Parental Defenses

A lacrosse friend, Linda, recently equated child-rearing with team sports:

- A single child is easy, because as parents, it's 2-on-1.
- 2 kids are manageable, because parents can go to a man-to-man defense...but
- 3 kids are REALLY tough, though, because then the parents have to go to a zone defense...and everyone KNOWS that's your weakest defense.

I tried this argument on Yogesh, and he immediately said "but we've got Daadi, so we're already 3-on-1" - so I shot back that HE can have the 3rd. Yogesh quickly hushed up and just smiled.

Walking, Shopping, Biting, Laughing

Deven's done all of them with us, this weekend.

We also visited our friends Chris & Frankie (newlyweds - congrats!) and have a photo to post of that visit soon, too. The cool thing about their house? That's where Deven took his first step! That's right - Deven took 1 step by himself (twice, in fact) - Yogesh and I were, naturally, thrilled - and Chris and Frankie looked on in quiet wonder. But with a little one on the way for them, they'll learn soon.


Deven can now sit in the grocery cart by himself - though thank goodness they have the waist-straps now...I can see the checkout lines becoming a nightmare in the future, with the candy, gum, and magazines all at toddler-grabbing levels...

Ouch!

Small boy, 3 teeth, yesterday evening.

Mom's leg looks like a snack. Or maybe a teething ring.

Small boy's teeth cut through mom's leg-skin. Mom shrieks. OUCH!

(I sure hope he gets thru teething soon...)

Nope, haven't given it up. Yes, I love it.

I hear that most moms have a continual battle, how to prioritize our time so our kids get top-billing, our partners somewhere-near-the-top, our extended family, pets, friends, work, bills, and other things don't get too mad at us, starve, or foreclose on our homes.

My "extra-curricular" that I still love and continue to do, is lacrosse umpiring. I hope Deven grows up seeing me do this, running around the sidelines and playing with 'mini-sticks' as I'm on the field with a whistle. Or, I hope this video lasts online for some time - I worked a great game with fellow umpires Linda & John on Sunday - a gorgeous day on a gorgeous field. Yogesh, Deven, and Daadi came along as well - enjoying the sunshine, the game, and even the Stanford Band (who came to cheer-on their team). Oh, yeah: and Stanford beat (ranked) Notre Dame.

Little Tikkies

Daadi has been bugging us for some time now, to get Deven a car (no, not the kind he'll want @ 16) - a small toy-wheeled thing. She has said repeatedly that Yogesh LOVED his little toy car as a toddler - so Deven must have one too.

Yogesh went on Amazon (his favorite website EVER) and found this "Little Tikkies" - Little Tikes, really - and it's been the HIT of the HOUSE ever since. Deven can walk behind it, pushing and gurgling happily - or he can ride on it.

Though, watch the video - I think Deven likes Mommy pushing it more than he likes Daddy behind! :)


Photos below are from Daada-Satya's visit a few weeks back (he's Yogesh's uncle; the new granddad of the baby in the prior post).