First visit to a Hair Salon

After Gauri’s Mundan (Hindu tradition of shaving baby’s head) last week of March, we let her hair grow all this while. I was quire hopeful that I will be able to tie pigtails on my sweet pea but I guess I was wrong. Though she had enough hair to pull them into pigtails, but our little monkey did not want to stay at one place for anything. Ofcourse ,she is a very busy girl (as they saw at her daycare) and to stand still for 30 seconds, for mum to tie her hair in a band – NO – NO…too much. I was so excited that I have a HUGE collection of hair accessories for her, which ofcourse I have hardly been able put those in her hair partly because she is so mobile and partly because she loves to take them out and put them in her mouth. So finally, I decided to get her a decent hair trim if not a real hair cut - her hair was growing ‘Wild’.

Well anyway, after several unsuccessful attempts and various appointment cancellations and visits to different hair salons, I finally found one that was especially for ‘kids’. Sure, as her dad says, I am a “perfectionist”, thought, I don’t quite agree with him because all I want is to do things “right”, though I agree that sometimes it takes way too much time for me to just “do-things-right” but there was no compromise with Gauri’s hair-cut. After-all she has (atleast that’s what I think and a lot of people who see her tell me) the most beautiful hair for a one year old and I didn’t want anyone to mess it up specially when she is just 10 days from going to India first time. This salon had excellent reviews on internet and I had myself interviewed the hair dresser who was going to cut Gauri’s hair. I know that sounds funny but I needed the assurance that they understood that she is 1 year old, can’t stay in one place for more than a minute and how I wanted her hair.

We reached the salon 15 mins late and just as we entered they did give me “the look” and made me realize I was late for my ‘Appointment’ - can you believe it – baby needs hair appointment – Gosh! What are we talking about – no spontaneity, we are talking about a baby here. Well the place was somewhat special I must say - very cute and especially for kids and the people were trained to handle kids and I did like the overall experience. Sure the prices were comparable to adult hair cuts if not more! It did cost much more for Gauri to have a hair cut than her dad…..hahahaha…. I truly find that amusing. Anyway, Gauri I was so well behaved and stood still the entire time, here eyes were glues to the Mirror where she watches the girl do stuff with her hair. Sure, she loves it when you gently strove her hair (just like her dad) and loves to watch herself in the mirror. So she had a nice easy hair cut and even gave a BIG smile for a picture with the hair dresser. I think she looks cute with this new hair cut. I love it.

To Gauri - from Daddy (special post - Daddy first Post)

Happy Diwali my Love. This is your first diwali today with us and I am so happy and fortunate to celebrate it with you and your mommy. You have brought a huge change in our life, attitude and priorities, almost as if dust is cleared and we can see things clearly as to what matters in life. I think about the last 1 year of our life, your first birthday and exciting journey of planning your birthday party.
Your mommy started planning for your birthday more than 3 months ago, because we wanted to celebrate you coming into our lives with friends and family together, who have been incredibly excited about you. I know that we are lucky to have you in our life but in some sense I also believe that you are also very lucky to receive so much love from each and every person in our family and friends. Whenever you are with them, they talk about you, when they hold you, the love is oozing from their eyes, words and kisses.
We deliberated on the theme of the birthday for quite long. There was Elmo, Dora, princess Pooh etc. but we wanted to remember this year in a way that relates to you. We realized that "Strawberry" is your favorite food this year and it always give us immense pleasure to see you eat those. So what better theme than strawberry? This is how we came up with your Birthday theme.

Your Mommy created an invitation card with great love, and sent it to our friends and family. I am not sure how to thank all the people for the incredible effort of coming to the party despite not so favorable weather, and specially those who dove over 150 miles just for your birthday and others who flew 1500 miles for 2 days to be with you on this milestone.

I think the highlight of the party was the cake, if you can take one good thing from your mom then it should be persistence. She wanted a cake in a strawberry shape and that to something you can eat given that you cannot eat dairy or eggs. Long story short, after going to 5 bakers, tasting several toppings, creams, fillings etc, she finalized a vegan Strawberry flavored cake with strawberry Mousse from a custom baker. I must say that this is something that makes your mommy the incredible women she is.

