Learning to write

Most parents enjoy the way their child first writes her name. That careful concentration in forming each letter and then the look and pride when she is done is a significant milestone in the lives of small children. Although children vary in their age of writing their name, a lot also depends on the age when they start attending preschool. Anvesha knows how to spell her name, knows her address and also my phone number :) This, I feel is great for her age.

It all started with scribbles and over the time these scribbles started taking some shape and slowly she began to develop more interested in drawing, coloring, painting. She used to keep requesting me to draw a snowman for her on her chalkboard. Now she has started making more elaborate and accurate drawings- her favorite one being a butterfly and a flower :) I can't wait now to put her in to a drawing class once she turns 4.

Anvesha is a curious soul and her love for phonics is a great beginning to her reading skills as well. Beginning to write is a process in itself. The only way to keep encouraging her is by providing her with crayons and paper so that she can practice writing. Her early attempts at writing didn't look much like words or sentences, but now I can say that her scribbles and drawings were helping her get ready fir writing. She loves her markers and finally has begun to hold the pen properly. One great way of practicing writing is tracing letters and numbers. She has been doing this for a pretty long time now and can write her own name pretty well. She derives some pleasure filled with pride when she signs off her work at school with her name all by herself :) Although the lines and curves of her letters extend haphazardly into each other- some are backward, some lie on their side as though they have been pushed by a school bully. She still has a few years before writing will come naturally to her, but like many kids her age, she is beginning to tackle the skills of penmanship.

This is a proud moment for me as this is a big milestone in itself. This is just the beginning- hope she continues to write and you never know- turn out to be a great writer one day :) Ha ha ha..... Love you cutie!!

Happy Holidays

It's no wonder that when you ask most kids what's their favorite time of the year, it's either their birthday, Diwali or Christmas. The days that fall between November and January are usually filled with Thanksgiving, Diwali, Christmas, New Year's and in our case, Anvesha's birthday :) All special days make for wonderful moments as they are happening as well as memories that will never be forgotten.

The best part about celebrating holidays with kids is not just the actual days themselves, but the days that lead up to them. December is full of holiday lights, carols, decorating the house, setting up the Christmas tree, making the ginger bread house as well as ornaments for the Christmas tree. All this fun and activities are made even more enjoyable when you include your child. Even during the hustle and bustle of Anvika falling sick,  a sleep deprived me, we involved Anvesha in decorating the Christmas tree, making the ginger bread house which was so so so exciting for her.

The month of December started with her school winter concert where the kids sang holiday songs for us. All of them looked so cute singing Christmas carols. Anvesha and her class mates sang to the tunes of "Oh Goodness me...." and "Candy Cane". They had been practicing for a long time and the show came out perfect :) Good part was, Anvesha was not nervous like last time when she was just standing on stage overwhelmed. She also had her holiday ballet recital on stage. I am so glad that her ballet moves are becoming more smooth now, thanks to Miss Sue:) 

And finally the much awaited date with Santa Claus. We had taken Anvesha last year and decided to go this year as well with Anvika. But poor baby, she slept in the car and missed meeting Santa. That's okay sweetheart, we will go again next year when you'll reach an age to understand things :)

This time Santa Claus came with Elsa, Cinderella and Belle. Anvesha was so excited to meet all of them. She even wrote a letter to Santa on what she wants on Christmas :) She had put it on her small Christmas tree and carried it along to give to Santa. It was such a delightful sight when Santa read what she wanted for Christmas:) Her wish this year is to have Shopkins  and we have told her that she will get it only if she is a good girl because Santa gives gifts to only children who have been good throughout the year :) So Anvesha is at her best behavior these days so as to impress dear Santa :)

Here's wishing everyone Happy Holidays and a delightful new year.

Anvika @ 4 months

Phewww!!!!! 4 months seem like a long time, but not to me. These 4 months were kind of a roller coaster. The first month with Anvika was super challenging and slowly I got into the rhythm and started to understand her schedule and worked around it. The first 3 months were not so bad since I had my mom's help and things just somehow fell into place. After mom left, it became challenging for me- things that normally we don't even consider to be things seem to matter so much. Stepping out of the house for instance. Earlier I always kept a buffer of 10 mins, but now with 2 kids, I need to have a buffer of 30 mins precisely. My biggest challenge was when I had to go pick up Anvesha from school since it was Anvika's nap time and she almost always used to wake up as soon as I kept her in the car seat. Then coming back home and feeding Anvesha while Anvika was sleep deprived, was a hell of a task. I used to think, things can't get worse than this- but I was wrong. Call it the 4 month sleep regression, or a sick baby, the past few weeks were the worse period out of these 4 months. Anvika was down with cold and cough and gave us a difficult time. Those 7 sleepless nights, hope I never have to go through them again.

