Shoe shopping

Rumi loves to go shopping. But this time he couldn't decide what type of shoes he wanted. There was just so many choice!. Finally he said he wanted all of them:)

Rumi helping Mommy

Rumi loves to help Mommy in the kitchen. He can open every drawer, every cabinet, fridge and so is able to help himself with anything he wants. Easy life for Mommy:) or is it??

2008 Calendar

Gloria and Navid made this 2008 Calendar of Rumi's pictures of his first year. Oh...it is sooooo beautiful. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH DEAR NAVID AND GLORIA:) We'll cherish it forever!

Gloria and Navid's visit to Montreal

Gloria and Navid (from California) visited us in mid October. It was really nice to have them. We went to St. Jerome to see the beautiful fall colours and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Snack time :)

Pictures of Rumi

Bathing time.....fun time

Prayer time

Pictures of Rumi

Yummy Pizza !!!

Rumi had his first taste of pizza yesterday. As we can see, he really enjoyed it a lot. He wouldn't let go of it.
After all Daddy had made it :)

Rumi's first steps

Yesterday Rumi took his first two steps unaided.

Playing in the snow

This was our first time playing in the snow together in our backyard. It was very enjoyable...:)























Rumi couldn't really sit so he was lying down most of the time and he had to keep his eyes closed as it was snowing.

Ready for the snow

This is the white snow suit that our friends Farid and Trista gave Rumi in Victoria when we were visiting there earlier in Sep. He looks so adorable. Thanks Farid and Trista.

Snowstorm!!!

This past week we had a big storm here in Montreal

(The flash makes the the flakes look a lot larger than they really are :))

It was supposed to be the worst storm of the season. What a welcome to our first real Canadian winter. Snow has been on the ground since November 20. This week it snowed straight for two days with winds up to 72 kph and we had over a foot of snow.

The depth of the snow

It takes about 4 years in Victoria (where I'm from) to get that much snowfall.

Our backyard

The small trees covered with snow

There is a set of steps in between the trees.

I'm sure there are stairs under here somewhere!
(side stairs)

We take care of both houses of a duplex (semi-attached dwelling) and I am solely responsible for keeping the walkways and emergency paths clear!



The storm was so bad that after I finished clearing the main walks I had to start again.

Our front steps

After the snow was shoveled

Fortunately I love shoveling snow. It was such a wonderful experience! We'll see how I feel about it at the end of the winter.

I am learning a lot about snow clearing though. I broke a snow shovel the first day it snowed. I bought an ergonometric snow shovel to replace it, but it hurt my back. I can't wait until the next storm, but it sure makes it difficult to do other work.

First post in a while

Hi Everyone,

We now have high speed Internet at home, so we can finally post to our blog.

Yeah!!!

Of course by now everyone has given up checking our blog he he he.

We have a lot of pictures from the last four months, so we will be posting our current happening intermingled with past experiences until we get caught up.

So enjoy :)

Love,

Roger, Minoo & Rumi

Last Games Night/Afternoon in Haifa!!!

It is sad but true, last Friday was our last large gathering for games in Haifa. The games are still in town but, alas, Minoo and I are too busy to continue hosting the games night. There are rumors, though, that Balbir and Melissa are going to take up the torch and continue the tradition.

Joey came at 2:00, so Minoo Joey and I played Take 6.



Rumi helped Mummy choose her cards.



After three rounds I won and Minoo came one point ahead of Joey.

Balbir, Joey and I then played a quick round of No Thanks! with Balbir being victorious.



Melissa and Minoo joined us with Joey winning this one, beating me by one point.



Siyamak, Selvi and Lillian came for a visit before going to Bahji.



Just as Siyamak, Selvi and Lillian were leaving Maarten, Menchie and Ena Marie arrived.

Menchie and Ena Marie visited while, Maarten joined Joey, Balbir, Howard and myself to play Balbir's game El Grande. Joey had to leave before it was done and had John sub in for him. John also had to leave and had Kurt sub in for him. Maarten left before it ended, so his player just stagnated. I had to explain the rules so many times.



It was an interesting game. Joey jumped into a huge lead in the first scoring round, and it was neck and neck between Joey's team and me until the end when I pulled away. Balbir and Howard were in a tough fight for third, with Howard taking third place in the end.

Meanwhile, Sara came over and helped Minoo with dinner. The dinner was delicious. Thanks Sara:)

Then Natascha and John came over to visit.



Rumi had lots of fun!



Nagmeh, Ladan, Amelia and her brother Brian came over and started playing Uno and Saboteur with Sara, Melissa and Minoo. Minoo won the Uno games, and for Saboteur, one time the miners won and the other time the Saboteurs won.



Howard and Balbir teamed up against Kurt and I in a game of Tichu that we actually finished (by midnight though)!



After a good start for Howard and Balbir and a poor start for Kurt and I. Kurt and I really took off and gradually caught up and pulled ahead with a one - two finish and successful Tichu call to get close to winning. Then they came back with a one - two finish and a successful Tichu call to put both teams with a score above 900. After two more rounds Kurt and I won.

Collages of Rumi

Minoo prepared some collages of Rumi.

Here they are:

Rumi with his friend Lillian:


Rumi in front of the Shrine of the Bab:


Rumi wearing Daddy's hat:


Rumi with Mummy!!!


Rumi on the grass:


Rumi with kitchen implements:


Rumi in traditional Arab dress:


Rumi on the balcony of the Mansion of Bahji:

:)