Huntin' for Fun

Daadi is at the center of our household. As an elderly grandma, she doesn't consider leaving the home to be much fun (and if you know our loooong stairs, you can understand why). This is why Yogesh and I have a few tricks to get her out. These include (in no particular order):
- Discussing how many wonderful HOUSES there are to go hunt for (we're not really in the market, but we tell her we are)...househunting for a home with a nice deck and warm garden, with one bedroom & bathroom on the main floor, is a favorite pasttime of hers & ours.
- Talking about Rainbow Grocery, our new favorite hippie-commune-green-uber PC- grocery store.
- Having Deven say "Daadi, CHAAALO!" (essentially, "Daadi, let's GO!")...over, and over, and over..., and
- Giving her Rohan when he's smiling and giggly, and telling her that he's that way because he wants her to go outside and breathe in the fresh air and feel the sunshine.


Our tricks work, at least 1/2 the time. We have a better hit-rate if it's clearly a warmer / less windy day, and don't even try if it's grey and cold outside.

...If any of you talk with Daadi, don't you dare tell her about our tricks! :)

Oh, the photos here were taken in Houston at the Butterfly Garden inside the History Museum - I love this one of Heather & Ante (who, as you may recall, is just 3 weeks older than Rohan, and also just rolled over for the first time recently!) I love that he's older, bigger, and much balder than Rohan (and Deven). If Heather as a baby is any guide, he'll be bald until he's 2. :)

Growin' up

Today we had the boys checked by their doctor.

ROHAN is:
- Rolling over on hard surfaces
- Smiling and giggling when you play Peek-a-Boo with him (still the best game EVER invented)
- Is capable of sleeping through the night - but that doesn't mean he IS doing so yet...
- In the 50th Percentile for weight, height, and head circumference

DEVEN
- Is back up into the 50th Percentile for most things, except weight
- Still doesn't trust the doctor...he'd had a traumatic earwax cleaning a while back, and doesn't think anyone at the doctor's office is to be trusted now
- Is going off to preschool this fall @ Holy Family Day Home - and we forgot the forms for the doctor to sign for that, of course.

Otherwise, things are going well here. Yogesh and I are both working too many hours, but we have old friends Kathleen and Christie coming in this weekend...and hopefully the work will let up soon.

Almost 2

Tonight, on the eve of Deven's second birthday, I'm feeling pretty thankful for what we have:

Deven
- Talks to Naani every morning. Has learned to say "I love you Naani. Talk to you later Naani. See you soon... Goodbye Naani" before he hits the red button to hang the phone up (well, most of the time, anyway).
- Runs, jumps, knows how to count to 20 and say the days of the week, months of the year, and 2 languages in toddler-speak, at least.
- Is a sweet, gentle big brother. He's a reticent, shy child who will hang back in new situations and sometimes gets overzealous in his love for Rohan, but generally listens to us...unless he's having a toddler moment.





Rohan
- Continues to talk, squeal, and coo adorably. Still not rolling over all the way or showing any signs of interest in food, but no rush on that.
- His fussiness has subsided for the most part, and in general, he continues to be a sensitive, hot-and-cold child.
- Still isn't sleeping through the night, but we've started to be able to put him down alone and he's actually doing pretty well.



Daddy
- Has grown into being the best Daddy I could have hoped for. He calms Rohan down better than I, he even had the foresight to bring his mom (Daadi) here to live with us. A very, very wise decision.



Daadi
- Has grown older physically, but younger mentally. Listening to her coo to Rohan & Deven makes my heart expand.
- Now is a U.S. green card holder!

Mommy
- Just had my first (and hopefully last) root canal this week. I was told there, that my tooth was "very old" - making me feel, well, very old!
- Still has 20 lbs to go, to get back to pre-baby weight. I know I can do it (encouragement welcome).



Naani & Grandpa & Family
- Still live too far away. As do Aunt Heather & family. Deven misses them, and I know Rohan will too once he gets to know them.
- Aunt Heather has been really sick lately; we all hope she feels better soon!
- Cousin Ante is a big kid - only 3 weeks older than Rohan and noticeably larger (and balder!) than his slightly-younger cousin. The jury is still out on who's cuter...Naani & Grandpa know better than to choose sides in that debate. :)
- We still miss Uncle Helly and are thinking good thoughts for Aunt Carolyn, Rea, Mike, & family.

Friends
- Many close friends; some who will help us celebrate tomorrow - and some who will be too far away, but in our thoughts.





