Jiya turned Four ...

.... laughing and hopping and running and jumping at Navy Pier, in the best of her spirits, way too happy in her very fancy dress which many of the passers by stopped to admire and even comment to us and to her much to her delight, making her declare, as a result that this is all she is ever going to wear wherever she goes. She remains to be very interested in dresses and bangles and hair accessories and all things beautiful which include flowers and clouds in different patterns and bright sunny skies and sand castles and sea shells. She exclaims in sheer glee when she sees a bed of flowers that she has never seen something so beautiful before, revels in the warmth of a pleasant sunny day, enjoys the breeze on her face and through her hair when on a boat in the middle of a lake, and sways in perfect rhythm to a good piece of music, language no bar.

At times, I marvel at how easy going she is at this age. Provided she is well fed (which is extremely tough to do, but I'll save that for another post considering this is her birthday post) and well rested, nothing seems to bother her. When alone at home, she is happy playing with anything at all. She can spend hours with paints or crayons or even a simple pen and a piece of paper. She then moves on to looking at books and smiling as she remembers the story we read earlier. Then she takes out games on phonics or sight words or sentences and happily play with those calling me to just tell me gaily of her achievement at having figured out a new word or formed a funny sentence and won't get upset even if at times I don't respond. And all the while she'll just keep humming either a rhyme from school or a tune from a song or just making up her own songs - the other day I heard her humming - I think so, I don't think so :)

While playing with Vansh, she knows that she is the younger one and can get away with a lot of things that he can't or that he'll be told to be more mature if they start fighting and exploits to her advantage many a times. She screams when she wants to get him into trouble making him shout in frustration that he will do the same to get her into trouble. But then basks in the affection he pours on her when she is sulking or pretending to sulk after I get angry with her. Sometimes she quickly takes a thing he really likes and then makes him say please to her a dozen times in a dozen different tones before handing it to him. At other times, she is the best playmate one can ask for. She laughs when Vansh does something to irritate her, telling him how he can say such silly things. Or just starts acting like him and makes him laugh out loud if he gets upset about something.

The thing that will always stand out in my memory about her on this birthday is how many times and how truly and deeply she thanked God for making her day so beautiful. We had friends visiting us from MN over the long weekend when she turned 4 and she enjoyed a lot in their company and got out of her shyness and spoke with them quite a bit much to our delight. She thanked God for their company. She again thanked him for having such a fun day at Navy Pier. "He even organised fireworks for me cos its my birthday" is what she had to say for the scheduled fireworks at night "and they are so beautiful! I have not seen anything so beautiful before! Thank you Sai Baba so much!" May Sai Baba always bless u so so so much my little one :)

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Tidbits from the very very fun last week

Dear friend Noonoo always does her best to bring me out of my slumber :) I know I had said that I would try my best to write as often as possible. Last week and the weekend were pretty busy. We had friends visiting from Minnesota who stayed with us for Saturday and Sunday. These were friends we had made when we ourselves stayed in MN and had had several fun outings together. Their kids and ours had played together when they were babies and toddlers. So a lot of last week was spent in prepping up for their visit plus the Mon-Thur driver duties of lugging both my kids to their respective camps and classes. On top of it, jumping into the pool myself to try and help V get over his fears of leaving the wall of the pool and going in the middle to practise his front and back floats. I did that last Wednesday for an hour and a half inside the pool when I knew there's a load of laundry that needs to be done, some groceries that need to be brought, a house that needs to be cleaned before the long weekend and still I did it and then was so hopelessly, utterly, wholly tired that I just collapsed for 2 hours in the afternoon and my muscles still ached when I woke up. But yeah that was me feeling frustrated as a mom watching her son struggle in the swimming pool to overcome his fears. Anyways, we are taking baby steps and I'll update when there is something to update about :)

