Neev's birthday Party

Neev celebrated his first birthday. We had a birthday party and he was unbelievably comfortable with a crowd of 10 adults and 8 kids. This is the same baby who had strong stranger's anxiety at 7 months. Today it appeared like he was a socialite. He was held by almost everyone in the party and never cried even once. He enjoyed seeing his other friends - Pranav and Tanisha and also his big bro's friends - Jeeshu,Alan, Mihir and Shruti. He even liked licking his birthday cake (given that he gags on almost every new taste) . We had a great time with our friends and kids had a blast. Happy Birthday Neev !

It's for you Papa

It was my father's birthday on May 23rd. I called him to wish him happy birthday and the phone call left me with a feeling of wanting to be near him, to celebrate his life. A life which weaved a safety net for his children, for me , for as long as I remember. I've always appreciated in my heart what my parents have  done for me but the depth of feelings have a new meaning ever since I became a mother myself. My husband once read somewhere and I don't remember the exact words but it meant that we can never repay our parents in this life , the only way we do it by paying it forward when we become parents ourselves.
Today I just want to say thanks to my father . Its hard to really say that to him on face so I am hoping that writing here can convey to him what he means to me. Among all the other things, one is for teaching me lessons even when he wasn't really preaching and for simply being there for me. I never told him how much I admire his confidence in facing life and its odds. For me if anyone is a living example of 'when the going gets tough , the tough get going', its my Dad. I am yet to see anyone who has taken the challenges of life in its stride. I can never forget when I was around 7 or 8 and that summer the fire swallowed our entire factory leaving it in ashes. We had no insurance for that factory so basically all was lost. No phone available at that time, the bad news came to us thru' someone in the afternoon and I remember my upset mother telling us that we should be quiet and not disturb him when my father got back home. He came late in the night, his face tired and his clothes covered in soot. None of us were sleeping. We lined together,sad and afraid looking, may be even teary eyed. And I clearly remember that his face softened after seeing us. Without even washing up he huddled us and said that 'everything is going to be okay, I am here'. Those words and that tone of his voice have been my strength in a way that he would never know. I try and be that strong parent on whom my kids can depend and lean on and I thank my father for that. Even now, his confidence blows me over. In my last trip to India I was a nervous mother , fretting over 15 months old Avi who was so used to me being around all the times and it made other people doubt themselves if they could care for Avi as best as I could. My Mama & Mami (my mother's brother and his wife) wanted to take us out for dinner and I was not sure if Avi would be up for a late dinner. My father said he would stay back and put him to bed. I thought that was a bad idea because Avi would never go to bed without me. He just put his arms around me and said 'I will take care of him'. It was the same assuring tone . So my husband and I went out to dinner without Avi (for the first time since he was born. I kept waiting for the phone to ring, summoning me back to home but the phone never rang and when we came back home, I witnessed the most lovely sight - my father and Avi sleeping, their heads touching together. I knew the flash of the camera would wake him but I still took the picture. I have a lot of stories like this and I will be writing again. Today I just want to say to him," I love you and I miss you Papa".
 

Daddy, hold me tight !

Like a lot of other families, we have a family bed. Despite our efforts to make Neev sleep in his crib and Avi in his bed thru'  the night we still end up piling in the family bed. 

Neev's had cold and cough for past 3 days and he would not leave my arms. It was getting difficult to get any rest in the same bed with  Avi and Neev. Thankfully I was able to convince Avi to sleep in his own bed for two extra books . 

The next morning my husband told me that Avi climbed up to him in the middle of the night and whispered to him "Daddy hold me tight, I can't sleep". (I have to add that my sensible child did not come to Mommy knowing that his brother was sick and Mommy needed to take care of him). Daddy obliged happily and secured him in his arms until he fell asleep. 

We can't wait for our children to become independent, do everything by themselves and yet it feels great when once a while they run to our arms seeking comfort. I'd like to think we still have a few more years until Avi and Neev don't need to climb in our arms and say "hold me tight".

The Cherry Pit

As a mother one of the things that fills your heart is to watch your children doing something for the very first time, mastering something or simply trying a new task. I try not to miss those 'firsts'. This is about one of those.

So far Avi has been eating cherries in a way I found frustrating. I just told him once to be careful with the pits. As a result the cherries were bitten from around the pit like a mouse has nibbled on them. Almost half of the cherries would waste like that and if there is one thing I dislike , is to waste food so I tried many times to show him how he could nibble on cherries and then roll them in the mouth to spit a clean pit. So finally my boy decided to give it a try. He rolled the cherry in his mouth for almost 15 minutes and then came running to me with the cleanest pit I've ever seen. "Mommy, look, I did it. Here is the pit............"He said excitedly . And he finished the sentence with his usual "look how big I am Mommy !"

My Gosh, I live for that gleam in his eyes , that pure smile , that pride he takes in his independent actions. And for some reason, I feel like I did something big too........I taught him to eat cherries without swallowing the pits.

Neev

Neev is going to be a year old. A typical baby, nothing like his older brother who always had a reflective look on his calm face. Neev is calm too and a happy baby but his eyes have that mischievous twinkle and his squeals are high pitched when he spots Avi running around him. He thinks that Avi is chasing him or playing hide and seek with him. Anticipation of being tickled gets this guy going. He is so beautiful , my eyes can not take it all. Kissing him is never enough and pictures don't do justice to his cuteness. He likes to comfort himself with his hand on his mouth in a singing tone. That's usually a sign for a nap. He is totally in awe of his big brother and likes to watch him do all the stuff that seems fascinating to him. Loves music and starts to move his bottom up and down whenever his favorite tunes are playing. His favorite animal is duck. He can not stop quacking if you ask him what does the duck say. He is our little parrot. At 11 months he can say woof woof, cow, dog, duck, quack, dadda, baba, hi. He is already clapping his hands and loves to wiggle and show his fingers on the song "I have 10 little fingers". He can actually make a fist when I say 'I can shut them tight' :) Its so cute to watch. His favorite songs are 'wheels on the bus' and 'if you are happy and you know it". 
Things he does not like - being on his tummy (never liked it), not being picked up when he wants to.
Like all babies , he loves to be out and about in the world, touching and feeling everything his little hands can grab. He is a joy of our lives and seems to know it :)