photos from last month

October 2009

Apple Picking 2009

hello after a long time

I know, I haven't posted in 2 months, but the in-laws were visiting and we barely had time to breathe. They left and we are missing them a lot. They were soooo good with the girls I'll miss that the most not to mention all the yummy food MIL used to make.

A lot has happened in the last 2 months and a lot is happening now. The biggest news if you haven’t already heard is that I am going to be a stay at home mom. I know...WHOA…that’s big. It’s just been too crazy and stressful and just not worth it in the end. We are constantly rushing…in the morning…in the evening…all the time. Plus, I was not very happy with Ami’s classroom at the daycare. So both the girls will be staying home with me starting tomorrow. I’m excited.

I did a little sleep training on Ami last week. It went okay. In some ways it was much easier then when we did it with Diya. But the whole trying-not-to-wake-the sibling part was a challange. We moved Ami's crib out of our room and into her own which seems to have helped. Diya also needs to be sleep trained a bit. Every night she wakes around 2am and comes to our room. Its a pain. I guess that will be one of my first battles when I’m home.

Halloween is here. I love Halloween. Ami is a pumpkin as you can see and Diya is SpongeBob. Yes, maybe lame, but we made Diya’s costume at home. We took an empty diaper box and cut out the bottom and cut out holes for the head and the arms. Then used poster board to cover it. We couldn’t find brown poster board for the pants, so I’m calling it SpongeBob Pink Pants. The face I printed and cut out and glued on and then just drew the details like the tie and belt. Diya loves SpongeBob so I knew I wanted her to be that this year. So we ended up just making it. Diya absolutely loves it! She doesn’t really like wearing it, but she loves to carry it around and make it sit all over the house. It was totally worth it.

Here are photos from yesterday's trick or treating event..

Waiting to go out

Mahi as a pumpkin

Out and about

some progress last week

Last week was a good week for us. Both the girls showed signs of progress in some way. First, Ami started taking naps without the swing. (I know...finally!) All last week I put her down in the crib no matter what. Surprisingly, she did really well the first couple of days because the weather was cool and cloudy. Now its a little tougher, but still not so bad. I'm sure if I did put her in the swing she would sleep better, but since she is learning to sleep in the crib I don't want to confuse her and start using the swing again. I'm hoping as time goes on she will get even better at sleeping. The next battle will be to get her to sleep without being bundled up.

Now onto Diya. She is making progress in potty training. I've dreaded potty training since the day she was born. Apparently, at day care they have been putting her on the potty every so often. So I tried it one day and sure enough she tinkled. I was so excited and proud of her. Of course I thought the first time might have been a fluke. So later I tried it again and sure enough...success! Since then almost every try has been a success. Though her diapers are still wet I think if we stick to it and put her on the potty every couple hours she might get the hang of it. My goal is to have her be diaper-free by the end of the year. Too much to ask for?

Next week the in-laws will be here and the week after I go back to work so a whole new adjustment period will start for all of us. When they visited last time Diya was about 10 months old and didn't have any trouble taking care of her in the day while Premal and I were at work. But this time they will be taking care of Ami won't even be 4 months old yet. So lets see if they will be able to manage her. Diya will continue day care cause there is no way they would be able to handle both the girls especially since Neha is not coming this time. She will definitely be missed big time.

Lastly, I know he doesn't care much for it, but wishing Premal a very Happy Birthday!!!

Ami 3 months old

I can't believe August is already here. Its been great having the chance to stay home this summer, but at the same time we haven't really been able to take advantage of it cause Ami is so small. For one thing we can't go anywhere that requires a long car ride. Burlington is as far as we're willing to go. Diya had finally gotten used to long car rides and now we have to do it all over again with Ami. Its usually the car ride back home that is the problem. Ami usually cries non-stop. Good thing is that Diya doesn't get bothered by this at all. She totally zones it out and usually falls asleep. Its just amazing.