Anyways, Anvika is 4 months old now. She sleeps for about 10-11 hrs at night, wakes up for feeding twice and sometimes even thrice. Daytime naps are spread out for around 4-5 hrs each day.  Sleeping through the night is probably a long way to go yet. We have now settled down into a routine, although sometimes there are still end of day fussy periods. She is much playful now as compared to earlier days and loves her rattles. Her face gets so delighted by it's sound. She is becoming more and more alert each passing day and loves to express herself through smiles, laughs, gurgles and coos. :)

Her hands are becoming more dexterous now and she is beginning to grasp things that are within reach like her rattle, my necklace, Anvesha's hair :) She is very fond of her big sister and loves to watch her play. Sometimes, I just have her sit in her bumboo seat and she happily watches Anvesha play.

She is still on just breast milk. Although we can start solids at 4 months, but it is always recommended to wait till 6 months- thats exactly what we are going to do. Her annaprashan will be in India with family and so will be her mundan :) Yes, we are visiting India next month and this will be Anvika's first international trip- rather her first flight as well. I am excited and nervous at the same time. Travelling with an infant is hard, but when you gotta go, you gotta go :)

Like with Anvesha, we celebrate her monthly birthdays. Here's a video from her 4 month birthday.

Happy 4th month birthday sweetheart. Grow up fast..... Muuuaaahhhh !!

Sister love

When I found out that  I was expecting Anvika, I had mixed feelings- I was thrilled, but a little anxious as well. All these 3 years Anvesha had been the center of our family and the center of my universe. She had my undivided attention at all times. My biggest worry was, how would she handle the arrival of a new baby at home? I have heard about sibling rivalry and tantrums once the baby arrives. All this left me nervous. But, I am glad and relieved that Anvesha loves her sister so much that sometimes it gets difficult explaining her that she is just a baby and can only handle gentle cuddles. The arrival of Anvika certainly has brought so many changes in all of us at home. Anvesha has been undergoing a big transition as well. She has learnt to share and wait. I believe family is a boot camp for having healthy social relationships.

Having a sister is like having a best friend that you can't get rid of. I love watching Anvesha as she plays with Anvika, such a precious moment!! This is a pic of Anvesha when she came to meet Anvika at the hospital for the very first time:)

Anvesha calls her "Guggu" and loves to have her in her lap- of course we need to monitor her all the times. This raksha bandhan we had them tie rakhi to each other- a tradition that we will perhaps continue. Anvika too, is super fond of Anvesha. Her face lights up when she sees Anvesha. She starts moving her hands and legs in excitement. Sometimes, she even calls out to her in her baby language and her eyes follow Anvesha wherever she moves around in the house.This is one song they dedicate to each other. We call it the Aanu-Anvi song:) 

Touch Wood!!! Hope this sister relationship always grows more stronger with the passing years.

I am so glad and relived that once Anvika grows up, they both will have each other's company and will be so busy playing with one another that they will not need anyone else. It is always nice to have siblings who are also same in gender in the family. This also helps to cope up with the challenges of life and makes it easier to relate. No matter how hard it is for us right now, but the happy times far outweigh the stressful ones :) It's just a matter of one more year.Can't wait to see them grow together and share everything- clothes, toys, room, accessories...... 

Favorite Characters

Cartoons are favorites of every child during childhood and all of us can relate to them. On Sunday mornings we were glued to the television watching Duck Tales. I think we are made physically and psychologically to be attracted to a variety of kinds of people and as kids we might focus a little too much on a particular character. Out of all the characters there might be one who is smart, cool and oh so funny:) We grew up watching Tom and Jerry, Duck Tales and Jungle Book. But today there are so so many characters and every kid has his/her own favorites.

So what are some of the characters Anvesha loves to watch and gets absolutely excited on hearing their names? So here it goes.......