So the said friends arrived with 3 kids in tow and much fun was had. Jiya became best friends with Arunabh as Vansh and Shreshth couldn't get enough of each other in the two days that they were together and shed copious tears when it was time to say goodbye. Vansh is counting days to the next long weekend when we can visit him in MN. We went to Navy Pier which was crowded just like Delhi is always and I enjoyed it so much. I actually crave crowds, I have noticed and enjoy them. We took a boat tour of Lake Michigan and Vansh listened very carefully to the narration for words like 300 feet deep, storm, windy and hyperventilated. He is such a cutie pie who gets nervous about little things as his knowledge about tornadoes, floods and the likes increases :) Jiya's birthday was on the same day and she entered her 5th year running, hopping, jumping and dancing to the music which played at Navy Pier all in her very very dressy outfit and being in the best of her spirit. I think I should dedicate a separate post to the person that she is, so more there. We returned very late after watching the fireworks, some time wasted because of some wrong parking by a friend who cursed his GPS a million times and drove in complete terror when he lost sight of our car and the super heavy traffic but at the end of a very very fun day. The next day everybody went to Adler Planetarium except I and Jiya who decided to stay back so Jiya could rest some. She is still very tiny and little and doesn't have the stamina to do two consecutive hectic days. So I just took her to the library for some time and she wore her crown and bangles there because she had forgotten to wear them on her birthday. Vansh was extremely animated when he returned, pouring out all that he had done and learnt on his dream visit. After some great grilling on our new Cuisinart Griddler Grill Centro which we chose from a variety of items on Ashwini completing 5 years in his organisation and have never been more happy with our choice. Its great great great, really! And some animated gupshup with the friends retired for the night.

Monday morning they left and I waited anxiously for the evening to meet one of my favoritest bloggers and friend Cee Kay. It was my first ever blog pal meet in the US and I was really looking forward to it. And the meeting was delightful. Its wonderful how love and familiarity traverses distances and makes you feel so connected to a friend. Its like you have chosen a friend because your thoughts and views match and inspite of the distance you are able to maintain the friendship and the bond even though you may not be communicating often and then when you do meet, its like you are just catching up and not like you are starting anew. I really wish I can meet more and more friends I have made this way. Ninni, her 4 year old daughter was charming and delightful. Cee herself was even better than what I had imagined her to be. Poised, gentle and just so mature and balanced. When I told Ashwini that she stopped yelling at her kids a long time ago and I bookmark her blog posts on parenting for reference, he told me I should so try doing that myself and I swear I am making a conscious effort. So your visit was just as inspiring Cee as it was fun. We were so engrossed in conversation that we forgot to take any pictures at all, such a pity :(

Anyways so that was our fun packed week and the weekend. This week I have mostly been getting over the hang over, looking at pictures and videos and have resumed my driver duties. How have you been?

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Vansh turns 5 and another BIG news

So finally the wait ended, the wait that lasted almost a year when he kept asking whose birthday is it next and had the order on his finger tips and kept repeating "Pehle nani ka b'day aayega, phir papa, phir Jiya, .... , phir chachi ka b'day, phir dadi ka aur phir VANSH KA!" In the last week before his b'day, he had already started saying "You know, next year I'll turn 6 years old!" oft leading to responses like "How about first turning 5 dude!"

But its so heart warming to see and feel the excitement, the glee in his voice and the wonder in his queries. "So will you buy me new clothes for 5 year old children then, new shoes too?", "So will I grow taller?", "When will I turn as old as papa?" and then the countdown every morning, "Is it today" followed by a whiny "Why not?" I wish for you to be always so enthusiastic about beginning a new year in your life, dear son as I wish for you the bestest of joys and the most wonderful cheer. I do expect a lot from you, you know that and we try hard together. We are successful in some things and have to try even harder in some more.

The other BIG news is that I get back to work next week. After 6 long years ..haaah. Even though its a 7 week contract to begin with, but for me, its still big. Its in the school that I worked in before getting married and moving to the US. I am thrilled to be getting back. You know out of the total of 5 meals that I have to feed my allergic-to-food and even more allergic-to-the feeding-mommy kids, 3 would be done by the daycare that we decide to put them in while I am away!!!! How cool is that?! Okay so thats not the only thrill factor ;) I had to go to meet the Principal and my HOD (Head of Department) today and Vansh was home with his grandmother. He was a bag full of questions when I returned ...

- So did you teach today? You were mam today? Don't make faces the way you do with me, okay, otherwise children will say our mam is so funny! Ohh, okay, thanks for the reality check!

