How cheeky can I be!

My first attempt of flower picking ~ none other place than Bahji!!



I'm thinking (so what if I'm only 4 months!)...










I move closer, mom is trying to hold my hand...








I got it, hurray!






And pretended nothing happened, only leaving mom in a frenzy to clean my hands before I start tasting those lovely petals ;-)

Many firsts...

My first picture

My first meeting with daddy (-doo, I love yuu!!)

After the first greetings from mom "Allah'u'abha, jaan! Allah'u'abha" which means "God, the All Glorious", dad shared the following words with me:
"I have come by God's command, have been made manifest for His remembrance and have been created for the service of Him who is the Almighty, the Well-Beloved."

My first meeting with nanima (
-panima!!)

My grand-mom shared the following words with me:
"Armed with the power of Thy name, nothing can ever hurt me. And with Thy love in my heart, all the worlds afflictions can in no wise alarm me."

My first meeting with mOmmy [outside the surgical room] (
-yum-mum, I'm hungry!!)

My first family picture (ah! these are my parents!!)

My first (cheeky) attempt attempt at getting to my milk

My first drive home (restrictions put in place already!!)

My first walk home (my real home where my heart is)

My first home coming (Shrine of the Bab)

My first visit to the Most Holy Shrine (Shrine of Baha'u'llah)
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My first meeting with nanaji

My first devotional meeting (there were series of devotions that evening, this is only one of the pictures!!)

My first cake (Thank you, Uncle Glenn!)

My first wedding(attendance!) ~ Aunty Laurel & Uncle Sisay


More pictures...
My first month album
My first month after first month album (ha, haa!)
My first month after second month album (ha, haa, haa!)

100 days

Life is a celebration, we make excuses to make it special ;-)

Aunty Rochelle from New Zealand with guitar and songs and sing-alongs and ooh! the puppets too!! made the celebration more special :)).
Check her website!

My friend, Rylan helped me blow the candle :)

Dear friends (and aunties), thank you for coming!

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Fruit of our union...

We were most delighted (and are still elevated) at the thought of having a new member in our family :).

We let our new member introduce herself through the following letter earlier this year (excuse us for those whom we were unable to send earlier)
[January 2007 - 15 weeks old]

Dear grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunts,
Alláh-u-Abhá, greetings and salutations!
I’m happy to introduce myself as a child of Bahá :). I’m currently developing my capacities to better serve the human family. I’m about 6 months away and eagerly look forward to meeting you in-person!
Hoping for my safe arrival! Until then my parents will correspond on my behalf, should you wish to communicate, I’m copying them on this mail.
With loving regards,
The servant in-making

After we had the detailed ultrasound, we were able to identify the 'The servant in-making' to be a lady :). Next she shared her first picture with everyone!!

And here's her message... [March 2007 - 23 weeks old]

Fondly loved grandparents, aunts and uncles,
Alláh-u-Abhá
I had my first picture taken last week.... *smile* and the doctor confirmed I’m a baby-girl **bigger smile**.
On a practical note, few friends have started the search for my identification code i.e. my name! If you think of one, do let my parents know, they are actively looking into it.
Let me join my parents in thanking you for your expression of love (in response to my first letter) through emails, letters, cards and very precious prayers and endearing thoughts!
Until I write again…
Sincerely,
A maid-servant of Bahá :)

Determining a name for her was not an easy job ~ in this day and age, a name in one culture can be miscontrued in another plus we were keen to have a meaningful identification for our daughter. Finally, we decided on...

Miss Ariana Lokhandwala Songgadan :))
Ariana, from Greek origin, means holy one, most pure.

And here we are in July 2007, counting days for her arrival in our arms... tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock ;-)

And you wonder what happened/ is happening with Farzana...


(Ariana - 6 months)


(Ariana - 7 months)
(Ariana - 8 months)


And she continues to move on, one step at a time :)

First step towards this union...

Family visit to the Most Holy Spot - The Shrine of Baha'u'llah
We were blessed to have extended family from Canada, the Simon family :)

Few detours in Bahji Garden...

And do we mention our love for Bollywood?



Luncheon in Ridvan Garden on 21 April...




picture includes the organizers as well as kind host and hostess; least to mention the friend who drove us around that day and also the one who took pictures!

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