Jan 2010 India trip

We were little skeptical about our Jan 2010 India trip with 2 small kids - especially after our last visit with 1-year old Kavya in Jan 2007. However, our excitement started to build up as we did some last minute shopping and packing. We weren't sure how the kids would do in the long flight.. but we had heard of good things about Emirates Airlines and their helpful staff and good service.

And then came Jan 10th - we were all packed and ready and excited. Parthiv gave us a ride to the airport. SFO to Dubai was a long flight, but it was uneventful. We all could get some sleep (although not as much as we would like), the kids didn't trouble too much and to our pleasant surprise, Gaurav and I could also watch a movie or two. So far so good. The 3 hours halt at Dubai airport also wasn't too bad. So, we were hoping that the short flight from Dubai to Ahmedabad would be relatively smooth - but we were so wrong. Kavya slept off as soon as the plane took off and then she woke up with pain in her ears. On one hand she was so tired and sleepy and on the other she had ear pain. She also threw up (good thing was that she gave me enough notice that I could take her to the toilet sink). She was crying badly and wanted to be held. Ishaan also didn't want to sit. He pooped twice during this short flight - requiring the tedious diaper change in the small toilets with very active Ishaan and bad smell :(. Both Gaurav and I were totally occupied with cranky kids - not even getting 5 mins of down time.

Finally, we were glad to land. Ahmedabad airport was a mess with passengers from 4 flights and everyone in rush to get their luggage and get out. We wondered what happened to people's civic sense when they argued and fought over the airport staff's decision to let people with kids (like us)jump the line. Both Kavya and Ishaan were very tired and wanted to be held and crying and we had to go through immigration and pick up luggage. One of the officers had pity on us and allowed me to go out and hand over kids to bhai-bhabhi who had come to receive us. That was a big relief (although 20 mins later Saumil came in with Ishaan crying at the top of his voice). Finally, we got our luggage and got home.

It felt very nice to meet friends and family. They were also very happy to see all of us - especially kids. It took us around 4 days to get over jet lag especially due to kids schedule - but eventually we got settled.

We had 3 main events in India : Ishaan's mundan, his first birthday party and Jigi's marriage. We did some shopping in the first 2-3 days. The arrangement of cook and a driver were big help. Also, my mom was in Ahmedabad for the wedding - so she helped with shopping. Uttrayan was also nice. The wind was good on both the days. We also got to see the new cool thing called gubbara (something like mini hot air balloon).

Then on 15th, Ishaan got diarrhea. We felt like dejavu. We got Dhara's dad's contact number and went to see him. Ishaan's stool report did not reveal any infection. So, Rajesh uncle said it was only indigestion. We stopped all dairy (except my milk) and all other foods except rice and banana. So, Ishaan got better very soon. We continued to control/monitor his diet.

The mundan and birthday party on Jan 17th were big success. Although Ishaan cried during mundan, it was overall very smooth. We had lunch at Toran (Gujarati thali) that morning. That turned out to be the only time we had food in a restaurant during that trip. We did eat to-go food at home, but the experience is definitely different. The birthday party was awesome. The decoration, the food, the people, the activities - everything was too good. The only regret is that we didn't get lot of time to spend with everyone. But at least we got to meet all those people who we wanted to meet while we were there.

Next day, I got diarrhea :( We could not go for my mama's surprise birthday party at Rajvadu. We decided that Kavya can go with my mom. So, she got all dressed up - but on the way to mom's, she threw up in the car. Kavya took a while to recover. She also got diarrhea 2 days later. She pretty much stopped eating - but after last trip's experience, we were not too worried about it.

In between, we could attend grah-shanti and the wedding. Missed couple of other functions, but we were happy we could atleast go for 2-3 hours for the wedding.

Few days later, Ishaan got diarrhea again. We were getting tired of kids' sickness. We also realized that we would need more time to settle down when we get back - for jet lag adjustment as well as for the kids to recover fully. So, we started to inquire if we could prepone our tickets. However, earlier tickets were not available. We continued to enjoy our time there with friends and family. Kavya loved going on a ride on a 2-wheeler. She also enjoyed watching all the animals on the streets like dog, cat, monkey, camel, horse, cow, elephant. She had love and fight relationship with Khushi. At times, they would be like the best sisters and play and share together and then at other times they would fight for their things and even hit each other. But that's how little girls are - its like they understand everything, but not really :). Kids had started to feel better. We also got to visit Kankaria and the zoo there. It was a good change. And then Kavya again threw up in the car when we were going to Bawarchi restaurnt for some nice punjabi food on the way back. And, we went home - continued to monitor/control her diet.