- So who will drop me at my bus stop and who'll pick me up? Oh so if you go before me, I'll drop you at your bus stop, okay!

- Today he got quite worried about going to his Karate class, my mother in law told me. he even changed into his uniform and told her "Will you please take me since mamma has been away for so long?" when we have to go only inthe evening at 5:00 and I returned at like 12:00 :) But to be honest I felt good about the role that I play in his life and that he is realising it.

- Jiya chipped in with her queries - so will you go in Bhaiya's school bus? Why not?

I have a lot of apprehensions myself. To be working first time ever after having kids. I am so used to being there for them all the time as are they. What would it be like? I hope and I pray to the kind Lord to be especially generous with his blessings on us right now, to watch over us as we start yet another new chapter in our lives.

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Happy jai jai jai jai :)

Dear Jiya

As I sit down to write your second birthday letter, the first thought as always is two years? Already? And the mind races back to the day and time it happened. At Michaels' right across our apartment building on July 1, 7:00 in the evening a sales associate asked me " When are you due?" and I told here " I am in labor right now!" and it was funny to see her reaction :)The ride to the hospital, who all I spotted on the way, the contractions, the joy on being told I was already 5 cms dilated all come back as clearly as they happened that day.

So to relive the joy of the day and the life ever since, let me pen dpwn the lovely and the not so lovely things you are upto these days :)

You talk in paragraphs now. "Jiya bhookha nahin laga, pyasi laga hai. Chana nahin do, pani de do." (Jiya is not hungry, she is thirsty. Don't give me chana, give me water) You like to assume the role of the entire family's caretaker when you ask whether everyone's taken a bath ,combed their hair and whether everybody's water been taken when we go out.

You sing turning even the simplest of sentences into loud laugh inducing pieces. So hard as we try to pretend to be fast asleep so that you also decide to do the same, a little voice falls in our ears singing" Elephant pillow pe soyega Jiyaaaaa", "Jiya ne dudhu pi liyaaaaa" and we burst out laughing joined in by delighted squeals from you as well. Even the classic 2 year old "nahin's" to every question we ask come as songs :)

Its amazing to see the various shades of your personality, sharing delightedly one moment, willing to give away everything you have and fighting fiercely the next for that one single block even if you have the whole box. The tantrums are fierce, lying down on the floor and screaming ones and nothing seems to work when they happen.

You refuse to walk more than five steps when we step out and ask to be picked up in mamma's godi. Except if we are in a quiet, cool, sparsely populated with people and densely populated with flora and fauna place like Kasauli and closer to home India Gate where you walk with a charming jig and humming a tune often. You also like to be held very close when we go to the park and I a stop to talk to friends even if there are other children you see on a daily basis playing around. But I am sure you'll realize soon that most of the fun happens away from mom rather than in her lap.

You used the end of your washcloth as a pacifier when you slept or in general when you felt the need to pacify yourself. thsi ahppened for the longest time, so much so, that its even recorded in your chacha's wedding video and pictures. I finally gathered the courage last week to do what it takes to take take away an addiction. Expectedly you have been dispalying withdrawal symptoms. So if I don't, for some reason, take you inside for sleeping while you are still in a good mood (which is when the above mentioned songs flow out), I have had it. Last afternoon, I spent over an hour and a half pacing the floor with you because you wanted to sleep in my lap being carried and the moment Ilaid you down seeing that you were fast asleep, you bawled and woke up. This happened thrice. And at times like these, its impossible to calm you down. Last week the game on my phone worked. Yesterday it didn't. Fianlly it was 'lakki lakki' (lakdi ki kathi) and 'bum bum bum' (bum bum bole) with earplugs in your ears that did the trick. I wonder who was more exhausted at the end of it when both of us slept like logs for two hours.

You are such an entertainer. The songs, the dances - whether its imitating steps while watching the latest Bollywood chart toppers on TV or singing "Saas gali dewe, te samjha samjha dewe" or singing "jai jai sai, jai jai sai" yourself and clapping and dancing to the the same, no one can help but smile at this charming little two year old, that's you. You make Vansh too laugh out so loud when you we ask you "papa kahaan gaye" and you reply "dance karne" or when I ask you "Jiya ko itna badmaash kisne banaya" and you say "Chacha ne" or when you sing "Happy jai jai jai jai" instead of "Happy Birthday to you." And all of this you do with much elaan as if you know so well that all that you are doing is being appreciated by the captivated audience.

