She’s daddy’s little girl and possible future swimmer. She’s mommy’s little stunner and perhaps dancing will be her destiny. But little Kyaneh Sevan Karapetian has a lot of time and loads of loving family members to guide her along the way of life. Congratulations to the Karapetian-Birazian clan on this collaboration. Detroit meets Chicago and love is born.
Kyaneh came into this world on Oct. 21, 2009 to Gregory and Nayiri (Birazian) Karapetian of Royal Oak. She weighed in at 9 pounds, 5 ounces and measured 21 inches long. That’s some baby! According to Mom Nayiri, Kyaneh was born with a full head of hair and was outfitted with bows while still in the hospital. Fashion begins at birth.
Doting grandparents of the happy, smiley baby are David and Jan Karapetian of Bloomfield Hills, and Krikor and Vivian Birazian of Chicago, Ill.
It seems little Kyaneh likes dancing. Remember, Nayiri, although in her 11th year as an Intensive Care Unit nurse presently at Royal Oak’s William Beaumont Hospital, also teaches dance to 1st through 12th grades once a week at the Manoogian Day School in Southfield, and will continue to do so.
Nayiri is also known as the artistic dance coach of the famous Detroit Hamazkayin Arax Dance Ensemble, now in its fifth year, with which she also plans on coaching and performing beginning this February. Detroit takes great pride in the accomplishments of this dance group, which has entertained groups throughout the metro area and has brought attention to Armenian dance thanks to Nayiri and Hamazkayin chairlady Hermine Manoogian. They are fantastic to watch, all 65 of them.
It takes lots of energy and juggling to maintain this ambitious schedule. Says Nayiri, “My wonderful mother-in-law Jan will watch the baby while I am at work. I pray a lot that I will balance it all so I can continue it.” We’re praying for you, too, Nayiri.
Says the new Mom, “She started kicking when I was expecting at 14 weeks and she has been a good kicker ever since! I was five months pregnant when she danced the night away with me at my sister Karine and husband Vahig Shnorhokian’s wedding in New Jersey.” Karine is the former Armenian National Committee (ANC) Eastern Region director.
“I think she is practicing Kochari steps, but Greg really thinks she will also be a swimmer.”
Greg and Nayiri are quite the couple. He is remembered as the champion AYF Olympics swimmer. Now he has completed his Ph.D. at Wayne State University in statistics with a concentration in physiology. He also completed a post-doctorate at the Wayne State Medical School and received a full time job teaching anatomy and physiology at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn. Call him Professor Karapetian.
Not surprising, Kyaneh is frequently visited by the Karapetian-Birazian families. Grandpa Krikor has yet to see his first grandchild but will be arriving from his job in Iraq in a few weeks to gaze upon his family’s new addition. He is a highly sought after translator and for two years has been assigned to one of the American generals in the U.S. army. He was hired to translate in Arabic, Armenian, Turkish, Russian, and French.
The maternal grandpa has many interesting stories to tell, one of which is how he saved a few Turks in the desert one day. A few of them happened to be from the same town in Turkey that his father’s family was from.
Little Kyaneh is surrounded by talented, educated people—lawyers, teachers, nurses, doctors, dancers, and champion swimmers. As to what she will become, her parents say, “Dancer, swimmer, maybe both, or neither? We are just happy she was born healthy!”
The greatest gift of all. Congratulations and God bless the little one and her parents.
Betty Apigian-Kessel
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