Sohoni Family

Kiera Update

2012-01-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well, we all survived Kiera’s first month of daycare (although there were a LOT of doctor’s visits for everyone) and she is officially a daycare baby.

"I am a mature young lady off to another day of advanced learning."

I figure it became “official” when she was at the doctor’s for an ear infection and the doctor said “Well, since she’s a daycare baby we better give her the stronger antibiotics. She likely has a daycare infection and those are harder to cure.”*

She already looks tougher doesn't she?
Yeah, that's the look of a daycare baby.

So an update on what Kiera is up to these days.

She is now fairly good at getting into a sitting position by herself. Unfortunately it’s a skill she likes to practice the most when she is in her crib and doesn’t want to go to sleep. She then sometimes forgets she knows how to lie down. Ah, I’m alreadylooking forward to when she learns to stand in her crib.
She is working on crawling. She’s getting pretty successful with the backward push. It’s just as humorous and sad to watch thesecond time around.
We are officially done with the mellow, laid-back, simply observing, favorite pastime is to lie complacently in mom’s arms part of baby-hood and she is now moving full force into the crazy, must try to grab everything, frantic phase. I’m already missing the last stage.

"Yeah, I showed that puzzle who's boss!"

Adjusting to dacyare was a bit hard - for her and for me. She liked the first couple days well enough, except for the sleeping and eating part - but other than that she was fine. Then as she had to start working through daycare germs she got a bit grumpier.

First day of school!

Asher was there to help drop her off.
I think she required as much stuff for her first day
as she will need when we send her off to college.

Deenesh and I went to the cafe after dropping her off to spend a quiet moment together. Of course, our feelings were a little different - Deenesh practically danced a jig on the way over whereas I was a touch more morose.

*It wasn’t said in a judgy way at all, just as a practical matter. Still, my heart broke a little. It's almost like she's been tainted.

Success!

2012-01-31T16:45:00.000-08:00

So, after our first failed attempt to have Asher have his first sleep-over at Nana’s, he was successful on the second try. He spent the whole night at his Nana’s house – even Kiera spent the first half of the night there.

He and Nana were having so much fun with popcorn and movies that he didn’t even consider the coincidence that his sleepover coincided with his Dad’s birthday – which just happened to fall on the Chinese New Year – and in the year of the Dragon which just happens to also be his Dad’s Chinese Zodiac sign.

He was having so much fun that he didn’t have time to waste with the regular child paranoia that the parents are having fabulous parties with music and friends and cake that kids tend to have when you so much as leave them alone in their rooms at night.

Which was a good thing, because of course, we just had a nice quiet evening at home.*

The next day he declared that he had such a great time that he said he wanted to do it again right away!

And he actually got his wish, two days later I came down so badly with one of Kiera’s daycare viruses that we figured it was just better to have Nana pick Asher up at school for his music class, and then keep him for the night in the hopes that it would be a quick virus (it wasn’t, I was in bed for a WEEK. I don’t remember the last time that happened) and we could avoid exposing him (we couldn’t, but at least he didn’t get it as bad).

And he had such a nice time at that sleepover, that he keeps mentioning having more. We’re going to have to be careful that he doesn’t just decide to move out completely!

*I will admit to feeling a particularly sharp pang of guilt when he came home to find the house covered in Chinese New Year decorations and he said “Mommy, the house looks sooo beautiful! We should have people over for a party!”

Sweetest face in the world

2012-01-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Kiera starts daycare tomorrow. Tonight in the tub Asher kept saying, "Mom! I'm taking Kiera to school
tomorrow!" I think he has visions of carrying her in there himself, depositing her in her classroom, and the
teachers thanking him profusely. I don't think Deenesh or I feature in this vision at all.

Asher's first sleepover!

2012-01-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well...almost.

We had dinner over at Nana's house and afterwards Asher got really excited about the idea of spending the night sleeping with Nana and Colonel.

I had returned home early to put Kiera to bed when Deenesh returned to inform me of the plan and to pick up Asher's stuff (Pillow, Blankie, Gobi, Teddy, and Bear*).

Deenesh dropped off the stuff and quickly returned (after taking the obligatory sentimental photo I demanded - see above) and quickly brushed aside my lamenting of our little boy growing up so quickly and his first night away from us with promises of a peaceful evening. We could watch whatever Hulu or Netflix had to offer and not have to engage in any bedtime tantrums!

I began to see the possibilities and we started exploring our options. A full magical night lay before us.

We were nearing a decision when we heard voices at the door.

I'm not entirely clear how much of it was "homesickness" versus being booted due to his inability to keep his mouth shut or stay put in a bed, but either way, the dream didn't last long.

That's okay, maybe I'm not ready for him to grow up that fast anyway. *sniff*

*Capitalization is appropriate because they are all proper nouns.

Dear Ezra

2012-01-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to let you know that your gifts arrived! Thanks so much.

Kiera loves it.

And so does Asher.

Asher goes to the movies!

2012-01-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Deenesh has been wanting to take Asher to the movies since Asher was about, uh, 1 year's old.

But I never thought he was quite ready to sit through a full-length movie.

