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Archive for the Category »Najwa «

Najwa’s Birthday Photos From Mandu

01
Oct 2011
David Gaines   

Comcast is a joke. We’re virtually begging them to take our money and set up our internet, but for whatever reason, they continue to find ways to not set us up for internet. Hence I’m just now getting around to posting the photos from Najwa’s birthday party at Mandu. I’ll b!tch about Comcast later [then DirecTV after them]. For now, here’s Najwa:

Mandu Sept. 17, 2011

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Category: Birthday Parties, Milestones, Najwa, Najwa Photos  Tags: , , , ,

Najwa’s Buddy Dillon

24
Sep 2011
David Gaines   

Other than her mom and dad, Najwa spends the majority of her time with the babysitter and the other kids she watches. Here’s Najwa with Dillon, one of the other kids who’s known Najwa for more than half her life…

Najwa and Dillon

Najwa and Dillon

Category: Najwa, Najwa Photos  Tags: ,

Najwa’s Birthday Studio Photos

17
Sep 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa Gaines on her first birthday

After we wrapped up Najwa’s birthday party at Mandu [I'll post those photos in a moment], Nduku set an appointment for us to take some studio portraits. My mom is in town and bought Najwa a traditional Korean dress called a Hanbok, worn for celebrations. I’m relieved Najwa cooperated, well, as cooperative as we could’ve hoped for considering her temper [which she might've got from daddy?] when forced to do things she doesn’t want to do [just like daddy].

Portraits From Najwa's First Birthday

 

The other dress Najwa was wearing was a gift from Belinda Sillas-Robinson, a friend from back in my Westover days. It was a BaByQ Shower gift, and we’ve been waiting for the right moment or it to make its debut.

Category: Najwa, Najwa Photos, Nduku Photos, Photos  Tags: , ,

Najwa Finally In Her Own Room

09
Sep 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa Gaines in her new room

Najwa is her very own room after we finally got everything moved in.

Category: Najwa  Tags:

Najwa’s Last Day in Her First Home

04
Sep 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa Gaines

Najwa’s last day in her first home.

Doug and I did a preliminary drive-by to see what we were up against. We averted our gaze from the clusters of individuals eyeballing us suspiciously but with anticipation. We rolled by as if we were uninterested, but really we were plotting how we were going to make our move without getting mobbed.

We parked not too far away when Doug said it all: “Feels like we’re hunting for a prostitute.”

more…

Category: Najwa  Tags: , , ,

Grandma’s In Town For Najwa’s 1st Birthday

02
Sep 2011
David Gaines   

Last time my mom was in town, she was there witnessing Najwa come into the world. Now a year later,she returns to celebrate Najwa’s first birthday.

As usual, being a typical Gaines, we don’t know what time she got to DC, but she just knew she remembered how to get to our pad. She did get one thing right — we live just off of M Street. Only she was on M Street SW instead of NW and after a turn here and there, she was in Oxon Hill.

Once we got to the pad, though, it was play time for Najwa…

 

Najwa with her Korean grandmother

Category: Najwa, Najwa Photos  Tags: ,

My Advice To “Fatty Mama” About Bullies

16
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa GainesWhen Dr. Anderson said it’s better to overfeed than underfeed an infant, well, it freed us from the anxiety of asking ourselves if we were feeding Najwa too much. So, we fed her. Sure, she has chunky cheeks, and she’s got some weight relative to her age, but she is far from having an obesity issue.

Actually, she looks like a well-fed child, a healthy one with no risk of malnutrition, a fully developed body meaning a fully developed everything else, from her heart to her bones to her brain. I’d rather spend money now on an extra jar of pureed squash than save it for medical bills later.

But of course kids are kids, and one of the kids at the babysitter likes to call her “Fatty Mama.” Doesn’t faze me. It’s kind of cute, actually. It’s said out of affection. The kids at the babysitters love Najwa. And vice versa. As soon as we walk through the door they’re all in each other’s face and so far, Najwa doesn’t have separation anxiety as we leave, engrossed with her extended family.

But as she gets older, kids will evolve into little imps. Little devils. And eventually, someone’s kid is going to say something, not kidding, but meant to be hurtful. And there may be haters. And bullies. And there’s going to be a time when she comes to me asking for advice of what to do.

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Najwa’s Repertoire of Silly Sounds

15
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

One lazy day, doing nothing but watching some Sprout TV, Najwa decided to add some sound effects to whatever we were watching. She’s developed a nice little range of sounds to her repertoire and is going to be a chatty one when she figures out the meaning of whatever she’s saying.

Here’s just a sample…

Category: Najwa, Najwa in Motion  Tags:

Najwa and Her New Shades

13
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

We got Najwa her own pair of shades, but maybe it’s because of the elastic band that she simply won’t wear them. She thinks it’s a vice grip squeezing her skull. And she keeps her eyes closed the whole time as if it’s really a blindfold.

But, she got her hands on mommy’s shades. She’s just waiting to grow into them…

Najwa Gaines trying on some shades

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Najwa’s Latest Adventure: The Passenger Seat

12
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa GainesIt’s been a while, but it still happens. No warning signs, no gut feelings, no way to know that Najwa is about erupt like Mount Vesuvius spewing formula everywhere!