You follow your big brother like an idol. So wanting water, not wanting water, wanting to eat chau (rice), not wanting to eat chau, wanting to drink froma sipper/cup/bottle, wanting to go potty, wanting the same red block - all happen in pairs. The result is hilarious at times and hair pullingly frustrating at others. But I have to tell you something. While I would like to be absolutely fair to both you and Vansh, many a times in order to maintain oeace when VAnsh is in a good mood, I do tell him to let you have your way. Most of the times he is pretty good about it. At others he does so grudgingly shotuing "Jiya gandi ladki hai." but he loves you to bits. Yesterday in part frustartion and part inquisitiveness as to how he would react, I offered to him to take you back and leave you in the hospital. In his way with clenched teeth and a voice which came out with a lot of force, which in my style would translate to an extremely teary eyed response, he said "Jiya acchhi lagti hai. USe mat chhod ke aao" (I like Jiya a lot, don't leave her in the hospital).

Whatever catches your fancy, you decide to do it innumerable times in day. So a while back it was playing with the magnetic letters which you demanded to be taken out the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night., then it was Vansh's transport puzzle and now the latest obsession is Leap Frogs' Letter Factory and Word Factory DVD's. You watch them at least 3 times in a day if not more.

And now the most special to me - I love the way you love me. I love the way you get me whatever it is that you are eating when I am in the kitchen and insist that I eat it from your hand, the way you ask for me first thing in the morning when yiu wake uo and walk out the door, the way you keep showering me with sloppy kisses and hugs and singing "I like mamma" as you do that, the way you look at me when I am feeling low as if you understand everything and then come close to me and cuddle and put your little face in the hollow of my neck. I love you sweetheart for all that and more. And I wish for you the very best always. I look forward to mothering you for yet another fun filled and eventful year for I know that it sure is going to be a big one. I wish for it to be filled with wonderful moments, loads and loads of love and happiness and joys.

Much love today and always
Mamma.

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4 year old, already ?!

Dear Vansh

I know how cliched it sounds to say I can't believe you are 4 years old already. But hard as I try to think of something else to begin your 4 year old birthday letter with, I fail. Because it really is incredible to think that actually 4 years have passed since you set foot in this world taking your own sweet time even at that time (some things never change ??), especially for me at this stage when we have just returned to India and I am filled with nostalgia as I look at things and people and places which seem to be just the same as I left them making me feel as if it was just yesterday that we left to the US. But then I look at you and I know its been a while, quite a long while in fact. A while which turned the small little baby into this wanting to be 18 (thats the official driving age in case you are wondering why 18) but thankfully still 4 year old boy! Thank God for not granting every wish kids have!

Yeah driving, thats your passion already and what constitutes 70% if not more of your conversations. From the US car brands to now the Indian ones as well, to which of your friends has which car, to who drives at what speed complete with sound effects, you even say that you run at 100 ki speed when practising for sports day. You dream and talk about buying race cars, orange and purple cars for yourself and for everyone in the family. You even pretend that a simple cardboard box is a car with an imaginary steering wheel. The next thing that has caught your fancy is the metro train and you say that you'll do the construction for that when you grow up. This is till the rumbling roaring garbage truck passes by and catches your attention and you decide to be the garbage truck driver instead :) Our car then stops at the doctor's office where you very reluctantly let the doctor give you the shot that you need, crying all the while as I hold you and then decide to be a doctor and administer the first shot to me. In fact that's what you have asked for your 4th birthday - a doctor set, adding for my benefit "Phir main aapko shot lagaoonga!" I smile and wish your innocence lasts for as long as possible and the ability to dream lasts forever. Big or small, dreams are a major factor in driving us right?!

