elyas' mom was the first of all my childhood friends still living close to me to start having kids, seven years ago; as of march 2, she is now the mother of three beautiful, blessed and happy boys, mashallah. elyas was a bit of a surprise - up until delivery, all sonograms and testing had led them to believe they were having a girl! i think elyas just wanted to keep his parents guessing :)so i got to visit my friend's house when he was just four days old, and was amazed to see how alert he already was. most of all, though, i adored how much he smiled in his sleep! in islamic tradition, infants smiling in their sleep indicate the presence of angels - babies, after all, are closer to God than the rest of us! can't wait to visit elyas again, with or without camera :)