Ah! the Belly Button

Pardon me for this post, since I am not sure if this might sound a little bit weird, specially the part where I get more detailed and visual, but I found this so amusing that I had to share it with all you ladies (and men if any).

So baba (daddy) is out again on a business trip to a much warmer place and Gauri and I stuck home in this chilly-grey-no-sun day of New England winter. Of course, Gauri is so mobile now that its IMPOSSIBLE to keep that kid indoors. She needs to move move move and I have to find new things we can do indoors to keep her entertained. So after reading all the books, watching some Tom and Jerry, I played some music on and kid started dancing. Gauri is a dancer, she always has been, since almost when she was about 8 months old. She loves music (almost every kind and to some she simply likes to clap and others she just 'bangs her head' and I – I get dizzy banging mine!

She doesn’t care much for anything on TV but if you turn on the radio or the iPOD anytime, even just as she wakes up in the morning, that little monkey immediately drops everything and starts dancing. Yes, dancing.
Well anyway, so what happened is while we both were dancing I did that funky move and bent backwards on my back and she saw my belly button (a couple of days ago). Since then every now and then she just wants to see my belly button. She laughs and giggles as soon as she get a peak at the BB – not sure why is it so funny, but it seems to entertain her immensely. Every so often she will remember it and come running to me, lifting my shirt up and getting a kick out of tickling me there.

So last light during her bath time, she suddenly discovered her belly button, and boy – how happy she was….her eyes were light by a weird shine and she was poking in it, putting lotion and everything possible in it – even trying to stick a Cheerio in it – yeap Cheerio. She was so happy she was getting hysterical. She wouldn’t stop playing with it, I had to almost hide it with her diaper and make her believe that its gone. But came morning she found it again and now she often lifts her shirt (and mine too) and points at it and laughs. Funny how that tiny little belly button caught her attention and amused her so much.

Apparently it looks like even fruits and vegetables have belly buttons LOL!!

Welcome 2008

Happy New Year to all family and friends!!

No New years resolution this time, just stick to the one’s from last year (Sure you know why)!!

Just wanted to share the facts about the crystal ball that drops in Times Square. It’s the 100th anniversary of the ball drop and yes I have witnessed it one myself. Its madness I tell you to stand in queue to save the right spot for yourself, almost7 – 8 hours in advance not to mention in freezing temperatures. But well it has its own thrill and when you are there, the excitement is so high that you forget everything else.
So anyways, the crystal ball is light up on New Year’s Eve, and one minute before midnight the countdown starts, the ball begins its 77 foot descent down a poll on top of One Times Square, flashing all sorts of bright colors.

The concept is based on a time ball, an instrument used by sailors to set their chronometers, as accurate time keeping was essential for sailors so they could determine their longitude while at sea. The balls were typically dropped at 1 PM, and the time re-set was done upon the drop, not when it reached the bottom

Here’s some general info I found on the New Year’s ball, which debuted in 1907 I believe. The Ball gets an overhaul for the new millennium celebrations with a design from Waterford Crystal. It weighs 1070 pounds (485 kg), measures six feet (1.8 m) in diameter and installed with 504 crystal triangles, illuminated externally with 168 halogen light bulbs and internally with 432 light bulbs of clear, red, blue, green and yellow colors. There are strobe lights and mirrors to create bursts of excitement and special effects for the audience.

This year the ball was lit by LED lights provided by Philips instead of halogen bulbs for energy saving purpose.

Where have we been??

If some of you have been wondering why there has been no activity on the blog - it was because we were in India for past 4 weeks. We have just been back to States on Saturday, but still not fully functional. Manish is down with fever and I have runny rose and body ache. Gauri is also struggling with the jet lag, just like us. Most of our bags have been unpacked yesterday, but still lots to sort and arrange. I should be done cleaning most of our closets and emptying most of the bags by this evening - ofcourse if I have the energy during the day. I do plan to post new things from our India trip very soon.

Although I had planned to update the blog while in India, but at first there was no Internet access at home , then when we finally did get high-speed Internet, I had NO time what-so-ever to do anything leisurely.

The trip started with Gauri falling severely sick on the flight. She seemed somewhat OK till Italy but on our flight from Italy to India her fever shot up to a 104 degree and would’t go down despite regular Tylenol and cold compresses. Poor thing was truly miserable and uneasy and cried all through the flight. We took turns to hold her and walk on the plane to give her some comfort from those suffocating tiny spaces on the flight but nothing helped. My heart was breaking but we had no choice but to wait 9 hours before we land.

First 8 days In India w, Gauri was constantly sick, high fever, bad cough and runny nose. She would simply cry cry cry, not want to get down and always wanted to be held and slept all day all night…..no activity at all. It was hard to believe that such an active kid like her could act this way. But I cant blame her, the fever wasn’t getting better despite heavy dose of fever reducers and antibiotics and the cough that would make you deaf. Finally my Grandfather suggested we try Homeopathic treatment for her. I was ready to anything, to help my little pumpkin so we started Homeopathic treatment and sure, she felt better right away. Although, the modern pharmaceutical sciences do not believe in Homeopathy for various controversial reasons, but I now have firm belief in that treatment, it sure did show miracles on my sick kid.

Gauri got better a few days later, but she has some weight loss and she did not eat even a grain of food the first 1 week in India. She would get sick now and then, with lose motions etc, but other than that she was a happy little person so energetic and so active that it would take her only a few sec to disappear in front of our eyes and engage in some mischief. She was darling of her entire family both Nanu’s side as well as Dadu’s and she made sure she check out everything in the house and rearrange everything in her own way and keep the grand parents on their toes J

More updates from our trip, to follow soon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR all of you.
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