There has been a drastic change in you from the last time we visited India when you were 3. While you preferred staying by yourself or a couple of people whom you trusted and grew mighty upset when someone tried to come close to you, this time you have become pretty good at carrying out conversations with almost everyone. Physical closeness still annoys you but you do talk about your school and how you shave every morning before leaving for your office in Gurgaon in a cab and how you get things/toys for Jiya when you return making everyone you talk with smile at how you talk like in such a grown up fashion. Yeah you love acting like a grown up and being treated like one. So as you pick up the fruit basket and pretend that its your laptop bag and juggle some 3-4 books in one hand and a toy mobile in the other as you wave good bye, take care, have a nice day; after a few minutes you ask me to call you at office, address me by name and tell me about the lunch that you've had and the meetings that you are scheduled to have. And oh you don't forget to ask what I need you to pick up from Rainbow foods on your way back :) Save for your voice, I wouldn't know whether its you I am talking to or your dad. Its no wonder cos I know he's your hero. What a lovely age indeed.!. I honestly wouldn't tire of playing such games with you ever.

A bag of questions, a huge one at that, not surprisingly every comment or piece of information or an instruction to do something is met by the big question Why! Why do I need to wash my hands, brush my teeth, take a bath, drink milk, eat food again and again (your idea of Utopia is needing food once in like a month - yeah), go to school, get shots, the list is endless. Though now I have come up with an idea of bouncing off the same question which I have answered before umpteen times back at you and you do come up with the precise answer, I wonder why you ask the same questions often. At times you come up with silly answers to your own questions because well you just love being silly and then giggling away. Things that make you laugh the hardest include letting you put soap on my face when I am giving you your bath, messing up the words to make them rhyme for instance you love to say car, lar, zar rhyme, motor cycle, potor pykle, dotor dydle rhyme, making the most ridiculous facial expressions (you love doing the same for the camera), pretending to suddenly fall while walking or doing something and of course the slightest of tickle. Its hard to have you narrate anything for us because your need to act all loony is sure to surface up at such times.

Your strengths include your fabulous memory where you remember small little things we said or did from a very long time back, how you refer to them when something similar happens and you are reminded of those often leaving us open mouthed; your direction sense where in you can remember where all a particular way takes us, identify places that you have visited a couple of times from the road leading to them; and love looking at maps from time to time to see how you flew from the US to India, where in India are Bombay where you have been insisting us to take you to ever since one of your friends from school went there and Kerala where your newly wed chacha chachi went for their honeymoon and you are wanting to go to too for your own :), where is Australia where your favorite animals, the kangaroos are found hopping with their babies in their pouches. For the same reason one of your favorite pastimes is looking at old pictures which you can spend hours doing. In fact if I realize that at the end of 15 minutes there has still not been a sound from you I can actually bet that you are sitting with an old album. You then talk about the pictures, how we had gone where and eaten what and played with what and so on and so forth. The things that fascinate you like planes and airports and bus stations, we can't even imagine what all is being registered as you eye things with keen detail. A few days back you picked up the letter E and the number 8 from the magnetic letters Jiya was playing with, out them together to form E8 and said that you had seen that combination at the airport. It had me thinking for a moment before the realization that it was the boarding gates you were talking about dawned on me.

Persistent, head strong and slow to adapt, a deadly combination which causes us the most worries when it comes to discipline issues. I would have termed them your weaknesses had I not read and agreed that once out of this sometimes terrible and seemingly unending phase of terrible two's and three's and ..., it can actually be an advantage. Right now its wanting your milk at just the right temperature - a degree cooler sends it back to the microwave, a degree warm to the freezer, refusal to try anything new - foods, foot wear, pillow, soft toy (what a nightmare it is to look for your lost teddy which religiously follows Murphy's law of getting lost when you need it most), playing with the remotes and the microwave buttons and all fan and lights switches and cell phones again and again and again. Chowkidars and doctors and electricians have to be pretended to be called to get you off those. Your spirited reactions to things which are not to your liking alarm me. Off late I have been the targets of several versions of "I hate you"! Honestly I hadn't expected them to begin at all, definitely not so soon. I cried the first time until I thought about it and I realized that its me you call first to share anything new with - whether its a triumph at a well turned out coloring page, any small discovery you make, any small pretend play you do, an alphabet you were able to write right or a distress at the legos tumbling from the structure you were making or not getting a puzzle piece to fit. And even though I don't like it one bit and do try to talk you out of it and even though I don't think either of us realizes it because we have practically spent each and every waking moment with each other but we do share a very very deep bond and are very perceptive of each others emotions. No wonder you shout "Talk to me!! Nicely!" or "Don't be sad" at the slightest twitch of my mouth or tell me not to cry when all you hear is just the sniffing. I also love to be the one to realize immediately from the slightest whimper or at times even before that what it is you are asking for, to be party to our own share of tidbits we share about small everyday things where just a 'yeh' or a 'woh' (this or a that) suffices instead of taking the actual name.

