Happy Second Birthday, Nye-Nye!

Our Daffodil Queen,

From the moment you were born, two years ago, today, you demonstrated to us your fierceness and your tremendous strength of will. You are no one's Princess...you are a Queen (or maybe an Empress). It has been a privilege to sit back and watch your personality develop all of it's beautiful intricacies. Here is a partial list...

You have Dadi's uncanny memory and attention to detail.

You have Dada's love of ice-cream, background noise and technology.

You have Ra-Ra's talent of telling a long story with lots and lots of details.

You have Ra-Ra's appreciation of a fine piece of chocolate.

You have Papa's deep love of felines and tractors.

You have Aunt Mimi's intense fascination with pens.

You have Daddy's long, long legs and his long, long eye-lashes.

You have Mommy's mischievous grin and her long, long toes.

You have your Daddy's Patience and your Mommy's ability to cry at the drop of a hat.

You have your Mommy and Daddy's dancing ability, as well as our Adventurous taste-buds.

You have Mommy's Imagination and Curiosity.

You have your Ba's Spiritual Nature and your Great-Grandma Caroline's Compassion.

All of this in one small, amazing bundle of energy. We are so very, very lucky.

Your favorite phrase right now is, "I got it. I got it." This can refer to the phone ringing at Ra-Ra and Papa's house or to something that fell to the floor. A few weeks ago, Mommy was in the bathroom when she heard something crash in your bedroom. She was pretty sure she knew what it was, but she came in your room and asked if you needed any help. You put your hand up as though to stop her and said, "Bracelet fell. I got it, Mommy. I got it." Yes, Ma'am.

Another phrase heard frequently at our house is "Me, help. Me, help." If anyone even looks like they are about to cook in the kitchen, you quickly drag a chair into the room and offer your services. You LOVE helping.

You and Daddy have been spending lots of time throwing and catching balls together. You seem to prefer throwing the football and this makes Daddy particularly pleased.

Every time you make up a song and sing it loudly to us, Mommy thinks of your Aunt Mimi. She remembers Mimi doing the same thing when she was very young. You love to sing about cats, cows, tractor and Curious George.

You love mimicking other people's body positions. If someone is gesturing loudly, you do the same thing. Today, we celebrated your Birthday by going to a Lebanese Restaurant. You were fascinated by the man who sat at the table next to ours. And spent most of the meal mimicking his motions and trying to get your still slightly bowed legs to fold the way his did.

You have really gotten into using white glue and stickers. Sometimes you purposefully pour on a ton of glue onto your hands, just so you can pick off each tiny piece. Now, that takes some focus!

You continue to be excited about the arrival of your Sissy. And, now you frequently like to "pound it" to Mommy's belly after Mommy said your Sissy was trying to give you a High-Five. Mommy giggles every time.

Your favorite book is about making good choices and getting along with other people. When Aunt Mimi gave you the book, Mommy had to read it 8 times in a row. Now, Mommy only has to read it 4-6 times a day. You enjoy analyzing everyone's emotions in the book. We are happy how you are making so many good choices about using gentle hands with others. We can't wait to see you hold your Sissy for the 1st time.

Thank you for being You. Happy Birthday, Our Darling, Darling Girl. It's a glorious, glorious thing being your parents. We are very, very Blessed.


Know you are very, very loved.
Mommy and Daddy

Avocado. Word of the Week.

Word of the Week. Avocado. (More like cav-co...). Dirt, dead (as in the battery is dead), up please, egg, car keys, needle, all done, all gone, undies, scar, plum, spoon, phone, broom, yellow, forehead, eye-brow, chin

Mannerism. Covering face when she knows she has "made a bad choice" (i.e. hitting, kicking, etc...)

Skill. Putting on her velcro Mary Janes all by herself and getting her undies on one leg (getting them on both legs is still too difficult)

Favorite material. Animal cards. I have been putting out on her shelf about 7-8 Animal Kingdom Goosie Cards at a time. She has been having a blast identifying the different animals and watching video clips of each animal to hear the actual sound each one makes.