But then, well, then the newest Muppet movie came out. The Muppets! And, well, it seemed so...magical! that that could be his first movie. I mean, given the teensy little age difference between Deenesh and me, there aren't a whole lot of entertainment things that span both of our childhoods - but the muppets are one of them. And Asher's 3.5 so we figured, he could probably do it. Other kids have done it even younger.

So, let it be known. Asher has officially been to his first movie!! Eeek! Yay!

Look! Giving his ticket!

Look! Look! See the sign? It says Muppets!
Look! Popcorn!

Asher did great the first hour, and then started to say "I'm tired. Let's go home." By that time Deenesh and I were thoroughly swept up in the magic that is the Muppets so I frantically shoved my cell phone at him, crossed my fingers that he wouldn't make any calls to Jamaica, and continued my viewing.

The eyes of a crazy lady.

The face of two people that have had a whole world returned to them -
the possibility of movie viewing! And one kid falling asleep.

He really did do a great job. He got a little restless, but overall he seemed to enjoy it and since then he has mentioned it a couple of times.

Yay! The credits! Now I can play!

Hmmm...so Star Wars next?

Christmas Morning

2012-01-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Kiera was so excited to get the morning started that she woke up at 5 am. Unfortunately, that meant that when we were getting started with opening presents around 7:30, she was ready to go down for her nap! Despite that minor detail, it was a great morning. Nana and Colonel were both there and there were oodles of fun new toys - only some of which are pictured.

So high!!

Before Christmas Deenesh took Asher shopping to buy a gift for his sister.

"Mommy, Kiera's a baby so she can't open her presents. I can
open it for her." Asher gallantly volunteered to open every one
of Kiera's presents for her.

And while I was skeptical of their choice - a dog with a control (attached with a nice long strangulation hazard) Deenesh and Asher had dreams of Asher walking the dog and Kiera playing beside it (and eventually, crawling! beside it.)

"Hmmm...What is it that my brother has there?"

Turns out they were right. She LOVED it.

"Yay! A puppy! For meeeeeeeee!"

"I love you puppy! I love you!"

"Let me try!!"

"I'm GORGEOUS!!"

"Why hello again puppy. I loooove you"

"Ah! It's just too intense! Thumb in mouth!"

And introducing....Super A and Super K!!

Technically these photos aren't from Christmas morning, but due to
a wardrobe malfunction we didn't get any good photos until later.
And yes - I made them myself! Yeah, I bet none of you ever thought
I could/would do something like that! Yay me!

Suspicions

2011-12-30T12:03:00.000-08:00

This is the face of a suspicious little girl.

Like many young children, she has become suspicious that while she is sleeping we are out in the living room having wild parties and dancing and eating yummy cheerios.

Or at least that life is going on while she is sleeping.

She is approaching nap time accordingly. Nothing too severe, but certainly increasing her resistance to the activity.

Meanwhile, she has a suspicious Mommy.

I have the hope that as a girl, this baby will grow up to be a little less active than her brother. Heck, a lot less active sure would be nice.

After all, in the last few years I've noticed that there does seem to be some truth to the gender characterizations and that most of Asher's female friends are a fair bit calmer than he.

But. BUT. There are a couple of his little female companions that stand out for matching him, stride for stride, in his energy level.

And I can't help notice a glint in my little girl's eyes. A glint that appears when her brother is at his most, bounce-of-the-wall, energy spurting from his head, crazy. A glint that seems to say "I want to be there."

Only time will tell. But I am watching.

Baby with a beer bottle

2011-12-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

A baby with a beer bottle? Yeah, it just never gets old.

Kiera - 2011

Sweet baby Eleanor - 2006

And of course, click here to see little baby Asher - 2008

Eh, at least you can see the trend. We only give babies beer at Christmas time.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

Mom had heard that a musical group that she likes was giving a concert at a nearby church, so she, Dad, and Asher went to the performance after dinner.

They returned a little early.

Turns out her information was a little off. The right group was there, but it was a church service, not a full concert.

It's nice that my parents are taking care of his religious education :)

They snuck out early.

Later on, we asked Asher if he liked the group.

He said "Yeah. But I liked the other one better. The one Colonel took me to where Nana played."

Asher, on his way out to attend his Nana's concert with Colonel (earlier in the week).
He's a loyal fan.

Resting

2011-12-27T12:08:00.001-08:00

"I'm not tired, Daddy. I'm just resting."

Santa Visit

2011-12-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

You're telling me both these kids are nice? hmmm...I'll check the lists.

Asher had just finished coloring a picture of Santa at the bookstore and was so excited to show it to him. He had worked really hard on it.

The good news: For the first time ever I can actually get Asher to look at

the camera for a photo.

The bad news: It comes at the cost of a fake smile.

Eh, I guess it's got its own charm.

"Look at me world! I really am the cutest creature alive!"

Say hello to my little friend

2011-12-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Meet Mr. Sharky.

A boy and his ~~dog~~ shark

When we first introduced him to Asher, I thought perhaps we had made a gross error in judgment. Asher's eyes got wide, he clung to his grandparents, and he spoke so softly I could scarcely hear him.

