Weekend tales

I know it mid week already- but better late than never I guess?

This past weekend was a lot of fun. On friday, we met up with my friend Sri and family who were leaving for India- Little Aghoo and Sahana kutties had loads of silly fun! Sumptuous meal at Amber, Palo Alto followed by yummy desert at this place called "Paris" - awesome end to the evening.

On saturday, we had people (Sakthi and his wife) coming over for dinner. I started cooking in the morning, so that I dont have to give up my nap time ;).I made yummy veggie salna, parotta, palak paneer and jeera rice. Aghoo was her usual charming self and entertained the guests thoroughly.

On sunday, dada and Param uncle had made lot of plans and preparations for a bbq in the park.So, we set out at around 12.30 to the park, where we met with Vijay and Sangeetha( our good friends).
There was a lot of food that we gorged on - chicken, veggies, corn, veggie skewers,lots of appetizers,almond pie( YUM!) , hummus , salsa, juice, wine etc.Aghoo had a great time- because she could go to the play area as many times as she wanted and we also went on a " row row row a boat ";) (paddle boat) in the lake. Lots of fun was had..

Aghoo did not want to leave Vj mama and Sange aunty.

We came home and crashed- exhausted. Little Aghoo while going to sleep tells me " Sakthi mama ( from 2 days ago!) black shirt potirunda. Ashwini aunty purple dress and black pant potirunda!" wow! wat memory!!

My little baby!

What a cute couple

I always thought Preseident and Mrs. Obama were really cute. They seem to have a loving and solid marriage.

I love how in-charge Michelle looks/ talks/ comes across - even though her husband is arguably the most powerful man in the World. More power to her/ them!

Preschool - week2

The weekend was busy was Aghoo as usual.

Dada had an office party ( yeah right!) and was in the city on saturday . Amma and Aghoo had a relaxing day - ate lunch, slept for a couple of hours and went to the " kutty park".
We had fun playing ,looking at planes etc.We then came back home because we saw some other baby riding her cycle and Aghoo wanted to do so as well.

Well, of course - Aghoo cannot ride her tricycle yet. She wants to be pushed :) and so that's what I did.

What can I do to encourage her to start pushing the pedals.. she just wont :(

We then had dinner , watched Mickey mouse club house and went to sleep.

On sunday morning, we both woke  up, spoke to thatha- patti and went to Sahana's house for her bday party.

Aghoo had fun playing with Sahana's toys, kitchen and the highlight of the day- jumping castle and bubbles!
We had fun cooing over the cutie pie Sahas baby.

Aghoo was really cranky since she didn't have a good nap in the afternoon. She slept fitfully and woke up cranky too. Today is week2 of pre school. I kept telling her what a good girl she is and how she will go to school without crying. Poor baby treats her water bottle as a security object and holds on to it for dear life!

Thankfully though, there was no out and out crying today- she whimpered a bit and hugged me tearfully as I dropped her off in her class.It is so heart breaking to see her go into her class whimpering and resigned :(

I hope you know that we love you a lot Aghoo kutty !

Day 3:- Preschool saga

Argh- this is so tough. This transition is even more tougher than the day care transition- because Aghoo is older. She can comprehend much more and communicate her displeasure quite clearly.

She woke up very cranky today- and said" yarru koopida Asha home?" ( whos taking me to Asha aunty's house?) . I told her that Asha aunty has fever and needs to go to the hospital- so we will go to school. She kept saying " School pikalai ma".. My poor baby. Some how we managed to get her ready - all the time she was crying intermittently that she doesn't want to go to school.I hope this is rock bottom and things look better going forward.

Since she was so cranky, both HD and I decided to go with her to school. HD carried her all the way to school with her crying :(.When we dropped her off in her classroom- she was screaming and thrashing :(.

With a heavy heart, we both came back home. When we called 1.5 hrs later, she seemed ok according to Ms.Lupe ( her classroom teacher).

Tomorrow, they have a water play day- which I know she will love. I hope the teachers love her and she grows to love them as much as she loved her Asha aunty.

Today is Krishna Jayanthi- cant wait to go home and dress up my baby :) I had made kadala maavu urundais in the morning - hope my baby likes it.

Dear Aghoo baby,
Dada and Amma love so much kanna- please stay strong for us. It is heart breaking to see you cry everyday and I am so sorry that you feel scared in the new place. I promise that you will start loving the school and your friends soon kanna. It is a fun place and we know you will settle down soon.

Till then- chin up and tight hugs  :)

Preschool saga

My little itty bitty baby Aghoo started preschool yesterday!! How can she be so grown up?

We have been preparing little Aghoo for almost a month now- making school seem like  a very exciting place to go :) We had taken her to the school a couple of times and she was very excited to see the "fishies"( aquarium)  and the " kutty park" ( play ground) there.

So, on the first day we got up bright and early - she had her favorite breakfast( rice noodles with veggies and cheese).She chose her own outfit for the day and was happy to go.

Both HD and I were  working for from home , since we weren't sure how the day would go.Aghoo talked to her Amma palya/ Daddy thatha and her Appa thatha to get blessings :).

Since the school is literally 5 min away from home, we started walking at 8.25  :):) . Her drop off time is 8.30 ( I know- bad parents rushing her on the first day !!).