A few weeks ago, I offered my daughter a piece of chicken. She immediately made a chicken sound and ran to find the chicken card. The smile on her face when she brought the card to me was blinding. I was stunned. I hadn't even been thinking about her animal cards.

Watching this little person start to make all these connections is totally awe-inspiring. It's those moments that help me forget the tantrums and the sleeplessness, the constant interruptions and the long, long days.

Turtle. Word of the Week.

Eastern Box Turtle in Florida (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Word of the Week. Turtle. We were at the Meadowlark Gardens Visitors' Center observing their resident turtle and snake, when Little Miss popped out with the world "turtle." Time to get some turtle books.

Mannerism. When she or someone around her farts, she gasps and covers her mouth. She giggles. Sometimes she covers her nose and then says "stinky." I admit, it's kinda cute.

Skill. Pulling one of the large kitchen chairs to counter to watch Mama or Daddy cook. Sometimes she pulls it to the front door to practice attempting to open the door with the keys. She used to ask "up" and I would hold her while she tried to put the key in the key-hole. Now that she's over 26 lbs, that's not happening anymore.

Our kitchen is too tiny to use a Learning Tower. Although, we should look into making of these.

Material. Buckle on her toy stroller. She tries so very hard to do the buckle (or any buckle for that matter) and gets very frustrated. Sometimes she can do it but then can't undo it. Many tears, so all buckles have been put away. I just bought a Velcro Dressing Frame and a Large Button Frame, thinking that she may be ready for them. Can't wait until they arrive and I can present them to her!

Go. Word of the Week.

Word of the Week: Yesterday morning, my daughter opened her eyes, sat up and loudly said "go." All day this child is "go, go, going." So, it's prefect that this is one of her first verbs.

Other new words this week: cheese, meow, open, sorry, olives, excuse me, card, thank-you, pen, elbow, knees, help, night-night, toes, broom and ouch.

Skill of the Week: Kicking a ball. She has been doing this for a while now but it's really caught on since she has become obsessed with the book

Mannerism of the Week: What we can refer to as the "Scaredy Cat Shake." When Aunt Mimi's cat, Bella, hissed at my kiddo, my Dramatic One did this little shaky dance. Arms stretched out completely straight, lips pursed, eyes bugged out...she shook her entire top of her body. Now, whenever we ask her what happens when a cat hisses at her, she repeats the "Scaredy Cat Shake." It may be my favorite mannerism yet. Here she is in the middle of it...

Favorite Material/Toy/Activity of the Week: The old-school doll my Mama bought her for 25 cents. It has very realistic fingers and toes and eyes that fascinate my daughter.

More Charm City Photos

I am really enjoying this age. My daughter is able to communicate most of her thoughts to me and she is finally playing a bit more independently.

I love silently observing her creative play (at this moment she has transformed a book box into a doll bed and is filling and emptying it with scarves all the while talking to her "babies"). It's truly amazing to watch a child's creativity blossom.

Reading books together has also gotten so much more fun. She loves to point out and say various objects on the page...which definitely makes it more interesting for me. Current favorites include: car, ball, book, potty, baby, bird, duckie, hat and "hoooo" (when pointing to a picture of an owl).

Of course, it's not ALL babies, books and smiles. Especially, if there is a camera or phone involved that she wants to hold.

I adore the way toddlers help around the house. Grocery unpacking, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, laundry, sweeping, washing vegetables. They may not do things perfectly, but you can't beat their enthusiasm, can you? (If you need help sorting out your expired salad dressing bottles...just let me know. My daughter's an expert).

Language Explosion

All that babbling has paid off. The kiddo has been babbling hard-core for the last two weeks or so. Now, at 15 1/2 months, she is repeating new words left and right. It's pretty awe-inspiring to witness how language develops.

We have been describing and identifying everything to her in her environment since birth. But, now we can actually understand so many more words than her old stand-bys.

Yesterday, we were sitting on her bed when she gasped and pointed to her ear. "Car." I laughed and said, "yes, that was a very loud car." An hour later, she saw a photo of a car on my computer and excitedly said "car" again. Later in the afternoon, we were looking at a new book together and with no prompting, she pointed at the drawing and said "car." It's fun seeing her making those connections.