We assured him that he was a very nice shark, and finally Asher approached to say hi.

Since then it's been...well, it's been like a match made in heaven.

"Mr. Sharky! Come watch me jump!"

"Mommy, Mr. Sharky is hungry, he needs some cereal."

"Mr. Sharky, you're my best, BEST friend!"

Asher – showing Mr. Shark his reflection in the bathroom mirror “Mr Sharky! You are the nicest dolphin I ever saw!” pause. “Daddy, Mr. Sharky says I’m the nicest Asher he ever saw! He must really like me a lot!”

Asher named his shark "EleanorErik" after his cousins (he heard me say to Deenesh when I saw his reaction that I hoped I hadn't scarred Eleanor and Erik since was also gave them a shark as a gift), but he always addresses him as "Mr. Sharky" and only occasionally calls him "EleanorErik" if he is talking about him to someone else.

Unfortunately, I can't help but feel that there's the shadow of tragedy lurking. After all, the love of a 3 year old boy and a helium filled balloon with a delicate motor? I can't help but feel like it's a doomed affair. One destined to end with a loud pop.

hmmm...how do I get out of this fishbowl?

"C'mon! Can I wake him up from his nap yet?? Can I? Can I?"

"Wake up! Wake up! I want to play!"

"Oh hi, Mr. Sharky!"

"Come cuddle me and we can go back to sleep, Mr. Sharky"

"No more sleeping! Let's go play some fetch!"

Christmas Elf

2011-12-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

December so far...

2011-12-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Practicing Writing

Asher has been really into practicing letters. Deenesh got him a special notebook.

Christmas came early this year. Yup, that's a guy 30 feet up in the air above our house with a running chainsaw. What did Santa get the kids this year?

He got them debris removal from the Hurricane so that it wouldn't fall on the house. That's a good use of the Christmas budget, right?

See? They were riveted. Santa did an awesome job.

Table Dancing

And here's a clip of my son table-dancing. But hey, it was for a good cause, he was entertaining his sister.

Okay, clearly as a responsible mother I could not endorse table-dancing. Tables are for eating or drawing, not dancing. Plus it's dangerous. What if he fell off the table? And clearly it will lead him down a bad path.

So I did what any responsible mother that is stifling her laughter would do. I admonished him and left the room. With the video running. I can't help it if he promptly got back on the table to resume his dancing.

Of course, little siblings have to do everything that their big siblings do, so next it was Kiera's turn to do a wiggle.

Richmond Roller Derby

We also went to Richmond to meet up with one of Asher's friends and watch a roller-derby. It was very cool, I felt very Drew Barrymore Hollywood.

Asher: He is...The Navigator!
(My brother may just be the only one geeky enough to get that reference)

A proper pre-schooler greeting.

Kiera checking out the roller derby fun.

Free candy!! And a t-shirt!!

Even better - it wore him out.

and her.

So, as you might expect, the roller derby involved a lot of bashing and crashing. Which led Asher to ask "those people are mean people? They knock the other people down." Which led us to conclude that perhaps it's not a good idea to make him a roller derby fan just yet...

Big Girl
Kiera took a break from her high chair to have breakfast at the kid table. She clearly felt very cool about the whole thing.

Manger

Once again, Asher got to place the figures for the Christmas manger. Everyone, even the cows and sheep, is tightly crowded around to see the baby. Once again, poor Joseph does not get to stand by Mary. Or even all that close to baby Jesus for that matter.

And truth be told, Asher's not very interested in the manger scene this year. He is far more interested in the menorah candles. And who can blame him. Candles! Fire!

(As a side note - explaining Hanukkah to a 3 year old? Not so fun. "Why were there mean people? They took our temple? Why? We hit them? They were bad people? We're the good people?" Christmas is a little easier - A baby was born and everyone was happy. Yup. That's easy)

Bike Trailer

Moving on. Kiera got a chance to try out the bike trailer. She did better than Asher on his first trip in the bike trailer.

Standing

Kiera's also been practicing standing.

Trains

We decided that train tables stifle creativity and have gone back to making hugely long tracks. (Asher loved train tables elsewhere, but no matter how cool the track we set up on his he just never got into it).

The Christmas box.

That's right. It's Christmas in a box.

Glimpse of the Future
We had our friends over for dinner. Their older son is Asher's age, and their younger son is a few months older than Kiera. And he's very mobile. And active. And it gave us a glimpse into what life is going to be like in just a few months. Ummm...daunting.

No, don't worry, he wasn't stealing Kiera's food. It was actually quite adorable. He kept putting food on her tray and then taking it back out again.

Slip-sliding away

After Asher built a tunnel with couch cushions, Deenesh came up with a "fun" little game to ~~taunt~~ play with Kiera.

Fish

Kiera likes fish.

ooooh. Pretty fish.

Birthday Party!

Asher (and Kiera) got to hang out with big kids at a rocking birthday party.

STINKER!! Caught red-handed! This is not the first time
he's tried to "help" a friend blow out the candles.
Fortunately, she was already done. Usually I keep him
away from the cake for this reason, but I forgot and didn't
even realize it until I saw him dash away from the table, got
suspicious, and found this photo. (Cool mask though, isn't it?)

