Anvesha learns to bike

It was in 2016 when we got a bike for Anvesha- that was a 16 inch bike and she had been riding it with training wheels all this while. Now that she is 5 ...... we started making her practice  without the training wheels. She wanted to learn how to ride without the training wheels, but could not put her feet down and would often trip over. Every time this would happen, she would get disheartened. With summers around the corner, we often watch kids ride their bikes and Anvesha wanted to join in too.

So what we did? We got her a 14 inch bike with which she could put her feet comfortably on the ground. She was thrilled by the idea of riding without the training wheels, but was a bit apprehensive as well. When we told her we would ride with out the training wheels, I sensed a panic in her voice. "But what if I fall? I am never going to learn how to ride a bike."

With calm hands, I put on the knee pads to her shaky legs, put on her fancy Minnie Mouse helmet and asked her to sit on her bike. Parenting is hard, but sometimes you need to be strong enough to get the best out of your child. As we got the bike out of the garage  onto the neighborhood street, she began to whimper, " I am going to fall, I am going to fall ", while I remained calm and assured her it will all be okay. She needs to fall before learning to ride a bike. She will fall once, twice, probably even the third time, but that will eventually bring out the best in her.

While holding the bike steady, Anvesha managed to reach the pedals and Prateek helped her by holding the bike for a small distance and then he let go. Yes, she DID fall and tears did come out, but she paracticed and practiced and within 30 mins she was cruising.  Learning to ride a bike without the training wheels is an amazing  milestone. I was so proud of Anvesha when she first rode without the training wheels.  It was as though my heart will burst. Anvika is so delighted to watch her Deeda ride the bike and shouts in excitement, " Go Deeda go".

Hello Summers!!!! We are ready to bike and feel the fresh air bust our faces.

Anvika @ 20 Months

My little girl is now 20 months old...... 4 more months and she will be 2. Phew!!! They grow up so fast. She is very naughty, fearless fighter who loves to tease her big sister and almost always gets away with everything. That sure requires some skill huh?

Anvika is such a joy be with. Both the girls love each other so much and play with each other-  but THAT IS JUST A MOMENT!!!! they play together nicely for like 5 mins and then fight with each other. Anvika is her sister'd tail. Whatever her Deeda wants, she wants it and loves to copy her big sister. Its such a joy to see both the girls grow up together.

She likes to eat strawberries, oranges, bluberries, mac and cheese, pasta, rice, idli, dosa, ghee chapati, cheese and of course all the junk food :)

Anvika has  great love for ducks. In fact one of the first few words that she learnt was "quack quack". She jsut looooveees ducks. We have a small pond near our house where we generally go for or walks and also feed the ducks. Anvika loves to watch the ducks and feed them too. Here's a small clip of Anvika feeding the ducks.

This also gives me lot of ideas for Anvika's second birthday party. No prizes for guessing..... it is going to be a  "Quack Quack Party" !!!! Stay tuned for Anvika's 2nd birthday bash:)

High 5 Anvesha!!!

Hello My Shimmer,

Today you are 5 years old!!! One whole hand- a big High 5 to that!!!How did that happen? Day after day you are making it very clear to me that you are no longer a baby and that you are a big girl now. Yes, you are growing into a beautiful girl, but for me, you are still that little girl whom I held in my arms 5 years back.

Soon you'll be going to kindergarten and creating a life for yourself that will be less dependent on me each passing day. Your world will expand to include new teachers, new friends and new experiences that will perhaps not include me :(


I envy the fun you are going to have, the people you are going to meet and the things you are going to learn. Learning new things comes naturally to you because your heart and mind are so open to the wonder around you. But not everything you experience is going to be pleasant. People will say mean things to you, they will exclude you and make you feel that you need to change to fit in. They will try to lead you to make bad choices, to go against what we have taught you. You WILL make mistakes... lots of them. Part of me wishes to rush to you in your defense when you encounter mean girls. Ofcourse, I cannot prevent mean girls to play their mind games on you. These experiences have value too and you will learn how to handle adversity better.

Through all this I want you to remember baby girl, that to me you are perfect- to me you are everything and nothing you do or say can make me feel otherwise. In me you will always have a safe place where you can be totally you. I love the fact that I am your favorite person, how you believe anything is possible- from magical words to how Mamma's kisses can heal all the boo boos. I love the fact that you believe unicorns are real  Although I am not perfect and I still work on being perfect every single day, I hope you will share everything with me when you realize I am not perfect.  That day will surely come, but I just hope not so soon :(

I cannot wait to see what the next year- with kindergarten, tooth fairy visits- new friends and experiences- has in store, but I know that you will deal with all this with grace and dignity.

I love being your mom and thank God every single night for handpicking me to have the honor. My Big- 5 year old- Anvesha- Aanu- Shimmer- Butterfly #1.... I love you more than you will ever comprehend.

XOXO
Mamma

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!!!!