Treading unknown territories...

Rhea is a busy bee these days...she is cautiously exploring unknown territories as she tries to teach herself how to crawl and it is very interesting to watch her at it relentlessly and with so much patience and perseverance. It is hard to imagine that as babies we all have so much patience and really don’t need someone to keep us going without giving up. She is definitely giving me a lesson on persistence and patience (I could use it the next time I’m struggling with something and about to give up).

From yesterday she figured how to stand on all fours, her butt up in the air – it is such a cute sight. She will then gently rock herself for a few seconds as if to gain some momentum to make the next step.




In between she will take a break and do something that she has already mastered like chomping on her toes...maybe she is thinking about the next move...



She managed a tiny step yesterday and I'm sure before long she will be crawling all over the place. She will also somehow scoot and reach for the ball or other toys that are just out of her reach.



Most of all though she loves to play with Sean's toys. If cheta is playing with his globe, she wants it too and will scoot and hold onto it and try to put the joy stick in her mouth. I guess that’s her way of 'figuring out' things. Sean will then launch into the innumerable 'Mamma, baby is not letting me play! She is putting it in her mouth etc etc..'



I hope this little one will not be bossing around her ever loving gentle cheta...I'm sure he will toughen up eventually. I can already picture all the fights these two will get into soon ...definitely brings back memories of me and pavi fighting...it was a lot of fun now when I look back. Priyachechi was the gentle older sister always staying out of trouble and was always there for us with advice and guidance.Hopefully Sean and Rhea will also share a wonderful bond like I have with Priyachechi and Pavi or what Aji shares with Anishchayan.

Sean is a playful little guy, full of mischief at times but also very loving and passionate and a very caring big brother to Rhea...Hopefully she will imbibe all these same qualities and reciprocate..

Who did it ?? - The case of the mysterious boo boo

Yesterday I was giving Sean a bath and like always I let him play in the water for a few minutes before the actual 'bath' itself. After several minutes he still didn't seem ready so I had to finally tell him, Sean, Mamma has a boo boo in my hand. So lets take a quick bath.

And that started it all. The next few minutes were interesting to say the least.

Sean: You got a boo boo?
Me: Yeah Sean, see in my hand (it was my tendinitis flaring up again in my right hand and it was painful)
Sean : How did it happen?
Me: I dont know sean (usually i know but this time i couldn't remember what triggered the flare up)

At this point he really thought that some one hurt me and thats how I got the boo boo. So he said,

Sean: Who did it?
Me: I dont know Sean.
Sean: Appacha did it?
Me: No Sean, Appacha didnt do it.
Sean: Ammachi did it?
Me: No Seany
Sean: Baby did it?
Me: No
Sean: Sean did it?
Me: No
Sean: Daddy did it?
Me: No...
Sean: Jogging did it?

At this point he had a look of concern on his face as he was trying to narrow down the problem and I just had to give him a big hug and kiss his forehead and assure him that everything is fine. He seemed so determined to get to the bottom of this. I dont think in his mind he thinks that Appacha, Ammachi, baby, he or dada would hurt me but i guess those are the people he's close to and come to his mind first..

Hmm...I'm beginning to think that I have a budding Sherlock Holmes at hand...

'Feel Good' days..

You know the kind of days I'm referring to - the ones that you accomplish almost everything you set out to do at the start of the day and still have some left in your tank to really pat yourself in the back and bask in your self glory a little bit before you hit the bed. What I have discovered is that over the years you add more and more to your juggling act (esp. after having kids) and you do get better at it with time and experience. I have to admit that my definition of a 'feel good' day has evolved over the years.

