We're back!

Who knows where time goes. Do I start every blog entry with that? At least I can account for two weeks this year. We went to India. It was exhausting. Note to other parents with toddlers - do not attempt a 24 hour plane journey with your tot. People will tell you to give them Benadryl, new toys, lots of gimmicks. It doesn't work. Your kid doesn't want to be cooped up in a plane for 11 hours straight, take a 3 hour break in a foreign airport, and then sit on another plane for an additional five hours. The prize at the end of this long journey, for us, was a land of chaos. To give you an idea of the noise on the streets in Chennai, imagine a cacaphony of bleating truck horns, car horns, auto rickshows meekly bleating their horns, and even the motorbikes contributed to the noise pollution. Cars and trucks implore you, in clear and bold writing on the back of their vehicles, to 'Please Sound Horn'. In other words, 'Honk like hell as you swerve around me so we don't end up in some sort of accident'. Everyone agrees that honking is the best way to maintain order within the congested streets of Chennai. During our visit, we had added noise pollution since we landed the day before Diwaali. We had firecrackers bursting - very loud cracks - for almost 36 straight hours. Needless to say, its quite an assault on a wee little one. Fortunately once acclimated, Anjali was spoiled rotten with love from her cousins, aunties, uncles, and grandparents.

365

Oh boy. I have some answering to do. Six whole months slip by without a peep. It better be good, I know. And it is good, so hope you're ready for it - here it is....life. Life is happening all around us. This little life we brought into the world a year ago has consumed us in the most euphoric of ways. She's walking, pointing, giggling, and babbling. Bath time is by far her favorite part of any day. She's in daycare and loves her friend Arnav. She has a friend named Genevieve too, but I think its a love hate relationship. Anjali will steal Genevieve's blanket, but then give it back - sometimes. The weekends are spent catching up on sleep (Anjali, Swami, Sasha, and me) and laundry. But life is very very good. The link below includes some birthday highlights.
http://picasaweb.google.com/annebanannied/Birthday?authkey=M_PN7A6ET9k

Six months on the horizon...

Two more 'firsts' to report...

1. Anjali came down with her first cold. Nothing hefty...it started as a runny nose and a cough and found a nice resting place in her lungs. Bronchialitis was the diagnosis, a nebulizer was the cure. Swami and I found the nebulizer pretty amusing and documented with some photos, but I think most people might find them a little sad. But really, she didn't mind the treatment so much and it really helped speed the recovery along.

2. During the height of cold suffering, Anjali slept ALL NIGHT LONG. Yessiree. She conked out at 6pm and we didn't hear a peep (just some coughs and wheezes) until 6am the next day. Sleep is an amazing drug. I felt like I had guzzled a gallon of coffee. I was bouncing around the house, attacking chores with a new found gusto.

Unfortunately, now that she is feeling boetter, she has been waking up again. But only once, and its usually between 3am and 4am. I'm somehow okay with that. But I won't ground her if she decides to pull an all-nighter again.

3. We are dabbling in rice cereal these days. She's curious about it, but not yet a big fan.

4. Thanksgiving was fun. We had a non-traditional celebration with our friends Kim and Reza. By non-traditional, I mean we didn't eat any of the Thanksgiving staples. Instead, we had steaks, spinach lasagne, and couscous. The real highlight of the day was the 3 hour marathon Monopoly game - I was playing with a bunch of cheaters!

5 months already!

Anju turned five months old this week. Its unbelievable how quickly time goes by. Since I'm back at work, Anju is in daycare and is adjusting just fine. Swami and I both dropped her off on her first morning. As we were leaving, we took one last look through a window to see how she was reacting. I was expecting sobs, maybe a whimper, perhaps a look of bewilderment on her face since her parents just abandoned her with strange new people. Nope! She was laughing and playing with her new pals. I breathed a sigh of relief and went about the rest of my day without worry.

Halloween was fun! Some friends of ours hosted a halloween party for the wee ones. Anju came as an elephant and had a chance to hang out with her cousin Tessa (dressed as a princess of course) and cousin David (who was a pea in a pod!) Grandma sent Anju a

halloween care package including a cute card and t-shirt - and a Starbucks gift card for me and Swami! We are addicted to our morning cuppa from S-bucks.

Everyone always wants to know what Anju is doing these days, so if you're one of these people, read on! She is:

1. Not sleeping through the night yet. She usually sleeps from 6:30pm until 3:30, sometimes waking up at noon. After that she'll wake at 5am, and we're up for good at 6am. Our pediatrician advocates letting her cry herself back to sleep, but we just can't get there.

2. Able to lay on her tummy and push and hold herself up.

3. Not able to turn over from back/front or front/back.

4. Able to laugh! Its a jolly happy laugh that just warms your insides!

5. Able to grasp and hold toys - and able to put said toys into her mouth and chew on them!

Those are the highlights. We're really enjoying being parents (to both Anju and Sasha). Until next time....

Rock A Bye Baby

Anjali loves being rocked by Swami's mom...she would actually push back with her feet every time they hit the ground! Check out a video of it here.

Poop Chronicles

Instead of lamenting over the recent departure of Swami's parents back to India, I instead will share with you a recent email conversation I was privy to. The two editorial geniuses are my friend Julianna and my sister Jessica. If you have any poop chronicles to share, let me know and I'd be happy to post! Fortunately our little Anjali has been able to keep her poop in her pants up til now....

On Sep 24, 2007, at 6:54 PM, Julianna Gustafson wrote:

"....Margot floated a log in the tub tonight. She must have done it right at the end of the bath, because one second there was no poop in the tub, and the next second (as I was lifting her out of the tub, wrapped in her towel), there was a distinct poop odor, and one log in the tub, and another log falling (with the appropriate plop! sound) on the floor mat I was kneeling on. So then I had to put her back in the tub, pick up both logs with TP and throw them in the potty, meanwhile my greased octopus is crawling all over the now-empty tub and playing with her tub toys (which have been dragged through the poop smear left on the tub when I picked up the log). I ran a little more water in the tub, cleaned off the rest of her bottom with her soapy washcloth, thanked my lucky stars that I'd brought a spare towel into the bathroom for her bath, and then lifted her out of the tub and into her room for a diaper and final cleanup. Then, after putting her to bed, I had to go back to the tub, sterilize the tub and the tub toys, and start a load of laundry to clean the poop towels!

So as Daalia holds her wee young lad in her arms tonight for the first time and ponders the gift of life, I hope she'll also look forward to the gift of poop. It just keeps on giving."

Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 7:14:43 PM
From: Jessica Galeazzi

"Nothing like a poop story for dinner reading.... I picked poop up off the floor last week with my bare hands b/c I thought it was David's dinner (beans) that had made its way to the floor. I still don't know how it got there. You can bet my floors are now the cleanest they've ever been though!"

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Catch Up

We are settling in to this new life with Anju. Every day feels like a new adventure. Mysteries range from 'how much will she nap today/how much will she sleep tonight' to 'what will amma conjure up for dinner tonight'. I know its a breathtaking and rollicking adventure. I should have warned you all before sharing such details.

We have had some fun diversions in the last few weeks, including a trip to Santa Barbara and my nephew's baptism. On both occasions grandma and grandpa had a chance to spend some quality time with Anju.

Unbelievably, pathi and tata will be leaving next week. The time we have had with them has gone by quicker than lightning. Who will trim Anju's fingernails after they leave????




With their departure also comes the sad fact that I will be returning to work soon. I haven't yet reconciled the notion that I have to pay an exorbitant amount of money to have somebody else watch my baby grow and learn while I head off to the office. It feels somehow unfair.

Of course its not always sunshine and roses....!