And there was dancing.

Big Brother

Asher is still a good big brother and willing to help with diaper changes. Usually he prefers to operate in a supervisory role these days, though.

Gingerbread
And he got to make a ginger-bread man in music class. And a gingerbread house at Nana's - but I don't have a photo of that.

Rolling Over

According to a very angry Kiera, someone has been sneaking in when she is trying to go to sleep and flipping her onto her tummy. She is not happy about it.

Chillin in the jammies

This kid is getting too comfortable in our bed

Also - very typical sleeping style. Asher is sprawled out
and Deenesh is completely hidden under the covers.

The olden days

And finally...If you were a three year old, what would you notice about these pictures?

Ah. Poor Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

"Mommy? Why is that kid riding in the front? She's not allowed to ride in the front!"

Whew! Okay, so that's it. The first half of December.

Inspirational Workout

2011-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, before you watch this, cue the theme music to Rocky.

You haven't done it yet have you? Seriously, cue it.

C'mon. I'm not joking.

Fine. Here's a link. Cue the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvEnIkz82A0&feature=related

Okay, now you can watch the clips. Prepare to be impressed.

Deenesh and Asher were watching gymnastics on youtube in preparation to go watch a college men's gymnastics competition and they got inspired.

After Asher did it I figured I'd give it a try.

I couldn't make it up a single step.

Deenesh wanted to give it a try but he couldn't find anyone that could lift his feet. (What? Don't look at me. Did you read the line above this one? Yeah, not much upper body strength going on here. Of course, in my defense when I tried going up the stairs Deenesh held my ankles and you can clearly see in the video of Asher he holds his legs higher up. I'm sure I could have done it that way.)

(What? No, no. I'm good. No do-over for me, thanks).

Happy Kiera

2011-12-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a great photo of Kiera? I love how it captures her long eyelashes.

Even better, it was taken by a friend while I was in DC at another friend's baby shower, and it made me so happy to get a text with a happy baby photo.

Kiera is still sweet and happy, but has been battling a cold for about 2 weeks. Poor little Kiera.

Brother and Sister

2011-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Relax. Deenesh was standing right next to them just in case Asher slipped up his duty of holding his sister securely.

Fun with Neighbors

2011-12-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

I see this view a lot. I love it.

A kick in the head

2011-12-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

No literally, a kick in the head.

Here are two photos that provide pretty clear evidence why we don't like having Asher in bed with us.

Notice the position of his legs. And they move. A lot. So does the rest of him.

And yes, he manages to get into these positions even when he is crammed in between two adults.

But given that the ~~requests~~ demands to get into our bed usually come between 1 am and 5 am, that they are quite loud and extended, and that he is perhaps the most persistent person I have ever met (yes, I do have an inkling as to where that trait came from) he manages to work his way into bed every once in a while.

I've got the bruises to prove it.

And if I ever show up with a black eye - you'll know where it came from.

A good mommy

2011-12-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

Me: "Asher, you are being such a good Daddy!"
Asher: "No, a Mommy"
Me: "Why a Mommy instead of a Daddy?"
Asher: "Because I am feeding her."

??

"I'm not a Daddy, I'm a Mommy"

I think he meant he was nursing her. He was wearing the baby bjorn at the time, and it also occurred to me that I'm not sure he's ever seen Deenesh wear any of the baby carriers.

I also just set up a baby monitor. They are hand-me-downs that a friend gave us when Asher was about 1.5 years old, and we haven't really needed them, but I figured they were there so may as well try it. Asher loves it. Today Kiera didn't cry when I put her down for her nap and when I came out Asher was holding the monitor and said in an accusatory manner "Mommy! Make Kiera cry so that I can hear her!"

Eating breakfast with the baby monitor close at hand

Singing baby to sleep. He decided he needed the rocking chair to be authentic.

Baby gets her own bed. I just noticed he must have tucked her hands in her
pockets to keep them warm. How thoughtful.Notice also that he's got the baby
monitor tucked into his blanket with him. He had it turned on full blast to his sister's room.

Kiera Photos

2011-12-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

I'm tired and don't have the energy to decide which of these photos of Kiera are the cutest, so I am just posting a bunch of them. You can tell me which ones are your favorites.

Deenesh bought the jean jacket AND the hat. I know, the man's got good taste, huh?

Zoo

2011-11-29T21:15:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month I took Asher and Kiera to the zoo (Deenesh stayed home). It was a gorgeous day and so all the animals were out and about.

The train ride was a big hit!

We spent a LOT of time watching the orangutans, Asher commenting on the size of their hands and their long, black fingernails. It was fascinating to watch them move.

We also spent time watching the bears wrestle - even Kiera got excited about that!

Asher loved this guy's flicking tongue!

Asher had a tough time making a BIG decision - a second train ride, or an ice cream at home later. He chose the train ride.

Walk

2011-11-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

Photos from a perfectly wonderful walk through campus.

I tried a friend's strategy of holding the camera down near my waist so that the photos
are at the child's level, but that I can walk along with him and not pause to kneel down. I love
the way it comes out, but it also resulted in a lot of photos where he isn't entirely in the frame...

