We had a very laid back Christmas. All of us were suffering from some form or other of cold - so it was trying to get better weekend.
The biggest chore we got accomplished was Abhay's haircut. The place we went to "yellow balloon" in kentlands was nice. They had a lot of toys and he was excited to play with them. The owner played curious george for his cut. Overall he was ok. He did not like the spray bottle for wetting his hair and he did not like the buzzer.
Even though Sampath has the week off and it is real slow for me at work we did not plan anything as MIL was coming back in the middle of the week.
She got back yesterday and as soon as she came Abhay did his happy dance for her and ran around in circles.
His latest thing for the last 2 -3 weeks has been he wants to eat by himself. No feeding. In fact he does not even like it when we sit close to him. And forget about putting your hand on the back of his chair - hates it.
Last week was a hoot when he tried eating yogurt by himself. He looked like a "Kutti Krishna" with yogurt splashed all over.
Happy NEW Year!!!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Dec 6th 2011
BIG DAY - the first day he went to day care full time. I am not sure who is more nervous - me, Abhay or Sampath.
He did ok. As usual did not eat much. But Asma made the comment that he liked to eat food by picking it up on his own and not be fed by spoon.
I am glad she said that as this has become the trend now.
He did ok. As usual did not eat much. But Asma made the comment that he liked to eat food by picking it up on his own and not be fed by spoon.
I am glad she said that as this has become the trend now.
Nov 29th 2011
Today was Appa's anniversary. With the priest coming home and doing homam and all that, we decided to keep Abhay in day care till everything was completed. I picked him up after the ceremony was completed and he had done well. He ate a little ( not as much as he would eat at home) but was not cranky or anything.
This was a big thing as starting from Dec 6th, he will be going to day care full time for 3 weeks.
This was a big thing as starting from Dec 6th, he will be going to day care full time for 3 weeks.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thanksgiving 2011
I am very happy that I am atleast trying to blog regularly.
This was a very eventful Thanksgiving - well aren't most of them anyway. We spent the weekend playing NYC tour guides. It was fun as well as exhausting.
The drive there was not bad. Abhay fell asleep as soon as we headed out which was around 11. We broke for lunch when he woke up and then started driving again. He got a little antsy after some time, watched George for an hour or so. The plan was to do Statue of Liberty from Jersey side but we managed to not make it on time for the last ferry. We went straight to Hari's place. Abhay was just plain excited to be out of the car seat - he literally ran circles around the sofa I was sitting for 30 - 40 minutes. It was just plain fun to watch the excitement on his face. And of course at Hari's place he had the space for it. Sampath's friend Sridahr and his family and Karuna with the kids were there. Vijay and Ramya joined us at Hari's place and it was very nice to see them. But unfortunately with so many people around we did not get to spend quality time with them. We went to Bridgewater temple after that and as usual Abhay had a blast. He went from Sanidhi to Sanidhi and did his version of "Kai Kupp". And then it was run run run......
Next day - we did the NYC tour. As usual we had some time related challenges - you will see that this is a recurring challenge. Sampath (and of course Abhay)Sridhar and Maama missed the first hour of the tour. The best part was when we took a break near the seaport before boarding a boat to see Statue of liberty - Abhay just ran around chasing pigeons. The joy on his face as well as the look of intent (I am going to get those things) was just a wonderful sight. He also had a lot of fun on the boat and took the turbulence in his stride and kept moving. He slept as soon as we hit the bus. We got home pretty late and exhausted.
Saturday - Abhay and I stayed back at home when Sampath took them sightseeing. This is the part I hate the most - separation. Abhay had a good time and we (me and Abhay) had a nice nap in the evening.
Sunday - pack and leave. We stopped at Subzi Mandi to stock up as well as buy some stuff for Appa's anniversary ceremony. Again I did not get a chance to get out and do my usual shopping and picking up of some unusual and new things but that was not a big deal.
We hit some bad traffic on your way home. Abhay was antsy for some part but on the whole it was not bad at all.
On the whole a very eventful trip. Kala and Hari's house was awesome and they were very gracious. It was awesome to have spent time with everyone.
This was a very eventful Thanksgiving - well aren't most of them anyway. We spent the weekend playing NYC tour guides. It was fun as well as exhausting.
The drive there was not bad. Abhay fell asleep as soon as we headed out which was around 11. We broke for lunch when he woke up and then started driving again. He got a little antsy after some time, watched George for an hour or so. The plan was to do Statue of Liberty from Jersey side but we managed to not make it on time for the last ferry. We went straight to Hari's place. Abhay was just plain excited to be out of the car seat - he literally ran circles around the sofa I was sitting for 30 - 40 minutes. It was just plain fun to watch the excitement on his face. And of course at Hari's place he had the space for it. Sampath's friend Sridahr and his family and Karuna with the kids were there. Vijay and Ramya joined us at Hari's place and it was very nice to see them. But unfortunately with so many people around we did not get to spend quality time with them. We went to Bridgewater temple after that and as usual Abhay had a blast. He went from Sanidhi to Sanidhi and did his version of "Kai Kupp". And then it was run run run......
