Mommy's Little Helper

He can't fold yet...

but provides some pretty lively entertainment.

Simple Pleasures

Today I scoured the stovetop uninterrupted.

Rainy Day

It was a rainy day in Pittsburgh yesterday which meant we would have to postpone our morning stroll.

Instead, we decided to try out the new gym from Manu's Great Grandma. He was cautious at first;

not quite trusting of the gigantic neon ladybug suspended above his head.

But then he got excited...


really excited and began to carry on lengthy conversations with all the bugs in his gym.


We also got in some tummy time.


And worked on perfecting our "how you doin?" face. A very productive day indoors.

On the Porch

My Summer Vacation

I never considered our hometown Horseheads, NY to be a vacation destination. I was exclusively the lay on the beach all day with a frozen drink and good book kind of vacationer. That has now changed. Last week we traveled to our hometown to spend a week with the grandparents. Horseheads is now also my kind of vacation. With so many hands anxious to hold and rock the little guy all day every day, it was hard to leave.
Here are some pics from our trip:

Manu in his carseat on the way to Horseheads with his 'where do you think you're taking me?' face

After bath time

Grilling with the family

Manu observes skeptically as dad straps him in for his first stroller ride.

He loved the walk.

Mom and Dad on our first evening out alone.

Here's Manu before lunch at the Corning Country Club with Grandman and Grandpa Parvez . He ponders if he should have a melt down in the car on the way there or wait until his parents started to eat.

Miraculously, he did neither.

We'll be back again soon!

When father-son camera time and diaper-change time collide

Nice expression, Manu. You couldn't have waited one more minute? On second thought, this picture'll come in handy when you're a teenager...

Some days you can't get anything done...

Sleeping only when held beats not sleeping at all, though.

Baby Steps

Manu is one month old today! It's incredible how much he's grown in these few short weeks. I sometimes wonder (usually around 4am) where the sleepy little newborn we brought home from the hospital went. Every day he surprises us with something new; a new expression, gurgle, movement. Each little discovery he makes leaves us amazed. Like most parents, we're pretty certain our little one is a genius.

Silly Faces

Guy Smiley

Checkup Part Deux

Or, judging from Manu's face: familiarity breeds contempt.

The checkup went fine. Manu's feeding well, and growing well. He's now 8lbs 1oz, 21.75" long! Good Job, Manu-Bear!

We've got plenty more pics (and some video!) so stay tuned, plenty more to come!

More baby pics!

"Washer needs fixed"

Time to go to the "Laundramat."

(maybe the clothes are better off dirty...)

A Major Award!

April 23^rd 2008 already has more than enough reason to have been a special occasion. Early that morning, I had already received all that I could have wished for. Little did I know at the time (I was a little busy taking pictures of the newest member of the Parvez clan), but a letter detailing an honor of another sort was being prepared for me. It wasn’t until several days later, as things had just begun to die down did I take a moment to carefully peruse the rapidly enlarging mountain of e-mails I needed to attend to. Amongst them, I received notification of the following:

Dear Dr.Parvez,

The University of Pittsburgh Medical School Class of 2009 has selected you as one of six recipients of the Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching / “Little Apple” Award. The “Little Apple” Awards were initiated by the University of Pittsburgh Medical School Class of 2003 to recognize the outstanding residents and interns with whom we have worked during our third year clinical rotations and who we believe have demonstrated excellence in the following areas: student teaching, team leadership, fund of knowledge, compassionate and humanistic patient care, and service as a mentor and role model. We would like to invite you to the Pinning Ceremony this year on Friday May 2, 2008 at 3:00 PM in Lecture Rooms 5/6 of Scaife Hall…

A Major Award! For all familiar with my favorite holiday movie of all time, this could only mean ONE thing.

In all truth, I expected to find a small room with perhaps 5 or so people present, being handed envelopes, handshakes, and being sent on our merry way. It says Lecture Rooms 5/6 for heaven’s sake! I’m glad I decided to wear a nice shirt and tie.

The award itself is given to only 6 Residents from among all years of all programs in the UPMC system, which I would estimate to be a few hundred residents all together.

At the ceremony, each of the six residents was introduced and asked to say a few words to the entire incoming 3^rd year medical school class. These are whom you see in the photo from Friday. It was a really wonderful experience and it felt great to be commended for something that I was enjoying doing anyway.

By the way: the award was a lapel pin and a certificate (and a small check!)

And don’t bother asking for a piece of that windfall, folks. It’s as good as spent. Baby, after all, will need a new pair of shoes sooner or later…

(Special Thanks to Aziza Ejaz for the fantastic pic of Arman. Plenty more of those to come!!)

Ok, so this might be a bigger deal than I thought

Wait'll you hear this one...