Locks of Love

Amiya got her first styled haircut today - until now it has just been bangs and ends trimmed a couple of inches every other month. She's growing her bangs out and they were in her eyes constantly, so that coupled with increasing annoyance at the maintenance and constant scrambling to braid it or pull it up in the morning meant hair cut time. We've been talking about Locks of Love with her for literally months, but she has been resitant. She has always, always gotten compliments on her hair (never left down, always braided or in a floppy bun or something of the sort) and I think for her she thinks it is what makes her cute. So we have been talking a lot about how the other things that make her beautiful that have nothing to do with looks. Finally, after a call from her cousin this morning she agreed to a cut. I was on the phone with the salon two minutes later.

I love it. I think she looks so, so cute. She likes it too, she's constantly whipping her head back and forth to feel it. She also appreciated the quick wash and comb after her bath today!

All in all she gave four ponytails of hair, each about 14" long. We'll send them tomorrow. She's excited to be helping out some other little girls. She also thought she was pretty cool because all the ladies (and gent) at the salon were oohing and ahing over how "grown-up" she looked with her "fancy" haircut.

Before, down past her waist.

Showing off her new brush and mirror -
to be used only after the haircut.

Keeping calm through meditation prior to the appointment.

Eyeing the cut-off point. Feeling nervous.

Fait accompli. Done deal. '
Sitting like a big girl for the detailed cut.

Happy and loving it!

And a big, big thanks to Nisha. Nisha was able to get Amiya to agree to a hair cut in about two minutes! I think Amiya must really, really love her cousin!!!

Saturday's Walk (Not an exact translation)

We walked today. 5 kilometers (3 miles) in the Makin' Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. Here we are to the right, just before the start. The weather in Tampa is good (relatively speaking) lately and it was a beautiful day. We walked along Tampa Bay, so despite the heat (85 or so), we had a nice breeze.

As I'm prone to do at certain things (the singing of the national anthem, large groups of people meeting to make a statement, etc.), I was a bit teary-eyed throughout. I thought so much of my host Mom in France, Genevieve. She opened her home, her family, her heart to a stranger (American, at that!) and because of her I have such wonderful memories of my time abroad. Unbeknownst to her, she would be diagnosed with breast cancer the first time I stayed with them. She epitomized strength and tenacity, two things I recognized even though at the time I couldn't work out how to say them in French. We walked in honor of Genevieve Clavel, Survivor.

Amiya walked about 2/3 of the walk, although she wanted to walk the entire time. She cried and yelled when I made her sit in the stroller, but her little legs couldn't keep pace and were starting to hurt. We've talked a bit about what breast cancer is and she understands it's when women have a sickness in their breasts. She extrapolates to babies and nursing and wanted to walk so that the Mommies breasts will get better so the babies can have milk. She doesn't understand that breasts are so much more physically and emotionally - and that's ok for now. She did her part in the way that is most immediate to her.

Kev, as is his way, wanted to do exactly like his sister, so no stroller for him, either. Vinay carried him for most of the walk. (As well as carrying the stroller Kev was supposed to sit in!) Not a lot of fun for Vinay, but he smiled the whole time.

All in all, a good Saturday. We got some fresh air, some exercise and the feeling of being involved in something larger than ourselves.

Le promenade de Samedi

Nous avons marchés aujourd'hui. On a fait 5 kilometres contre le cancer des seins. Ça ce fait souvent aux etats-unis - que les gens donnent de l'argent pour la recherche contre quelque chose et puis ils se rendent tous au meme endroit pour une promenade. Donc, nous (à droit) juste avant le commencement.

Il fait beau en Tampa ces jours, mais quand-meme chaud. C'etait une matinée formidable, en famille et pensant à toi, Genevieve. Je ne peux jamais te dire merci au niveau que j'aimerais. Tu (et JJ et Céline, mais toi plus que tout!) m'as ouvert ta maison, ta famille, la France, et la beauté de ta personne pendant une periode trés dificile. Comme tu le sais bien, je tiens trés fort à la France et aux Clavels et c'est vraiment tout grace à toi.
On a marché pour toi. On dit ici "Dans l'honneur de Genevieve Clavel, Survivante."

