It's Friday again :)

Thank you so much for the hugs, and words of support on my post last week.

This week has been SO much better. The morning routine has been struggle and stress free...and a day that starts well is a blessing in many ways!

I've finally nailed down the recipe for poached eggs. The husband and I don't eat eggs, but the daughter loves them. I didn't know how to cook them, so the only way I've recently learnt to cook eggs is to poach them. Very British, thanks to my friend A who taught me. She can eat as many as you give her, but I limit to 1 at a time. She loves fruits, and veggies, so here is what her breakfast looked like this week:

Another reason for this week going great is that soccer practices got cancelled due to high heat. 108F expected later today. It left our weekday evenings wide open, and the kids enjoyed play dates, or running errands, or simply playing at home. I've resolved to keep at least 2 evenings free for "play". Although they enjoy the activities and never complain about them, it does take a toll at the end of the week. Right now, all we have is soccer...and only after soccer ends, I'll think about restarting Taekwondo.

I've also been able to cook healthy meals all week. I love soaking a bunch of dals with rice for multigrain dosa batter, which I can use for a couple of days. I vary the ingredients each time, and this is what I soaked this week. I added quinoa to kick up the protein content. And I used the high temps to get the batter to ferment well :).

The long weekend was so relaxing and fun. We checked out three new parks, ate yummy homemade meals, met friends, and had a family beach day. Even though the beach was crowded due to near perfect weather on a long weekend, it's the beach - always welcoming, always has enough sand+waves for everyone, and never fails to relax you with its atmosphere. The Pacific waters were surprisingly warm as well.

And last but not the least, I spent time prepping for my little man's birthday tomorrow! He is celebrating it in school today, will celebrate with grandparents tomorrow, and will have a big party (along with this sister) next weekend! I love him to the moon and back - and I am SO very grateful for his presence in our lives! Happy birthday my one and only, Rusliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Have a good weekend everyone! 

Post 2 - Bringing joy....

We went to dinner at a South Indian restaurant yesterday. We rarely eat out, but the kids love this place; so when they ask, we rarely say no. They feel at home, behave well, enjoy the food, and make our outing successful.

The son was chowing down his mini idlis which he loves. They were loaded with ghee, but they were still pretty dry when eaten without sambar. And he choked on one. We helped him through it, and gave him some water.

When I turned towards my left, I saw a grandma heaving a sigh of relief. I bet she had started praying when she saw the son choking on his food. She was clad in a beautiful Kanjeevaram saree, and was wearing jewellery, as well as a bindi. Simple, but adorable. I assured her he is fine. 

The son is fond of grandmas. All kinds. And this one was no exception. He started chatting with her. They spoke about Cricket (which was being played on the telly), they spoke about airplanes and helicopters which he saw at the airshow on Saturday, and they spoke about food.

She had a hard time finishing her meal, coz she was smitten by him.

When she was done, she stood up and asked me if she could hold him. The son could also barely wait for her to hug him. By the time she took those few steps from her table towards ours, he was standing in his high chair. They hugged. Her eyes became moist. 

She asked her son to take a picture of her with him. The son said "Smile please" which made her laugh out loud. And they got a happy picture. When I mentioned that his birthday was coming up on Friday, she was overjoyed, and showered some more love on him.

All through this, she realized that she inadvertently ignored the daughter. To make up for it, she started conversing with her. Told her she was beautiful, and her dress was pretty. She asked about her school, and whether she liked the food. Then she asked if she can take her baby brother with her, and when the daughter made a sad face, she assured her that he was ours to keep :).

She blessed both the kids many times throughout our meeting. 

I'm glad our paths crossed with the grandma that day. The joy on her face when she held Rusham is something I will remember and cherish, for a long time to come.

And about my son - bringing joy in people's lives (starting with ours) is second nature to him. He is always so relaxed, easy-going, in love with life. He loves to pickup conversations with strangers. He is very inquisitive, and observant. He has a very charming, and adorable smile. He is a crowd pleaser. (I know I'm biased but it's true, trust me :)). I'm blessed to call him my son. And I love him, a lot!

Half Marathon, Summer Haircuts, and more....

Sorry I went missing for a while from the blog. Lots was happening and blogging fell off the routine.

I wanted to update all of you on my running training. I finished my first half marathon (13.1 miles), about a month ago. It was an amazing experience, and I hope to churn out a post with all the details in it. It took me about 3 hours to finish (yes, I was slow) but I ran strong, and I finished my training as well as my race injury free. SUCCESS!!!!

