Pics of Amara

We were going through our pictures and realized that Amara doesn't have much face time on our blog, so we present Amara in technicolor (I'm not sure that I really know what technicolor is, but it sounds impressive).

We are really glad that she is our daughter, and the pictures actually do a good job of showing off some of her personality. She is always laughing or getting into trouble and then laughing when we catch her. She starting walking right around her first birthday on January 5th and now confidently teeters all over the house. Today she teetered off from a playgroup we were chatting with at B&N and for a second we could not find her. Me - Samir where is Amara? Samir - I thought she was with you Stage Left - Crash-Bang-Boom! Samir - I am pretty sure that she is source of the crashing sound. She managed to disassemble a 25 book display in .5 seconds. Hence, why Samir has named her CDO, Chief Demolition Officer.


 

 

 

 

Our SouthPark Alter Egos

 

 

Our 2008 Holiday Letter

I cannot believe that I have misplaced my virtual christmas letter and that I have not posted anything yet. It was typed in word on one of our computers but which computer is the question! Mine, Samir's, or the home computer? I will find it soon but first I am publicly chastising myself for somehow slipping into disorganization and chaos over the holidays. In 2009 I will focus on stepping up my organization and clear communication up a level. At least back to what it was when I was working. They say if you don't use it you lose it and it seems that is what has happened to me. - A

Christmas Eve 2008

This is a stolen moment. My girls are both napping and Samir is on the phone for work and I am taking a moment to remember what Christmas is about, at least to me. Its about family, appreciating the special moments, and making new memories. I am so excited for Amara's first Christmas and so thankful that Annika will understand it in a new way. And thankful because "Santa Claus is watching..." has been a motivating part of getting to finish her food or share with Amara. : ) I am so thankful to be able to celebrate with my entire immediate family as well as Samir's. This year we started a new tradition and we had Samir's brother and wife and Samir's parents come over on the 22nd and do an early Christmas. It was great to just have 24 hours of hanging out with them. I am thankful for my mother's cancer staying away and for all the wonderful new memories we made with friends and family this year. I especially appreciate Jen and Brad, Minu and Nishi, and Rucha and Ryan coming out to visit us in Cincinnati and Tampa. And my entire extended family who came down for our family reunion in August. And for doing great on the MCAT the second time around. And for Melissa, our nanny, helping us raise our girls into sweet little munchkins. And for God helping us find Hope, our new nanny starting in January.

My stolen moment is over. Samir came in and reminded me that we have quiches to bake, bags to pack, and gifts to wrap before we head to my mom's for Christmas. Back to reality. But at least my pockets are full of some gratitude. Looking forward to having a wonderful Christmas tomorrow!

Seasons of change

Okay so a few people have told me I really do not have a right to be a "blogger" if I update it every six months. I understand and agree but the goal of this blog is mostly to be a place for us to record stories and pictures of our family. In the last six months since I wrote last, I have updated and reoganized our family photo albums and wrote a few entries in both girls journals so I feel that I have been putting an effort into our family's memory keeping, just not via the blog. Who knew that memory keeping took so much time and organization skill. This is probably why the home I grew up in has such scattered memory keeping.

We have about 10 family photo albums and about 1000 pictures floating around loose at my mother's house. I am realizing that a few of the areas of life that I am weak at such as photo organizing, closet organizing, and decorating are things that my own mother never put a ton of time into. She did put a lot of time into us, into keeping strong relationships with her friends and family, and into planning social activities but not into the house. I am still just beginning to understand how much I am like my mother.

Since I have referenced my mom in this blog, I'll take the time to give a little update on her breast cancer. Right now she is considered cancer free and is taking Arimidex to keep the cancer at bay. However two new updates are that she has been having some unexplained pain in her glands (underarm and neck area) twice and is having side effects from her medicine so she is going back to the oncologist soon. I am praying that everything comes back negative but of course anyone whose mom has cancer knows how you are always preparing yourself for the worst. Cancer is a blessing in that as soon as you start taking life for granted or maybe not appreciating all that is wonderful in your life, the always impending threat of the return of cancer reminds you to stay focused on the positive and appreciate each day. I imagine it is a little bit like Prozac. Helps you stay focused on the good things.

