December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Yay for Armaan's first Christmas. It was also so much fun now that Priya understands a little bit more what the fuss is all about (wait.. it's not about presents?). Speaking of which, there's lot more presents to come once we get to Michigan tomorrow.

Todd and Susan looking good with Armaan

Priya enjoying her first fondue with her new friends Lukas and Leo

While sister Ella hams it up

Leo wishes he had a straw

Armaan got pretty beat from the long day

But recovered nicely for Christmas day!

Priya's been galloping around the house

Does this happen every year?

December 17, 2007

Next Stop: Hollywood

This past weekend was Priya's theatrical debut in our church Christmas play. She had been practicing the songs every Sunday in her Sunday school class, but we never knew that she was actually going to be a part of the play. On Friday we got a couple of calls encouraging us to consider having Priya up on stage. The first try was on Saturday. No go. She was all fine, until a few minutes before stage time. Apparently it was too dark backstage, and she got scared. We heard this cry, "Mama!" and of course we could recognize her voice. When Tish went back there, Priya was saying, "I'm scared, mama." So that was the end of that.

Priya sat with us for the duration of the play and enjoyed it. Later that night we asked her if she wanted to be in the play the next day and play drums (you'll see). She said yes. The answer was the same the following morning, and even more enthusiastic. This time - no problems! Watch out for the part where she sees me filming her!



Here's Priya in some more of her "princess" clothes. She loves wearing these.


This year our tree came from the very unromantic Home Depot. We used to always get them from a farm, though for the last couple of years we'd put up an artificial tree. Nothing like the smell of fresh pine to make it feel like Christmas.

We got a pretty big storm over the weekend - about 10 inches or so. Once all the shoveling was done, we had just enough time to make a Priya's first snowman (before I collapsed from exhaustion).


Not to forget about the little guy, here's some pictures of him. Here he is pretty much wiped out from all the exertion of trying to roll over. I found him totally still, with his thumb in his mouth.

December 08, 2007

Winter is here

Armaan hit the five month mark with finally rolling over. He went in for his checkup and shots a couple of weeks ago, and comes in close to the 97th percentile in weight and length. Maybe it's just a parent's eye, but he doesn't seem like a "chunky" baby to me. When you hold him, he feels more solid than anything. Still, I love holding him since he's so different to hold than tiny Priya. But boy - is his car seat getting heavy! Scroll to the bottom for pics and a video!

I think she still fits!

Look dadi, I'm a princess!

I just don't like getting too many pictures taken...

Armaan's first snow fall

Brr... that was fun.. and cold!


December 02, 2007

Wedding and a Funeral

A couple of weekends ago was Todd and Susan's wedding. In all the rush of things, no one remembered to take any pictures! So I will have to use some pictures without prior permission from Anna Garduno and Elizabeth (I hope you don't mind!). It was a great wedding, and we all had a lot of fun.

This past week I was thinking about the Watkins family. When I first moved here in spring of '93, they were a part of the international student host family program. The program was getting canceled that very semester, and there was a dinner to thank all the families. All international students were invited to attend. I just showed up without knowing what it was all about. I ended up talking with Bill and Gwen and their son Patrick who was in 6th grade at the time. Even though they weren't supposed to be taking in any more students, they invited me over to their house for a meal. That was the start of a 15-year friendship. Anyway, so I had been thinking about them, and decided to look up them up on Facebook. I eventually found Patrick and his wife Meredith. Meredith became my "friend" on Thursday, and when I looked at her profile, I saw a message saying to pray for the family as Patrick's dad had passed away. What?!! As it turned out, technology helped me get the news quicker - they were intending to call, and just hadn't gotten around to it. It was all very sudden, and completely unexpected. Bill had a deep and amazing love for the Lord, and he will be missed by many.


On Saturday we started off for the funeral at about one o' clock. We were getting the first major snowstorm of the year. Five miles on the expressway we started seeing cars spinning out and crashing into each other, or the sidewall. I gritted my teeth, and took the first exit home. Since we were sorta dressed up, we took the opportunities to take some pictures with Armaan. It's strange not to have Priya here (who was taking a nap). So enjoy the big li'l fella!

The other major news of the week is that Armaan finally rolled over! He's done it three times now, but has refused to do it on demand, and on camera. So watch this space for a video of him trying to roll over through all these months... and finally succeeding.

November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

Starting from today, the rest of the year just speeds by. Pretty soon it will be Christmas, and then the end of the year. This year we are doing something different for Thanksgiving. We're giving up the traditional stay-at-home turkey dinner and going commercial. Tish's parents are in town, and we thought it might be fun to go to Texas de Brazil (Tish got half-price coupons). So that's where we're headed in a few hours. Lots of meat - just not of the turkey and stuffing variety.

All of us have survived the week of not feeling good. Armaan has regained his appetite, and is not anywhere close to being a skinny boy. Which is fine with me! It's a lot of fun to hold and play with a squishy baby.

Priya still thinks she can play in the exersaucer

The sleep of the content

Say goo-goo gaa-gaa and he starts laughing - every time

November 09, 2007

A Brief Reprieve

Thanks for everyone who gave encouragements and suggestions regarding my commute situation. The latest on that is that the inevitable has been delayed for a bit. We decided that we're going to try picking up the one person that's moving away half-way to work. We'll see how that works for a month, and then decide if it's worth it.

Things at home have been a little tiring lately. Armaan's been sick for a few days, and is very fussy. Nothing major - no fever or anything - just a small cough, and not feeling well. Coupled with Priya being extra whiny, it's been a challenging week for us. Tish gets to enjoy it all day, and then I get my fill when I get home.

On the fun side, we finally got video-conferencing going with my parents in India. It's been nice to see them, and talk for free. Priya hasn't quite gotten used to the idea of it yet. She thinks she's watching a video on the computer, and doesn't know how to interact with the images and sounds!

Here she is helping measure out spices for cooking Indian food


This year we decided that Priya could go out trick-or-treating. She went out with her friend Skylar (and her older sisters). She made out like a bandit, or in her case, a cow-girl!


Armaan just celebrated his 4th month birthday. He is such a sweet boy. If he's fussing, it means something's not right. Otherwise, he still remains a happy baby.

Hanging out with his older sister in her crib