Derelict in my Duties

And don't I know it! After a tearful, heart-wrenching missive from my Mother, here I am.

A brief update:

Kev is jabbering away and most of it is incoherent, but we do have a few words. We've got Da-da, Ma-ma, Di-di, and the general, can refer to any of us Nay! We've also got moooooooore (said in a very sing-songy voice), peez and choo (shoe). On occasion we get buh-ble, too. He is also showing signs of understanding very specific, routine commands. Yesterday I asked him to sit down, take his Crocs off and put them away. And he did just that. Ah. Enough to make my heart melt. Love it!

Amiya placed a very brief moratorium on kissing yesterday. I was not allowed to "smooch upon her" at all. Except for before naps. And after naps. And if she got hurt. And if she was feeling lonely. And when she wanted to cuddle next to me. And if she was going to bed. And if she was going to her room. After going through tht list of all the exceptions to the no smooching rule, she decided that there weren't a lot of times when I couldn't kiss her, but there were still some. I was not allowed to kiss her when buckling her car seat. (Until she saw me give Kev a smooch when buckling his car seat.) I was not allowed to kiss her when helping her in and out of the shopping cart. (Until she saw me give Kev a kiss when helping him in and out of the shopping cart.) And definitely not allowed to kiss her while walking to the store. (Until she saw me give Kev a kiss while walking to the store.) That worked out really well. The ban has been lifted and it is a regular smooch fest around here lately.

Kev, in pursuit of BA!, under the train table. He gets in and then can't get out.

The dynamic duo in a quiet moment. Notice one is reading right side up, one upside down. Even more sweet? Amiya's arm around her brother.

Daddy had to get dressed up for work, so Amiya had to get dressed up to be in a "fancy" picture with him. Are midriff baring dresses considered fancy? Not where I come from....

Saris are all the rage around here lately. Amiya has two passed down from her Nisha Didi and she wears them daily. It's a full-on process to get them on - first take off everything else, get the blouse on, then the skirt or sari, then the bangles, the anklets, the bindi, etc. If anyone teaches her about mehndi anytime soon, there will be trouble!!! It's enough to get her into this much!

Here we see Amiya and Gabe after a birthday playdate. For Gabe's birthday, he came over and had a pizza lunch, then these two decorated "pizza" cakes together with pepperoni, onions, peppers and olives made from candy. Frosting was the cheese and jam was the sauce. They loved it. Talk about sugar highs!

This is Amiya's aquarium. The colored tiles in the middle is the fish. The child needs a pet!

Kev following in his Daddy's footsteps. Always on the computer!

Amiya decorated this cake for Ellie's sixth birthday. If you look carefully between the purple tulip and the pink circle on the left side of the cake, you can see the E she made. We had to leave a birthday party before the cake was served and she was very, very disappointed. So, I promised her she could have free reign with the leftover icing and flowers. This is what she came up with! And yeah, she's the new (nearly) Naked Chef! It's a lot easier to get buttercream off of a girl than it is her party dress!