Yesterday was one of my 'feel good' days and I really wish I had more of them. The day didnt start off too well since I started a little late for work but I managed to feed Rhea before I left, wash her bottles from the night and pack both mine and Aji's lunches. Our fruit basket was almost empty from the weekend and I was dreading the magnetic pull to the vending machine at work but i managed to distract myself with a jolly rancher (hard candy) and steer myself away from the evil vending machine (which in itself is a huge accomplishment) the entire day. I got off work at my usual time and even made a quick trip to the mall to pick Rhea's baptism portraits (luv the light traffic days ...wish everyday was like that!!!). Picked up sean who was in great spirits and he was doubly happy when I gave him a candy and we proceeded home. No last minute grocery shopping to do YAY!!! Got home and Sean was good and drank his milk which some days I have to coax him to drink and Rhea as usual was her chirpy self. Watched some new movie songs on Surya TV and sent Daddy and Mummy for a walk. Sean was a happy camper watching 'Snow Whitea nd the seven dwarfs'. I played with Rhea for a while...lots of giggles and squeals. After Daddy and Mummy got back I sneaked out for my jog (Sean is not very happy when i go out jogging as he want s to come with me). Felt so good to be out there...it was pleasant and perfect running weather. Got back and by then mummy fed Rhea her cereal. I gave Sean a quick bath and dinner (Appam and Stew) which he ate well(he was starving). Aji was working late which was a bummer. I showered, inhaled dinner (since it was Rhea's bedtime and she was beginning to get cranky) and got both the kids to bed by the time he got home. I think anyday I can get my workout in is 'sweet bliss' for me...wish everyday was like this or better....one can always strive right!

Sean and Rhea meet more family!

Friday night we had Ammama (Mummy's aunt) her daughter Meena and family visit us. Ammama is here for 6 months and is leaving next month. Meena and Will have 2 cute girls - Ammu who is 3 and is the same age as Sean and Vidhya who was born just 3 weeks earlier than Rhea and is 6 months old. It was a fun weekend and the kids got to have so much fun with their cousins. Sarah, Sean and Ammu played well.



They pretend read some books, watched tv, rode the tricycle and scooter and also played on the playset pretending to be astronauts on a space ship.




Vidhya and Rhea were totally unaware of each other even though we tried to get them to play together. The closest they came to having any interaction was to grab the rattle from the each other. It was a cute sight! I'm sure next time it'll be a different story!



Ammama had a great time catching up with mummy. She seemed very happy to have made the long trip to visit us. Will was a good sport. We were all worried if he will find the food spicy but he totally enjoyed all the Indian food, from mummy's spicy rajma curry to the Biriyani that chechi made. Meena was just happy to see Ammama happy. She enjoyed the Masala Dosa that she was craving for and Ammu loved the Idlis and chutney they got for her from Minerva (Indian restaurant).

Sean was very sad when ammu had to leave Sunday morning. Even though they had a small fight 2 minutes earlier he still didnt want them to leave and kept saying 'I dont want ammu to go'. He is already talking about having them visit us again. I told him all about the chicken house and the fish pond ammu has at her place and sean is excited to make a trip. We should plan on making a visit.

Daddy's 70th birthday!

Daddy turned 70 years on Sep 22nd. We had a surprise birthday party for him. Here's the celebration in pictures....the detailed narrative to follow soon..

Everyday Good byes and night nights…

When I pick Sean from school there are still about 5-6 of his class mates in the after care with him and they will all break into a song when he leaves. The first time I heard it I couldn’t catch all the words but since its daily ritual I quickly got the hang of it and this is how it goes…

Good Bye Sean
Good Bye Sean
We’re sad to see you go..

Most of the time some of them will be busy with some activity and when he leaves their teacher will say ‘Everybody, say good bye to Sean’ and they’ll immediately start singing ...I find it amusing..its like a game for them and some of them will go on and on and we can hear them even as we leave the building...

So yesterday night Aji was working late and so me, Sean and Rhea were going to go upstairs to go to bed and Sean calls out Ammachi, Ammachi!! and starts singing,

Good Bye Ammachi
Good Bye Ammachi
We’re sad to go..

