Sewing

I've long dreamt of being able to stitch my own outfits. When I was pregnant with R, I really wanted to learn how to sew so that I could make cute outfits for her. However, it was all too overwhelming the first time around - pregnancy, labor, delivery, the newborn jaundice phase, issues with R's weight gain, getting a handle on nursing, and then trying to find a work-life balance.

The second time around - even though I am busier than before, I am much more relaxed. That helps in finding time to do creative things. Growing up in India, I've always enjoyed shopping fabric for outfits, sarees, home furnishings - and providing input to the tailor on the design/pattern, and seeing what you visualized come to life. When I go back home now, I don't have time to do this leisurely....there is always a rush, and I miss those days when I could take my own sweet time to browse and pick up stuff.

Earlier this week, Mom-Dad and I spent an afternoon at Joann's, browsing and shopping for fabric. We felt like little kids in the store, exploring every section with so much curiosity. We bought a few items, and came back home. I got online, and to my delight, I found a local sewing studio which was offering an introductory sewing class that same evening. I was sooper excited, I called them right away and signed up for the class!

I got there on time, not knowing how my evening would go, whether I would enjoy this experience or not, what would the instructor think of me, etc etc. The instructor - Marj - is a 70+ year old lady, who has taught sewing for years. She instantly reminded me of my grandma, who taught me how to knit and do embroidery while growing up. She was very patient, and had a calming presence. I liked her right away. She helped me pick the fabric for my first two projects, and we got started (I used a loaner sewing machine as suggested by her. I will try out a couple before deciding which one to buy).

My first project was a fancy pillow-case. We picked three different fabrics - one for the body, one for the border on the top, and another small piece of lining separating the two. It sounds like an easy project, but for a first-timer, it's a perfect one to pick. It pretty much took me the entire class duration to learn how to use the machine and get the pillow cover done. I made some mistakes, which Marj showed me how to fix. I completed the whole thing myself, and was quite proud of it in the end!

When I showed it off at home, mom-dad-hubby were impressed too :)!

For my second project, we picked a lovely blue+pink flowery print fabric for a wrap-around dress for R. I have studied the pattern, but I ran out of time to start cutting. I hope to finish it during the next class.....whenever that happens!

I have a few projects on my mind already: dresses for R, onesie/bib for baby, Hawaiian shirt for dad and hubby (we bought the fabric already), a skirt for my sister, an apron for mom, etc.

I'm excited to get my sewing journey started!!!!

{this moment} On the kitchen counter

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember" - SouleMama

Mom is here....and the kitchen is the busiest, most interesting place in the house!

On the kitchen counter yesterday morning:

-- Fresh fruit from the farmers market (peaches and plums, organic);
-- 5 different kinds of seeds - sesame, flax, sunflower, pumpkin and chia - waiting to be roasted and blended together for a healthy snack;
-- Sprouted moong - LOVE them!

Long weekend starts today, and "labor" is the word on my mind ;)

Backyard pool fun

Everyone around us knows that R is a water baby, so she got a backyard pool as a birthday gift from her maamu H and maami P, who are one of her favorites :). I love these people, coz they did not gift us just a kiddie pool - it's big enough for 5 adults to sit and enjoy, along with the kids :)!

We kept waiting for the right day with the right temperature to inflate and fill it in - but that perfect day never came. So last Saturday, we decided to give it a go. I was napping with R and when I woke up, dad and hubby had set it all up! It was a chilly day. We added a grand total of 5 hot water buckets to the ~200 gallon chilled water that was already filled in, and jumped right in :)! Those buckets did nothing to the water temperature (as you may have guessed already ;)). It was COLD, but it was SO much fun!

R did not want to come out - hubby also joined us after some time....and we had a blast. We did Facetime with R's maasi-maasa in San Diego and they were jealous that they were not there in the pool, enjoying with us!

When we finally got out, we were all freezing! Mom gave R a hot bath, but she was still shivering, and asked for the fireplace to be turned on....and promptly sat by it for a few minutes to warm up. For those who know her well, this is a sight to behold, coz its so rare :)

Had it been any other new outdoor activity that we asked the kiddo to try, she would have refused considering how chilly it was. But she will never say NO to water or ice, even if its freezing cold! Yes, this is the kiddo, who, when we landed on a glacier in Alaska and sat her down for a minute, was the first one to start eating ice and smile while doing so - she was not even a year old at that time! I can't wait to take her skiing/snowboarding!