Next day - we did the NYC tour. As usual we had some time related challenges - you will see that this is a recurring challenge. Sampath (and of course Abhay)Sridhar and Maama missed the first hour of the tour. The best part was when we took a break near the seaport before boarding a boat to see Statue of liberty - Abhay just ran around chasing pigeons. The joy on his face as well as the look of intent (I am going to get those things) was just a wonderful sight. He also had a lot of fun on the boat and took the turbulence in his stride and kept moving. He slept as soon as we hit the bus. We got home pretty late and exhausted.
Saturday - Abhay and I stayed back at home when Sampath took them sightseeing. This is the part I hate the most - separation. Abhay had a good time and we (me and Abhay) had a nice nap in the evening.
Sunday - pack and leave. We stopped at Subzi Mandi to stock up as well as buy some stuff for Appa's anniversary ceremony. Again I did not get a chance to get out and do my usual shopping and picking up of some unusual and new things but that was not a big deal.
We hit some bad traffic on your way home. Abhay was antsy for some part but on the whole it was not bad at all.
On the whole a very eventful trip. Kala and Hari's house was awesome and they were very gracious. It was awesome to have spent time with everyone.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Nov 19th weeknd
With Sridhar maama here, we are playing DC tour guides again.
It has always been very hard to do tour guide thing. Add Abhay, work and age into the mix and it gets harder.
Let's put this in perspective:
1. Abhay - Pack his snack boxes ( 5 different ones he likes so that we can try different things in case he gets cranky), diaper bag ( making sure he has enough diapers, changes of clothes, toys, IPAD), jackets and outdoor clothing - two different types - one for being indoors and one for being outdoors, stroller (s), milk, food for lunch, dinner incase we get late (couple of alternates in case he does not like the first one offered) and making sure all of this is stored properly (either hot or cold and I could go on and on.... but I think you get the drift.
2. Work - With me working full time now, the weekend is the time to do grocery and any other shopping, cleaning, minor household chores, laundry.....But with the weekends consumed in touring I have to find time during the week to take care of everything. And not to mention come Monday morning I am still exhausted.
3. Age - I had to throw this one in there - I am getting old - I cannot do things like I used to. Cook lunch, pack lunch, plan dinner, tour Dc the entire day, cook dinner and do all this being extremely civil and social.
Not mentioning the emotional conflicts - I want to make sure Abhay is not taxed too much. Which means either staying at home or doing part of the day. That means cutting down on Sampath/Abhay time.
Nowhere is these posts do I mention that the strain on relationships but I do not want to go there here.
Ok, moving on to the fun part.
We started a little late on Saturday after eating lunch. Abhay was so sleepy and cranky by then that it was really hard to even get him into the car seat. He fell asleep in a few minutes. We went straight to the White house. Abhay was still sleep when we go there, so I stayed back in the car with him. After he woke, we met up with the others and then did a circle of the white house. We came of the stroller and then he was just reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal happy after that. He ran after a truck that was pulling into the white house (of course on the other side of the barricade). He tried saying "tuc....tuc". He will not repeat it if you ask him to though. Then he ran on the grass, rolled around like a dog and in general had a blast.
Next we went to the Capitol, he was so tired he fell asleep again in the car but woke up as soon as the car stopped. Felt bad that he was not getting the rest he wanted but that lasted a few minutes only. He was back to running on the grass towards the Capitol in full flow. He then went and said "hi" and waved to random people and the police guarding the place. He also ran on the metal grating in a straight line. Which was something new. He did not want to leave this place. Again, I think just having a lot of room is the only thing he needs.
This goes back to my rant about the day care we drop him off - she just does not have too much space but has a lot of stuff. So I guess it is a trade off.
Back to Capitol - we went to the union station from there. Abhay and me were very tired by then so we bought some food and sat down, ate and sang some songs. Then headed home. END OF DAY 1.
On Sunday we decided to leave as early as possible - so packed lunch for us and Abhay and left. Abhay fell asleep as we were nearing DC. And Sampath found prime parking near the Archives museum. Amma and Maama went to the Natural history and we met them there after we gave Abhay his lunch in their cafeteria. After that we had lunch in the sculpture garden. Abhay enjoyed watching the ice skaters there - after a while he wanted to go in there himself. Both Sampath and I do not skate so we will have to figure that one at some point. We went to the archives museum - this was the first visit for both Sampath and me. It was very impressive. Unfortunately Sampath could not see much as he had to take Abhay outside as he was beginning to enjoy his echo a lot. He would make a loud noise and look up to "see" his echo. We then dropped them of to see the IMAX movie and we hung around to pick them up. We thought Abhay would sleep in the stroller but he did not. After that we headed out - it was getting dark and rainy. Abhay fell asleep almost immediately. We then had coffee, drove around the monuments, took pics of Jefferson and Washington Monument reflection, ordered from Madras palace and went home. END OF DAY 2.
Take away - Abhay looooooooooooooves being outdoors, even when it is freezing.
It is already Tuesday today and we are getting ready to go to NJ/NY over thanksgiving weekend.
It has always been very hard to do tour guide thing. Add Abhay, work and age into the mix and it gets harder.
Let's put this in perspective:
1. Abhay - Pack his snack boxes ( 5 different ones he likes so that we can try different things in case he gets cranky), diaper bag ( making sure he has enough diapers, changes of clothes, toys, IPAD), jackets and outdoor clothing - two different types - one for being indoors and one for being outdoors, stroller (s), milk, food for lunch, dinner incase we get late (couple of alternates in case he does not like the first one offered) and making sure all of this is stored properly (either hot or cold and I could go on and on.... but I think you get the drift.