Mickey Mouse and friends- Joyful, vulnerable and lovable. Mickey Mouse came into our lives decades ago and and still reigns supreme. He is like the Jesus of all characters. Anvesha absolutely loves him and all of his other friends including Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, Goofy & Pluto. She was thrilled to watch Mickey Mouse at our recent visit to DisneyLand and every day we give her a little screen time and Mickey Mouse is what she chooses to watch :)

Elmo-  This little red guy has been Anvesha's favorite since she was one year old.... and that was one of the reasons why we planned an Elmo birthday party for her 3rd birthday. Apparently, he is very popular among kids 1-4 years and I love him too. I know his speech is rather annoying, but he is a funny guy. Anvesha has an Elmo night suit that she loves. She has many Elmo(s) in different shapes and sizes that she has collected over the time and she keeps singing the Elmo song too ;)

Tinker Bell- Tinker Bell was the perhaps the first character that Anvesha was introduced to when she was one year old. She has a big fat book of fairy fables and Tinker Bell is her favorite among all the others in the Pixie Hollow. Thats the reason why she wanted to be a Tinker Bell for Halloween last year and still wants to wear the dress every time she sees it in her closet :) Although Anvesha has not seen any of the Tinker Bell movies, but a girly girl that she is, she loves fairies and has also demanded a Tinker Bell party for her next birthday :)

 Anna & Elsa-  These Disney characters are the most popular amongst young girls. Wherever we go, there are Frozen characters everywhere. Anvesha has an Elsa doll, a purse, talking Olaf and many books of Anna- Elsa- Olaf. She loves her sparkly hair brush that has Anna & Elsa.

Caillou- Caillou is a Canadian educational children's series and I love it too as it is perfect for all preschoolers who are Anvesha's age. It is centered around a 4 year old boy named Caillou . I first introduced this character to Anvesha through books and later she enjoyed watching it as well.

Dora- Dora is Anvesha's favorite as well- She loves few Spanish words that keep repeating in this series, like "Hola" and "gracious". She has been learning Spanish in school and can relate to few words that keep repeating in this series

Off late she has developed a liking towards SpongeBob, Thomas & Friends and Minions, Sophia.Her list of favorites will keep changing and evolving as she grows up. I can't wait to see what characters Anvika will like. Is she going to follow her sister's footsteps or have her own set of favorites? We'll find that out too :)

Thank You

Like many parents I started a journal for my children- Anvesha and Anvika, filling it with memories from their lives and telling them stories that they would perhaps want to read when they grow up. This, I felt was the biggest gift I can ever give them. In an era where families communicate in microbursts- texts, IMs and sticky notes, I am there writing real time stories and letters to my children.

For thanksgiving, I want to leave thank you notes to my girls telling them what about them I am most grateful for. It will be nice if they write back to me once they grow up. Until then a written thank you is permanent- kind of a keepsake that they will never forget.

Dear Anvesha,
I am so thankful to have been blessed with a girl. I am thankful to the way you take care of your little sister. I am thankful that your hair requires less fuss and you let me comb them with utmost patience because mornings are tough enough as they are. I am thankful that you are polite and well behaved- that way I don't have to worry about your behavior on play dates or in school. I am thankful for your love of learning and that you are anxious and happy to go to school each day. I am thankful for your heart which is so pure and innocent. I am thankful that you love paneer so much, since without it you would exist purely on carbs:) and thanks for loving the not so popular broccoli, beans and zucchini as well:) I am thankful that you are such an active girl that reminds me to take time out in a day- even if it's for half an hour to be with you. I am so utterly thankful to be your mom.

Dear Anvika,
 I am thankful that I am blessed with two daughters:) I am thankful for your smiles and I am thankful that you get so excited to see me around. I am grateful to you for teaching me the importance of being silly, or goofy. I am also thankful for reminding me that it's okay to be silly and laugh about it. I am so, so, so thankful to you for being a "not so difficult baby". I am thankful to you for being so social.... I can see that already. Last, but not the least, thank you for making our family complete :)

To my darlings, on Children's Day

Children- they may not always smell pure and sweet- a dirty diaper or a damped sheet. But with a loving cuddle and a beautiful smile, the joys of parenthood are all worth while.

This children's day is special as it is Anvika's first with us. It is such a joy to have her and Anvesha as a part of our family. Anvika means completeness and very rightly so. It is completeness in every sense..... thanks for making our family complete baby. When I started writing this blog, I was a new mom and now, I have come a long way.I have learnt a lot from my daughters.... to be patient, to be a good listener, to be happy for no reason, to be always busy with something. This list will continue to grow over the years.

This children's day I want to send a sweet note to my girls...

My sweet girls...
Growing up in this world is going to be tough, but I want to let you know that I will be right here beside you whenever you need me. Explore the world, live life to its fullest, love yourself before you love anyone else. You will never be happy if you don't love or respect your own self. Both of you bring so much joy and happiness to my life. When you have children of your own, you experience immense love and until both of you came into my life, I did not know love like this. Don't ever grow up.... be a kid always. Childhood is the most precious phase of anyone's life and I promise to give you the best memories that both of you can cherish for your lives.

