A Busy Summer and Turning 2!

I can't believe it...we are already well into July and Abhi turned 2! Where did the summer go and where did the first 2 years go!!!!! Both went by fast! Let's see if I can up date you with some of our summer activities...

We have the best friends...all summer long we have been hanging out with friends and doing fun things like picking blueberries and peaches, going to the farmers market, playdates, hanging out at the pool, playing at the park, and just having fun! Abhi has been busy and loving it!



Turning 2...we had the big birthday party last Saturday and invited all Abhi's friends. We put the baby pools, sprinkler, and water table up in the back yard for the kids to play in the water for a bit. The kids played for awhile and snacked on the watermelon. It was a little warm but turned out to be a very nice day with a breeze. I also bought a bag of live ladybugs, which had been hibernating in my refrigerator all week, that I brought out for the kids to see. Some of them really enjoyed that and many of the ladybugs came to life and started flying away. After everyone got out of their wet clothes, we went on a bug hunt (not real bugs, plastic ones). Kind of like and easter egg hunt, but bugs to go with the party "theme."

After a fun time outside, everyone came in for pizza and other munchies. Then it was time to bring out the cake. I made (well, my mom did cos I was a little tired) dirt cake in a terracotta planting pot complete with gummy worms and centipedes...it was awesome! We had some little shovels, perfect size for the kids, and they all got to scoop out their dirt to eat. It was so much fun and they made a total mess...which is the point with dirt right?

I wasn't even sure about having a theme, but came up with the bugs and dirt kind of last minute because Abhi loves to be outside. Digging in dirt and picking up the beetles in our back yard are two things he likes to do out there so it was perfect for him. I think he had a lot of fun and was very happy when everyone sang happy birthday. I did not buy any noise makers this year after last years reaction (he cried after everyone blew them). Here are some pictures from the party...

On the actual day of turning 2...I thought it might be fun to ride the metro into DC (rosslyn) where Keshav works and go out for lunch. Plus, I have not seen K's new office and Abhi not since he was a baby and I thought he might understand that was the place appa goes everyday after we wave goodbye. He was so thrilled to ride the train and he was so sweet cuddling next to me in the seat. It did not take him long to stand up and start jumping around though. Every time we would start going again after stopping at the station, he would get a big smile on his face. K met us coming out of the train station and we went to Piola for lunch, a yummy little pizza place. After pizza we had chocolate cake and ice cream; we had to, it was the official day! Then back to the office with K and made the rounds to see all the people. Abhi was shaking hands and saying 'nice to meet you' by the end of it. Course, all of this took until about 2ish, so naptime was well overdue. And, it was pouring down rain too so we had to get back to the train in the wet. But, we made it and Abhi enjoyed another train ride back to the car. He only fell asleep once we got in the car but that was fine. He still got a 2 hour nap. It was a fun outing. Here are some pix...

Strawberry Festival

There are not many other foods Abhi loves more than strawberries! So, I thought it might be fun to head out the Delaplane Strawberry festival yesterday. It was at State Meadows park, just about 30 minute drive west, and is really pretty. It is set in the rolling green hills with views of the mountains and countryside. It was also a beautiful day, sunny and gorgeous for an outing. It did get a bit hot in the sun but I am not complaining - I am so glad it is not cold anymore (also, I am hot constantly these days anyway!).

First we walked around and Abhi rode around in the stroller waking up. He fell asleep in the car on the way. Any car ride more than 15 minutes, he is out. I think that is because when he isn't strapped down, he is constantly on the move and can't sit still. The only time he can sit still is for Sesame street or Curious George otherwise he is always busy! Anyway, he woke up quick and saw there was a lot going on around him that he wanted to get out and explore so out of the stroller he went. There were lots of small tractor-type vehicles people organizing were riding around and he was quite taken with watching those. The next big interest was the rocky road we were walking on....'lots of rocks' he said and was very thrilled. It's the little things that he appreciates! Visiting with his buddy Everett (see description below):


We headed over and took a hayride. Abhi was very impressed by the tractor and sat nicely for the ride. He wanted to sit directly on the hay, not in Ks lap. He likes to be very independent and do things on his own. After that we headed over the food area because we ran into two sets of friends and thought we could visit for a bit; Abhi's friend Everett, his mom, and grandma and Ks old boss Julie and family. So, Abhi sat (well between wondering everywhere within the vicinity) and visited with Everett and K talked to Julie for a bit. That also entailed eating some goodies. Abhi had a pretzel (homemade- it was so good, a far cry from the ones you get at the mall), which I think I appreciated more than Abhi, a strawberry smoothie which was awesome, and Abhi spent time mooching off Everett and ate some if his curly fries and snow cone (he is always mooching food from friends). Then we said goodbye and it was off to see the farm animals. I think Abhi most enjoyed the turkey which was making sounds and "dancing" around. Not sure if it was a gobble, but it was something interesting and funny to Abhi. Abhi and some of the animals:


They also had pony rides so we had to do that. I thought Abhi would be too young, but Everett, who is the same age as Abhi, had gone so we knew it was possible. He got a riding helmet and was really good about putting it on. I wasn't sure about that part because he doesn't usually like wearing hats. It was a little big, but it was so cute on him! They had a really small pony he rode and he sat up there and put his hands on the saddle to hold on. Two young girls helped him go around the pasture and K walked with him as well. He did really well and seemed to be having fun. Here are some pictures of the event:


We ate before leaving which included a yummy strawberry shortcake. Abhi did a bit more running around. Then we bought some strawberries and headed out. Abhi, again, fell asleep in the car on the way home and was out for a nap for about 3 and a half hours. He was beat! It was a great outing!

Happy Birthday Appa!

Abhi has now celebrated enough birthdays (of his friends) to get the concept. Yesterday was Ks birthday and I though we would have to wait until the weekend to celebrate since Abhi is usually asleep by the time he gets home. But, since K worked from home Tuesday, we got to celebrate that night after dinner. We had dinner and then I brought out the cake. I got a strawberry shortcake cake from Wegmans, it was so good!!! I brought the cake out a little too early because once Abhi saw the cake, he was done with is dinner! So, we lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday. Abhi can sing Happy Birthday but usually only when we are not singing it for the actual birthday. Abhi tried helping blow out the candles and then proceeded to down a nice piece of cake and enjoyed it very much. We did to! Here are some pix of the boys...

A Springtime Surprise!

Some people were asking to hear about our trip to London so I thought I would start the blog back up with that...

Yahoo for business trips to places like London! Abhi and I got to tag along with Keshav a couple weeks ago for a week of leisure in London. The weather was great and it only rained once. It was rather disheartening when we arrived back to a weeks worth of rain here! I was expecting that on the trip. Abhi and I just had fun going around town with no real set agenda. Since I have already been there, I was just thinking we could hang out and do whatever pleased Abhi and just enjoy the city. K and I truly wished we lived in a city like London so we just try to soak up all the city life while we can.

Abhi was happiest riding the Tube everywhere. Being on a train everyday multiple times was enough to make him the happiest toddler in London. Plus seeing all the boats in the Thames and the double decker buses, airplanes, and a couple of backhoes here and there, he couldn't ask for anything more! He was so pleasant to everyone too, always saying hi to everyone. The people were very friendly too, always talking to him and happy to see him.

We arrived on Saturday so we had the rest of the weekend with Keshav before he had to work on Monday. I was soooo tired from the overnight plane ride so I had to take a nap. You don't get much sleep with a tossing and turning toddler in your lap. Abhi was rested, we were beat. K was nice enough to take Abhi for a walk around Earl's Court, the neighborhood where we stayed the first night and I got to catch up on a couple hours sleep. I can't remember exact events after that for the evening but I do remember going to Kennsington Park, excellent Indian food (chaat to be specific - indian street food that is hard to get around here), walking in the area of Parliment, London Eye, etc...on the Thames at night, and then Abhi not sleeping until about 3am. I tried to get him to sleep for 4 hours, it was rather nightmarish but finally he went down. The mistake we made was letting him sleep through dinner. It was so nice enjoying dinner with K while Abhi slept in the stroller but we paid later!


Sunday we took the boat out to Greenwich which is a little "village" just outside the city. It is a quiant little place known for shipping and the prime meridian. They have a great market and a beautiful park. We just spent time in the park, ate some lunch, and ice cream. Abhi learned how to lick an ice cream cone properly and was enjoying it very much! We came back and hung out by the London Eye, there was lots of entertainment there. Abhi and K rode the carousel.