2. Work - With me working full time now, the weekend is the time to do grocery and any other shopping, cleaning, minor household chores, laundry.....But with the weekends consumed in touring I have to find time during the week to take care of everything. And not to mention come Monday morning I am still exhausted.
3. Age - I had to throw this one in there - I am getting old - I cannot do things like I used to. Cook lunch, pack lunch, plan dinner, tour Dc the entire day, cook dinner and do all this being extremely civil and social.
Not mentioning the emotional conflicts - I want to make sure Abhay is not taxed too much. Which means either staying at home or doing part of the day. That means cutting down on Sampath/Abhay time.
Nowhere is these posts do I mention that the strain on relationships but I do not want to go there here.
Ok, moving on to the fun part.
We started a little late on Saturday after eating lunch. Abhay was so sleepy and cranky by then that it was really hard to even get him into the car seat. He fell asleep in a few minutes. We went straight to the White house. Abhay was still sleep when we go there, so I stayed back in the car with him. After he woke, we met up with the others and then did a circle of the white house. We came of the stroller and then he was just reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal happy after that. He ran after a truck that was pulling into the white house (of course on the other side of the barricade). He tried saying "tuc....tuc". He will not repeat it if you ask him to though. Then he ran on the grass, rolled around like a dog and in general had a blast.
Next we went to the Capitol, he was so tired he fell asleep again in the car but woke up as soon as the car stopped. Felt bad that he was not getting the rest he wanted but that lasted a few minutes only. He was back to running on the grass towards the Capitol in full flow. He then went and said "hi" and waved to random people and the police guarding the place. He also ran on the metal grating in a straight line. Which was something new. He did not want to leave this place. Again, I think just having a lot of room is the only thing he needs.
This goes back to my rant about the day care we drop him off - she just does not have too much space but has a lot of stuff. So I guess it is a trade off.
Back to Capitol - we went to the union station from there. Abhay and me were very tired by then so we bought some food and sat down, ate and sang some songs. Then headed home. END OF DAY 1.
On Sunday we decided to leave as early as possible - so packed lunch for us and Abhay and left. Abhay fell asleep as we were nearing DC. And Sampath found prime parking near the Archives museum. Amma and Maama went to the Natural history and we met them there after we gave Abhay his lunch in their cafeteria. After that we had lunch in the sculpture garden. Abhay enjoyed watching the ice skaters there - after a while he wanted to go in there himself. Both Sampath and I do not skate so we will have to figure that one at some point. We went to the archives museum - this was the first visit for both Sampath and me. It was very impressive. Unfortunately Sampath could not see much as he had to take Abhay outside as he was beginning to enjoy his echo a lot. He would make a loud noise and look up to "see" his echo. We then dropped them of to see the IMAX movie and we hung around to pick them up. We thought Abhay would sleep in the stroller but he did not. After that we headed out - it was getting dark and rainy. Abhay fell asleep almost immediately. We then had coffee, drove around the monuments, took pics of Jefferson and Washington Monument reflection, ordered from Madras palace and went home. END OF DAY 2.
Take away - Abhay looooooooooooooves being outdoors, even when it is freezing.
It is already Tuesday today and we are getting ready to go to NJ/NY over thanksgiving weekend.
Nov 11 - Nov 12
I decided to write about current events before I do catch up which never seems to be possible.
Last weekend, we (the whole family) had planned on going to Pittsburg. Rangesh and family was supposed to meet us there. On the way back, Sridhar maama was going to come back with us. But.... with Abhay still not fully recovered, I decided to stay back with him. It was a relaxing day. Abhay had a long tub-play-bath. Then had a very light lunch as he was still throwing up after meals. We both slept for 2.5 hrs. Then came the tough part as the evenings are the hardest and it has always been so. We played in the new ball tent for a while, watched some TV, had dinner. When it came time to sleep he did not want to be upstairs. He finally slept on me but facing the door hoping his dad would be back soon. Dad came home by 10 but Abhay was asleep by then.
Sunday was a different day though. We had lunch and headed over to Mt. Vernon - General Washington's estate. Abhay had a blast. he was a little irritated at being restrained as we did the tour of the house. Once outside, the vast estate was his playground. He has a hard time restraining himself while running. He ran full blast downhill but with so much momentum he could not stop himself and did a full roll. He was not hurt but the shock of it had him bawling. But all that lasted for less than a minute as he was then off running again. Anyplace that has so much space for Abhay to run around and not get into too much trouble rates an "Awesome" in my books these days.
Monday morning blues set in on all of us on the way home.
I still feel real terrible whenever he starts clinging to me. It is a very vicious cycle. He clings to me, I feel guilty that he is missing me and I become more tired from this emotional drainage and become irritated. Sampath sees this and wants to help and tries picking him up - but he will not go to him. This irritates all of us. Abhay - because he is being taken away from mommy, Sampath - because he will not go to him. Me - because I am tired. My MIL - because "you don't come to me when your mom is around". All in all - HARD!!!!!