Pictures before and after the half-marathon race.....

Much to my delight, I have managed to continue working out and running as an effort to lose weight and get fitter. I'm eating more balanced meals (I always thought I ate healthy but being a vegetarian, I did not balance out the protein and carbs on a daily basis) and steadily losing a pound a week since the last 4 weeks. I'm learning to incorporate Kettlebells in my workouts and they are amazing to work with. 

On the home front, the husband changed jobs and is settling into his new role. His commute has gone down from about an hour each way to 20 mins each way so that's a blessing for the family. We are much more relaxed with our morning routine now and he is also back early in the evening to help me out!

The kids are growing up to be naughtier and more adventurous. The son TALKS a lot - I MUST do a post on all the words and short sentences he can cook up. The daughter rides her bike (with training wheels) on the street and they both absolutely love riding their plasma cars inside or outside the house. They are true champs at riding those cars....and when the neighbors' kids (6 of them) are also out riding, it's pure delight to watch the street scene.

The son also got his first haircut last weekend - he looks sooper cute with a shaved head :). The daughter, who hates getting her curls combed and hates any hair accessory, also got a haircut from her favorite hairdresser, Jenny, and is sporting a short curly bob.

We have some travel coming up, and then my parents will head back to India later this month. I'm hoping the warmer weather will keep us free from illnesses after they leave as we will be on our own for a while now.

Day 9 - ER musings

Spent a few hours in the Emergency Room (ER) today. The son has caught a nasty virus and he was in respiratory distress. Took him to his pediatrician and she sent us to the ER.

Have I mentioned before that it is a crime to fall sick in this country? And the medical system is the #1 thing I hate about this country? Well, if I haven't, I now have.

I've had the pleasure of visiting the ER a few times, either for myself or for others. And rarely it has been a pleasant experience. Today was frustrating, initially, but we came across a really nice physician who thought on the same lines as I did, and agreed on a treatment plan that I proposed, and somewhere, by doing that, he kept a hope alive in me that there are always a few good individuals in every bad system.

Frustration #1 - From the moment we checked in, it took them 90 minutes to get my son his first breathing treatment. I could have done this myself with the nebulizer at home in 10 minutes. The reason for the delay? No one told the respiratory technician which medicine to give. So he was hanging out with us waiting for an order to be placed. I mean, really? People are that lame and slow when a 15 month old is waiting to receive treatment at the other end?

Frustration #2 - His charts said that he had already been checked for flu virus. They do a nose swab these days to check if he tests positive for influenza. But I clearly remembered that a nose swab was not done. My friend A concurred. So we brought it up to the physician and he sent a technician to do it. Another lesson for US folks - ALWAYS find someone to be your advocate when admitted to a hospital - ER or otherwise. I have nightmarish personal stories to share.

Observation - Except for one female nurse at checkin, all staff we encountered was male. And I always thought female nurses far outnumbered their male counterparts.

Observation - They don't keep kid friendly snacks around. Thank God our home is close by and we were able to stock ourselves with food, water, milk and supplies. But if not, all they offered to my child was "apple juice from concentrate" which he has never tasted in his life so he would spit it out for sure. I mean, how much does it cost to keep a few goldfish crackers, cheerios, nuts, or fruits like bananas and apples?

Observation - You REALLY feel alone when illness strikes you in this country. Unless you explicitly make a phone call and tell someone (or post a FB update which I prefer not to), they would not know what is going on. Whereas back home, you go missing for an hour unplanned and people look out for you. I remember when my daughter was hospitalized for a day during my last visit. My 74 year old bapuji dropped all his work and came to spend time with her. She enjoyed his company SO much - they read books, talked, slept, ate, and had a great time.

I feel very blessed to have my friend A. He not only came with us to ER and helped us manage both kids, but he also cooked dinner for us (organic veggie stir fry with baked tofu) after we returned home. It cannot get any better than that. So, contradicting my above statement where I said you really feel alone - sometimes, all it takes is one individual to pull you through a tough situation. I'm glad I had that someone today.

I'm watching my baby breathe heavily as I write this post. He is fine, but still sick. We will be home with him for the next few days to help him get better. Thankfully, he is still very perky, and playful. Just a while ago, we woke him up for his breathing treatment and he was roughhousing with me. I hope he gets better really really soon. Please please pray for him!

