Going back in time ...

Hard to believe that its over 2 months since I updated my blog…not that I didn’t have anything to say….i was just extremely busy at work and had two episodes of tendonitis….

Anyways here’s a quick summary of the last 2 months,

I grew a year older and aji got me a DKNY watch for my birthday just the dial and color I wanted. I convinced him we didn’t need a birthday cake since I always end up tossing it after 2-3 days. We did order in some Chinese food since it is Sean’s favorite.

We celebrated Sean’s 4th birthday at Life Time fitness. He had a pool party and it was fire truck themed. He had fun except when we got out of the pool and he wanted to wear his shoes instead of sandals…we were able to divert his attention after a few tearful minutes and all was well in his world. He was sooo excited about all his gifts.


We went to Lake Anna during Memorial day weekend which also happens to be our Anniversary weekend. 7 years till date and I have to admit they have been memorable ones…and the good thing is both of us haven’t had the dreaded ‘7 year Itch’. Aji and the kids got me earrings. The lake getaway was fun…we caught lots of fish and jumped into the lake and had fun in the water…lots of good memories with friends and family.


Sean now knows upper and lower case letters. He also writes numbers up to 30 and counts till 100. He can spell a few words – boy, toy, cat, fat etc. He is very interested to learn to read so I need to get my act together and help him with that.

He is getting pretty good with some trivia too like the other day he told me all the planets and he missed Pluto. So I reminded him and he shot back…Pluto is not a planet mama, because it is very small…my little genius, I’m convinced now that he is paying attention to the teacher. He was also telling me something frog related the other day…escapes my mind now…oh well, I’m growing old…

Rhea had her 15 month appt. Here are her stats,

Height - (75th percentile)
Weight - 20.06 lb (15th percentile)

I got my first driving ticket. To make the wrong story short, it was the result of me driving on the curb 10 ft to over take the car in front of me who was clearly blocking my way (because the cop was in full view of him). I was totally blind sighted and got caught red handed for a whooping fine of $92. This with both Sean and Rhea in the car…I felt so embarrassed and had a talk about how Mom not following the rules led to being stopped by the cop. I hope they understood the underlying message..Sean kept wanting to see my ticket. So here it is…for the curious minds…



Sean is getting very good at his dinosaur puzzle. he does most of it by himself. here he is with the 'finished product'.


Rhea has had a vocabulary explosion too…she is such a big girl now…she says, Mama, Dada, Teta (cheta), Tu-tuh (turtle), Ta Ta, Hi, Uh-Oh. She gives flying kiss on command – well mostly. She will also get her sandals when asked to. aThe other day though I got the shock of my life when I heard her say – Hi Ma followed by Tha-ku (thank you) Ma…my baby is growing up so fast…

Mommy and Me

This weekend Aji is going to New York to celebrate Anishchayan’s 40th birthday. They leave sat morning and will be back Sun. I have to plan some fun things with the kids…I want them to think that mom does the coolest things

Chillin..

Just Chillin with my trucks


Mmmm...Cool relief

Happy Mother's day!!

The Spread - Aji's handiwork!


I love you mommy!

Picture time..

Sean ready for school


Our lil fashonista showing off her new sandals

Josie uncle's Visit.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN & HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABO AMMACHI

Yes, Sean and Mummy share the same birthday. In case you are wondering, sean refers to achachan and mummy as Babo appacha and ammachi since they taught him the babo kuruvi lullaby last year when they were here. Its one of his favorite songs :)

I woke him up today morning as i was rushing out to work and planted a big kiss and wished him. He was grinnign earb to ear when i told him 'You are 4 years today Sean'! He spoke to both the appachas and ammachis. He also wished babo ammachi on her birthday. Ammachi is turning 60 this year. HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY MUMMY!!! Wish we were there to share this wonderful day with you.

Sean was very happy and wore new clothes to school. He also took cake mix and cups. They bake the cupcakes at school and celebrate the birthday. He also wanted to take some of his pictures from when he was little to share with his friends. When i pcked him from school he seemed very happy. He said that as soon as he came to school all the kids in his class started wishing him Happy Birthday. Then later they all helped the teacher to make the cupcakes. During circle time Sean got to show everyone his pictures and then they tunrned off the lights, lit a candle and sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him. All of them then ate their cupcakes and then went out to play...this was how he summarised his school day.