Amiya a marché le 2/3 de la promenade, mais elle voulait marcher le totale. Elle pleurait trés, trés fort lorsque je l'ai mise dans le chariot, mais ses petits jambes commencaient à cramper. On lui a expliqué qu'est-ce que c'est le cancer du sein et que marcher fait connaitre cette maladie aux autres. Elle croyait qu'elle ne aidait pas assez les mamans qui ont mal aux seins dans son chariot. Elle voulait marcher à tout prix. Elle n'y comprends pas plus que les seins sont pour le lait pour les bebes et elle voulait surtout que les bebes ont leur laits!

Kev, comme d'habitude, voulait faire exactement comme sa soeur, donc pas de chariot pour lui non plus. Vinay l'a porté le plupart de la marche. Pas trés amusant pour Vinay, mais ça allait.

Et là, Vinay lit. Moi, je blog. Les enfants dorment. Demain viens bientôt.

Gros bisous, Genevieve. On t'aime.
Christy

Burn Baby Burn!

See that top lip? That's a burn and she did it to herself. She's got these headbands that we've been using to keep her growing bangs out of her eyes. They have thin little strips of exposed rubber to keep the head band in place. Amiya likes, no liked, to rub said thin strips across her upper lip.

Not anymore. She's pretty glum about the whole thing (she thought she was posing for a picture of her dancing). Complaining often, crying that it hurts, etc. We agree with her that it must hurt, but that's about the limit of our sympathy.

Cracks

B.o.*, Vinay and I asked the other frequently, "What crack are you on?" What we meant was, "What are you ingesting that causes such inane thoughts?" We don't say it anymore because it just wouldn't be cute coming out of a three year old mouth. Still, though, we find ourselves in a world filled with crack(s).

Saturday saw us in the car running errand after errand after errand. Vinay lamented that he was having to let things fall through the cracks at work for lack of time. Amiya took this quite literally until we explained about idioms and expressions and that what it meant was Daddy wasn't able to finish everything because he ran out of time. Good enough, she got the idea and went on to sing a song to Kev. Later that night she threw it back at me in true Amiya style. She was sad that we hadn't made it to Coldstone for her ice cream. When I told her that we just ran out of time she responded with, "So Coldstone fell through the cracks?" Smart kid!

And then there's Kev and his little crack and his complete lack of any modesty at all. When changing Kev's diaper it's important to know that at no time should you hope for him to lie still. Amiya was, for all practical purposes, immobile compared to Kev. Kev wiggles, squirms, rolls and slides until we are unsure how he got where he got. He's also quite interested in himself and it doesn't matter if we've gotten through with the clean-up detail or not. But all of this may have come to a grinding, screeching halt today. Our Little Man got a good hold on his, ahem, little boys. He was quite calm, even serene, until something startled him and he gave a good jerk, followed by a long and lusty cry. I think I would have been much better at consoling him had I not been laughing so hard!

*before offspring

Scenes from the weekend

It seems that all we do these past several weekends is run errands. But then I check our camera which we pretty much have lying about all the time and realize that that's just not the case. We had time for lots of little moments.

Amiya "coloring" on a sugar cookie.

Kev caught (not literally) under our computer cabinet.

Amiya and Daddy out flying a kite in the backyard.

Kev, Daddy and Amiya playing "soccer".
Kev was laughing more than we've ever seen before.
He's definitely all boy!

Like Father Like Son

You may recall that I've oft alluded to my husband's penchant for vacuum cleaners. It seems it may be genetic and passed down to the male of the family.

Here you can see Kev cuddling up to part of the Roomba. This went on for a good five minutes before I got the camera. And, while I admit to taking a little creative license once in a while and embellishing the story a wee bit for your entertainment, I am not kidding at all when I tell you that when I first turned the corner from kitchen to living room, I came upon my young son canoodling with this plastic contraption, patting it softly and cooing to it.

Yes Miss Gupta

We're back to role-playing non-stop around here. In the past few days we've been students, library patrons, party guests, restaurant diners, children, children with ear infeshuns and children on the Magic School Bus.

Amiya in her best teacher pose:





















Daddy trying so hard to sit crisscross applesauce:





















And while I do think Amiya has got the "teacher" thing down pat - from the crossed legs, to the big, expressive gestures, it's a whole lot more fun to see Vinay try to bend his legs in ways that they haven't bent in many, many years!

