Daddy Speaks...

Well,I figured it was time I made an appearance on this blog seeing as how I spend as much time as I can looking at it whenever I get a chance. The other day, I asked myself what my favorite picture of my son was, and I found myself drawn to one that my wife Des has been a bit too shy to dig much. But for me, I thought it was extrememly powerful. I mean, at least for new fathers like myself, you start to really understand family when you walk into your room and see this. For me, it was a day when I worked all day, came home, worked on my dissertation until late at night (about 2-3am), and started to make my way to bed and walked in on this... Man, you want to talk about an eye-opener? I looked at those two and I knew I had to do whatever it took to make sure these two have whatever they need for the rest of their lives. THAT'S POWER. These two are my heart and I mean that. Those are some of the reallest and most uncompromising feelings I've ever felt. Its the kind of thing that pops into my head whenever I want to walk off my job, or hit someone stupid, or lose my mind when I get an unfair traffic ticket. This is the image that pops into my head to remind me that I have responsibilities outside of myself. This is what pushes me through stress, anger, hate, fear, pride, whatever. This is what makes me chase my dreams with more tenacity than I ever thought I had. I want to provide them both with everything I never had. This pic makes me want to provide for my wife what my mother never had--SECURITY. I want to give my son what I think the definition of "father" should include, a father that won't walk away--no matter how hard the discussion gets!! A father who isn't just there when it suits him, but present emotionally, practically, financially, and most importantly spiritually. I want to teach my son that being a man is about being present in all of these ways for the people you love (even through death). This pic reminds me why I want to teach my son everything I can and yet remember that he's his own person that needs his own space to grow. Simply put, walking in on this taught me what unconditional love meant. I learned more about God looking at them than I ever learned from ANY book. And that's real. Anyway, I'll contribute more (and next time I won't hit y'all with this much). But you know for someone who didn't expcet to live to thirty, RaKhem ("One who is Divine light born of infinite possibility") has single-handedly opened a new chapter in our lives. Until next time...
Peace & Luv,
hasan

Happy Half-Birthday, Ra!

Well, in the last entry I let you all know that RaKhem would be partaking in his first eating experience and I wanted to stick to my promise about letting everyone know how it went. So here goes! We decided a long time ago that we wanted Ra to be exclusively breastfed for at least six months...that meant no water, cereal, or baby food. So as Ra's six month birthday came closer, we figured that it would be the time to start Ra on solids. So on Friday, I went to the store and bought some rice cereal and some jars of apples, bananas, sweet peas, and sweet potatoes. Auntie Imani came on Saturday and spent some time with us. We have come to discover that she has mastered the art of putting her nephew to sleep (in a good way). Having the opportunity to witness her talents, I have since deemed her MY BEST FRIEND:). Well, Sunday finally came and we were ready to tackle the task we had before us. We were going to give Ra the cereal for breakfast, but he ended up taking an earlier nap so we decided to postpone his meal until after his nap. When he woke up we situated him in his walker, put his bib on him, mixed the food to a watery consistency, and we were off. His first mouthful was comical. I put it in his mouth and he proceeded to spit it all right back out with a disgusted look on his face. But as the feeding continued, he got the hang of things and more of the cereal stayed in his mouth. After awhile he got a little frustrated with the spoon feeding because the cereal was so thin that much of it wouldn't stay on the spoon, so we decided to put his food into a sippy cup and he drank the rest while sitting on daddy's lap. After he was done with the cereal he commenced to drinking an additional cup of milk. We were so proud of him. And then Auntie Imani used her super soothing powers and put him down for a nap. Well, he wouldn't exactly let her put him down so he ended up sleeping on her chest where he could listen to her heartbeat. Uncle Mark also stopped by bearing gifts (a Sponge Bob Squarepants backpack). Thank you, Uncle Mark! Ra chilled with him for a little bit, as well!

After everyone left, Ra also enjoyed a dinner of rice cereal...like a lil' champ! So all in all, it was a successful day and Ra has officially been introduced to the world of food. Until next time...
Peace & Luv,
des, hasan, and ra

Who's the lil' man?!

Hello All, This is just a quick update regarding Ra and his new exploits. RaKhem has continued to sprout like a weed. We are excited to announce that Ra has cut his first tooth (with his second one closely following). Over Christmas weekend he was running a fever and spitting up more than usual. Since he had no additional symptoms we chalked it up to him teething, but we had no idea Ra would cut teeth so soon. These days he is back to normal...no fevers, no spitting up (for the most part), and no cranky moods (only unless he is hungry or sleepy). The only thing that has not returned to normal is his incessant need to bite everything...and when I say everything, I mean everything! If he keeps it up he might be drinking out of his sippy cup permanently because some things were not meant to be used as a teething ring. This weekend (hopefully) will be his first foray into the world of baby food. Ra will officially be 6 months old this Sunday and we feel it is about time that he experienced tastes other than breast milk. So pray for us as we attempt this feat because I know that it is going to be an experience. Well, until next time...

Peace & Luv,
Des, Hasan, & Ra

Happy New Year!!!!

Hello Everyone,
We definitely apologize for the time away...let's just chalk it up to technical difficulties, shall we? Well, we hope that everyone's holiday season was wonderful. So we wish you a belated Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas/Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year! We, at the Johnson household, have had a pretty subdued holiday season. For Thanksgiving, we had gumbo and invited a few friends over to enjoy it with us. Here is Ra kicking back with Uncle Jihad. Unfortunately, Ra could only be an observer this year...no gumbo passed through his cute little lips. So it probably wasn't very festive for him because it was only milk for him, but that will soon change. On Christmas Eve, we were invited to dinner with some local family (Cousin Wilbur & his brother John & family) where we also had some gumbo. Ra had the opportunity to socialize with some family members he had not met yet. He seemed especially smitten with Wilbur, Jr's wife, Aurora. He such a flirt! On Christmas day, we relaxed at home and watched some movies while Ra enjoyed one of his presents from Nana Carole...his walker. He can already push himself across the floor...backwards and forwards. Although he is very particular about being bare-footed on the hard wood floor. He uses the little play bar as a teething ring (as with all things). Ra has also become highly adept at throwing things off of the tray...multiple times. I think he likes the noise (as well as watching mommy pick up everything he launches across the room 3 thousand times). Well, eventually Ra had the opportunity to get his hands on some presents (from Grandma Bari). Doesn't he look adorable concentrating on getting the wrapping paper off that box. The funny thing is that he enjoyed the paper more than he enjoyed what was in the box. He played with the paper for about a half an hour. That is a good thing to know...because next Christmas, and maybe even his birthday, will be a lot more economical. JUST KIDDING!!! He received some pretty nice things from Santa this year: lots of clothes, a walker, a play gym, some books , and his first tree ornament. A big thank you to the grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, and friends that made Ra's first Christmas a special one. We do regret that we couldn't make it up North for the holidays, but we will be seeing you as soon as we can. Oh and this is off the subject, but I realized that there is not one picture of Ra with his mommy on this whole entire blog (unless you count him chillin' inside my stomach in the very first entry) so i am going to rectify that right now!


Until next time...
Peace & Luv,
Des, Hasan, & Ra