17 months: First 'words', Christmas, and Sleep!

Here are my first words: more (it kind of sounds like 'mahr'), ball, and woof (okay, not a word, but you get the point). I like to eat, play, and see animals. And I continue to sign different words, like signing for help if I need it.

I am getting more adventurous. Like sliding down the little slide in my room on my own. I also like to ride on the back of Anna's tricycle. And I like to play in the snow.

We went swimming as a family, and I can float around on my own with inflatable wings! Amma thinks is is super cute.  

This month we worked on sleep a whole lot. I moved to my crib in my own room, which is a big thing. This means that we are beginning to wean me from nursing at night. Unfortunately I still wake up a whole LOT (sorry Amma) and need comforting still. And usually Amma breaks down in the wee hours of the night and brings me into her bed or lies down with me.

Christmas was a lovely time. Seeing colorful lights at the Botanical Gardens. Opening presents. Making cookies. Eating with family.

This month we also had a party at Appa's house with friends and we hung out in Denver with uncle Chris (he even shared his peanut butter cookie with me). And I have a lot more teeth, including incisors and molars.

Thank you God for Christmas, lights, rides with brothers, and cute outfits.

16 months: Blowing kisses, climbing, and Thanksgiving

When I leave or someone leaves, I like to blow them a kiss. Or if Appa is on FaceTime and it is time to say goodbye, I blow him a kiss.

This month I kept signing more - for things like up or milk. As a result, I ask for milk from Amma more. :)

I am a climber (I think it runs in the family). I started climbing everything! Amma moved a chair and table set into my bedroom (from the living room) so I have a softer landing in case I fall down.

My hair is growing back pretty rapidly. Now it looks like I just have a short buzz cut!

This month we celebrated Divali and Thanksgiving at Eryn and Steve's house. We explored the museum of nature and science (and I played with light boards). We visited grandma at her new memory care center. And we went snowshoeing up at Brainard Lake (and I fell asleep in Amma's backpack).

Thank you God for snow suits, grandparents, brothers, and good food.

15 months: India!, Mottai, and Uh-Oh

This was quite the eventful month! Two passport stamps obtained: India and Switzerland. Head shaved (first hair cut). Lots of family and friends met. And many firsts had (including rickshaw rides).

So first, it takes quite a while on planes to get to India. We stopped off in Zurich for a few days on the way there, which was good because I was really sleepy around 3pm the first day. Luckily I can sleep easily on Amma (in her cool Ergo carrier), so I was pretty portable (Anna was heavier for Appa to carry around if he fell asleep while out and about). I liked the town and trams and the boat rides and the zoo.

We had a busy itinerary throughout southern India: Mumbai, car through the Ghats to Pune, flight to Chennai, overnight train to Madurai, side trip to Kotaikanal in the hills, Mottai (head shaving) just north of Madurai, overnight train back to Chennai, fly home. We stayed with friends and family mostly, managed some time to play, and ate a bunch of new and yummy food, including many dosai, sambas, chutneys, fresh guava (yum!), and small cucumbers (fun to eat, though sometimes I would spit them out after chewing on them), though I admit some of my tasting the variety was through Amma's milk. I really loved kamala oranges with the mostly green skin (just like amma and appa and anna). Mutton biriani and white beans are quite good as well.

Mumbai showed me that India can be hot! And humid. With my long hair, I would sweat pretty much instantly upon going outside. The Gateway to India welcomed me. I enjoyed the boat ride into the harbor as well as the special rich local ice cream. 

I enjoyed the hills surrounding Pune quite a lot. We went to a set of cool caves (Bedse) carved into the rock upon a mountainside from 2000 years ago. We also went up to a fort that had gate upon gate upon gate as we wound our way up to the top, with bright beautiful pink bougainvillea in between some areas. Pune was also where I had my very first ride in an auto-rickshaw! I loved it (and held on pretty tightly).

Throughout the trip I was just taking it all in. It was quite a lot to observe. They say I am a little more mellow than my brother. Though with the heat and the travel I had my times of crankiness (luckily amma figured out how to nurse me when carrying me in the Ergo).

They say I looked like Krishna with my long hair on top (see the picture with Amma below in front of silver falls near Kotaikanal).

The main event of the trip occurred on October 26. Family and friends had assembled from around the world. In fact, some of the family members tend to be always '10 minutes late', but they were on time for me! We had breakfast in Madurai, then a bus full of family took us about 20 km north of the city to Alagarkoil (beautiful temple). And that is where my Mottai (head shaving) occurred - while the shaving itself was a little unexpected (and I admit I did cry a little), it felt quite nice when complete - check out the picture with Appa below! Then I put on new clothes, a necklace of jasmine flowers, and they put sandalwood paste on my head. We then toured Alagarkoil, the temple at the top of the hill with the never ending spring, and the one in between. And we capped it all off with lunch back in Madurai. The weather even cooperated (it wasn't quite so hot). All in all, a beautiful time. I also got my ears pierced back in Chennai, another tradition.

Finally, I wanted to mention that 'Uh oh!' is my new favorite expression, and used for a lot of things. It is quite cute I must say.

Thank you God for shiny spoons and bowls, loving family, fast rickshaws, smooth haircuts, fragrant flowers, advanced airplanes, tasty food, and shoes that light up.

14 months: Walking!, first flight, and signing

Big news, I am walking now! It took me a while to warm up to walking, and for a while I preferred to hold on to Amma or Appa or Anna's hand, but just this week I really took off on my own! I must say it is pretty cool. When Amma comes to pick me up at the end of the day, sometimes I don't know if it is faster to crawl or walk, but I am moving on to just walking.