Last weekend, we (the whole family) had planned on going to Pittsburg. Rangesh and family was supposed to meet us there. On the way back, Sridhar maama was going to come back with us. But.... with Abhay still not fully recovered, I decided to stay back with him. It was a relaxing day. Abhay had a long tub-play-bath. Then had a very light lunch as he was still throwing up after meals. We both slept for 2.5 hrs. Then came the tough part as the evenings are the hardest and it has always been so. We played in the new ball tent for a while, watched some TV, had dinner. When it came time to sleep he did not want to be upstairs. He finally slept on me but facing the door hoping his dad would be back soon. Dad came home by 10 but Abhay was asleep by then.
Sunday was a different day though. We had lunch and headed over to Mt. Vernon - General Washington's estate. Abhay had a blast. he was a little irritated at being restrained as we did the tour of the house. Once outside, the vast estate was his playground. He has a hard time restraining himself while running. He ran full blast downhill but with so much momentum he could not stop himself and did a full roll. He was not hurt but the shock of it had him bawling. But all that lasted for less than a minute as he was then off running again. Anyplace that has so much space for Abhay to run around and not get into too much trouble rates an "Awesome" in my books these days.
Monday morning blues set in on all of us on the way home.
I still feel real terrible whenever he starts clinging to me. It is a very vicious cycle. He clings to me, I feel guilty that he is missing me and I become more tired from this emotional drainage and become irritated. Sampath sees this and wants to help and tries picking him up - but he will not go to him. This irritates all of us. Abhay - because he is being taken away from mommy, Sampath - because he will not go to him. Me - because I am tired. My MIL - because "you don't come to me when your mom is around". All in all - HARD!!!!!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
April 2011 to Nov 2011
It has been a very eventful 6 months.
Abhay and I visited Greensboro the first week of May. Sampath was on a business trip to California and we made use of this excuse to go visit Divya. It was a very relaxing trip. There were a couple of interesting things on the trip. Abhay stated walking in earnest on this trip - that is he was taking more than a couple of steps. He walked pretty much from the bedroom to the living room in Divya's house. The other thing I remember about the trip is at 9 at night, Divya and I would both be lying down on couches and Abhay would still be going full swing. I found out that Abhay loves to crawl/run around in airports. On hind sight now it probably is he loves to run around and any open space is fair game.This was the first trip that I made with Abhay alone (no Sampath). It was very interesting as well as tiring. But since it was a very short flight it was not a big deal.
The Boston trip and the Greensboro trip really helped us prepare for our upcoming India trip in terms of packing and setting our expectations.
The India trip was a everything and more than we expected. Abhay did ok on the flight. Sampath had to carry him around a little. He had a blast in all the airports - waving to people and running around and just being curious.
He was an angel on May 21st. For the amount of things done to him he was very sporting. it started off with a bath, Ayush Homam, ear piercing, krishna dressing, photo sessions, cake cutting, head tonsure, bath again.
I want to write so much but then I realized this is all old news. So small snippets of the trip moving forward.
1. Madras was HOT! Abhay suffered diaper rash all through out but that did not stop him from being his jovial self. Highlight - he loved taking trips and napping in AC cars.
2. Hyd was short but good. Amma loved having him there and making things for him.
3. Bangalore birthday was a blast. It was nice to have so many people come, the food was good as well as we did not have to do much work ourselves other than show up. The photographer did a fab job.
4. Being in Bangalore for 2 months was just fantastic. Appa and Amma were always there for Abhay and they so doted on him. He was a constant source of entertainment as well as affection. Highlight - he loved going for a ride in the car with no restriction and kind of expected to go out everyday in the evening.
Flight back was very challenging in that Abhay had become more mobile as well as there was no Sampath. Amma did the best she could but they both had not gotten used to each other.
After coming back to the US we had a few challenges settling down, getting used to one another, setting routines. Divya and Kishan were here for Avani Attam. Then Vijay and Ramya were here for Labor day. Revathi was here with us for a month. We visited Cincinnati for Aditi's Ayush homam. Off to Boston to see fall colors. And just when we thought everything was calm and quite and settling down I got an offer to work. A contract position for three months.
This threw a wrench we were not really prepared for. What to do with Abhay? How to deal with the change in routines?
The company wanted me to start immediately ( like the very next day). I started out the following Monday and worked for a couple of hours everyday. I would put Abhay down for his afternoon nap and then head to work. I would come home by the time he got up and had milk.
The next week was probably the hardest in terms of emotional upheavel we have faced.
Abhay was not happy being a strange place, he fell sick, I was feeling very guilty about not being there for him. He also started being very clingy once I got home. This was very tough - I was tired (both physically and emotionally) and wanted him to go be himself and be with other people but he would not. Sampath was trying very hard to help but was getting frustrated as Abhay would whine and not go to him.
Anyway, I think we are now past it. I still feel extremely guilty about not being able to take him to little gym and other classes. The biggest loss I feel today is not being able to snuggle up with him for his afternoon naps and catch up on my reading and emails.
Abhay and I visited Greensboro the first week of May. Sampath was on a business trip to California and we made use of this excuse to go visit Divya. It was a very relaxing trip. There were a couple of interesting things on the trip. Abhay stated walking in earnest on this trip - that is he was taking more than a couple of steps. He walked pretty much from the bedroom to the living room in Divya's house. The other thing I remember about the trip is at 9 at night, Divya and I would both be lying down on couches and Abhay would still be going full swing. I found out that Abhay loves to crawl/run around in airports. On hind sight now it probably is he loves to run around and any open space is fair game.This was the first trip that I made with Abhay alone (no Sampath). It was very interesting as well as tiring. But since it was a very short flight it was not a big deal.
