Newborn Arya

Newborn Arya
My little flower

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Super Boo! (Part 1?)

Dear Arya,

Watch out the Avengers! Move over the Justice League! Forget the X-Men! There's a new superhero in town--Super Boo!

(The ultimate crime fighter! *Pew Pew Pew*)

Your first villain: The Common Cold
Life: 7-10 days
Strength: 3 (fair)
Defense: 2 (poor)

Together we showed The Common Cold who's boss! Daddy and I made sure you got lots of rests, plenty of fluids (milk and pedialyte,) gave you extra layers, provided baby Tylenol for the pain, and showered you with love.

At first The Common Cold caught you off guard and made it super difficult for you to sleep and eat but you worked your magic charm and things went your way.:

Blowing Raspberries (and smiling afterward)

Doing the "Sick Baby" Jig

Winning Dream Battles

Empathy

Lots of Naps

An Apple a Day Keeps the Bad Guys at Bay


Relying on the Help of Loved Ones





And Finally...Defeating The Common Cold With Cuteness and Smiles


I know The Common Cold will be back (and most likely with its own band of Frenemies) but for now:

Every Superhero needs a good disguise!

No job is too tough for my Super Boo! Our little fighter.

Love,
Mommy





Sunday, June 23, 2013

Happy 5 months!

Dear Arya,


As the video says, a very happy 5 months to you today! You are almost half a year old. My how time continues to fly.

Current Milestone

Introducing solids




On Wednesday, we started giving you puréed banana. As you can see, you did not like how it tasted. Today was the first day you tried carrots which as you see below, you enjoyed just a little more. 


Upcoming Milestone

Teething--Within the last week or two you have been showing signs that your first tooth is coming. I am confident that your first tooth will arrive by the time you are six months.

New likes

Bathing and massages

Taking photos with Mommy

Playtime with Daddy



Toys!


Putting stuff in your mouth (like Mommy's phone.)


Playing in the Bumbo

Just now noticing--

The kitties


Newest dislike

Bananas!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Daddy and I greatly enjoy seeing your personality shine through which brings me to this week's life tip: Always be true to yourself! Be happy about who you are and know that everyone has flaws. Learn to accept yourself for who you truly are and others will follow suit.




Love,
Mommy

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Dadimaa

Dear Arya,


Wednesday morning Dadimaa flew back to Belize. She greatly enjoyed meeting and spending time with you over the last four weeks. You grew to love her fairly quickly over the visit.

The first day:


By the end of the visit:


While spending time with Dadimaa, we did a lot of fun things together:

Eating out--




Going shopping:


Going to Oz Park:





...and spending lots of time with family:







I am so glad that you got to meet Dadimaa and know that there will be more opportunities like this one. Here are a couple photos of the two of you before she left.





Life tip: Try to always put family and loved ones first above all else. 

Love,
Mommy







Thursday, June 6, 2013

First Gurdwara Visit!


Dear Arya,



You have really been enjoying the time your Dadimaa is in town. On Wednesday, May 29th, 2013, we went to the Gurdwara located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL, for the first time with you. Gurdwara means gateway through which the guru can be reached. It is a small place of worship in Indian culture. You had so much fun there as you can see by the photos below.



This particular Gurdwara is very special since Daddy and I had our Indian wedding there on July 18th, 2010. Here are some photos from that day:

Professional Photos

More Professional Photos

Bridal Mendhi

Female Family and Friends Mendhi

Entering the Gurdwara and the Home Ceremony

The Reception/After Party

An Indian wedding usually takes place over a course of several days. Since your Daddy and I had been married for over two years already, we decided to keep the festivities simple by incorporating only the most important ceremonies. Our festivities took place over two days. A short description of the festivities:

Mendhi is where the bride to be and wedding party get special designs in henna on their hands. The bride to be also gets her feet decorated. The darker the mendhi comes out, the more your husband to be loves you. The groom's name is also hidden somewhere within the design. There is a little game played where the groom has to locate his name. Mathai is also fed to the bride and groom by their families. The Mendhi ceremony happened at Deeba's Beauty Salon on July 17th, 2010 for immediate family and then friends who arrived for the wedding got it done on July 18th, 2010. This was the same salon we used to for everyone to get hair and makeup done along with my sarai wrapped before the wedding.






In Indian customs, there is no dress rehearsal for the wedding. You do your best to follow the ceremony as it happens. Mistakes are likely to occur which is ok because this reflects how real life works. We don't really get do-overs on what happens in our daily lives after all. There are two types of weddings that can happen. If within a temple or Gurdwara, the couple journeys multiple times around the altar (pictured at the top of this letter) while religious music is played and then the Guru speaks in between about the holy union. If not within a temple or Gurdwara, the couple goes around a sacred fire.




The reception was like any other wedding reception featuring food, music, speeches from family and loved ones, and dancing. All who attended had a wonderful time. Our reception was held at the fine dining Indian restaurant, Hema's, located on Devon Avenue. It is about a block west of the Gurdwara. They cleared tables at the back of the restaurant to create a mini dance floor. We also had a small wedding cake made by the Bleeding Heart Bakery. I made a drawing of the cake for the event which they brought to life. Everyone who ate it loved it. Sadly the bakery would later close in 2012. Here is a video of the cake cutting and the first dance.:






The final part of the Indian Wedding was the blessing of the house and unveiling of the bride. The bride puts a pot cover over her head and sprinkles water around the home to sending good karma.




The whole experience was amazing. It brought Daddy and I closer together and was also the first time I got to meet your Dadimaa and Puffi. One day you may decide you want to have an Indian style wedding but we will leave that decision up to you.

Today's Life Tip: Always follow your heart and intuition. Your Daddy and I will respect your choices to worship whatever God you decide to follow (if you decide you believe there is a God) and your lifestyle choices. We just ask that you be willing to accept the consequences of your actions and live a moral and meaningful life.