Day 4 - Words, sounds, and actions

When I met our ped last month for another ear infection on the son's right ear, she mentioned that back-to-back ear infections could cause hearing issues and speech delays. I took the opportunity to discuss his milestones with her, and was relieved when she told me he is WAY above average.

His milestones have gotten very little attention on the blog. So time to fix that :).

Next week, my little man turns 16 month old. We will see an explosion of vocabulary around 18 months of age, but he talks A LOT already.

His first word, apart from mama, papa, dada, and nana was "light". He was, and still is, mesmerized with lights. He LOVED watching the Christmas lights at home and all around town. Department stores attract him a lot, so does the iPhone which is his favorite gadget :).

He can now say "didi" very clearly....and its fun to watch him chase her around chanting "didi didi didi" - music to our ears, but not to hers :) :)!

Some of the other words he says are:

NO - probably the most important one of all
No No No No No - with actions - the frequently used one
aapo  - gujarati for give me
aav aav - gujarati for come here
doodhoo - gujarati for milk
aaaanu - for our friend A
nani, dadi - for grandmas
key
aalo - for hello :)
booooooo - for book - the cutest thing ever.
bhua - for water
aaaaple - for apple
cat
tar - for star
moooooo - for moon - another adorable sound
boa - for ball
bub - for bubbles
khakho - for any snack or food or to tell us he is hungry
tight - for light
cheeee - for cheese
Names of ALL of his daycare friends - he can even say a complex one like "Dhruva"

And I'm sure I'm forgetting as many as I wrote above. But he is definitely not delayed, inspite of the multiple ear infections he has had.

He is also building a good database of animal sounds. He can say the following when prompted: cat, dog, cow, sheep, snake, lion/tiger, bear, owl and elephant. They are clear, and distinct, and oober cute to listen to :).

And my favorite part about him right now is all the actions he does. The BEST are his dance moves - he dances to the beat, shakes his head, throws up one hand (sometimes two) up in the air and goes round n round.....he gets into a trance and it's a joy to watch him do his thing on the floor.

One day, he woke up very early in the morning, and got into a position on the bed quite far away from me. He started his 'mumma mumma' chants, and I was a very grumpy person when I opened my eyes. But as soon as I looked at him, I saw him crouched down on the bed, looking at me, and he started waving his hands while saying "aav aav aav aav aav". I saw a huge relief on his face and a megawatt smile soon after - he had accomplished a new feat afterall. All my grumpiness melted in an instant and I scooped him up in my arms!

When we say "didi ne hug karo", he will RUN towards her and hug her tight, wrapping both his arms around her. Absolutely priceless to watch. (She does the same to him too - when she is not throwing her tantrums around :)).

It is very interesting to see his personality develop. He is a mover (can never sit still), a destroyer (of blocks, puzzles, books, anything that he can lay his hands upon), a transportation engineer (he loves to move and push things around), a dancer (he's got great moves), and a heart charmer (he has the BESTEST smile).

He has fallen in love with books (finally, after an entire year of not reading) and can't get enough of them. The first thing he wants to do after waking up is to plop his bum on my lap and read a book. I never say no :).

It's a blessing and a privilege, to watch him grow. I love my golu SO SO much!

You know he's in good hands when....

She ALWAYS welcomes your child with a huge smile, and open arms.

She needs the money, but the driving force is her passion to care for babies and toddlers.

She agrees to fit to YOUR schedule vs. changing his schedule to fit hers.

She is probably the most patient (yet firm) person I've ever met.

She texts you a picture of your baby sleeping on her shoulders - for 2 hours straight - and when you ask her why she didn't put him down, she says because he reminded her of her youngest son who looked exactly like him at that age. She cherishes those moments.

You can be assured that your child will be well fed. NO MATTER WHAT.

Unlike other places, she never asks you to abruptly leave at the door at drop-off. She insists that you come inside, settle your child in, make sure he is comfortable, before saying goodbye. And every single day, she will call you within 5 minutes of leaving to make you hear his giggling voice.

She calls you every afternoon after lunch time, when your baby has gone down for his nap.

She says "thank you" for letting me take care of your sweet precious child...coz even though its not her own baby, she has SO much fun with him.

When your child is sick and refuses to take any medicine, she comes with her husband to your house, in the middle of the night, and spends as much time as required to get the medicine into your child's body.

She never reminds you of payment, ever.