She surprised me with some other words yesterday (all new)....thank you, house, teddy, Oh...my God, down, open, help, dog, duck, wet, woof and whoa.

Unfortunately, our camera has been broken for the last 6 weeks or so. And, I don't have a fancy phone...so I haven't been able to capture any of the chattering on video. Hopefully, one of the Grand-parents will be able to film a few special moments this weekend.

Moo. Word of the Week.

My Daughter's Word of the Week (from Last Week). The previous week's cam be found here.

Word of the Week: Moo. Man, this kid LOVES cows. She's pretty lucky that we have been spending lots of time on Ra-ra and Grandpa's farm (where she gets to see cows up close and personal). She's been saying Moo for awhile...but this week it has become incredibly recognizable and passionate.

Skill of the Week: Drawing. She's really gotten into holding a pen and drawing in my journal (even though she has plenty of her own paper).

Mannerism of the Week: Fish-lips (pursing her lips when she is determined or annoyed or about to pout). NOT the cutest or most endearing mannerism ever.

Favorite Material/Toy/Activity of the Week: Hats. She is obsessed with hats. I put a basket of hats in front of her eye-level mirror. She adores trying on different hats and admiring herself in the mirror. In her favorite book, the main character loses her hat temporarily when it blows away. I can't tell you how deeply this page disturbs my daughter. "Uh-oh" she says sadly as she points out the hat floating along in the wind.

Happy Belated 14 Months!

Dearest Daughter,

Mommy has been a slacker. I never got around to writing you a letter when you turned 14 Months Old. I started this post a few weeks ago...but never finished it. Yesterday, you turned 15 Months...so before I write your 15 Month Letter, here's this one.

This Month has been lots of fun. Instead of writing you a long letter, I thought I'd just share with you your Current Top Ten Favorite Things to Do.


1. Doing Jay-Jay (Dadi showed you how to bow and pray to Ganesh and the Other Gods. You love to give Buddha and Ganesh lots of hugs and kisses each day. Videos coming...)


2. Opening and closing Ra-Ra's front door.

3. Feeding the Cats.

4. Identifying the Cats (Hi. Kitty...Pepe...Dainty).

5. Saying hello to the Cows.

6. Identifying your belly-button, nose, ears, mouth and eyes.

7. Helping fill up the Birdhouse with Birdseed.

8. Playing in the Sandbox.

9. Running around naked on the Farm, squealing with delight at being sprayed with the hose and getting in and out of the baby pool.

10. Taking care of your various doll babies and bears by hugging them, giving them sips of water and food, putting them to bed and pushing them around in an ancient baby carriage.



As you can see you've been a very busy Girl this Month. It's been such an incredible experience watching you interact with the world around you. Can't wait to see what comes next! We love you so, very, very much.

Tons of Kisses and Hugs,
Mommy

Up. Word of the Week.

I've been really slacking in writing down things in my daughter's Baby Book since she turned one. So, I'm going to attempt to record things here in a very simple format.

  

Word of the Week: Up (she knows what it means but sometimes asks me to "up" something because she hasn't learned the word "open" yet).

Skill of the Week: Successfully using her toilet 4-8 times daily (this means I am spending A LOT of time in our bathroom, reading her favorite books she has been requesting...I didn't foresee how much of the day would be spent hanging out next the toilet).

Mannerism of the Week: Gasping and pointing to her ear when she hears something loud like an airplane or our landlord walking around upstairs.

Favorite Material/Toy/Activity of the Week: Russian Nesting Dolls (I just have to keep the really tiny ones from her since she loves to purposefully put them in her mouth to get a reaction from me).


Bam. That wasn't too hard. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up.

The Month of Joy...My Dancing Queen

This video was taken about 4 weeks ago, when we were helping my Sissy do a major overhaul in her back-yard. It makes me laugh every time I see it. My Sissy may be right...

Ummm...I swear my daughter is 13 months old here, not 23 years old. I think we can safely say she has inherited a love of dancing from both her parents.

