Three Guesses

It's time for a new contest friends. But first, perhaps, you would like results from the first?

A P.O.C. is a Poop on Command and Kev has mastered the art. Anytime he wants out of his crib he P.O.C.s and then yells "Ahnay! Ahnay!" until one of us rescues his delicate tush from the foul matter.

Since no one who was eligible to win (ahem, Mom!) got the correct answer, two batches of cookies went out - one to a dear reader in Wisconsin and one to my Grandmother.

So, the new contest - can you guess which food prompted the vast array of faces below?









The prize is (again) a dozen decorated cookies to be sent out in a most untimely fashion! Everyone's eligible as long as you weren't present at our house during this meal! Place your guess in the comment box - first correct answer wins!

(And look at that, three days, three posts! Oh my goddess. What is going on!?!?)

La donna et mobile*...

For your viewing pleasure, Dame Amiya giving a command performance of the Sleeping Beauty theme song, complete with tiara and off-tune wailing.

In other news, Mommy's going out tonight and Daddy's got a meeting late at work. Kev's first night with a babysitter. Anyone want to take bets on whether I get to stay out the whole evening?

(*that is not the correct spelling, it's Italian, I'm useless.)

Long time no blog

So, Vinay's been laying a guilt trip on me about not blogging enough. "Kevalin won't have any of his childhood written down." Here I am, ready to blog. But I guess no news is good news, right? Will you buy that?

I spent a quick two days in Wisconsin last weekend to visit my Grandma (paternal). She's not doing well, so I went while she's still with us. Vinay did a fantastic job with the kids all to himself, but did anyone really doubt that he would? And, perhaps most amazing of all, when they came to the airport to get me, both children were in appropriate, coordinated outfits and Amiya's hair was put up in not one, but two, adorable little ponytails! Great job Daddy!

A few other tidbits (or titbits, as Amiya calls them):

Amiya can count to 100 all by herself. Once in a while she'll say something like "sirty-eight, sirty-nine, sirty-ten, oops, I mean forty!...." She's no less proud of this feat than I am - I think it's pretty cool!

She has also graduated from a toddler bike to a big girl bike. She tells me that she went "past Mr. James' house two whole times!!!" while I was in Wisconsin, but she's pretty nervous about it as she fell a few times. We'll keep plugging along. The biggest challenge is that she's concentrating on everything but pedaling. For example, "Mommy, can we go to the pool tomorrow?" "Just pedal, Amiya!" "Mommy, can I call Aubrey to come over and play?" Just pedal, Amiya! "Mommy, can Kev have a fireman birthday next year?" For the love of all that is good and right, JUST PEDAL AMIYA! She's dying for a bell for her bike, but she can't have one until she rides all the way to the park. At this rate the bell might be part of her dowry. Not to be outdone, Kev needed a sweet ride of his own. So we pulled out the tricycle with stationary footrests and a handle for us to push. We strapped on the big bobbleheaded baby helmet and put him on. He stayed just about long enough for us to take a picture. Then it was a no-go. You can check him out in the background of the bike picture.

We recently attended a neighbor's birthday party at a children's gym in the area. Both of our darlings were in their element - Amiya was braving the monkey bars for the first time and Kev was toddling about like he owned the place, especially enjoying preening in front of the mirrors. Kev will probably be going back for more playtime as he is a shy little guy and this was exciting enough for him that it pulled him out of his shell more than anything else has. Perhaps the best part of the trip was that Amiya netted a humonica (harmonica) in her goody bag that went everywhere with us for several days. Nothing like an atonal harmonica song to make that car ride even more interminable. However, it does make Kev laugh and hearing those two giggling together is maybe the best sound in the world.

The Diego obsession has run rampant over our house. Rampant, rampant, rampant. Kev still has no intention of ever saying my name (except Ahnay! when he wants a poopy diaper changed), and yet when Diego is on TV or someone hauls out a Diego book, we hear a very guttaral, yet soft "Go! Go!" That's right, it's not just Amiya who loves this Central American Animal Rescuer, it's also Kev. So, while at the store the other day to find new pajamas for Kev, our attention was naturally called to the Diego selection and both kids were suddenly in great need of new clothes. Unfortunately, the people who market Dora and Diego seem to be a bit sexist in their ways. Dora, it seems, is only for girls and Diego for boys. Diego pajamas galore for Kev, none for Amiya. So, she got a pair of boys pajamas which is really just fine. She looks adorable and they'll pass down to Kev when he's as big as Amiya.

And finally, Kev seems destined for a career in interior design. He is forever remodeling our house. Baskets here, books there. Here you can see where the magazines now should be placed in our house. He also seems to have gone to medical school sometime since birth as, much like old magazines in waiting rooms, he tears the covers off to dispose of them.