After I picked him up he told me that babo ammachi's birthday is also today and that he wished her in the morning. On our way home we stopped by Lifetime fitness to make reservation for his birthday party.So we will have his official birthday celebration on May 20th. And as per his request its going to be a pool party just like Sarahs. He still hasn't made up his mind on the theme and is going back and forth between spiderman, Cars and his all time favorite Thomas the tank engine or any train related theme...we wil have to decide by this weekend though since i plan to send the invites out by then.

After we got him he listened to birthday messages from Kavya, P-emma, Joecheta and Tomcheta and Ranimama. I also told him that Priya Aunty and Bhavani Aunty had left birthday wishes by email. He was a lil disppointed that Sarah didnt call. Aji came home early and we cut his cake - Ice cream cake. He ofcourse was most interested in the icing.








Rhea seemed to enjoy the ice cream...we have another sugar lover in the family :) We also got chinese food which is Sean's favorite. Just as we were having dinner Pavicha called to wish him. Peppa, sarah and suzanna chechi called and wished sean.Rosiammai called later and then we called babo appacha since he wasnt there in the morning when he called.

Sean had a great birthday and was very happy. Its the first time we've seen him so excited about his birthday. He is waiting for his birthday party and keeps saying how everyone is going to get him gifts..he has gone to enough birthday parties to know that :)We are getting sean a bike for his birthday. We will go bike shopping this weekend. He is looking forward to that.

Sean is 4 years old!

Today Sean turned 4...hard to imagine how fast 4 wonderful yaers have passed by...i still clearly remember us rushing to the hospital at night, the agony and pain i went through for the next few hours and the best feeling ever when he finally made the grand entrance and made us proud parents...our little bundle of joy is now a smart little boy...everyday is such a joy...he has slowly transitioned from the shy toddler to an outspoken, funny and very caring and passionate boy the past year.

Such a difference a year can make...he has matured so much but still has his cute innocence.I love the fact that he comes and gives all of us an impromptu kiss or a hug. Its the best feeling ever. He adores his little sister...its amazing how protective he is of her..even though they have their moments...i love to see him showering her with kisses when we get back home from school...I also love the fact that he is such a total mama and dada's boy...he knows how to make both of us feel special...Seany we love you...HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUTTA!!

Sean goes the American Idol way..

Sean has been learning a lot of songs from school these days and on our way back home he sings it for me and Rhea. He always improvises and adds his touch playing with the lyrics a little bit and its funny and entertaining at the same time...so its like watching American idol for me..I'd say its even better


SEANJAYA?
Today he sang 'Six little Monkeys jumping on a bed"...he sang that a number of times and improvised with 'six little monkeys sitting on a branch' it was funny though because after a while he got confused and would mix both the lyrics...Rhea is enthralled when cheta sings and would just watch him in wonder with wide eyes :)

Later today he was playing in the tub and started singing song,

First he started off singing 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SEAN JOSEPH' in english and Spanish..he is soooo excited about his birthday tomorrow. Then he broke into this song below...

Wash your body
With Coconut Soap
Wash your tummy
With Coconut Soap
Wash your face
With Coconut Soap
Wash your feet
With Coconut Soap

Wash your penis
With Coconut Soap

Now this last 2 lines, I dont think was part of the original lyrics...it was so hilarious though I had to laugh out loud...he of course got a big chuckle out of it and then started making a whole bunch of lines for the song...

Rhea's adventures...

Rhea is becoming so mischevious...she has us on our toes all the time...


I love to entertain!

On Sunday, Sean had a minor boo boo and wanted mommy time to feel better so he was on my lap..Rhea was playing closeby and then I saw her walking off. Next few minutes were so quiet i started getting suspicious of her whereabouts. So I put Sean down and started looking for her and where do you think i found her...She ws in the powder room playing in the toilet water..she managed to pull some of the the tissue paper into the water. There was an empty tissue roller and she had that in the toilet. My first reaction was utter horror because it was so easy for her to fall head first into the toilet...Thank God for averting such a huge tragedy.Of course she was completely oblivious to my reaction and seemed to have the best time in the world.We have been pretty good at closing the bathrom door after use but we have to make sure Sean does it too because she seems to be enthralled by water and is soo excited about her new found love..

