The Big Boy Bed

A couple of months ago we decided to transition Nikhil to the big boy bed.  He was already outgrowing his crib.  He moved so much that the crib was quickily becoming too small.  Plus we had planned on using the crib for his soon to arrive little brother so we felt it was time for the move.  We moved him into the adjoining guest room (connected to his old nursery by a jack and jill bathroom) and his "big boy bed" is now the queen bed that was in that room now with attached railings.  The bed sits not too far from the floor and within a month he has learned to slide off the bed when he wants out. 

Now occasionally Nikhil will wake up in the middle of the night and we bring him into our bed.  We have a king bed that sits fairly high off the ground. In the mornings, I will usually go to shower and get ready for work while he's still asleep.  He'll often cry to let me know when he's awake.  Lately however, he's been surprising me.  I'll turn around and there will be this quiet little boy standing behind me. I've been wondering how he's getting down from the bed since it's so high up so I snuck in a little video catching him in the act. 

He's also already learned how to open doors too using the handles. We have to make sure to always bolt lock the door from the house to the garage since he opens that all too easily.  This boy is growing up too fast. 

Dad, Dada, Daddy, Father, Papa...

No matter what you call him, there is always a special place in your heart for your father. In previous generations, it was the responsibility of the mother to raise and nuture the children while the father provided for the family. In latter generations, as more mothers took to the working force, fathers more and more took on the role of nurturing.  However, they still wanted us to be tough and independent. While Kunal and I look back at our upbringing and reminensce on how tough dad and Papa were on each of us, we now start to appreciate what they were trying to do. We both have graduate degrees and are fiercely independent, a lot of it thanks to our fathers who instilled in us wisdom, hard-work, and dedication. And we're proud to say that most of it was through example.

And now Kunal has become a father and is excelling at it.  It's only evident when Nikhil wakes up each morning and calls out for his 'dada' each day. Or when he sees a white SUV like Kunal's, he'll reach towards it, calling out 'dada'. While some days I think Nikhil is a momma's boy, a lot of days it's clear he's a dada's boy.  And who wouldn't be.  Whenever the two of them are together, they have a world of fun whether its kicking a soccer ball around, playing in the swimming pool, or just laughing on the sofa together. At the same time, Kunal is also being the disciplinarian, like his father before him, instilling in Nikhil good manners and behavior. I have a feeling Kunal and Nikhil are going to grow up to be more than father and son.  They're going to grow up being best friends.

Lastly, in honor of father's day, here are some celebrity quotes I've found (some of them a little too true).  Enjoy!

"A new father quickly learns that his child invariably comes to the bathroom at precisely the times when he's in there, as if he needed company." - Bill Cosby

"Man, if I can get a burp out of that little thing I feel such a sense of accomplishment." - Brad Pitt

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." - Mark Twain

"I've always felt sorry for Jesus 'cause you know no matter what he ever did, he could never live up to his father." - Gilbert Gottfried

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." -Charles Wadsworth

 

Happy Father's Day!

 

Enjoying the hot sun!

Although it's not officially summer yet, it sure feels like it with the weather.  Lately we've been having temperatures in the 80s and 90s.  After picking up Nikhil from daycare, it was still in the 80s so we decided to let him have some sprinkler fun...

He doesn't like the sprinklers when it's too high.  But he enjoyed the low ones! He loved pushing down on the gecko sprinkler and making the water rise higher.  Here's a video of Nikhil playing with the sprinkler:

Happy Mother's Day!

It's odd but whenever I think of Mother's Day, I think of honoring my mother, mother-in-law, and aunts who have all been mothers for a long time. It's odd that I am now included in the celebrations. It's almost has if I haven't paid my dues yet as a mom.  What I'm looking forward to most is the day Nikhil and the new baby are old enough to celebrate Mother's Day on their own.  I look forward to the homemade cards and the hugs and kisses.

My Bhua Jin had sent an email on Mother's Day that was really touching and really encompasses the progression of a mommy to a mother. Some highlights from the email:

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom doesn’t know everything!

14 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom? She wouldn’t have a clue.
.
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's so five minutes ago.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

So to all mom's out there, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day that you all deserve.  I have had so many role models growing up including my own mom, Grandma, Bibiji, Chachi, Bhuas, Mamiji, and Masis.  I've also married into a family with so many more role models including my own mother-in-law.  I hope I can be as wonderful a mother to my own two boys as you were to your own children. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Time to face forward

A couple of weeks ago we decided it was time for Nikhil to transition to the forward-facing carseat.  He's previously been in the Graco Snugride 35 which is rear-facing.  The recommendation was changed a year ago to have children stay rear-facing until they are 2.  However, Nikhil was outgrowing his carseat.  The straps were too tight, his knees were constantly bent, and worst of all, he couldn't see anything.  So voila...he got his new carseat and look how happy he was on his first day in the new seat...

We purchased the Britax Frontier convertible carseat.  He has two cup holders so now he can carry along his favorite drink.  And he can see out the window.  He loves pointing to cars and trucks.  He calls them "ke".

Recently, after a conversation with his Masi and hearing Rocky's name (the family dog), Nikhil began telling Rocky "back" and signaling it with his hands.  He learned this from our recent trip back to CA last weekend.

As for his old carseat, it's been cleaned and adjusted and is now waiting the arrival of Baby #2.

Trip to Cabo

We took our annual trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico from March 4-11.  Our last vacation was to Hawaii when Nikhil was 9 months when he could sit and crawl but not walk.  Now, he was about 17 months and what a difference 8 months make! This kid just wanted to explore everywhere.

 One thing Nikhil is learning is how to go up and down steps. We loved our balcony because of the amazing view of the pool and ocean.  Nikhil loved it because of the small step at the railing that he could go up and down on all day.

View from balcony

We stayed at Villa Del Arco which had an amazing pool.  What we were happiest about was the kid's area with large boulders and fountains. Nikhil loved this pool area and had his favorite fountain that he played with...

Nikhil playing with a fountain at the pool.

The beach was a stone's throw away from the pool area. Although the weather was in the 80s, the water wasn't too warm so we stayed mainly on the sand. Nikhil, being the neat freak he is, didn't like sand on his hand and feet but he did enjoy playing with the sand toys...

Where's my Pina Colada?

 We purchased the all-inclusive package which included dinner with nightly themes.  We attended the Mexican Fiesta and the Carnival theme night shown below...

Carnival theme night at Villa Del Palmar.

Being that I was 4 months pregnant at the time, we didn't do too many water activities but we did manage to catch a boat ride to the Arc and to Lover's Beach.  Nikil loved being on the boat and having the wind against his face...

Riding on the water taxi to the Arc. 

 We had so much fun in Cabo and we're looking forward to our next vacation when there will be two boys (well, three if you count Kunal). :)

Lessons in Eating

One day a few weeks ago, Nikhil started a tantrum as I tried to feed him. I didn't know what he wanted so I ended up setting his spoon down and walking away.  Lo and behold, he grabs the spoon and begins happily attempting to eat on his own.  Now, it's nearly impossilble to feed him as all he wants is to explore himself.  Here are some pictures from the early days of him feeding himself.  Please be warned: the pictures are not pretty.  Luckily, he's getting better (and less messier) with practice!