My goal this weekend is to blog everyday. Call your bookies - the odds are not in my favor but I will try!

Hoppy Easter!

You may remember Easter last year:

I'm pleased to report that this year was much, much less traumatic for our youngest child. He hunted eggs with the big kids, taking eggs from their baskets and replacing them with eggs of his own or, in true toddler style, highly coveted playground mulch. Kev would rather chew on mulch then chocolate anyday, so his heart was in the right place (I think).

Both Amiya and Kev hunted for eggs on the Wednesday before Easter with our Moms Club and then also Sunday morning with our neighbors. To the left you can see Kev on our lawn (it's dry in Florida). He did a great job finding a few eggs and then lost interest, preferring to pick at the blades of grass. He did enjoy chasing around three "big" girls, though, something about the squeals, I think!

The final Easter picture is of Amiya with her two best buddies, Gabe and Aubrey and all of the little sibs. Trying to get a picture of toddlers and babies all in some semblance of order is like nailing jello to a tree, it just doesn't happen. I especially like Aubrey's face in this one - either someone has a really bad diaper or she had too much candy!

Morning at the Zoo

Have you ever seen such a cute cheetah?

Amiya tells:

There are new animals at the zoo. Leapin' lemurs, cheetahs, pippy (pygmy) hippos and (African) pink flamingos. We went to the zoo early in the morning. We ate breakfast and then I got my face painted like a cheetah. Then we looked at the noisy and slimy pippy hippos.

Amiya types:

We saw elephants at the zoo. And we saw giraffes and zebras.

P.O.C.

A P.O.C. is what Kev does everytime he wants out of his crib.

One dozen decorated Easter cookies shipped to the first reader who can guess what P.O.C. stands for.

Sponsor:
The P.O.C. Contest is sponsored by Christy Gupta. Christy Gupta is the mother of two darling children, one of whom P.O.C.s and the other does not (anymore)

Eligibility:
The Contest is open to readers of this blog who are 13 (Nisha!) years of age or older at the time the Contest commences. Employees, officers, parents, directors, agents, husbands, representatives and independent contractors (and their immediate family members and members of the same households, whether related or not) of Christy Gupta or the Republican Party are not eligible to participate.

Summary:
In order to enter the Contest, you must enter your name, and guess in the comment window. Bribery is acceptable and should be sent in the largest possible bills you have. By providing your name and comment, you become a member of the Anti-P.O.C. Foundation.

Prizes:
Each semi-final winner shall receive nothing except a Gurd Job! from Amiya, the Didi of the P.O.C. genius.

A single Grand Prize shall be awarded, as set forth in these official rules. The Grand Prize will consist of a dozen decorated Easter cookies to whomever wins.

Unclaimed prizes will not be awarded. All taxes and other expenses related to any prize are the responsibility of the prize winners.

Cost:
There is not cost to participate in the Contest, however donations of large amounts are gladly accepted to subsidize the handling of the P.O.C. phenomenon.

Tears of Horror, Smiles of Joy

We have an intense son. He eats with two fingers only in a pincher-like motion. He steps with purpose and decisiveness. He uses few words, preferring to gesture in the general direction. When he's angry it consumes him. When he's happy he is nothing but.

Our first foray into fingerpainting. This is the least pained of all the expressions he made while trying this out. He does not like to have muck on his hands, he does not like food hanging out of his mouth, and he definitely does not like green paint on his hands.

On the other hand, going down the slides, swinging in the swings, rummaging in the mulch, anything at the park and the little man is happy, happy, happy. Thrilled, even. At least definitely much happier than when fingerpainting.

Happy Barfday

We celebrated Amiya's birthday on Sunday in true Amiya style. We had a party at the park and shortly after singing happy birthday and passing out the cupcakes, Amiya stepped away from the table and barfed up the contents of her breakfast and lunch. Good times, good times.

Here you can see Amiya and Reed, a friend who was visiting and also shares the same birthday, their cupcakes and goody bags. Approximately twenty minutes before barf.

She left the park with Vinay and Kev to come home and nap. Two fevers and two doses of Tylenol later and she woke up to us singing "Happy Barfday to you!" She thought it was funny.

She hasn't yet gotten a birthday dinner, so we'll do that sometime this week. She wants to have a backwards dinner (ice cream sundaes first, then pancakes), so we're waiting until she is completely cough free. She's also gotten almost a present a day - a Diego backpack full of Diego games, a Diego doll, a Diego computer game, Balloon Lagoon, a fabulous storyback, a gorgeous picture and handpainted frame and a ticket to see Diego Live! This was all after we said no presents at her barfday party. Plus she's also getting a day at Disney World and a trip to the jewelry/beading store with Grandma to string fabulous matching jewelry. Could life be any better for this child?