And then,

Good Bye Appacha
Good Bye Appacha
We’re sad to go..

I was impressed by how he improvised the same song and used it fittingly to say his good nights to Appacha and Ammachi. It reminded me so much of the ‘So long, farewell’ song from my all time favorite movie ‘The Sound of Music’ (Where the kids say good night to all the guests).

Sean seems to have an inclination to music, we hope to nurture his interest and send him for some music lessons…I’d love for him to be in the school and church choir. Now, I don’t know if it’s a cool thing for boys to be in choir but I hope he will follow his heart and just be himself and not succumb to peer pressure (I know that’s a difficult battle).

We’ll be behind him encouraging him all the way and helping him make all his dreams come true!

Sweet Dreams...

Today morning after Sean woke up he told aji that he saw Appacha (Achachan) in his dreams. I'm not sure what his dream was and I cant wait to pick him up from school to get the entire story...

Here's my update. I picked sean from school and our conversation went like this,

Me: Sean, how was your day?
Sean: Good
Me: Did you have fun?
Sean: yes
Me: What did you have for lunch?
Sean: Rice and Chicken
Me: Did you sleep well yesterday night?
Sean: yeah
Me: Did you see any dreams?
Sean: yeah!! I saw Appacha!
Me: Really! Wow..what did appacha say?
Sean: Appacha said he's coming
Me: What about ammachi? Did you see her?
Sean: Yeah. She said she's coming. Where's her bags?
Me: They got their bags sean
Sean: What happened to the big plane?
Me: Nothing sean they reached their home in India

Appacha, Ammachi both the kids still miss you and think about you often. Sean still talks about both of you when he sees a plane landing or take off and yesterday when I was giving him a bath out of the blue he said 'I want Appacha and Ammachi to come back'. I really wish we could come down for Onam, Diwali and Christmas vacations, but I'm really happy that atleast they got to spend the summer with both of them.

I too like the kids are waiting patiently for next time...

APPACHA,AMMACHI WE LOVE YOU
COME BACK SOON!!!

6 Month Stats

Rhea had her 6 month Dr appt today. If you count in months from her birthday (March 13) to today she is 1 day shy of 6 months but if you count the weeks, she is 26 weeks todate which is about 6 months - That is, if you are like me and like to think there are exactly 4 weeks in a month. Anyways enough said about that…



I as usual could not get off from work so Aji, Mummy and Daddy took her for her appt. They dropped off Sean at school and then proceeded to the Drs office. Dr Suzanne (our favorite Dr in the practice) was very happy with Rhea’s progress and assured us that she is right on target with her developmental skills. She advised that Rhea doesn’t really need her night feeds. She wakes up at 1am and 5:30 am now. She suggested we can start fruits – avoid the citrus ones and mangoes etc (they tend to cause allergies) and stick with the basic apple, banana, pear etc. She also said that we give her a fruit and cereal for breakfast and veggie and cereal for dinner and that should be enough to get her through the night. I think she’s gotten into a habit of getting the mid night feeds. Its going to be difficult to break her out of it. We’ll have to wait and see how she does with the extra solids. Maybe that'll do the trick. i can always keep my fingers crossed and hope right? Its difficult for me to ignore her cries in the middle of the night. I’ll have to figure out a way to teach her to soothe herself back to sleep. Easier said than done…

Here are her 6 month stats,

Height: 26 inches
Weight: 17 lb 15.6oz
Head Circumference: 16 ¾ inches

She also got 3 shots today. Mummy was saying how she was smiling so much at the Dr...poor thing little did she know that its all going to end with her getting the shots. We gave her Tylenol before the appt so hopefully that will help keep the fever at bay. She seems to be her usual self but hasn't napped after the appt(3 hours ago). I'm sure she must be feeling the sting at the shot site. Hopefully the pain will subside soon.

