Sunshine Party

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy, when skies are gray,
You'll never know dear how much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away.

This song is so close to my heart. Every time I used to make Anvesha sleep, I used to sing this song to her. We call it the Mamma- Aanu song. So I had to continue this tradition with Anvika. I love singing this song and it plays continuously on Pandora. So while thinking of the theme for Anvika's first birthday, this was the first thing that came into my mind. When I started searching for ideas, I didn't realise how far I would come considering that first birthdays are meant to be remembered only on the hindsight. But, since the song is so dear to me, that was enough encouragement I needed to get the wheels spinning.

We made best use of the weather by hosting the party outside in the park. The weather was so nice and it was a perfect day for hosting an outdoor party. The color scheme was essentially yellow and pink. Anvika wore a yellow tutu dress that I had my eyes on long back when I was thinking on the theme.What is the best part of planning in advance is that you don't rush into any thing and the party planning goes on smoothly.

Here is the birthday girl. Photo credits: Kumar. Thank you for catching the moments of the party so well :)

Anvika looked more like a jelly fish here :)

The birthday cake had to be on the lines of the sunshine theme

There were many DIYs for this birthday. The main one being this photo booth. I give my self a pat on my back for getting this done :)

The family pic... We had to literally catch Anvesha to get a pic with us since she was so busy playing around.

Finally the cake cutting.....

Anvika was lucky to have her grandparents and both Buaji's on her first birthday. Rare moments when the entire family gets together.

To end the show we had a sunshine pinata. It was such a hit with the kids. All kids got  a chance to hit the pinata and were more than thrilled when the candies came pouring in.

I am so glad the birthday party turned out the way I imagined it to be. I love planning and organizing kids' birthdays. It was  so much fun putting it all together. A big thank you to all who made this happen.

Once again.... Happy First Birthday to our Little Miss Sunshine- Anvika!!!

Happy Birthday Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine- Anvika is one!! One whole year of getting to know each other, of loving her, of being blessed with daughter as sweet as her for the second time. I never really believed that I could love any other child as much as I love Anvesha. But I was wrong- having a daughter is the most wonderful feeling in the whole world and  I am lucky to have two :)

At times the last one year felt like the longest journey. But really it went by in the blink of an eye. seeing the changes in her in the last 12 months and thinking how she will grow in the next 12 months, blows my mind. Getting to the end of the first year was more like, "We made it!" feel to it. I was exhausted, anxious and juggling between Anvesha's school, after school activities and taking care of a baby. It broke my heart every time I had to wake up Anvika from her sleep to tag her along with Anvesha for her ballet, art class or even for that matter picking her up from school :( Anvika was almost 3 months when my parents left for India and thats when I had a reality check. Life was tough at that time, but as they say, "when the going gets tough, tough gets going". I somehow figured it out and got used to it. Want to thank each and every person who helped me in my first year's journey with 2 kids, the first being my parents- my mom- my guiding light, Satya, Dwiti who helped me in their own special way.

Reflecting on the past one year- how many milestones we hit like the first time she smiled, first time she sat unassisted, first time she tasted anything apart from breast milk, first haircut ( mundan ),first time she crawled, I could go on and on.... I never thought I could change in so many ways. Never experienced so many emotions all at one time- the happiness, anxiety, joy, worry, guilt. I am also reflecting on the ways I have changed as a mom again- the ways I am a different mom than I thought I'd be, and how I am a better mom than I thought I'd be. Thank you Anvika and thank you Anvesha for making me a better mom now :)


Here's a sweet note for Anvika on her birthday. Hope that years from now, she would want to read the birthday messages from me :)

"My dear Anvika, on your first birthday,

One year ago, at 1:07 AM, I heard your sweet cry for the first time. Right there, life changed, for all of us, including your big sister, Anvesha. One year ago, I spent the night staring at your precious face. One year ago, we became a family of 4. Anvika means completeness- and very rightly so. Thank you for making our family complete. 
You're such a joy to be with. With your sweet and mischievous smile, you lighten up our hearts. You love attention and once you have it, you know how to keep it. 
So, on you birthday, we all want you to know that you are loved- so so so so so much!!