Chez Christy

Check this out.

That's right. I've got my own little cyber storefront. That makes me pretty special, eh?

I've decided to walk The 3 Day next year. It's three days of walking twenty miles each day and camping each night. Ugh. But, it's benefitting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and that's a good thing. Don't we all know someone affected by breast cancer?

So, I've got to raise $2200 to participate and I'm working on it now. The walk is next October 19-21. It'll take me that long!

I am happy to report that the Gupta family raised $225 for the American Cancer Society Makin' Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk here in Tampa on October 28th. I'll post pictures of us out there once we actually walk. It's only three miles, so we're all doin' it and we're gonna love it, dammit!

Half 'n Half

Naptime today. This is pretty common around here lately - Little Man is setting himself up fora a lifetime of circulation issues. I move him when I find him, but not before I get a picture!

NKOTB

That's New Kids On The Block for those of you who weren't in the know in my middle school days. I either stayed up really late or got in line really early for tickets to one of their shows once upon a time. And I went to a few others after that one. I thought Jon was the cutest but now can only grimace at that pre-adolescent crush. Ugh.

Happily, there's a new bunch of new kids on the block and they're all super cute, without tight jeans and moussed-up hair.

Check it out:

That's Brody in blue, looking all zenlike. Then Madison who is giggling while Kev suavely puts his moves on. And then Aiden in white just loving life.

These new friends are Kev's playmates at Thursday morning playgroup. It seems silly that a seven (almost eight!) month old goes to playgroup, but it's got to be about the sweetest thing ever. They spend some time looking at each other, checking each other out, banging on toys and generally just rolling over each other. They're almost too cute to watch.

Rough Monday?

Here you go.

Oral Hygiene

Amiya had her first dental appointment on Wednesday. She was really nervous going in and I'm not sure why. Maybe she's gotten it from Vinay or I or maybe from a friend, but despite said nerves, she did so well!

Non-pediatric dentists won't take patients under 5 around here (ask me how many I've called) and pediatric dentists are a specialty dentist as per most insurances, meaning we pay through the nose to get her there. Now, after spending thirty minutes in one of three differently themed waiting rooms, I know why it's so bad word expensive. These rooms were decorated to the hilt - our room was butterflies. Everywhere beautiful paper maché, hammered steel, stained glass, you name it. Gorgeous! And, while I wasn't thrilled with the final price, you can see below that it helped to calm her down.


The second picture was taken only moments before the part she found the scariest. Her words, "Mommy, I loathed the chair ride." That's right, she loathed it. We're trying to get rid of the word hate from our vocabulary, so she uses loathe now, instead. I digress. She didn't like the chair ride, but she did great when she was down.

Pediatric dentists have all sorts of gimmicks to get the kids to think its fun and to relax. Amiya's exam room was again filled with all sorts of brightly colored artwork - this time a rainforest theme. She also had to put on cool shades so the bright light wouldn't bother her eyes.

As an aside, don't you think the hygienest who you can sort of see in this picture should have had her hair pulled back? Neither she nor the dentist (also female with long hair) had their hair pulled back behind their shoulders. It never got in Amiya's face, but still. Ugh!

All in all, Amiya was just a trooper. She did great and got a great big sticker to wear all day - she even went to bed with it on. Since returning home we have played dentist almost nonstop - including Kev. She's all over him to try and check his teef. Come the day that she sticks a finger in there and he actually has one. Mwa ha ha ha ha.

He ('s got) Rolls!

Check that out. He's got not one, not two, not three but FOUR distinct little chub crevices. Love it!

Warning

Do not operate jumpy machinery under the influence of breastmilk.

Little Ross Geller

Amiya, Kev and I spent the morning at Dinosaur World just outside of Tampa on Friday. We went with our local Moms club and so it was a good time. We enjoyed the almost temperate Florida weather - 85 or so in the shade - and meandered along the paths looking at dinosaurs big and small. We should have done some reading before going - Amiya had lots of questions about various dinosaurs and I know nothing except that T-Rex is ferocious and raptors are even moreso.