I also have to mention that from the past 2 weeks Rhea has started to extend her arms as if to say ‘Carry me, mamma’ and after she comes to me will squeal in delight. It is soo cute, it warms my heart. Yesterday when I got back from work I extended my arms and called her and she literally jumped into my arms from mummy. She rolls all around the place so we have to keep a constant watch on her these days.

I will post some pictures soon. Hopefully we’ll buy the camera lenses this week. Well, its broken (have no idea when/how it happened) and that explains the ‘Camera fiasco’ at the time of Rhea’s baptism.

Sean's tales from school.

Everyday when I pick Sean from school I ask him how his day was, what his teacher did in class that day and then quiz him about what he had for snack and lunch and if he took a nap. On the days that he doesn’t remember what was for lunch he'll say ' Rice and Chicken'. The first couple of times I believed him and then I started checking their lunch menu and most of time when its 'Taquitos' for lunch I think he doesn’t know what its called and rather than explaining he'll just say 'Rice & Chicken'. Yesterday when I picked him up he was playing with his friend Joseph. On our way home I asked him,

Seany, what did you do today?

Sean: I talk with Jophes (aka Joseph)
Me: What did you talk sean?
Sean: We talk a lot
Me: What did you talk?
Sean : Jophes said 'Choo Choo Train, Choo choo train'
Me: So what did you tell him?
Sean: I said 'Steam Engine, Steam Engine!'

I'm pretty sure their conversation was much more than that and instead of giving me all the details he just edited and gave me the 'Mommy rated' version. Anyways I thought the way he narrated it was hilarious and I almost burst out laughing but had it under control lest he thinks I'm making fun of him. I'm pretty sure all they talk about is fire trucks and choo trains and ambulances etc and maybe some times about their siblings (Joseph had a baby brother this summer and sean used to tell me that joseph's baby brother came to pick him from school. Sean used to get upset that his baby sister was not coming to pick him up) I still remember when we bought our van this summer, Sean wanted to go to school the next day to show it to his friends.

I guess, Boys will always be boys and i should enjoy his love for trucks and fire engines and all the other boy stuff. I'm sure I will appreciate it more when i get dragged into all the girly girl stuff that’s out there. Now, that SCARES me and Rhea is not even a year old..

Tell Me WHY?

The most frequently asked question by Sean is WHY. Anything we talk to him about, his immediate question is ‘Why Mamma/Dada?’ He seems to have a very curious mind and sometimes I have to really scratch my mind to explain something in his terms. It’s a fact that he has gotten both me and aji to be very careful about what/how we speak because most often he will reuse them in his conversations. This also means that we’ve been scrambling online to read up on a lot of topics, the one that jumps out is a lot of space related stuff due to his immense interest now regarding Astronauts and the Space shuttle. The other day we were in the car and it was about 7pm. The skies were clear and the moon was out. As soon as we pulled out of our drive way he saw the moon through his window and said ‘I see the moon’. We drove further down and made couple of lefts and rights and this time he spotted the moon from Rhea’s window and he said ‘There’s another moon. There are lots of moons!’ We explained to him that there is only one moon but since its up in the sky we can see it from anywhere. Its moments like those that I try to think if I’ve given him enough information or should I have told him more, like for instance how the moon revolves around the earth and so on and so forth? What I’ve realized by now though is that its always better keep things simple and appropriate for his age and save the details for later.

Sean is such a caring and passionate kid and I’m not saying it because he’s my lil one. However i do admit, i'm a little bit biased. Often at times he will hug me and give me a kiss on my cheeks and say ‘I love you’. He does the same with Aji and Rhea and with Achachan and Mummy when they were here. It is such an awesome feeling and I just want to hug him and not let go. The other day Daddy and Mummy stepped out to go for a walk and Sean said to them, ‘Appacha, Ammachi be careful. Don’t fall’. Also, occasionally when Rhea cries while I’m fixing her milk he’ll get very upset and he’ll say to me, ‘Mamma, baby is crying. I think so she needs milk’ and then he’ll go to Rhea and say ‘Baby, don’t cry baby, mamma is getting your milk Ok’.

