Happy Father's Day!

Ella Update

She's taking her time. She's not crawling yet. No teeth either. But she's on a roll wit lots of other cool things. A week shy of 10 months, Ella:

Screeches

Babbles "Da da Aa Da"

Fake coughs to get a laugh from us

Scoots backwards

Waves bye-bye

Laughs loudly

Throws things on the floor

Eats pancakes, sweet potato

Doesn't like Cheerios

Loves to have a bath

Scratches her head and her tummy

Loves being outside

Eight

Tomorrow is our 8th wedding anniversary. It's been a very eventful time, to say the least. A lot happened since that sunny day - June 9th, 2001 - when we tied the knot on a boat on the Charles River in Boston. We became homeowners and I became an American citizen. We traveled to India, Mexico, Italy, Canada, the Bahamas. Then Rowan came along and irrevocably changed our life - and our marriage. Almost immediately after, Kedar took the big leap into becoming a solo practitioner. He started his own practice and our other baby was born. Like Rowan, "The Practice" needed round-the clock nurturing and regular checkups. Thankfully, both are growing well and turned 4 this year! Then we had a few more hiccups along the way in the baby making process... and finally in August 2008, Ella came along.
If our marriage is the star of this blog spot, then our strong supporting cast must get due credit. We would be absolutely lost without both sets of grandparents, who have given unselfishly of their time again and again, as Kedar and I muddled through 2 am feedings and potty mishaps; bedrest and skinned knees; work deadlines and earaches. With his unassuming demeanor and quiet strength, Kedar's Dad is a constant help and our soft place to fall. My 4 ft. 11 mother was a pillar of strength, our rock, running our house single-handedly during both my complicated pregnancies.
There are times we felt that our marriage was crumbling under the enormous pressure of a house, 2 kids, 2 jobs and an all-consuming business. When we were literally like two ships passing in the night. When we fought constantly and couldn't remember why we were married. But somehow we found the common sense to step back and get a perspective: sometimes it rains and sometimes it shines. That's life. That's marriage. And we wouldn't want it any other way.

Spring

Pretty dresses and dewdrops on the grass.
That's what spring time brought.

Rowan's 4th Birthday Party at the Zoo

Friends






Assorted Zoo Animals





The Cake

Vocab Update

Recorded for Posterity (to get a bunch of laughs) as of April 2009:

"I smell like eating eggs."

" I finded the hunting eggs today." ( Translation: I found all the Easter eggs today.)

" No, not 5 minutes more. 3 minutes more."

" What o'clock is it?"

And not to forget: Niverous, Siverous and the one and only Adovo!

Da da da da

Ella's talking!
She just started babbling yesterday - da da da da, ma ma ma ma. At one point she said what sounded distinctly like "Mommy" - but I think it was just a coincidence. A very happy one. Suddenly, she's transformed from this lump to a talking person. Remarkable how that happens!
I'm sure now that's she's started, she won't stop talking. If she can get a word in sideways, that is.
Rowan keeps up pretty much a constant babble, piping up all day with remarks, comments and dubious demands like, "Mommy, can you wipe me?"
I must be mad, because I can;t wait for Ella to say the same.

Sitting pretty

Ella decided to skip the - yawn!- rolling over stage and went straight to sitting up. Personally, I never got the whole deal about rolling over. Sitting up is much more fun. After months of lying flat on your back staring at the ceiling, it's a whole new perspective on the world. And Ella lunges forward with a vengeance too - almost ready to crawl. Not bad for a 7 month old!

Fort Lauderdale, Florida