A Week In The Life

Many people have asked about Zain's daily activities, so we thought it would be appropriate to highlight some of his everyday adventures (as opposed to monumental achievements such as getting both of his hands in his mouth at one time). His usual schedule is Monday and Wednesday with his sweet nanny Ashley; Tuesday at Welcome Home in the office with Mommy; Thursday at home play day with Mommy; Friday at home play day with Daddy. Saturday and Sunday he usually gets to play with Mommy & Daddy and has regular visits from Nana and Papa, Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Stewart (and a round of visitors from Aunt(s) Nicole, Uncle Kevin, Marc, Aunt Maureen, Cousin Adi, Aunt Dottie, and many friends).

One thing is for sure.... there is no shortage of people around Zain that care about him and love to spend time with him. In this series of pictures (taken between Aug and Nov), we have highlighted his days in the office at Welcome Home. He plays with Jesus, the warehouse manager, hangs in the kangaroo sling and works on the computer with Aunt Tanya, writes up orders with our office manager Nancy, and used to sleep under Mommy or Nana's desk! He is already known as Chairman Of The Board.

A Boy Named Ziv

On the 18th, many of Zain's family members gathered to participate in his naming ceremony.

About the naming tradition:

It is customary for Jewish parents to give their children two names. A secular name for use in the gentile world, and a Hebrew name for religious purposes. Hebrew names are used for calling men and women to the Torah. Certain prayers, such as the memorial prayer or the prayer for the sick, also use the Hebrew name. Legal documents, such as the marriage contract or ketubah, use the Hebrew name. Today, many American Jews give their children both English and Hebrew names. Often the two names start with the same letter. Judaism places great importance on the naming of each new child. In the Hebrew Bible in particular and in Jewish tradition generally, a person's name reflects his or her character. It is also believed that the name of a person or thing is closely related to its essence. In the act of naming, parents connect their children to the traditions of the past and previous generations, and in so doing, literally bring those traditions to life. In the act of naming, the parents are also making a statement about the future and express their hope for what their child will become.

Zain was named after Amy’s great grandmother, Zina, who was tough as nails and sweet as sugar. Ian, after Doug’s maternal grandfather Ira, who was a hardworking immigrant who had a special impact on Doug’s life.

We gave Zain the Hebrew name "Ziv" which means radiance or brilliance.

During the ceremony, Aunt Nikki presented the Whiting family quilts. Grandma Reta's cousin Annie made Zain an amazing colorful quilt that Zain plays on everyday. Gradma Reta's sister Dottie and cousins Ila, Lynnette, and Connie remade a red and white quilt that Zain's Great Great Grandmother made for his Great Grandmother Rieta. It was very touching.

Teething Anyone???????

What can I say, other than my little teethums are hurting SO bad!!!!! My gums are aching and I just want to bite down on everything. Mommy's nipples are dreading the day that they actually appear, but they are coming and it is quite an experience!!!

Gives Peas a Chance

Life is moving fast in Zain's life these days! His primary diet still consists of all breast milk, but he has just started his first solid foods. By his second bowl of rice cereal, he decided he was big enough of a boy that he should feed himself. He really is pretty good at it, he just nails his nose a lot and nearly takes out his eye every other bite. We decided to let him have some peas the other night and here are the results...

Once he nails peas, it's on to turkey!

Aunt Dottie Comes for a visit

The little Z man got a welcome visit from his mommy's Aunt Dottie last week. Dot made the trip out from Salt Lake and got to spend some good time with the little guy. They played and strolled the neighborhood for a few days and really got to know each other.

The 95th Percentile Lobster

Apparently, his time in Maui was well spent because the Little Z Man tipped the scales at 16 lbs. 13 oz at his 4 month pediatrician appointment today. He is 25 3/4 inches tall. This puts him at 95th percentile in weight and 70th percentile in height. (Daddy is thrilled since he NEVER ever sniffed either one of these percentiles!) In mid September, he weighted 11 lbs. 14 oz and was 24 inches long, putting him at the 50th percentile for weight and height.

His aunt Dottie (Mommy's mother Reta's sister) is here this week and getting her first visit with Little Z Man. She has been taking him for long walks, changing diapers and overall providing some nice relief for mommy and daddy. We can't wait to take Little Zain to Utah to meet the rest of his Whiting relatives.

The Z Man also had his first Halloween. see below.


As you can see, he dressed as a 16 lb. lobster. Mommy and Daddy definitely had more fun that Little Zain. We took him trick or treating to the neighbors who got a kick out of his costume and we handed out about 30 lbs of candy to the neighborhood kids. Papa Jeff had the most of fun of anyone, asking the various trick or treaters about their costumes.

Leaps and Bounds!!

Well, either the Z man really really really loves Hawaii, or he was just waiting to be around his parents all the time to learn some great new tricks! We are in a great condo on Maui with the Escue family and we feel so fortunate to be around Zain this week. He found his thumb! It's very cute to watch him suck on that little digit. He started eating cereal and by his third bowl, he was feeding himself! Choking on the spoon a bit, but he knew what to do... pretty amazing. The trick that surprised us the most, however, HE MOVES!!! Tuesday night he was whimpering a bit in the middle of the night and when we peeked in, he was laying on his tummy! So in the next two days, he figured out how to scoot around and get from one side of his crib to the other. This morning when mommy laid down next to him on the bed, he rolled to his side and gave her kisses! How sweet is that?

We had our first day on the beach yesterday. Given Zain's moms affinity for the ocean, we were very surprised that the ocean DID NOT go over well AT ALL. He screamed and shrilled and cried! Perhaps mommy was a little overzealous and moved a little too quickly, so we will have to try again today. He did, however go for a nice swim in the kiddie pool yesterday and despite the cool temperature, he liked it and splashed around.