East Coast Tour

Lara and her mom are all packed up for her East Coast Tour. The days of flying without checking bags are long gone.

It's amazing how many things Lara needed to make her trip comfortable. We packed her snuggle-nest for co-sleeping, her GroEgg to regulate temperature, baby monitor, sleep sacks, swaddle blankets, oodles of clothes, her orange house night light and of course diapers. We had a 50lb limit and with Lara and mom's clothes in one suitcase we nearly made it, clocking in at 45 lbs.Lara's first flight was direct on Virgin America where she slept most of the time and experienced her first diaper changing at 30,000 feet in the air. 5 hours later from takeoff, we arrived in NYC. Nano & Nana Jaan arrived, eagerly awaiting their first grandchild. We rushed Lara to the car as it was blistering cold & drove back to NJ to meet her khalas. Mona and Sommer Khala were anxious to meet their niece and kept calling us inquiring us when we would arrive home. Once home, Lara's grandfather even made a fire in the fireplace to make everyone feel extra toasty.

NJ was a great time, with family outings, parties, and dinners. A few days after Lara's arrival, she took her first road trip to MD to meet her new cousin, Aaliyah, who was born only a few days after. Lara is now able to add MD, DC, VA, NJ, and NY to her East Coast destinations, not too shabby for an 8 week old. Lara was able to meet more family from NY &NJ and share some Kodak moments. Time passed quickly and Lara prepared for her flight to Indiana, but not before attending her first holiday party in Long Island on Christmas Day.

MD/DC Friends & Family meet Lara

There is nothing more amazing than meeting up with friends and family. Much love to Uzma, Tina & Parwana for making the icy drive out to Maryland.

Bi-coastalism at its best! These amazing pics were taken by my dear friend and photographer Parwana.

Lara The Football Fan

Lara has become quite the avid football watcher. It's not uncommon to see her in her daddy's lap Saturday, Sunday and Monday night during Football Season cheering on the Colt's and her father's Fantasy Football Lineup. She loves the bonding and her daddy is making sure that she will grow up to be a big football fan.

1 month baby Lara

Lara enjoys spending time in her nursery, watching her mobile and some tummy time on her colorful playmat. Many a nights and days are spent rocking away in her chocolate rocker.

Friendsgiving

We have planned a few weeks of traveling in December and January for Lara's East and Midwest Family Tour so we decided to stay local for Thanksgiving. We were invited to some good friends for a great friendsgiving, complete with old family friends, all our kids, football and a ridiculous amount of delicious food.

As we all sat down at the dinner table to a wonderful spread of food, we went around the table and indulged our adorable 5 year old hostess and talked about our drawings, showing what we were all thankful for.

Lara wore her new dress and wasn't too happy about the inconvenience since she planned on just sleeping all through dinner & dessert. Some of us laughed and smiled, while others cried and slept.

Baby, Barney's, Beverly Hills, & Benji

Lara took a trip out to Beverly Hills today to accompany mommy to her dentist appointment. Pre-Thanksgiving traffic was pretty brutal and mommy and baby walked around Wilshire and Rodeo to kill some time.

Lara oohed and ahhed over some designer duds but quickly lost interest. The shopping excursion wasn't a complete bust- Lara ran into Benji Madden and his supermodel girlfriend, her first celebrity sighting.

One Month MD Appointment and Ear Piercing

Today was a very action packed morning for Miss Lara. We had a 10:15 am appointment with her lovely pediatrician for her one month checkup. Last time was a bit hectic as we were rushing to get to the appointment on time, along with my first time driving with baby, car seat, and stroller, still recovering from birth and lack of abdominal strength, and on top of looking for metered parking to avoid any possible tickets. Nevertheless, we were determined to be early this time around. Mission accomplished today; we arrived today with 6 minutes to spare. We decided that today we would be "Very LA" and valet-definitely a great decision. We arrived to the appointment and handed over Lara's personal insurance card and awaited to see the Doc. The nurse arrived and Lara was weighed and measured and the little string bean made a lot of progress. She is now 9lbs 5 1/2 oz and 21 1/2 inches, that's a whole two more pounds heavier and 1/2 inch taller, all thanks to her mommy's milk diet. Apparently, this is all mommy's doing and the MD actually gave me a high five-I felt very proud.

We decided during the previous appointment that we would be getting Lara's ears pierced today to celebrate her monumental 1 month birthday. Lara laid on the table with eager anticipation and then before we could even react to the sight of the needle gun, there were two gold studs in her ears. She took the pain like a champ and belted out a few screams before she began to self soothe, but this was after she remembered to start breathing.

A Sunny Day in Santa Monica

Today was a beautiful sunny day in Santa Monica. It rained overnight so there was a freshness to the air this morning. Some friends made brunch plans to go to our favorite place in Santa Monica, Jack N' Jills. Obviously, it's always a place that we love to go. We've gone so often that one of the girls that works there (Neva) actually has my order down cold. And it's not just a simple...I'll take the garden omelet, but rather it's Rob's Combo, Chocolate Chip Pecan Pancakes, without the Pecans. For the eggs, egg-whites scrambled, and choice of meat is Turkey Sausage. And a coffee. Impressive.

