Anvesha's last day of preschool

Anvesha's last day of preschool was today- June 19th 2018.  She really enjoyed her 3 years of preschool with Miss Riddhi whom she absolutely adores. I can't believe my little girl's preschool has ended and she will be starting kindergarten in September this year. I now have a preschool graduate!!

Like all milestones, this too was a cause for celebration. I had planned an year end party at our place and the kids had a blast. Here are the pics of last Saturday.

I think a child's first teacher holds a special place in the child's heart. Here is a pic of Anvesha with her preschool teacher- Miss Riddhi.

Can't help but compare the first day and the last day of preschool pic of Anvesha. Gosh !! she has changed so much- physically, emotionally and in so many other ways. I really miss my baby now.

When my little girl started preschool she was 3 yrs old and the youngest one in the class. She cried everytime I used to drop her off at school and when I came to pick her up. It's funny how life comes to a full circle. Today, at the last day of her preschool, she was all smiles.... and I was the one with tears in my eyes.

I have no idea how I am going the survive her first day of kindergarten ( read big school ) in September. But before that, we have a long summer break and will make the very best of it.

Happy Summer !!

Anvesha's piano recital

When I was growing up, we were not an "I love you" family. We certainly found this affection lovely. Not that we didn't love each other, but maybe these words were considered to be so obvious that repeating them would sound like an overkill. Love was seen in every hard earned compliment, the yummy meals that my mom made for us after having a long day at work, or for that matter having a pineapple pastry at Krishna Bakrey @ Mall Road every time we used to go there. 

I was thinking about all this at my daughter's piano recital on Saturday. I have always wanted Anvesha to have a hobby and even better if it was in the field of music. Maybe I carried this from my childhood when we didn't get to go in music lessons as the focus was more on academics instead of inculcating a hobby. It has been almost 10 months Anvesha has been learning piano and I see so much progress in her. The house is always full of compliments mixed in with few off key versions of songs every time she plays her piano. 

This end of year recital, she was to play " Ice cream song", "Little gray pony", "Partner Play". "Mister Moon" and my favorite, "Two little robins". As the event got closer, they were playing better and better each day and this made me so proud. On the day of the recital, as I watched Anvesha practice her songs, it showed the hard work of all the Saturday mornings we have been going for piano lessons. I didn't see any hint of nervousness on her face and she appeared more than confident. It was just me- I was more nervous than her. 

When it was her turn for her solo recital, she was to play "Two little robins"- well at least that's what she told me, I was surprised to hear her play " Little gray pony". Her fingers have become more fine tuned than they were couple of months back and I am so proud of her. 

              

At the end of the recital I may have told her 2-3 times that I loved her and I intend to say that to my girls 10,0000 more times in their lives. But, my parents were right too. You don't need to say the words- sometimes one note is more than sufficient. 

Mother's Day with my butterflies

Last week I was invited for Muffins with Mom- a Mother's day celebration at Anvesha's school. I was so touched with the way she conducted herself and pampered me that morning. Here are few glimpses of the morning.

On the day of Mother's day I was surprised by Anvesha once again as she made a card for me by sneaking in the activity room in the morning. Thank you so much for remembering me that day. Since Prateek is in India , so I decided to pamper my self and my butterflies by  some yummy pancakes in the morning. We ate out and then played for a while. The weather was so perfect and we all enjoyed the sunny day. Anvika crashed in the car while returning home :)

To my dearies....

Bless your heart and your adorable kissable cheeks.The love I have for you makes me feel like it's going to explode, not just one Mother's day, but on a daily basis. There are things that you say and do that makes me feel loved each and every passing day. While these are things that might me small and forgettable to some, but to me they are what makes me whole. 

In no particular order , here are few things I am forever greatful to have you in my life.

1. The way you two fight for who will get my lap, it makes me special and wanted. Thank you for that
2. The pitter patter of you little feet as you run and dance in the house all day. Thank you- it makes me feel my house is alive.
3. When you both lie down during bedtime and shower me with your kisses as I say, "Good night my Butterfly #1 and Butterfly #2. Thank you- there is no sweeter thing like the feeling of wet kisses on your cheeks from your kids.
4. When you make a card fro me, although I sometimes have a hard time understanding your amazing art work, but your thoughts are what really count. 
5. There are times when all I want to do is sit quietly in a room undisturbed and not talked to, but when you look at me and smilingly wave "hi", and  sometimes out of no where come to say "Boo" to me, I don't know how to react, I just feel lucky to have you both in my life.

These are moments I live for, simple pleasures, when I can just look at you as you fall asleep. You both are a part of me.. I am so glad Iam your mom. I dont need and gifts from you, All I need is you :) 

Cheers to all the wonderful Moms out there. It is the most hardest job, but one with the most rewards. Enjoy each day with your cubs, because a time will come when instead of asking for a snack, they will ask you for the car keys. That day will surely come before any of us expect and I for one am not ready for it.

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!!!