My little baby... read what you have been upto....

Little toddle –you have become too cute for words! You have the most beautiful curls that flap around your cute face. You are so vocal it is amazing that you can do with your little finger that you point at everything. You cannot speak any words clearly – but you can say bye and do bye. When I say hug – you collapse into my arms. Recently when you want to be picked up, you say – up. When you want me to sing on particular song you gruntle if I switch songs on you.

You are naughty too – you want everything didi does. You even fight with her for her ipad. I am pretty sure we will have to buy you your own iPad. You are quite the pro at moving the ipad screen. Your favorite foods are: broccoli, kiwi, blueberries, dal and rice. You do not like chicken much, but other than that you love eating. You love to eat food that has flavor. Because of you, your sister has actually become a good eater.

Today when I was putting your didi to sleep – I hugged her with both arms. You were so naughty that once you saw that – you collapsed into my arms so that I could hug you too. I held you both trying to put both of you to sleep and you would keep pushing Simone away so I could only hug you.

We have this funny ritual with you – every morning and every night we sing a song to you. The morning one goes like – “Good Morning Neelu, Good Morning Neelu, We are glad that you are awake”. The night song goes like – “Good Night Neelu, Good Night Neelu, We are glad you had a good day”. Your face just lights up when the whole family sings the song for you… it is such a happy moment.

Upside Down...

Everytime I see you do this... my heart just melts. This has to be one of the cutest things....

Neel's SF bday Celebrations

Here's a video of how we celebrated your actual bday in SF.

Neel's birthday party

Today was a very special day for all of us, it was Neel's very first birthday party. His mom had been planning this for several weeks, even months. She had set up a jungle theme with masks, and hanging monkeys. Both sets of grandparents were on hand. Most of our friends came to join us. As we looked around, we marveled at how long some of us have been friends: we counted at least 5 friends whom we have had for a decade. Old friends and new friends, we all enjoyed it. Neel was very well behaved. We could not find his shoes, but in true toddle fashion, that did not stop him from toddling all over town. His dada kept a good eye on him, making sure that he did not get his little feet cold.

The highlight of the party were the puppies. Neel's mom had found a woman that brings puppies to parties. She showed up with nine puppies, set up a tarp on the floor, and a fence, and let the puppies loose. A lot of the children really enjoyed themselves, and many of the adults also got into the act. Your sister kept trying to get a puppy to come near her, but the puppies were wary of her. Maybe they know that she sometimes smacks you around. One of the dogs was very affectionate, ready to lick anything and everything. You sat inside the pen with your Dada and then with your Mama (uncle).

The cake came from Buttercake Bakery. It was a vanilla cake and it was delicious. It had a nice graphic on top of it and in true fashion we ordered too much, which means we will be eating cake for a few weeks. We also ordered a lot of Vietnamese sandwiches in both chicken and veggie fashion. I ate a veggie after the spicy and boy it was spicy. Your sister, dada and I made an early trip to pick up the sandwiches. Your sister enjoyed a croissant and Dada and I shared a Vietnamese coffee, which was sweetened with condensed milk.

The party was a lot of fun and it started to wind down at 3 PM. We found out that two of our friends were also expecting, which made the party even more festive. The kids discovered Snowball the fat bunny, who is so tame that he loves to be petted by everyone. After the party everyone pitched in to clean up, which was good, because it was a huge task.

So, onward and upward, my little gee-puppy! For your next birthday party I am sure you will be talking and running around and even fighting your didi.

Toddle a new name to your long list of names

Toddle toddle… this is your new name now in the long list of chunmum, babuji, dhiru bhai, vir, neelu, neel, gee puppy, duhkhi das, raddi wala, monkey monkey. You are the cutest little toddle. Over night after taking your first steps on diwali night you have started to toddle everywhere…you climb up and down the step ladder, you fight for your turn on the ipad and when big sister isn’t around you love carrying it around. You point your finger everywhere… and when I say hug hug.. you come running into my arms. It is very difficult to hold you for too long as you are always running away.

The cutest thing you do is – upside down. Whenever someone says upside down.. you walk over and put your head on the floor in a downward dog position. It is soooooo cute. You play by yourself.. often times you disappear into the other room and play with the toys there. Yesterday we went into the room and took all the books out of the bookshelves and brought them to the bed one by one and then tried to read all of them!! Smart little toddle! You love books – you are always carrying one book or the other and will sit down in any lap that will read to you. You love play with the toilet bowl. If the bathroom door is open and we are not looking – you will invariably find yourself in the bathroom playing with the water in the toilet bowl. You love it!