For the love of stuffed toys

The world is  better place and what makes it so are the soft toys !!! Fluffy, hugable, warm, soft, cuddly, cute.... these are just the few keywords to 'stuffed toys' :) They are really the cutest things to exist on earth.There's something about these cute  and soft plushies that girls, especially babies love them so much.These cute little fluffies come in different characters and various shapes and sizes.  The Disney clan of stuffed toys is always a hit amongst kids.

We had been collecting stuffed toys for Anvesha even before she was born !!! She has over two dozens of them now in different shapes and sizes and different characters as well.  She has developed a liking towards stuffed toys lately and I secretly admire her hugging and playing with them :) There are ones for the car seat, few she likes to go out with on her stroller... and how can I forget her bumblebee, her Donald duck, the huge Minni Mouse...... the list just goes on and on!!!!! I feel that every girl MUST develop a liking towards soft toys.... its like a tradition isn't it??  I remember hugging my teddy bear tightly while going to sleep. This was one that my father got for me when I was around 10 yrs old and I still have it at my parent's place... would love to see Anvesha play with it too :) Here's her collection of  stuffed toys

Girls are born with an innate habit of collecting them even when they grow up. They can just hug them and go to sleep and not worry about anything at all. As far as her favorite toy is concerned... well she loves all of them.... it must be hard for her to pick one out of the lot. We happened to be at ToysRUs the other day and our dear Missy was all over the place picking the stuffed toys.  At the time of check out we landed up doing some compulsive shopping of the ones she was holding.  Iam sure we will land up buying more and more as the time progresses. She loves to move around hugging them tightly :)

That's her at ToysRUs......

Oh So Adorable !!!!

We always wanted to have a daughter and I still remember the morning of Sept' 2012 when we had scheduled the "big ultrasound". Our prayers were answered when we found out its a "girl" :) For me, the best part about having daughters is that we have countless ways of dressing them up. Sun dresses, skirts, shorts, trousers, rompers, dungarees, lehangas, salwar kameez.....the list goes on !!! Not to forget the cute accessories- clips, hairbands, ribbons, shoes..... they look so adorable :)

I love dressing up and styling Anvesha. I have so much fun dressing her in those cute little outfits, especially when I know that I will not be able to choose her ensembles forever. In just a matter of few years she will have her own style statement, so I enjoy having my own real life doll to play dress up with :)

If you happen to pass by the kids' clothing section in any of the stores, it looks so colorful. Pink still rules the girl's section :) Needless to say, pink dominates Anvesha's wardrobe as well and I am so much over the color pink now that I have stopped purchasing anything pink for her.  Yellow, red, orange, blue, green...... anything but pink !!!!!  Its hard to resist this color as its my favorite one. I think we have exhausted Carters now and its time to look out for other brands... Zulily has some really cute ones  and with summers just around the corner, its time to stock up some cute sun dresses for her :)

I happened to re-organize Anvesha's wardrobe one day ( something which had been on my to-do list for long ) and couldn't help but admire these cute and lovely dresses. I have two favorites- the blue dress that she wore for her welcome party in India and the pink dress that she wore for her birthday party. I wish I could turn back time and go  into my childhood  so that I can wear them too ;)

Here's a sneak peek into Anvesha's wardrobe..... These dresses are just A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E !!!!!

P.S: These ones are just the few BEST ones out of the lot :)

On Mother's Day

I used to say I am a new mom with a little baby girl. But now I am a mom with a toddler... can't believe how time flies. I started this blog to write about anything and everything I could think of as I became this new person called "mom". I continue blogging to share the spirit and joy of becoming a mother- hoping it might help others like me who are discovering this all new aspect of their lives called motherhood. This is also my own way of recording all the sweet memories of Anvesha's childhood and everything else that I have learnt being a first time mom.

Thank you Aanu for giving me the most special role in my life and thanks Prateek for being my pillar during the rough times...... last but definitely not the least, thank you mummy for inspiring me each day to get better at this role. Even if I can be half of what you are, I would consider my motherhood a success !!!

This mother's day I make a promise to myself to be a good mom- not the best mom 'coz who knows what the best mom is anyways ??   I have come to appreciate how much harder it is to be a mom despite all the conveniences of modern motherhood!! I don't always get it right, but I am trying.... Being a mom is the toughest job on planet. There are always clothes to wash, meals to cook, stories to read, tears to be kissed away.... and it never ends there. It's hard to get up at 3 AM when your little one is crying and you are exhausted... its hard to take care of a fussy toddler when you have a cold too. I finally understand the value of mother's love and appreciate how hard our mothers have worked to raise us. Happy mother's day mummy.... thanks for being my guiding light !!!!

Here's a special mother's day note to my angel ( i thought I'll just flip sides and celebrate the reason I've been able to call myself a mother)

Dear Aanu,
Its mother's day and I want you to know that you are the bestest daughter in the whole world. I am so blessed to be your mother.I promise to always be there for you and be the mom you deserve. Thank you for the wonderful  mother's day greeting this morning ( courtesy  your dad ). Being your mom makes me the happiest person today !!!!
 Hugs n kisses.... Mamma

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there !!!!!

Let's Play !!!

Being a stay at home mom, I have all the time to entertain Anvesha. We both love to try new things to keep ourselves entertained. I love to play peekaboo and the "chase" game with her where I chase her through the house and tickle her all over... she goes splits and rolls all over the floor :) We love to play with the ball throwing it back and forth to each other. I try to involve her in the household chores like laundry, stacking the dishwasher and she loves to help around as well :)

She loves books and I read out to her a LOT!!!.  We go to the library and  Barnes and Noble for story times. She loves dancing, playing with her blocks, sliding on her slide, riding on her horse, playing with her ball ( she is so possessive about it )..... taking her new best friend- her caterpillar out for walks :) Seeing her with her caterpillar reminds me of the Hutch ad.... she loves to stack things up, empty up the cabinets which is frustrating for me but I let her continue anyway. That's the best way to encourage curiosity in this cute little enthusiastic cutlet !!!!!

I feel that it is MUCH easier to keep the toddlers entertained when the weather is nice. Past few days  had been very sunny and its beginning to warm up now with temperature hitting 80 degrees !!! Time to get those summer dresses out from the closet :) So each sunny day, this is how we spent our day together:

• taking walks around the neighborhood
• playing at the parks
• feeding the ducks at Bellevue downtown park
• stroller rides along the Bellevue Way

There are some really good kid friendly parks in the Bellevue/ Redmond area like the  Bellevue downtown park, Crossroads park, Grass lawn park. These parks offer a lot of activities for the little cruisers. Anvesha would squeal in delight as I pushed her on the swing and had great fun whooshing down the mini slide :) Here are the highlights from last week.

Anvesha loves playing with sand, picking up pebbles and leaves and I love showing her how they crush and crumble :) Being outdoors is a great way for her to learn and explore new things. This exploratory impulse- to go, look, touch and taste is what drives her to learn. She learns about 'fear', for instance while climbing a playground structure and about 'excitement', when she comes down the slide.  Unfortunately at her age she can't yet differentiate between what's safe and what's not. The challenge for me is to keep her safe without inhibiting her desire to touch, hold, shake or taste her world !!