Seany, you are such a sweet heart!! I love you kutta!

The Inseparables

Sean and Rhea are already so close. They absolutely love each other and I couldn’t be happier. Sean is always behind her calling ‘Babykutty’ and she in turn is so wonder struck at whatever he does.



When I pick up Sean from school, the first thing he asks is ‘Where is baby?’ I’m sure he knows she is at home with appacha and ammachi but he asks me the same question everyday anyhow. Its fun to watch the two of them after we get home. Both of them are so happy to see each other. Rhea will get all excited and be swinging her arms and stomping her feet and smiling from ear to ear at cheta and Sean on his part will do his little dance numbers that get her into a laugh riot. Its great to see them so happy together. I hope they nurture this special bond that they share now as the years pass and be there for each other through life’s ups and downs.

Oatmeal, Mmm Mmm Good!

Yesterday I introduced Rhea to oatmeal and if she were to talk I’m pretty sure she’d say 'Mamma, its Mmm Mmm Good!' She absolutely loves it. Cant blame her, rice cereal is soo bland. So far we have tried the following listed in the order of her preference,

Oatmeal – Fave
Carrots – Love it
Sweet Potatoes – Don’t mind
Rice Cereal – Blech

She does however eat the rice cereal if its every other day instead of everyday. If you give it to her 2 days in a row she will not even open her mouth. It sounds funny but its true…there is no way you can sneak in a few spoonfuls. I bought some squash the other day that we’ll try this weekend and then slowly we can start introducing fruits.

First day of School

Today was Sean’s first day of school. I had to leave home around 5:30am since my schedule has changed to 7am-3:30pm. That way I can pick him from school.

Aji called around 7:30am and Sean was still watching TV. He had some puttu and milk for breakfast. I wished him good luck for his first day and he seemed pretty happy. It has been pouring rain from last night and is supposed to continue till tonight. Needless to say it reminded of my first day back at school in India which used to be in the Monsoon season. Sean had a similar experience today.

I called aji later and he was telling me that Sean was very happy when he dropped him off today. He met his teacher Ms Poncho. Aji gave all his extra clothes for his cubby and Sean seemed comfortable in his new class and was happy to be back. He immediately spotted a small airplane in his class and told aji 'Why can’t Appacha and Ammachi come back? I want to talk to Ammachi. We should pick Appacha and Ammachi from the airport.' Paavam kuttan. He sure is missing them terribly. I guess he will feel better in a few days as he gets busy with school and activities and new friends. I’m hoping he won’t have trouble telling his teachers if he has to use the potty. I’m sure he’ll do just fine but I just cant quit worrying. I guess that’s just part of being a Mom. Aji said that Sean’s class looked and smelled new since they installed new hardwood floors and newcarpets for the stairs leading to his class.

Here’s a toast to Sean for a wonderful and fun filled school year !!

Paging Appacha and Ammachi....

Appacha, Ammachi we're still missing you terribly. Yesterday we were in the car and sean again spotted a plane landing and asked me,

'Is Ammachi in that plane?'

I replied,
'Seany, Appacha and Ammachi have reached India'.

He immediately said 'I want Appacha and Ammachi to come back !'

Needless to say that was enough to get me all teary eyed...so Appacha and Ammachi, when you get this message, please start planning your next trip as soon as possible!!

Rhea's Baptism Portraits.

Today we got some baptism portraits of Rhea

Appacha,Ammachi we miss you...

Achachan and Mummy left for India on Saturday. We all miss them terribly. Sean and Rhea miss them tremendously both in their own way.

