Halloween tick teat

yeah... Ariv had just unbelievable fun trick and treating carrying his lil bucket around .he was dressed up as a lil froggie and looked adorably cute.Somebody commented that a prince has turned into a frog. I was really nervous how Ariv will react when I put on this costume on him. On Friday, they had trick or treat parade at all floors in Compuware building where I work. Its a blessing to have a day care at my work place, really. I just get to spend some extra time with ariv and can take part in his day-to-day activities a lil bit more. So basically, I reached his class at 9 and dressed him up in his costume. Initially he was a lil resistant but when he saw his frnds dressed up as well, he got ready.
Ally was dressed up as a cute kangaroo ,Reese as a princess, Ritu was a lady bug, Ryan was a pooh and Allen as a chinese character . The 1st treat came from Reese when her dad bought in bags filled of goodies for each of the classmates. And then we started our parade starting from 1st floor business stores . Ariv was just being so choosy and actually was picking up chocolates :Twix being in a shiny cover his fav pick. I was surprised to see my lil pie picking his candies and putting in his bucket. At some floors they were offering some coloring books and some small toys. He was just not interested in those. Even if I would sneak some toys in his bucket, he would pull that out and go back and return it to the lady offering those and nod his head in a "No" . Boy, that made me realize that my lil tot understands everything ,just that he does not know how to communicate. But he just loved the whole process. It took us almost 1.5 hrs to go through each floor on each side of the building but he was walking all the way carrying his bucket. He didn't wanted me to carry his bucket,what if I steal his candy ;)

After I saw that he enjoyed so much, I took him to Canton Summit Trick and Treat parade that evening and he had a gala time there as well. This time dad was also with him, so I got a chance to click more pics :)

And then Saturday evening was so cold and chilly, but ariv went out with some frnds for trick and treating in neighborhood. And this tick or teat title. He heard his older friends saying "Trick or treat" and tried to copy them and what came out of ARiv was cute words : Tick teat...:) .. Boy , is he growing or is he growing up ? Time is flying so fast.

Till a day before Halloween , I was not sure if Ariv is still young for Halloween and if I had wasted money for his costume. But seeing his zeal, enthusiasm and all the fun he had , it was just so much worth it.

15 month update

A lot has change since Ariv has been a year old tot. Be it his gibberish baby talk, always trying to explain us something or be it his pointing and saying "thisshh"(for 'this') towards something he wants. Or his lil temper tantrum which is a funny act (at least I feel so) or his act of trying to do all by himself : eating, wearing shoes,taking off his jacket , lying down when I say "Ariv, time for diaper change" or sitting down when I say "Ariv, lets wear shoes" , or his lil booty shake dance ;). It seems time is flying and Ariv is growing up by leaps and bounds.

ABC's about myself

A- Available?
Uh... Busy but depends , for what ?

B-Best friend
My Husband

C-Cake or Pie?
Cake

D-Drink of choice
Iced Green Tea

E-Essential thing used everyday
Clothes , for sure ;)

F-Favourite colour
Plum

H-Hometown
Duh.... What exactly is it , fight continues :)

I-Indulgence
Recent one on chocaolates .:(

J-January or February
feb

K-Kids and names
Ariv

L-Life
is beautiful .

M-Marriage date
Feb 18

N-Number of siblings
1

O-Oranges or apples
Both depending on my mood.

P-Phobias
Of getting fat ,old,ugly and sick :(

Q-Quote
99% of the things that you do in life ,is a mind game.

R-Reason to smile
My betu

S-Season
Summer

T-Tag three people
Do I have to ?

U-Unknown fact about me
I was a very shy personality while growing up..I know, people who know me today wont believe it.

V-Vegetable you do not like
I choose to like all veggies.

W-Worst habit
Laziness.

X-x-rays you have had
Last one was for chest and Face, to check for my sinusitis sometime spring this year.

Y-Your favorite food
Thai

Z-Zodiac
Pisces

Kheer

Dont know, if it was just my imagination....which I doubt , as both me and Manish heard Ariv saying Kheer...We were watching something on sony TV, which by the way, we are getting d/c tomorrow. Somebody mentioned "Antara kheer khana hai ?" After that Ariv started saying kheer , kheer ...It was so cute...I asked him, Ariv kya khaoge ...he said "Kheer", with a very innocent face ...Awww, My sweetie pie..My heart just melted on that word and brought a tear to my eyes..he probably doesnt even know/remember the taste of kheer. But nowadays, he keeps repeating words that we say... And sometimes, I wonder , Did he really say it or am I just imagining.
In fact , the other day, we had something delivered to our home by mail man. I was just keeping the boxes in and Ariv was playing near the foyer area. He saw me collecting boxes , and said which sounded to me like "kya aaya , kya hai" ? And he said that multiple times...I cant wait for my baby to start talking , then our car rides will be lot of fun...chit chatting all the way ..:)

....but I love my family just a wee bit more

Just penning down my scattered thoughts together on this blog. Want to check after couple years, how my thought process has changed over a course of time.

