Newborn from the previous Baby Shower

I got to visit my friend whose 7-month baby party I had gone to in either July or August.  She and her husband were there with their newborn.  He has such a creative name: ReezVahz (is how it is pronounced).  What a cutie he is!

The aunties of the home have decided that I'm carrying a son because my belly is protruding forward like a ball or cone and girl-babies are carried from side to side and swell your whole body and abdomen.  Funny - my first old wives tale told by two old wives themselves!  They were conversing between themselves and pointing at me as they chattered.  Then asked me if I wanted a boy or a girl and I told them, "as God wills".  They smiled and said, "not a girl. Stomach is holding only son."  Haha!  They have 50% odds that they are right.

Cultural notes:

• Baby was not wearing a diaper or pants, but only had on a long-sleeved t-shirt, tied bonnet, and he had a man's handkerchief underneath his bottom
• Even though it is 80F most days (or hotter) here, they keep the baby in a bunting bag of sorts that is really warm - even in the hottest part of the day, and have only a ceiling fan with no A/C
• This is the first new baby I've seen without eyeliner on his/her face to ward off the evil eye (usually parents will draw a large 'mole' on the baby's temple or center of the forehead)
• My friend said that she had a "normal delivery by cesarean" - later her husband clarified that two hours after their arrival, the doctor said they must surgically remove the baby since the baby was 3 kilos (6.6lbs) and delivering the baby vaginally would be too risky.  
• It is okay to feed the baby in front of guests, as long as you have a modest way of covering-up

Birthday!

This year, we decided to celebrate at the Hard Rock Cafe in our city (unbelievable that we have one, I know)!  We got the most AMAZING burgers, Caesar salad, and fries I've had in a LONG time.  There was great music for about the first 20 minutes, though, ironically it was rock music played on low volume.  This is strange because most restaurants that play music blast it here, and because rock music is meant for blasting!  Even more funny, the music was entirely shut off after 20 minutes and a cricket game replaced it.  Cricket looks like the most boring game (aside from tennis and golf) that ever existed... just sayin'.  Sadly, it is virtually the only sport played here, and everybody else here are big fans of it.  Matt and I have no clue how it is played, the rules, and what a "dot" is, either.

Later on, our friends made cookies and put a candle in one so that they could sing to me.  Fun times!