Toes! Kiss the baby!

Deven has learned what "toes" are - and loves telling us, any time we're about to go outside. He knows shoes go on feet (not quite how yet, but all that fits him right now is his Teva sandals, so not surprising - I still have a hard time putting mine on).


He's also learned that Mommy (that's me) has a baby inside. If you ask "Where's the baby?" he'll point towards my belly...and then if you say "Kiss the baby" - he will! He has the sweetest little kiss - anyone who sees it can't help but say "Aww."

Then, when he sees my belly button, he thinks that it's a requirement to stick his finger inside and wiggle - which makes me laugh, which makes him laugh, which makes me laugh harder, which makes him laugh harder...which makes him insist upon doing it some more. Pretty funny.


This weekend we finally went out to our little garden - overgrown and ignored - and raked and cleaned up a bit. Though we're thinking about moving, we're also considering getting a small play structure, so Deven (and perhaps Noah, his little share-care buddy) can go play in our yard. It's relatively safe - a small plot - though Deven did a head-first dive down the stairs this morning while showing off how he can go down the steps face-first. I guess that will help him learn to hold on and look down when going down stairs!


We're thinking of buying something like this 8-in-1 playground structure (used if we can get one of course) - looks good to us, but any ideas welcome!

Small - Medium - Large (Mama Bellies)

Heather's baby shower was this weekend, and my cousin Rea was also there (along with Aunt Marsha, Gina, Aunt Sigi, my mom, Yogesh, Deven, and me). My dad didn't come - and I think that means he's now relegated to status of MRWWHTMIUTHL (that's Male Relative Who Will Have To Make It Up To Heather Later.)


Here's the 3 of us pregnant gals:
- Rea is "small," due in January with a girl, and taking good care of herself - eating right and watching her health!
- I'm "medium," due in December with a boy and watching what I eat...which, truth be told, included 1 slice of cake, 2 cookies, 3 brownies, and 4 pieces of quiche at Heather's shower. Gosh, I could be The Very Hungry Caterpillar of childhood-book fame!
- Heather is "large," due in November and, in my wholly unqualified, unscientific opinion, will go into labor before her due-date (Yogesh's birthday) and have a girl. She & Tommy don't know (or aren't telling us) whether the baby is a girl or boy, so I'm with her friend Barbara (the professed resident Gypsy of her group of friends) in picking "GIRL!"



It was great to see Aunt Sigi, Aunt Marsha, Gina and Rea again. Apparently Gina's been enduring a recent basement flooding in her Chicago home (brought on by recent heavy rains), so life goes on, regardless of drywall status. Aunt Sigi gave us some great little tips - like, when Deven is whining (screaming) to be picked up - do so, but only once he isn't actually screaming...that way you don't reinforce the Pavlovian cycle of scream to be picked up. Gosh, I wish we lived closer to relatives!


Heather's baby shower was very good, overall. Their friends threw a lovely bash at her friend Lisa's gorgeous home, they received lots of useful stuff (including the obligatory 2-of-the-exact-same-thing, and a few too many onesies for a few items - no worries, it's all exchangeable!), and everyone was well-behaved - including, surprisingly, Deven.



He spent the luncheon time being cute and eating toddler-style (that means eating a bite then walking outside, then eating another bite and walking back again) - and spent the gift-opening session saying "Baaaow" and "Woof-woof" to the stuffed animals that his future-cousin received.





Generally, he was a toddler - hanging out with Uncle Tommy, hanging upside-down with Naani:








Cap off the weekend with a pretty-good flight on Southwest (SO much better than other airlines) - and a good time was had by all.





I wonder when Heather & Tommy's baby will wear this cute shirt? :)

Shoe time!

Deven had a grand time this weekend @ Mausi Heather and Mausa Tommy's baby shower in Chicago. Photos of that coming soon.

But before that, we had a couple of days without Daddy @ home - and Deven discovered Daadi's shoes in that time. Discovered, played with, and giggled and giggled.


He giggled when he realized he could wear her shoes...



And giggled some more when he tried to walk.



Chased the cat away (didn't get a photo of that)...



In the end - this photo shows it best: He's taken a dislike for wearing pants (or any kind of clothes for that matter) - but loves wearing shoes!

Uncle Hans, rest in peace

My mom just called to tell me that my Uncle Hans (Grandma Frieda's brother), passed away in Innsbruck today. He was 83, and is survived by his new bride Cristel, sons Albin & Norman, and their respective families (see below).

Photo: Uncle Hans with his sons Norman (younger, on left) and Albin, at Uncle Hans' wedding last year.



Albin & Norman sent a sweet email to many of us about Uncle Hans' passing; I won't repeat all of it, but these comments from Albin, then Norman, struck me:
"He received the best care possible and the hospital staff was exceptional. I think that he was happy that he did not have a prolonged disability.
We all will miss him very much and will celebrate many happy memories."

"While Dad probably had the strength to live to 100, he had 83 great years. He was frequently with his family and never really learned to slow down. We should all celebrate his life."


When we had Deven last year, Uncle Hans sent us a gift of some reusable cloth diapers that we wanted. I'm sad Deven will never know him. He was smart, practical, energetic, and had a quirky sense of humor that I can only attribute to his being an Austrian anesthesiologist with a pretty thick accent, living in Southern Cal.

