New Year is a Month and Half Old!

Babs,

This year started and has also turned a month and half old and I never had a second to stop by and gave where the past six weeks have flown by. I have stopped writing much here. I am not sure why, but the motivation I used to have seems lacking.

Anyways, you and I were on one of those fun trips to the Carolina's again to celebrate your thathaiyya's and ammaamma's fiftieth Wedding anniversary. From where I see it, it is a big deal. Imagine, fifty years of being married to the same person.

They have seen it all, and that too together. Mom got married young and dad was also not that old. They struggled through the initial years of getting a job and settling down to start a family. Mom had issues having children and the struggles and embarrassments they went through. Dad slowly climbed the ladders one after another while mom had three of us little kids to take care, educate and raise.

On January 22nd, 2010, all of us siblings surprised our parents (your grandparents) and it was fun to see the expressions on their faces. You were pampered rotten by your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and your cousins. You started ignoring me and only noticed me when it was time to sleep and you could not get enough of climbing up and down the stairs. You loved it when your Pradnya akka played violin or when Zeal akka babied you or when Advith Anna came and tried his best to play little girly games. The trip was a success. You and I even got to play in the tennis court, it was the first time you held the raquet in your hands and you saw an ant up close and freaked out.

You also promptly fell ill right after we sat in the airplane back to Dallas. You ran a temperature and called the thermometer "tempergen" and would not let me bring it close to you but now you have made peace with it.

You talk a lot now. I cannot explain how much. It is no more goodudu but Goodnight, not babutakuta but Basketball and not naeintukata but nail cutter. You speak clearly and logically, you do not blabber but for the rare once in a while bachha balao...

You Wawa and La came back from India and you cannot get enough of them. Wawa makes fun of your Balathannu...which is how you sing "bagiya bagiya Bala thannu, thithili phir bhi a-bala thannu."

Oh and last weekend Feb 13th, we went to Sweet and Sassy for Sneha akka's birthday party. You along with other girls, got dressed up as a princess and walked the ramp and then danced. You loved it. You sat still when your hair was done and make up was put. You enjoyed it and you wanted to dance more and was upset that the music stopped. You also ate 1.5 slices of pizza toppings and whole lot of cream. You were super bouncy the rest of the night. But it was fun.

Nowdays we (you, me and your papa) do a lot of finger painting, play dough and scribbling. You identify all the alphabets correctly, you can write A, H, P, and the number 1. You enjoy scribbling and you are always teaching us how to do it just like that. The house is one big mess but it is fun.

And before I forget, you can say the capitals of all states in the South Starting from Cali to the Carolina's and love repeating them.

So far this year, even thought both me and your papa have been working like crazy this past two months we have had fun with you. You are growing up so fast now and I am constantly afraid that I will be doing something wrong when it comes to raising you. I am afraid to be too strong when it comes to disciplining you and then I also afraid to be too soft. I wish I was like one of those cocky moms who always know what they are doing.

Anyways, we (papa and I) had tons of chocolate for V-day and so did you...and we are busy having a life and fun :)

Love you

ART

Amma