The next three days we were on our own. Every morning (except Wednesday - by that time we needed to sleep in a little) we got up and went to the train station to see Keshav off to work. Not only for that, but to have croissants and coffee. I miss those couple of days of pain au chocolat for breakfast. It is probably a good thing not to live so close to all those French bakeries!!!! So, for the next few days we walked and rode the train all around until I was too tired and had to head back to the hotel for a rest. We did the London eye and Abhi enjoyed that seeing all the boats from the air. We also played in any park we could find so Abhi could have time out of the stroller. He was so good and patient!! One afternoon while he napped in the stroller I headed to the Tate Modern museum and walked around. I walked down the Thames, they have great walking paths that go forever. Another day we went to the Natural History Museum. Abhi enjoyed seeing the animals and dinosaurs. Wednesday I was planning a trip to Stonehenge but after finding out they would charge me 30 pounds for Abhi also, I decided we could see it later when he will actually know what he is seeing. Plus, it was a 2 hour bus ride and I wasn't sure how that was going to go. Being pregnant and holding him on the plane was a little uncomfortable sometimes (the little sibling got first tastes of taking a beating from the older brother). So we went to Ks office and had lunch with him. Then headed out to St. James park (right outside Buckingham Palace) and played for the afternoon and ate ice cream.



The plane ride back was tough but all in all we had a great trip, I am so glad we went. I think Abhi had a fun time exploring new things. He really is a good traveller.

Pregnancy update: I am now 22 weeks along, although I look a lot bigger than I did at 22 weeks with Abhi!!! It is hard to believe there is still 4 months left!!! Things are going great with my pregnancy now that I have gotten over the initial months, allergies - bad early spring ones, and bronchitis that lasted for 3 weeks. We had the ultrasound last friday and everything looks great with the baby. The baby was moving around like crazy but we got a couple of pictures of the face. And no, we do not know if it is a boy or girl...we will all find out in September!!!

Updates Soon...

Hi Everyone - It has been almost 2 months since I have blogged or updated the blog! Guess I will use the excuse of being tired, busy, and lazy! But, I am planning to get back on it this week (I thought if I post this, I will have to hold myself to it!). So look forward to some updates this week.

Jeanine

Let's see...

how many people actually follow the blog by making this announcement here! Abhi is going to be a big brother. He doesn't know it yet (or understand it really) but a package is due to arrive that will make us a family of four on September 14. Yeah, we are so excited and hopefully Abhi will be too when he realizes what is happening.

Abhi's first snow storm

Well, we finally got a substantial amount of snow last Wednesday. We were stuck in the house and were unable to go anywhere but it was fun for Abhi to experience. At lease if we have to have this cold weather, there could be something fun and exciting about it - snow.

Of course, I was not feeling well that day with a bit of a cold, so it was good to stay home I guess. However, by late afternoon looking at our driveway I thought maybe I should attempt some shoveling so K might be able to get in with the car. It was covered! Also, I thought that would be a good time for Abhi to get outside and have some fun. I put him in his snowsuit which is really funny. It reminds me of the younger kid in the Christmas Story except not so tight...a little loose. Got him outside and I started shoveling. He had a blast he went all over the yard, trekking through the 4 inches or so of snow without any trouble. He had been watching the kids sled in our backyard all day so he was thrilled it was finally his chance to get out in it. It took me some time to do the driveway but finally got it done and got Abhi in. He did not want to but finally came in to get warm with mommy. Here are some pix of the event.

A "rock" concert and lunch with Mr. Tony

Last week started off Monday morning with meeting up with some of Abhi's friends (Everett, Bella, Zane, Reagan, Alex) for some music. We saw Rocknoceros at the Clifton town hall where they apparently perform often. It was Abhi's first time but his friends are long time fans. Abhi had a good time I think and enjoyed the music. He did dance a little. Other than that, he spent most of his time helping himself to all his friends snacks and then later decided to wonder off and see whose sippy cups he could lift. Here are so pictures from the show...


After the music, we went to lunch to celebrate one of the mom's, Inga (Bella's mom), 30th bday (I just realized a few weeks ago I am the oldest by a few years in our mom's group it seems). We went to Tandoori Village which is actually pretty good. It is punjabi, so it is very meat oriented but they have the best chole!!! Abhi actually did really well and he loved the naan especially. I think that restaurant may survive even though it is in manassas (other Indian places have not lasted and K and I wondered after we went the first time). Here are some pictures on the swing they have at the restaurant (I want one of these for our house! Maybe I can get K to let me ship one from India on our next visit -haha!).



