Happy Children's Day

Dear Aanu,

Almost every day, I marvel on how much bigger you have gotten. Your kid feet are no longer baby feet now. You make me my tea in "your" kitchen. You can spell your name, count till 30, trace letters and color so well. You tell me about your friends at you day care and love to put your dolly to sleep. Three years ago I wouldn't have comprehended these things. I know you are still tiny and still throw tantrums at times- but they are getting much better now that you are soon gonna be 3 year old. I guess the "terrible twos" stage has passed ( hopefully ) and preschool is right around the corner. I am horribly anxious at the thought of it, but plan to be the vision of strength that you need me to be. If I've ever been proud of who I am, it's because of you. I pray that I am the kind of mother that makes you proud too.

This children's day I wish you again with all the love and happiness. I have mixed feelings about going back to work right now as I won't be able to see you for the entire day which I am so used to and I think you are used to it too. But my heart will still be with you when I am at work and will long for the day to end so that I can come home to get your warm hug.... nothing on earth beats that !!!! I assure you, I will make up for the time lost.... I have watched you growing and learning every day. I know every story and remember every wound and I have seen you become the amazing girl you are today. You still look so cute when I give you time outs.

I just want you to tell you that YOU are who YOU are... be proud of that, it's okay to be different, and it's okay to blaze your own trail. Don't let anyone else tell you who you should be- not me, not your friends and NOT the society. In return, I promise to encourage you, be there for you and advocate your passions. I promise to let you be "you".

Just want to let you know that you are one AWESOME baby !!!! Stay blessed and stay happy always. This song is especially for you... Love - Mamma

Diwali Special !!!!

This Diwali was special as it was our first Diwali in our new home. Anvesha is almost 3 now and attaches meaning to things. Halloween was trick and treat for her and Diwali was all about lighting dias, dressing up and playing with crackers.

On the day of Diwali she had a Diwali party at her day care where she wore her traditional clothes ( salwar suit ). Every child was looking different and so cute. The day was full of masti at her day care and she came home with a dia painted by her.

Isn't this so amazing !!!! From the look of it, I really couln't make out that this has been painted by almost a 3 year old !!!! This dia is extra special for me and I have put it in the mandir :) Thank you Anvesha... this is the best diwali gift I have ever got and thanks Kanika for teaching her such an amazing art. I have so many pictures of other kids at her day care but I dare not put them here without their parent's consent.

We decorated the whole house with lots of dias and candles and Anvesha helped me in choosing the dias and setting them too.There were Diwali lights hung at the entrance and the staircase and the mandir too :) I did my best to make the rangoli, but I failed miserably :( But, I made up for that by making yummy jalebis. At night we were at our traditional best and Anvesha changed from salwar suit to lehanga choli :) This girl really loves to dress up !!

We got few sparklers and played around a bit. Thankfully, it wasn't raining and we could go outside and make use of our backyard space. Anvesha loved the phooljhadi and wasn't scared at all. She was just a little irritated because we were being extra cautious so that she doesn't burn herself. After celebrating Diwali at home we went to wish our friends and Anvesha was excited to meet up with Mishi- her friend. It was a short and sweet Diwali for all of us and we did our best to create the Indian ambiance here- not that bad afterall !!!

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali  and a Prosperous New Year !!!!

Anvesha in Glasses

Anvesha started to have a real communication with us from this summer and that's when she started complaining that her eyes are hurting. She used to get extremely uncomfortable ( and with that I mean really really uncomfortable) with the direct rays of sun hitting her eyes. At first we just thought this may be a passing phase and she must be tired, but when it became consistent, we scheduled an eye exam for her.

I didn't send her to her day care that day as the eye exam would take and hour or so. I was getting her mentally prepared that the doctor would check her eyes and she should tell the doctor that her eyes 'hurt'. We waited in the lobby of the clinic and Anvesha was fascinated with the huge aquarium and was really excited seeing the colorful fishes inside. As the nurse called out her name, I held Anvesha's hand and we walked into the exam room thinking it would be just another eye exam and at most she would be given over the counter eye drops. Towards the end of the eye check up, the doctor told me that she might need glasses!!!!! At first I didn't quite believe my ears and asked again and the doctor said that she has astigmatism because of which  she has a distorted vision. It's a very common thing and I have it too, but for kids her age its way too early. Somewhere deep in my heart I felt guilty of not scheduling her exam early :( Unable to digest this, I scheduled another eye exam with some other doctor just as to get a second opinion, but it was the same thing again...... the doctor said that until age 5 her vision is still developing and it might get better with time if she wears the constantly.