Amiya-isms

Some recent quotes from Amiya:

When asked how old she is (prior to her birthday):
Three and eleven twelfths.

Tonight in the car:
Mommy, I need to poop. It's an emergency.

Mommy: "Well, you'll have to wait until we get home or to Grandma's."

I can wait until Grandma's. If I just keep my bottom pushed down on the carseat then there's no room for the poop to come out and it won't come out.

A few days ago in the bathroom:
Mommy, I have poop on my shirt.

Mommy comes running because nothing good can become of those words. Upon arriving in the bathroom Mommy inspects rear hem of shirt for telltale signs. Nothing. Amiya points out a small red spot, chest high on the front of her shirt. It's here Mommy. I'm not sure - it's either ketchup or poop.

Daily
Mommy, I love you almost as much as I love Diego.

Tonight at bedtime
Daddy, I'm glad that you decided to be a Daddy. You're the best Daddy in the world.

Birthday Boy!

Our little man is one! Unbelievable! It doesn't seem that it can possibly be so, but it is! We had a birthday brunch with babies from playgroup and a few other of his girlfriends. Everything was monkeys - check it out:

Monkey Invitations

Monkey Decorations (made by Amiya and her friend Aubrey)


Monkey Cake

Kev's Cake



Kev enjoying his cake! He had a very big smile on his face when we sang to him and he picked one ear off the monkey to eat first. Then he very delicately ate bits and pieces of his cake. I was expecting a huge mess, but aside from the crumbs, he did pretty well! You can also sort of see the monkey on his shirt - it was a very monkey day here today!

Kev got some great presents, too, even though it was a no presents affair! A monkey backpack, a book about the zoo, a LeapFrog Fridge Radio and a gift card or two! He's set for awhile now!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Grandma and Grandpa came into town Tuesday afternoon, six days after Grandma's birthday. Amiya wanted to have a tea party for Grandma, so off the three of us went for tea. It was a very nice lunch and I'm happy to report that all three of us used our inside voices and our best manners!

Amiya wearing her tea party dress and jewelry whilst (isn't that a very tea party-ish word?) sipping milk in her tea cup. Please note the partial extension of pinky finger - she's working on perfecting this skill!

This is a fabulous picture of two very proper ladies at tea! I think Amiya really loves her Grandma and her Grandma really loves her! It was a very sweet afternoon!

Cakes and cakes and cakes!

This is my sous chef Amiya helping me out, it's a big cake week at our house. Besides Kev's birthday cake this weekend, I've got a very chocolate cake to go to a friend's teaching staff and a baby shower cake. Both to be delivered Friday. This is the most I've ever done at once and Amiya is loving licking the spatulas and beaters (nothing with raw eggs - don't worry!) and only immediately before they go into the sink - never when they're about to be used again.

When she finished licking the chocolate frosting off the spatula she told me, "Mommy, I'm your little dishwasher!"

Promise

In the event that something happens to me, I would like any and/or all of you to assist my husband in either finding a new wife or, at the very least, finding someone to come and dress our children. I love my husband to pieces and I think he's a very smart guy, but he can not dress our children in coordinating outfits to save his life.

This is an actual Vinay created ensemble. Stripes. Print.
Don't look too long, you might go blind!

Promise me you won't let him dress our kids like this!

Zoo Trip

Kev and Daddy checkin' out the okapi. Kev loved the zoo but only the
animals that were big and obvious.

Kev and Amiya grooming the goats!

Amiya saying hello elephant-style!

Amiya feeding a three ton rhino. I couldn't believe she got this
close to it, much less touched it. But she did!

Happy Valentine's Day (Late!)

A few pictures of our little loves from Valentine's Day:

Kev checking himself out in the bathtub. He does this over and over and over again. Adorable.

Amiya with her crown from her Valentine's card from Mommy and Daddy. And with the highly anticipated Diego Rescue Radio that she earned after a week of no tantrums and excellent behavior when Mommy or Daddy uses the telephone (a big struggle for her).

He walks!

It's been over a week now. We thought the day would never come, but it has! Kev wanted nothing to do with little practice walks here and there. His first steps were not just steps, but part of a baby journey from one end of the playroom to the other. And now there's no stopping him! He's had a few knocks and a pretty strong bump to the head when he fell into the train table, but other than that he's rocking!

And no, our kids don't own any pants.

Tell me this never changes...

Early Monday morning. Very, very early Monday morning.

