New Habits

A little more than a week ago Sanjay invited his first friend to our house for a sleepover. He's been watching Priya have sleepovers a lot lately and finally it was his turn. It was with his best friend who is a little more than 2 years older than him. There are not words to explain the excitement that Sanjay was feeling that night. He was more rebellious than ever; he loved having someone around to crash cars with him full-time. It was a night filled with smashing stones, pillow fights, indoor ball throwing, toy banging and clanging, and very loud voices. Priya was out of the house at a sleepover so it was all boy play. You can see from the picture how much Sanjay adores his best friend.



Anyway, since that night... Sanjay has developed some new habits to be just like his buddy. For the past 3 nights he has slept without underwear, because he tells me "Alex sleeps without underwear". And then tonight he told me he wanted to sleep with his socks on because "Alex sleeps with his socks"... but this one lasted all of about 10 minutes. After I finished reading the story, he decided it might be more comfortable to take them off. Actually, I don't know if it was comfort he was after or if it was the tossing them across the room that he was looking forward to. Either way, he is now sockless.

If he's going to be picking up new habits from his friends... at least Alex is a good choice. He's a good kid and I'm thankful for that because tonight Sanjay informed me, "Mom, I'm just like Alex".

Good Morning!

You know those precious photos of sleeping babies and toddlers? Everything seems so perfect in them... quiet baby, serene expression, snuggled up in blankets with their eyes closed... there's a certain beauty that we can capture when our little ones are dreaming.



At some point though, when they become full-blown toddlers, we stop taking these pictures... perhaps because they are sleeping less or maybe we just don't want to wake them with the click of the camera or a blinding flash. This morning though, I peeked in on Priya as she overslept. With the sunlight in her room and her lying there holding her favorite stuffed puppy, all I could think of was grabbing the camera and capturing this moment. By the time I returned to her room and cracked the door a bit more... her eyes were squinting at me, trying to discern who was entering her space. Dang! I missed it.

Instead, I got the wrath of Priya in the early morning hours. She was not at all happy with me behind the camera lens as you can see in this photo montage. What's missing from the photos is the repeated sound of her angry voice crying "Mom, stop taking pictures!" and me saying "okay" then snapping a few more.

My, How We've Changed

We recently celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and I didn't realize how much we aged until I came across this picture of us from our honeymoon. Ok, so it's a caricature... but still, we're getting old.

Playtime

Having the playroom located just off the kitchen enables me to listen in on the games and conversations that go on between Priya and Sanjay while they play. I must admit... a lot of it I have grown to ignore, but when I choose to listen it's often quite amusing and entertaining.

Having grown up for the most part without the internet, without TV remote controls, without cell phones and without cordless phones... I wonder how the kids of this electronic gadget (for lack of a better term) generation will turn out. Back in the day when we played, our games were limited to bike riding, dogs, store, school and war (essentially a little more aggressive form of "tag"). Recently I overheard Priya talking to Sanjay about her extravagant boat. She handed him something and said, "This is my card and it has my website on it. To enter my pool you just put it in here then push this. To enter my restaurant, you swipe the card here, here and here". I mean, really... where does she come up with this stuff? At least, we won't see them wearing leg warmers and stirrup pants with winged hair... or will we, since fashion usually runs in cycles?

Regardless of the generation, boys will be boys...

Priya: What does sprake-ey mean?
Sanjay: Sprake-ey means "Daddy's dead"
Priya: Then I'm not going to play with you if there's going to be any deadness.

Father's Day In Pictures

Our pictures give you a glimpse into how the day unfolded. I would have to agree with Priya that "Daddy is as strong as an elphint, as sweet as an ice cream cone, as smart as a scientist and as fun as a puppy".

And, here he is watching football with the remote control in hand...


Hope you had a great Father's Day Daddy! We love you.

Girls Weekend In Denver

Mom had a little get-away this weekend. Thanks Daddy! It was spent in Denver with a couple of close friends of mine. We originally were looking at a spa weekend in Utah, but settled on a local trip instead. It was a weekend filled with adventure, relaxation, shopping, relaxation, movies, relaxation, dancing and, oh yeah, more relaxation. We spent a lot of time at the hotel pool reading and napping, some time shopping, a short stint at the hotel spa, some mornings walking, a night out on the town and some time flying in the wind tunnel at Denver's SkyVenture. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the theatre to see "Sex and the City" with bottomless popcorn and soda... a perfect girls weekend chick flick. We even met real live wedding crashers, Tonya and Mike, who were also staying in our hotel... popular for its weddings and receptions especially in June. I believe there were 6 different wedding events happening on Saturday night alone.

Anyway, it was a fun little trip and here are some mementos to share...

The Origin of Language

Priya is always guessing, always analyzing, always wondering, always thinking. And, I think a ride in the car gives her a quiet place for the mind to wander. After reaching the Target this morning, this is the conversation we had in the parking lot.

Priya: I always wonder why they call things things.
Mommy: Oh, you mean where things get their names?
Priya: Yeah, like vehicle?
Mommy: Good point... I still haven't figured it all out.
Priya: But, I know why the Thunderbirds are called that. Because they sound like thunder and they fly like birds. Why are they called birds though? They should be the Thunderjets.

She has been picking out nuances in Sanjay's speech for a couple of months now. It's a fun trick for her to ask him to say, “I think”. When he does, it comes out more like “I stink” because he can't form the “th” sound yet with his mouth and this always sets her into a fit of laughter. She even hears differences in Pappy's accent. She recently asked me “Why does Pappy call water, 'wuh-der'?”. With her keen observation skills and our position as primary role models, we must be even more careful about our word choices.