I guess more than Anvesha I have to get used to seeing her in glasses. I just can't imagine her in glasses... those adorable eyes behind glasses :((( Most vision problems don't show up until later in life and I got my glasses during my early teens too, but I was nervous about how she will welcome this new addition on her face. But to my surprise, she adapted pretty well.... maybe because she sees me in my glasses and perhaps loved the idea of seeing things much clearer.  Its important to keep an upbeat attitude about spectacles... and she will too !!!! We constantly keep telling her that her glasses are so pretty and ahe looks amazing in them.

Choosing the right glasses:  Selecting the right glasses is very important considering how active toddlers are and I was amazed with the wide range of toddler glasses. I wasn't in my best frame of mind while looking at the toddler glasses as this was something I would never have wanted for Anvesha. After series of trials we selected one with a rectangular plastic frame and elastic straps so that they are easier to stay on her small face. The guy also pointed out that she would need to be  Hercules to break them... lol !!!!

Getting the spectacles on does require creative parenting. The key is to be persistent and patient. I don't want to pressurize her into wearing her glasses for the simple reason that I don't want her to develop an aversion towards them. I simply tell her that her eyes may hurt if she opens her glasses and she puts them back after some time.

It's been a month now and we are slowly getting used to seeing her in glasses. She has two pairs now- one purple and one pink!!! I am pretty sure we will land up having more matching with her dresses.

Here's presenting Anvesha with the latest addition on her face......

Trick or Treat !!!

"Knock knock trick or treat who are you??

Iam a little fairy-  Tinker Bell fairy"!!

This has been a song on Anvesha's mind ever since we got her the Halloween dress. Last tim we dressed her up as a watermelon while she was still 9 months old and did not know what was going on around her. Last year she missed Halloween as we were in India. So this year I gave her two options to choose from, she could either be a lady bug or Tinker Bell and she chose to be a Tinker Bell. I guess this may be because Tinker Bell was the first character she was exposed to when she was one year old and she would love to flip through the pages of her book and got very excited on seeing Tinker Bell :) 

So here's presenting to you, our Tinker Bell ...

Trick or treating has been a popular tradition in US on Halloween. Rain or shine, there are plenty of safe trick or treating events that go on... and costumed kiddos along with their cavity conscious parents come to have fun. On an average Americans spend around $2 billion on candies just on Halloween. Phew!!! my molars are hurting just looking at the numbers !!! As much as I try to keep Anvesha away from candies, she makes up for that on Halloween.... lol !!!! But this post is not about effects of candies on children, I'd rather save that for another time, Its about Anvesha's Halloween fun !!

We started the celebrations a day prior to Halloween where she was supposed to come dressed up in her costume to her day care and later that day I took her to Sammamish City Hall which was especially great for younger kids. There were spiders, ghosts, pumpkins, skeletons, a lot of goodies and ofcourse candies !!! Later we went to Microsoft Commons. The place was flooded with kids in costumes.... from princesses to fairies, bugs to animals, witches to ghosts and superheroes, you could see kids all dressed up with their costumes.

Anvesha was more than thrilled to collect candies in her basket which was getting heavier and was jumping with joy as we allowed her to eat the candies. It's Halloween and she can have her share of fun too !!! Next day, which is the day of Halloween, we went to Redmond Town Center where many merchants participated in the trick or treat event. There few other friends who accompanied us as well and we had a ball of a time.

Here are the pics...

Just when you though the Halloween fun was over, we had kids from the community dropping by at our house for trick or treat and later at dusk we took Anvesha too for a quick round across the community. She most certainly enjoyed the whole 2 days and didn't want to take off her Tinker Bell dress.... she absolutely loved it and we enjoyed with her as well !!!

Happy Happy Halloween........!!!!

Falling in love with Fall :)

Summer days may be well behind us but that does not mean it's time to pack in the outdoor activities just yet. Crisp fall days are here and they are perfect to throw in a hoodie or a sweater and embark on some family fun. During fall the world becomes a natural playground. There are leaves for jumping in, apples & pumpkins for picking and hay bales for climbing. All the leaves are changing colors from green to yellow, orange, red and brown. Trees that were wrapped in a green blanket of leaves are slowly shedding all their leaves. The streets are full of yellow and red leaves and we wake up everyday to a foggy fall morning.