My cute muse

My daughter - my muse - my oober-sensitive soul - is SO full of cuteness these days. Almost every word out of her mouth is like a gem....so pure and precious (I say almost coz she screams a lot too, and that is best forgotten ASAP).

I've mentioned before, that I loved the baby/infant stage. I had 9-10 months of leave during her first year, and I made the most of it. But I'm loving this 2-year stage as much as the infancy, if not more. Ofcourse it helps that she prefers me over any other person in the house.....and because of the baby in the tummy, I get the most hugs, cuddles and kisses as well :)!

It's mostly her non-stop talking/blabbering/singing that keeps a 1000-watt smile on our faces all day.

She LOVES to read the Big Sister book, especially before bedtime. I melts my heart to hear her say "I'm a big sister now". The book illustrates how we all care for the new baby - changing diaper, feeding milk bottle, making the baby smile, etc....and she understands all those aspects. She is a very caring and loving soul, but in reality, the situation is going to be very difficult for us in the beginning. Over time, she will fall in love with the baby and show her good side :).

She will come running towards me, hold me very tight, give me a kissie, and say "love you mumma" - or - she will cuddle with me while going to bed, and kiss me so many times all over, and say "love you mumma" - the spontaneity of her acts makes it truly precious!

She LOVES to sing. The few moments during the day when she is playing by herself, or when she is on the potty - you can find her singing "ek biladi jaadi" or "A B C D" or "twinkle twinkle" or "humpty dumpty" or "way up high way down low that's the way the scoopers go" or "goodbye song" or "san sana na na" or "dhinka chika" :).

She is starting to learn the numbers beyond 10. Her counting goes something like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 19, 20 :). She knows all the numbers between 11-20, but conveniently skips them. She did that with the number 8 for a long long time, but now she finally decided not to skip it.

There are some words which she cannot pronounce properly, and I love her pronunciations so much, that I make her say them several times through the day:

Everybody = ABD (Hi ABD, Bye ABD is something she enjoys saying a lot)
Umbrella = Ammonia
Aquadoodle = Aakadoodoo
Thokamthok = Tok Tok
Fatafat = Phat phat
Understand = yundersand
Parita = Paita
Deepika = Peedika

Also cute is her accent. The best is when she says her own name. She used to say "oohi" but now she has learnt how to pronounce R so she says with an accent "Rueeeehi". Another word she says with an accent is "coooooooooozy" which comes a couple times in the big sister book that we read multiple times a day. We have also taught her our house number, street name and city name. It's so cute to listen to her saying her full name and home address :).

Story before bedtime - this is another one of my dreams come true. Right around the time she turned two, she now wants either mommy or daddy to tell her a story before she drifts off to sleep. The lights are off.....she has cuddled me tight.....and one of us cooks up a story based on what happened during the day, or something else. We may need to brush up our skills in this area to keep it interesting for her long term, but for now, she really enjoys whatever we narrate to her. It's quite a peaceful and magical time for the three of us - I look forward to it and cherish it!

The kiddo's obsession with blue color continues. We took her out for an ice-cream for the first time last week. She walks into the store and samples pink and blue ice-cream and demands a cup of the blue one. I had never tasted it before...it's called Cotton Candy flavor, and it tastes pretty good actually. She loved it so much, that we decided to go again earlier this week. This smart cookie blurted out "oooooh blue ice-cream" right when I was making a turn into the complex where the store is located (and she was not told we were going there). She behaved like a pro at her second outing - walked in, demanded a sample spoon, asked daddy for a cup, took it outside and sat on the same table that we sat earlier, and patiently waited for all of us to join her before she dug right in! It's amazing for us to see how quickly toddlers learn these things - from directions to manners!