"Seriously?! Who gives a little baby a stick? I could poke my eye out!
Whatever, I'm not going to tell them."

Trying to mimic the statue's pose

Check out the pocket full of pine needles. You know, because we don't have enough in our yard.
And yes, they did make it all the way home to join the rest of his collection.

"Sooooo tired!! I can't walk anymore! "
Deenesh tried to convince him that if his legs were too tired,
perhaps he should just walk on his hands instead

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

"This booster seat is soooo cool!!"

"Hey, Kiera's booster seat looks pretty cool...."

"Why should Kiera have all the fun?"

Siblings

2011-11-28T20:04:00.000-08:00

Playing together

Kiera provides technical support as Asher
types away on his homemade computer

Holding hands

Quiet

2011-11-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

Moment

2011-11-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

Fall

2011-11-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

Fall is definitely my favorite season.

Perfect Baby

2011-11-25T23:06:00.000-08:00

My favorite piece of parenting advice is that everything is a stage.

So when things are bad - don't worry, it is just a stage.

And when things are good - enjoy it, because it is just a stage!

And since I know that it is just a stage I just want to share...

my baby? She is in a perfect baby stage.

See this? This is what a perfect baby looks like.

Seriously. Perfect. Baby.

And I'm not scared of jinxing it because I know it is just a stage anyway so I may as well enjoy it.

She's amazing. She wakes up in the morning and she just talks quietly to herself until I get her.

Then she's perfectly happy to just play by herself. Or to watch us. Or to grin and laugh and play with us. You know, whichever, it's all fine with her.

When she sees her brother she will stare at him intently and laugh in order to get his attention.

She rarely cries.

She sleeps. Oh does she sleep. So glad we are through that acid reflux, sleeping no more than an hour at a time, and only in her car seat stage. She likes to go to sleep at 6:30 and wake up at 7. Yeah. Perfect baby right?

She loves to eat. She doesn't mind tummy time. She loves to smile and flirt and chat.

And when her brother is wild and crazy she just watches and laughs and enjoys the show.

WHAT are you talking about?!

HA! Okay, what are we off to next, big brother?

Oh how I am loving this stage.

I am Kiera, good witch of the family, and this is my magic wand!

I'm thankful.

2011-11-24T19:17:00.000-08:00

For a wonderful husband, who is also a wonderful father.

Who is someone that I still enjoy being with after all this time, and who is someone that knows me well enough that he will call me outside to watch migrating birds.

I’m thankful for migrating birds. They are amazing. Watching them in flight – unreal. And they can be so deafening loud and then they startle and in an instant there is complete silence except for the whoosh sound of a thousand wings and it sounds like they are just sucking up all the air with them.

I’m thankful for an adorable son who makes me take the time to admire a crawling snail. And then demands instant gratification of watching a video of said snail.

That's right. It's a video of a snail. Crawling. That's it.

And who makes me laugh by saying things like “Mommy! Don’t start the car – I need my scarf and my plate so I can steer the train!

I am thankful for the most perfect, chill little baby in the whole wide world.

Who makes life so easy and is already so much fun to hang out with. And who just lights up my heart with her smile.

I’m thankful for a mom that cooks an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. Even if she does try to feed my 7 month old baby ice cream.

And you know what else I’m thankful for? That she bought the house two doors down from me so that when I’m done eating that thanksgiving dinner it’s just a short waddle back home.

The Very Hungry Baby

2011-11-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

Kiera LOVES baby food.

I had somewhat dreaded starting Kiera on solids since every meal with Asher and baby food was an epic battle where he would scream and resist with all his strength.

I now understand how parents follow the advice in books that say you may have to feed a child a food 10 times before s/he will start to like it. I don't think they are really talking about the babies that scream bloody murder, but perhaps babies like Kiera where even foods she doesn't like, she just wrinkles her nose, but then willingly opens her mouth for another bite. Asher didn't willingly open his mouth until we gave him real food.

But Kiera, Kiera just likes it all!

Family

2011-11-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

Hela Visit Nov 2-9

2011-11-19T21:04:00.000-08:00

I will get you fuzzy slippers!!

2011-11-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

Kiera worked hard to get that fuzzy slipper off her foot!

It wasn't so much she wanted it off her foot. She just wanted it in her mouth.

While the Asher is away...

2011-11-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

the bear will play!

Kiera plays with Asher's beloved bear while he is off at school.

But more to the point - check out those crazy strong arms!

Speaking of giving my husband credit...

2011-11-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

He also gets credit for this.

He calls it baby surfing.

She loves it.

I find it alarming.

Yet...I still take the photo.

You Shall Not Pass!!

2011-11-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Credit goes to my neighbor for the LOTR post title.
Credit goes to my husband for giving my 6 month old daughter a large pointy stick.

A year gone by...

2011-11-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Kids can change a lot in a year,

but some things, some things stay the same.

His costume from last year still fit - though much more snugly, and he really enjoyed wearing it again. But we did finally convince him to wear his new costume.

No, no - he liked it! I swear. He's not curled up in a fetal position, he's just taking a nap while wearing it.