Happy first birthday Sunshine!!!! Keep smiling to spread the joy.

Love you to the moon and back !!!
Hugs, Mamma"

Anvika crawling

Whether it's pushing Anvika on the stroller, wearing her in the carrier, driving her around in the car seat or just holding- her only means of transportation has been others so far. But, when she began to crawl, it was a huge milestone for her as it is the first step towards independent mobility. Yes, those tiny knees and hands have begun cruising around- exploring the house :)

It has also opened her world to a ton of discoveries, exploring anything and everything within her reach. We have to start babyproofing, especially the stair way gates. The best way to encourage her to crawl is to create some kind of an obstacle course for her using pillows, cushions. She does get an incentive in the form of toys at the end of it :)

Here's a video of her when she crawled for the first time.

Can't believe how quickly Anvika is evolving from an immobile newbie to a cruiser :) 

Anvika @ 8 months

Can't believe it has been 8 months already :) Anvika rolled over for the first time when she was around 6 months and started to sit upright at 5 months. She tries to leap forward and comes on her knees in the crawling position. Though she hasn't started to crawl yet, but tries to stand when I extend my hands towards her. This new found mobility means she is entering the land of bumps and falls which is quite enevitable in childhood. I let her explore her surroundings in order to discover her limits :)

Anvika is extremely fond of  Anvesha and the duo play very well together and Anvesha picks her up whenever she falls.

We started solids for her when she was 4.5 months old since she was not gaining much weight and her pediatrician suggested that we start solids early. We started with oatmeal cereal and its been a long journey ever since. We have gone past the puree stage and now I try to give her more of textured foods. Soft cooked and mashed veggies and fruits. I somehow feel she has a sweet tooth since she likes foods that are on the sweeter side like bananas, apples, carrots, sweet potato. I try to introduce new food every week. I did try  giving her daal and khichdi, but this little girl just gagged. Maybe I will try again after few days :)

Last week Anvika got her first lower 2 teeth together. She looks super adorable in her 2 teeth. The gummy grin is now replaced with gleaming teeth :) I am trying to get her pic with both the teeth visible- so far no luck :( Just like with Anvesha, we have continued the tradition of celebrating monthly birthdays for Anvika as well.
Here's a video from yesterday...

It has been a long journey of 8 months- many sleepless nights, days of frustration, days when I thought I cannot handle 2 kids, but when I see this marshmallow smile at me, I forget everything and my heart melts. Thats when I think- It's worth it and it will get better from here. I look forward to the summer this year where I want to spend as much time outside as I can with my angels :)

Happy birthday to this little girl who turned 8 months old yesterday. Muaaahhh!!!!

Spring Break

Last week was Anvesha"s spring break and yayyyy...I survived this week long break. Don't get me wrong... I love my kids, but staying with them 24/7 and answering Anvesha's endless questions.... I mean reallly???   I don't want to be the overwhelmed mother who cannot focus and one who longs for her kids to go to bed so that she can get a breather:) Even though I try to be on top of things, I still feel that at times I am just not enough for my daughters, may be they deserve more of my attention and time. Over the years I have realized that at the end of the day, my sanity is what matters the most. Only then can I give my best to my kids.

So, coming back to the spring break.... it was challenging to keep the kids occupied, especially in the rains. We did have 1-2 sunny days here and there and thats when we rushed out to get that fresh air. Anvika stayed in her stroller while Anvesha went biking. 

Anvesha is slowly being more and more confident to ride on her bike and we practised a lot around the community.

 There were times I arranged for playdates at our home, so that the kids can play and stay entertained. On the other days I had to keep her involved in helping me around in my household chores. She loves to "help" :) Anvesha has started going for her art class and loves it. Mondays are reserved for that and Thursdays are for ballet. 

I had several activities for Anvesha that she did in this break. One of them was "design your own treasure box" that she loved a lot.

Tada!!!!!!! here's the final product :)

Then there was a taping activity, she is still getting a hang of it....