Rhea would not drink milk at all..i guess it is her way of showing how she misses them both. I would sing her ammachi's favorite song 'Kannum Pootti Uranguga Neeyen' and she doses off in no time. Saturday and Sunday she hardly drank any milk during the day...just about an ounce or two every feed till afternoon. She did eat the carrots i fed her. She woke up 2-3 times in the night. I guess she was catching up on her calorie deficit from morning. Usually she wakes up only once. Hopefully she will soon settle into a routine soon since Dada's Appacha and Ammachi are here to take care of her. Paavam smiley/chirikudukka..I'm sure she is wondering whats going on. She is letting us know in her own unique way that she is missing all the love and attention of Appacha and Ammachi!!! I'm sure she would love to share her sly smile that she used to have only for them and thinks about them quite often in her thoughts...I caught her with that smile as soon as I laid her in her bassinett for her nap today afternoon.

Sean on the other hand has been very vocal about expressing how much he is missing them both. Since there was lot of plane trouble for Achachan and Mummy about which we spoke to Sean, he kept saying 'The big plane has some problem. Dada, Mamma, we have to go to the airport to pick Appacha and Ammachi!' Also whenever we see an airplane landing or take off he'll say 'Is Ammachi/Appacha in that plane?' We told him today that Appacha and Ammachi have reached India and his response was 'They are far away mamma'. He has been a little more clingy to me than usual. He starts school so that is a good distraction for him. He is also beginning to have fun with Daddy and Mummy.

I cant wait for our next trip back home so that all of us can be together again. It was such a wonderful six months and I really wish we were closer to home!

Appacha, Ammachi we miss you!!! Come back and visit us soon!!!

The funny one in the family

Sean cracks us up so much these days with his wit and humor. He definitely looks like he is making a serious conversation but sometimes it is so funny its difficult to keep a straight face and continue the conversation.

Achachan and Mummy have quite a few of these tales to tell us everyday when we get back from work and I thought I should record some of them for future references 

One of the days Achachan cut Sean’s nails and when he was done Sean said,
Good job Appacha! I’m very proud of you!!

He will give the same above compliment to Rhea sometimes when she finishes her milk or cereal by saying,
Good job Baby!

Another day Achachan and Mummy were chatting with Achachan’s brother Jojichachan in cochin during lunch time here. It was night time for them but Sean didn’t know that. So after a few minutes it seemed like everyone was having a good time and Sean said something on the lines of,
My Dada and Mamma have gone to work. Do you have to go to work?

Joji chachan had to explain to him that he just got back from work.

Back to school orientation..

Today morning was Sean’s back to school orientation day. I almost missed it thinking it was in the evening from 3-6pm. Luckily on my way to work I thought of reading what the letter from the school said and that’s when I realized it was from 8-10am. So I turned around and got back home around 7:15 and Sean was still soundly asleep. I didn’t want to wake him up but finally around 7:30 I just had to, since I had a 10:30am meeting at work and couldn’t run late. He was pretty good about it and I got him to drink milk and got him ready and we were out of the door by 7:45. Mummy took some pictures of him before we left since they wouldn’t be here for his first official day back at school. It was pouring rain but we managed to get to the car without getting drenched.

We got there right on time at 8am. He was a bit shy when he saw his principal Mrs Amiri but managed a quick Hi. We then proceeded to his class which is ‘Class C’. There was one other kid – Emily, with her mom and we met his teachers – Ms Poncho, Ms Jain and Ms Kristen. There will be 29 children from ages 3-6 in his class and almost 11 of them are his age group. We checked out his cubby. His number is 5 and also signed up for Snack day for Sep 6. It will be Sean’s turn to get snack for the class which will be Bagels and cream cheese. We learnt that in this class Sean will have to help himself during snack time. Hopefully he will eat something and not be too engrossed in some activity and forget. I also showed him around the class and he got a quick glance of all the activities they have there. He was happy that they have lots of books and was also interested in the globe and miniature animals along with the Barn and Farm set. He was reminded of the tour of Kreider farms we made this summer. He also checked out the bathroom they have in class. He is returning to class for the first time after getting potty trained this summer. Sean seemed happy and eager to get back to his school routine and that was a big relief for me. I know it might take him a few days to get used to all his new class mates and teachers but he has 4-5 of his friends from the toddler class here with him, that always helps.