Despite the tears, frustration, sleelessness, sicknesses, and screaming, it's been a very, very good 2 years. I'm glad we started this journey of parenthood with you, Deven Reid Sharma. Happy Birthday, my son.

The Life They Leave Behind

[Do you see the birthmark Rohan has on his chest, right side, below his nipple and arm? Just thought I'd point that out in this adorable photo (and yes, I'm biased!)]



Rohan and I attended my Uncle Helly's funeral on Saturday. We also lost Yogesh's Aunt Manju recently, leaving our boys without the benefit of two wonderful relatives who they will never have the pleasure to know. As my Aunt Carolyn and Rea and Michael and all of us grieve for Uncle Helly, I thought about those of us left behind, and how I might change our lives to allow our boys the same benefits of family that I enjoyed.

Yogesh and I plan to give the boys as many chances as possible to know the relatives they still do have. For us, this will mean more time on an airplane than other families may face, but I hope that it will give my boys fond memories of their relatives, friends, and others we love. In no particular order (and not a complete list), I hope the boys learn things from relatives such as:

- Aunt Heather, a passion for all things that grown in dirt.
- Uncle Tommy, how to do basic electrical work, and the safety precautions you must take to do so safely.




- Great Aunt Sigi, how she knows everything about what little boys like, and speaks with her soft Austrian accent.
- Uncle Bill & Aunt Tina, how to hunt and cook and laugh and enjoy big, rambunctious dogs.
- Great Aunt Ushi, how to get a great bargain on an expensive thing.


- Great Uncle Joergi, how to tell a good joke and be silly and fun.
- Great Aunt Anne, how to make a proper bed (they're sure not gonna learn from their dad!)
- Aunt Bernie & Uncle Troy, how to be nice and learn everywhere you go.
- Great Uncle Art, how to take care of their eyes.
- Aunt (Cousin) Rea & Uncle Jeff & new cousin Eva, how to hike and camp and be resourceful and generally live a mountain life far different from the city these boys call home.



- Aunt Carolyn, how to cook and play the piano and listen and feed the quail.
- Uncle Sanjay, just how much he knows about the financial market (it's scary, really!)
- Uncle Rahul, how to spin records, and maybe even how to sing 'Oh Canada'!
- Aunt Noopur, how to be nice to women & girls (& if she doesn't teach them, her daughters Nishaa & Deeya have my permission to beat it into our boys. :)
- Daada, how to paint and appreciate art.
- Grandpa, a love of cars. And how to throw and catch a ball, and whistle a tune, and fix just about anything mechanical that breaks. And maybe even how to laugh at an off-color joke. Or maybe not.




- Naani and Daadi, how to cook and sew and play and sing...and just how deeply their grandmothers both love them.

Uncle Helly

Yesterday my Uncle Helly passed away. He's the one wearing the tuxedo with black bowtie, father of the bride - my cousin Rea - in the photo. It was sudden and unexpected. As you may expect, there's a lot of sadness in the family right now, so I'll simply paraphrase my Aunt Carolyn:

He was a great man, a great teacher, a great father, and a great husband.

To that I'd add

And a great Uncle.

Two Dead Soldiers

...photo taken coming home from the Park, last Friday - my last day of Maternity Leave. I go back to work on Monday, and I'm happy and sad. Happy because I like what I do; sad because I know I'm going to miss this adorable, sweet time in Rohan's life. I'm glad I have the opportunities I do, but I wish I could do everything and not miss a minute of the sweetness (the howling I could certainly do without...but I digress).

Note the different stroller - yes, the stroller-dealer Sherwood saga continues. The fancy, overpriced new Vibe stroller child harness broke (yes, broke!) after less than 10 uses - so I sent it back.




Instead, I bought this oh-so-practical double umbrella stroller. Though it's been called a Nanny Stroller by the Man of the House- this new Maclaren Twin Triumph is lightweight, easy to move / set up / store, was only 1/4 the price of the Vibe, and works like a charm. Perfect for the next 18-24 months while we still need a stroller for 2.



This shot is just a cute one of Rohan, showing his Banditry side well... he was often a fusser during BBC for no reason that I could easily discern. I think in general, he's got a more sensitive stomach than Deven; he definitely needs to be burped more and it takes him longer to get the burps up.

Just like when I went back to work after having Deven, I'm feeling that mix of excitement and sadness. Unlike when I went back last time, I am much more confident that I have excellent care for both boys, as well as a solid career that I am keen to prove myself at. I just hope life allows me to continue blogging; I have enjoyed this as much as I think some of you readers have.

