Highlights from November

Noah is obsessed with trains. He has many train sets around the house and trains to drive on the tracks. Thomas is his favorite and he enjoys watching the movies as well. I'm not really sure if I like the Thomas stories or not. The trains are always fighting and teasing each other. Sometimes they make up in the end, but I'm not really clear as to what message the children are supposed to learn. They all seem kind of bratty to me. Anyhow, I never knew that we had so much railway history here in the Twin Cities. A couple of Noah's favorite places in the model train museum in Bandana Square in St. Paul. http://www.tcmrm.org/ It has a huge model train set up and running that duplicates what the railroads were like in the Twin Cities during the 30's, 40's and 50's. Noah could watch those trains go by for hours and it's funny because Anisha actually enjoys watching it as well.

The other place that we found is the Jackson Street Roundhouse in St. Paul. It has actual train cars that kids can play in, train sets that the kids can play with and a little gift shop with, of course, Thomas and Friends toys. The best part of this museum is the caboose ride. Noah was pretty excited about riding in a real train car, but he wasn't so fond of the noise.


John is still at Boston Scientific in a management position and I'm sure you have heard about all the layoffs. His job is safe for now but it requires a lot more of his time and he has been traveling quite extensively lately. While this has been a little rough for the family, he has been fortunate enough to see some exciting places. He spent a week in Japan during the month of November which turned out to be perfect timing because Noah's school has been studying Japan this month as well. There was lots of material for show and tell. I'm jealous of all the fabulous sushi he got to eat. There is link to his photos on the left.

This was Anisha's first Thanksgiving and we were spent it at the Mitra's house, close friends of the family. Noah had a blast playing with his cousins, Natalie and Nicholas. Anisha had fun too, but she is at the age where strangers and large crowds are a bit overwhelming, so she stuck close by me most of the night.



A couple of days later, we went to the Mustaphi's house to celebrate the engagement of Rai and Scott (finally!). We had a lot of fun catching up with everyone and we are looking forward to another exciting wedding-reunion! Although we will have to wait until 2009...

Highlights from October

October turned out to be an exciting month for us. Noah went on his first field trip with his school. They visited a local apple orchard and I was fortunate to be a chaperone. The day ended up being pretty cold and rainy so we didn't actually get to go and pick apples from trees. But we did make apple juice and all the kids picked some apples from the boxes in the giant cooler. This was also Noah's very first ride on a school bus. I thought he was going to explode with excitement.







Anisha had a big month developmentally. She cut her first teeth on the 20th and started crawling shortly after. She doesn't do the typical crawl though, it's more of an army crawl and man, can she move!

It was also Anisha's first Halloween and true to form, I waited until the last possible moment to buy both costumes. Anisha was a peapod and Noah was Thomas the Tank. He was a little confused about walking up to the neighbor's houses and ringing the door bell, but once he saw what they were giving he had a good time. The turnout was pretty low this year in our neighborhood and so we had a lot of leftover candy. Noah's a big fan.








I was excited to get some girl time and visit my friend Monisha in Chicago over a weekend. Rai came in from D.C. and the three of us had a fabulous time eating, shopping and relaxing. We are already looking forward to next year and making this an annual event.

Highlights from September

So it's literally been almost 3 months since I posted anything and I can't even believe that much time has gone by. So I am going to take it one month at a time to catch up here. September started off with Anisha's Annaprasan on Labor Day weekend. Everything went off without a hitch and was a ton of fun, but I felt so rushed that it seemed like it was only 15 minutes long. Anisha was a complete angel and really enjoyed all the food. She ended up picking the gold bracelet which I think means wealth...but so does the money, so I'm not really sure. All I know is that since then, she has shown an interest in any type of jewelry so I'm sure the teenage years will be a blast. There are pictures from the Annaprasan in link to the left.

Noah started Montessori school in September and this was a really huge adjustment for the both of us. He still attends 3 full days a week like he did at daycare, but the school is 20 minutes away (instead of 2 minutes) and the school day begins at 8:30am. Those of you who know me well, know I am a huge night owl and 8:30am is early. Especially since we need to wake up at 7:30am to get there on time (kind of). The first 2 weeks there, they really focused on manners, like standing in a single file line with hands behind their backs. And when they sit on the floor during group time, they have to sit with legs crossed (which they call criss-cross applesauce) with hands in their laps. Noah immediately caught on to this and liked it so much that we have to sit like that at home. He really connected with all the teachers and enjoys the structure of his day, which is something I couldn't give him at home. My schedule changes so much from day to day that I was thankful he adapted so quickly.

A New School Year

I have completely forgotten how busy this time of year is. Trying to get schedules coordinated with 40 different accounts, hiring and training teachers to teach those accounts, attending open houses...yikes. I am tired and I have 2 more weeks of this before things become a little more manageable. I haven't had time to post anything from Anisha's Annaprasan yet, but I will soon. I did add a link to the photos though. More to come...

State Fair 07

The State Fair is a highly anticipated event for John and I. Although it usually marks the end of summer, anyone who knows us, knows how much we love to eat. So many foods on a stick and it's all so greasy, mmmmm.... So it's a little disappointing that our own son, doesn't enjoy eating the same way we do. This year however, he surprised us both by wanting to at least try everything we were eating. We started with corn fritters, fried green tomatoes, quesadilla, fried apples, scotch egg, corn dogs and roasted corn. Anisha spent the whole time staring at us like we were so cruel to eat in front of her and not offer anything. I am finding that breastfeeding is the perfect time to go stuff yourself at the fair because I never get full. We will most likely be going again before it ends on labor day, but the kids will not be with us.

You will notice in the photos that we are all wearing an obnoxious orange t-shirt. John's employer, Boston Scientific, provided these shirts for the family along with discounted tickets, so I felt a little obligated to wear them. I have to say though, that when your toddler takes off into the crowd, it's easy to spot him wearing such a bright shirt.

Photos and Facebook

So I found the camera and here are some pictures of my baby girl and Noah at the wedding last weekend. She is growing up so fast and already making crawling motions. She will be 6 months already on September 7. Her Annaprasan ceremony is next weekend. Noah is growing up too. He will be attending a montessori school next month. I am very excited for him to actually learn something, but I know the change is going to be difficult for him. His new favorite phrase is "Gimmee dat." And when I give him the mom look, he says, "Gimme dat, peez."

I have recently entered the realm of Facebook and I am intrigued. This blog has been added to my page and I am trying figure out what 'poking' someone means. I started with 1 friend (thanks Suman!) and in a couple of days I am up to 8! Yippee! This is all just more stuff I have to keep up with (in all the spare time I have) and yet for some reason I can't ignore it. We'll see how it goes. If anyone has tips, please find me and share them.

Busy Times

So I've been reprimanded by many people lately because it's been a month since I've posted anything. I'm not sure where the month of August has gone, but it's been a whirlwind of activity.

The beginning of the month started off with the Uptown Art Fair. We usually miss it every year so this time I was determined to go. We ended up meeting our good friends, Amy and Jose, there and wandered around. John and I fell in love with a beautiful photo, but decided it would be better not to buy it so impulsively. It was pretty expensive and I think we made the right decision. Although, when I walk past the spot I planned to hang it, I shed a little tear. Just a small one.

The next weekend, John's cousin, Erica, got married. I was her maid of honor and it was a beautiful ceremony.

This past weekend proved to be the most hectic as a very close family friend got married. I grew up with Ina and her family, and she is basically like a little sister to me. It was a 3 day event and so much fun! A lot of people who used to live in Minnesota came to the wedding and it was so great to see them and catch up. My dad and I decided that there should be a big wedding every year so we can all hang out and enjoy ourselves. (Did you get that Rai?)

Next weekend we are going to the state fair to pig out and then the following weekend is Anisha's Annaprasan (rice ceremony). I can't believe she is almost 6 months old!

On top of all this, Noah has been quite challenging up until a couple of days ago. He was not sleeping which caused him to be VERY cranky and whiny. He has entered his "Noah's turn" phase so we pretty much have to do everything twice. The first time I complete a task, because I forget that he wants to do it. This is followed by a lot of whining and screaming and then I have to undo everything I just did, so that he can do it himself. It's impossible to get out the door on time. He surprised everyone tonight however, by opting to skip his milk and cookies and decided he wanted to go to sleep. I am still in shock. I had so much time on my hands I didn't know what to do with myself.

Anisha continues to be an angel, so far. Although I think she is teething so she has her moments. But those moments are short lived and she usually just falls asleep eventually. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she stays this way.

I will post some pictures soon. Noah hid my camera and I have no idea where he put it. Sigh. Life would be boring without him I think.