Kevalin, oh, Kevalin

I popped the only two gray hairs I've had in my whole life during Kev's pregnancy and it was clearly a sign of things to come.

Climbing is the new thing and he never stops. Above you can see him (clearly on three different days as evidenced by the different outfits) after he has climbed onto the train table in the playroom.

For a while he would climb up there by stepping on the bean bag chair, so I moved that away. Then he used a pile of books, so those got put away where they should have been. Then he started popping his big toe into the hole in the drawer (see below) and using that as a means to climb.

I would have more pictures for you, but I'm usually busy saving his sweet little tush from sure head contusions with no time to get the camera.

See that window to Kev's left on the train table? If the blinds are up, Spidey Baby is up there, arms and legs out like a starfish, trying to get outside. I would very much like a picture of this, but the fall would just be too much. Maybe he'll bring out this neat party trick next time we have a playgroup here and then I'll be able to have one Mommy spot him while I get a pick.

And then, there's the crib theatrics. This young cherub will be out of his crib by December. I checked on him during his nap Tuesday afternoon only to find him stuck in the slats of the crib fully up to his groin. He was lying, sort of awake, sort of not, completely submissive. He knew he had done a silly thing. Impossible to get him out, I'm not quite sure how he got in there so tightly. One good, thick coat of vaseline and lots of whimpers on his part later and he popped out (perhaps he was seeking a non-cesarean birth experience???). Hopefully he won't repeat this experiment again.

Then there is the slide at the pool. Amiya has to be cajoled to go down the slide and is just now going down the slide by herself. Kev walks right into the pool (you know he just walks off the side and completely eschews the steps), he loves to be dunked and he loves going down the slide.

And finally, the kitchen chairs. We cannot, cannot keep him off of the kitchen chairs lately. He thinks he's hot shit sitting up there for all the world to see. He climbs, I pull him down. I turn to put the milk away, he's back. Monkey is such an apt name.

Vinay and I debate almost daily whether the differences between our two children are based on their sex or simply their personalities. Oh. My. I'm gonna need to wash that gray right outta my hair!

Where is the love?

Here it is!

And here!
And here, again!

So it appears that our two little cherubs can't help but cuddle each other. Kev bangs on the front door all day long while Amiya is at school. Neither one of them cracks a big smile in the morning until the other is awake. If Amiya is on the couch watching TV, Kev makes herculean efforts to sit next to her - it doesn't matter if it's Angelina Ballerina or some other uninteresting show for his level. It's Didi.

We predict terribly sad feelings this weekend when we go to Rochester and Kev is no longer the apple of Didi's eye. He'll now have to compete for Amiya's attention with Nisha Didi who has long been Amiya's very favorite "big kid." The first time Nisha and Amiya skip out of the room for girl time is sure to be hard on the little man.

Never fear though, dear readers. Super Daddy is also flying to Rochester with us and, as evidenced below, his smiling, tickling ways are enough to distract even the most distraught little brothers.

Holy crap, Batman!

Let me just start by saying we have been busy. Busier than before. So busy that I'm tired. Worn out. Done. Etc. We're forgoing fireworks tonight because I just can't imagine it. That says a lot as I'm usually game for all such things. If they can't be seen from our lanai, they're not meant for the Gupta family tonight. So, let's take a pictoral look at what we've been doing these three long weeks.

Little Man in the pool. We go almost daily, if we didn't Kev might be severely dehydrated. We can't get him to stop drinking the water. Mmmmmm. Chlorine. Do you see his tan lines? That's right, just above his left elbow - he's got tan lines in his fat folds! So stinkin' cute!

And speakin' of cute.... he's got a Buddha belly. It's hard not to rub it!
And then there's not so cute. When he's decided that he's done eating, he sticks both feet up on his tray and screams until we acknowledge the fact that his stomach is full. We're sure our family in Rochester will appreciate this party trick.
Back to cute. Two feet, one Croc. He stood like this for a good ten mintues.
Reason #1 for not being online in forever and a day. We've had my French host sister, Celine, in town. We were at 4 different beaches in the ten days she was here, plus 84 malls (slight exaggeration). We had a great, great time and we think she did, too. Here she is with Amiya as the sun was setting on Vendido Beach in Naples.

Vinay and Kev, also Vendido Beach. I LOVEthis picture!

Who are these masked cats?
It's Diego and Diegette! Amiya's good friend Gabe gave her a ticket to see the Go Diego Go! Live show and wow - it was a good time! Nothing but smiles from Amiya the whole time. Especially cute was the one slow song in the whole show - Amiya put her arm around Gabe, he put his arm around her and they kissed each other's foreheads and cheeks repeatedly. It's all well and good until they're 12 and then ixnay on the issingkay.


I've been busy, busy on the cake stuff. Luckily, about four years ago I birthed a secondary dishwasher. That's what she calls herself, "Mommy's little dishwasher." I'm not sure she saves me any work in the end, but it's pretty cute to see her "helping" me. For the record, she does not help with things with raw eggs - only frosting. She's pretty mad at me about that - she thinks she should be able to help clean everything.

There's a show on TV called Oobi and it's these hands that have eyes glued to them. Amiya likes the show, but doesn't care for it more than that. Monday, however, was Oobi day around here. She glued eyes to her hand (very much like on the show) and Oobi'd and Uma'd around the whole day.
The Fourth of July! Amiya made my shirt for me - it's very, very puffy and patriotic. Kev was especially fascinated with the stars on the flag which were not in the best place for his constant attention. We went to a parade today - Amiya was very cute, waving and clapping and with her hand on her heart when the American flag and color guard went by. However, this may be the last time we attend a Fourth of July parade in the south - it was weird to see confederate flags being handed out. I know it's a different culture down here and a different represenation for a lot of people. Nonetheless, it was something we weren't comfortable with and now we'll have to explain it to Amiya if she asks.

This is a baseball hat cake for a friend's birthday. I am proud of this one - it's all new stuff for me - red velvet cake with a new frosting - both from scratch. With this cake, I am officially well over my $2200 needed for The 3 Day walk. So, now it's onto training and training and training. My longest walk so far was 9 miles and while I was tired, it was ok. This week is 8 miles and then next week begins 10 miles and above until the walk itself. We have a couple of weekends with walks of 17-18 miles on Saturday and 13-15 on Sunday. Keep me in your thoughts! It's hot, humid and sunny in Florida - if I can do these walks in this weather, the sixty miles in October should be a breeze!

And finally, the quietest moments of the day. We love when they sleep, but we're those pathetic types of parents who stare at them and talk about them the whole time.

They're just so sweet and quiet and relaxed and quiet and calm and quiet.