Love you both to the moon and back. A very happy children's day to my darlings :)

Million Smiles

Baby's first smile is one of the highlights of early parenthood. Anvika's first (social) smile happened around 2 months of age. Although I got to capture it only today.I can't say that I remember the very first "social smile", since in the beginning so many of the little smirks were questionable. After weeks of giving this girl all my love and energy, she gave me smiles that told me, "Life is good Mamma! You're doing a good job and it's gonna be all right." In that instant, all the hard work of sleepless nights and endless diaper changes over the past several weeks seem well rewarded because my little darling finally flashed that pink gummy grin :)

Although I keep talking to Anvika throughout the day, but the massage time is the time which is exclusive to just us. She is at her best behavior since she is relaxed and enjoys the oil massage. The easiest way to encourage her to smile is to smile back and give her a cuddle. That way she knows that she has done something wonderful. I can see that she is a very social child. She loves to be around people and actually talks ( in her baby language) when you talk to her.

Anvika is growing up fast and starting to figure out human behavior. She probably understands that smiling at me gets my attention. I can now say for sure that she knows who am I since she gets super excited and rapidly moves her legs and arms seeing me first thing in the morning.

For her, its the beginning of socialization and for me- its an emotional time when I truly feel for her even more :) Its perhaps also the onset of many milestones that are in store for future.

Halloween Special

It's that time of the year again..... Halloween !!! Every year we use our brains to decide what to dress up Anvesha as.  The past years have been easy as I decided the outfit and Anvesha simply wore it. But this year, she has her own set of liking. This time all she wanted to become was a witch on Halloween. Maybe she was just fascinated by the hat and broom:) I did not get her the costume till the last minute thinking she can change her mind any time. So, I let her choose the perfect witch costume for herself. I was amazed as to how many different options you can have for a simple thing like a witch.  As far as Anvika is concerned, this was her first Halloween and she cannot sit as she is still a newbie:) The options were limited for her and so she just wore the strawberry constume that Anvesha wore for her first Halloween.

So here's presenting our witch and strawberry this season.

                            

The day was usual where I took Anvesha for trick or treat to some of the participating places. This time Anvesha's friend Sanah also accompanied us. At night we took a round of the neighborhood for trick or treat. Anvika was at home taking her nap. I promise baby next time when you grow up, you can accompany your sister for trick or treat :)

Some of the highlights of the day...

I can't believe how Anvesha has evolved from a strawberry to Tinker Bell and now a witch on Halloween.

As far as the halloween candies are concerned.... they have gone for donation :) Out of sight means out of mind :)Shhhhhhh !!!! 

Life with 2 kids

As I start writing this post, I recall 3 years back when Anvesha was born... those sleepless nights, cranky baby and managing the household chores. Becoming a parent is hard, challenging and life altering. First child, you are clueless about most of the things.... there are good moments and meltdowns as well. As a first time- stay at home mom, I recall when all I wanted was to sleep uninterrupted or get a break from my own baby :( There were moments of anxiety of high fevers and moments when I used to fret about her not eating enough ( although I do that even now). But there were moments when I could not spend a second without her. It was madness and pure happiness all at once.

Over the time, I got into the groove and moments that seemed "so hard" started getting manageable. At that time I questioned how people did this again with another baby? But as they say, "second kid is always for the first one" :) I am so glad God again blessed us with a daughter. Having a sister is something I missed and seeing Anvesha and Anvika makes me so happy. I look forward to watching them grow up together.

Anvika is 2.5 month old now and she is such a joy. This time, as a second time mom, is different in so many ways including the absence of a scared, not so confident mother that I was with my first daughter. So, here's what I am learning with my new life with 2 kids:

1. Enjoying small moments: This time it's all about enjoying little things and to live in the moment as much as possible.

2. Developing a system: Iam all about routine and structure. Weekly menus are planned at the start of the week and I make preparations ahead of time. Since Anvesha goes to preschool, I pick her outfit and pack lunch the night before. Although I get super exhausted at night, but it does help to make the mornings smooth.

3. Focus: I find it extremely hard to focus on my very active and talkative preschooler when the little one needs my physical attention, generally needing to be held, nursed or changed. Finding this balance can be tricky and extremely frustrating and it makes me feel somewhat guilty of not giving my 100% to both of them.

4. Meltdowns happen. Its amazing how Anvesha has taken the baby so well, but she is still only 3.5 years old and when things don't go in a certain way, she gets frustrated. With 2 kids I find it hard to calm her down when Anvika is crying or when I have to put her to sleep. Challenges like these make my day extremely hard and I do have moments when I can't figure out how to balance my own life.

