume our active social schedules. As for Saturday night, Mom and Dad saved the day by helping us feed and put her to sleep. She slept for 12 hours that night and Azeem and I escaped for a 45 min sushi date!! We have decided that for my mental state to remain positive for baby Z, I will need to escape from our home for an hour or two every few days.

As for Zaleeya now, she has gotten more clingy and needy of us, which everyone says is normal and good for the attachment process. It can be overwhelming, as its impossible to get anything done! She continues to speak more and smile and dance. Early early mornings are her best times as she is a super babbler and we've included some fun video of this. This gives new meaning 'of "egg on your face!" She and I have a favorite song now (Alicia Keys "No One") as we listen to the radio most of the day. She enjoys her new stroller but is still apprehensive to try a swing at the park. She loves to play with paper and tupperware and is warming up to playing in the bathtub. The most fun thing to watch is her bond with Ziggy as she genuinely smiles and giggles sometimes when he shows up and surprises her. And he is warming to her now frequently sniffing and licking and even snuggling with me now in the bed in her room.

Anyhow its 6am now and the house should be awaking soon so Ill sign off! Enjoy the video...