It was also good to see some of our friends make their way over to Santa Monica to accommodate us and allow us to make it out to brunch with them. Going all the way Redondo Beach might not have worked out. Although Lara has been great, it's nice to stay in the neighborhood. Plus, we haven't driven out too far with her yet. Plus, it's nice to have friends that make that effort to see us and the baby.

Nadeem and Farah joined us only for the initial brunch at Jack N' Jills. Ultimately, we ended up spending much of the day with Noreen and Moin. We walked around Santa Monica Place for a bit and then ended up on Montana Ave. with them. It was fun and it was great to be out with Lara almost all day. Oh yeah, and Lara got to wear daddy's aviators around. As you can see, she makes it look good...

Lara's First Eid

It's Eid and our family of three is looking forward to a little holiday celebrating. On the west coast, away from family in NJ and Indiana, it just won't be the same! Luckily, Nani and Nana Jan from NJ sent over an adorable Eid outfit for Lara to parade around in Santa Monica. Lara was very excited to receive her new outfit by mail, which fit in a really small envelope. Lara looked beautiful in her Purple and Gold shalwar kameez with fitted pajamas, made from a beautiful piece of silk fabric the size of a handkerchief! She indulged her parents and allowed us to have a mini photo session and even gave us a half enthusiastic look towards the camera. Eid Mubarak everyone!

3 week Milestone

Lara has hit her 3 week mark in the world. She's gaining a lot of weight in her tummy and milk is doing her body good. Her parents are getting some sleep at night..she is amazingly cool with giving us couple hours of sleep a night.

Lara in Santa Monica

Recreating a baby burrito in the apt.



Spending some time reflecting on her first few weeks in the world in her bouncer!


A Spanish latte from Urth Caffe!















Enjoying a late night walk on the Promenade.


Lara and Parents taking a preliminary stroll on the promenade for the first time as a family.

First Halloween for Lara the Glo Worm

At 2 weeks into the world we couldn't imagine skipping out on Lara's first Halloween. Remembering how much fun Halloween was as a kid, we were determined to make a costume for our little baby. Luckily, Santa Monica living is convenient, and one block away was a Michael's store. Since Lara weighed in at a mere 6 lbs and change, we needed a costume just as small and adorable. I really had my heart set on recreating a gloworm outfit, a little nostalgic nod for one of my favorite toys as a child. I made a quick trip to the store while Lara took her nap. Upon entering the store I inquired where the fabric aisle was located, much to my dismay Michael's is more of an arts and crafts store and does not carry fabric. I knew that I would have to get creative and came across the "tie dye T-shirt" aisle and grabbed a green cotton X-large boys T-shirt, yarn, and some thread and hurried home to sew my costume. Time was not on my side as Halloween was only 2 days away. In between baby feedings, changing and some sleep, the costume was finally complete. We put on her costume and Lara cried immediately, gave us an approving laugh, and allowed us to take some pics right before demanding her sleep clothes and called it a night. Happy Halloween!

First MD appointment (2 weeks)

Today was Lara's first MD appointment and Mommy and baby hustled to make it over on time. Unfortunately, we made it over to the doctor's office a wee bit late which is expected for a new momma driving her new baby for the very first time. Mommy was a little discombobulated as she tried to get out the car seat and stroller after circling the block many times for some suitable metered parking. We finally made it through the door of the doctors office and Lara squirmed on the cold table and needed her pink fuzzy blanket to keep herself warm. She was weighed and measured and gained a little milk weight and is now 7.6 lbs and 21 inches long. She's regained her initial lost weight and has now passed her birth weight and is feeding well. All in all a successful appointment! Next visit will be for her one month visit. She's excited to be able to celebrate her one month birthday with some shiny gold earrings!

First Bath

Lara still recovering from her journey into this world and sore belly button, took her first bath at home today. Still a wee little baby, it was a cute little sponge bath. She felt safe in her Daddy's arms as she tried to recreate her favorite Johnson and Johnson baby commercial, complete with a little hair brushing for her shiny little locks. Lara is very private so we will leave out all the private little details but here's a picture of Lara relaxing in her bathrobe post-bath.

Homecoming - The Start of a Month of Firsts..

After two full days and two sleepless nights in the hospital, it was time for us to head home. Daddy packed up the bags and loaded the cart that the hospital provided and mommy got dressed to head home. Lara got swaddled in her take home outfit, ready to experience the outside world. After carting all of our stuff down stairs to the car, it was time to strap Lara into the car seat and head home.


The drive home from the hospital was actually more eventful than we expected. A drive that would usually take about 7 minutes door to door, took nearly a half hour. Keep in mind, it was also nearly 9pm and we really should not have had to deal with any traffic. We were in a rush to get home and meet Lara's grandparents from NJ but President Obama happened to be in town and staying in Santa Monica. His visit to LA forced daddy to make unexpected turns and detours on the way home. Luckily, Lara fell in love with her car seat immediately and enjoyed her first slumber outside the hospital.


Ultimately, we arrived home to home cooked food and flowers from the grandparents.

Introducing Lara Masood!

Birthday:
10/20/2010

Weight:
7lbs 0 ozs

Height:
19.5 inches

Birth Place:
St. Johns Medical Center
Santa Monica, CA

Parents:
Saara & Ahmar Masood