Ami is just about 3 months old. I can see her growth every week. She is getting bigger and no longer fits in 0-3 month clothes. She is also getting 'smarter' and more aware of things around her. She stares at her hands for much longer than before. She even tries to grab things hanging in her reach. She has also become a kicking machine. Her legs are constantly moving. If she is on her back she will bring them up so high that she could easily hold them with her hands if she knew how. She has also become louder. She actually screams in delight sometimes. She still gives smiles to everyone, and there is no doubt her biggest smiles are for her big sister. All Diya has to do is just make eye contact and Ami's face lights up. Diya can be just prancing around the room and Ami won't take her eyes off of her. Diya is also very affectionate towards Ami. Besides the usual hugging and kissing she really enjoys her. The other day Ami was crying while getting her diaper changed and Diya put her hand on Ami and said "no cry baby....no cry" and then went on to say "is okay"(meaning 'it's okay'). It just melted my heart. It was so sweet. I think I'll remember that forever. Also, I can't wait to re-tell that story when they get older and are fighting and want to pull each others hair out ;-P

Then there are things that still haven't changed with Ami which I really wish would. First, is that Ami still wakes up every 3 hours at night. Since I'm home I make up for the loss of sleep somehow during the day, but its gonna be a problem when I go back to work. Second, is that Ami still poops after every feeding. I don't mind in the day, but again in the night this is really annoying. Third, is her habit of the swing which effects her naps. Lately, her napping schedule has been unpredictable. If in the swing she takes a long nap at noon. Then rest of the day she will take short, half hour naps. If she doesn't use the swing none of her naps last more than half hour. For now I have kind of given up the battle with the swing. Once in awhile if Ami is really sleepy I put her down in her crib or I'll put her in the swing, but won't turn it on.

In other news my in-laws will be coming for a visit which means I won't have to put Ami in daycare for couple more months. They will be here before I return to work and will stay 'till October. They will be seeing Ami for the first time which is exciting so we-re looking forward to that.

And now the photos from last month...

July 2009

diya's 2nd bday

Diya celebrated her 2nd birthday last week. On Saturday we invited our friends for a combo bbq and a bday party. Last year the weather didn't cooperate and we didn't get the chance to use our new grill, but this year the weather was good. Actually, it was a little too good....it was so hot. But we still had a good time. Only thing is we totally forgot to take pictures. We only have one of the cake and some of Diya and Gautam that Amit took on his phone.

On the day of her birthday Diya's nana, nani and masis came with cake and Diya absolutely enjoyed. Her Vishwa masi and Vini masi gave her some really thoughtful and very creative presents. This poster was made by Vishwa.

This t-shirt was made by Vini.

A special thanks to Diya's dada and dadi and fai who woke up so early in India time just to wish her a Happy Birthday. Also, thanks to everyone else who also wished her.

Ami 2 months

Ami turned 2 months little over a week ago and today she had her 2 month checkup. She is doing great. She is 50th percentile for her weight. I was happily surprised to find this out since I thought she would be less due to the set back during her surgery. Diya was only 4 oz heavier than what Ami is now. Ami is 85th percentile for her height and 90th percentile for her head. I know...big head. Diya also had and still has a big head...I guess its the genes.

I discussed the swing issue with the pediatrician today. I was hoping she would give me some brilliant, magical idea that I hadn't thought of, but that wasn't the case. She gave some ideas such as trying to put Ami down for her naps when she is half awake and half asleep. Also, to try having some white noise in the back ground and to keep her inclined and position her so that her side is touching the crib. I will be trying all this, but I don't have high hopes about it. She also said that sleep training like letting her cry it out is not really recommended at this age. We can do that after 4 months (like we did with Diya, although her problem was different in that she kept waking up in the night). So, if nothing else we will have to keep dealing with this 'till then or 'till she reaches the weight limit on the swing.

Now for some 'fun'. So, I was looking at some old photos of Diya (basically to see what she wore at 2 months so I know what to put on Ami). Then I started comparing the girls. People have been telling us that they look so much alike, but I don't see it at all. So below I have a pic of both of them. Can you tell which is Ami and which is Diya?

trip to local farm and Sunday

Past weekend we stayed close to home since Ami had a slight cough. However, on Saturday we got sick of being in the house and visited the local farm. We are lucky there is a farm right in Millis and very close to our house. Not only does it have great fresh veggies, fruits and ice cream, its a great place to chill out. Here are some photos from our visit:

So the weekend was going well...then Sunday arrived. Our friends Amit and Soni invited us over to their place. They live close by so we thought Ami would be ok, but we were wrong! Once we arrived she had a good feeding then she even "played" with everyone by giving them big smiles and coos. Then she started to get tired and I took her to a quiet room to nap, but she wouldn't have it. Very quickly things got worse and she was crying her lungs out. She really wanted to sleep, but couldn't get comfortable. She was missing her swing. We decided to end the evening early and headed home. Soni and Amit really wanted Diya to stay back since she was enjoying with Gautam(their son). We let her stay. We got home and soon as Ami was in her swing she was fast asleep for 4 hrs straight. We really need to find a way to get her to nap out of her swing. Anyone has any ideas please let us know.

Lastly, here are couple of recent videos we took.