She is someone who an extension of your role as a mommy. Someone who you can trust completely. A gem of a person.

 I am grateful for her as I can leave a piece of my heart with her everyday and go to work. Its a win-win - she works for her children and I for mine.

I love our kids' daycare provider. I am beyond blessed and lucky to have found her.

UBM Post 29 - Never a dull moment in life

This crawling madness was happening last night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-zxPE82sM0

I only recorded parts of it. They went on like this for half an hour. And prior to that, they were doing 'masti' on the bed.
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And today, it is the beginning of the "End of the crawling era" in our household. Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCZ9qgXx830

As soon as the son woke up, he wandered over to the play room, found this walker himself, and just went with it. When we asked him to take a break, he started crying. As soon as he woke up from his nap, he was walking with it again. He didn't even want to finish his bottle of milk...he just wanted to walk, walk, walk! I told the daughter while driving back home from her school that Rusham has an early birthday surprise for you, and when we reached home, I asked him to demo it for her. She was absolutely thrilled! She kept saying "oh mumma Rusham become a big boy now, he is so tall, he is walking so fast, I go on walk with him mumma" - such a proud moment for all of us!!!!

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A few days ago, we had just returned from the grocery store, and were still in the garage unloading the car. The daughter saw one of her neighborhood friends walking by with his dad, and asked him to come over to play with her. They stopped by, and all of us were chatting. Suddenly, she went behind me, smelt my bum, and said "mumma, your bum is smelling so bad. Not good mumma. Go wipe your bum and change your clothes". Jeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! And to think of it - I had showered just before leaving to the grocery store....I guess this is just the beginning of facing several such embarrassing situations {eyes roll}!!!!

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I had a great time chatting with several of our neighbors today. A couple of them came home, and it felt so good. I also took the daughter out in the evening for riding her plasma car, and yapped with two other neighbors. And I got to play with our neighbors' daughter E who is 6 months old - she has such pretty blue eyes and a 1000-watt smile - love her! These chats with friends helped me forget the drab Sunday that I had.

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This is an exciting week - the daughter turns TH-REEEEE on Thursday! She is celebrating her birthday in school tomorrow, so we got cupcakes for all her friends today, and also gift wrapped books that we are giving as gifts (I never give plastic junk). She is VERY excited. 

She has already received a few presents. One of them was a baby doll pretend play set, complete with the doll's walker, crib, high chair tray, food, milk bottle, pacifier, teether, etc.....the doll can cry, laugh and babble....she has been in love with her. She plays with her baby (who we have named Aria) all day. She even found a mamma and pappa for her baby doll from the house, so now they are a complete family.

Later this week, we are taking a short vacation, and gifting her a trip to visit her favorite Mickey :)!

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And to end the day, I chanced upon this fabulous piece of news (please do read):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201554618288320&set=a.10201554618208318.1073741828.1263248477&type=1

What an inspiring story....totally made my day! More power and more luck to these precious kiddos!

UBM Post 24 - Some more conversations with R

While driving to R's preschool, we drive by several traffic lights and a couple of stop signs. During summer, I keep the windows of the car open. R loves sticking her hand out the window and feeling the wind. She is still small and her carseat is not right at the edge, so only her palm sticks out (very safe). Every time I stop at the red light, she will say "Mumma, see, the wind is OFF. Now you drive mumma and the wind turn ON again. I love the wind.". It's okay that her reasoning is not quite there yet, but I'm glad she enjoys nature. She is always in tune with the weather, and notices when the wind pauses. She always talks about sunrise and sunset. She observes the clouds. And every single day, she will go out at night to see where the moon is and how big it is. Priceless indeed!

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At a birthday party last weekend, I was drinking Fanta. None of us consume soft drinks at home. So they are not found in the house. And R has never had them. She looked at my cup and said "Mumma what you drinking? I wanna try it". She took a sip. Hated it. And I asked her "R, how was it? This is called Fanta.". She tells me "Mumma I no like Fenta. It tastes like bubble bath" - LOL! Oh the analogy.....I would have never thought of that. But it made perfect sense.

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There are lots of friends who were recently pregnant or are currently pregnant. So the daughter now knows that when any aunty's belly starts becoming big, there is a baby inside. One day, I was explaining to her that she was inside mumma's tummy, and then she popped out....and then after her, Rusham was inside mumma's tummy and he popped out. So she tells me "Mumma, how bout I go inside your tummy again, NOW? I want to do it mumma, please help me" - LOL!

