Diwali pictures

Diwali's coming!

It's the same thing every year, however much I try to fight it. My childhood memories of Diwali come rushing back and I start feeling that special excitement all over again. I'm lucky to have some incredible Diwali memories. A few stand out - my grandmother making dozens of painfully delicate lamps out of flour. My Mom starting her Diwali prep a month in advance, with a massive grocery shopping trip and spending hours and hours making treats for us. And of course, the actual Diwali which every kid who grows up in India loves - waking up at dawn for the special bath, all the new clothes you get, unlimited amounts of yummy treats all day, bursting firecrackers with friends... and no school for almost a month!

So far, each year I've tried very hard to duplicate this idealistic version of my childhood Diwali. Thing is, I want Rowan to feel all that excitement and have all these memories too. ( And to let you in on a little secret - I want to relive my childhood a teeny bit as well.) I realize of course that it's just not possible. Things are too different. I'm too far from home... my grandmother is gone, and I don't know how to make lamps out of flour.
Still, as Rowan grows up, I plan to make a big fuss about Diwali every year. I'll try to do some things the old way, like my Mom and her Mom, and some will be my own. And whatever mishmashed, rehashed version I come up with will become Rowan's Diwali memories. It's all good.

An apple a day

On a bright sunny day in October, we decided to go apple picking at Demarest farms. What a great way to introduce the concept to Rowan that apples actually grow on trees, not in Shop Rite. We had a wonderful time.

A Swashbuckling Pyrant

Halloween saw Rowan turn into a cute little pirate. Or in Rowan's words, a pyrant. No way is this kid going to look fierce or scary.
He probably missed his afternoon nap, which all pirates need, as you know. Hence the grumpy look in all the photos.