20 Minutes Feeling Like 20 Hours

This is what I was looking at all of Sunday. My daughter had her first serious fever and was not a happy camper. Thankfully, I was visiting my parents and had help (you know with Papa Bear being in Vegas and all).  I swear every 20 minutes felt like 20 hours.



I am feeling very blessed that my daughter's first year of life was so very healthy (besides her NICU stint during the first 16 days of her life). She had a handful of colds, vomited once, and had a congested night or two. Overall, she enjoyed some seriously good health. So, I'm not going to complain about yesterday.

Today, we took it easy and she is finally looking and sounding like herself. That's something to be joyful about right now!

Silly Papa Bear Makes Me Smile

This is what I walked into last night....

It made me grin all the way down to my toes. We are very different people, Papa Bear and I. But, there is no denying he loves his Baby Bear.

A Wild Grocery Shopping Spree

This clip doesn't exactly capture just how wildly my daughter was racing around her Grand-parent's house last week. But, you get the gist.

A Lovely First Birthday Party

We did it. Yesterday, we threw Lina's First Birthday Party for 80 of our closest family and friends. Today, we are recovering. (Although, honestly, it will probably take all week).

It was lovely. Everything came together at the last minute and it couldn't have been more right. And feeling all that Love in the room was pretty indescribable. So many people helped out and some many people made an effort to come celebrate this special milestone with our special Little Girl. I'm feeling pretty Lucky right now.

I'll tell you more about the party, soon. Right now, the Birthday Girl is napping and I think I'm going to go join her...

Playing Catch-Up....Happy 6 Month Birthday!

Yay....this is my last catch-up post for Lina's Book of Monthly Letters and Photos.

My Dearest Sunshine,

You are Six Months today! It’s been an Earth-Shattering Month….literally. You experienced your first Earthquake and your first Hurricane, all within four days of each other. Oh, yeah….and you started crawling on September 4^th. Watch out World….here you come!

You enjoy playing footsy with Ra-Ra’s cats, feeling your silky hair with your hands, standing ALL the time, sticking out your tongue, swinging on a park swing, opening the drawers in the bathroom, drinking from a metal cup, using your long toes to grab toys, blowing raspberries, pulling yourself up by holding onto Mommy’s pants and picking up Cheerios with your pincher grip.

You are not a fan of teething (you got your first tooth this month), clothes changes, super loud places and having your diaper changed.

Last week, we went for a walk in the rain, while you were in the Ergo. You grabbed the umbrella and helped me hold it. I smiled the entire way home. I can tell you are going to be a Big Help around the house.

Your first funny mannerism was quivering your lip in excitement. You haven’t done that in months and months. A few weeks ago, Ra-Ra and I took you outside to see the cows. You shivered, shook and quivered in joy. And, then, you danced a jig. It was an amazing sight!

Thanks for always making our life interesting and keeping us on our toes. We love our Little Explorer!

Know we love you from the soles of your head to the tippy-top of your head,

Mommy

Playing Catch-Up....Happy 5 Month Birthday!

I'm beat.

This weekend was Birthday Party Preparin' Time. (There is still SO much to do in the next week...I won't bore you with the details). But, it means the only writing that happened was finishing up Lina's Book of Monthly Letters and Photos. Here is her 5th Month Letter...

 

To Our Darling Daughter,

You will be 5 months old in 3 days! You are our roly-poly little chatter-box.

You can sit up now for 20 minutes straight. You can go from tummy to sitting up. You practice all day long getting on all fours, lifting your head and smiling straight ahead. You look so pleased with yourself and then your head drops and you smack your face in the bed.

You are obsessed with computers and trying to type. Your Daddy got out his old laptop (one of the first ever made) and you practice on it. You love looking at tags on toys, and pillows and sheets. We call you our little “Safety Inspector.”

Every time you see someone eating you smack your lips. We have given you little tastes from several fruits. So far, you have tried watermelon, peach, mango, banana and blueberry juice.

You have a special cry for Mommy; everyone says it sounds like you are saying “mmmuuummm.” When you see Mommy, you reach your arms out for me to pick you up.