The big hit of our visit was a really large sand box with a dinosaur "skeleton" buried below. Children could use shovels and brushes at their leisure to try and uncover the skeleton. Amiya spent a good thirty minutes working on this project with her buddy Austin. Together they found hind legs, front legs (arms?!), a spine and a head. It was fun to see how excited she got everytime she found something new. She tells me she wants Grandpa to make her a sand box like this when she comes. Let's hope she forgets before then!

Twinkle Toes

So she got a pair of ballet slippers that aren't really ballet slippers. Mommy bought the wrong kind, so she now gets to wear these around the house. And if she sits, she must sit with her little legs crossed because "that's how a ballerina sits, Mommy!"

Swinger!

My favorite picture of Amiya ever is on the swings and I'm trying so hard to get a like one of Kev. These aren't too bad, but they're not there yet!

Behold...

...the power of cheese.

Tummy Time

Kev is starting to crawl, commando style. It's cute for us, but annoying for Amiya because he always wants what she's got. So, today, he and I camped out on the floor while Amiya was at preschool. These are just a few pics from his afternoon time with only Mommy. He was all giggles and grins except when the camera came out!

October Already?

Can you even believe it? We can't! We've been crazy busy around here lately. It seems as if many of our minor appliances have decided that now is the time to retire and Kev has taken on an uncanny ability to retain all spit-up until he is over the carpeting. Our quiet Sunday night turned into a deep cleaning of the carpeting. (Actually, Vinay did the carpet. You may not know this but he is oddly fond of vacuums and it would seem that the carpet cleaner is no exception. I'm not allowed to touch. I offered, but no.)

So anyway, crazy busy means not a lot of time to post. But my Mom has been harassing me, so I guess I'd better. The kids are doing fantastically well. Kev had better be teething because otherwise we don't know what he's so fussy about. He's a very opinionated little mite and only Mommy will do most of the time. When he's not sleeping (see above), Mommy had better be within sight or mass crying occurs.

Vinay is hard at work on a proposal that he is sending in to the Dept. of Defense. It's not for some nanotechnology advancement or a new infrared thingy, it's to tell them that they have been seriously barking up the wrong tree since forever with all the anti-missile defense systems they have. All they need is Kev. Kev has 100% accuracy at deflecting any item within a spoon's length of his mouth. If he does not want yogurt, yogurt does not get near him. I am fully encouraging this food flinging of his. I figure if I can get enough peas, sweet

potatoes and butternut squash speckled on our kitchen walls, maybe, just maybe my husband will see the light and allow me to paint!

We've been trying to get Amiya to cut her hair a bit shorter since forever, but no dice. It's down to her waist now and it's lovely, but she's not a big fan of getting it combed. I've told her so much about Locks of Love, but she's like Samson - she'll lose all her power if she loses her hair. Ah well, it's her hair, right? She's now on a kick to have hair like her Nisha Didi, so she's growing out her bangs. They're not long enough yet to look terrible, but holiday greetings this year will be a bit scruffy. We're experimenting with headbands, gels and sprays.

In other Amiya news, she has started ballet class. It's just about too much pink to handle watching seven girls and one brave boy bob around a classroom. It would appear that Amiya has not inherited any of the very little rhythm her parents have, but she's only three. She's got lots and lots of time to compensate! In the meantime, she's loving it. She also will wear only dresses now if she's got a choice and she holds up her skirt when she walks - she's a true (transplanted) Southern belle.

Liar, Liar

That's what I am. A big, old liar. It's how I get food into the kid lately - food that I know she wouldn't try if I didn't make up a fabulous story about it. To the left you see Coco Wheats. That not-so-glorious breakfast food of my youth. But it's nothing so mundane as Coco Wheats here, instead we call it Hot Cocoa Cereal. A few marshmallows on top and a sprinkling of mini-chocolate chips and it goes down as slick as snot. Not that I'm wild about the marshmallows and chocolate chips, but we must pick our battles wisely. When trying a new food and one that I really want her to eat because I'm not too scared of how it will look if it revisits us, I'm not above bribery.

To the right we see Amiya after finishing her very last magic shell. That's right, it's magic in the Gupta house. Here's how you can make your own magic shells:
1 box shell pasta, cooked
1 can tuna drained
1 shallot chopped
1 c. frozen peas
1 handful chopped celery
1 handful of cheese cubed
mayo
salt
pepper

Toss it all together and chill.