Everything needs to happen NOW - right there and then - in her view of life. It's taking the literal meaning of "living in the moment" and it always makes me pause and think - wish my thoughts were so pure and so simple like that. How stress free would that be? Forget practical or feasible, I'll take stress free instead.

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And this is not a conversation, but so much fun to watch. The son has mastered the pincer grasp, and loves picking up anything that we put on his high chair tray. The other day, he spilled water on the try, and immediately started trying to grasp it and was putting his finger in his mouth....after 3-4 tries, he realized it's not worth it, so dived right into splashing the water. Absolute fun to watch :)!

UBM Post 17 - Playing dress up

Mom-dad decided to surprise me and the daughter when we went home for lunch.  They dressed up this gentle child of mine in a beautiful yellow frock....the look made complete with a cute ponytail, in a matching hairband......ain't he just the cutest thing on earth :) :)?

Oh how delighted I was.....and for a second, I wished I had two daughters....how much fun would that be :).

It was such a different feeling.....seeing him crawl around in his dress....it made me so nostalgic of the daughter at his age, which was not too long ago!

As it turns out, both kids were wearing matching yellow frocks - and I HAD to click a picture to capture this precious memory :)!

I would like to profusely thank maa and paa for not just this moment, but for all the smiles they bring on my children's faces, and the joy they bring into their lives, day after day. They are upset if the kids don't sleep or eat well. They are upset if they can't take them out for their morning walk. They don't like it when the daughter is scolded or given a timeout. They never let me give leftovers to the kids. Mom wakes up earlier than me every single day to make a fresh meal for the daughter's lunch box. {I do that when she is not there but I take the liberty to sleep in while she is around}.

They could very well be enjoying their retired life to do things on their bucket list, chilling out and traveling the world. Instead, they are choosing to give me the most precious gift - the gift of their time - and for that (and much much more), I will forever be grateful to them!

UBM Post 16 - Little somethings....

The joy of having an almost 3 year old who loves to chat non-stop, and showers you with compliments throughout the day through her out-of-this-world observations is unparalleled!

On Sunday, we got dressed up to go to a birthday party of an adorable 2-year old. I had picked up a new pair of shoes (black ballet flats from Kenneth Cole) on Saturday and wore them for the party. As soon as we entered the garage to leave and I put on the new shoes, she says "Mumma such cute shoes - I like it soooooooo much" :)! {I told my hubby, see, I don't really miss your lack of verbal appreciation these days :)}

Today morning, at school dropoff, I had to convey something important to the teacher in the 2 mins I get before saying bye. The daughter thought I'm going to leave without giving her a hug so she promptly interrupted my conversation with her teacher and said "Mumma I'm going to miss you soooooooooo much. You come pick me up at 12 O'clock....I'll be waiting for you" - awwwww awwwww my darling, I wish I never had to leave her anywhere :)!

Every morning, she will announce "Rusham is my bhailu. I love him sooooooooooo much. I share all my toys with Rusham." - Even if the statement only holds true for the next 5 minutes, I like the fact that she thinks about him positively every morning and actually, cherishes his presence in our lives. She is also possessive about him and ensures we don't leave him with anyone if we are out and about. The hitting still continues due to her terrible mood swings, but the good times last much longer these days, and things are definitely getting better, not worse, so that makes me very hopeful for the future :)!

I have an iPal - it's a speaker set in the shape of an Intel bunny.....it was lying dormant in the house for a long time, and hubby brought it back to life couple days ago. The daughter's favorite thing to do before bedtime now is to plug the iphone to the iPal and listen to music. Today, she kept asking me, "mumma where is the pleasure? I need my pleasure" and I had no idea what she wanted. Then she brought the iphone and asked me "mumma I put phone to pleasure and listen to song" - that's when my tubelight turned on and I asked hubby to get her iPal for her. And now the funny part - she says, "mumma see when I put iphone on iPal, it farts" - LOL! Sure enough, there was a loud static noise when she connected the two and sounded like farting :)....she did it a few more times to give us some good laughs!

