20 months: Sand box!, family visitors, and Goodnight Moon

Amma made Anna and me a sandbox in the backyard (from what used to be the pond)! It is really cool. I love digging in it and playing with dump trucks and dumping sand. (And there is a lot to dig in - 1,100 lbs worth of sand.) Sometimes I even want to go play in it in the morning before school.

While getting out the door in the morning can sometimes be challenging, I really like my morning walks with Amma and Anna. Sometimes Anna is on his bike so we have to go quickly to catch up. We walk by mamma bear and baby bears and the two owls (hoo hoo) that are carved in the tree. We walk through the park and under the tree tunnel. While Amma drops off Anna, I get to play with the toy kitchen. Then we make our way to Homestar and Amma narrates our walk. Once there I usually get breakfast right away (unless we are early, in which case I play). And then I enjoy playing with snow, mud, singing songs, and dancing in the circle.

Appa's cousins visited from India and we had a grand time. We had a snowball fight at Bear Lake (on the lake) in Rocky Mountain National Park. We hiked to Bluebell shelter at Chautauqua and got to eat oranges. We went to the zoo and saw snakes and giraffes and got to sit in a rickshaw.

My bedtime routine now includes the classic book Goodnight Moon. I just love it. Especially the colored pages. And the socks (I touch my feet) and mittens (I wiggle my hands). And the toyhouse!   

My vocabulary continues to expand. Some of my new words this month include airplane! (I'll point them out whenever I hear one in the sky), cheese, house (inspired by Goodnight Moon), boat, shoes. I even uttered my first full sentence - I want more (you can hear it if you are familiar with me). And I am saying more sounds too - like ggroooaaar for bear.

The month also included a good Easter celebrating Christ with Jay, Saori, the boys, and grandpa. We celebrated Amma's birthday at the beginning of the month (including chocolate cake for breakfast, yum!) And I got to play in a bunch of cars at the auto show with grandpa.

Thank you God for books, sand, and family.

19 months: Rocks, socks, and pineapple

I like to play with rocks. Especially near streams (occasionally I walk right in the water). And I like to get dirty. Another place that is cool to dig is the at the museum of nature and science's discovery zone, where you can find dinosaur bones underneath their fake sand.

Some of my new words this month were rock, socks, and car. I like socks a bunch, and occasionally try to put them on, or put them away after Amma has done the laundry. I like to hold them when getting my diaper changed in the morning too.

Amma took a trip to California in the middle of the month, so Anna and Appa and I hung out. We even watched the Superbowl (go Broncos!).

My growth expanded as I settled into the new routines of the Toddler Room. Like sitting down and singing before food, washing my hands when I get called, playing outside a lot in the bigger playground, painting, playing with mud, hearing more stories, and generally exploring a bunch. We even occasionally walk all the way to the playground and back.

I found out that I like pineapple. Grandpa gave me some when we were visiting grandma, and it was tasty! This month also included hiking in Boulder, an IMAX movie about airplanes, and snowshoeing up near St. Mary's glacier with uncle Chris.

Thank you God for streams, routines, and backpacks.

18 months: Toddler room, carousels, and shoes

Big news on the daycare front. I moved up to the Toddler Room at school this past month! I transitioned about mid-month. Lots of things are different there. We take naps on mats instead of in cribs. We eat at a table instead of in a highchair. We have a bigger playground. We have more and older kids (~1.5-~2.5 years old). And I have new teachers. It is great fun.

Some of my words this month include Appa, Amma, and Anna. And coat. If it is time to go, I will bring shoes (for me or Anna or Amma). And sometimes I will bring the coat too.

After a snowy hike in the mountains, Amma took us to the carousel in Nederland and I got to ride on a rabbit! It was fun. For some reason, Anna doesn't like to ride up and down, but I do.

Occasionally I go pee on the little potty, learning from Anna. Nothing regular yet, but I am learning more.

At 18 months old, I weigh 22.5 lbs (~25%) and am 31.5" tall (~20%), following right along the normal growth curve.

Thank you God for carousels, big boxes, and comfortable shoes.

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.