The Boston trip and the Greensboro trip really helped us prepare for our upcoming India trip in terms of packing and setting our expectations.
The India trip was a everything and more than we expected. Abhay did ok on the flight. Sampath had to carry him around a little. He had a blast in all the airports - waving to people and running around and just being curious.
He was an angel on May 21st. For the amount of things done to him he was very sporting. it started off with a bath, Ayush Homam, ear piercing, krishna dressing, photo sessions, cake cutting, head tonsure, bath again.
I want to write so much but then I realized this is all old news. So small snippets of the trip moving forward.
1. Madras was HOT! Abhay suffered diaper rash all through out but that did not stop him from being his jovial self. Highlight - he loved taking trips and napping in AC cars.
2. Hyd was short but good. Amma loved having him there and making things for him.
3. Bangalore birthday was a blast. It was nice to have so many people come, the food was good as well as we did not have to do much work ourselves other than show up. The photographer did a fab job.
4. Being in Bangalore for 2 months was just fantastic. Appa and Amma were always there for Abhay and they so doted on him. He was a constant source of entertainment as well as affection. Highlight - he loved going for a ride in the car with no restriction and kind of expected to go out everyday in the evening.
Flight back was very challenging in that Abhay had become more mobile as well as there was no Sampath. Amma did the best she could but they both had not gotten used to each other.
After coming back to the US we had a few challenges settling down, getting used to one another, setting routines. Divya and Kishan were here for Avani Attam. Then Vijay and Ramya were here for Labor day. Revathi was here with us for a month. We visited Cincinnati for Aditi's Ayush homam. Off to Boston to see fall colors. And just when we thought everything was calm and quite and settling down I got an offer to work. A contract position for three months.
This threw a wrench we were not really prepared for. What to do with Abhay? How to deal with the change in routines?
The company wanted me to start immediately ( like the very next day). I started out the following Monday and worked for a couple of hours everyday. I would put Abhay down for his afternoon nap and then head to work. I would come home by the time he got up and had milk.
The next week was probably the hardest in terms of emotional upheavel we have faced.
Abhay was not happy being a strange place, he fell sick, I was feeling very guilty about not being there for him. He also started being very clingy once I got home. This was very tough - I was tired (both physically and emotionally) and wanted him to go be himself and be with other people but he would not. Sampath was trying very hard to help but was getting frustrated as Abhay would whine and not go to him.
Anyway, I think we are now past it. I still feel extremely guilty about not being able to take him to little gym and other classes. The biggest loss I feel today is not being able to snuggle up with him for his afternoon naps and catch up on my reading and emails.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
After a long break
I keep making this resolve to blog every week or atleast every month but never seem to be able to make it.
Anyway, here's back to blogging after a long break.
We spent May, June and July in India. The trip was interesting to say the least. We spent the first 3 weeks travelling. We landed in Bangalore, off to Tirupathi the next day. Spent a day there and then headed to Tirumala. We spent 3 days there and celebrated Abhay's "Star birthday day" ( more about this a little later). After that we went to Chennai and spent 4 days there for Ramya's wedding. Then to Bangalore for his actual birthday. Two days later we went to Hyderabad and 4 days later we were back in Bangalore. Ok - I got tired just recollecting this.
This seems like real old news now so I will update this post later.
Anyway, here's back to blogging after a long break.
We spent May, June and July in India. The trip was interesting to say the least. We spent the first 3 weeks travelling. We landed in Bangalore, off to Tirupathi the next day. Spent a day there and then headed to Tirumala. We spent 3 days there and celebrated Abhay's "Star birthday day" ( more about this a little later). After that we went to Chennai and spent 4 days there for Ramya's wedding. Then to Bangalore for his actual birthday. Two days later we went to Hyderabad and 4 days later we were back in Bangalore. Ok - I got tired just recollecting this.
This seems like real old news now so I will update this post later.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
04/12/2011 - First steps
I had to blog today - Abhay took his first steps. It was amazing feeling. And he repeated this performance for his daddy when he got home.
Videos to follow - that is if I can ever catch it on time.
Videos to follow - that is if I can ever catch it on time.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
weekly post 03/29/2011
There goes my resolve to post every week.
A very eventful month with lots to update.
We finally finalized our plans to India. YEAH!. We will be celebrating Abhay's first birthday there. Abhay and I are also going to spend a couple of months in India after Sampath comes back.
WE HAVE TEETH! Abhay finally got his two upper front teeth after a couple of weeks of real struggle including real bad nasal congestion.
A beautiful view of his teeth:
Abhay is also moving up to the next level in the little gym class. I was a little apprehensive at first as all the kids are older than him and the class size is much bigger. But last week we went for the first class and Abhay loved it. All the kids are mobile in the class so I did not feel so bad as Abhay was not the only one not paying attention and sitting down docile in the circle. He also had all these kids that are walking to look upto and I am hoping that is an incentive for him to start walking soon as he seems very taken up by older walking boys.
Last weekend was super busy with 3 sets of cousins and their families visiting us. We took Abhay with us to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms as well as do some site seeing. Saturday was a little rough as he refused to eat any food and survived eating cereals. I can forsee our plane ride to India being that way. Sunday was better as we decided to feed him lunch at home and then head out.