Pretend play is at its peak. She tied mom's dupatta around her in such a way that she had a tail, and pretended to be a monkey hopping around. While eating fryums, she will bite them to create different shapes and make a game out of them. Her three favorite plush toys - pocoyo, dolly and baby - are always with her, she being their mumma. Baby is always sleeping so we are instructed several times to talk softly :). Much to our delight, she has now started to sleep on her own toddler bed (which we have setup right next to our master bed, as an extension) with all her babies :). She was on a long walk with us the other day and was trying to figure out shapes from the runoff of the water sprinklers (as I said earlier, her observations are bang on). She also checks for the sun and moon everyday, and tells me that she sees a rabbit on the moon (do most of us see a rabbit? I always did since I was her age...and I find it fascinating that she has the same observation).

Here is a collage of my sweetie pie from this weekend's outing....some walking, some dancing, some goofing around with the monster mask, and a new type of smile exclaiming surprise!

And what about the son? Well, for me, he is my calm in the storm. My peace in my busyness. My gentle soul, who is soooooooooooooooo chubbylicious that I feel like gobbling him up the moment I see him! I am his most favorite person, how I lurrrrve that. Today, he had the patience to let me finish reading an entire book to him - this has never happened before...hopefully a good trend is emerging :)!

On the weekend, he got fed up at the party coz he could not crawl. As soon as we got back home, he went to one of his favorite spots in the house - the play kitchen, and started throwing things from the sink to the floor, eating some, pushing some, crawling around....and simply enjoying himself.

He's 10 months old already.....less than 2 months to a YEAR - where has the time gone? Can't wait for hubby's leave to start in a couple of weeks and taking things slowly until his birthday!!!!

And while we are at it, here's a little something I sent to hubby today morning via email.....

His response - a hindi song....can you guess which one :)?

UBM Post 5 - RnR

When asked by a friend how the kids are getting along lately, this was my response:

"tu mujhse saha nahi jaata, par tere bina raha bhi nahi jaata"

and if you don't know Hindi, it roughly translates to - "I can't stand you, neither can I live without you" :)!!!

I conveniently choose to forget the not-getting-along moments, the hitting, the jealousy and the various sibling-related tantrums.

And look forward to the wonderful moments that I get to witness several times each day - the best being this special laughter that the baby has reserved exclusively for his big sister....when she chuckles or comes to tickle him or when he spots her after a while...he bursts out laughing, and I have never seen him do that to me or his dad or his grandparents.

Here are a few pictures of both.....

As soon as one wakes up, he/she wakes up the other one. And we all spend a few mins in bed together. And those are some of the best moments of the day. There's hugs, kisses, laughter and singing-music involved.

There is lots of crawling going on in the house. All the time :). I'll be very sad when the crawling phase comes to an end -  its my favorite milestone!

Both kids love books over toys. I could not be happier!!!!

Big sister also likes to feed her little brother - we just need to be careful what she puts in his mouth....

They both also like to sing - and can be found belting out tunes in the backyard.....

And last but not the least, they love their wagon rides around the neighborhood in the evening....this wagon is a hand-me-down from our close friend/neighbor V and it is very old (25+ yrs?). It has a charm of its own. I'm glad we are getting to use it, and can't wait to pass it on to another family once we are done.

Ain't they both very cute and adorable and huggable and lovable :)?

PS: If you want to see some videos too, I will post them here. Especially the one with R Jr.'s laughter.

UBM Post 3 - A trip to the city

Last month, we did a day trip to San Francisco. I used to visit so often before the kids were born. In fact, my first date with the husband (when I met him for the first time) was a day in SF. I think he fell in love with me that day itself - I had planned it so well :). Below is a picture from that day at twin peaks (circa 2006)....

Mom n dad had spent a week in SF when they first visited US in 2005. I never took them back after that, except getting in and out of the airport. So a trip with them and the kids was long overdue.

Our short day trip was a lot of fun. We visited twin peaks, and it was so windy that the daughter was scared of being blown away :)

Sameer and I....(circa 2013)

Ruhi - I love this outfit that she wore - I wish I could buy a matching one for me. It's from GAP and I picked it up during the memorial day long weekend sale.

She was scared and would only sit far away from the edge (even though there was a walkway beneath so not scary at all) to pose for a picture.

Grandparents with grand kids - they both adore each other to bits....

The kids were reasonably happy in their car seats....

And we visited Ocean Beach for the first time....this beach and the views are amazing. Not sure why I had never been here before. The water was cold but the sand was very warm, so the daughter went crazy building one sand castle after another.....she cried when she was pulled away from the scene.

I had not been to Golden Gate with my parents before - they had gone with an uncle of mine while I was at a conference in SF. So we stopped at the vista point to take some pictures and soak in the gorgeous views.

