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!