Parenting continues to amaze me with all of it's ups and downs. As a mom of two daughters, Iam amazed how much I have changed as I continue to embrace this magical and challenging time.

Introducing Anvika

It was the morning of August 11th when I felt slightly different and my OB even told me that the baby is on it's way maybe that afternoon or evening....and finally my journey of 9 months with Anvika concluded on August 12th @ 1.07 AM. Yes, that's when I held Anvika for the first time in my arms. As I left for the hospital at night, I knew things would be very different when I return back home with a new member of our family. Anvesha- who until now had my exclusive and undivided attention would be the one most affected. I  didn't even know how Anvesha would react when she sees Anvika for the first time.With mixed feelings I left home thinking life will be completely different when I come back.

Here is Anvika, born on August 12th @ 1.07 AM weighing 7 pounds and 11 ounce and measuring 19.5 inches.

The following morning Anvesha came to the hospital with my parents to meet her little sister and she was so excited to meet her. Her first reaction when she saw Anvika was that she is so tiny and so cute. She insisted on taking Anvika in her lap and we let her hold her for some time. She is super possessive of her little sister and when the doctor came to check Anvika, she was in tears when we took Anvika from her arms to give to the doctor. Cute isn't it?

Here are the glimpses of the two sisters at the hospital







Anvika is 2 weeks old now and we had the shuddhi havan at our place last week. So what does Anvika mean? Well, the meaning of her name is "Powerful and complete", completeness in every sense indeed :) It rhymes so well with Anvesha too.

As far as I am concerned, I am still recovering and trying to catch up on my sleep whenever possible, although I still have a long way to go before I can finally manage to get atleast 6 hours of sleep :) There is lots to catch up and I will slowly get there.... just a heads up, this blog address will soon change and my blog title will change too ;) No prizes for guessing...... it's now gonna be "Life with Anvesha & Anvika"  :) But as of now, for the sake of simplicity and my sanity, I will keep posting on this blog until the new one is under construction, so stay tuned for lots of more updates of the new sisters in town!!!

Summer activities

After a long gap, I am back to write this post. There is a lot to talk about, but first things first... Iam just a week away from baby #2 and life will get a lot busier ( for the good ). We have been preparing Anvesha for the arrival of her little sister and she is excited too :) I will need to update my blog with a new name. My past posts have been all about Anvesha, but going forward it will be about Anvesha and Anvika- yes we have finalized on the name.

Now coming back to what we have been upto in the past months..... Well, there is a lot to catch up on. Anvesha had her first stage performance which was the school's spring concert. She was probably overwhelmed seeing such a large crowd :) But I could see a big difference in her confidence level in her second stage performance which was the ballet recital. You did great Anvesha- I am so proud of you baby :)

All set for her spring concert with the Hawaiin theme

The summer break is still on and we have tried keeping her busy by enrolling her in individual classes instead of summer camps- although it also means that I run errands with her :) Mondays are reserved for soccer, Thursdays for ballet, Fridays for gymnastics and recently we registered her for swimming lessons as well. With a jam packed schedule, she is certainly busy and me exhausted taking her for the classes... lol

She is currently in the 'hoppers class' of the little kickers soccer program and recently her coach recommended her for the next level. She enjoys this 50 minute class a lot and loves her coach.

Though she is still learning to use her feet instead of hands, but she is doing pretty well. After running for 50 mins in the field, she comes home tired and most of the times dozes off in the car.

The ballet class is my personal favorite. She is with the "Dance with Miss Sue" program and Miss Sue- her ballet teacher is apparently the best in town. I am glad Anvesha has picked up well and Miss Sue has also agreed to let her in the 4s age group class starting August 25th.

Anvesha is pretty athletic for her age and looking at her flexibility and interest we decided to put her in the gymnastics class at Emerald City Gymnastics in order to channelize it formally. She has learnt monkey bars, forward flip, backward flip, somersault and more stunts. She sometimes amazes me with her skills. Whether its the staircase, or any railing outside, she starts climbing and shows me her new achievement.

The other day she climbed up high on the monkey ladder swinging like a monkey. She wanted to show off her new skill and called out to me saying, "look at this Mamma". For a moment my heart skipped a beat, but I just encouraged her by saying how awesome she was :)











I am glad Anvesha is turning out to be a perfect blend of a girl and is also athletic. She loves wearing dresses and agrees to wear shorts only for her soccer and gym class. Here is a cute video that I thought would be nice posting here.

I feel like so much is happening so fast, Anvesha is growing up so fast. She is just 3.5 yrs old and sometimes amazes me with her chit chat. Love you baby. Stay blessed and I am confident you will be an amazing big sister.