I had a fun 'first' this month - my first trip on an airplane! We all went to Michigan (mostly the western part) for Labor Day weekend. I did pretty well, though both flights were in the evening so I was a little sleepy (or rather asleep) at the end. The trip itself was fun and I met a lot of Appa's friends. I especially liked the ice cream treat after a long hike among sand dunes.

I just love being outside. I love sand (throwing it up, digging in it), and dirt, feeling grass, plucking flowers, throwing rocks, getting wet (especially in the pond). There is this tree at Homestar that has really cool bark and I like to play with it and put it back together like a puzzle.

I like being able to communicate more with signs, gestures, and the beginnings of words. I am very good at saying 'more' (in signs) and all done. I love clapping my hands, as I've mentioned before, especially when Amma is singing "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands!" And I've started the inklings of saying a few words, like 'mo' for more, beh for bye-bye, and almost saying "Amma".

I also had fun this month riding on a boat in the mountains (with Grandpa), going to Grandma's birthday party, playing with Anna Kavi, riding my first ski lift (in Michigan), hiking, and playing with my friends.

In October we are all going to India - there we will explore new places, meet family and friends, and the big deal: I will get my head shaved! (oh and my ears pierced). Tune in next month for all of the details!

Thank you God for warm wind, gritty sand, bright sun, happy friends, fast boats, old trees, and my loving family.

13 months: Pointing, standing, and olives

I find that communications are important. This month mine increased in a variety of ways. I definitely point to what I want, be it more blueberries or the soap container I just dropped into the bathtub. I can make a few signs, but primarily more and all-done. I tend to get more vocal about food that I am interested in (such as one of my favorites - more almond butter!), though at school they are encouraging me to use my signs more.

This month I worked on standing. It tends to just happen when I am holding onto a bed or chair but then find a really interesting toy that I must look at with both hands. This balance has helped my mobility as well, and I am now up to about five steps in a row.

One of my new-found loves is olives. I had a few earlier in my life, but at dinner at Jay and Saori's was when I really showed my colors. Oh and I have eight teeth now! Four up top and four down low.

Amma was happy that we made it nursing the whole year (but she also enjoys the extra time freed up by not pumping at work)! Now that I am one-year old, I can drink cow's milk. I still nurse in the evening and the morning (and in the night...), but during the day now I take a bottle or sippy cup with milk.

I do enjoy clapping. Sometimes I clap to music. Sometimes I clap for myself when I am standing alone without holding onto anything. I can almost blow a kiss to Amma when she drops me off.

I also like to climb things that aren't too high, rocking on the rocking zebra that Uncle Chris gave me, and shaking the house (the little play one in the living room)!

Anna Kavi's first au pair Nastja visited again and I got along with her swimmingly. We hung out at Meadow Music ("we're hiking, we're hiking"), walked along Boulder Creek path, went up to the mountains, and went to the zoo.

We also took a cool trip on a train that took us to the top of a mountain - my first time over 14,000 feet on Pike's Peak!

Thank you god for hugs, warm baths (and bath toys), good views (from Appa's shoulders especially), trains, and cool streams.

1 year! First steps, black beans, and clapping

It is official! I am one year old. No longer an infant or baby, now 'technically' a toddler. And I've started to toddle just a bit, in that I can go about two steps on my own (before kinda crashing into someone's arms or onto Mopy the stuffed dog). Big news, though I'm not yet walking around. 

I had a few more teeth come in - I have five right now (two up top and three down low)! Some of the things I love using these for are strawberries and black beans.

This month I picked up clapping, which is a hit with everyone. Of course when singing the song 'If you're happy and you know it ..." At Homestar there are three of us around the same age and we clap for each other to encourage our explorations. And I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I am good at waving now too (hello or goodbye).

We had a few fun trips this month: one to the Tetons in Wyoming (where we hiked a little in Teton National Park, went to a wedding celebration, and took a tram up to the tippy top of a mountain) and one a little closer to home on the Georgetown train (it was a beautiful day up there!).

For my first birthday party, we had a whole bunch of family and friends at the park. Anna Kavi and I celebrated our birthdays together. I did pretty well going to different people, though I must admit I was a little overwhelmed when everyone was singing happy birthday!

My one-year stats were as follows: 19 lbs (~15%) weight and 29" (~20%) height.

Thank you God for laughter, grandparents, nice clothes, friends, and ice cream.

11 months: Cruising, Homestar, and teeth

I like to get around. This month, that meant cruising all over the place, holding onto furniture if it was the right height. I also like to shake my little house (see the colorful playhouse in the photo below) - I stand next to it and shake shake shake it! I can even stand alone for a few seconds, though I prefer holding onto something.

The biggest news this month was that I started at a new daycare place called Homestar. It took me probably three weeks to get used to it and the new people, but now I love it. Particularly checking out the mirrors, playing in the sandbox outside (see the pic below), and testing new boundaries (such as how to crawl out of a sandbox and not land on your face). Amma also really likes that she can walk now to drop off both Anna Kavi and me (and then go for a walk in the hills).

My two upper middle teeth came in, so I have four now in total! This makes it easier to eat things, though I still get a lot of my calories from Amma.

You might notice that my hair is getting longer and longer. Now we put it back in a clip every day. In October our whole family is going to India (my first international trip!) and then I will get it shaved near the end of the month. I expect it will be a lot cooler.
 
This month Amma and Appa and Anna introduced me to camping with my first (and second) camping trips. The first trip was with a bunch of other families in Rocky Mountain National Park and the second was with just one other family in Rainbow Lakes. I liked crawling around in the tent and the sunsets were beautiful.

I also had a fun visit with Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa played with Anna and me in the stream near his house and we all raced boats!

Thank you God for sand, teeth, brothers, and laughing.