I didn't actually know Uncle Hans that well - he lived in Laguna Beach, CA, and was an anesthesiologist. My mom and other relatives stayed in pretty close contact, and Albin and Norman lived with my family in Maryland for some time while they were in graduate school @ Georgetown.


Photo: My dad, Uncle Hans, and Uncle Helly (my mom's older brother), before Uncle Hans' wedding last summer:






I will remember Uncle Hans as a kind uncle, who always wanted me (and all the kids in our family) to learn. Learn a LOT. The best memory I have is from my teens, when he came for a visit (for a conference, I don't remember), and wanted to go to D.C. to the museums. He wanted to go with me - and Heather, I think - and we spent the whole day in some of the larger collections - the Natural History museum, American History, etc. He was SO happy to be with us as we were learning, about anything. Native Americans, bees, ancient Greece - it was all valuable knowledge to him, and he wanted us to have it. I think the thank-you note I wrote after that day was one of the first I ever penned - it was one of the first I remember enjoying writing after spending time with someone, anyway.

Photo: Uncle Hans & new bride Cristel, at their wedding last year:







He passed fairly quickly, which is good in my opinion. His ashes will be partly scattered at Laguna Beach, and partly laid to rest in the cemetery near his parents.

Photo: the family @ his wedding last year.
Bottom row, L-R: Kaitlin, Kampbell (Norman's daughters), Paul (Albin's son), Uncle Helly, Aunt Carolyn (Uncle Helly's wife), my mom
Top row, L-R: Loni (Norman's wife), Norman, Albin, Cristel, Uncle Hans, Jacqui (Albin's wife), and my dad.










This last photo is how I'd like to remember him. It's not a good photo, but he loved dancing, and I'm pretty sure this is him taking Cristel for a twirl, on the beach at their wedding reception last year. I hope that Cristel, Albin, Norman, and others who were close to him are doing OK - our thoughts are with them.

I'm sure he's dancing, where ever he is now. :)

More Family Updates

- Uncle Hans (Grandma Frieda's brother), who lives in Laguna Beach, has suffered a stroke while on vacation in Innsbruck, and is now not doing well. My cousins Albin & Norman are there, but the prognosis is grim.

- Uncle Joergi is home from the hospital; the doctors are now in dispute re: what's wrong; but he's OK.

- Sister-in-law Shirley's father passed away in Mumbai. Our thoughts are with her and their whole family for a peaceful mourning period.

- In my last post, I mentioned how my youngest cousin Lauren had gotten engaged to her college sweetie Curtis. Here are the photos to prove it:

First, Lauren kissing Curtis:










(wait...that's not Curtis, that's the horse he rode in on!) Ha ha, ok...sorry Lauren for the Uncle Joergi-styled joke. :) Here's a shot of his family's country house where they got engaged...they live in Houston so I hope they didn't suffer too much damage in Hurricane Ike!













...HERE's the happy to-be-betrothed's:







...And here are a couple of shots of the ring:










Quite acceptable, wouldn't you say?



(Hint hint Yogesh - it's customary here to buy a "Push Present" for moms after they have a good delivery... Christmas is around the same time and my work-earrings that I wear all the time are rather small for my ears - and the jeweler will let you trade-up, ha ha!)

Here at home, we had a good day visiting friends Chris & Frankie, and their new baby Zachary Christopher - 6 days old today! Photos coming once I find the cord to upload properly...

Family Updates

3 quick updates from 'round the country, and 2 from basecamp San Francisco:

- Chicago, IL: Heather and Tommy are doing well - love the photo, don't you?


- Houston, TX: My youngest cousin, Lauren, is engaged to her college sweetheart, Curtis. I hear a March wedding is planned (but I want to see the ring 1st to be sure! - send photos!

- Annapolis, MD: My uncle Joergi is home from the hospital. Get well soon, Uncle Joergi!

- San Francisco, CA:
...a cute recent photo of Daddy Yogesh.

...and finally: Deven's shirt in this photo is appropriate. He has been a terror going to sleep - and staying asleep - lately (hard to go down...maybe out by 8:30pm; then up screaming @ 4:00am. Ugh.) Any parents out there with any advice?

Videos from August

...finally uploaded - see 7 of them here:



And a few photos, too.
Deven @ the park:

From 2008 August

With family friends - Yogesh's high school chum and family:

From 2008 August

It's been HOT lately - the San Francisco summer is finally here!

Good Weekend

Despite Deven's tantrums (yes, that's plural, as he repeated his performance from yesterday again today), this was a great Labor Day weekend. I can think of few things more fun than:
- Sleeping in the car while Daddy goes to get groceries (I'm getting more tired in pregnancy w/Cupcake than I did with Deven)


- Swimming in a toddler-swim class (we've joined the expensive but nice La Petite Baleen; which is actually pretty good, though Deven isn't quite sure of the whole thing yet)



- Playing @ the park. We had a great day today @ Walter Haas playground. 330 days of the year, the park is a windy/foggy misery, but today was one of the ~ 35 glorious days that it was really beautiful; so we had fun in the sandbox, on the swings, and playing toddler-soccer in the grass.