And I Was Doing So Well!

You could probably tell that my New Year's Resolution was to blog more often. And I was doing fantastically, but then, well, it all went south. I'm back on the wagon (mostly because I can't get onto Facebook because Vinay is ALWAYS on my account playing word games) and so here I am to blog.

Anyway, for tonight I leave you with this little gem:

Not the most flattering picture ever taken of this child, but it's certainly not because of that snazzy hairstyle. She absolutely wanted to style her own hair Monday morning. In light of the fact that no hair on her head is longer than six inches, I didn't think much harm could come of giving her the green light.

Oh.

How silly of me. It seems it doesn't matter the length of the hair when the styling product is Crest Minty Fresh flippin' toothpaste. Yep, that's extra, super hold for those of you who need a little more from your product. I got out what I could (both hair and accessories - there were at least 6 in her hair when she skipped out of the bathroom), but not before taking a picture.

On the up side, at least she went to school smelling minty clean.

Amiya Johnson Retton

Amiya is still loving gymnastics - so much that she is going to go Monday afternoons after school and Wednesdays after dinner. She's not going to be scouted by the Indian Olympic Committee as a gymnastics protege to get their team in the medal rounds but she's having a great time, getting exercise and learning to keep at it.

Here's a picture from her last day of gymnastics before the winter break. The kids had their normal 15 minute rotation of the different stations and then (surprise!!!) they each got a medal. I don't think they figured out that the medals weren't really for them, but left over from a previous meet for the competition team. It didn't matter though, the kids were thrilled and were happy to show off their stuff.

Grandma and Grandpa joined us this week to check her out and we were all amused by her foibles, as well as proud of her effort. Amiya came out of the gym with rosy cheeks and big smiles, especially when Grandpa called her Shawn Johnson.

I think she's perfectly adorkable, don't you?

Sandy, Rajshree didi - Does this remind you of anyone?

Do you know someone who used to have to be torn away from his books to eat a meal?

Someone, say, a bit hairier than Amiya, but same eye and hair color?

Uh-huh. Yeah. That's what I'm saying.

First Day of First Grade

Well, today was the big day. All the students were back to school after being so rudely awoken before sunrise for the first time since mid-December. There were more than a few dragging backpacks in the hallways today.

Not so for our girl, but not because she wasn't tired. She begged us to leave her be so she could sleep. "I'm still dreaming. I need to finish my dream." "I didn't get enough sleep. It's not healthy to make me get up." And so on.

But then, once things got rolling, she was ready to go!

Only slightly nervous about switching from Kindergarten to first grade, she stoicly shoveled two waffles and a bit of yogurt into her mouth and kept a running commentary going throughout her morning ablutions. Then dressed, shoes on (to her dismay, her teacher wants tennis shoes every day) and outside for a picture, because I would be turning my back on my Hounsell genes were I not to take a picture of a school child on her first day of a new grade.

There she is, in all her glory (please don't mind the dirty gutter). (Also, can you tell that it's still dark out from the lighting in the photo? Sorry, tangent.)

She was really excited to get there and she walked right in the room and said good morning and got to work. From her report the day was good but her brain was tired because it had to work at school. (Whoo-to-the-hoo!!!) Her teacher said she did (and this is a direct quote, not just proud mama speak) "amazingly well." That's enough for us.

We're really happy with this (did I give that away already?) and we hope Amiya will continue to be so excited about the change!

Yee-haw!

Kev(al)in has pooped on the toilet. (No pictures in this post, that's a good thing, right?)

Don't be embarassed if you've shed a little tear. Me too.

It wasn't all of his own volition - he started to assume the position, so I scooped him up and ran with him. And then we sat in the bathroom for awhile until he was distracted by his Bertie book (Thank you Sandy, Nisha, Ravi and Vinnie - did you know it would come in this handy?) and let nature take his course.

Now he's wearing his Diego tighty-whities and checking the goods out whenever he can. Is this what's in store for me as the Mom of a boy? I think diapers might be preferable!

He Marches to His Own Drummer

Vinay asked Kev to put his laundry hamper back in his room today.

But why? It's so much better as a hat! So he trotted (because there is no other word for it) around the house with a hamper on his head for a bit.

And it was all well and good until Vinay asked him to put our hamper away. It is not so flexible, so see through, so soft. The trotting wasn't so graceful but he kept at it.

He is his own man.

Change of Name

I'll be doing a bit of editing around here, making the blog look a little fresher, etc., etc., but perhaps the most noticeable change will be that Kev will no longer go by his full name of Kevalin, but instead, we'll call him Kevin. That's the name he's given himself.

Mommy: "Who's bed is that?"
Kev: "Kevin's bed."

Mommy: "Who's mess is this?"
Kev: "Kevin's mess."

Mommy: "Who made this mess?"
Kev: "Kevin made da mess, Mommy!"

So a little background. We worked really, really hard on finding names that were Indian in origin, but accessible and pronouncable in this country. I had strict rules against more than 3 syllables and too many consonant combinations. I'm not being mean, I'm just saying, there weren't going to be any Dikshitas in our family. Some names can work in both cultures, some can't. Vinay presented me with many, many names and I vetoed most of them - we ended up Amiya, Leela, Kevalin and some other boys name that was obviously so impressive that I can't even recall it anymore. To be fair, there were some names that I really liked that he didn't - most noticeably - Anand. (If we ever have a pet that I get to name, it's going to be Anand. Be warned.)

Kevin, as a name, is Irish in origin, meaning handsome. And it's true. He's a cute little bugger.

Kevalin, as a name, is Jain (a religion in India) and means seeker of knowledge. Also true. He asks a lot of questions and leafs through a lot of books.

So if he wants to be Kevin, fine by me. He is 25% Irish, after all. And if he wants to be Kevalin, that's good too. As long as he doesn't stop calling me Mommy in his squeaky little voice for a very long time, it's all good.

Happy New Year!

2009 started, it would seem, with a bang, but I can't say for sure because I'm getting old and could only make it until 11:45. Amiya, however, rang in the new year with my parents at the Shady Acres campground. It seems the campground was hopping at midnight. That's good. Someone should be up.

We started the evening with Kev and my Dad watching Dumbo. I hope watching TV with the little guy is always so interactive - we can't get through a scene without him yelling out the types of animals on the screen, as well as their role in the family. "Iss a Mommy hippo, Mommy! Iss a Mommy hippo!" The pictures a little blurry, but that's good. It makes the psycho dancing elephants seem like the drug trip that they surely were.

Following Dumbo and a delicious dinner prepared by Grandma, we headed outside to light some sparklers. My thought was to place them upright in the ground and let 'em burn. It seems that wasn't the idea Vinay thought best - oh no. He was going to hold one and use it to light the others and then place the one he had been holding back in the ground. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I'll pause until you're done laughing, too.

All better now? So yeah, that didn't work out too well for him, but the three other grown-ups were laughing with him, not at him, so that's ok, right?

Today, Dad and Vinay headed out to golf and so Grandma, Kev, Amiya and I headed to the zoo. I'm not sure if I've ever been there when it's been that busy, but we still had a good time. Kev initiated a whole conversation with some gibbons that pretty much the whole zoo could hear. The best part was spending a calm afternoon with two kids away from toys that make noise, Webkinz and Dumbo.

I think we can safely say that the 2009 holiday season was a lot of fun and we'll have some great memories.

It's very different from a holiday with lots of family, so we make it our own. But, as evidenced by this picture of Kev, all good things must end. I think the Guptas are tired. Everyone napped today, everyone is in, or on their way to, and everyone will be chilling for the remaining four days of vacation. Life is good if this is our biggest concern, right?