Another activity for her in her spring break was the Peppa Pig's lacing activity. She likes Peppa Pig a lot and showed  a lot of interest in this one..

So that's how we passed the last week... Oh! and I forgot about the grocery shopping... where Anvesha was the one taking charge of what she wanted to buy. That also helps in understanding how things work and the concept of buying stuff from the stores.

We ended the Spring break with Easter egg hunts and a trip to see the Cherry blossoms

I am not saying that I didn't lose my cool at times, yes I did, especially when I had to pretend to listen to the same story for over 10 times and still pretend to be so so so interested in it :) But I am so blessed to have such amazing daughters, I must have done something really nice to have these amazing little humans in my life. Love you both to the moon and back :)

Getting Anvika's ears pierced

We had been wanting to get Anvika's ears pierced since a long time and this Navratri, we got it done finally :) She is 7.5 months old now and although getting an infant's ears pierced at such a young age is still a controversial topic, but I personally feel its better to get it done earlier on. It is less painful if done at an early age and also solves gender identification- the little diamond studs tells it all.

For Anvesha we got it done when she was 4 months old. So we decided to get those tiny ears pierced at Claire's last week. In some cultures it may be a tradition to pierce a girl's age, but like I said earlier, we did it so that it is easily manageable. Although ear piercing is over in a matter of seconds, but it IS painful for these young souls and they will also soon forget it.

Here's our little girl waiting for her ears to get pierced.

And here's Mamma holding her baby tight.

In just a matter of seconds it was all done. If I am not wrong, Anvika cried for jsut around 15 secs. My brave girl, I am so so so proud of you. I do not have the complete video of the piercing, but will share with you what I have.

For now we have diamond studs for her, but in a couple of months, will get ear rings, like her big sister :).

Presenting Anvika in her brand new look...

Annaprashan and Mundan Ceremony

Of all the first times a baby will experience, tasting the first bite of solid food is probably one of the most exciting milestones to witness as a parent. 6 months is the recommended age to start with solid foods, but in Anvika's case, her doctor suggested to start early since she wasn't gaining much weight. So we started solids for her when she was 4.5 months.

 To celebrate this transition from milk to solid food formally, we performed the annaprashan ceremony. This signifies a marked change in a child's life and we were lucky to celebrate it among family and elders. We performed this ceremony at home when Anvika turned 6 months old. Here's a video from that day.

A new range of food has already started for her. We started with baby cereals including oatmeal, rice and ragi. So far I have offered her avocado, banana, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato and beets. She loves bananas, carrots, sweet potato and butternut squash so far. Yesterday I tried beets, but she
didn't quite like them. She shows a great interest in the food that we eat and we sometimes offer her a tiny bit from our plate. Anvesha loves to feed her as well. Hope she doesn't turn out to be a super fussy eater. Preparing baby food, though tiring, but is an exciting part that I look forward to.

Since we were in India, we thought we can also have her mundan ceremony. With Anvesha we had this in her 11th month when we went to India. I remember she was bald on her first birthday, not that she had much hair before her mundan, but on her birthday, she had zero hair :) Mundan ceremony is a significant time in a child's life and is a very important ritual as well. We decided to get it done earlier on for Anvika for two reasons- first, we were in India so got it done there and second, as she grows she may develop resistance and it will get difficult. I remember Anvesha crying uncontrollably when her hair was being shaved off. At last, she finally gave in and that was it.  Not that it was easy in Anvika's case, but we finally got it done.

Here's the before and after pic of Anvika...

                                               

These were the 2 major rituals performed for Anvika in India. We plan to get her ears pierced soon and my next post will be on that, so stay tuned :)

Happy 4th Baby !!

My Dear Cutie Pie,

A very happy 4th birthday to you. Can't believe it's been 4 years already. You are the one who turned me into a mom and you are such a joy and full of life. "You're my favorite person in the world", is not something that you hear from me these days, ever since Anvika came into our lives. I have two gems and both are my favorite.  It's hard though, not to keep thinking about it.