You are still going to bed around 12 am and getting up around 9:30 – 10 am. You usually take a nap at lunch time and then possibly one more nap later. We are still waiting for you to return to sleeping through the night. Please take pity on your poor tired Mommy and stop waking her up eight times a night.

Like most babies your age, you put everything in your mouth. You are continuing to teeth, although no sign of any teeth, yet. But we are very happy with that because we love seeing your toothless smile. We feel so lucky to have such a happy baby full of endless smiles.

You get so excited to see your Daddy, Dada, Dadi, Grandma and Grandpa. You have really started loving to be out in nature and observe all the green around you. We think we may have a budding scientist on our hands.

You are our sunshine and we are so very grateful for each day we share with you.

Know you are very, very loved,

Mommy and Daddy

Playing Catch-Up....Happy 4 Month Birthday!

My Dearest Sunshine,

Summer is in full-swing and you have turned four-months old. The big news is that now can roll over. First, you went from back to tummy and now you can go from tummy to back. You are growing up too fast for Mommy and Daddy.

You love grabbing your toes, flapping your arms like a little bird, reaching for Mommy when you want to be picked up, feeling your ears, singing, sticking out your tongue, blowing bubbles, and getting in the plastic pool with Ra-Ra.

You actively reach for everything, so we have to be careful when you sit on our laps at a table. I know this is just the beginning!

You played peek-a-boo with Mommy for the first time by using a bed-sheet to hide your face. It was a lot of fun. You laugh out loud now without being tickled. It’s the most beautiful sound in the World. You let Mommy and Daddy know when you are tired by rubbing your eyes. Thank you, that’s very helpful!

This month was the first time you were away from Mommy for 24 hours. Mommy and Daddy went to Jav Uncle’s and Clare Auntie’s wedding in D.C.. We missed you….but you had a wonderful, wonderful time with your grand-parents.

Know you are very, very loved..

Your Mama

Playing Catch-up...Happy 3 Month Birthday!

To My Sunshine,

Summer is here and we are having fun! We celebrated Daddy’s 27^th birthday with a big BBQ, joined lots of friends at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Memorial Day, went to Dada’s company picnic and welcomed your first first cousin into the world (we are so glad Jay is finally here).

You went to Durga Temple for the first time and were blessed by the priests. You seemed very fascinated by all the shrines and altars and didn’t make a peep while we walked around and prayed…this made Dada and Dadi very proud. You wore the Indian tunic Dadi brought back from her trip to India in January.

Winston has become part of the family (he’s your new monkey pacifier that you insist on putting in your mouth all by yourself). Winston helps you go to sleep sometimes. This month has seen a big change in your sleeping habits. Now that you have learned how to nurse while Mommy is lying down next to you, you want to do it all the time. Gone are the days of you sleeping for 5-8 hour stretches, now you are waking up 5 times a night! We think part of the change is a result of you refusing to be swaddled anymore. Sigh.

Like most babies, you love looking at yourself in the mirror. You spend much of the day examining your hands, pulling up your shirt to show off belly (I wonder where you get that one from?), babbling and putting your hands in your mouth. It appears that you have begun teething. Sorry…that’s the not fun part of being a baby.

What you do have fun doing is sitting in your bouncy chair and pulling your bird ring to make it chirp, sitting on Mommy’s hip in a sling and practicing going from flat on your back to standing by holding onto Mommy’s fingers. One of your favorite things to do is to stand on someone’s lap (with help). You stood in the grass for the first time this month and seemed intrigued by the sensation.

The most beautiful sound in the world is your laugh. You laugh very loudly when tickled on your ribs. But you also laughed out-loud at one of Daddy’s jokes. You think Mommy’s bathroom joke is also pretty funny. We are all so very smitten.

Know you are very, very loved,

Mommy

Playing Catch-up...Happy 2 Month Birthday!

I'm not going to be able to post all my catch-up letters to Lina before her First Birthday on Wed....but by the end of the month, I will have them all posted. I began my blog in October when she turned 7 months, so only months 3-6 to go!!!