...and the final snap is of Ross, the Baby Boot Camp trainer extraordinaire, holding Rohan so I could do a few more squats (aargh!).

(Final note: Apologies for the random, rambling post...will try harder next time!)

Technology for the septuagenarian set...and milestones

Daddy likes technology. Gadgets. Small, expensive, plastic-and-metal things that make clicks and noises and have small parts that break easily in toddlers' hands, and make us have to say "DEVEN - NO!" at least once a day as he stretches his chubby, clumsy fingers towards them while standing on tippy-toes, because they're left in sight but tantalizingly out of reach for the sub-two-crew.


The latest of these expensive little toys was an iPod Touch - billed as "the funnest [stet] iPod ever." by its maker, Apple. He ostensibly bought this for Daadi to use the Internet; but for at least 2 months it languished in Yogesh's drawer, occasionally used for web surfing or for Yogesh to download some useless new application. The one time Deven got his grubby little fingers on it, he figured out how to unlock it within seconds (pretty impressive...and worrisome). Yogesh kept talking about how Daadi would use it...yea, right.


Photo of Daadi & Deven at the San Jose Discovery Museum, at a friend's birthday party recently. But I digress...

Then Yogesh downloaded an application - a free Hindi news reader for the little toy - and magic! Daadi could read the news - timely, updated, from India in a font she could read (with glasses of course) - and she loved it! Within minutes she wouldn't even let Deven touch the iPod, and after a few minutes in the kitchen, she quietly took the toy with her back to her room. And with that - waa-laa! We now have a septuagenarian Internet lover in our home. :)




ROLLIN' ROLLIN' ROLLIN'... ROHAN'S STARTED ROLLIN'!

Rohan started rolling consistently last weekend (when I had placed him at the top of the steps to put my shoes on...oops, won't do that again!). He hasn't rolled all the way over yet, but enjoys rolling from his back to one side or the other - more the left side (does this mean I'll finally have another lefty to keep me company in this house? I hope so!).

This photo shows Rohan in his glorious fussy-state...



Rohan is finally smiling consistently and giggling a lot these days. He's generally a very hot-or-cold child - happy and giggling one second; fired-up and screaming the next. We're hoping that he continues developing more of the former and grows out of the latter - and soon! He's found his hands, and loves to chew on them, and has started batting at toys - quite fun to watch.

...and this photo shows the charmer Rohan can be...when he wants to be. Be sure to check out the video below, of Rohan talking to Daddy!



Deven, for his part, is still a good big brother. He's not only teething with his 2-year molars, but our Nanny noticed the other day that he has started using different languages to speak to different people. She only speaks to him in Hindi - so as I was coming home, I heard him say "Doodh peehlo" - roughly "Milk drink" - meaning he was thirsty and wanted milk. He saw me, and instead said "More Milk" - meaning the same thing. It was a subtle distinction (I understand enough Hindi that I could've helped quench his thirst, and his Nanny speaks English too) - but made us all smile to realize that he's becoming bilingual just by being exposed to Hindi and English. :)



Photo of Deven & Aunt Danielle @ the park recently - he was able to climb up on the see-saw all by himself last time!

In general, the boys are never-ending bundles of energy - Deven's never-know-what-to-expect toddlerish and Rohan's infant-sweet-then-fussyish. Hard to believe we're already planning Deven's 2nd birthday party - but that's coming up on April 5!

Pink Eye!

The past 2 weeks here have been pretty unhealthy in the Sherwood-Sharma household. Deven has had a cough / runny nose for at least 3 weeks now; and last Wed his nanny brought him to me, to show me the gross pile o' goop forming in the corners of his eyes. Luckily we were able to get him into his Pediatrician same-day, where they diagnosed conjunctivitis, or Pink Eye - and gave him drops, told us to wash hands frequently / don't share towels, and get better. So we did, and his eyes improved almost immediately.


Photo of Deven trying to wear the baby carrier we carry Rohan in - he's still being a very sweet & nice good big brother, despite his escalating diaper tantrums!

...But then, I started to feel bad. Took some medicine, but by Friday evening was really 'down' - and spent the weekend in bed. I thought I was beating it the cold ...then I coughed myself hoarse, couldn't swallow, and Sunday evening MY eyes started to get goopy and pink. Gross. I haven't had this in ~ 25 years (frankly I can't recall ever having it, but I think I did). The photo doesn't do real justice to how red my eyes were - on the sides, there was literally no white in the whites of my eyes; it was totally bloodshot. Ick. Tried to go to my Doctor on Monday (they could prescribe something, right?)...wrong. Went into the Urgent Care @ UCSF, where they said yep, I've got a nasty virus - drink fluids, take pain relief, and wait it out. UGH!