To Anvesha, on Mother's Day

My dear baby doll,

Today you are a little over three years. You see the world as a magical place and you are in awe of everything around you- like the way the sky looks and the way color mixes in water. You look into the mirror and love what you see- yes you love yourself and that's what I love the most about you. You know you are beautiful and you make yourself laugh. You  derive happiness in everything around you and this is one trait I am trying to learn from you. You think I am the greatest person ever. The other day I was almost in tears when you asked me in your innocent voice, "Mamma do you love me?" and jumped in joy when I hugged you.

I was in awe seeing you get me my plate at the "Muffins with Mom" day organized at your school. You were amazingly graceful that day and I couldn't believe my eyes as you helped me sit in the little chair in your classroom. Thank you for the beautiful morning :)

The day when you entered my life, everything changed- for better. Yes, my life is chaotic, exhausting, yet  it is fun. You are absolutely athletic and want to try out new tricks and become super excited to show off all your tricks to us. No matter how  exhausting life is for me right now, I can't wait to see how your relationship with your soon to be little sister will grow. I know you are super excited to be a big sister as you will get to be bossy :), but I am sure you will be a great sister :)

I have realized that Mother's Day is not all about me, it's about you and me- together. You are so much more than I could have ever hoped for and more wonderful than I ever could have imagined.

Thank you for making Mother's day, my favorite day of the year!

Love you to the moon and back...

Mamma

"The Jungle Book"- with Anvesha

As a child I grew up watching Jungle Book every Sunday. I loved watching Mowgli, Baloo and Bageera. Sunday mornings were reserved especially for Mowgli and his friends. So when Disney's, "The Jungle Book" was released this year, we wanted to take Anvesha to watch it for sure. This was Anvesha's 2nd movie at a theater, first being "Shaun the Sheep", which was, I would say a little boring.  We decided to let her see a few episodes of The Jungle book we had been seeing as kids, so that she knows about Sher Khan, Mowgli, Bageera and others.

Although the movie had mixed reviews of being too scary for kids, we decided to still give it a shot.  The 3D aspect of the movie does make the movie a little scary, as it seems like Sher Khan is jumping ON you, so we decided to go for the 2D version.  Maybe Anvesha didn't find it scary because we were expecting it to be too scary and we had prepared her for that :) I am going to just come out and say that this movie was the most kid friendly movie from Disney, simply because it was very easy for children to understand and he characters were fun for kids.

When we arrived at took our seats, Anvesha was too excited to see Mowgli and got a little restless in the beginning when the trailers from other movies showed up. She constantly kept asking, "where is Mowgli and Sher Khan?". But once the movie got going, she was totally fine and loved watching it. Right from the start, and throughout the movie, Sher Khan got Anvesha's attention- yes he is a mean tiger, no surprise there, but the fact that he is a tiger, got Anvesha going. Ask her if she liked Mowgli or Sher Khan, and she would without, giving a second thought reply that she liked Sher Khan :)

Anvesha chuckled at most parts, especially at the silly Baloo and was enthralled to watch King Louie- the giant gorilla and Kaa, the snake. There was no dull moment throughout the movie and we loved it too. It was much more kid friendly than I expected, but still enjoyable by adults. If you haven't seen it yet with your kids, I would highly recommend to go watch it :)

Here is what Anvesha keeps humming these days....

Life with a Preschooler

My role as a parent has evolved over the last one year and now I am faced with everyday challenges and important decisions.Phew!!! I made it through the baby and toddler stage and am now entering the preschooler years.  I am now a mother of a preschooler who runs around me, saying hilarious things and learns new stuff daily. So, how is life different now that Anvesha has started preschool? I tried my best to think about how I can summarize and this is what a typical day looks like with Anvesha- the preschooler:

Situation1: Weekday- getting her ready for school and everything else that follows

7:30 AM- I try to wake her up and after series of trials, she finally wakes up- grumpy.
8:00 AM- I try to convince her to brush her teeth, else rats will come and eat them and after series of protests and fights, I try to brush her teeth while she wails.
8:15 AM- She argues with me over what clothes she wants to wear for school and finally we settle down on something that she can wear. I look at the clock. I have another half and hour to get her dressed and have her finish her breakfast while I pack her lunch box.
8:45 AM- She finally finishes her breakfast with some leftovers and we get ready to leave for school- shoes on, jacket on, but wait.... just when we are about to step out, she needs to go potty !!
9:00 AM- I finally manage to reach school on time. I take her out from the car seat and just then she wants to pick up the prefect flower for her teacher.
9:10 AM- Se finally waves good bye while I watch her from the window on her class room door.

