Hiatus

After a long gap, blogging activity will begin with the birth of our second daughter....SAMRITHA

Patti's US Trip

Patti Trip (Click on Photo for Picture Gallery)

Since our return from India, Sashu has grown in leaps & bounds.

• She now walks - no..no... runs - all over the house.
• India helped bring out her social side. No longer crowd-shy. In fact, all strangers are forced to pause their grocery shopping to say 'hi' to her :)
  
• Her vocabulary is expanding everyday. Some common phrases/words she uses and their meanings:
• 'naanki' - yenakku
• 'caff' - coffee
• 'chapthi' - chappathi
• 'appa aff' - appa has gone to the office
• 'appa galf' - appa has gone golfing
• 'ummachi kappathu' - ummachi kappathu
• 'nam' - Shyam
• 'boon' - spoon
• 'idly' - idly

• Sivaji songs are very popular
• 'Dhoom Machale' from Dhoom2 is still her all time favorite
• There are now 5 little pearly whites in her mouth. All of them very sharp as I have found from bitter experience
• We have a budding golfer now. Sashu can show the best of them what a perfect swing is!
  

India Trip

India (Click on Photo for Picture Gallery)

Highlights of the trip:

• Manoj periappa has won the much sought after title of 'Sooper Periappa' with his 'go go go Chicago' refrain
• Samiksha was constantly kept busy with calls for 'Akka...akka'
• Sashu was very fond of Kollu Patti and kept addressing her (still does) as 'kollu'
  
• Gayathri periamma entertained Sashu with her cartoon-lang-talk
  
• The wonderful mop of hair was given to Tirupathi and the mottai-kutti era began!
  
• Tirupathi trip brought out the devout side of Sashu. She learned to say 'Govinda'.
• 'Thulabaram' performed at Aiyyan Kovil in Mahalingapuram
• Too bad autos are non-existent in the US...Sashu enjoyed her auto rides tremendously
• Sashu ate food cooked in Aquafina, drank Aquafina & bathed in Aquafina. We are planning on writing to Pepsi to thank them for a safe and healthy trip for Sashu :)

First Birthday!!

FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

Sashrika is ONE!

Birthday party was fantastic! But since our little one 'was' a little crowd shy, the cake cutting was accompanied by some tears. However, that did not last long. Besides all her friends, her cousins - Ashwin and Shraddha - were present to celebrate the day.
The house was decorated with balloons, streams and huge banners. The cake was specially ordered to commemorate the occasion.
On the 25th - the actual Bday - Sashu was in a pattu pavadai. We cut a jello cake since Sashu is still vegan. We visited the temple and had a portrait shoot session in the evening. That night, with the help of Ashwin and Shraddha, we decorated the house for the party the next day.
On the 26th - the day of the party - rain played spoil sport and washed out Shyam's plans to have a backyard tent party. We switched to plan B and had a wonderful house party instead. Several of Sashu's friends were there accompanied by their parents. Some of our neighbors were present too. Goody bags for kids were personally decorated by Sashu using crayons.

Sashu - Month 12

Month 12

Sashu - Month 11

Month 11

Talk2Me

Sashu - Month 10

Month 10

Milestones:

• List of favorite phrases has increased. Now includes 'Ammmma' :)
• Responds to the following questions:
• head yenngey? --> vigorous patting of her head
  
• leg yenngey? --> a quick leg shake
• hand yenngey? --> wave of the hand
• Sashu yaaru? --> proud patting of the chest
• clap your hands --> cheerful clapping
• light yenngey? --> upward pointing irrespective of whether there is a light above or not
• kushi vandha yenna pannuvey? --> full body & head shake...shake...shake...
• umachi kittey yenna solluvey? --> blah...blah...oooh....blah oooh.. nanana...
  
• etc etc etc

Sidebar 1: Sometimes we will be treated to all the responses above for one question :) We are expected to do some 'match the following' type of deal to figure it out.
Sidebar 2: Responses above are sometimes practiced when drinking milk when no questions are asked. Practice makes perfect... you see :)

• Parrot phase going on now....loves repeating pretty much everything we say to her
  
• Favorite nickname -- 'panjavarna killi' courtesy of Canada patti
• Enjoys any & all vegetables - served steamed minus garnishing
• Countdown to First Bday begins
• Countdown to India begins
  
• Still remains a Toothless Wonder!!
  

Sashu - Month 9

Month 9

Month 9 Milestones:

• Standing and walking with support
• Sleeping in her crib alone in her room every night
• Playing in the swimming pool every weekend and loving every minute of it
  
• Loves tofu, pasta, blackberries, plums..anything that is sour :)

Favorite Phrase:
"Aabba...Aabbba....Abbba....Abbbba...Apppa....Appa...."

Sash 3 month

Sashu Walking

Sashu