First Shopping Excursion

Looking back on my own childhood, I remember fondly the shopping trips my mum and I used to have. We would drive to the mall on a Friday night, look around at the clothes and accessories, perhaps buy an item or two, have some nice conversations, and drive home.

Hopefully these fond memories are beginning with my own daughter. Leila accompanied me to the mall to shop for "back to work" clothes. I think she loved it.

Laden down with large quantities of clothes to try on, Leila and I strolled into the dressing room. She smiled and laughed as I tried on each outfit. Then, as we left, she began to cry. Is this an indication of a future shopping companion?

Oak Trees

The day before we left Boston, MA after getting Simi's heart fixed, the boys picked up acorns in the park across the street from our apartment. According to Simi, it was one of his favorite activities of the trip. He loved it so much that he continued to pick up acorns once we returned home.

One of our friends suggested we plant the acorns as a remembrance of the trip/experience. We loved the idea and Raj searched the Internet to find instructions on how to get them to grow.

The Simi and Asher helped us plant the acorns in soil, and we waited...

We now have more than five little oak trees growing in our window box. Lovely reminders of this time of rebirth.

Snips and Snails and Puppy-dog Tails

True to the stereotype, the boys love their rocks and slithery things. The other day, on a trip to the dollar store to redeem their activity chart rewards, both boys chose rubber snakes for their prize. These seemingly real things now curl around dinner chairs and the foot of the bed and are definitely not for the squeamish among us.

Not to mention the big ol' frog and the fish who live in tanks in the boys' bedroom.

Quite frequently, Simi picks up rocks from school and brings them home to me. He holds them up to me as if they were the most precious diamonds in the universe. To me, those rocks certainly are the most precious stones imaginable.

It'll be interesting to see if Leila shares the boys' interests in things that slither when she's a bit older.

Dragon Feet

While preparing for our Indian wedding ceremony, the wonderful women that helped me get ready put on one final touch: a small black mark around the back of my jaw. It was to signify that the bride was perfect with the exception of this one small imperfection.

That small imperfection is like Simi's toes. He has the ugliest toes. The problem is mainly in the nails, which are curved and wavy. We tease him and call them his "dragon feet". He is absolutely perfect, with the exception of this one small (and minor) imperfection.

Lovely Leila

Leila had her two-month doctor appointment the other day. After the traditional weigh and measure, we learned of her new growth percentiles. She is still in the 50th percentile for height but has now moved into the 95th percentile for weight. She's a fatty! Our little Leila is a fat girl! After having two skinny boys, the pediatrician and I couldn't help but share a laugh at the chubby little legs and the round Buddha belly on the Leila. She must get that from the RUBEN side of the family.

On Being Two

Asher is, indeed, two years old. When he is with Simi, he seems so much older. His communication and gross and fine motor skills are at about a three year-old level, so it's easy to think of him as being older than his chronological age. But when you get to spend time with him one-on-one, you get to see that, emotionally, he really is two.

Asher stayed home with Leila and me for the past two days. It was a wonderfully scrumptious two days. He's such a sweet boy and such a happy kid that it's fun to be around him. Luckily, the weather was also absolutely beautiful, so we spent some time outside. I wish I could have more days like these past two.

Two Year Old Asher

Asher has always tried to keep up with his big brother. He wants to do everything Simi does. He watched Simi use the potty and then potty-trained himself well before his 2nd birthday. He takes Simi's clothes and puts them on himself.

So it comes as a surprise when Asher does something, well, age appropriate. He seems so much older than his two years, that when he does something a two year-old would do, it takes me by surprise.

Yesterday was one of those days. Asher has been having bouts of "the twos", otherwise known as the "terrible twos" or "terrific twos". Totally normal behaviour - for a two-year old. It's a reminder that my sweet baby is, still indeed, a baby.

Simi's Menagerie

When Simi was just born, his aunt and uncle gave him two small, soft stuffed animals. One was a frog and the other a little brown puppy-dog. We put them in Simi's crib with him (another practice that's frowned upon these days).

As months went by, Simi-the-infant began to grab for one of the animals. It was always the same one: the puppy-dog. At first we thought it was just chance that he'd grab for the dog; perhaps that was the closest one to him or perhaps that was the one we'd give him. But if we gave him the frog, he'd drop it and reach for the puppy.

Four years later, "Puppy" is a member of our family. In fact, last year we put a "pet id tag" on the dog after we nearly lost it twice while traveling. Puppy was with Simi in the operating room during his open heart surgery. Sometimes Puppy even talks; his voice sounds remarkably like Simi's.

Simi's menagerie continually grows. Puppy is joined by "Dottie", a Dalmatian "beanie-baby" dog. He's also joined by "Blackie", a small stuffed Dalmatian dog. Most recently Puppy is joined by "Baby Sister", the baby doll we gave the boys before Leila was born. Sometimes he sleeps with all or some of his menagerie; sometimes all or some accompany Simi to where-ever he is going.

Interestingly, the stuffed frog sits on a shelf with some other stuffed animals. And Simi absolutely LOVES frogs.

Of course, Puppy is the consistent one in Simi's arms.

Leila's Birth Announcement

Hot off the presses: here is Leila's birth announcement!