Reflection

It's nearly Christmas and I haven't even gotten around to posting about Diwali or Thanksgiving!  It is such a busy time this time of the year.  One of my resolutions is to get better about the postings. I will catch up on Diwali, Thanksgiving, and Christmas but for this post I wanted to reflect on events this past week...

Last Friday, a gunman killed 20 children and 7 adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.  In July of this year, a gunman killed 12 people, some including children, in a theater in our own hometown of Aurora, CO, not more than 20 min away from us.  This year alone there have been over 15 mass murders ranging anywhere from schools to temples to malls and theaters. We were all shocked and we grieved for the victims but then we moved on and after a few weeks or months, these tragedies became a distant memory. But for the families of the victims, this will never be a distant memory and this holiday season will not be filled with joy and celebration. None of them woke up the morning of the tragedy and thought for a second that this would be the last time they would see their child, spouse, brother/sister, mother/father.  But it happened and they must now somehow find a way to rebuild their lives. For the rest of us, we should take a moment from our holiday celebrations this season to reflect on what it important in our lives. 

For Kunal and I, nothing is more important than our family, particularly our two little boys.  It is so easy for us to get caught up in day-to-day routine and forget to stop and marvel at these two little magnificent beings.  In their faces, in the hearts, and in their souls they capture everything that is right in this world.  Their innocence is so beautiful that all we do is strive to preserve it. When a tragedy such as Fridays occurs, it reminds us that we are fighting an uphill battle to preserve that innocence but it's a battle worth fighting and we will never stop.  And we're lucky that our boys have their grandparents and uncles/aunts fighting along with us too.  They will grow up and inevitably they will see and feel the pain & suffering in this world but my one wish for them is that not a day goes by that they don't also feel loved.

So this holiday season, sit down and have a chat with your mother/father, remember that your spouse is your best friend, laugh with your brother/sister and most of all, hug your children a little tighter and tell them everyday how much you love them.  Life is too short to let these moments pass by.

 

How Old Are You? I'm 2!

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you...Nikhil is now 2! We held his birthday party on the actual day of his birthday, October 13. Close family and friends came to our home to help us ring in the terrible two's. Nani and Raj Masi flew in from CA to help celebrate:

Nani & Dadi with the grandkids

One of Nikhil's favorite shows is Barney & Friends so we hired an entertainer to dress up as Barney and entertain the kids with some classic Barney songs. He was terrified of him at first but as the songs starting playing, he started to really enjoy himself:

Wheels on the bus go round and round...

We did Wheels on the Bus twice as it's one of Nikhil's favorites.

If You're Happy and You Know It.

High Five at the end!

Nikhil and his new best friend

Barney and all the participants

Family picture with Barney

Then it was cake time.  Nikhil loves blowing out candles now (although he had to get a little bit of help from daddy).

Blowing out the candles

Cutting the cake

He was fed so much cake that I don't know how he went to bed that night!  The cake was chocolate (his favorite) with strawberry filling. Of course, he never complained whenever anyone came to feed him. :) 

Overall, Nikhil had a great time at his birthday party.  We are so thankful for all the family and friends who made it for the celebrations.  We're also thankful for the many emails and phone calls received from family & friends wishing him a happy birthday.  Let's hope the two's aren't as terrible as they say!

The Life of an Infant and Toddler

It's been a few weeks since I've last published so I thought I'd give an update on how the two boys are doing. Kavin is growing so fast. He already sleeps 9-10 hours through the night. If he cries, it's either because he's hungry, tired, or gaseous. He loves looking around at his surroundings and when you talk to him, he has the most amazing smile and he often makes noises back as if he's trying to communicate. It's amazing how much he's changed in just two months...

Kavin - One day old

Kavin - 2 months old

Nikhil is his usual strange self.  I say strange because he has the wackiest imagination and comes up with the oddest ideas. On a daily basis, he makes us laugh.

Nikhil's play creation (and taking Elmo for a ride)

Wearing mama's shoes (and not liking being photographed). Note the shoes on the wrong feet.

A day at the park

 Nikhil's skip

I get asked a lot how do the two boys get along.  Amazingly, Nikhil seems to love his little brother and even gets protective of him.  Everytime he sees him, he gets excited. Sometimes too excited. Kavin stares at him most of the time and often gets afraid at Nikhil's excitement. But as someone said to me, in a few months, there will be days when Nikhil will be only one who can make him laugh. I have a feeling these two brothers will get along well...

Introducing Kavin Rohan Mehra

Kavin was born on August 1, 2002 (his actual due date!) at 8:25am. He weighed 7 lb 12 oz and was 20 inches in length. He was born at the University of Colorado Anschutz Hospital in Aurora, CO on a warm Wednesday morning. "Kavin" is Hindi for handsome.

Kavin just minutes old.

Nikhil's Dadiji and Dadaji brought Nikhil to the hosptial for his first visit with Kavin. He was all smiles seeing his brother for the first time.  He must have thought Kavin was some new toy.  Even today, he likes playing with Kavin's hands and feet (and giggling as he touches them). 

Nikhil holding his baby brother.

Naniji arrived on the same day Kavin was born and together Naniji and Dadiji helped with Nikhil.  I'm sure he didn't even miss his momma when I was at the hospital with all the attention he was getting. :)

Kavin and I stayed two nights in the hospital and I was glad to leave and join the rest of my family at home. Not to mention, it was tiring having doctors and nurses constantly come in to check although they were all wonderful and I received some of the best care. As you can see below, Kunal chose the outfits for the home welcoming (University of Texas colors).

Arrived home from the hospital

Kavin has been a joy.  So far he's not fussy at all.  He cries only when he's gassy or needs to feed. He sleeps at night, waking only to feed. We couldn't ask for a better baby and feel blessed that we were given two wonderful and healthy boys.  We/re also blessed for our family who have all so readily offered and gave their help and support. 

1 week old

2 weeks old

Eviction notice delivered

Just wanted to give a little update on the new baby Mehra. My due date is next week Wednesday (just 6 days from now).  Everyone had predicted he would arrive early and he still may although he's showing little signs of wanting out.   Just to compare, I started experiencing contractions with Nikhil when I was 10 days from my due date and he was born 8 days before his due date. But as they say, you can never compare two pregnancies. My appoinments are weekly now and all of baby's vitals are normal.  So whether he's early, on-time or late, we should be grateful for normal. I'm not experiencing too many contractions and am feeling good (although tired most of the time). The baby is head down (in the right position).  Clothes have been washed, diapers purchased, and nursery room cleaned so we're all set and ready! 

Tomorrow is my last day at work and Nikhil's last day at daycare. Although I'm anxious for this baby to arrive, I'm excited about being able to spend some extra time with Nikhil before the new baby arrives. I stayed home with him on Monday and as tired as I was by the end of the day, it was wonderful to have quality one-on-one time with him. I worry how he's going to react to having to share his time with a new baby brother but I'm sure in time he'll grow to love having a brother. As always, everyone will be updated and posted about news of the arrival of the new baby Mehra!  Hopefully it'll be soon as I've just personally delivered him his eviction notice.

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!