We rearranged our bedroom furniture to make space for the baby. We have a crib attached to our bed on one side, and a toddler bed attached on the other side. The kiddo is supposed to be sleeping on the toddler bed, but when told that this is the baby's bed, she has hijacked it, and has been sleeping on the attached crib since the last couple days. I really want the baby to be in there, so we will transition her back to being in between both of us if she continues to refuse using her toddler bed. The main thing she needs is her mumma's tummy and touch several times during the night, and she gets frustrated/worked up if she does not get it right away. I was the same with my mommy (no surprises there ;)) so I can relate to this very well.

Her nana-nani are here from India, and it took her a few days, but she is now hooked to them. She insists nani sit with her when she goes potty (it's a huge relief I don't have to squat down in those cramped quarters and entertain her), she insists nana take her for a long walk in the morning, she wants to play blocks and playdough with them all day, and she always wants them with us wherever we go. Hubby and I both get to sit in the front seat of our car coz she loves to be flanked on either side by nana and nani. She is particularly fond of nani - she sees her cooking in the kitchen and demands food from her...she surprises nani with hugs n kisses through the day, and she even roughhouses with her on the floor. Nani is our savior when she is going through her cranky terrible two phases. I feel we are just so blessed to have them around during these early years, and I cherish these times!

Here's a recent picture from her 2-year photoshoot - I love this cutie pie so so much!!!!

Life's simple pleasures - {Kite Flying}

It's peak summer for us right now....daytime high's are 100+F and it does not cool down until very late in the evening. I'm not complaining much since I prefer warmer weather over the cold.....and overall, in California, we are blessed with great weather year round!

Earlier this week, we had a really cool breezy day because of the cloud cover.....when hubby drove home from work, he immediately asked all of us to get ready and go outdoors.....we decided to go to the top of the hill outside our community and fly a kite. Hubby had bought this kite last year for Ruhi's birthday, and we had tried to fly it a couple of times but did not succeed. Tuesday evening was perfect weather for us to try again. Also, we had a kite flying expert - my dad- with us so we knew we would all have a gala time. And we did! The kite went up with literally zero effort - it was very windy - and even Ruhi could manage to keep it stable up high in the sky!

The kiddo had SO much fun! She held on to the string for so long....after everyone got tired, my dad tied the string to a stone lying on the ground, and the kite was happily flying by itself while we all took a break. 

Ruhi walked/ran on the sidewalk, and we were also joined later by a friend and his daughter who is Ruhi's buddy. All in all, it was an outing we all enjoyed - fun as well as relaxing!

Of pictures and gifts....

We (our family that had gotten together for few days) had a very blessed and fun weekend. We had lots of events planned, and although it was stressful and tiring, we managed to enjoy each event. The best was the daughter's second birthday party - it was an absolute blast - so much better than her 1-year birthday party where a few things did not go as smoothly as planned and there were other personal issues to deal with which had made me very unhappy from within during that time. This year it was just so relaxed and peaceful.....everything was taken care of and planned to perfection.....the venue we selected was perfect.....and even though I had made backup arrangements for things that could possibly go wrong, I did not have to resort to any of those. Most of all, everyone invited had fun, and was happy to be part of the celebrations.

With digital photography these days, we have the luxury of snapping every moment. We fill up lots of GB's of disk space to store these precious memories. As is evident from all the pictures I post on this blog, I love to click pictures too. I try to be good about discarding the ones that are not that great.....and these days, I try to stick to my own rule of not taking the camera at other people's events. However, when the babies are so young....they are changing everyday, learning new things everyday, it is hard to resist capturing these fleeting moments. So I don't resist much and snap away.

So what is the issue? What is bothering me since the party is the fact that so many people have asked me for pictures from the party already. They know I am very prompt at uploading them right away, AND sharing them with whoever attended the event, so they are eagerly waiting to see them. However, the people who have pinged for pictures are precisely the ones who never bother to share their own. Such hypocrites! I find it extremely rude when folks never share pictures of an event that I was a part of with me. And these days, it's not just my pictures. They happily pose with my daughter, or take pictures of their kids with my daughter, but they never bother to share. Most of the times, I don't ask, but when the person is close enough, I ask, and they still don't bother to email me a link.

This falls under the category of things that I am sensitive about (much like responding to emails, etc) but it seems others don't care as much.

Nothing much I can do about it - I now only share with folks who share with me.....and I put an occasional photo on Facebook for everyone to see. Rest all are my personal memories which are only mine to cherish for years to come!