A couple of pics
Abhay loved being outdoors and he loved having so many people to play with. Here is a clip of Abhay all bundled up and playing in the grass.
Yesterday was the first time Abhay stood without holding any support for almost 15 seconds. I was so thrilled to see it.
On one of the days last week, I was putting Abhay to sleep for his nap and I realised he rarely smiles in his sleep now and never when he is about to fall asleep. I think that phase of his infant hood is gone now.
Abhay will be 10 months tomorrow.
He has been doing a few different things these few weeks.
For a week or so he was smacking his lips and then he stopped.
This past week he has been doing his version of head banging when any music is played or when he wants music to be played.
He puckers his lips and makes a smacking sound when he eats anything sour.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Weekly post 02/26/2011 - Little gym
I have decided I will be a little disciplined and blog every weekend unless something great happens that I have to blog the very day.
This week's highlight was the little gym class on Tuesday. It was at 12:30 and Sampath was able to join us and it was a lot of fun. Since both of us were there we were able to take a lot of pictures. Abhay thoroughly enjoyed himself. He liked the the beam - which was the focus for this week. He also did OK on the bars. But his favourite still was the tunnel and the jingle bells.
Food highlights for the week was broccoli, zucchini and raspberries.
We are looking forward to next Saturday when we start the water babies class - the official swim class for infants.
But Saturday is also going to be a tough day as Revathi (Sampath's sister) is going back to India. It was great having Revathi with us. She was great help with Abhay and he absolutely loved playing with her. I learnt of lot of things regarding baby food from her.
We will miss her a lot :-(.
Here are some pictures.
This week's highlight was the little gym class on Tuesday. It was at 12:30 and Sampath was able to join us and it was a lot of fun. Since both of us were there we were able to take a lot of pictures. Abhay thoroughly enjoyed himself. He liked the the beam - which was the focus for this week. He also did OK on the bars. But his favourite still was the tunnel and the jingle bells.
Food highlights for the week was broccoli, zucchini and raspberries.
We are looking forward to next Saturday when we start the water babies class - the official swim class for infants.
But Saturday is also going to be a tough day as Revathi (Sampath's sister) is going back to India. It was great having Revathi with us. She was great help with Abhay and he absolutely loved playing with her. I learnt of lot of things regarding baby food from her.
We will miss her a lot :-(.
Here are some pictures.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sick week
It was a very hectic 10 days. Abhay had ear pain, teething pain, cold, cough and fever.
We are still not sure the cause of the ear pain - was it the cough and cold, was it an ear infection, was it wax build up or was it due to the teething? Anyway, looks like it is under control now though he still pulls at it once in a while.
He is climbing the stairs in full speed now. He does not even look back to see if anyone is following him or not. At the top of the stairs kisses his reflection in the mirror, hugs the doggie at the next landing and then heads straight for his cardboard boxes in the guest room.
His next milestone is that he wants to stand up all by himself. He stands up holding with both hands and then lets go of one hand. Then he slowly starts inching his other hand away from the support. He then totally lets go and then goes "plop" down.
The weather is holding up real well so we went to the little gym class on Friday as swim class was cancelled. He really enjoyed the class thoroughly. We did forward flips, backward flips. He loved the tunnel. I think playing with all the cardboard boxes at home, going in and out of them really prepared him for the tunnel. It also helped that I was at one end of the tunnel and Revathi was at the other encouraging him to go from one end to the other.
The other interesting thing was he did not like other kids shouting at loud voices - this upset him and he started crying. Also, sharing is not his forte. He was after the ball that Adian had. If he got the ball and Adian got another, he wanted whatever ball Adian had. I am hoping playing with other kids will encourage him share and this is one of my goals for little gym.
We will probably go to the open playdate on Monday and see how he does.
The next class I am looking forward to is the Water babies - which is a real swim class for babies. This starts on March 5th.
We are still not sure the cause of the ear pain - was it the cough and cold, was it an ear infection, was it wax build up or was it due to the teething? Anyway, looks like it is under control now though he still pulls at it once in a while.
He is climbing the stairs in full speed now. He does not even look back to see if anyone is following him or not. At the top of the stairs kisses his reflection in the mirror, hugs the doggie at the next landing and then heads straight for his cardboard boxes in the guest room.
His next milestone is that he wants to stand up all by himself. He stands up holding with both hands and then lets go of one hand. Then he slowly starts inching his other hand away from the support. He then totally lets go and then goes "plop" down.
The weather is holding up real well so we went to the little gym class on Friday as swim class was cancelled. He really enjoyed the class thoroughly. We did forward flips, backward flips. He loved the tunnel. I think playing with all the cardboard boxes at home, going in and out of them really prepared him for the tunnel. It also helped that I was at one end of the tunnel and Revathi was at the other encouraging him to go from one end to the other.
The other interesting thing was he did not like other kids shouting at loud voices - this upset him and he started crying. Also, sharing is not his forte. He was after the ball that Adian had. If he got the ball and Adian got another, he wanted whatever ball Adian had. I am hoping playing with other kids will encourage him share and this is one of my goals for little gym.
We will probably go to the open playdate on Monday and see how he does.