To My Dearest Sunshine,

This month has flown by!!! We started this month by celebrating your first holiday…Easter. Grandma Pia enjoyed putting an Easter bunny headband on you for a photo-op – you are obviously going to be a ham because you didn’t mind it one bit.  You were content to be passed around to everyone and seemed to enjoy meeting your cousins. Before we know it, you will be joining them in the frantic race to find Easter eggs.

You have continued to sleep well this month and have even given us a few nights of eight hours of solid sleep. Thank you.  You usually fall asleep around 11:30pm-12:30 am each night and sleep next to Mommy.  We are relieved that you have now stopped having the nightmares that began after you came home from your NICU stay. It was terrifying seeing you wake up screaming in fright.  The NICU nurse I spoke to seemed to think it was impossible for you to have nightmares. But anyone who heard you could hear the terror in your voice. Thank goodness that’s over.

We are still living with Dadi and Dada in your Daddy’s child-hood home (the place you were born). You spend an hour or two each night before bedtime with Dadi and Dada playing upstairs, while Mommy and Daddy get to decompress. It’s wonderful seeing how close you are to your grandparents.

We began our adventures in cloth diapering this week (thanks to a diapering service we received as a Baby Shower present)…all of us adjusted well to this change (except Dada who  didn’t have any adjusting to do since he never changes your diaper). You are finally tolerating being in the Ergo (although you still hate the Moby wrap).

This month was very, very busy for our family. You went to Puja Auntie and Rahul Uncle’s Baby Shower, helped Mommy celebrate her first Mother’s Day (by helping Daddy make me French-toast), went to work with Daddy, hung-out with Grandma Pia while Mommy and Daddy attended Uncle Steve and Aunt Whitney’s wedding, had your first play-date, went on your first plane ride (you were a trooper), visited Aunt Jane in the hospital, played with Josie in Boston and attended Mommy’s 10 Year College Reunion from Mount Holyoke College. We both wore white for the Laurel Parade and you got and gave smiles to everyone when we walked around Mommy’s old stomping grounds.

We have done a lot of celebrating this month - most of all we are celebrating having such a healthy, curious daughter in our life. Thank you for choosing us.

Know you are very, very loved,

Mommy

Playing Catch-up...Happy Month One Birthday!

I began this blog when Lina was 7 months old, so I never got around to posting those 6 other Monthly Birthday Letters to her. I am in the process of organizing my Monthly Birthday Letters and the Monthly Photos I took into a book for her 1st Birthday.  In honor of the Birthing Month, here on Catoctin Mountain Mama...this is the letter I wrote to her when she turned 1 month old...

To Our Dearest Daughter,

Happy One Month Birthday!!!! We celebrated by blowing out the candles and eating your chocolate birthday cake. Don’t worry… next year we will share. You were fascinated by the candles and seemed to tolerate our singing.

You have only been home from the NICU for less than two weeks and it’s still so hard to believe you are here! Mommy is still healing and we are still trying to figure out this breast-feeding thing. You prefer to drink Mommy’s milk from a bottle, which is okay with Mommy because nursing is still very painful for her. You had your frenulum clipped and that seemed to help a little bit (you were what they call “tongue-tied).

You have started sleeping 5-6 hours through the night and we are so thankful. Daddy swaddles you up tightly each night and walks you around (your fussy time is between 9:30 pm- 12 am). I think you are going to be a Night Owl.

You smile at bright lights and adore taking a bath with Mommy in our huge bath tub. We don’t have to worry about holding your neck very much…you are one Strong Little Girl (Mommy shouldn’t be surprised since you spent the last few months before your birth kicking Mommy CONSTANTLY).

Your eyes follow everyone around the room and you especially enjoy watching the action while sitting in your bouncy seat. The funniest thing you do is quiver your bottom lip when you get excited about something…your expressive face is something to behold.

We are so grateful for Jessica and Gwen helping us bring you into this world and we are deeply appreciative of all the lovely Nurses and Doctors who helped you heal. Most of all, we are thankful for you being a Brave Little Fighter who chose us as your parents.

Know you are very, very loved….
Mommy and Daddy