We had lunch at Dosa (http://dosasf.com/) - sooper cool place. I had never been here before either. I always try to eat non-Indian when I visit SF - they have amazing crepes, thai food, chinese food....but with parents and kids, we don't experiment much. This was perfect - mom n dad ordered the paneer n peas dosa and it was delish! Hubby's vadapav was amazing too!

And on the drive back, the daughter wanted to pee badly. We were on a stretch where there were no exits with a gas station or restaurant, so we took an exit into a strawberry field, and we told her to squat down and pee on the side of the road - we shielded her from all sides using the car door and ourselves. I was not sure how she would react....but she was so happy to do her thing in the middle of nowwhere....there were some rocks where she squatted and she kept saying "mumma I pee on the rocks and rocks become wet" - LOL!

We reached home just in time to catch the last colors of the twilight hour....and it was a day well spent!

Of this one song....

I've been waiting to upload a song that the husband got recorded recently and presented it to me as a surprise mother's day gift, but every day I forget to bring the CD from the car to my desk. Today I remembered to do so :).

He got 3 songs recorded, but the one that I (and my daughter) liked the most is: "pyar maanga hai tumhi se, na inkaar karo". Here is the link to the audio.....(warning: the quality of the uploaded version is not as good as the CD version, but this is the best I could do to share online).

https://soundcloud.com/sthakkar/pyar-maanga-hai-tumhi-se-sam

So, since the first time we heard that song, whenever I drive the daughter to school (or anywhere else in my car), she buckles up in her car seat and says: "mumma please pay pappa's song". {I love when she says "pay" instead of play - oober-cute :)}. And soon as it turns on, I look behind to find her grinning ear to ear. Her happy smiling face makes me heart melt....every.single.time.

Then, one day, she insisted on listening to that song at home too. I explained to her that we only have the CD in the car, and we cannot play it on our iphone or ipad. But I also said, you can listen to the same song in a different voice. And she was eager to listen to it :).

So I played the above, and she was mesmerized. She must have watched this video more than 100 times by now. And when I asked her, whose voice is better, she tells me: "mumma in one nine nine two I like man's voice; in mumma's car I like pappa's voice". Smart cookie! {one nine nine two is our house number hence the reference}.

Then one day, after watching the video, she tells me: "mumma I sad. Man sing song and lady cry. Lady very sad mumma she not stop crying" - LOL! {watch the song and you will see the heroine crying and that's what she is referring too}. I have tried telling her that the man singing is Kishore Kumar but it has still not registered in her head :)!

She loves music, and she loves dancing. She can sing so many hindi songs now....even though she cannot speak fluently in Hindi or Gujarati, she really enjoys bollywood music...and I am thankful for that :).

Overall though, the daughter is going through a very rough phase right now. That is the main reason I have not been able to post more regularly on this blog. I don't know if its because of the preschool or a growth thing. We checked in with her ped and everything seems to be okay, nothing alarming. So we are doing our very best to understand her, empathize with her, and keeping our patience when dealing with her tantrums. She went through a phase couple weeks ago where she would hit the baby zillion times a day, but this week we have seen a remarkable improvement and they both have been playing very well with each other. We hope it only keeps getting better :)!

Hoping to write more regularly from June onwards....and ending this post with a few pictures from the Mother's Day photoshoot!

Happy weekend!!!!

Six months

Our son turned 6 months old last week. He is a playful infant now, whose favorite position is to be on his tummy, with his neck perched up & moving 360 degrees while his eyes soak up the world around him. I already miss the newborn stage where all we would do is cuddle, hug, cuddle, hug all through the day.

He LOVES to smile....and giggle, and laugh out loud too. And you can never get enough of a baby's laughter. A couple of days ago, we went to visit a family friend....fairly late at night. I never take the baby with me when I step out, but at night, he does not sleep without me...so we took him with us. We got down from the rickshaw at the entrance of their apartment complex and were walking towards their building....and we passed by many dogs in the complex who were barking loudly. Every bark made the baby so happy that he laughed uncontrollably :) :) :) :) - and every bark made my mom so scared that she clutched my hand and stuck close behind me. Such a stark contrast of feelings!

Our little man loves his milk, and he loves his mangoes. All his chubbiness comes from these two things. Apart from that, he has tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, peas and squash so far. I can clearly tell from his facial expressions that he hates all of these foods I have listed. But milk and mangoes - he can't get enough of. He's just like his mumma and his sister in this aspect. I am spending the month of March in India for the first time in 13 years. The mango season is going on in full swing and I am thoroughly savoring my favorite fruit in the world every.single.day!!!!