We said our good byes to his teachers and when we got near his toddler class he saw his teacher from the toddler class, Ms Young. I asked him if he wanted to say hi to her and he wanted me to go with him. As soon as he saw her he ran to her and jumped into her arms. She carried him and gave him a kiss and was so happy to see him. He was delighted too. He was delighted too. Ms Young has been a huge influence on him the past year and I thanked her for all her help. He was in her good books from the time he joined and he was genuinely happy to see her. When I asked him which class he will be going back on Tuesday he pointed the toddler class to me. I showed him his new class once again and explained to him and he was fine with that.

On our way out, we passed the receptionist Ms Mariam and she was also happy to see Sean back after 2 months, she said,

Sean, you’ve become a big boy!!!

To which Sean’s reply was,

Yeah, I pee in the potty and I’m going to be an astronaut!

It was so funny esp the fact that he equates ‘big boy’ to ‘being potty trained’ and ‘becoming an astronaut’ because we tell him that he has to be older to become an astronaut. It definitely was a revelation that he does pay attention to all the nitty gritty details of our conversations with him.

Rolling her way around…

Rhea discovered that she does not have to wait till she figures how to crawl or walk to be mobile and discover the world around her. Starting yesterday she has mastered the art of rolling. She has been rolling her way around the family room and squealing in delight at her newly acquired skill. According to Ammachi, she would roll around till she reaches the hard wood floors. She figured out early that the hard wood floors are definitely not a very comfortable surface to roll. So as soon as she reached the hard wood floor in the kitchen, she will roll back and go to Ammachi and try to snatch Ammachi’s glasses and play with it. She had a great time and kept doing it the entire short mat time she got yesterday afternoon when cheta went with Appacha to nap.

We will have to be on our toes all the time since she has become mobile and will soon try to get her hands on everything she can get a hold off….our busy days are going to get busier…Oh well….it was bound to happen sooner or later…hopefully we can be one step ahead of her and handle all the curve balls she has for us. Its going to be interesting to watch the two of them play together more.

Yesterday during dinner I put Rhea on her high chair with her rattle and Sean was playing with his toys since he was too full with cookies and milk to have dinner (which by the way was meat loaf and mashed potatoes followed by crème brulee. It was Mmm….Mmm good). Ok getting back to my story, Rhea managed to throw her rattle down and soon Sean donned the ‘helper’ role and got it back for her every single time she . Finally he decided to give her something else and brought her the Snow white booklet which was part of the DVD and as soon as Rhea got her hands on it she put it in her mouth and Sean exclaimed ‘No baby, you cannot eat the book, you have to read it !!!’ That totally cracked us up!

Rhea’s Baptism and the action packed week leading to it..

It felt like we’ve been planning rhea’s baptism forever. The big day was on Saturday(Aug 26) and Thank God everything worked out perfectly well, except for the camera glitch..i’ll get to that shortly.

I got all the cards out and even got confirmation from everyone regarding their attendance 2 weeks in advance, we placed the order for food and also got everything else covered before the end of last week. I’m usually a procrastinator so this was a huge accomplishment. We were thinking of having Naadan kerala food initially but we would have to pick it from Germantown, which is a good 1 hour drive each way from home. I’m so glad we finally decided to drop that idea (we figured we would end up spending half the day Saturday driving up and down for the food) and decided to order food from Minerva which is just 10 mins from home. The whole of last week was extremely busy too, Achachan and Mummy came back from Florida on Monday (they had a fantastic trip), Anishchayan, Chechi and kids got back from India on Tuesday and Daddy & Mummy came on Friday. Thursday was Daddy & Mummy’s wedding anniversary so we had everyone over for dinner on Friday and also cut the cake. Mummy had made a huge spread – Fried Rice, Caramel Chicken, Shrimp Olathu, Raitha, Rice, Kaachu Moru, Beans Thoran, Fish Vaatipattichathu and pickle. Daddy and Mummy were tired and jet lagged but were happy to celebrate their anniversary with the whole family.