So why don't I have any trick-or-treat photos of him in it?

He said it was hot so he kept taking it off.

But he liked his sister's costume.

So much in fact, that he wanted one just like it.

I was pretty sure his old one was not one he would still fit in.

Wow - did you catch that link? It was our first blog post ever.

A rose by any other name…

2011-11-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

A conversation with my mom the other day reminded me that I had written this post (according to blogger I wrote it on June 19!) and never posted it. I postponed posting it because I meant to go back and add a bunch of beautiful Kiera photos. I have a lot of beautiful photos of this beautiful little girl. But I never did. So instead, I'm just going to add one photo, and finally post it. Because better that it get posted with just one photo, than not posted at all.

A couple of days after Kiera was born, Deenesh turned to me and asaid “Did you know that Keira Knightly spells her name with an E-I?”

No. No I did not know that.

I had done a fair bit of research on different spellings of the name.

Kira – In the US in 2010, was ranked 308^th most common for girl’s name at about 250 girls with that name per million births.

Kyra - In the US in 2010, was ranked 349^th most common for girl’s name at about 220 girls with that name per million births.

Kiera * - In the US in 2010, was ranked 418^th most common for girl’s name at about 190 girls with that name per million births.

It never occurred to me to check “ei”. I guess it’s the whole “I before E except after C, and in words like “weigh” and “neighbor”” thing.

Kiera does not sound like “weigh or neighbor.”

It turns out that Keira (with an E-I) is the most common spelling.

Keira - In the US in 2010, was ranked 166^th most common for girl’s name at about 460 girls with that name per million births.

And this doesn’t even include the more traditional Gaelic spellings – Ciara and Ciera.

Our goal with the name (similar to Asher’s) was a name that wasn’t too common, was easy to pronounce and easy to spell.

Turns out it is a more common name than we thought.

And my own father appears to have difficulty pronouncing it. Along with the folks in the pediatricians office.

And there are several different spellings. And we managed to choose the least common spelling.**

Oh well, I guess we can just console ourselves with the fact that it is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

*(My book club was the one that thought that “I –E” was the best spelling, they thought “Kira” and “Kyra” would result in people mispronouncing it “KI-RA” Hmmmm...but maybe they actually said E-I.)

** As a bonus, in my sleep deprived haze, I’m pretty sure I wrote my own daughter’s name as “Keira” on a card recently. Great. Not even I can spell it right.

Memory that made me smile

2011-11-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I love about parenthood is the sheer number of happy, funny memories that pop into my head at random times.

Today I was remembering when my son went to his friend's birthday party this summer.

They saw each other from across the yard and my son yelled "NICK-YYYYY" and they ran toward each other as if they hadn't seen each other in years- instead of just a few days prior.

As he ran my son yelled "NICKY! I HAVE A PRESENT FOR YOU!!!" and when he got close my son put down the gift bag, ripped out the tissue paper and pulled out the gift.

Far from being upset, Nicky was thrilled to have the present and they both prepared to start playing with it. Immediately. Right there on the sidewalk.

Since then I've stopped using gift bags and I wrap the presents instead. It slows him down a little.

Us

2011-10-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Tree hugger

2011-10-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Our little tree hugger

I guess it runs in the family.

Beautiful Children and Random Story

2011-10-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

We have two cars. One has the car seats and the other is a small two-door car that doesn't fit the kids. Asher strongly prefers that if we go anywhere without him that we NOT take his car. A recent quote "Take your small car! Let me know show you which car to take."

Holding hands

2011-09-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

Asher also thought it would be a good idea to get in the crib with his sister, but I nixed that idea.

It's good to be the big brother

2011-09-24T18:02:00.001-07:00

"That's right little sister. I sit in the stroller, and you push me!"

The suit

2011-09-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

We were very excited to get Asher a suit for a friend's wedding because we remembered how excited our nephews were when they got their suits for our wedding. And how great they looked.

Our nephew Jordan was also absolutely dashing in his suit, though we didn't get to see his excitement at trying the suit on for the first time.

However, since Asher has never really seen Deenesh wear a suit, I wasn't sure he'd be all that excited about getting one.

Turns out, he was pretty excited. And what does a 3yr old do when he is excited? RUN!!

I'd say we all looked pretty good for the wedding.

Though of course, we couldn't hold a candle to the radiant bride and groom.

On her own two feet

2011-09-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Kiera can now sit for a few seconds on her own before flopping over, but lately it's been hard to get her to practice because when you pull her up to a sitting position she would far rather keep her legs stiff so that she can practice standing.

In even bigger news, Kiera has slept 7+ hours in a row for the last three nights!!! Breaking her previous record of, ummm, the very rare 4+ hours. It has involved a lot of crying, for all of us, but it's great to feel like I can once again string together a coherent sentence.

hmmm....now that I've jinxed it, I should probably get to bed.

Twilight Mania

2011-09-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

*sigh* I guess this vampire craze is what all the kids are into these days.

Okay. Asher has never even heard of a vampire. Boxes are just irresistible. He begged to get to take his nap in the new porch storage box and we finally relented after a long discussion about how he was NOT allowed to shut the lid.