Finally, on 23rd night, when Gaurav called to inquire for tickets, we learnt that tickets for 26th are available. We were in a dilemma about what to do. We wanted to spend the time with friends and family members. We were also making plans of going to Shreenathji and mummy was also busy with some social activities due to the demise of Anandwala masaji. But at the same time, we thought that the extra time back home would help with getting settled. So, we decided to leave on 26th. The next two days were very busy with last minute shopping and packing and meeting everyone.

The flight back was uneventful. We took 3-4 days to settle down. Jyotsnamasi was out of town. So, we continued to stay at home and enjoy our vacation. Kavya started school on 28th. It took us almost a week to get over jetlag. We were glad we had the extra time to settle down.

Overall, the trip was a mixed experience. Kids getting sick was the worst part. Getting to meet everyone was the best part. Getting some shopping done was also good. We have decided that the next trip or two would be either Gaurav travelling alone or just the two of us with kids at mommy's place in NY. The next trip with kids will be probably 4 to 5 years later.

Ishaan is growing up fast

Ishaan has made very good progress in past one month.

Teething : His top two teeth are almost out and now we can feel the bottom two teeth as well. He is very much interested in different types of food now. He comes to eat/taste whenever he sees us eating. Besides his regular food (fruits, veggies, khichdi), we have offered him pizza, methi/stuffed paratha, cheese, some snacks, cake, chocolate, ice cream and some indian sweets like shera, lapsi, etc. He has liked most of the things. We have noticed though that he likes spicy food.

Walking : About a month back Ishaan was just taking 2-3 baby steps, but since last week, he has started walking like toddlers. If he falls down, instead of crawling, he gets up on his own and starts walking. So, walking has now become his primary means of getting from one place to another. I am happy because he is growing up and achieving milestones. Walking also means less torn pants (Yes !! he has torn 4 pants in 1 month - all torn at knees). However, this also means it is going to be difficult to hold him in one place for some time. Gaurav and I are afraid of how we will contain him in the small space in the airplane on our upcoming trip to India in January - we just burst out laughing every time we try to think about it. God save the fellow passengers :)

Talking: He says words like JheJhe, mummy, mamma, mummum, dada, daddy, baoon (for balloon) and lots of other sounds. I don't think he knows what mummy/mamma or daddy/dada means yet because he just randomly says them. Sometimes, it also feels like he says 'Kavya'.

Kavya's fascination with baby in tummy

Over the past year or so, Kavya has seen many pregnant ladies including myself. Our explanation for Kavya has always been that there is a baby in the tummy. When the baby will grow up, it will come out. Kavya is so fascinated by this that she often pretends to have a baby in her tummy by hiding her doll or some other toy underneath her T-shirt :). She then brings it out and says my baby is now out :). The other day she took off her doll's clothes and explained that when baby is born, it does not have any clothes on - that is why she took them off :).

This past weekend, Pritesh-Shailee and Shashin-Avani came to visit bay area from San Diego with kids. All the kids were excited and were playing/fighting with each other. Kavya was playing Dora and Diego with Rishi. Then she put a doll under her tummy and said there is a baby in her tummy. Then she brought her out and she and Rishi were pretending to be the baby's daddy and mommy :)

Next day, Rishi told Pritesh that Kavya had a baby in her tummy and that he was the baby's papa :)

When I heard this from Shailee, I knew that I had to put this up on the blog so that I can see Kavya and Rishi's reaction 10-15 years from now if/when they read this.

Kavya (3 years & 11 months) & Ishaan (10 months)

Kavya will turn 4 next month and Ishaan is almost 10 months. These past 4 months have been very busy - full of different activities and festivals (Rakshabandhan, Navratri, Diwali and Halloween) .Summer is now over and we will need to be even more creative to keep the kids busy indoors.

Ishaan learnt to crawl like its supposed to be. He also started standing up with/without support. This past week, he started taking first baby steps. Although he still prefers to crawl, he does take 2 to 6 baby steps few times a day. So, he should start walking pretty soon now. We are very excited and are looking forward to see him running around the house :). He has also started climbing stairs. He continues to be very active. Two of his top teeth are visible and almost ready to grow out. He likes to eat our regular food over his own crushed veggies and khichadi. The other day he ate almost quarter of methi paratha. He also likes fruits such as apple, orange, grapes and banana. He is getting smarter and mischievious day by day.