The other day, my dad was holding him, and he said "mum"! We can call that his first word. The daughter's first word was also "mum", and for the longest time, she used to call me "mum mum". These babies are born genuises - I tell you - they know their mumma provides food and they recognize us only from the smell of their liquid gold....hence "mum or mum mum" is so apt! Apart from that, there is a lot of cooing and really loud screaming (especially when he sees his sister) that we can hear all day from him.

On milestones, the little guy is right on track. He first rolled over at 3 months, then stopped due to illness and travel and change in environment, but at 4.5 months, he was rolling over non-stop. He now rolls over from back-to-tummy and tummy-to-back. He can sit up by himself at 6 months and is grabbing/reaching for things.....his favorite being my iphone which he will either grab or hit so hard that it falls down hard on the floor every time I am not paying enough attention. I imagine him crawling soon - and that is the stage that I enjoy the most during their first year. Between sitting up and walking, the crawling stage passes like a fleeting wave. Recently, I was watching a few videos of the daughter crawling sooper fast in our home and was feeling so nostalgic. I miss her being so little!

Just like his sister, he LOVES music. A lot of times...I put a playlist on Pandora or Saavn and leave my iphone next to him on the bed with a few toys. He will listen to it and play for a long time by himself. The moment the music stops or is interrupted by Internet connectivity, he starts crying. He also loves the mozart tunes that play in his crib mobile. I can't wait to get both the kids started on music and piano lessons - I made my sister learn 6+ years of classical music (and yes, she sings very well) because my parents could not afford to send me when I was young....and I definitely would want my kids to learn it too. If it works out, hubby and I will also take singing (for hubby coz he already sings extremely well) and piano (for me) lessons along with the children....and we will be one loud rhythmic musical family!

His sister now adores him, but is still sooper jealous, and possessive about toys, etc. She will not share any toy with him, and snatches away any toy that he is playing with. Same with books - she does not mind us reading books to both of them, but if we are reading alone to him, she will come and snatch the book. She is going through a lot herself - she gave up her milk bottle, gave up wearing diapers and is now fully potty trained (even for naps, bedtime with just an occasional accident), and took some time to adjust to Indian life but has gelled in beautifully - a lot of changes have been going on for her since her brother entered our lives....so we are very patient with her. Sometimes I wish she was older so that she would be more loving and caring and sharing with him, but I'm happy with what we've got.

What's so different about the first six months of my son vs the first six months of my daughter is the anxiety - Mainly related to feeding. The daughter was very skinny, and I used to worry A LOT. I must have gone and weighed her more than 20 times. With my son, since he is chubby, I never worry about it. He turned six months old and we have not weighed him yet....we don't need to....I'm pretty confident he is fine. The daughter met all her milestones and did well on charts except her weight. Also being a first time mom, I had a lot of paranoia about other things too. Experience is definitely helping me be more laid back and at peace with his upbringing.

I don't get to hold my son and spend as much one-on-one time with him as I did with my daughter. However, I nurse him full time....so we bond during those sessions. We also co-sleep so I am next to him all night. And when I'm not holding him, he's held and loved and cuddled and hugged either by hubby and family, or our awesome friends and neighbors. We are incredibly blessed and lucky in that respect. There has not been a dirth of warm, loving and caring people around us during this time of our lives.

He has met all his grandparents, visited India, been to the beach, eaten Indian Alphonso/Kesar mangoes, and has worn lovely outfits gifted to him by so many people. His dad and I have read many many books to him. And I bought more than 100 books from India (in English, Gujarati and Hindi) during this trip....can't wait to read them ALL to the kids!

I'm sure I am missing out on listing a ton of interesting stuff here....but this post is already long.....so now onto some pictures :):

Since the day he was born, I wanted to dress him up as a girl....finally fulfilled my desire :).....

Dressed him up in a kurta-pajama on his six month birthday.....

Enjoying his mangoes....

And at 6 months old, sitting up by himself.....

He had a very sick period from 3 months to 6 months - he probably caught the flu in US which weakened his whole immune system and made him fall sick couple more times...hope he stays healthy now and gets a chance to boost his immunity....I am also trying to do my best by feeding him 100% breastmilk and no formula from my end. Please pray for him from your end too!