Su-su Potty Right now!!

Ahhh music to the ears.. Potty training started in full earnest a couple of weeks ago and we seem to have turned the corner!

Poor baby was ready a good while ago - we just didn't have the discipline to take the time and stick with it. He has been using the potty for the "serious business" for about 2-3 months at least. It was the pee-pee that was not getting enough attention.

Without going into gory details, let me just say that he as comfortable as a king on his throne now. Even the morning starts off with "Mama, su-su potty right now" - while he's still in bed with his eyes barely open and hangin' on so he doesn't fall off.

The school potty was a bit of a hurdle somehow - he just didn't like going there. But some magic over the weekend helped him turn the corner - still not quite sure what it was. He came back from school on Monday with a swagger in his step, a sticker on his hand that said "You're awesome" and asking for a new car, chocolates, anything he could think of.

He did get all he asked for today - second successful day in a row at school! He got a fire truck, a Hot Wheels car, stickers and car buttons(that i have to sow on somewhere now!).

Bye Bye Huggies!

Random stuff

Stuff that doesn't quite make it to its own post is being collected here, for now..

Over the past few weeks, Milind got a couple of "new" toys. I say "new' because these were gifts that had been stowed away, out of sight till the time was right. Too many toys at the same time means he doesn't appreciate any of them enough.

Short-term memory is a wonderful thing - each time an old toy is re-introduced to the mix, it is accepted as new toy, with all the excitement and joy that accompanies that experience :)

One of them was a gift from Meher didi and Muskaan didi - a Choo Choo train! It was in pristine condition under Bhabhi's care, even arriving in its original box. Wonder how long things will stay that way in this household..



The second toy that made an appearance was the garbage truck - a gift from Aabyr. After some sightings of the garbage pickup on fridays, the idea of the garbage truck is now more or less understood. He was so excited with the truck that when we had to go out that day, he refused to sit in the car with us unless accompanied by the garbage truck. Here is what ensued:


Barely visible here, above the ginormous truck in his lap-

My first Onam

Onam is normally quiet over here, but this time was different. With M around, we had .. well, a (very) mini celebration. Half of an Onam Sadhya & the flowers, with "Tambachi" overseeing all of it. Every step was an adventure - from picking flowers from the garden to picking the Kurta to wear(or finding one that fits..) to picking a spot to put the flowers(on the table, out of Milind's way). Milind was chanting "Happy Onam" all day, wishing anyone who would listen.

My first songs

You might need an interpreter here, in spite of these being in English.. FYI, the rhymes are Mary had a little lamb and Three Blind Mice. See if you can figure out which is which.

Khushi's visit

Its been more than 6 months since we came back home and we've been waiting for Khushi and Milind to meet. Finally happened in August - Anoop and family came over for a weekend trip. Short it was, but packed with fun. We were so glad to see them! It was even more heartwarming to see the kids get along so well(most of the time!)..There was a fair share of reluctant "sharing" and a sprinkling of timeouts, but overall they figured out a good working relationship. We managed a trip to the Discovery Museum where they promptly went their separate ways, but had fun nonetheless. Even made a trip to the mall, with lunch at a Mexican place in Willow Glen..Good times! Looking forward to the next meeting.. Some highlights below.

Helping Khushi with her shoes - they actually managed to put them on by themselves..
At the mall:

At the discovery museum:

Hangin' out:
Maan, these conference calls take so much time..

Concerts and Camping

Concerts hadn't been on our agenda much because as soon as a vocalist got on stage, our own lil' vocalist would start "Too loud, go home!" We started small, with Santa Clara's "Dancing in the park" one Friday evening, ready to head home in about 15 mins(i.e, one quick beer). Instead, we went home 2 hours later, with Milind head-banging to some 80s music and goofing around with 3 red-haired Irish brothers(who seemed like quite a handful!), while gulping down some California rolls on the side :)

Same weekend, on Sunday afternoon we ended up at the San Jose Blues and Jazz festival. Great music, lots of food and hot as hell. Milind managed to have fun, of course - even managing to get a car "tattoo" on his arm.

I love it, Papa!!
Car Tattoo:

Camping: Dirt, tents, friends, trucks, cars and bicycles. Need I say anything more? Oh yeah, Bears! Turns out we were camping in bear territory(Sequoia National Park), so we had some visitors we hadn't accounted for, but should have probably expected. Except for that, it was a blast.

One of the rare peaceful moments:

Water fight!
All the boys:
And the lil' ones:
Too young for Choppers, no?
All in all, a good time.