The next class I am looking forward to is the Water babies - which is a real swim class for babies. This starts on March 5th.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The sparrow and the window
Abhay and I were on the rocking chair in our bedroom. It was his nap time and I was trying to put him to sleep. All of a sudden he decides to just get out of my lap. He is looking out the window. He is looking into our neighbour's yard and wants to look further out. So, he leans and lightly bangs his head on the window. What is a window for a kid whose curiosity rivals that of "Curious George". He waits a second and goes at it again, mildly annoyed at the window for being there. After a few times of this, he looks up at me with this look that says "help me".
This reminded me so much of my younger days in Bangalore. We had a bunch of sparrows that used to frequent our house. Their goal - food in the kitchen. When the windows were closed, they would come flying and of course hit the window. But this would not stop them. They would keep trying and make this weird pinging noise with their beaks.
In the last couple of days Abhay has decided he has a lot to say. Unfortunately we still are trying to learn "baby". Sometimes he keeps at it for a few seconds and then if we do not react he increases the volume and the tone to grab our attention.
Here is a small preview - tried recording this for a few days now but I never seem to have the camera ready or he stops as soon as he sees the camera.
This reminded me so much of my younger days in Bangalore. We had a bunch of sparrows that used to frequent our house. Their goal - food in the kitchen. When the windows were closed, they would come flying and of course hit the window. But this would not stop them. They would keep trying and make this weird pinging noise with their beaks.
In the last couple of days Abhay has decided he has a lot to say. Unfortunately we still are trying to learn "baby". Sometimes he keeps at it for a few seconds and then if we do not react he increases the volume and the tone to grab our attention.
Here is a small preview - tried recording this for a few days now but I never seem to have the camera ready or he stops as soon as he sees the camera.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Weekend shopping
Our friends Vidya and Vedham visited us on Saturday with their son Niyol who is 15 months old. It was really cool to see a slightly older kid to see what Abhay might be up to at that age.
Both Abhay and Niyol had a good time playing with the race track and car toy.
The funniest part was Vedham was feeding Niyol and Abhay kept going upto Vedham and pointing to Niyol's food like he wanted it even though he had just had lunch.
He also had a another playmate in the evening. He did not get to spend much time with Sasha as he was sleeping and after he woke up it took him some time to warm up to her. By then it was time for them to leave.
All this makes me want to expose him to more kids and activities. Once winter is over we will try and do more.
Abhay is 8 months old today.
Abhay had not been out of the house for 2 weeks due to the two swim classes. So yesterday (Sunday) we stepped out with Abhay to do our weekly shopping trip which included a trip to Costco and whole foods.
For the first time he sat
in the shopping cart and he was just thrilled to be able to see everything without any restrictions.
Both Abhay and Niyol had a good time playing with the race track and car toy.
The funniest part was Vedham was feeding Niyol and Abhay kept going upto Vedham and pointing to Niyol's food like he wanted it even though he had just had lunch.
He also had a another playmate in the evening. He did not get to spend much time with Sasha as he was sleeping and after he woke up it took him some time to warm up to her. By then it was time for them to leave.
All this makes me want to expose him to more kids and activities. Once winter is over we will try and do more.
Abhay is 8 months old today.
Abhay had not been out of the house for 2 weeks due to the two swim classes. So yesterday (Sunday) we stepped out with Abhay to do our weekly shopping trip which included a trip to Costco and whole foods.
For the first time he sat
in the shopping cart and he was just thrilled to be able to see everything without any restrictions.
Friday, January 28, 2011
8 month status update
Abhay is well into climbing stairs these days. He loves to climb the stairs leading upstairs. He loves it when I sit on the top of the stairs and call out to him.
His latest game is to sit inside the plastic bin that we use to store his toys. There is one such box downstairs and he insisted on opening the lid and try climbing into it.
And the other thing is love to play downstairs in the basement.We try and avoid going there as we feel very cold but he is really happy there even though his hands and legs get cold. This and the fact that he does not like being covered at night leads us to believe he really likes the cold.
He also loves playing " Piddi.... Piddi..." (catch me if you can) when we are going up the stairs. He hangs on tight to the person carrying him as well as laughing at the person following him.
Sleep still seems as elusive as ever. There is no definite sleep patterns nor does he sleep through the night. We are winging it as of now. People said he will sleep better when he reaches twice his birth weight, 6 weeks, 4 months, when he starts eating solids, drinks formula, eats rice. All these milestones have come and gone but he still is not sleeping at night.
As for the indian food, we have tried rice/daal/ghee/salt, rice/daal/gerber peas ( his fav for now), idli, yogurt, mango/yogurt.
When it comes to food my hubby is a traditionalist - he loves his rice/sambhar/rasam. So, today Abhay was eating and infact relishing his avacado. Sampath was telling me - " paavu - ariyade kolundeke emithinde erike" ( you are cheating the innocent kid) and that as soon as he learns to talk he is going to say "amma - please do not give me healthy stuff".
His latest game is to sit inside the plastic bin that we use to store his toys. There is one such box downstairs and he insisted on opening the lid and try climbing into it.
And the other thing is love to play downstairs in the basement.We try and avoid going there as we feel very cold but he is really happy there even though his hands and legs get cold. This and the fact that he does not like being covered at night leads us to believe he really likes the cold.
He also loves playing " Piddi.... Piddi..." (catch me if you can) when we are going up the stairs. He hangs on tight to the person carrying him as well as laughing at the person following him.