She was fine when we walked with her and left her in the classroom. She went to take some new toy and sat down with the other kids for the circle time. HD and I - both very very nervous- waited in the lobby for a bit and were happy that we did not hear any screaming. I made HD go check on her( STUPID MOVE !!)- and Aghoo saw HD and started screaming her head off. I started to cry as well and we had to stay composed outside of the class room.We checked a couple of more times and went home. In order to take my mind off Aghoo and her crying--I started cleaning out the cupboards in the living room and in the laundry room . That kept me busy for almost 1.5 hrs. HD worked out and helped me with some cleaning and when we couldn't bear it anymore--called her school. Her teacher said that she was whimpering on and off- but was ok overall.She ate her snack and was playing outside in the play ground.

We called a couple of  more times- Aghoo had lunch and slept too :) My little resilient baby!
When we could not wait any longer, we picked her up at 4.00 pm. She was sooooooooooo happy to see us. She told us that she " cried a little" and then played. She loved the playground time and apparently saw " planes" :). She also painted- " draw pannen ma - paper la" .

I asked her what she wants to eat- she said " rasa mummum amma".. my poor baby missed sadam for lunch ( school provides food). So I made her rasa mumum and she ate it happily. She also got a new puzzle for first day of school.

Today- second day- she still screamed her head off when I dropped her off. I hope she gets used to the new people soon. God- until then,please be with my baby..


In other news, last friday was Aghoo's half bday- we made a celebration of it, as it was the last day in her beloved Asha aunty's house.She wore a " new new dress" , " new new shoes" which she herself chose in the store and was very happy to cut her cake that Ava made :).

Love you so much my little baby.. hope you love and succeed in your school life :)

More Aghooisms

I am running behind her this morning to get her to wear her socks.

She says" Yion ( Lion) socks podaliye.. Iya no socks !" Err.. because a lion lives in the jungle!!  sigh.. what logic though!

She is looking at the Ramayana book that Ashu ( my bil to be) got and she points at the picture of Rama and says " amma, dis ummachi puppy shame ma.. dress podaliye" then she points at Sita and says " I like this ummachi. Dress potiruku " :):) She points at Hanuman and says " Hanuuuuuuuu ummachiiiiiiiii- monkey ma?!!" She is so surprised by this realization :)

Dear Aghoo

Dear Aghoo,
I want to write to you, so that I don't forget all that you are at 2 years and 5 months.You will be starting Montessori school at all of 2 .5 years next month and I feel like you are growing up too fast and I cant catch up with you.

You are hilarious with your come backs. We are in the process of potty training you. Some gems from your mouth recently.

" Amma I made LOTS of poo poo in potty ... !!" said with a very proud grin :)

Amma-"Aghoo- whats that on your pants"
Aghoo- * very non chalentely*  " Pee pee than da " :)
Amma:- * now sternly* " where do you do pee pee Aghoo?"
Aghoo- " Potty dhan da" * said with a very frustrated tone* :)

You are definitely a  Teenager in a toddler's body. The other day you came up to me and said " Amma, dada thittita. Dada angry ma" with a very pavam face . So, I slowly prod you " Why Aghoo? What did you do?" And you say" I cry amma. I want  ICream ( ice cream) I want icream" and I say " and then " and you finally admit " I no finish mummum".. you stealthy little sneak !

Sometimes you prove to us that you are still a little baby. Every time you do the big job in the potty- we reward you with 1 candy (m&m) . Dada, feeling extra lovvvvvvve, gave you 2 and you run to me with a worried little face and said " Amma- dada 1,2 candy kudutha ma".. :):)

When your dada and I get into an argument, you come in and say --" No fighting guys!".. it is downright comical!!

There are also times when you are so insightful.. like this morning  when I was upset about something and was pondering about it- you came to me, sat next to me and patted my hand and said " its ok amma..come here hugs tharen".. It made teary eyed :)How do you know when to say these things baby?

You love to stand next me or Ava or Dada when we are cooking looking at everything with wonder filled eyes saying" oo Onion potiya" or " now water podu ma".. Or " hey whats this??".. and you also want to taste it IMMEDIATELY- no waiting for the food to cook or cool down. If you are in a good mode it is "Can I taste?" and some times it is just " i WANNNNNNNNNNNNT"!

You also ask as soon as you wake up " Yaar Asha aunty home koopida"- which translates to " who will take me to Asha auntys house ( day care) today?". Some times you are ok with the answer we give you - sometimes you insist on " no amma come " or " no dada come ".

If you see things like the fire truck or a purple car in real life , and you have seen it in one of your books previously you tell us" see fire truck( fither truck :P), Book la patheleeeeeeeeeee?".. and you remind us :)


You can pretty much entertain anyone who visits us with your constant chatter and stories and you do love the attention.

You  loved the visit to the zoo and you also loved the straw berry picking trip last week ( straw berry tree pathen!!) .

You want to match your outfit to mine everyday :).You look at me with wonder even if I wear a tattered old kurtha and say " Wow beautiful dress amma"!! I am sure you will grow up and change your opinion on my fashion sense soon . For now, Let me bask in the love and adoration..




Love you little baby!! you are the one constant little source of joy every day!!


I hope you transition smoothly into your school and enjoy yourself !!