Noah starts preschool tomorrow… sigh.  He packed his backpack – granola bar, sita the cheetah, lighting mcqueen- carefully picked out his outfit (orca shirt, grey pants, shark socks) and fell asleep telling his animals he’d see them after school.

Harley just hit 4 months and I can’t get enough of her sweet little legs and happy smile! 

This will be our last birthday here in Madison and it was so wonderful to have all – and I do mean all – of our friends party with us! Thanks guys! You know we’re going to miss you!!

To my beautiful birthday boy. You who opened a new world to me, who showed me the possibilities beyond myself, who taught me how to laugh and truly love the little things

Happy 5th birthday sweet boy.

We welcomed our 3rd and final member to our family 6/1/11.  Harley weighed in at 8.5lbs 21 inches and has been a dream! She has a feisty spirit with an insatiable appetite. She loves to snuggle, only sleeps sitting up (a mild hurdle for us to navigate) and doesn’t even flinch at the chaos and noise levels Team Elam doles out!  Noah fell in love at first site saying he wished we would have 20 more babies just like her whereas Ima’s quietly holding out for the dust to settle. Jaythan and I both feel so incredibly complete.  Love to ALL our friends and family!

We have a small camera that the kids go crazy for.  They play, they take shots and pose, it’s adorable.  Lately I’ve taken advantage of their excitement and newfound pos-y-ness and i’ve been clicking shots randomly.  I taught Ima that when you say cheese, it automatically makes your mouth curve into a smile.  She remarked that she really prefers cheeseburgers so now, every-time there’s a camera close by, she bellows out “CHEESEBURGER!”

when we found out we were pregnant with Noah and got over the initial shock of the miracle that is our little man, I started to check out nurseries for ideas on what to do for our baby room.  I kept coming back to trees.  I love the growth, the element of nature, the comfort and security of a fully grown canopy… anyways, jaythan and I poured over ideas and finally found one in DIY we loved.

I’m so excited we’ve come into some breathing room to latch back onto this central theme and with a few minor tweaks to add some Ima element, we’ve finally started painting our new version nursery!   I can’t wait to share with you!!  Here’s Noah’s old room to hold you till we get this new one done!

We opened our home and hearts to Mina this weekend.  She dazzled us with her wit and imagination as we were constantly jumping from one interest to the next!! Her baby brother, Sufyan, was born 1/14 weighing in at 8lbs 20 inches and is sure to be another dazzling addition to the Ali’s!! It is an understatement to say that we enjoyed having Mina.  Jaythan and I both felt a shift as the weekend progressed where 3 little people running around, making chaos, just felt right!

This is a shocking discovery!!!

I’ll keep you posted…

It has literally been a whirlwind of activity here since fall marked the opening season to our teams’ birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.  Noah turned 3, Ima bounded into her first birthday and jaythan celebrated his catch up – always having been a sucker for older women:) as he hit the big 2-9!!

Coming into the home stretch i keep reminding myself to take a moment each day to cherish these fleeting memories.  Ima took her first steps last week.  Noah looked into the sky and stood for a full minute just to feel a snowflake land on his skin. So many opportunities to celebrate!