Rhea is transitioned into mostly walking now...this week i hardly saw her crawl..This is a good thing but it has also widely opened the doors for her getting hurt during her various adventures...yesterday i was clearing the table after dinner and all of a sudden i hear a big bang and she is on the floor screaming..i knew she had hit her face on the chair when she lost her balance...the RESULT..a big blue patch on her left cheek under the eye...Ouchie Ouch..poor baby...i iced the spot but today it was still a lil blue.When I went to pick her up from daycare, Ms Noori asked about her bruise. She wanted to make sure that i knew that the the bruise was not from day care..I assured her that it was from home..

Today evening..after we got home..I went upstairsto change my clothes. Both Sean and Rhea were near the toy box in the family room and i was certain it was pretty well 'Rhea Proofed'..Oh Boy was I wrong...I went up and no later than 2 minutes i hear them screaming and my first thought was that they were fighting for the same toy and I was beginning to tell sean to give in when he said 'Baby is putting the pen in her mouth'. I noticed that she had one of the markers in her hand wouldn't let go..sean being the big brother was trying to get it out of her hands. She had her grip so tight on it even distracting her with another toy was not working. i finally went down and took it from her and to my utter amazement she is green all over. She looked like she had just walked out of St Patty's parade. She had managed even to chew on it so her mouth was green. I immediately took her and scrubbed her down..even her tongue..its surprising she didnt throw up but i didnt care...she was just recovering from diarreha and i didnt want this to add to it...

I'm sure going forward everyday will be filled with fun, amazing, funny and hopefully not too horrifying experiences...

Baby Steps..

Rhea has been a very busy girls the past couple of weeks since her birhday. She has been practicing walking on her own...she stated with baby steps...and has walked from the fireplace to the ottoman which is a good 9-10 steps for her on more than one occassion.




We are so proud of her. She seems to be really happy with her progress too and everytime she makes it successfully to the other end will smile and screech in excitement!

To Mom and Daddy with love..

Yesterday when I picked up Sean from school his first question as usual was,
‘Did you get me something special?’ which usually means a candy. I told him I didn’t bring any candy but have teddy graham crackers and he seemed to be pretty happy and settled into his seat.

As I was buckling Rhea in her car seat Sean said,

Mom, I have something special for you!

I was so surprised and with a big gleam on my face (as I handed him the packet of graham crackers and asked him to share it with Rhea) I said,

Me: What is it?
Sean: It’s a flower

My immediate thought was that they must have made it for craft in class. By now were on our way home..

Me: What color is it?
Sean: Its Lellow (he still says lellow for yellow. It is so cute)
Me: Mmm…I love yellow… its my favorite color.
Me: Sean, did you play outside today?
Sean: Yes, I played with Joseph and Aashish and I got the flower for you.

That’s when I realized he had gotten an actual flower…it was such a sweet moment…

My sweet baby getting me flowers for the first time on his own. I was so happy and was smiling ear to ear.

Me: Sean, you got me a flower from outside from the yard?
Sean: Yes
Me: Where is it?
Sean: Its in my backpack and I have something special for Daddy too
Me: Wow, daddy is going to be so happy

I didn’t want to ask him what daddy’s gift was ..what if he did not want to share it until daddy go home…but I was pleasantly surprised when he said,

Sean: I got Daddy a leaf.
Me: Wow! Daddy is going to love it.
Sean: I got you a flower and I got Daddy a leaf.

I just couldn’t believe his thoughtful gesture. I told him I wanted to take a picture of the gifts he had for us when we got home…As soon as we walked in, he opened his backpack and got a slightly bruised dandelion flower…it was such a beautiful feeling…my heart welled up..it was the most beautiful flower I ever received…I gave him a tight hug and kiss. Later when Aji came in he got a leaf and gave it to Daddy. You could see the surprise and happiness on Aji's face too :)

I’ll post pictures today….

Sean is growing up so fast…his thoughts and actions are maturing as the days pass…..i do miss his baby years but am cherishing and loving every bit of his transformation as he journeys through his boyhood years….

I walk around with a 70mm smile plastered on my face today as I replay the entire incident in my mind over and over again…

Rhea's 1st birthday Party!

We celebrated Rhea's first birthday with family and friends this past sunday. Rhea was a sport the entire afternoon and gladly obliged to everyone who wanted to carry her. We had an action packed day...here are some pictures...

Making a giant leap into the world of letters!

