Family Status Report

We've been super-busy lately with the baby and unable to keep in touch everyone and make all the phone calls we need to make. The first few weeks of parenthood have been extremely intense. It is 24 X 7 attending to the needs of someone else, who can only communicate with you by crying - at ALL hours of the night. So all apologies if I have not kept in touch with you - we're just tired and overly busy with the baby right now but starting to sort it all out and get some semblance of our pre-parenthood lives back.

I put some photos and basic info about the baby up online if you're interested. Just look for photos of "Faris". Faris is a healthy, happy baby. All in all, he's quiet, doesn't cry much except when he's hungry, eats alot, toots alot, munches on his pacifier, and looks like a 12 pound lil' ol' man. He likes to sleep and sit in his swing or papasan, listening to music, and he is very good in the car and in public (no crying). Apparently, he likes the band "Morphine" alot since, the other day in Nada's car, no music would soothe him until Nada played a Morphine CD. At least he has good taste in music, for being only 7 weeks old.

Nada is doing well and is almost fully recovered from surgery, except that she can't do situps for another month - drag. But she has been walking/running and losing her pregnancy weight, and soon she'll be able to incorporate abs-work into her regime. She is thinking about hiring a personal trainer that specializes in post-partum fitness - getting pregnant moms back into shape after having given birth. She is staying home with the baby for 4 months or so, then he starts daycare in late August.

I am holding up but I'm tired alot from going to bed late and waking up early from day to day. I've stopped riding bikes, mostly, except for fun, but I have been lifting weights 3 days per week and have gone on a "diet". I'm not counting calories at all, I'm just replacing the junk calories with high-quality calories from whole grains, fiber, LOTS of fruit, nuts, fish, non-fat dairy, etc. We've even made the switch to whole wheat pasta after YEARS of gnoshing on the regular kind on a daily basis. Honestly it's not as bad as I thought it would be (the taste of the pasta, that is). So far I have lost about 2.5 lbs in 10 days, and I have 30 days to go (6 week diet), so I'm aiming to lose between 8 to 12 lbs of belly-fat. I have always been disciplined about exercising, but I have never been disciplined about nutrition. So I am focusing on better nutrition for 6 weeks to see what happens.

Other than that, and the new Honda Pilot I bought over the weekend with leather + DVD + 6-Disc Changer (yes, it is a family car) not much is happening.

We have 2 vacations planned for this year. In August, we are going to Cancun for my birthday on a 4-day trip. In October, we are going to Malibu, California for 3 days, renting a small convertible, and staying at a very nice hotel right on the ocean. Faris, unfortunately, doesn't get to go. The grandparents are coming to stay out our house to babysit while we're away, but he'll get his chance to travel in 2006 (we're thinking about a trip to London, Paris, and Beirut). Here are some pics of the hotel we'll be staying at in Cancun.












More to come later... Adios for now.
chad