Situation 2: I pick her up from school

1:00 PM- I pick her up from school and she wants to go to the park and play. Too tired, I try to convince her that its raining and we have to skip the park today. She is cranky.
1:30 PM-  We reach home and she does not want to open her shoes and does not want to wash her hands.
2:00 PM- We sit down for lunch and she does not want to eat daal-rice, something that she demanded few minutes ago.
2:30 PM- We finally finish our lunch and I try to put her down for her nap that she resists. After loitering around and playing for a while she finally goes to sleep at around 3:15
5:15 PM- She wakes up and fusses over having milk. She wants to eat cookies.

Situation 3: Bath time and dinner

7:00 PM- We have just come back home from park and I try to take her for bath which she protests. She wails in protest and then later wails for not coming out from her bath tub.
7:30 PM- Struggle beings to feed her dinner
8:30 PM- She requests to watch Mickey Mouse and I allow her to watch it for 10 mins while I quickly gobble some food.

Situation 4: Bed time routine

9:00 PM- She does not want to brush her teeth and hides somewhere. She insists on drinking water 5 secs after I specifically asked her and she refused.
9:30 PM- Finally she is in bed and I lie down next to her. She insists on reading a book that we have perhaps read a million times earlier. Today I am just not in a mood for any bed time stories and pretend to sleep. She comes close to me, gives me a hug and a kiss and with a smile, asks me to tell her a story. She calls me and I tell her that Iam very upset and turn my back towards her. She asks me to turn around and says the most sweetest thing ever, "Mamma!!! I love you :)" My heart melts on hearing these magical words and I give in.
10:00 PM- She is finally asleep and I look at her with admiring eyes and kiss her good night.

 If that is not love, I don't know what is....

A Colorful Holi !!!

We celebrated Holi in the last weekend of March. Last year Anvesha enjoyed it, but was still overwhelmed as to what is going on around her. This year again we went to play Holi at a local park and there were hundreds of people all gathered to play Holi.

The event was very well organized and there was a DJ playing popular bollywood  dance numbers. At first she was scared at seeing colorful people dancing around, but when she saw her best friend- Amishi, she was a bit relieved I guess :)

This year our aunt- Choti Buaji as we all call her was visiting us from Boston and we all had a fun time with her, especially on Holi :)

I personally, do not like playing Holi, but enjoy watching others play.The kids enjoyed playing with the water gun and Anvesha not only put gulaal on others, but derived some pleasure in putting the color on herself as well. 

                                     

Easter fun

Spring is a wonderful time! There are flowers everywhere and the air is so fresh. March 20th marks the official onset of spring and you can make out as you enter any of the stores..... As we approach Easter, we can see an aisle with all those beautiful Easter egg hunt baskets and packs of the plastic eggs to be used during egg hunting. I personally find this sight very encouraging as this means that happy outdoor play days are around the corner and there will be more sunshine :) But for kids this has a totally different meaning.

This Easter we spent one weekend in the much awaited egg hunt event that Anvesha was so looking forward to and that's the reason I wanted to go- rain or shine! Anvesha was all set to go for egg hunting with her pink Easter basket and bunny ears.

The event was in a soccer field and it was a typical Seattle day which means it was cold and drizzling, but we still went there as I had promised Anvesha that I would take her to meet the Easter Bunny. The field was marked in different zones as per the age and Anvesha collected many eggs in her basket. She was thrilled to find candies and chocolates inside when she opened the eggs. 

                                  

 Finally she met with the Easter Bunny who gave her a big hug :)                                        

There were bounce house and many other activities for kids including face painting and Anvesha chose to get a cupcake on her cheek.

For kids Easter is a fun filled day to enjoy with the Easter Bunny, wear nice clothes, play the egg hunting game and eat lots of candies and chocolates. For us, its the indication of onset of nice days ahead.

Happy Easter everyone ( although late )

Progress Report

As a child I always dreaded this day of school and would hide every time my report card was sent home for my parents' signature. But times are changing now and these meetings give us parents an opportunity to not just get an update on our child's progress, but also to ask any questions that we may have regarding the future development

I remember when Anvesha was still a baby, (well she still is and will always remain a baby for me even when she grows up to be a teenager), I could track her developmental milestones in each of her wellness checkups. But as a preschooler these benchmarks aren't as apparent since 3-4 year olds are going through social, emotional and intellectual developments that are harder to pinpoint.

Anvesha is into her 3rd month of attending preschool and this time has afforded her not only academic growth but also growth in the areas of socializing with peers, sharing and empathy. She has made friends in school and is often referred to as the "baby of the class" since she is the youngest one in her batch. She is extremely fond of her teachers, Miss Riddhi & Miss Kathleen and has stories to share when she comes home from school.