I also took some time out after dinner last night to open all the gifts. We had specifically mentioned in our evite that we don't expect presents and had requested guests not to bring any. However, most of them got something. Our very close friends who meet us often, who come to play with our child, who truly and genuinely care for us, had either already given us a gift or would give something useful to us later. But the rest of the lot - what can I say? Except for our neighbor (who is non-Indian) and one other non-Indian friend of ours, the rest of the people got such crappy junk stuff. These are the folks who invite us to their kids birthdays, and we always give gift cards, cash or books. These are the folks who have kids of their own....most of their kids are older than ours so they should know what is useful and what is not. They clearly lack common sense and appropriate reciprocation.....they just feel its completely okay to transfer the junk they received to someone else, who has never given it to them in the first place. I should not be, but I feel hurt. I feel not respected. It is not something I will brood over for long, but I do get such feelings for a short period of time. Last year as well, the same thing happened, and so this year, we requested guests to not bring gifts. Next year, I will explicitly mention that we will refuse to accept any gift. I have done that in the past (before having kids) and it has worked. For my wedding as well, we did not take gifts from anyone.....not even close relatives. With kids, I don't like to hurt someone's sentiment of gifting something small to a child, so I am lenient. But after going through 2 years of this, I've had enough.

Alright - now that I've got the venting out of the way.....here are a few pictures of our 2-year old from her birthday party at MyGym :)!

Her daddy got her a sooper cool surprise gift - all our neighbors kids have it, and we can't wait for Ruhi to learn how to ride it....

She got several other useful gifts - Dr. Seuss's book sets (gifted by her maasa who shares her mumma's passion of reading), a backyard inflatable pool (which is big enough for adults too) for the water loving baby, books/bath toys/etc of her favorite cartoon Pocoyo (by her favorite maamu), board games, Legos, and so many wonderful outfits bought by her ever-so-fashionable maasi.

She is learning so much new stuff every day - she recites rhymes and songs, she is getting better athletically, she is showing crazy emotions, she is starting to ask difficult questions - we are looking forward to the next year of her growing up!!!!

She has doubled her age!

A letter to my daughter, on her second birthday:

When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

This song by Jason Mraz is one of the latest radio hits.....and these lyrics seem to partially convey how I feel about you. You made me a mommy, and I am grateful that you have given me the best two years of my life till date. Happy 2nd birthday my precious child.....let's take a short trip down the memory lane and recap the past 12 months:

We started off your second year with celebrations. We had a grand birthday party with so many family members, cousins, friends, and loved ones around. You were spoilt rotten with lots of gifts. You learnt to walk, and went from taking wobbly steps to running to jumping with both feet high up in the air. Now when we go for walks, you walk along with daddy and mommy, while continuously telling us "No walking on the road" :)! We've hardly used the stroller all year....infact, we don't even carry it with us on trips anymore! Our favorite spot to walk to is the top of the hill right outside our community, where we enjoy watching a fantastic sunset all year round!

You started going to daycare....you call your caregiver your other mumma....and she rightly deserves it. I don't know what we would do without her presence in our lives. It was a rough transition for all of us.....it took us more than a couple months to get you adjusted, but over time, we have found this safe haven for you, where you are loved, nurtured, fed and have found playmates to keep you happy and busy all morning. You take a good solid nap (3+ hours) in the afternoon, and daddy is always waiting for you as soon as you wake up to bring you home.

Our evenings are always full of fun - we go for walks, we go to parks (splash parks in summer are a huge hit), we go to the museum or library or zoo, we go to our neighbors' houses to play, we go to your maamu's or maasi's houses to socialize, or we just stay home and do fun stuff. Bath time is your favorite.....we always do long baths....and you enjoy them to the fullest.

Bedtime is probably the worst for you, but best for mommy and daddy. It's when you let your guard down, and talk to us about your day. It's when you practice your vocabulary, or your singing. It's when we read books all cuddled up together. I am so glad we co-sleep, coz I could not survive without all the cuddling and snuggling at night.

