Tomorrow.

Aisha turns two tomorrow. Alhamdulillah... I never thought all this will be happening. I'm so happy. Alhamdulillah. I don't think I can ever thank Allah for this greatest blessing in my life. Alhamdulillah again... and again.
Two years back... I was nervously waiting for the day. Monday. Rainyday. C-section. One month hospital stay. Coiled umbilical chord. Lots to think.
Today... Excited as Aisha turns two. My life's changed a lot. I got busier. I love the bsuy days and tired nights. I love the kisses I get from her. I love it when she asks me if I need help from her, lol!! I love everything of her. Her smell...her sound... her naughtiness... everything. Thankyou Allah for your blessings. I'm not sad because You took away my son... You blessed me with a daughter. A daughter like Aisha.

Sweet Kiss.

Stories.

My niece-in-law, Z, came to me with her kid's magazine and asked me tell the story of the pictures in it. I took the book from her and explained the story to her. It was about a cow and calf, I don't remember the whole story now. Aisha was also with us, listening to the story. I though she understood nothing.
Next day, when Z had gone to school, Aisha picked up the magazine and came to me. She turned the pages until she saw the cow, and then said, "Mom, story!" I thought she was just imitating Z and believed that she would never understand a story. So I took no notice of her. After sometime, when she understood that I am too busy to listen to her, she started saying the story herself. "Mom cow... baby cow. Baby cow... look... water. See... in water... baby cow. Baby cow... frightened..." and so on. I was surprised. I felt guilty for underestimating her. Once again she taught me not to belittle anyone. And she showed me she is growing fast, faster than I imagined.
Aisha, my sweet little pie, has also started saying 'Alhamdulillah' when she sneezes. Although not always.

Shaikh Zayed Mosque

May be Shaikh Zayed Mosque is the first of its kind - a mosque for tourism. Situated in Abu Dhabi, UAE, it has got many first places in the record book. The main attraction of the mosque is its fusion design, which includes the Indian, African, Western and Arabian designs. If you are in search of a place where you can pray in peace and be near to Allah, you are in the wrong place if you are at SZ mosque. At SZ mosque, you can wonder at the huge chandeliers hanging from the roof, watch the beautiful designs on the walls and pillars and walk on the biggest hand woven carpet in the world. The truth is, you will not know all these until you reach there.

Shaikh Zayed Mosque.

That was the case with me too. Everyone who have visited the place before told me it was like visiting a museum. I didn't believe it. A mosque has got to be a mosque. So we decided to go. It was a two hour journey through which Aisha slept, as usual. Finding the parking lot was a bit difficult as they are constantly redesigning the area and the navigators couldn't do anything to help us. So helping ourselves with what little knowledge we have got on directions and positions, we at last found a way to the parking place. I don't think shopping malls have better parking lots!!

Contrary to the dress code in other places in the country, modest clothing is mandatory inside the mosque. For those in sleeveless and short dresses, the officials provide abhayas and thawbs. It was amusing to see people taking pictures of themselves in arabic style dresses.

Aisha was busy running through the big halls, long corridors and spacious gardens. She wanted to swim in the pool, but that was not permitted. She loved the ablution area very much. The main hall of the mosque opens for prayer only during Jumua (Friday) and Eid prayers. The rest of the prayers are conducted in smaller halls to each side of the big hall.

Ablution Area.

We went in search of prayer halls after ablution. It was a long way. We prayed Asar and Magrib from the mosque. Aisha joined us in Asr prayer, but during Magrib, she was hungry and thus querulous.

Prayer Hall.

The designs on the wall and the floor, the inscription of Allah's 99 names on the wall facing the Qibla, the carpet, the chandeliers and the blend of Mughal architecture in the design are splendid which makes you feel like you are walking in a medieval palace in India. 

Building Burj Khaleefa.

Playing with blocks means building Burj Khaleefa. Aisha knows what Khaleefa tower is, but of course she doesn't know its the tallest building on earth - at present. I don't know when she will come to know it, or when she will understand the concept of longest, fastest, tallest etc. At present, anything big is Burj(= tower) Khaleefa.
Coming back to the building blocks, Aisha empties the packet on to the floor and demands, "Mom, Burj Faleefa." She pronounces the 'Kha' as 'Fa', although she uses the 'Ka' sound in many other words. I attach the blocks on top of the other, building a strong base and then the tower. She is happy to see it, but kicks at the bottom of the structure as soon as I finish. She learned the habit for my nephew who loves to 'destroy' anything he makes. I love to keep the building as it is but Aisha likes to break it and rebuild it again.
Aisha made her 'burj khaleefa' yesterday, with a little help from my side.

Trip to an Oasis.

