Here’s a quick update on my precious little juju lips…
A taste of solids–first reaction is always priceless!
Almost about to take off crawling
First ponytail
Latest family pic… my dear husband is trying desperately to hold onto summer
Bye bye summertime… 
Tara’s going to become a big sister in June ’09!
Recently Tara and I returned from 3 weeks visiting family in the States. We were in Portland, Maine, and it was the perfect time of the year to visit. The leaves were changing, and every possible colour could be seen for miles and miles on stretches of road. My parents came from Samoa, together with my sister, Ioana, who flew in separately from San Francisco and surprised the heck out of us! We stayed with my grandmother, my dad’s mom, and visited with cousins. It was sooooo wonderful.
It would have been the second time I travelled alone with Tara, and the first since I weaned her, so I packed a bunch of crafts and stickers and crayons and coloured paper and little toys in sandwich bags for the plane, thanks to an idea I saw on the Crafty Crow. They were a hit! and kept her in her seat THE ENTIRE TIME. While I was nervous about landing at JFK airport and going through immigration and customs and lines with a toddler, I was surprised, actually shocked, at how nice people were! Everyone helped us: from the immigration officer who was so polite, to the couple who paid for my trolley when I didn’t have the right change, to the person who lugged my bags off the carousel, to the customs officer who didn’t even look at the food I packed, to the check-in counter who took take care of everything when I was suppose to self-check at those new machines. And the whole time I had Tara strapped to my chest in the Ergo, and mind you, she’s not a little baby anymore. I said so many thank you prayers that day.
Here are pics from the holiday
Playing in the yard
Food my parents brought from Samoa:
Everyday Tara would take walks with her papa
Dad, Tara, mom, Gram, and Ioana before buffet dinner
Visiting Maine’s wildlife park
Picnic at the fort
Freeport was shopping heaven–outlet area for big name brands–attracting tourists from all over
Mom enjoying her Maine lobster
Tara with her cousins Ryan and Adam at the corn fields, getting ready to go for a hay ride
Joining the hunt for a pumpkin for Halloween
Playing in the corn box
Yesterday we celebrated Tara’s birthday by taking her to her favourite place in the world… the beach! Here she is showing us how old she is.
Instead of birthday cake, she had a treat of ice cream for the first time–pink with strawberries (her pick)
Earlier in the week, we surprised Saba for his birthday at a Thai restaurant. Here’s Tara’s version of eating with chop sticks
With friends
There are tons of these dinosaur statues around town and on the walk back, Tara got to sit on one
All in all, a very fulfilling week with many things to be grateful for!
Dear Mrs Moghbelpour
I am pleased to advise you that your application for the conferral of Australian citizenship has been approved. On behalf of the Government and people of Australia, I would like to congratulate you on your decision to become an Australian citizen.
Australian citizenship is the common bond that unites all Australians. Today Australians come from more than two hundred different cultural backgrounds. Becoming an Australian citizen means that you have adopted as your home a country which respects the diverse cultural inheritance of all its citizens.
It is a symbol of commitment to Australia and its people and a decision to share in the responsibilities of being an Australian. In return, Australia offers a share of the rewards. Citizenship gives you the opportunity to fully participate in Australian social and political life – an opportunity to have a real say in our future.
The final step in becoming an Australian citizen is making a Pledge of commitment at a citizenship ceremony. You should note that you will not acquire the legal status of an Australian citizen until you make this pledge.
Arrangements will be made for you to attend a ceremony performed by a delegated officer of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship at the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv.
If you have any queries in regard to your ceremony arrangements or if your address has recently changed, please contact our Immigration Section at the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Details of the time and date of the ceremony at which you will receive evidence of Australian citizenship will be forwarded to you by the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv in due time.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Dias
Overseas Citizenship
Citizenship and Visa Services
DIAC – Dandenong Regional Office
Following the Baha’i International Convention, my dad, who was a delegate from Samoa, stayed back and visited us for a few more precious days. The pics below depict our visits to Tiberius and Haifa zoo.
“St. Peter’s” fish after I devoured it
I’d never seen so many colourful flavours before
Visit to the Baha’i cemetery
Beautiful Sea of Galilee behind us
Yummiest pizza in Haifa
Patting the friendly hamster
Since we’ve been slack in updating our blog with the wedding of the year, I have decided to dedicate this post to my beautiful sister, Ioana banana, and her wonderful husband, Joey, and to wish them both a joyous 2nd month anniversary. Aren’t they just gorgeous?!
Her shoes, his boutonniere
cute moment
the yummiest kebab on cinnamon sticks
altogether now
Not really since our last post although it feels like it… but since Tara was born! To celebrate, we visited and offered prayers of thanksgiving in the Shrines of the Bab and Baha’u'llah. We are so grateful and blessed to have her in our lives, our little bunny. Tara hasn’t started walking on her own yet, but will wrap her hand tightly around your fingers while she walks beside you. Her vocab includes mama, mam, dada, pup pup (for doggie), duh (for duck), nah nah (for no), and once in a while Aba (for Allah’u'Abha). She picks up her hairbrush and starts to brush her hair (the brush being backwards), her hair clips will follow, she attempting to put them on the top of her head. Brushing teeth comes naturally as everything goes in the mouth. The phone goes near the ear followed by “dada” sometimes. She absolutely LOVES animals–cats and dogs especially–pointing and grabbing their skin, poking their eyes, squeezing their tails. Of course we take the opportunity to teach her to be gentle. Tara is also sooo ticklish, laughing and squealing infectiously, clapping hands when happy, and dancing to Samoan tunes. Recently she has started to show awe with “wooow” and “whoooaas” at pictures in books, cats on Hillel, the moving fan on the ceiling. A week ago we returned from visiting the grandparents in Samoa and the aunties and friends in Brisbane. Below are some pics from our time in Brisbane, and also from our first week back in Haifa. Pics from Samoa will be up shortly, but don’t hold your breath.
Tara and Saba’s shared birthday cake
Nasime and Bauback boxing on wii
and more wiiing
Our visits to the Shrines
After the Holy Day commemoration for the Martyrdom of the Bab
