photo ops

sometimes the *only* way i can get a picture of aliyah when she is dressed up and we are out somewhere is to get her to stand with her friend layla.
stand by herself or even with us and just *look* at the camera, verrrrrry difficult.
"put your arm around layla and say cheese!" DONE. :)

bahji and blessed

this afternoon aliyah, keon, and i went to bahji because i had (*had*) to take some pictures of the gardens that were more beautiful than i'd ever seen in all my years here. aliyah was moved to pick a flower for me (sorry mace).











on the way home, it was dark outside, the three of us were in the car (victor was in his work car also on his way back from bahji), eating mcdonald's fries i'd picked up on the way home, singing and bopping to mika and i turned up ben gurion to see the shrine and terraces lit. the second after i turned the corner, aliyah said, over the music,
"mommy, 'scuse me!"
"baleh aliyah?" i ask,
in persian she says, "shall i say a prayer?"
and i turn down the music which happened to be one of her favorite songs that she always requests,
"what?"
"shall i say a prayer?"
"yes joonam!" so she starts to sing the prayer,
"blessed is the spot." (which has gone through an interesting evolution from,
"blessed is the spot, and the house, and the cake..." to now,
"blessed hits the spot..." which i guess it does)
by the time we reached the top of ben gurion, aliyah had finished her prayer. we turned around the roundabout to hagefen and she said,
"it's happy."
"what's happy?"
"the shrine."
"it is? why?"
"because aliyah said 'blessed...'"
"you're right, joonam, it is happy."

47 months old

i know, i know, who's counting?

on the thirteenth of every month aliyah still has her portrait taken by her mom... this is the 47th one.