Today I attended Anvesha's first parent-teacher conference, or rather parent-teacher meeting as we would typically say in India. I was really looking forward to meeting with the teachers so as to understand Anvesha's strengths as well as her developmental areas.

Comments from her teacher:
" Anvesha is bright and an independent child. She is evidently happy at school and the learning opportunity it provides. She is currently working on developing her number sense, letter sounds and dexterity in writing."

She has been exceptionally consistent in social & emotional development and is learning the specialty classes such as music, spanish, physical education, cooking, science and art. She is still learning to hold the pencil with grip, writing her name, tracing and pronunciation. Geography is a new subject introduced to her and is learning well. In the areas of Mathematics, she has mastered the number quantification and is learning subtraction.

Iam now confident that Anvesha will master her confidence, motor skills and concentration that will lead her towards academic and social success.

Elmo Party

This week, we celebrated Anvesha's birthday with an adorable Elmo theme party. It was so much fun to plan and host. Almost every toddler is a fan of Elmo and Anvesha has loved him for a long time now,so I knew that an Elmo themed party was the way to go this year. I began the preparations 1-2 months in advance and had earlier thought to have it in one of those bouncies, but decided on a community hall instead. We scheduled it at 3 PM on a Sunday afternoon on purpose ( although it was the Superbowl that day) as we didn't want to hold the kids too long since it was school the next day.

So the theme is decided, the venue is decided- but how to keep the kids occupied and enjoy the party?? Well, since Elmo is a muppet, so I thought of having a puppet show for her birthday party this time and I must say all the kids enjoyed a lot. Anvesha was so thrilled to see the 8 feet tall giraffe that she was jumping in excitement. A surprise element to the show was the appearance of Elmo while he was playing hide and seek with the kids. Not only the kids, but the parents had fun too. Thanks Sharon, for the wonderful show. Although is was slightly heavy on the pocket, but seeing the joy in Anvesha's eyes after the puppet show was an indication that it was money well spent. At the end of the show the kids got to take pictures with the giraffe and there was a fun activity for the kids as well wherein they colored their own puppets.

I didn't do anything extra special with the cake this time. I remember last year for her rainbow birthday theme party, I researched a lot for that perfect rainbow cake. Since Sesame street characters aren't as popular as the Disney ones, I just got a simple design and placed an Elmo toy as a cake topper. I know the kids would care less as long as its a cake, but I still feel I could have done more with the cake and the decorations. There few balloons and Elmo & Bigbird air walker balloons that were a hit amongst the kids.

                                   

Anvesha was so busy having fun and playing with her friends, that she couldn't settle down for pictures. We still managed to take few pics. The color of her dress was carefully chosen keeping the Elmo theme in mind.

Thanks to everyone who made Anvesha's birthday celebration so successful. She had a great time and we hope you had fun too. Thanks for all the birthday presents.

Anvesha is 3 !!!!

I am now a mother of a three year old !!!

Of course I've been warned about the Terrible Twos and the Terrible Threes, but I'd rather enjoy this age. Every age, every situation and every person is not without drawbacks. There is no perfect thing as a perfect situation. Quality of life is built on figuring out what is great about the situation that you are in and enjoying every bit of it :)

So what is great about a 3 year old?

For starters... you get to have all the answers and you are able to solve all of their problems. These tiny little monsters see you- their moms as the most prettiest person in the universe. You have control over everywhere they go and who they play with. I know all of that will end pretty soon :( As much as I long to sleep past 6.00 AM, set my schedule on a whim, travel to exotic places and go for fine dining again, I know for sure that I will miss the hell out of my 3 year old Anvesha once she is all grown up.

As a ritual, I've been sending you notes on each birthday and this time won't be an exception either. :)

"My little baby girl,

Happy Birthday!!! You are 3 today :) Every day with you (not just your birthday) is a celebration of the day you came into our lives. Every moment is one to cherish, even through tears and tantrums. Memories flood my mind as I think about your first words, steps, foods, and other milestones. Each day, it seems, I notice that you are growing and learning more and more. Climbing up your playground ladder, counting to 30, singing all the words to your favorite songs. You are becoming a young lady, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.

For now, I want to focus on today and celebrating our little person who asked for an Elmo birthday party. 

Today is your day. My blog is all about you and I feel bad that you are down with fever today. I hope you feel better soon so that you can enjoy your birthday cake and the candies.

Here’s to celebrating many more birthdays, milestones, and moments.

Happy birthday, baby!!!

Hugs, Mamma"