Day before your birthday was really special as your mummy and I remembered this time last year, from the doctors visit, to Chinese food and how she was going through the labor and I was preparing the music to play in the delivery room from various CD to the i-pod from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM at home before going to the hospital. How thrilled she was when she saw you for the first time and gave wonderful compliments to Dr. Simpson and the nurses Lestra and Alice on your arrival.

Day of the party started with calls from Nanu, Dadu, Bua, Mausi, Chacha and others calling to give you blessings and with Anubhav and Arvind, Abhinav mama (uncle) running around to prepare for decorating the place on the beach and getting other things ready. But the lord of rains and winds also wanted to celebrate your birthday just like janmastami and they came down with full force but it did not stop Harry chacha, Vipin Tauji, Supriya Mausi, Aarti Mausi and parents of your little friends to drive from New Jersey, Hartford and Boston etc to come and give you blessings.
You ran around in the party, danced with aunt Chantal, played with Shealyn, Brooke, Aryan, Tommy, Ethan and all the other kids and were happy the whole evening; you even clapped after cutting your own cake. Party ended with me making paan for the guests which Barry almost thought was a prank.

Day after the party was equally fun when you opened the gifts, I am almost certain that you enjoyed tearing the wrappers more than the gift and the best gift of all was the box of the telephone that you even took to bed with you that night.

This day makes me happy and sad, happy to see you grow and do new things but sad that you have grown 1 year in a blink. I do not know how can I hold on to all the memories that you have given us. Details of your smiles, cute little gestures, saying baba, papa, mum-mum and all the other things you do. Please don’t grow that fast, make the days longer, give us more time to savor each moment and better memory to hold on to all the things and bigger heart to keep all the love you have given us.

I love you my love.... yours baba (daddy)

You are 1 already!! Happy 1st Birthday

At 12:11 PM on Nov 3rd 2007, honey, you turned 1!!

Congratulations on completing one year of milestones and developmental achievements. Happy 1st Birthday my sweet-pea. You have filled our lives with immense happiness and new surprises. You bring sunshine to a cloudy day, your beautiful memories keep us warm on a cold winter day and your smile gives a cool sensation to a hot summer day. Honey you definitely complete us and though its your Birthday – we feel like we have been blessed with the most precious present!! Love and lots and lots of love for you always.

Baby we celebrate your first birthday,

with one candle on your cake;

we the proud parents stare in wonder

At each new move you make.
Friends and family join in celebration,

As this special date arrives,

For baby your have brought pleasureInto all our lives.

We look forward now to seeing

How you become and toddler and grow,

From the cute and tiny infant that you were one year ago.
So dig into your strawberry cake icing;

and enjoy your presents, too.

The reason for this day is a special person -you!

Baby Steps

Last one year has been the most amazing years of our lives (me and my husband). Watching Gauri do new things every day, has been the most satisfying and most precious part of our life for last 11 months. But when it comes to milestone, her first steps can’t be beaten. She has been standing unsupported for almost a month and a half now and cruising around like nobody’s business. Her new found mobility has not only amazed us but has also kept us on our toes. She is always on the go, one second she is there and the very next second, gone….

One day she started standing against the couch, then came cruising holding furniture etc. — and last Saturday (Oct. 6th) she woke up, and as I put her down on the floor, she came tottering back into our waiting arms. We had been encouraging her to come to us walking instead of crawling for a while now, but that morning she just surprised us and then there was no stopping, she kept running doing her penguin walk back and forth between ‘mumum’ and ‘dad-dad’. Looking at her running around brought tears to my eyes, thinking, off she goes running and leaving babyhood behind. After all, her first baby steps is the first major move toward independence!

Welcome to my arms baby! You know, now, you can always run into my arms whenever you wanna feel warm, and I promise I will always be waiting for you with open arms.

