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

The First Six Weeks!

Per the Ridulous! post, here is an album of the first six weeks of Amara's life. The next two weeks will come soon. Also, I am committing Ami to posting a few stories within this coming week.

The First Six Weeks - Oh My!

Ridiculous!

Without denial, I will first and foremost recognize the lackluster perfomance of Blog maintenance. Without a post since January 18th, I am promising not to let another 48 days lapse between updates. This being said, I would love to invite all to read through the 14 starts on New Posts that I had begun which had ended in either futility or due to a child in need.

All of this being said, let the updates begin! Our epitomal big sister, Annika is fully embracing her role. Her sense of nurture has already kicked in (a chip off of Ami's block). Anni's Elmo makes a daily appearance lying on top of Amara when she is in her carseat/boppy/bouncer/etc. She is also continuously concerned with Amara's well being by offering her pillows and blankets, hugs and kisses, and by telling us where Amara would like to sit next (carseat/boppy/bouncer/etc.) and shortly thereafter followed up with the previously mentioned Elmo situation. Annika's vocabulary has begun to grow and she is able to articulately reference the world around us in addition to repeating what she hears us say. Some of her new words are Ernie, Donut, Cereal, and (I'm not too proud of this one) McDonalds! However, her favorite word is ... CAKE! (Side Note, Annika loves her Anju Masi so much that she refers to her many times as Cake - interesting on so many levels!) Overall, Annika is growing and developing fantastically - we could not be more proud of her. Ami and I are finally understanding not only the joy of having a family, but the joy of being a family and the joy that interacting with your children brings.

In attempting to make this entry a concise one, I am making a conscious effort to switch children. Amara just turned 2 months old today! Contrary to Annika, Amara is a substantial baby. Coming in at 75th percentile in both height and weight, she is a substantial child. She is now becoming cognizant of the world around her and seems to be soaking it in. So far she is soothed by music, much like her sister, and prefers ballads and the occasional up beat adult contemporary/rock that now defines my aging generation. (***I have realized that I have to lock my children into liking my music early or else I will become a parent embattled with their teenagers over listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers or some shirtless, uneducated, punk band of their generation that sounds like a group of disfunctional monkeys destroying a music store. Although I am pretty sure that I am deluding myself, and that the aforementioned paradigm is inevitable.***) - deep breath - Amara has begun to smile, and in particular, at me. I seem to be her favorite for these few fleeting moments. Additionally, she seems to be enjoying Organic Chemistry and we anticipate her scoring well on the MCAT this summer as she seems to be studying hard at Ami's side when they are together. She also seems to be paying a particular eye to Annika and watching her like a hawk, although I can not confirm this, I believe it to be true.

As for Ami and I, we're closer than ever - and happier together to boot. We have learned to communicate with incorrect grammer, incorrect words, sentence fragments, and even via a complex system of grunts and shrieks - no wait...those are chimpanzees. Ami is going to begin posting anecdotes and memoirs as she is leaving the summaries to me, so please make sure to check back in in another 48 days for the update.

Also, we have a new album linked...it will be up soon.

Oh how time flies.

First off, I would like to express thanks to all of our friends and family who have been helping us with everything from kind words to food to taking care of Annika when we need to focus on Amara.

Yesterday, Amara turned Two Weeks old! A formidable mile marker for me. Ami and I are constantly amazed at how quickly babies grow at this age. She is looking less like a newborn and more like a baby (a subjective distinction, I'm sure). What was difficult for us over the last two weeks (and by us I mean me) is that I had forgotten what Annika was like as a baby. I remember the good times and tend to forget the bad, maybe that's a personality thing for me, but I tend to believe that is how we are programmed otherwise we'd be a society of single children families.

Also, I must say that Ami has gone above and beyond the call of duty in letting me sleep through the night in most cases. Rarely will she wake me up for help. And the truly amazing part is that she still manages to put on a great face and not be perpetually frustrated because of her exhaustion. Amara has shown glimpses of nocturnal brilliance by occasionally sleeping a whopping six hours only to turn around the next night and party all night. None the less, it seems (as I knock on wood) that she is starting to make the distinction between night and day, which will be a great step forward.

Annika is wonderful, as always. has shown nothing but love for her sister (Sissy). Anytime that Annika gets an opportunity, she comes over to Amara to interact with her. She has not shown any signs of jealousy - we recognize how lucky we are. She continues to grow into a young toddler girl. Her vocabulary is growing at an exponential rate and she is learning how to manipulate the world around her. Her favorite activity is working with me on house projects - give the girl a screwdriver and she'll pretend to know exactally what she's doing.

We are so lucky. We know this.

Day 3

It is absolutely amazing how quickly the little ones grow. Amara is starting to move away from looking like a feeble muscle-less elderly person to a feeble muscle-less baby. Her cheeks are getting round and rosy and her poo has changed consistency - a very important mile marker for those without kids.

Annika has become a great big sister. She fully understands that we have a baby in the house and seems to have an innate understanding of what is appropriate and not appropriate with her new sister. I am, as always, impressed with her. We went to Babies R Us today for supplies and as we walked the isles, she was intent on trying to get everything that caught her eye as a present for Amara by pointing at items and saying BeeBee (Baby in Anni-speak).

Amara is starting to sleep more regulary (we hope as it is only 11:30pm on Day 3). During the day her eyes are open and are so incredibly soulful and lately (and by lately I mean in the last 12 hours) have been more open than closed. And song, she loves being sung to, preferably a ballad of some sort.

I love being a family. I love being a dad.

The Pictures I Promised

As promised, click on the album below to open the pictures that we have posted so far.

Amara's Journey Begins

I am also adding a slide show highlighting Annika's last 18 months. I helps put my life into perspective and gets me REALLY excited about the next 18 months.'

Annika's 18 months before Amara