On Wednesday we continued our already busy week by meeting up with Mr. Tony for lunch at IHop (that is our tradition..pancakes and other diner type stuff). We went to storytime with Miss Marcia and then meet Mr. Tony for brunch before he had to go to the library to work. It was the highlight of my week...I haven't seen him in awhile and it was great to catch up (Tony, we have to meet more often...next we'll come to DC). I think Abhi really enjoyed himself too. He ate pancakes and syrup for the first time and really seemed to enjoy them. His sweater did too as it was covered in syrup by the end of lunch. Abhi was a little shy at first but warmed up and talked to Mr. Tony and everyone else in the restaurant who would pay attention. Here are pix of the 'guys' at lunch...

January so far...

I don't think I mentioned it but Abhi brought in the new year with and ear infection but happily the doctor said it is all cleared up now. It made him a very cranky boy for awhile but he is back to his happy-go-lucky self. The last few days have been a joy...he has been laughing and running and having a great time. Buster, one of our cats (Abhi has taken a serious interest in them now), has also had a relapse into playful times with his toys and Abhi is getting a big kick out of watching him play. Abhi has been trying to help by throwing the toys for Buster...it is very fun to watch them "play" together.

Last weekend was a little busy but relaxed. Friday, Keshav worked from home so we got lots of time with him over the past week which was nice. Abhi was really enjoying time with his appa!!! Friday we put Abhi to bed and watched a movie. Saturday morning I went to the gym and took Abhi to the daycare while Keshav slept in (he was feeling a bit of a cold so we let him sleep in). Abhi always has fun at the daycare and it is a good break for him to socialize with others. Saturday night we had our friends Esselle and Angela over for dinner but Abhi missed them because he was in bed before they arrived.

Sunday was the big day for Abhi (well, in our minds anyway). Since he likes airplanes so much these days, I suggested we get out for a family trip to the air and space museum by dulles airport. He saw tons of airplanes and helicopters and even the space shuttle. Then we went up the air traffic control tower which is a great place for viewing planes taking off and landing form dulles. Unfortunately, it was a slow Sunday morning for the airport, so we only saw two planes take off. We ate a quick lunch and then Abhi was asleep in the car before we even hit the highway. Here are some pix from the outing...

Winding down after the holidays...

We are trying to get back into the routine here after the holidays. It has been quite a whirlwind the last few months with moving. the holidays, and our trip to KC. We left on the 17th early morning and came back late xmas night for our annual xmas visit to KC. It was pretty packed on the 17th, surprisingly, but the flight was half empty on the way back. Xmas day is a good time to travel! Course, we went on southwest which totally sucked. When you are are spoiled from using Midwest all the time with those nice big seats and chocolate chip cookies, SW is a bit miserable. If that airline goes out of business I will be dissappointed! Abhi did pretty well though on the flight although it was tough holding on to him in our lap because he is a) getting to be a big boy and b) very busy and not as willing to sit still as he used to be (not that he ever really was but you know what I mean). Our flight was at 7am from baltimore so we had to get up at 3am and drive. I thought Abhi would just go right into the carseat and continue sleeping. Oh no, he was wide-eyed not wanting to miss a thing. So, the first hour of the flight he was a bit antsy from being tired but he finally settled down.

Abhi enjoyed time at Grandma and Grandpa Johns house and then it was off to Nanny and Paw-Paws for a few days and for xmas eve. We visited a few friends and family while there and then it was back to Grandma's for xmas dinner and off to the plane. It went by very fast. Abhi was much easier to control this time he was not destroying everything this time. He was very good with the xmas trees, not removing any ornaments or destroying any presents. He ate well and was exposed to lots of new foods like chocolate chip cookies (I mean in a much larger dose than usual) and all the good, rich holiday foods. I think he enjoyed as he kept eating!

It was very cold in KC. We landed to a lovely 6 degrees and by the next week we woke up to about zero with a 20 below wind chill. Needless to say, we stayed inside! We did get out and have some fun. Of course, mostly it was all centered around eating and being in the carseat, not Abhi's favorite activities but he hung in there. They have a huge model train display during the holiday at the Union Station so we took Abhi to see that because he loves trains so much. He had a great time until we tried to get him to ride the one they had for kids. Once Keshav started walking away, he sobbed and demanded "up!" Oh well, maybe next year. I thought he was so brave and acted much of the time like he did not need us. That had recently vanished and he is quite clingy these days to me and especially Keshav. After spending a week with Keshav around all the time he has pretty much discarded me.

I will post some new pictures soon. We finally got a new camera but I borrowed one over the holiday and have not gotten those yet. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and 2009 is starting off well. Stay tuned for pictures soon.