Swimmer Baby

2011-09-04T18:56:00.001-07:00

Sunlight Baby

2011-09-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sheepish Baby

2011-09-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Swinging Baby

2011-09-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

Scholar Baby

2011-09-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Salad Baby

2011-09-04T18:44:00.001-07:00

Standing Baby

2011-09-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Serious Baby

2011-09-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

Safari Baby

2011-09-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sleeping baby

2011-09-04T18:22:00.001-07:00

Stop clicking the camera baby

2011-09-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hard worker

2011-09-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

In Cahoots

2011-08-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

Kiera’s laughs are still a precious commodity. I can really work and work at it and get nothing.

She’s less discriminating with her brother – all he has to do is scream and he will get a laugh out of her. (See the video as exhibit A)

Which makes it difficult when we are trying to convince him – please don’t scream near your sister. Or please don’t bounce her seat that hard because it makes her head flop, because invariably as soon as those words are out of our mouth she gives him a great big grin and chuckle.

Baby Feat

2011-08-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

She may not be jumping off of diving boards, but I certainly don’t want to minimize Kiera’s feats. Or in this case feets. Heh heh.

Look at how she loves to bring her legs up and put the soles of her feet together.

Adorable isn’t it?

Here's another riveting baby video.

This kid is AMAZING!

2011-08-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

My heart was pounding. I couldn't even breathe.

And I was just watching!

I couldn't believe he actually did it. I was sure he would look down and decide against it.

But here is the proof!

First time off the diving board. And then he just kept going back for more.

Look at the pride on that Dad's face!

I am just so incredibly insanely proud of this child.

Here is the full video of his very first jump. Three things I love. 1) the other little boy had to help him up the ladder 2) that Asher negotiates with his father about his exact location 3) Deenesh diving down to help him and it being unnecessary. And, and then of course the obvious thing that I love. That he jumped!

Am I gushing? Well, I'm okay with that.

Sibling Love

2011-08-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

I love watching Asher and Kiera fall in love with each other. I wish they could always get along this well.

Kieras fascinated by her big brother. Here's a photo of one of the first times Kiera moved her hand with purpose. It was to touch Asher's hair.

She loves watching him. Here Asher is making her smile in a restaurant.

This summer, Asher planted some seeds that turned into flowers. These are the late seeds that we planted. He gave the very first flower that appeared to Kiera (it is on the arm of the chair). We didn't even suggest that he give it to her.

He loves to pick out her clothes, particularly when he gets something that matches what he is wearing. Nana bought them matching shirts with their photos on it.

His big brother shirt is one of his favorite shirts and he likes it when she wears one of her little sister shirts. I also like this photo because they both look so suspicious of me.

Asher looks out for his sister. In this video Asher is explaining how he warned his little sister that it was going to be bright (because I was taking a photo with flash).

Asher also sometimes just runs up to her to tell her that she is beautiful or pretty. He has never had any interest in other babies, but he likes her a lot. Here he is singing a song to her. He started singing it out of no where and made it up himself (although I sing similar songs to both of them I've never suggested that he sing with me.)

Of course, he only just turned 3, and he has a lot of energy to burn, so frequently in his enthusiasm he forgets to be gentle with her. It's hard to convince him sometimes since she grins at him even when he is jumping up and down and screaming. Here's another photo where you can see his excess energy in an extra tight squeeze.

Snippets

2011-08-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

When Asher or Kiera do or say something cute I try to write it down so that I will remember it, and many times I just jot it down on whatever scrap of paper is closest to me. Then I forget about it until I am cleaning up later and come across it.

Today I was cleaning up and came across this note - from probably about a month or two ago.

Asher: "Why are making that sound Mommy?"
Me: "I'm humming"
Asher: "You're pretending to be a hummingbird?"

Coming across these little snippets make me smile.

First Laugh!

2011-08-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today was Kiera's first real, sustained laughter. I was covering her with kisses and it was laugh after laugh which of course promptly ceased when she saw us pull out the camera.

BUT yesterday Asher was getting entertaining her greatly and if you listen carefully in the first couple seconds of the video you can hear her give a little chuckle.

Picnic!

2011-08-06T19:08:00.001-07:00

Officially a swimmer

2011-08-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

Let it be known that Asher is officially a swimmer.

This past Saturday Asher learned how to swim. His longest time was swimming for 38 seconds, and making it about 1/2 across the width of the pool.

When we went back tonight, he was able to swim for close to 3 minutes without stopping.

Here are some videos. (Don't worry, they aren't 3 min long, they are from when he first got started)

?

2011-07-26T19:43:00.001-07:00

I'll let you come up with your own title for this photo.

Never let go!

2011-07-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here they are, recreating their favorite scene from the move Titanic.

Happy Birthday Asher!

2011-07-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that in just 3 years a baby can go from this....

to this.

Happy Birthday Asher!

PS Just for the record, I did not stage the second photo. Asher randomly thought it would be fun to sit in his sister's car seat.

Conversation Starter

2011-07-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

Asher's First Dental Appointment

2011-07-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

Asher did great.