Sean has been practicing his letters everyday for the past couple of weeks weeks. We have started with Uppercase letters. He does it in school but I wanted to give him an extra push from home and so far he has been very positive about it. I did promise to get him a 'Thomas' backpack when he is done with all his letters. Today he completed all of the uppercase letters...a big acheivement in itself..we still need to practice everyday and perfect them. I guess its time for me to go shopping for that backpack I promised him :)

Below is a snapshot of the first time he wrote his name on his own ...this was about 10 days ago...i know I've been a lazy poster...



Seany, we are so proud of you!

Tomorrow we start with numbers and then slowly progress to lowercase letters...

Rhea is a year old!!!

Last year this time(8:33 pm) we were at the hospital. Seems like yesterday...time flies...


She also had her 1 year appointment. here are the stas,

Height: 75th percentile
Weight: 25th percentile
Head circumference: Right on..

Here are some pictures from today...

Getting smarter than Mommy?

Yesterday I started from work a little early and picked up Sean first since it was too early to pick Rhea as it was still her nap time. On our way to Rhea's daycare there is a farm and I told Sean that they have cows and sheep and horses there. They just had a baby calf and sheep and I promised him we would visit the farm on a weekend when the weather was good. There were couple of cows outside in the fields so I pointed to them for him to see.

He was silent for a minute and then said,

Mom, cows don't have hands??

My mind was racing fast to come up with a good answer for him but all I could come up with was,

Sean, the two front legs are the cows hands.

I know that does sound ridiculous...even to me now that I think back.

He immediately shot back, Mom, that's for walking right?
Duh, yes son...legs are for walking not hands...what was mommy thinking???

I guess at some point i can explain how hands and feet are used differently by different 'Species'....good topic for our day in the farm that I promised him I guess...

Needs and Wants

Sean is pretty vocal these days about his 'needs' and 'wants'. Here are a few conversations from last week on our way back home from school.

Sean: Mama!
Me: Yes Sean
Sean: I want a baby brother.
Me: Why?
Sean: I want a baby brother and a baby sister. I want our baby but I want a baby brother too.
Me: How come?
Sean: Joseph has a baby brother.

At that point I had to giggle to myself...i was also glad that he mentioned he wanted to keep rhea and still want another baby. Whenever he throws a tantrum I ask him if he were to have a baby brother who would take care of the baby brother since he himself is behaving like one...that seems to calm him some...well for 5 seconds :)

Another one on the same day went like this,

Sean: Mom, I need a compuuuter.
Me: Why Sean. Why do you need a computer?
Sean: Because I dont have a computer...

kids...gotta love their honesty huh...

Daycare Debut!

Do we look similar?

Here is a picture of Rhea and Sean and in almost the same pose......Sean was 7 months and Rhea is 11 months in the picture.





What do you think...do they look similar?ths and Rhea

New Car Seats!

This past weekend we stopped by and picked up a new car seat for Sean since Rhea was starting daycare this week and we were i car seat short. Rhea was so excited about cheta's new car seat. Aji had it in the family room before installing it and she was busy trying to climb on it. She was so happy when i sat her on it.



It was her favorite toy for the night!

Rhea is 11 months!

Our lil girl is so close to turning 1. Its amazing how fast the past 11 months have flown by..its been such a wonderful experience...

Rhea is such a cutie pie....she has so much energy and is always so cheerful...she always has a smile for us. She loves to walk...she will go around the ottoman holding it for support. She also loves it when we hold her hand and walk her around. She seems to want to talk a lot and communicate. She already has a few words to her growing vocabulary. he r first word was Tata. Whenever she hears the garage door open..she thinks someone is heading out so she'll wave her hands and gently say Ta-ta, ta-ta...I wish I could record it and play it here...the other words are Dada and mama...and also a host of babble...like mum..mumm..mimm..huh..huh..ha...ah etc. Music continues to be a first love. She goes ballistic when sean does the prayer before meals which is a song. She starts clapping hands and grins from ear to ear 

Aji taught her to say hi too but she says it so gently its almost a whisper :) The funniest though is when you ask her a question...doesn’t matter what question - she will nod her head up and down as if to say 'Yes'. I think she understands a question from our tone and immediately she will start nodding...its hilarious. She has also learnt to give us a kiss - a wet one at that! She will come close to your cheeks and then stick out her tongue and do a small lick :) the best part is that she will be at your cheeks for some time..its like she doesn’t know when to end the kiss:) She is so silly :)

Happy 11 month birthday to you my dear vave!!