come see who's entered our lives ...

as promised some time back, here are some photos on the little corners i've created for Baby Z. having seen these photos now, you'll realise that really, it's pretty plain. there wasn't really a specific theme running through the decorating side of it, but if one had to pinpoint to a theme of sorts, i suppose it'll be the colours used. kept it to shades of pink, orange, rust and white. more or less.

:: the nursery corner in the room downstairs (this was taken a while back, crib now has white linen with a burst of colour in the form of the yellow pillowcase i had adorned earlier) ::

:: the changing table, that's really my dresser - this, in our bedroom upstairs ::

:: home-printed origami papers, home-made-and-assembled origami cranes - these hang (rather pathetically .. haha) by the changing table ::

all of this for the lil girl who arrived safely (after a painful 9 hour labour though) at 10:23am, Monday 25th February 2008. her birth weight was 3.07kg and length 49cm. the lil girl who parked herself snugly in me for 9 months plus, who left me rushing to the loo a lot at all hours, who left me forgetting how to walk properly, who made me crave all things spicy (Thai food especially!), plenty of Caesar salad and lots and lots of juice (orange and lime).

but put aside the discomfort and unattractiveness that came with carrying the lil girl, the instant i laid eyes on her, it all made sense. she was worth the wait and all the pain. she's here with us now, and she's the one we've named Zayaan Atiya. both names of Arabic origin, Zayaan means something beautiful and Aitya means gift. 'beauty' is no doubt subjective, but any given child, especially when you carry him/her yourself, is that bit more beautiful, just because. :-) after a considerable age gap between Big Z and Baby Z, having her with us is indeed a 'gift' of sorts. we see it as Allah's special gift to us (well, obviously after his first big gift, Big Z ;-)).

so, that pretty much sums up the 'story' behind us choosing her name.

:: we mostly call her by this name, though i try to use both names too ::

and this, my dear readers, is her. our 'beautiful gift (from Allah)'. :-)