Making all sorts of sounds

One Sunny Afternoon

Gauri is now a 10 month old and loves the outdoors. One sunny afternoon we took her out for a walk and the beautiful breeze started blowing her silky tresses away from her face and eyes. And as the sun rays kissed her cheeks, my little darling looked like a sweet little angel and I could stop myself from capturing some of those cute looks.

Moments like these take my breath away and I begin to wonder -
is there anything more fulfilling than this, more special than being
a mom to a special little person more fortunate than being blessed
with this adorable little angel in our lives.

We love you Gauri, and thanks for filling our life with immense happiness
and the bliss we couln't have experienced if it weren't for you!

Let's shake it

What a performer you are my little Gauri…. Of all the toys that we get for you, you chose to have most fun with (or should I say inside) a cardboard box.
Your favorite toys aren’t any of those LeapFrog learning toys, or the rattles or those stuffed animals instead you find most fun with pots and pans and spoons and spatulas and the Tupperware!!
Here’s a sample of what you do these days…

Gauri's Latest Adveture

Look what Gauri is upto these days. The new found mobility for Gauri has been a lot of fun for her and definitely a lot of close watch for "mum-mum"(her version of Mom)

My little mermaid

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Being a Mom means:

No more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations.
That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt your heart.
That the pictures of starving children will make you cry in a room full of people.
That the local news of abducted/ missing child or a gun-fire in the loacl school was never so important to you.
That your manicured nails and sophistication will be reduced to - you being a primitive animal protecting your cub.
That a sudden cry from your baby will cause you to drop your most expensive crystal without a moment's hesitation That while going into an important business meeting you will think of your baby's sweet smell and will have to use every ounce of self-discipline to keep from running home.
That however smart you may be at the office, you will second-guess yourself constantly as a mother.
That you will not think of accomplishing your own dreams, but watch your child accomplish hers.
That caesarian scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.
That the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave you with an emotional wound so raw that you will forever be vulnerable.
That your relationship with your husband will change forever and you will suddenly love him for reasons you would have found so unromantic.
That you would admire your husband not for being strong but for being so gentle with your baby, for never hesitating to play with his child.
That you will fall in the exhilaration of seeing your child say the first words, the first laugh, the first touch of her bare skin.

That the joy of motherhood is so real, it actually hurts and the decision you'll never regret.

Here’s something I want you to know mom:
“There isn’t a day of my life that you are not special to me mom. After being a mom myself I have much more appreciation for what you did for me and I would be happy if I could be half as good a mother as you were to me. I am, who I am today, all because of mother like you. Love you mom dearly!”

Bald and Beautiful

I am very late in posting this one, Gauri has already grown a lot of hair by now, but I think its still worth sharing, how cute she looked with 'No' Hair.
On March 25, 2007, we shaved Gauri's head, which is called 'Mundan' in Indian cultures. I know it sounds so sad to shave baby's head and ofcourse I had shead tons of tears just before doing this to her; I tried every possible reasoning to avoid it, but then once done, I kinda liked her new 'baldy-baby' look - Truely BALD AND BEAUTIFUL. I hope when she grows up she also feels the same way - that she still looked absolutely adorable without any hair.

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I am happy if she is happy

Although it breaks my heart to send my little sweet-pea to a day care and I must have shed tons of tears the first week I left her at the day care but finally I can see she like it.
Thank goodness she doesn't cry much at all; but she is almost confused to see other babies cry at times. I wonder what goes on in her little head??

She is only 5 months but she is already trying to sit up and mind you all by herself! She hates the bouncy seat, thinks its so dumb to lie in it. She loves the exersaucers and the jumperoo and they say at the day care - "she is very independent, even holds her own bottle"- Little miss independent.