That's right, magic shells are nothing more than cold tuna noodle salad. You're onto me! Amiya was having none of it, absolutely none of it. Mommy wasn't making something else so I told her that if you can find two shells with one inside the other, you just have to close your eyes tight and make a wish. Happily, shells often get glued together, so there were lots of wishes going on at our house. And Amiya kept on eating those magic shells even when Mommy's (odd) tuna craving had passed and I wanted nothing more to do with the leftovers.

Bond, Kevalin Bond

This is how it starts and then it just happens so fast, so slick, so suave.




All he needs is a girl with a dagger strapped to her

thigh in an orange bikini.

Kevalin Bond, Secret Agent

Shower Smiles

Could he be any sweeter?

When it rains, it pours....

Not only true because we live in Tampa, but because when Amiya gets sick, she really ties one on. We try not to be over-zealous doctor goers. A cold is a cold, a cough is a cough. The only thing that gets us to the doc instantly is ear issues because, well, she's had ear issues. It now appears that we should have taken her in sooner.

(And now it's time to finish your breakfast, your cocoa, your snack. Trust me. Walk away until your stomach is ready.)

She woke us up Sunday morning at 4:30 by spewing vomit all over her bed and herself. Good times. She wasn't chipper, but she wasn't miserable, either. A few bouts of not-so-pleasant emissions from the other end on Monday and a bit of a cough. We thought she had the stomach bug that her good friend Aubrey had. But no, it wasn't to be so simple.

After conferring with the nurse Tuesday morning about lack of appetite, general lethargy, etc., she said we should come in. So off we went to see Dr. Jacob. Amiya did not want to go and generally she loves Dr. Jacob, so it was pretty clear that she was feeling pathetic. Dr. Jacob diagnosed not only a viral infection in her digestive system (check, Mommy got that one right), but also bronchitis (minus, bad Mommy - it wasn't just a cough).

So, two prescriptions and a liter of pedialyte later, Amiya is enjoying her first relationship with a nebulizer and she walks around the house with the above tupperware container. Not so much for puke, but because the poor girl can't cough and spit, so when she's got something to get rid of it just sort of dribbles down her chin. (Aren't you glad you're not enjoying a warm, wet beverage at this moment?)

She won't touch the pedialyte with a ten foot pole, wasn't even interested in the strawberry-limeade from Sonic's that she usually steals from me or the slushee that Daddy brought home from Sam's Club, another favorite that we thought would be sure to cross her over to the beverage world. True to form, she only wants water.

She's better today and will hopefully be even moreso tomorrow.

Two (TWO!) is the magic number!

9/11

I remember making phone call after phone call to family and friends on the days following this one five years ago. No one that we knew was at the WTC and like many people, there was really no single place to focus all my feelings. So I called and was called by family and friends to try and make sense of it all.

I will always remember a conversation with my very good friend Amber. She was already the Mom of a precious girl and was talking about working on baby #2. I couldn't fathom actively trying to bring another person into this world to have to face the kind of grief and angst I was feeling. Wouldn't it just be cruel? Wouldn't it be setting myself, Vinay and ultimately that child up for more of the same? And then Amber, being Amber, reasonable, moderate, thoughtful Amber, talked a bit about why it wouldn't. That having a child is in fact a beautiful thing. Having a child creates more beauty and more happiness, for us as parents, but for the world community, as well.

I was so wrong about it being cruel to bring a child into this messed-up world. In three short years and six short months, Amiya and Kev have brought so much to our lives. We have created peace, love, happiness together. So much more than anyone could ever take away.

So today, we remember senseless, tragic loss, on our shores, in Afghanistan, in Iraq by the hands of others and by our own. I cry for the Mothers who have lost a child, such a beautiful being, because now I know. And I hope that my children and their friends, here and there, known and unknown, do a better job at taking care of each other, of respecting each other, of delighting each other, of loving each other, than we have.

Valid Excuse

This time I've got a legitimate excuse for not getting on to update more often:

That's right, she's 3 and we've got a computer nut on our hands. We regularly are asked if she can play computer games and if it's her turn. www.sesamestreet.com has had to switch to a new server because Amiya is there all.the.time.

Ok, so I exaggerate a wee bit. But truly, she thinks she's a little whiz kid now that she can work the mouse. We dread the day she and Grandma figure out how to instant message back and forth.