Sleep still seems as elusive as ever. There is no definite sleep patterns nor does he sleep through the night. We are winging it as of now. People said he will sleep better when he reaches twice his birth weight, 6 weeks, 4 months, when he starts eating solids, drinks formula, eats rice. All these milestones have come and gone but he still is not sleeping at night.
As for the indian food, we have tried rice/daal/ghee/salt, rice/daal/gerber peas ( his fav for now), idli, yogurt, mango/yogurt.
When it comes to food my hubby is a traditionalist - he loves his rice/sambhar/rasam. So, today Abhay was eating and infact relishing his avacado. Sampath was telling me - " paavu - ariyade kolundeke emithinde erike" ( you are cheating the innocent kid) and that as soon as he learns to talk he is going to say "amma - please do not give me healthy stuff".
Friday, January 14, 2011
Indian food for Abhay
Happy Sankranthi and Pongal to all!
Abhay is crawling very well as well as standing up pretty quickly. He climbed up 3 steps today. He is now trying to cruise.
We decided to start Abhay on Rice and daal this Sankranthi.
Yesterday evening we gave him his first taste of Indian food with Rice, daal, ghee and salt. He seemed to have liked it pretty good - did not make his traditional face he makes when trying new foods. We are glad he liked it. Now starts the journey of introducing him to new indian foods.
He also met Divya Chitti and Kishan Chittappa this morning. He was ok with Divya but started his crying when he saw Kishan but adjusted to him pretty quickly.
We are back to our water excercise class today.
Abhay is crawling very well as well as standing up pretty quickly. He climbed up 3 steps today. He is now trying to cruise.
We decided to start Abhay on Rice and daal this Sankranthi.
Yesterday evening we gave him his first taste of Indian food with Rice, daal, ghee and salt. He seemed to have liked it pretty good - did not make his traditional face he makes when trying new foods. We are glad he liked it. Now starts the journey of introducing him to new indian foods.
He also met Divya Chitti and Kishan Chittappa this morning. He was ok with Divya but started his crying when he saw Kishan but adjusted to him pretty quickly.
We are back to our water excercise class today.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Pool experience
Happy New year to everyone!
Abhay got used to having so many people around during the holidays. On Monday morning when he woke up it was just the two of us. He kept looking around thinking everyone is playing "peekaboo" with him.
I had to take him around the whole house and tell him that it is just the two of us and no one else is at home.
We were very glad to have Revathi back on Wednesday.
We were very excited when Friday rolled around as we were enrolled in a swim class. I thought I had registered for the water babies class but then realized that it was actually a Aqua mommy (exercise for mom) class that I had registered. That apart, it was a awesome experience.
It was a great way to introduce Abhay to the water and he loved it. He was the youngest baby in the class. He was cooing all through out and smiling. He chased some balls around in the water, crawled in the play area, kicked his legs as soon as I had him in the water, almost floated on his back with very little support from me, splashed the water in the falls. We made some new friends. We are looking forward to the next class. I am going to try and register him for the water babies class in spring.
The last two weeks have been very eventful. Abhay started crawling forwards in the third week of December. The very next week he was trying to stand up holding on to things. I left him in the crib and went to the restroom. I did not hear any noise all of a sudden. I rushed out as quickly as I could and a good thing I did too - Abhay was standing up holding the side of the crib. He had this look of achievement on his face. He was surveying the room and smiling. I had the shock of my life as I had not expected it to happen so soon. We lowered the height in his crib that very day.
This week he is trying to cruise as well as hold things standing up. He stands up using his hand and whatever is vertical. Then he forgets he needs his hands to keep standing. He lets go off whatever he has used to stand up and starts reaching for other interesting objects. As somebody aptly said " The motion has started".
The next big project for us - CHILD PROOFING.
Abhay got used to having so many people around during the holidays. On Monday morning when he woke up it was just the two of us. He kept looking around thinking everyone is playing "peekaboo" with him.
I had to take him around the whole house and tell him that it is just the two of us and no one else is at home.
We were very glad to have Revathi back on Wednesday.
We were very excited when Friday rolled around as we were enrolled in a swim class. I thought I had registered for the water babies class but then realized that it was actually a Aqua mommy (exercise for mom) class that I had registered. That apart, it was a awesome experience.
It was a great way to introduce Abhay to the water and he loved it. He was the youngest baby in the class. He was cooing all through out and smiling. He chased some balls around in the water, crawled in the play area, kicked his legs as soon as I had him in the water, almost floated on his back with very little support from me, splashed the water in the falls. We made some new friends. We are looking forward to the next class. I am going to try and register him for the water babies class in spring.
The last two weeks have been very eventful. Abhay started crawling forwards in the third week of December. The very next week he was trying to stand up holding on to things. I left him in the crib and went to the restroom. I did not hear any noise all of a sudden. I rushed out as quickly as I could and a good thing I did too - Abhay was standing up holding the side of the crib. He had this look of achievement on his face. He was surveying the room and smiling. I had the shock of my life as I had not expected it to happen so soon. We lowered the height in his crib that very day.
This week he is trying to cruise as well as hold things standing up. He stands up using his hand and whatever is vertical. Then he forgets he needs his hands to keep standing. He lets go off whatever he has used to stand up and starts reaching for other interesting objects. As somebody aptly said " The motion has started".
The next big project for us - CHILD PROOFING.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)