Amiya woke up in the wee small hours yelling for me. She needed a cuddle. Ok. I crawled in next to her and we snuggled for a few minutes. As I was getting up to let her go back to sleep, she told me, "Mommy, my heart is beepin' so fast because I love you so much."

I almost melted.


Monday night, Amiya's room for cuddles before bed

Amiya and I are laying together, talking about the good parts of her day, getting in good dream wishes and so on. She has her arms wrapped around my neck in something somewhere between a cuddle and a chokehold. I told her that my heart was beepin' so fast because our nighttime cuddles are the best part of my day.

She replied, "Mommy, my cup runneth over."

And that time I did melt.

And then she says, "Anyway, what's my cup runneth over mean?"

It's the way she says "Anyway" that kills me everytime. It's so offhand and nonchalant and so stinkin' cute!

She got "my cup runneth over" from Grandma and she's had it explained to her several times already. I'm sure with Grandma and Grandpa's impending visit we'll be hearing a lot more of it!

Recent Pictures

The general state of our home after Kev has passed through any given space. He loves to empty the drawers of Amiya's dresser, the magazines from our baskets and all the burp cloths and books from the coffee table.

Our adorable little man, asleep on the playroom floor. I brought him in from the car and wanted him to wake up, so set him on the floor in the playroom where Amiya and I were reading a book. He slept for 45 more minutes. Of course, had I put him in his crib, he would have been awake immediately.

Don't you love his little tummy?

I love this picture - he reminds me of a 37 year old man from Des Moines, Iowa who is visiting Cancun and feels the need to wear a tropical shirt. The hair only adds to the effect.

Doesn't it look like he is calming down and getting ready for bed? This is our new bedtime ritual and it works a charm, although it does get him all wound up for a little bit. Dinner, baths, and then we all head to Kev's room where he throws his rings out of the crib and we put them back in. Then kisses and cuddles and to bed he goes like a dream.

Kev loves to jump in his crib, too, and gets some pretty good air. And so far, only one busted lip. Whoever said raising a boy is different than a girl was entirely right!

Proof of Amiya's engineering tendencies - this is the chair she designed so Ellie could join both Amiya and I at the breakfast party last week.

I'm still not sure if Amiya's outfit was Princess or retired Vegas lounge singer, but whichever it was, she wore it to the grocery store and got lots of smiles and smirks.

Amiya and Ellie at our breakfast party. The dominoes and cards you see were our meal - some sort of fantasy sandwich and fruit.

Maybe the outfit was Paris Hilton-like socialite at 6 in the morning?
And finally, Amiya on ice. January was the month to study polar things at school. In Florida, nonetheless. Anyway, her class went ice skating and it was a trip! The kids were pretty brave about all of it and Amiya was a good sport about it. A few falls in the beginning, but towards the end there was less stomping and more semi-gliding.

New Year's Resolutions

So we haven't really made any this year because it seems like I never follow though on them and Vinay is an engineer and making a resolution is silly. Anything an engineer sets his mind to is pretty much a done deal.

In light of that, we are trying to make some healthier choices including a whole lot less carb-y comfort foods and a whole lot more exercise. The exercise bit is the challenging part with two kids. It's either at 8 PM and we're conked or at 5:30 AM and we're usually still pretty conked. But, we're getting it done.

Today we convened in the garage for some free weights and we had our very own cheering section:

Every.single.time we picked up a weight to do something, Amiya informed us that we were doing it wrong and that she knew the right way to do it. Nevermind that she couldn't even hoist the two pound bracelet above her head for more than two reps. When finished instructing us on what to do and how to do it with weights that weigh almost more than her, she ran into the house to find a silk scarf and proceeded to show us some stretching/Pilates type exercises that make no sense but seem to keep her in great shape. If only I had known this whole time that only silk scarves are needed to weigh 32 pounds and have the sweetest little buns this side of a French bakery.

The Birds and the Bees

Thursday, 2:30 PM

Christy walks into Amiya's classroom to pick up Amiya and her buddy Aubrey.

Miss Clare pulls Christy aside, laughing. (That's important.)

"I forgot to tell you. Your daughter is teaching us about the birds and the bees."

Christy almost drops Kev. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge.

"Really? What did she tell you because she doesn't know much."

"She just told us that a Mommy's uterus knows when it's ready for a baby and then the Mommy and the Daddy have a special hug and then the baby is there."

Laugh, laugh, laugh.

Thank you very much. Ok, so I guess we're the parents of the kid who knows some of the birds and the bees but not enough to really pass around naughty words at the playground.

Please, please help us because when it comes time to talk about what exactly a special hug entails I might just lose it.

