Hibah

Hibah

Final Days

The last night on the island was a complete panic. I took a series of 1-hour naps since I was pressed for time. Learning all of the head and neck and reviewing a whole semesters worth of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology is a daunting task. Fortunately, by my calculations, I am in the top 25% of my class overall so I have some cushioning to do a little worse on the final because I assume they will not fail over 1/2 the class even though they claim there is no curve.

Sunday morning was spent simply going through all of the U of Michigan website anatomy questions for head/neck since I had no time to actually learn everything at that point. I just wanted to be able to answer the questions and will have to learn it later.

FYI: I was taking exams a week before everybody else. The judge in NC wanted Tannu & I in NC during finals for some homeland security issues and other paperwork for the adoption of Jamal. They gave a specific day and time and if you reschedule, you never know when they will reschedule it, could be the next day or 6 months from then.

Sunday, there were More >

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Mid Semester MD 1

School is good, overwhelming for sure; lots to learn. I feel dumber and smarter. The island is peaceful. I snorkeled to school today. Normally, I ride my bike. It took about an hour to get to school. My roommate decided to skip class in the morning and forgot I snorkeled as he was supposed to bring my glasses and computer and dry clothes so I sat in class all wet and unable to see. It was funny (I have prescription goggles for snorkeling).

The snorkeling is amazing and the diving is supposed to be better I just haven’t gone yet. It is like swimming in a luke warm bathtub in terms of clarity with so many fish; it is amazing.

After a couple weeks here with Hibah and Tannu, I told them I think they should go back to States. There is nothing here for kids. no playgrounds, no sidewalks, and actually we barely see any other kids. I want Hibah to be around other kids. She can entertain herself with a couple toys but I didn’t want to deprive her of a joyous 3rd year of life because of my choice to come out here. That, of course, is the hardest part being out More >

Playing with Hibah

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

     We finally sold our house in Austin and finalized the move to Michigan. The move was uneventful. We had a deal for our house that fell through that was with the nephew of Too Short. I’m sure a couple of you know who this is.

     We flew to Augusta for a few days to see the Augusta Fatteh Clan and then to Atlanta for the International Beauty Pageant. We had a great time in Augusta where I saw my old elementary school Augusta Christian, and then my Kindergarten, Open Door Kindergarten. We also saw our first house in Augusta. (more…)

Hibah with trophy

Most Beautiful Eyes in Austin

     The only useful quality I can give a girl is big eyes with long eyelashes.  Hibah was fortunate enough to get that quality from me and now we have proof.  On a whim, we entered Hibah in an under 1 girls beauty pageant at the local mall in Austin. She won prettiest eyes and therefore qualified for the state competition.

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Hibah Getting Ears Pierced photo

Christmas with Hibah

     Christmas day was the day Hibah went on her first flight. She enjoyed the flight and did not cry at all. We flew from Austin to Detroit, Michigan.

     In Michigan, there was a party for Hibah and she met lots of her relatives. Before we left, she had her ears pierced. For some reason they do it one ear at a time so of course, she didn’t want the 2nd ear done. (more…)

Hibah Halloween 1

Hibah’s Head Shaving & Halloween

     Our life is joyfully dominated by Hibah. Of course she sleeps odd hours but we are happy so no complaints. As is part of our culture, we shaved her head. I was surprised at how soft her head was so it took me approximately 3 hours to shave her head completely.

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Hibah name photo

The story behind the name Hibah

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How We Came Up With the Name

     As is the rule for my children, we want names that are two syllables or less, easy to pronounce, and Muslim names.

     We whittled down a list of boys names and girls names since we did not know the gender before the delivery.   The delivery came early and the only thing we had ready was the name. No car seat, crib, diapers, but we did have a name ready.

     There was nothing unique or any special story behind the name, we just liked the way it sounded and thought it was easy enough to pronounce.

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Hibah and Nurse photo

The 2nd Day of Hibah

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     Day 2 of the life of Hibah was much more pure fun than Day 1. Day 1 was an emotional rollercoaster with a happy ending. On Day 2, Tannu was doing very well and Hibah was exploring her new surroundings. Unfortunately, there was construction being done in the hospital with a jackhammer so it was noisy but fortunately it did not bother Hibah.

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photo of Hibah Fatteh

The Birth of Hibah Fatteh

     Hibah was born today on September 15, 2004 in Austin, Texas. She was 18.75 ” and 5 lbs 12 ounces. She was born one month early and after a day of despair, Hibah was born in an emergency C section. Fortunately, she was 100% healthy and breathing on her own.

     I’ll start from the night before to give you the whole story: (more…)