Saturday rolled around fast and all of us were very excited. Sean kept saying ‘Are we having baby’s birthday party?’ and we had to keep reminding him that it was her ‘Baptism’ not birthday. He was confused but happy that a lot of kids were coming over and kept saying, ‘Lot of kids are coming.You have to share your toys. No fighting’. I just hoped that he’d remember at least some of that when the time came and he did (More about that down).

Aji and Achachan got all the last minute errands (like getting ice for the drinks) done in the morning and around 3pm went to Minerva and got the food. It was good to have the van. Everything fit in the trunk and we didn’t have any big spills…except for a little bit of the sugar syrup from the gulab jamun but the lawn bag liners caught all of that. Daddy, Mummy, Anishchayan and the kids came around quarter after 4. Sean was still napping. I got Rhea all dressed. We decided to carry her baptism dress and change her into that after the mass. Mass was at 5pm and we had to leave at least by 4:40pm to be able to make it on time. I was beginning to wonder if we will make it in time, so I woke sean up and got him ready, Aji, Mummy and Achachan also were all set and we were out the door by 4:45pm. Well, just before we left for church is when we thought of taking some quick pictures and realized that there was some problem with our digital camera, it wasnt working at all...it was such a HUGE disappointment. Hopefully we have some good ones on Anishchayans and Achachans camera and some on our video. Achachan had brought a suit from India but it didn’t seem to go well with his shirt so Anishchayan lent his sports jacket (Thanks Anishchayan!!) to achachan. He looked great and reminded me of Oommer (yesteryear mallu actor). We managed to reach church as the first reading commenced. Ittirachen and family were already there. Mass got over around 5:40pm and Aji and I changed Rhea into her Baptism dress. She looked so cute all dressed in white with a tiny white bow on her hair to complete the look.

The Baptism itself started around 6pm. There was another family with 3 kids. The priest had both the families on the pews on either side of the altar. Achachan and Mummy were Rhea’s God parents. Mummy held Rhea and achachan lit the candle. She didn’t cry when the priest poured the water over her head. She loves bath time so I guess she was thinking it was bath time again. We took some pictures in the church and we got Rhea’s baptism certificate. Our lil girl was officially christened - Rhea Elizabeth Joseph.




We got home around 6:45pm. Sean wanted to wear his new kurta pyjama for the party. He was sooo cute in it. Sarah and Suzanna looked gorgeous in their chanya choli.Everyone started arriving by 7:30pm and soon we had a house full of people, kids running around and playing in the basement. It was a lot of fun. Rhea was a happy camper but she was pretty worn out by 9pm (her bed time) and both the ammachi’s took turns to put her to bed. Sean played really well with Sarah, Kavya, Arnav, Arunima and Meherbaan. He shared all his toys even his Thomas the tank engine. We are so proud of him. We had Chicken Pakodas and Vegetable cutlets with dates and coriander chutney as appetizers. Dinner was served around 9 and included Naan, Vegetable Biriyani, Navaratan Kurma, malai Kofta, Butter Chicken, Chicken 65, Raitha and Salad. Dessert was Gulab jamun and Ice cream. For drinks there was wine, sparkling cider, beer for the guys, margaritas for the women and soft drinks for the kids. We also had Red Label but every one preferred to have beer and wine. There was quite a lot of food left and we packed some for everyone. By the time everyone left it was around 11:30pm. It was a fun filled night and everyone had a fantastic time. Rhea slept like a champ till morning after waking up briefly before midnight for her post dinner snack. It was the perfect ending to very special day.