                                                                       

                         

We enjoy fall as much as we enjoyed summers. Last week we even planted bulbs for spring. We cuddle up under a big cozy blanket to read books :) We go on a nature walk to get to know the fall foliage a little better. Anvesha enjoys leaf jumping, where she jumps into a huge pile of freshly raked leaves. She picks a handful of leaves and throws them in the air.  Rainy days are back again, but this does not stop us from going out. As kids we never bypassed those rainy day puddles without jumping on them and Anvesha does the same thing !!! Kids can derive so much pleasure in these little things. Simple pleasures of life that come for free :) I am just fortunate to be with Anvesha in these growing years of her life and witness her smiles first hand.

         

Anvesha has been doing a lot of fall craft activities like learning about the anatomy of a pumpkin, doing painting with a pumpkin and lerning about the life cycle of a pumpkin. I guess the month of October is dedicated to pumpkins !!!!! Wow.... pumpkins must be feeling on top of the world these days ;)

Fall also means Halloween !!! We are looking forward to it as we will be going out to say "Hi" to our neighbors for the " trick or treat" and there will be a post from my side dedicated especially for Halloween.

Till then wishing everyone a very Happy Fall !!!!!

Pumpkin Fun !!!!

Its pumpkin time...... all the grocery stores are loaded with pumpkins in every shape and size and innumerable varieties. Its something about these orange fruits ( yes.... pumpkin is a fruit !!!! ) that is so attractive to kids as well as adults. Pumpkin picking has been a cherry autumn tradition in US for years and we've become quite taken with this idea too :) Last year we went to Remlinger farm for pumpkin patch and this year it was Serres Farm which is very close to our place. We wanted to keep the tradition of pumpkin patch going especially since Anvesha loved it so much. This year went there twice !!! It was so much fun not just for the kids, but also for us. Many families flock to the pumpkin fields strewn with these orange beauties in order to pick up their prized Halloween decoration.

 

Pumpkin picking is especially popular among children..... and a great way of getting them outdoors in October. Anvesha and her friends were running around the fields inhaling the fresh air and examining each pumpkin closely.






And then there were other activities such as duck race using an old fashioned water pump. Everyone got to keep their ducks at the end of the race.

Corn maze was the crowd's favorite and we had so much fun finding our way out from the maze. There were skeletons put to guide us through.

Another major hit was the animal train. We loved it too :) I sat with Anvesha on the train... lol and we loved it !!!!

It was a fun filled Sunday afternoon. The kids were tired at the end of  it and Anvesha crashed to bed on getting home. Now isn't that a big indication on how much she enjoyed her day with her friends ??? After all the fun we had, now comes the exasperating task of carving out the pumpkins for trick or treaters.... but thats all in the spirit of Halloween and the end results are worth it !!!!

Pretend Play

Where can you find a doctor, a chef, a princess, a superman happily working side by side? In a dramatic play area of some school..... and at our home :) Anvesha loves to pretend play, she is a doctor one day, a chef another day, a superman at night and a Mommy to her toys as well :) In the midst of creating a tea party, clomping around in grown up shoes or twirling around with friends in a fairy tale land, she is learning to imagine, coordinate and think flexibly. Experts also say that pretend play is very important in a child's development and it provides so much more than just humor for grown ups. She usually mimics what she hears at home or day care... the other day she took her shopping cart, wore my purse and waved bye bye to me saying... "Bye bye Mamma.... I am going shopping!!!!" I was stunned by her words and gave laugh in my hearts of hearts.

Whether playing with a real friend or a made up friend.... which in Anvesha's case is "Babloo".... yeah !!!! thats what she has named her teddy, kids learn social skills as well. She loves to cook meals for Babloo and makes a mess in my kitchen taking out all the utensils. She loves to put clips on her doll's hair, cook daal rice, oats, potato for Babloo and also comb the hair of her bath toys !!!!.This is the time she is in total control over this pretend play game :) Here's a pic of Anvesha with her best friend, Babloo

There are innumerable pretend play toys and games in the market and obscure house hold items can also be converted into pretend play games. Toys come into life through pretend play. There are doll houses, kitchens, playhouses, dump trucks, puppets, railroads, shopping carts, doctor sets... you name it and the market is full of toys for kids every age and also ones that are gender specific :)

We got Anvesha a kitchen set and she absolutely lovvvveeees it !!!!






She spends hours playing with it and makes meals for me. This morning she got muffins for me fresh from her oven :) Who wold want to count the calories when your daughter so lovingly gets muffins for you in the plate!!!!

I love the way Anvesha is growing up to be... she is a girly girl and I absolutely love that in her. Stay the same Aanu.... I would love to be a part of your pretend play games :) Love you heaps !!!!!