Kavya is getting better at reading and writing. Her handwriting (mainly upper case letters) is improving day by day. She likes to do small exercises/puzzle like connecting the dots, tracing letters, coloring based on numbers, matching/pairing, finding path in a maze, etc. She can count to 100 in English and to 50 in Gujarati. When she is busy with her own activity like coloring, playing on the computer, building something with lego blocks, etc, she does not like Ishaan coming anywhere near her - she immediately starts shouting :) We have to plan to keep her busy in different activities - otherwise its like 'Empty mind is devil's workshop' :-) Sometimes she is the world's most caring and loving sister and at other times, she is a jealous 4 year old who makes faces and tries to hurt the little one by pushing or holding him tight :)

With two active kids, weekends are more busier than week days :-)

Here are some of their pics :

Ishaan's first teeth

For past couple of weeks it seemed like Ishaan will be getting his first tooth any day now. And today, we saw two of his top teeth ready to come out. The border of both his teeth is clearly visible in his gums and the teeth itself are also showing.

Never knew that these milestones will be as exciting and fun for second kid as it was for the first :-)

Milestone : Ishaan has started taking baby steps

Ishaan has been standing on his own without support for few seconds for over a month now.. But today, he started taking 2 to 4 baby steps at a time.. Actually, he did it once yesterday, but we thought it might be just a one off thing. But today, he did it again and we got him to repeat it quite a few times.

It is so exciting to see him achieve one milestone after the other. Although he is going to be little devil once he gets fully mobile, we are very happy.

Kavya is getting creative with Lego

Kavya has been playing with lego for over couple of years now.. However, lately she has become very good at it. She is making some complex structures and sometimes you can even see symmetry in them. Not only she creates what comes to her mind, but she is also looking at designs on the lego box and creating house, fish, etc. Here are some of her creations..

Kavya's funny response

આજે હું કાવ્યા ને સ્કૂલે થી લઇ ને ઘરે આવતી હતી ત્યારે એને કાર માં બેઠા બેઠા એના art work માં લગાવેલી marshmallow ખાધી. મને ખબર પડી એટલી હું એની પર ગુસ્સે થઇ કે glue વાળી marshmallow ખવાય? પછી મેં એને પૂછ્યું "કાવ્યા, તું કેમ બગડી ગઈ છું ?" એને prompt જવાબ આપ્યો "મારી battery (cell) ખલાસ થઇ ગઈ છે ને એટલે." I could not control laughing - It is very funny to see how she applies the concepts and ideas from her toys to herself without considering the difference between living and non-living things :)

Kavya and Ishaan : Getting along ?

The ideal answer to this question that would make everyone happy is yes, ofcourse !! But the real answer is yes and no :-) That means that Kavya becomes the most caring and loving sister some times and at other times, she just gets jealous and tries to hurt Ishaan.

When she is a good sister, she makes Ishaan laugh, offers him toys, even lifts him and brings him to me or Gaurav, feeds him, entertains him, plays with him, hugs and kisses him and becomes very happy when Ishaan smiles or does something and even helps us out with Ishaan by either fetching things for him or watching him for few seconds.

When she is not so good and caring sister, she will take things away from Ishaan, push him, scold him, hold his hand or head really tight or make faces at him. Once or twice, we even saw her stepping on Ishaan. It is really hard to explain her not to do that without getting mad at her. She even scribbled on his hair-less head with chalk the other day :-)

Hopefully, as Ishaan grows bigger, they will start playing together. There will be still be fights, but not the jealousy type.

Weekend full of fun activities

This past weekend was full of activities. It started with Kavya's swimming classes on Friday evening. Saturday morning, Kavya and I went to watch Disney on Ice Princess classics show at HP Pavilion with other friends and their kids. Then on Saturday evening, we all went to the park - with Kavya on her bike and Gaurav and Ishaan on Gaurav's bike. It was lot of fun. Then on Sunday morning, we went to the Uesugi pumpkin patch in Morgan Hill with Anu, Naresh and little Anirudh. It was our first experience of a pumpkin patch. We all took a train ride and Kavya also enjoyed the carousel.
Then in the evening, I took Kavya to her classmate Drew's birthday party at Pump It Up. Junior in Sunnyvale. Kavya had lot of fun jumping and going up and down the slides there. The day ended with pizza from Papa Johns.

What a weekend it had been - full of activities !!