Monday...Yogesh's eyes got bad, but cleared pretty quickly with the trick shown below, and Wednesday, Daadi's eyes got bad. Gross!

So the cocktail of things I've tried (and their efficacy):
- Tylenol, but not > 4 grams/day to avoid liver failure (failure?!? Eek!)
- Advil, trading off with the Tylenol for pain relief
- Airborne vitamin-drink
- Echinacea, Propolis, and Astragalus immune-system boosters (seemed to help some)
- Pulsatilla homeopathy
- Vitamin C, Garlic, Omega 3's and regular multivitamins.
- ...and one more trick, that actually cleared the pink eye (read on)

Only today, after almost 8 days of hell, do I feel even a little better. But I still have a ringing in my ears and didn't go to BBC, despite the great weather. Ugh!



First photo here is of Rohan on 2/1, below is him today (2/27). You may not be able to tell, but he's definitely put on weight this month and I think gone through his 12-week growth spurt a bit early!




BTW, did you notice who has NOT seemed to get sick? Baby Rohan! Yes, we've been pretty careful about cleaning things, etc. - but I have to have sneezed or coughed on the little guy at least once. And why hasn't he gotten sick? My theory is breastmilk! It's known that breastmilk contains antibiotic and antiviral properties - and I think he's been spared as a result. This is good, because what I had in him would be at minimum VERY dangerous, and at worst even life-threatening.

To finish the above thought: The final thing we did here for the pink eye was...
- Dropped 1 drop of breastmilk in each affected eye. May seem odd, but worked like a charm!

Jealousy is all the fun you think they had

...this quote by Erica Jong is an apt description of life @ the Sherwood-Sharma household sometimes now.

Deven is generally a very sweet Big Brother. He tries to comfort Rohan with sing-song words "Roo-haaan," giving toys, and rocking or bouncing Rohan's seat when Rohan fusses. It's heartwarming. But Deven is still a toddler. And when he doesn't want to do something (which is about 20 times / day), we invoke the Rohan Threat.

Photo here of Rohan enjoying his mobile - something he's just caught on to and really seems to like. Rohan's still being somewhat more fussy these days, but since Gripe Water has no discernible effect and Mylicon is only partially effective (or we just can't tell), we're hoping he'll grow out of the crying-for-no-apparent-reason stage soon.


The Rohan Threat

Yogesh discovered about two weeks ago, that when Deven is throwing a tantrum and not doing something we want him to do (wear his diaper/eat lunch/sit in his high chair... you get the point) - if we tell him that Rohan will wear it/eat it/sit in it, Deven will immediately stop throwing the tantrum for that reason, and usually do what we ask. The conversations go something like this:

Daddy

Deven, come eat yummy mum-mum (mum-mum = food)

Deven

[shrieks, runs away]

Daddy

Deven, is this Rohan's mum-mum? Rohan, come eat yummy mum-mum!

Mommy

[brings Rohan close to the spoon, and shows how happy Rohan is to "eat" the food]

Deven

NOOO! DEVEN MUM-MUM!

Daddy

Ok, but you have to eat. Try mum-mum?

Deven

DEVEN MUM-MUM! AAAAAA! [gulp]

...and that, my friends, is how we've been getting Deven to do things lately. We laugh sometimes at its effectiveness, and yet we also know it's not going to last - Deven will figure out this game pretty fast - but we'll use it for as long as it works!

Enjoy these videos from late December of Deven & Granddad playing with trains:

Lil' Squeaker

Rohan had his 2 month checkups today, and he's doing very well.

- 12 lbs 8 oz
- 23.75" long
- 39.75 cm head circumference

The above puts him firmly in the ~ 75th percentile, all with a clean bill of health. He got 3 shots today so he's likely going to be (more) fussy - but who can blame him? I don't like needles either!



He's been more fussy in the evenings lately, and according to Dr. Kaplan, fussiness can start anywhere from 5 - 12 weeks and run for 1 - 2 months; because their little brains wake up and they're processing the day's stimulations. She said it's particularly true for the little ones who sleep well at night (like Rohan still does, thankfully) - oh well, I guess it's our reward for having a baby who sleeps well.

Here's a photo of Rohan and Uncle Sanjay - Yogesh's business colleague:



Check out these videos I finally uploaded! First, Rohan talking - can you tell why I call him my Lil' Squeaker?:



Then some short videos of my boys @ home in January: