Our Daddy Rocks!

Daddy's company sale was finally announced in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. It was the only good news on page B4. Yay! My daddy did it! (I call him MY Daddy - because I know my older brother Deven has started showing signs of jealousy, so I figured I'd poke him a bit.) I'm going to be a rascal, according to my parents.


It was a good article. Here's how it starts out:

Glam Media Buys Ad-Technology Firm

Internet company Glam Media Inc. acquired technology firm AdaptiveAds Inc. to boost its online ad-targeting capability and help it create a self-service ad-buying system.

I cooed and gurgled and acted cute (as I always do) when I saw the news. Here's a good shot of me - the Entrepreneur in Training (please note the very cute organic cotton duds, courtesy of Daddy's VCs - reading the news.

Here's a link to the official Press Release.


But I was upset when I finished reading the article - why wasn't my Daddy mentioned in the article? Or me? What about ME? After all, I was born during the deal and gave Daddy just as many sleepless nights as the deal did!

Feed 'em and they grow

...that's what my dad says about kids. He's right, though I think I'm enjoying the process more than he was purported to have enjoyed it.

(Unrelated: hereinafter my dad will be "Granddad" instead of "Naana" which is "Granddad" in Hindi - because "Naana" sounds too close to "Nana" which sounds too much like "Grandma" in English...but I digress).

These first three photos are of Ante (Rohan & Deven's cousin), about a week ago. He's still a baldie - and what a sweet cross of Tommy & Heather! :) These photos were taken on the day of his 2-month doctor's visit and shots - Heather said she cried when he got 'em (and I remember crying when Deven got his, too...though with Rohan, in true 2nd-child-fashion I didn't cry, I just held him as he wailed for his 1st month shots).




Lots of sweet, wonderful things have happened since I last wrote:

- My cousin Rea gave birth to her first baby, naturally, on Sunday. I'll let her give all the details, but she was in high spirits when I talked with her, and she & little one are doing well.

- Amy & Tom came for a visit recently and I realized I didn't even take a photo - but I was amazed at how much vocabulary Tom has...and how well he LISTENED to Amy! This was, in true Kate-fashion, followed almost immediately by an irrational fear that by not staying at home, I'm not giving my kids a good vocabulary or teaching them to listen to me...but then I realized that Deven can count to 20 in 2 languages already thanks to his bilingual Nanny, and at least listens to the Nanny, so I calmed a bit. I think I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers - which I think I'd taken a bit too much inference from.


- Rohan weighs over 12 lbs today. I know this b/c I went to my first New Homebirth Parents Group @ Natural Resources and weighed him. His little homebirth friends were precious. :)

- Deven can say who his parents are (good in case he gets lost), the numbers up to 20 in Hindi and English, and sings "Hello eh-body" - his version of the beginning of "Hello, Everybody" - a favorite song of his from Music Together. He also now has the ability to keep a tantrum going for the greater of 20 minutes or a LOOOONG walk uphill if we have to leave the 'slide-swings' before the Prince Of Dolores Street is ready.

- We got a new double tandem-inline stroller. It's super-hip and cool and I love it (it was so expensive that I returned a nice Christmas gift from Yogesh to Macy's as I felt a bit guilty for insisting upon it); and it pushes very easily and has lots of great features that make it totally worth the horrifically-high price tag...but I sorta miss the simplicity of the single Bob (see second stroller photo, here).
But I'll send that to Rea; I know she'll get great use of it in the mountains of CO.

- Yogesh sold his company, and that's now public (see the Wall Street Journal articleGlam Media Buys Ad-Technology Firm). Yay!


- I'm still doing some work from Maternity Leave, and that's still a good thing.


- Deven can slide down the slide by himself, forwards now. That plus the language - he's growing fast!

- I'm missing my friends. As we've had kids and I've changed jobs, a few close friends who used to be (physically) nearby aren't any longer, and I haven't added enough new ones who are also nearby. Sure, I've met LOTS of nice people, but I'm not doing enough friendship-making things myself lately (inviting Amy & Tom over was awesome and a good start, but not nearly enough). I want to be closer to a few close women. Christie is gosh-only-knows in NZ, Kimmi's in NY, Karen's in SC, Tammi & Krista are still in DC, Danielle & Amy & Zornitza are still here in SF and Nimisha's still in SJ... but I don't see them nearly enough. I know I'm the one responsible for building a Community around me that I love - and I have to do it. I'm just so tired (and I'm still on Maternity leave!) - I just wonder how those moms who do it all...do it.

Proud to be an American... and a Postscript

Since Rohan's Birth, his Daddy has had an event-filled month. Not only did he sell his company in a private transaction for a successful entrepreneurial 'exit' (to use venture capital language), but he also became an American Citizen (complete with US Passport and invalidated Indian Passport), convinced his father to come visit us (instead of us trapsing 'round the world to visit him in India - which would've been OK but 50+ hours in transit in 3-4 coach class seats, with a toddler, infant, and grandmother in a wheelchair wouldn't have been easy), and comforted an employee/friend whose wife fell gravely ill recently (thankfully she's doing much better, though she's still in the hospital).

Today, we welcome Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States. As I mentioned in a post on 2008's Election Day, I'm proud, happy, and more than a bit relieved that Deven and Rohan - themselves of biracial/bicultural heritage - will never know their country as a place where there isn't a leader at least a little bit "like them."



DEVELOPMENT

Rohan's eyelashes are growing. He's started smiling. He weighs almost 12 lbs (maybe that much by now - he was 11 lbs 12 oz at our last Midwife visit, last Thursday). He still is quite a newborn - he doesn't like to sleep anywhere except on someone; he fusses in the evenings regularly and for seemingly no reason (something we hope & expect to decline as he ages). He's given us many sleep-filled nights (pray that writing that doesn't mean he'll stop doing that). He doesn't like having a full dialer (but who would?). He uses his voice a lot - and (as long as he's being held - or bounced) is generally a sweet, vocal little baby.


Deven's language has exploded of late - milk is no longer "meeut" - it's "meelkh" (close enough) or "doodh" (which is milk in Hindi). His nanny has been speaking to him in Hindi, so he has a lot of words he says in both languages - if he wants water, he says "water pani" ("pani" being water in Hindi); if he describes a hat, he says "Topa Hat" ("topa" again being hat in Hindi). He has many 'toddler moments' - at least 5/day, when he wants something and can't have it, and simply starts screeching. He loves the playground ("slide-swings"), and now slides facing forward instead of turning around backwards. He hangs on the monkey bars, he climbs the rope ladders, kicks and throws his soccer ball, and generally loves running around the playgrounds we take him to.

When Deven has a tantrum at the same time as Rohan is fussing, the din is quite overwhelming. I wish I had a way to measure decibels - I think it would rival a rock concert or jet airplane taking off.




POSTSCRIPT TO "NOT GUILTY!"

Yep, I don't feel guilty any more about leaving my kids to go do a job that I enjoy. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't miss my kids when I'm away. I went to a full day of work and business meetings last week, and while it was successful (and I even took time to pump while in the office, which wasn't so bad), I couldn't wait to get home.

Not Guilty!

About a year ago, I wrote a post about how guilty I felt leaving Deven and going to work every day. A very wise friend (and mom of older kids) pointed out that leaving for work might just make me - and him a better person for working.


I'm happy to say today that, a mere year later, I finally believe her comment. This is not to say that I don't miss my kids when we're apart - I do, fiercely. But I love coming home to hear Deven spouting "Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Sunday" because his Nanny is teaching him the days of the week (forgetting a few days but who's counting? It's not something I'd remember to teach him); or to see Rohan slap himself in the face accidentally, and then start to really smile.

I say all of this, because I've started to do a bit of work even while still on leave. Why on earth would I do this, you ask?
- Because I want to.
- Because I can even with Rohan in my lap, nursing away.
- Because I'm needed at work, and I'm good at what I do.
- Because I like making a contribution there - I believe in what we do (selling large commercial solar power contracts).
- Because I have a good situation here at home, and I see Deven thriving (and I trust that Rohan will, too. How could he not, with a loving Daadi and Nanny every day?).
- Because I'm not doing much work - just a bit of email and powerpoint and a few phone calls, really.
- And most importantly, because by doing a bit of work now, I have agreed that I can get more flexibility from my work when I do go back full-time.

So if I need to arrive late or leave early from the office, I can do so - no questions asked. It's such a relief to work with reasonable people who value my contribution...that I really don't feel guilty working, finally!




Photos: First, my boys @ home (Daadi in the background, in our very messy kitchen); second one from a short visit to a fire station. Deven has taken a fascination with all big and noisy transportation - he LOVES fire trucks, buses, motorcycles - and will stop in his tracks and say "WOOOOOOW" any time one of those drives by.

About Rohan

Rohan will be 1 month old on Wednesday, so I thought I'd share some of my observations about him so far:


- He still coos, gurgles, squeaks, and grunts. More now, in fact, than when he was born. Naturally, Yogesh & I think this qualifies him for the Cutest Baby Of 2008 award, but I bet other parents feel the same way about theirs.

- I think his hair will be curly, or at least wavy. When we wash it and it's in that super-soft standup-baby-fuzz state, it's definitely got a curl - or at least more than his brother Deven's has/had. His hair is dark chocolate-brown, eyelashes continue to grow, and the fine dark-brown lanugo that covered his ears, forehead, and back has almost completely disappeared.

- His eyes are starting to change color from the newborn blue-grey to a hazel-greenish-brown right now. I suspect they will end up with the nice Hershey's milk chocolate brown that Deven's eyes are now, but I know they're supposed to keep changing through the first year of life, so we'll see.

- His ears have perked up considerably since their smooshed look from birth; but his left ear still has a funny point in the cartilage where it was bent and it gives him a semi-Spock look from certain angles.

- His cheeks, wrists, chin, and other cute-baby parts are filling out as he gains weight. The more he gains the more I lose, so I love this for all the great mom-and-baby reasons.



- He has a generally happy disposition, and I think has just started smiling back at us. Of course, this makes Yogesh and I grin like clowns - which sometimes continues his smile, and sometimes makes him frown. That said, he has fussy times, which normally end with an enormous adult-like belch. I can't recall how Deven was in this regard, but now with Rohan, burps have never made me so happy!


- Like his brother, he doesn't like to sit in a wet or poopy diaper, and will fuss if made to do so until the diaper's changed. This is good, because it will reduce his chances of horrid diaper rash (he is continually on the verge of diaper rash, I think in part because he's got a mild but persistent case of thrush, and this shows up on his tongue as well as his cute little butt-cheeks (and my nipples, which is painful but I digress).

- Like all the men in his family, he farts BIG. :) I mean, not these sweet little newborn peeps, but loud, baby-shaking, output-producing, calming farts. While the cleanup can be massive, it actually relaxes me to hear him fart, because he relaxes so much.


- He's still wearing 0 - 3 mos sized clothing, but has outgrown his Newborn sized diapers (did that about 2 weeks ago, in fact). I don't know how much he weighs right now, but it's somewhere north of 9 lbs and I'm willing to suspect it changes by ~ 1 oz every time he poops. :)

- He sleeps well thru the night. Note that I didn't say he sleeps THROUGH the night yet, but he eats every 3 - 4 hours (as opposed to every 1 - 2) at night, and because we sleep together, he often doesn't even wake me up. We do have to change his diaper and burp him at night, but so far it hasn't been horrific and I'm still feeling somewhat sane. :)

- He likes to be held - a LOT. So far, he hasn't slept anywhere other than someone's arms or chest for more than ~ 1 hour of his short life. This is fine, in my opinion...I'll be going back to work all too soon, and I (and Daddy, and Daadi, and Naani, and even Naana) need to hold him as much as he needs to be held.

In general, he's a good baby, a good little brother, and - even when he screeches - a stork-gift I think we'll keep.

All the Sharmas are napping...

...and I am awake. It's a brilliant San Francisco Saturday afternoon, and the house is blissfully quiet. I can't remember the last time the house was this peaceful, for this long - it's been at least 30 minutes, and I'm the only one who I can tell has moved in that time. The silence is delicious...I can actually hear the clock ticking (reminds me: must get nicer Grandmother clock instead of this cheap Ikea thing we have on our mantle), the cat clicking his long claws on the wood floor (reminds me: Must trim cat's nails), and even the wind in the palm trees in front of our house (reminds me: must talk to condo neighbor about trimming shrubbery). Aargh, I have a lot of things on my to-do list...someone please wake up!


This morning we bought Daadi a nice "new" (antique) dresser and headboard - some nicely refinished pieces from a local couple who buys "junk" and refurbishes it, then sells the pieces on Craigslist.

Buying the pieces made Daadi very happy, and prompted her to tell us the following funny story:

Daadi comes from a fairly well-to-do family. And as the custom through the early 20th century in India, a family would receive a dowry for every girl (woman) who married into it. Part of a dowry given to her uncle as part of his wedding was an enormous antique carved wooden bed.


When Daadi was married to Daada in 1950, her family gave Daada's family the bed. However, the bed was so big, and Daada's family home so modest (literally 2 rooms for 3 adults & 6 children as I understand it), that it wouldn't fit through the doorway into the house! So, the bed remained somewhere (in storage?) for years.

The next girl who was married out of Daada's family came to her future betrothed with ...you guessed it...the bed! It was a joke in the family for some time of "Where's the bed going next?"



Postscript for all the non-Indians reading this: the concept of Dowry was alive and well in post-colonial India. While it is still thriving in some areas and socioeconomic classes in India, this Sharma family no longer expects a dowry. Or at least, I sure didn't come with one...in fact, I came with impending plans (and bills) for graduate school! :)

And yes, I know the photos here do NOT match the post, but we had so many cute pictures from when Naana & Naani were in town, I couldn't help it.



Do you like the photo of Deven's messy feet? This is from when he stomped in the mud puddle we created when we buried the placentas last weekend (reminds me: Must go check to see whether they and the bulbs we planted on top are still ok).



How about the photo of Deven wearing Daddy's shoes? He's started to be able to wear his own shoes and socks...and try on everyone else's as well, lately. Very cute, unless he's having a toddler-moment.



Happy New Year, everyone!