Okay, so I guess this blog is going to be just one big brain dump for me. I am fighting the flu so perhaps a mental cleansing will help my body recover faster. : )

On the subject of the kids, both girls are growing up so fast. Amara is crawling everywhere, flying up the stairs, holding fingers and walking, and also doing this adorable thing where she tries to stand unassisted. She is falling down after about 2 -3 seconds right now but I think she might start walking by Christmas. She also is definitely letting us know her preferences and her personality. Her primary interest is in Annika. Whatever Anni is doing, playing with, etc. Amara wants to do exactly that. Any adult is barely noticed when Annika is in the room. When Annika is not around, Amara loves babbling into the phone (only if someone is on the other end), loves climbing through/under tables, loves blocks, and making music/noise. It is amazing how different they are. Annika was more into babies and animals and care taking and Amara loves to build, take apart, and crawl through. Amara also puts anything in her mouth that she finds on the ground. This week she swallowed a very small bead, a small pebble, and a piece of a leaf. She is so fast and so good at finding things we do not even realize are there. I vacuum every single day and still she finds things. I can't wait until she is walking so at least she is spending less time on the ground. She is also doing a lot of pteradactyl screeching because she wants to talk but does not have words yet. She recently learned the art of pouncing. She likes to crawl over to Anni, and then pounce on her. Amara screeches in delight and laughs while big sister Annika (a good 10 lbs heavier and a lot taller) whines for help from us. "Mommmy! Mara's got me! Help! She won't let go!". Watching these two grow will be quite entertaining. : )

Annika is quickly becoming a little girl instead of a toddler She uses new words everyday and can explain ideas and emotions I had no idea a 2 year old can explain. She recently has told me when she is bored, lonely, wants to write a letter to her cousin Anya in Buffalo, wants warm weather back, and wants me to go out to dinner with daddy so she can play with Masi (my sister). She also started pre-school twice a week for 2 hours each time so she is getting more brave and independent. Just now she actually got out of her big girl bed and came running out of her room calling for Samir. This is the first time she has ever tried getting out of her bed. Usually she just calls for us to come get her. Parenthood is the most challenging role I have ever had. It is changing constantly. As soon as you think you have a routine down, or a method for handling the chaos, the little kiddos develop new strengths, new needs, or new opinions that challenge the old methods of parenting.

As winter is slowly coming upon us, and we are settling in for the cold, I can't help but think of how much I should appreciate snuggling inside with my kiddos. Next summer will be full of so much change. Hopefully I will be starting medical school in the fall so I am relishing being home with my girls most of the time. I am only gone 3 days a week now and it is wonderful. Tuesday and Thursdays are school days and Wednesday is my day for studying and volunteering the ER at Bethesda North. I definitely have to share some interesting stories from my ER time. I am loving being in a hospital and being able to help patients in some fashion and learning so much from being in the midst of it all.

PS. This year I convinced Samir to let us put up our trees on the second weekend of November. I LOVE the holiday season! I am excited to bring back our annual Holiday party. We took a two year hiatus as we adjusted to parenthood but we are excited to host the fourth annual Kulkarni Holiday Party this year.

Baby Chips...

Annika first learned about mini chips about two months ago and called them,"Baby Chips". She proceeded to love them, hug them, and sing them to sleep. Until she realized they had melted in her hands. I expected she might cry but instead she licked her hands. She amazes me with her ability to just enjoy the moment. : )

A few Anni words:

"Awk-a-bye bay-bee" = Rock a Bye Baby (the song)
mommy-daddy or ma-daddy = daddy
"Antan Masi" or "Giggly Masi" = Nutan (my friend in DC,"Masi" is Gujarati for Aunt)
"pay more" = Play More

Annika has just grasped the concept of friends. Her friends are: (listed as she told them to me) Ariel, Mommy, Daddy, Reese, L.J, Tarzan, Mowgli, and Baloo the Bear. She has also reached the point of knowing cause and effect (i.e. manipulation). She realized that is she tells me "Potty" or "Hungry" before bedtime, I will delay bedtime because her eating real food or using the potty on her own is something we work so hard to accomplish. Ofcourse, she says this purely as a decoy to get out of sleeping and has no intention of doing either.

