In search of silliness...

The everyday experience in the perspective of kids is much more bigger than we actually imagine. Every object they see & every incident they relate shows how they still try to understand their tiny world. Kavya & Oviya needed more & more exposure to the outside world. We like to take them out just to see the curiosity in their eyes, awestruck reaction in their faces & the exciting smile in their lips. Regardless of tiny bug digging a hole to enormous aeroplane flying in the sky, everything catches their attention. When they see an empty road, they run without boundaries. If we watch them closely, we realize that their silliness teaches us important things we were forgetting in life. All these days,

I didn't know what was inside a drainage hole until both of them showed me.

I didn't watch the birds fly (with the same excitement every time) until they disappeared from the sight.

I didn't roll with laughter for petty things.

I didn't even care about the shadows that follow me.

I didn't feel contented with having just one cookie.

Now the details of life are clearly visible when I experience all of these by becoming one among them . There's no fake smiles or fake hugs & there's only genuine love to get drenched in :-)

                 

It was also Kavya & Oviya's time for the summer haircut & of course it was their first haircut :-). When we took them to a nearby parlour, both were tactically escaping the scene by going to the restroom alternatively :-). With all the tears, the haircut was done finally within few minutes. They still describe their first haircut ( they seem to remember incidents) as if something tragic has happened to them :-P. 

                 

Then, we took a right trip at the right time to the nearby Carnegie Science Center. We were amazed to see how the little brains were engaged in various activities. 

Both had fun with experimenting with water inside various shaped containers, building the giant blocks, brushing the giant teeth, watching a miniature village, feeding the ducks (Kavya was upset about the duck's teeny tiny bite of her finger along with the chips... Oops!!) etc. This was a place with lots & lots of activities, which they never got bored of. Meanwhile, I was doing something too.  Both were watching their mom hanging in 'zero gravity' like an astronaut ( well, not exactly )... hee hee!! Now, that's what I was talking about - becoming kid-like :-D :-P.

                 

It's sometimes hard to cope up with the rapid speed they grow. Kids surprise us by letting us know, 'Hey, we're capable of much more!'. It becomes challenging to feed their brains as they grow up. 

The only way to read our child is not through books, not through other people's advises, it's only through walking closely with their path of life!

Never to be missed moments!

Every day of parenting means we get to see something new for sure. Was it Kavya & Oviya's tremendous growth or their in dependency towards each step they take or their attitude towards life or the mega capture of knowledge in their tiny brains? It is everything that I'm amused of each day. The best part is they never stop grabbing all our attention. The unfavorable part is, they keep growing & growing every moment & we begin to miss the infant stage.
There was a day when I was holding 2 tiny bundled newborns in each hand.
There was a day when 4 tired eyes would doze off within seconds.
There was a day when they didn't know what to do with their wiggly arms & legs.
There was a day when they always remained in the crib until I picked up.
There was a day when there were no demanding cries or fights for a toy.
There was a day when they were happy with whatever color dress they wore.
So, caution : Once we start this bumpy ride, there's no reverse gear :-). The only way to get through the ride happily is to get as silly as possible, get as childish as possible, get as giggly as possible & get as naughty as possible. This way, we can make precious moments treasured :-).

How admiring is to watch the little sisters grow together! Kavya & Oviya might fight for petty reasons, sometimes push or kick each other, come running all the way just to tell complaints against each of them, would refuse to share toys. But, there's always love & bonding between them. There's always smiles & laughter when they play. They are the partners in crime. The cutest thing is, they never remain apart from each other :-). I wish the purity in their hearts & innocence in their eyes remain undisturbed forever.

                 

Meanwhile, this moment shouldn't be missed out here - my awesome birthday celebration with our neighbors & Yuvi who arranged a get together with sweets & cake. That was a sweet surprise :-).

                 

There came a day when the sun finally decided to show some light in our place. Then what were we waiting for? It was all trips on all days :-). Whether it's a walk to the nearby park or a ride to the play place or an yummy dinner in the restaurant or just strolling in the mall, every one's ready in minutes. At last, we got rid of the jackets & winter shoes for this season ;-). I'm happy that running on the roads, jumping among the balls, climbing over the gym, riding a toy car & coming through a slide sure gives them a nice workout. And once Kavya was stuck & crying inside a tube while playing in the play gym and I had to go inside the tunnel to rescue her. So, sometimes it's a workout for me too ;-). 

               

It became so hard to entertain such a high energy level kids of this generation. They are not satisfied with just one or two toys like I used to play in my childhood. They seem to crave for varieties & activities & fun everyday! Wonder what the younger generation looks like in the future :-?

MOM - 'M'ost 'O'ccupied 'M'ankind!

I'm a person,

Who wakes up every morning just to work for my kids.

Who wants to slip all the healthy nutrition in food whenever possible.

Who finds complete bliss in their laughter.

Who wants to give as many hugs & kisses to them & get drenched in their abundant love.

Who's heart rips off if they get hurt & bleed, yet try to stay calm to soothe them.

Who awes to see my reflection in every activity they do & every word they speak. 

Who wishes to mold them with boldness & intelligence in all the steps they take. 

Who's not much cared about own beauty, but wanted to see them wear cute dresses. 

Who wouldn't sleep properly even if one of them gets sick. 

Who wants to go only to the places which entertains them. 

Who strives hard to create a better life & better thoughts for them.

These symptoms are not uncommon, because I'm one among the MOMs :-). 

               

At this stage, there came another challenge of potty training. Kavya got the point easily while it took a while for Oviya to get trained. Similarly Kavya had a bunch of vocabulary while Oviya was in her own pace. To all the people who ask, "why hasn't your baby crawled yet?", "why hasn't your baby walked yet?", "why hasn't your baby talked yet?" or "why is he/she not doing this & that?", I have an answer. Even if we stand upside down, kids reach their milestones only when they are ready :-). Though Kavya & Oviya were born with only few seconds of time difference, they perceive things differently & look everything in a totally different angle. Why compare kids when we know that each one is special & beautiful? ;-)

               

Yayyy!! Now, we also had our first guests who actually came to stay in our new house. It was Yuvi's cousin sister's family with their cute baby, Harshitha! It was fun watching her move like a doll. Even with heavy snow on the roads, we went out with them. 

               

The best moments in life are usually unplanned, random & spontaneous!! :-)

A runaway from Home to hOmE :-) - Part 2

After a week...

The packing & cleaning process seemed never ending. Many of our friends helped at the last minute, some stayed overnight. Without their help, we wouldn't have made it. Packers & movers helped shifting the packages to the new home. After everything was over, again we travelled 5 hours with our 5 members crew ( :-D ) in the snow storm on that day without a single break. It became evening when we reached the place. Exactly when we were about to take a turn inside the apartment entrance the car skidded & moved towards the other street. Since we couldn't take a reverse turn due to the vehicles behind, we thought of taking a 'U' turn from the next street. There was only half an hour remaining for closing the leasing office & to sign the lease. But when we went to the adjacent street, we got stuck in the snow for one hour) ;-). Kavya & Oviya were cranky & crying, it was snowing heavily outside, there was nobody outside to help, a woman from a nearby home kept watching us now & then from her window ( looked like she was annoyed by our car standing there for a long time ). This looked like a thriller movie except that we were the victims in real time :-). Then, determined Yuvi took a roaring turn to get the tire out of snow, but the leasing office was closed by then & we had to stay in the nearby hotel that night. Since we finalized this apartment & gave the advance amount earlier, we came to sign the lease only the next day.

We were lucky that on the very first day our neighbors gave some food :-). For a month it was tough to organize the things & to make Kavya & Oviya get settled after sickness. Even Snowy was sad initially. Slowly everything was getting better & we even got some good neighbours. And finally it was time to shave Yuvi's beard too after a month. He was trying  a new style which looked horrifying :-D.

                       

                       

I'll look back on this & 'Smile' because it was 'Life' & we decided to live it :-).

A runaway from Home to hOmE :-) - Part 1

Kavya & Oviya were two months passed their 2nd birthday. We had to relocate from King of Prussia PA to Pittsburgh PA ( 5 hours of distance ) due to Yuvi's job change. We came to know about the moving only a couple of weeks before starting. Since then, there were too much work to do including packing all the stuffs, cleaning the house, informing the change of address to the post office & other important places, looking for a new apartment in the new place etc. On top of it, I still had to cook & take care of the kids. Kavya & Oviya were still wandering without enough attention ( Kavya was wearing one of my top ;-) ) & unpacking the things we already packed. The process of packing was overwhelmingly huge. We didn't knew the complexity of packing until we had some friends helping throughout the night in the last minute.

Since the cot was disassembled, every one's tired eyes made them sleep in the hall. And after so much packing, Yuvi made a special dish which tasted so yummy for my hungry tummy :-) ).

                       

We had to make a two day trip to our new place a week prior to the actual moving for booking an apartment, where we all ( including Snowy ) stayed in a hotel & searched for some apartments. That must be one of our worst trips ever. It was snowing outside & both Kavya & Oviya were having a cold. Their condition worsened during the 5 hour travel & it ended up taking Oviya to the emergency in a completely unknown place. She had trouble eating & drinking liquids due to her throat infection. When she got better, somehow we managed to see some apartments & booked one blindly.