After the confinement during the long days of summer, we decided to go for a change with a long drive to a hilly place called Hatta. It is near to Oman and a part of Dubai. An oasis surrounded by the hills. As usual Aisha was happy to know that she is going out, and that too early in the morning. I don’t know how this happens but when I want her to get the maximum sleep on an eventful and long day, she seems to wake up earlier than usual. This day too, she was up by the time I finished my bath.

I washed her, fed her and dressed her. The moment she is dressed, she wants to get out of the house. She starts yelling and by the time we are ready, she will be in a mess. Today was no exception for her drama.

Our relatives joined in and we were four families with three kids – Aisha’s cousin Zahra and Z’s cousin Ihsaan. Aisha, Z and I were together in one car. Aisha was thrilled to see I, who is only 5 months old and she was always pointing him and shouting, “Look mom, I is doing that” or “I is doing this”.

Our first destination was a park at Hatta, were the kids could stretch out and play on the slides and swings. They ran everywhere, happy to be out of the car. After Jumuah prayers, we went in search of a decent place to lunch. We were disappointed as there were no good restaurants, and after ½ an hour we finally selected the ‘best’ place available, although it was below the standards. The food was also bad.

Hatta is a very small town; you can never call it a town. There are only a few people living there – the UAE nationals who are probably the government staff of the place and some East Asian expatriates who work in groceries, laundries, garages etc build for these nationals and themselves. I don’t think there are more than fifty shops in that area. But Hatta is a place of tourist attraction.

Our next stop was at the heritage village – a place form where you can read the history of UAE. It was a fort and inside it there were tents, utensils and weapons used by the old Arabs. Aisha wasn’t very happy to explore the place, as she was a bit tired and sleepy. The only entertainment she found there was a cat, which came near us.

We went to a mosque for our prayers, from were I washed Aisha and changed her dress. The refreshment made her active and she was lively once more, running across the masjid. I was also refreshed, with the cold water on my face and a little rest under the a/c. With renewed energy, we started for the dam – the main attraction of Hatta.

The dam was beautiful, surrounded by the hills. But it had only little water in it and it looked like a big pond to me compared to the dams I’ve seen in India. We had to climb down a lot to reach near the water, but the water level meters indicated a full dam once it started to rain. Aisha wanted to play in the water but her dad did not allow her. She was a little fussy about it. So I took of her shoes and allowed her to step into the water for a few minutes. She was reluctant to return, but had no choice. It was 6:30 in the evening and we had to reach Dubai. She slept as soon as we got into the car and woke up only when we stopped at her aunt’s home in Dubai.

23rd Month Updates.

How fast the days are flying and Aisha is just one month away from her 2^nd birthday. She has grown up a lot, Masha Allah. She has started to teach me. I like it to learn from her. Wow, I never imagined this would be happening. I am so happy to have her near me, Alhamdulillah.

Aisha speaks two to three worded sentences now, a lot of Malayalam and a little English. She can narrate an incident with simple sentences. She understands almost everything we say to her in both Malayalam and English. She also understands everything she sees on a TV, which means we have to be careful while watching it. She loves action thrillers and tries to imitate them and so we don’t watch such shows now. She also knows the difference between cartoons, rhymes and films.

Shopping has become more difficult now, as she won’t sit in her stroller anymore. She likes to walk down the aisles, pick up the items and shout, “Mamma, look at this”. The entire shop will turn to look at me! Earlier I used to frighten her saying that the salesman uncle will scold her, but now she knows they won’t and she tells me, ‘NO’. Well, she knows the only persons who scold her are her dad and baba (dad’s brother), so she only listens to them. But she loves her dad so much that she sometimes cries asking to see him when he is at his work.

Another phrase that she loves so much that irritates me is, “I want to do it alone!” She uses it everywhere, while brushing, bathing, eating drinking, dressing and lots. I know she wants to become independent, but at times when I’m in a hurry, I lose my patience. I hate it when she spills the meal on the floor I have just moped. I know kids should be given their freedom, but when I weigh the trouble of cleaning the floor with Aisha’s want for independence, I decide to take the control. Independence is something the ruled loves and rulers hate.

Aisha has also started eating non-veg foodies since past 4 to 5 months. She was a pure vegetarian till I came back to Dubai. I’m happy to see the change but a little worried if she will turn into a pure non-vegetarian now.

Aisha likes to play with other children and get excited when he sees kids of her age. She loves her cousins but sometimes gets very possessive which takes the fun out of the play.  She has also learned the use of chairs – push it and climb on it to the unreachable places. Now we have moved our ‘keep out of reach of children’ items to the top of the shelf or into locked drawers. The only trouble is with the gas stove in our kitchen, which we can neither keep high nor keep locked somewhere!

For her motor developments – she can climb and slide now. She also came to know that she can play trampoline on the sofa although it drives her dad mad. It’s a climbing game for her – from sofa table to sofa to chair to table. I wish I could also join her in the fun, but my age doesn’t permit me.

So these are the milestones of my little princess who is going to be two next month. Waiting impatiently for the big day…