We have done a lot of traveling this year - and I am so glad that you enjoy all the trips. We have gone to San Diego, LA, Bay Area, Mexico, Hawaii, Yosemite, and many other interesting places within the country. You absolutely loved all the beaches in Hawaii, and you surprised me with all the walking in Yosemite. It is still your favorite park of all, and whenever we ask you which park you want to visit, you promptly say "Yosemite" :). It is the first National Park your mumma visited in the US, and she holds it close to her heart....so its only natural that you are fond of that place as much as your mumma.

One huge thing that has been relieving for me is that you love both your mommy and daddy equally. This was not the case during your first year, and it was only natural for things to be that way, mainly because of all the bonding time I got with you during our nursing sessions, as well as the 9 months of leave I had to just be with you. You also heavily depended on nana-nani for most of your daily needs, and although daddy was part of your life, you did not get as much 1:1 time with him. This year has been remarkably different....you and daddy have the strongest bond that I could have ever imagined, and I am so very happy to see that. You miss him in the mornings when he is not home, and you don't sleep at night without having him by our side. He takes you everywhere....he brings loads and loads of books for you from the library.....he gives you a bath everyday.....he wakes up at night to change your diaper and brings you a bottle of warm milk early in the morning....he showers you with hugs and kisses all the time.....you've got him hooked!

You have quite a striking personality at this young age. Your smile is no doubt infectious. The curls in your hair are gorgeous. Your vocabulary is mind blowing. Your passion for books is endearing. You love nature - flowers, grass, trees, birds, insects, moon, starts, sunsets, beaches, parks. You are a complete water baby - bubbles, water balloons, swim classes, splash park outings, getting drenched in the backyard - it is something that you could live for....I really wish we had a pool in our backyard for you to enjoy everyday. You are very stubborn, but very sensitive too. I see glimpses of both our personalities in you.....and although some of it terrifies me, I think you are growing up to be a wise humble compassionate soul.

Between music and dance, I think you have more passion for music. You love the piano, know how to sing saregamapa, you can sing poems and songs and even phrases in different falsettos, and you love all the music videos we play for you on the laptop. With dance, I don't see you as a natural....even though you know many moves and can move in tune with the music. Your daddy has an amazing voice and sings so well....I hope you will too. Every child is an artist....the problem is how to remain one as you grow up, and I will do my best to retain the little artist in you - always!

You are going to be a big sister very soon.....and I am so thrilled and excited for you to have a sibling to grow up and share your life with (and bitch about us when times comes ;)). I know you will have a rough few weeks during the transition, but when I think and look at the long term picture, I only envision lots and lots of happy and fun times ahead for you and your beebee! You may at times feel that you are not loved enough....but the greatest thing about love is - there is always room for more! I cannot wait to expand our hearts and welcome your beebee into our lives!

You are very blessed in your life, my precious sweetheart! So many people love you, and care for you, and willingly spend quality time to just play and be with you. Both your grandparents, maasi/maasa, foi, adaa, and your three first cousins adore and love you. Your mommy and daddy are not perfect parents, but they try in infinite ways to be the best they could be for you.

Here is a lullaby, which I chanced upon the internet, that I would like to dedicate to you today:

Mother's Song
a Traditional Lullaby

My heart is like a fountain true
That flows and flows with love to you.
As chirps the lark unto the tree
...So chirps my pretty babe to me.

There's not a rose where'er I seek,
As comely as my baby's cheek.
There's not a comb of honey-bee,
So full of sweets as babe to me.

There's not a star that shines on high,
Is brighter than my baby's eye.
There's not a boat upon the sea,
Can dance as baby does to me.

No silk was ever spun so fine
As is the hair of baby mine.
My baby smells more sweet to me
Than smells in spring the elder tree.

A little fish swims in the well,
So in my heart does baby dwell.
A little flower blows on the tree,
My baby is the flower to me.

The Queen has sceptre, crown and ball,
You are my sceptre, crown and all.
For all her robes of royal silk,
More fair your skin, as white as milk.

Ten thousand parks where deer do run,
Ten thousand roses in the sun,
Ten thousand pearls beneath the sea,
My babe more precious is to me.

I wish you a very happy, healthy, adventurous, fun and blessed year ahead my betu.....this mumma of yours loves you truly, madly, deeply :)!

Gazillions of hugz and kisses to you my love....wish you a Happy Happy Birthday!