It may have helped that he got to watch Elmo on the ceiling TV. After a while he questioned "Elmo doesn't talk?" They had forgotten to give him the headphones.

After the appointment Kiera was hungry so Asher and Deenesh were forced to hang out in the waiting room while I fed her. It was quite the hardship.

So sad

2011-07-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite things about our beach is this wonderful tree with it's roots growing out of the water. We've always loved this tree. Here's a picture of it from back in 2006.

This beach, particularly this tree, was one of our favorite things about coming back home.

When the tide is high the roots barely stick out of the water and you can wade through the water to them. When the tide is low, the roots stick up high above the sand and you can climb all over them.

I had visions of taking photos of my children growing up with photos of them at different ages of their lives with this tree.

Sadly, after a recent storm, this is what we found.

So here is our last farewell to this beautiful tree, in the form of a couple (hundred or so) photos.

August 2010

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011 - Goodbye tree

Look at me, Mama! I am soooo beautiful!

2011-07-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Yes. Yes you are, my son.

Beach Babe

2011-07-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Inspired by http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com/

Boy Behavior

2011-07-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Asher is incredibly loving with his little sister.

He has picked up my habit of singing random "I love you songs" and so we will be walking with her and he will sing, "I love baby sister, I love baby sister!" and sometimes he will throw me and his dad in the song as well.

He also loves giving her kisses.

However, in what I think must be a boy thing he will frequently just throw in a lick for good measure.

Which would normally just make me laugh, but each time he does it I can't help but think - ewww daycare germs.

Age Progression

2011-07-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

I recently invested in some software that specializes in age progression. Check it out.

Asher at almost 3 years old

Asher as an old man.

What do you think? Was it worth the money?

Curl up snug in your water bed...

2011-07-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Asher loves the book Baby Beluga.

Lately he's been pointing out how the mommy whale, daddy whale, Asher whale and sister whale all sleep together.

He wants to do that.

Occasionally we give it a try.

Yeah, notice who is completely bright eyed in this photo.

Which wouldn't be so bad if it didn't involve chatting/touching/poking/prodding/etc the other occupants in the bed.

Needless to say, "curl up snug in our water bed" hasn't really worked so well for us.

The thumb

2011-07-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Check out that thumb action.

She is really happy about this thumb discovery.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

Asher, on his way to the neighborhood "parade." He enjoyed decorating his bike to get it ready.

Also, in unrelated, but very important, news Kiera discovered today that her thumb can can be separated from her fist to be inserted into the mouth independently. She's been a big fan of stuffing her fist in her mouth and seemed quite excited by this new discovery, if a little confused as to how to keep the thumb from popping out of the mouth to rejoin the rest of the fist. I'm sure she'll get it figured out soon though.

Papparazzi

2011-06-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

"Yup, Baby Sister, it's pretty much non-stop with the camera. You may as well get used to it."

"Nope. Not even crying is going to get her to stop."

Tropical Smoothie

2011-06-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Mama you've been holding out on me!

Baby Eyes

2011-06-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

After soothing, and singing, and bouncing, and rocking until we finally gently put her down I am sometimes reminded of the scene in The Neverending Story. The one where they anxiously wait to see if the spinx's eyes are going to open.

Check it out starting at 1:15 and watch until 1:40. (you don't need to watch the whole clip to get the point, just those 25 seconds).

Yup. It is just like that.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day

love

you

so much!

Too young

2011-06-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

C'mon folks. Aren't I bit young to be holding my own bottle?

That's right. Deenesh propped the bottle up so that he could work on the computer.

Camouflage - Part 2!

2011-06-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Liking Mommy Best!

2011-06-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Asher and I were walking home from the pool, and since he had tweaked his ankle (he's okay), I was carrying him back. On the way, he told me, "I like Mommy." So, I asked him about me. He told me, "I like Daddy, but I like Mommy best." I mentioned that it was not in his strategic interest to tell me this while I was carrying him home, and that he should probably have saved it till AFTER we got home. He thought about it for about 30 seconds, and then said, "No, I like Mommy best."

Call me Asher.

2011-06-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Waking up is so much more fun this way

2011-06-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

Sweet Baby Kiera

2011-06-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

We used to do this to Asher too. We love the sweet little baby gasps it produces.

(The gasp in the second video is better, but I love the cooing at the beginning of the first video)

Friends, Fun, and Water

2011-06-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

Party Animals!

2011-06-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe just one party animal.

You'd better watch out

2011-06-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

We take time-out very seriously.

Naptime Hardships

2011-06-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Picture this. You're taking a beautiful, peaceful nap, swinging away and listening to the nice peaceful ocean sounds from your sleep sheep.

All of a sudden, sleep sheep turns off. No more ocean sounds.

You open your mouth to protest and out pops your pacifier! The indignity of it all.

And to make matters worse - does your Mommy realize the gravity of the situation and help you, or does she stop to take a photo instead?

Nana and Kiera

2011-06-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Cute Kiera

2011-06-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

Working on her smile

2011-06-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Kiera's been working on her smile, and is it ever cute. She seems to be starting to realize that if she smiles she can get people to look at her. She's also starting to coo and gurgle a little more.

Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark

2011-06-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Part 2