Huh! Its amazing as I scroll back to see how much I have written and how much more I feel I still have to say. It can't be tough for a mother to talk about her son right! But I guess I'll stop here or may be just for posterity let me try to enlist a few of your favorite things as you turn 4 today.

Favorite foods - Butter chicken, fish, home made veggie pizza, pineapple, orange and off late Gulab Jamun

Favorite color - Orange hands down (has been for the longest time)

Favorite rhyme - Auto wallah aaya, jaldi jaldi aaya, horn bajaake aaya, pom pom pom :)

Favorite people - Nana, dada, chachi and Chinki mama.

Favorite activities - acting silly, puzzles, pretending to be a grown up, going out for day outings to parks, boating, zoo, etc.

So here's wishing you son with utmost love an absolutely wonderful year ahead filled with love filled moments for you to cherish always, much luck as you soon set foot into your new school and begin a new chapter in your life, happiness and joy to fill your days and good wishes for you today and always.

With all the love in my heart, Mom.

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A memorable day I shall remember with a smile :)

A day full of surprises big and small and very very sweet made my 30th birthday yesterday a very special one in the last few years. I shall remember this one with a smile.

To begin with, Ashwini and the kids handed me my Birthday cards the first thing in the morning unlike the evenings when Ashwini goes to get the cake and gets the card as well at that time. That itself was a surprise and made me feel a little bad about the late hour that he returned at the previous day. I wished he would have continued with his old ways, he had to anyways go again to get the cake as well. Not to say that I didn't lovvveeee getting them in the morning :) And the card from the kids was the first and so all the more special. And it was too cute as well. It said

"Happy Birthday Mom and thanks for always believing in me...

...even when I was Unbelievable!"

My neighbor and dear friend Lopa made me breakfast, a delicious cinnamon banana toast.

In the morning rush of getting Vansh to preschool now I just opened my e-mail inbox but just couldn't click on most of the birthday messages except for ones from immediate family. I had spoken to my mom and dad just the previous day and they had been worrying that they hadn't been able to send an e-card to me this year. The postal mail card which I anyways prefer much much more had already reached a week earlier and I told them that I was very very touched with that itself especially considering the busy and tough time they are going through right now owing to my mother's accident a little over 2 months back. But there it was, the most perfect e-card as well, bringing tears to my eyes. I thank you once again mummy and papa for all that you have done and still continue to do for me.

My dear brother in law had made a beautiful e-card for me and made it a point to send it to each one of my e-mal id's just like he sends his new phone numbers to each one of them. Always makes me smile and this year the soon to be newest addition to the family, his fiancee sent her warm wishes too.

As I returned after picking up Vansh, Lopa was at the window and called me inside. And lo and behold, there were 5 of my friends there who had thrown a surprise birthday lunch party for me complete with home made cake, pakoras, chholey, bisibele bhaat and kheer. And as a special gift they even fed my kids. Now I any mother of two would know how precious a present that is. Just the previous day I had been telling Ashwini that I am happy that it's my birthday just for the fact that I have no cakes to bake, no decorations to do and the likes :) While I was there another dear friend Debbie whom I didn't expect to remember my birthday, more so because she too is going through a rough patch healthwise, came to wish me and got me a lovely pot of Chrysanthemums. She too is a foodie and of a very diverse cultural variety and the party was already on. Everything fit perfectly :)

In the evening another friend had sent me a paper greeting card making this year's count to 5 as opposed to the 3 every year - 2 from both set of mom and dads and one from Ashwini :) We celebrated with the cake and snacks Ashwini got home yesterday but have kept the going out for the weekend.