Every time I hear she didn't feed well - I get tears; I call to check on her and hear her fussing in the background - tears again; every time I pick her up and I if I see tear marks around her eyes - feel sad again. But now after a few weeks of going to the day care, it seems like she is doing well there. She smiles at the babies when I take her in every morning, I have even caught her laughing in the evening at her pick-up time. And this morning I watched her share a toy with an older baby while they were sitting on a play mat of course supported by a pillow.
I am happy to see her happy - I'll miss her like every other day, but in my heart, I know, she is playing and she is happy.
A small photo story of a typical morning at the day care:

We love little Bunniezz

I love Easter, specially, because it falls around that time of the year, when we all are ready for the change – Change from cold and grey winter to warmer and colorful spring. Smell of new leaves, the flowers and sunny days just makes you wanna get up in the morning and open your window and talk a deep breath and smile because warm days are just around the corner. And then in this beautiful weather, watching little babies dress up in pink and other bunny outfits – awesome.

But I have always wondered about the significance of the eggs and the bunnies on Easter. This is what I found:
The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg. Eggs are a symbol of the new life that returns to nature at Easter Time. The custom of exchanging eggs came from Egyptians and the Persians. They exchanged eggs decorated in Spring colors, believing that Earth hatched from an egg which contributed to this custom.
Easter Bunny's visit is based upon a German Legend. The legend goes that a poor woman decorated eggs for her children to find during a famine. At the moment they found them, they looked up to see a big bunny hopping away. There still might be some other tales related to this, but I found this was quite interesting.

So here’s little Gauri with her bunny ears on :o) Happy easter to you all.

LOL - Laugh Out Loud

This past saturday (Feb 24 of 07) we all were in the kitchen, everyone was busy with their own things, I was sweeping the kitchen floor (regular Saturday morning ritual). So yes, while I was busy with my work, I heard a loud laugh, and if everyone was in the Kitchen, then who was laughing in the living room ?? Yeap – that was Gauri’s first real laugh as she was watching baby Einstein. I ran to catch her laughing, she looked at me and laughed again. It was funny and so darn cute. I immediately picked up my camera and captured that amazing laugh with my camera. And as she laughed her eyes almost closed, it was so funny to watch her laugh like that, it was one of the purest forms of happiness, so rewarding! And once I knew she could laugh I tickled her, danced around - making funny faces to get just “one-more” laugh but she didn’t seem to do it again.

She just looked at me in amazement as if thinking - "what's wrong with you mom - why are you making all these weird sounds and standing on your head", until I made a funny fake-laugh myself and there – she laughed again.

My God - that was the most precious moment - and once again I told to myself – It's worth all the morning sickness, back aches, baby weight, stretch-marks, sleepless nights and many more troubles that come bundled with motherhood!
To all the moms out there – NEVER forget to pat yourself for the great job you are doing and if (?) it ever gets tough – look into your little one’s eyes and I can assure you - you’ll feel a special smile JUST FOR YOU.

I love you Gauri!

Oops I cut her hair REAL real short

Monday evening, before her bed-time-bath, we decided to trim Gauri's hair so they don't cover her eyes anymore. Now, I have to admit that I am VERY attached to her soft black tresses; so it was hard for me to even agree on giving her wildly-growing-hair a trim. But I thought its better for her; at least her vision won't be obstructed by her hair. So, just after her massage, with Gauri in Mani's arms, very carefully, making sure not to even accidentally hurt her with those sharp tools (scissors) I made a first cut on her front bangs - only to realise I took way too much length off :o(

Then I had to even out all hair that fall on her face to same length and you should have seenat my face when I saw how much hair I took off from my baby's head.... my face completely flushed and I was almost..... OK we wont go there..... only thing I can say is - I was very emotional. Can't believe how attached I have gotten to this little "sweatpea".
Here's how she looks with short-short hair.

Gauri Learns to make different sounds

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The Daffodils

After another long hectic work day, when I returned home this evening, exhausted and tired, little did I know that one look at my little munchkin this evening is going to put a big smile on my face and compel me to take out my camera immediately.
And as I was downloading these pictures I was reminded of that famous poem by Williams Wordsworth - "The Daffodils". Look at these pictures and you'll know why.

THE POEM

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never - ending line Along the margin of a bay;Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. I gazed - and gazed - but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought;

For often when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

I have always liked the poem so much and ofcourse the daffodils too, but I love my little Daffodil the most.

Just experimenting

Baby Gauri Pictures

Baby Gauri

Baby Shower pictures

Baby Shower pictures