You are the one who taught me what unlimited, unconditional love feels like, Even though you are not my ONLY child, or even my only girl, you will always be my first. You are the first one to make me forget myself. You are the first person I ever said, "I love you" to, to more than 10 times in a day.You are the first person whose temperature I took, whose nose I wiped, whose dirty diaper I changed and who ever vomited on me. With you I made my first time mom mistakes, like leaving the window open so that you accidentally fell off from the second floor :( Who knew you could push the mesh so hard that it could fall off? Thank you for not getting hurt.

While you are not my only child anymore, you will probably be the kid who knows what it's like to have my  undivided attention. This realization also gives me guilts, but then again Anvika, does have some advantages. I can't imagine that she can be bored or lonely for long- not with your unlimited songs, dance moves, gymnastics and many tricks :) She loves to watch you do that and you are an amazing big sister.

You were my first newborn, infant, toddler and preschooler. With you I have had many "firsts" and you're the one who continues to surprise me every day with your super gymnast skills :) So if you are feeling frustrated that I am holding your baby sister instead of playing hide and seek with you or when I am using stern words with you and not her ( she's a baby), or because I can't stop saying just how cute she is, you should know that there is more than enough love for both of you, because of the ever expanding place in my heart that you made.

You, You, You- you will ALWAYS be my first :)

A very Happy birthday to this awesome ballerina who is also an amazing big sister!!!

Hugs & Kisses, Mamma

Baby gear that we love

Anvika is my second child and by then I knew what baby products we absolutely needed when she was born. With Anvesha, we went over board with baby shopping and ended up not using 50% of the baby stuff. But now, I have become somewhat of a minimalist and have only kept  baby items that are absolutely necessary for our everyday needs.

When we were moving to our new home, I donated a ton of stuff and only kept the ones that I felt made my life so much easier as a new mom. There were also some new items that we bought along the way that helped me. I agree that babies need a ton of stuff, but baby products are insanely priced most of them are only a feel good factor that they outgrow so soon.

Here's a list of baby products that have helped me along my journey of motherhood :)

1. Bumboo Seat- This is one product that has been used by both my girls. It is so light and easy to throw practically anywhere. Anvika isn't quite able to sit up straight yet, but, nevertheless wants to be involved with all of us. We simple have her sit in her bumboo seat and she has so much fun looking at all of us, especially Anvesha.

2. Swing- This is one product that has been extensively used by Anvesha. She loved it so much that she could practically sleep on it all day. This also came as a big help when she had a sleep hiatus. She wouldn't sleep on anything else. I think that this is probably the best investment we have made- a complete value for money.

3. Baby carrier- This is a must have in any baby registry. This goes with us everywhere, since you never know when Anvika wants to be held and I don't have the hands to do it. It's also comfortable and easy on the back. I love that it can grow with her as she gets older. A versatile baby carrier.

4. Swaddle-  Anvesha hated to be swaddled, but little Anvika absolutely loves it. Although she has outgrown that age of being swaddled, but this was a miracle in the first 2 months to help her sleep better.

5. Boppy Pillow- I didn't use the boppy pillow for breastfeeding with Anvika, but has used it a lot with Anvesha. But with Anvika, I have used it a lot in these first 4 months for tummy time or just have her sit there with support and let her look around. It is soft and keeps her secure.

6. Auto Mirror-  I had one post dedicated to Brica auto mirror in the past. This is a great product for babies who hate car seat and need to be occupied with something to keep them distracted. It worked well with Anvesha and is working with Anvika as well. The music, lights and sounds keep the babies happy and they can look at their own image in the mirror that also keeps them occupied.

7. Baby bouncer- This has been gifted to us by a friend and Anvika loves sitting on it. I usually have her sit on this while I get some cooking done. She watches me and plays happily with the toys. Sometimes, she falls asleep on this. Thanks Satya for this wonderful gift :)

                                   

I am sure there zillions of other baby products available in the market, but these are the ones that have worked best for us and made life much easier. I am sure ten years down the line, looking at how we have brought them up,will certainly bring a smile on both my girls' faces. Few products do have a sentimental value attached to it, like the swing and over the years, the list will keep growing :)