Happy New Year!

I hope anyone still reading has a very happy new year! If you've braved the google process, I appreciate it!

We had a fabulous, fabulous trip to Wisconsin for Christmas. We left Wednesday the 20th at roughly 6:30 PM and pulled into Champaign, Illinois the following day at 11:30. That was largely due to Vinay's driving - I could not have done what he did. Amiya didn't fall asleep that night until close to 10 - "I just have too much excitement in my body!" We had a lovely, home-cooked meal at my good friend Jacki's house. It was wonderful - good food, nice conversation and Jacki's two darling children for our two darling children to play with. Amiya and Carli got along perfectly - odd for two type A kids, but I'm definitely not complaining! Here you can see Carli and Amiya posing in front of Jacki's tree. Carli looks bright eyed and bushy-tailed, Amiya like she just got out of a 1,000 mile car ride. That's about right, so I suppose we can't tease her too much about this picture in the future!

We pulled into Minocqua shortly before 6-8 inches of snow fell. It was a perfect white Christmas for Amiya. She built a snowman with Uncles Jon-o and Andy, Grandpa and Daddy. She went sledding with Uncles Jon-o and Andy, Grandma & Grandpa and Daddy. Ice fishing with Grandma and Uncle Jon-o. Making doughnuts with Grandma. Tea parties with Grandma. Filling the deer feeder and watching the deer with Grandma and Grandpa. And undisclosed quantities of hot cocoa and cookies. There are more photos coming soon in the mail and I'll upload a few when we have a chance.

While in Minocqua, Santa made his visit. One of the things I told Vinay before we went to Wisconsin was that I wanted Amiya to worry about if Santa would find her away from home and then marvel at the fact that he did. That almost didn't work because Mommy forgot to put the "Santa" presents in the car. And while I never thought I would say it, I was very, very grateful to Wal*Mart. A quick trip to Wally World saved the day. We had a lovely time visiting with my Mom's parents on Christmas Day, as well. Amiya spent most of that time badgering Super Grandma to play Candy Land (thank you Wal*Mart) and have tea parties.
It took Kev quite a while to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa, but once he did it was all good. You can see him staring adoringly at Grandpa here - he knows who has the hammers and saws and blocks of wood to play with! And below he cuddles with Grandma. He was "walking" back and forth between Grandma and me and would give whoever he was walking to the biggest cuddles as soon as he got there. Hopefully he won't lose this familiarity with them and Vinay and I will be able to sneak away for a weekend when my parents visit in March.

Santa came through for Amiya with a red scooter - "just what I always wanted." He dropped it off before we left Tampa since he knew she wouldn't be able to ride it in the snow. She quickly mastered scooting around and has discovered the thrill of the slight decline of our driveway. She wears her helmet faithfully and even the smallest bump causes her to yell out, "Good 'sing I had my helmet on!"

In other news, Kev has, in fact, started to toddle around as long as he's got someone's finger to cling to. He seems far, far too young for this. It's odd the way we relate to him v. Amiya. We cheered her walking on every tiny step of the way. With Kev, we help him out and cheer, too, but inwardly we're sad about it. (I am, at least, Vinay denies it.) He's our last and growing up way too fast. We had to start him on PediaSure at the beginning of December as he is so tiny, so our nursing is finished. Again, growing up way too fast. On our trip he learned how to wave - an emphatic thrusting up and down of his entire right arm (a little Forrest Gump, honestly) and how to clap. Since returning home, Vinay has taught him to do a "big stretch" during which Kev throws both arms up over his head and pulls on his hair. He's almost got it!

Amiya finished up the year at school with a pajama party. Big, big excitement for the preschool set. She absolutely had to wear her plaid pajamas that Grandma made for her and take Clifford because "he matches, Mommy!" She spent her morning watching Pooh's Christmas, running around on the playground and snacking on tepid cocoa and popcorn. Her teacher had plans for grander things, but gave up and took the path of least resistance.

Before leaving on our trip, I had two big cakes to make. The first is for our pediatrician's office as a thank you - they always are able to fit us in and give great care to our children. The second was for a teacher's luncheon where I used to work when we first moved to Florida. It was fantastic to be able to put my ex-boss' name on the naughty list. Everything in each picture is edible except the medicine cup and the note. I also had about six bags to sew and ship - it's kind of fun to think that "my" bags were under the trees of about 15 different Moms and Grandmas this year. All the profit from sewing and cakes goes directly to the Three Day walk and I'm happy to report that I'm just shy of 25% of the total I need to raise. I'm looking to find a team to join to train with and get to know. If I'm going to be spending three days with all these walkers, I'd like to know a few of them beforehand!