While returning from the trip, Snowy did something to remind about his importance too :-). This incident would live in our minds for sure. At 12 AM, we stopped at the service area & I took Oviya alone ( Kavya was sleeping in the car with Yuvi & Snowy inside ) to the restroom where we were roaming in nearby shops. When we both came outside after 15 minutes, Yuvi was moving in panic around the car. He was sweating even in the freezing cold. His face was tensed & his words were stammering. What had happened was, Kavya was still sleeping in her car seat & Yuvi thought of taking Snowy down for a small walk. When he got down, closed the door & came to open the other door were Snowy was sitting, Snowy got excited & jumped over the lock button on the door. The next moment, all the doors of the car got locked while the engine was still on & the mobile was inside. Yuvi was desperately explaining Snowy how to open the lock. Unfortunately, Snowy only had paws & not fingers :-P.

When I came to know this, I rushed inside again & called the cops from a nearby shop. There were lots of thoughts going through our mind. What if Kavya got up & cried? What if Snowy could never open the lock? What if Snowy moved the driving gear out of jumping? What if the cops turned out late? What if the cops break the car to rescue both? What if this & what if that? Those few moments gave us the most unbelievable chills. But, miraculously Snowy opened the lock again after few minutes on his own & we informed the cops again before they arrived. Even with our eyes closed & nose pinched, we would never leave the key inside again while going out of the car.

Every day & every moment reminds me of 'We're still learning' :-).

A 24/7 job...

When life's clock is ticking every second, I keep in mind that every upcoming second is completely new, filled with unknown mysteries. Unveiling every surprising moment is definitely thrilling and adventurous :-). Some brings a smile & some bring tears. But when there are no expectations & while going with the flow one will experience just 'the moment' and not an emotional mix.
When Yuvi was at home for an entire month before getting another project, every day was yet another day taking care of the kids, entertaining them & cooking for them.
It's not possible to chose our children...
They just happen to us :-) .
So, everything revolves around them - our thoughts, our schedule, personal plans etc.. Even though Yuvi was at home, I still had to get up & fulfill Kavya & Oviya's needs, prepare food & keep them engaged for the whole day. There's no chance that a mom like me could escape due to laziness or sickness. Of course, even dad can't escape when he's at home with twin kids :-P.

                                         

A couple of beautiful incidents were missed while I was busy writing other stories. One is the Christmas Day celebration when our big family took a picture with Santa. This would be one of my favorite pic coz everyone gives a nice pose including Snowy :-). And this day is special due to the nutty plum cake which became a big hit among the friends & neighbors & got over within a day! 

                       

We also can't forget the New year day when I made our Indian chicken curry popular among our neighbor, the Vietnam granny & grandpa. Granny Linh is a sweet lady who has a very sweet husband who served in Vietnam war. We're a BIG fan of her smile & kindness :-).

                                         

How come this post could end without Kavya's story ;-) ? We finally found out why she wasn't interested in eating food. It was revealed in the milk scan we took in the pediatric imaging center for which she was watching cartoon & laying down for an hour. She had... 'Reflux' (heartburn in adults). Ok, now she had a good reason for not eating & chewing :-). There's nothing we could do much about it except giving her pills for heartburn. She should be able to outgrow it eventually. These pictures where taken after the scan while playing in the play area inside the center. She can happily go without food for hours & hours ( strange creature ) :-). 

                            

Both Oviya & Kavya developed their own attitude & thoughts. I guess all the toddlers hear a 'No' as 'Yes'. They always do the opposite :-P.
I was in the thought that mom's work gets easier every year when kids grow up. I was totally 'WrOnG' :-D !

The mysterious tomorrow!

25th month of Kavya & Oviya seemed little crazy. We always knew life is like a canoe in wild river. It has it's own unexpected twists & turns, ups & downs, screams & chills, but we keep moving on in different directions. When we take a look back, we always wonder how we crossed the challenging rough edges. We went through one of the kind of unexpected edge this month. Yuvi's project was about to end on 31st Dec 2013. Since, there wasn't any project availability, he had to leave the client & he stayed jobless for the next month. We didn't knew there was much more in store for us which finally ended up in relocation.

Meanwhile,

Ok, this picture has nothing to say except that these were taken by Yuvi's cousin who just bought a new SLR camera. Maybe he was practicing his initial shots :-P which turned out pretty too :-) .

We had another relative's visit too from the nearby state NJ and this is their elder daughter Deeksha posing with Snowy who looks very comfortable in her lap :-) . It was still the peak of winter and we could only go to indoor places like Bounce U where everyone could bounce & bounce & have fun ( Well, the kids needed some sort of activities outside the home :-) ).

The final day of the year 2013 still had something interesting for us. Some of Yuvi's office colleagues had arranged a New year party with cake & awesome food. We all ate, danced & had fun. Oviya was dancing & playing with lots of excitement while Kavya was slowly catching up the wave :-) .

Each new year carries all our hopes, dreams & responsibilities and I believe that everyone is destined to have a better tomorrow. We were hoping for the same in the next year 2014 :-) .