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Happy Birthday little one ...

.... from all of us with all our love :) Thank you for bringing the joys, the laughs, the abundant happiness and sunshine in our home; for being the cuddly little bundle that you are; for brightening up our days with that radiant smile; for the musical blabbering that lifts up tiring spirits; for the gentle touches and the sloppy kisses. You are adorable for reasons more than one!

Today we celebrate you as you turn one! "So soon" is all I can say. So many times I told you in your ear to just stay the way you are, little enough to fit in my arms. You didn't pay any heed! Well that's just the beginning, I know :)

We thank God for a happy and healthy child, for watching over her and showering her with blessings this past year. We pray to Him to do that forever - shower you with the best of health, many many joys and much good luck throughout your life. May you give as well as receive bountiful love just the way you do today.

I did a post on updates less than a month back. There are a few fun additions though -


- Not much has changed except that the shouts have gotten louder as have the laughs. You are so eager to join in the jokes complete with claps et al. The smiles have gotten more infectious, the twinkle in the eys more pronounced and the naughty gleam even more unmistakable.

- Tantrums are coming big time now but they are more funny than anything else. The way you pound that little palm on your booster seat table and let out a loud 'aaaa' when I take away that sipper cup you have thrown to the ground at least 5 times, we can't help but smile. And who taught you to hit your head against the floor when I am unable to pick you that very instant that you demand to be picked.

- You so love to be cuddled and kissed, don't you. Every few minutes while playing around, you come to do just that, climb into each of my lap and papa's, quickly throw in your cheek and your whole body at us and just as quickly climb out to move on.
- This one's my favorite. The last few days as we have been building up the tempo for your birthday and as we ask you "Jiya kitne years ki hone wali hai", you raise your index finger and say in an incredibly peppy tone "unnnn" for 'one'. Adorelicious!!!

- Oh and do you know how you are known and in fact quite popularly among American friends? That cute little girl with those anklets referring to your 'payal' and you are making me famous too in the process as the mom of that cute little girl with those anklets :)

Happy Birthday darling Jiya!!

A few more pictures from not too long ago.

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Life's been busy...

...the past week with both the kids, leaving me with no time to write about our daily hustle bustle. We have been getting out more now, considering the last few weeks of being able to go outdoors before winter strikes BIG time. Last evening when we went for a walk with the outside temperature being 10 degrees, it took us half an hour to get everybody dressed making me nervous as to what's going to happen when we have to put on one layer after another to beat the -15 outside. The few minutes from the car to the mall/store demand an elaborate dressing up and undressing amounting to more time doing that than the time spent outside.

Anyways, ECFE re-started yesterday for Vansh. He sure had fun in the two year olds class. This year the separation is total. The moms are with the kids for the initial half an hour and while the kids eat their snack at the end of the half hour, we move to another room to be with the parent educator for an hour. (Last year, we used to be in a sort of a compartment attached to the children's room where they were free to come and go.) We were able to observe them from the window (the flashy kinds that were all over on cars in Delhi where one can see from inside out but not vice versa) and with the exception of a couple of kids facing some difficulty separating, it was heartening to see the rest do so well. Vansh did look a little confused initially and I could read his lips calling for me after he finished his snack but after a teacher helped him throw the napkin, glass, etc after his snack, he was fine and played happily. I have a feeling this year this class is going to do him much good in terms of playing peacefully(!!) with other children, sharing, taking turns ..all those golden words we hope they'll get someday! I heard him shouting once and many kids after that and I was so sure he had started the whole fracas but later the teacher told us that the bubbles had invited all the squeals! I'll take some pictures soon and post them here. As for Jiya, well everytime I go out alone with both the kids, I learn something new, the calculation as to when to feed Jiya so she stays calm in class (I am allowed to take her till she turns 6 months after which she'll be in the sibling care classroom a few rooms away); the juggling of time to get one kid ready when the other sleeps and such other things in order to avoid what I had to do yesterday after comimg back - feed Vansh with one hand and Jiya with the other.

I do have a few nice pictures to share from my b'day though. We went out for dinner to a Vietnamese restaurant and managed to dine successfully with 2 kids in tow ..quite an achievement!!

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