We were heading home the other day, just passing U Street when all I heard coming from the backseat was Nduku spouting the long version of OMG sprinkled in with a few other expletives. Najwa had just downed another bottle of lactose free formula, but apparently there wasn’t enough room for it in her tiny little belly. So what goes down, must come out all over her clothes, the car seat and a little contact spray for Nduku.

I couldn’t assess the damage from the front seat, so I was going to stay the course. But from the sounds of disgust Nduku was making, it became obvious I had to pull over. When she handed me Najwa’s bib, I could tell that all five ounces got evicted from Najwa’s stomach.

We had to take her pants off and figure out how to clean out the car seat before we got back on the road. To make it easy, we put Najwa in the passenger seat [while parked of course], and it didn’t take her long to find something to satisfy her curiosity.

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Category: For Your Viewing Pleasure, Najwa, Najwa in Motion  Tags: ,

Najwa and Her Race To Walk

10
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa Gaines getting ready to walkIt used to be that whenever I was on daddy daycare duty while mommy was out getting her hair done, out shopping, at the gym, or just out, I had everything under control. Barricade Najwa on the sofa with a few pillows, pop a pacifier in her and off to la la land she went.

Newborns sleep so much that there’s really no interruption to your daily schedule. You just don’t get any sleep at night so you have no energy to do anything. Take a long hot shower, cook a 3-course meal, watch a movie without pressing pause once — nothing to it. But all I did was sleep.

And when she was awake, still all good. She had the coordination of someone who just took 8 shots of Patron, so she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d just lie on the sofa transfixed on the ceiling fan going ’round and ’round while I was transfixed on her. Even though everyone warns you to be careful what you wish for, you can’t help but say to yourself, “I can’t wait until she can roll over, sit up, crawl, walk…”

“Enjoy the moment,” I remind myself, “enjoy the moment.”

And then wish number one came true…

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Category: Najwa, Parenthood  Tags: ,

Tomato and Cilantro — Absolutely Disgusting!

09
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

Killer TomatoesI’m not sure when it happened, but when I was a tyke, I was given something with tomato in it. As soon as that gooey, bugery texture touched my tongue, I gagged. I was nauseated. I instantly started fasting, losing my appetite for days [or was it hours?], recovering from attempted poisoning.

And ever since, I’ve been convinced that tomato isn’t really a food. It’s a fruit, sure, but it’s not supposed to be eaten until you grind and smash the evil soul out of it to make pizza sauce or ketchup. It’s like ginger root. You don’t just chew on it like a Twizzler. You have to mutate it until its pungent taste, small and texture is reduced to an aftertaste.

The so-called taste of tomatoes makes me want to vomit. Whenever I order a burger from wherever, I always repeat twice — I repeat, twice — “No tomato!” And every now and again when my karma is running low, I sink my teeth into the squishy texture of a tomato which causes my tongue to shrivel up like, well, you know, like when a man gets in the pool.

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Category: Food, Najwa  Tags: ,

Najwa’s Pilgrimage to Redskins Training Camp

08
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa Gaines and David Gaines at the Washington Redskins 2011 Training Camp in Ashburn, VA
If I look tired in the picture as we first entered Hog Heaven, it’s because I was! Najwa is not a lightweight anymore!

With the filthy rich owners and pretty damn rich players finally agreeing on how to share billions of our dollars, it’s finally time for some football. So what better to do to celebrate than to attend the Redskins training camp in sweltering summer heat?

Najwa, who was rocking Redskins gear the moment the nurses let us dress her up [yes, less than 24 hours after birth!], got to attend her first Redskins camp before she even turned one. I waited 37 years for this.

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Category: Najwa, Najwa Photos, Redskins  Tags: , , ,

Sign of What’s Coming Next In Parenthood

02
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

Najwa Gaines holding a can of Mountain DewIs it really August already? This time last year everyone kept [and keeps] saying as I find myself saying already to every and anyone expecting a child: enjoy this moment in the moment because it will pass by faster than you know it.

Enjoy being pregnant. Enjoy the doctor’s visits and ultrasounds. Enjoy the first day your child is born as if those 24 hours are all you have to live. Enjoy those first few weeks even if you’d trade your right arm for 4 continuous hours of sleep. Just 4 hours in a row.

Because before you can figure out how to use a sterilizer or the rectum thermometer — that little bundle of joy, that tiny human being that doesn’t do much more than eat, sleep and sh!t, that evolution of you and your significant other will turn into another species altogether called the toddler.

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Category: Najwa, Parenthood  Tags: ,

Najwa’s First Trip To The Beach

01
Aug 2011
David Gaines   

David Gaines and Najwa Gaines at Rehoboth Beach in DelawareWhen Najwa was 3 months old [maybe 4] giving her a bath was like subjecting her to waterboarding. Maybe the water’s too hot? Not hot enough? Maybe all babies let out bloodcurdling screams when the water touches their bare bottoms?

If Nduku ever wanted me to do something, all she had to do was say we were about to give Najwa a bath. “Wash the car? I’m on it.” “Watch more reality TV? We can DVR it and rewatch it after it goes off.” “Vote for a Republican? It is secret, right?” Standing pat while torturing Najwa with a bath was a bit more than I wanted to bear so early into fatherhood.

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Category: Najwa, Najwa Photos, Nduku Photos, Road Trips, Travel the World  Tags: ,
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