Amara is truly made of sugar and spice and everything nice. You would usually find her smiling a beaming full-faced smile, chewing on something, and cooing in sing-song voice. She loves to coo and gurgle in a way that sounds like she is doing the Indian scales of "sa-ray-ga-ma-pa". Both girls are so musically talented its ridiculous. I am looking for some classes or a program that will encourage this in them without making them feel pushed or controlled. Let us know of any ideas. She also loves to stand holding fingers. She absolutely hates to be alone or bored. She is like Samir in this way. She needs to have constant stimulation or be totally asleep. Samir and she have two modes: on and off. Annika and I are more similar in that we have several more modes of operation. Barely awake, awake, going strong, getting tired, really tired, and lightly asleep. : )

Ami

Birthday Fun Galore!

I did not know you could have too much birthday cake. But it happened for the first time in my life and probably the first time of many more to come for Annika. Annika turned two years old on June 23rd and the festivities have been small but many. We started with celebrating with my cousins and their 3 kids and a few friends on Saturday. This warranted an Ariel whipped topping birthday cake, ice cream, and Aglemeises' chocolate. Then on Monday Annika had a small kiddie party with her daytime playgroup (enter buttercream cupcakes from servatiis). Then we celebrated with family on Monday night (a second Ariel whipped topping cake) and today (Tuesday) we are celebrating with Samir's parents (a finale of cupcakes from Busken). We are all tired, dehydrated, and a bit shaky from all the sugar and chaos.

Amara is a fantastic eater. She was quite frustrated that she could not partake in the cake, ice cream, and pizza. (Okay, she did have some ice cream but don't tell her pediatrician who recommends one new food group a week and ice cream is not one of them.) Amara is almost 6 months old now and so adorable and gummy. She has gummy, soft arms and thighs. A soft, gummy mouth that is always trying to chew whatever she can. She loves to mouth toys, her sister's hands, other people's hair, shoulders, and noses, and her own feet are her favorite.

Annika and Amara are beginning to really enjoy each other. Annika is a big help and lets us know the obvious like, "Sissy's CRYING!!" and tries to help sometimes with, "Hush Sissy!" or "Its okay, Marrra". She pronounces Amara as "Mar-rr-ra". Yes, that is actually a three syllable "r" she believes is in the middle. Amara loves to see Annika peering over her crib and follows every move she makes. Annika is always telling her "Sissy - no tickling!" as Amara lunges towards her in a full throttle roll with her death grip fingers extended. Amara's grip is something out of this world.

A few months ago we went to the 4 month appointment and Amara grabbed the pediatricians stethescope (spelling help for the future doctor?) and refused to let go. The doctor first thinks its cute and laughs, then 10 seconds later while she is still trying to pry it away from Amara she says, "well, this one is stronger than most". Then she gives a dry, awkward chuckle. It actually takes her both hands to open Amara's death grip.

Well, that is a healthy sized update from the Kulkarni's. Samir and I are heading to Florida for our first vacation sans kids in almost a year. We will be there for four days so hopefully we will find time to post a bit more. We are using this blog as a tool to keep in touch but most of all for us to keep track of the adorable memories of these wonderful baby filled days. There is so much we have yet to capture. Already a few super cute things have become past tense and we never captured them in any way. For example, Annika used to love to lug around anything large and heavy and say, "HEA-BEE... HEA-BEE" (her version of heavy). She was looking for us to tell her how big and strong she is. Just last week she changed it to the official term of "heavy". I was so sad, but this is life. Just when you fall madly in love with a moment, its gone. Luckily, with kiddos in the house, there are many moments to fall in love with.

I will end with the top 3 most memorable things from Annika's birthday extraveganza's.

3. Annika always says, "Hi Pilot!!" to any plane flying overhead. On Saturday morning, she went to the local airport to pick up my cousin's husband who flew in from Buffalo. She actually was able to go up to the plane and meet the pilot. She said, "Hi Pilot..." with the most fear and shock in her voice as she realized that planes are a lot larger in person than they appear in the sky.

2. Someone had accidentally placed a wrapped box of gourmet chocolates next to Annika's gift so when she rips open the wrapping paper and box, 25 dark chocolate covered english toffies fall onto the ground and the children rush the floor like the ultimate pinata just opened from the heavens. In a matter of 2 seconds Annika and her friend Reese have shoved multiple toffees into their mouths and refuse to spit them out.

1. As I am carrying the beloved cake to the table, Annika jumps up and uses her ninja abilities to slide her hand inside the box of cake, sweep out a handful of icing, and runs off to eat it before we can start singing or cut it for anyone.


Hope this first post of mine meets expectations. It was a joy to write and I will do it again soon hopefully. Thank you to Emily and Zui for reminding us of our deliquency.

Ami