Long back I heard from somebody , people give advice ,cos they are free. Also that,they give advice about how to raise kids ,when they don't even have one, or not even married. I have recently come across lot of such people and may be I was one of those kinds when Ariv was not born.
Well Dude, get married and have kids and then pass on your precious advice..will sure listen to you.

As a matter of fact , anything in life.... why would somebody listen to you, when you dont even have experience about it, just based on the knowledge you gathered from listening to other people. Some of the common advise or opinions people (in fact Indians) have is :
why should kids study in India or US, which school should they go :public/Montessori (people who have money for Montessori always have reason to send kids to Montessori and those who don't have reasons why Montessori is not good)

Why India is better than US (Well, if you have seen both the worlds; if you have stayed in both countries for a couple years and you do have an opportunity to settle in both , then I value your decision.
Else, don't give a crap about why you want to go back to India,just because your project got over or visa expired or you lost your job)
Worse is, people who have never visited this country having an opinion. Very deep inside they do wanna come over , but are defending themselves just because they never got an opportunity to come over.

Then comparing the education system between India and US.
Its not that I hate staying in India, its the country I have always love and would love to go back any day but for a vacation ...or maybe want to go back someday for good,after couple years..kal kissne dekha ? But I love this country for the abundance it has to offer. Also, what I can do for myself,my family and my distant family by being in this country, I can never do by being in India. I have always heard from my dad, that after couple years , parents are most happy when they hear good about their kids. When they hear, that their kids are doing much better than what they were doing at that age. Most of the kids in India, do yearn to goto US for further studies and it is still a big deal for North Indians. I think, we being citizens of US, will actually provide a platform for my kids to study wherever they want to. Not only that, they can make a career in whatever field they choose to. Be it studies or sports or glamor, I am not going to force my kids in any field . They will have the full liberty from my side to pick a career that they love to do .Again I am saying this because I have 6 years of college degree and make close to 6 figure income in a economy like this but still think , its just not a big deal. Don't take me wrong, I love what I do but wont do it for free :)..So, it does not mean, I don't love what I do; Naah, just that there are needs that need to be met, bills that need to be paid even with this so-called-high paying job.

Comparing cultural difference between India and US...well, if you ask some of the die-hard-Indian-Patriots, their favorite movies will be most probably a Hollywood/English . I am a die-hard-Bollywood fan, does not mean that I don't watch Hollywood but the way I have grown up, I still like happy/fun/musicals like DDLJ. It still tops my favorite list . There is no way Hollywood can catch upto that .I mean , come on !! who wants to spend 10 bucks and 90 minutes to get another stress in life ,when you already have enough. Aren't movies supposed to take you to a perfect ,never-go-wrong fairy land where you just sing and dance and have fun times for 3 hours.
At least that is my idea of a movie and you don't have to agree to it...

And yes, you do learn from the mistakes of others but of those who are where you want to be in life and do what you want to do in life.

All in all, I can say : I like My Mother Country but I love my family just a wee bit more.I would first like to take care of my personal economy before discussing world economy . And I am what I am , may be I don't want be an Icon that India looks up to , but I definitely want to be an icon that my family looks up to - specially next generation. I definitely want to be a blessing in their lives :) . And as I can leave my mother to move on in life , to do what I think is good for me and my family ; I see no harm in leaving my motherland to move on. And as my mom will always welcome me whenever I decide to go back to her, I am sure my motherland will also do the same. :)

Happy Birthday Ariv !!!!

Yes, he is 1 ...and as daddy says, he is no more a baby but a lil boy of ours.... We had a lot of fun celebrating Ariv's 1st Bday. It was a fantabulous day and Ariv just loved all the attention he got. After lot of debate , we decided to have Indian food catered . It being a weekday, both me and Manish took day off from work , to clean and prepare for evening . We did satya narayan pooja at home, didn't invite anybody as it was a working day .
We were worried how will Ariv sit in 1 place for 1-1.5 hrs, while pandit jee from temple does this pooja. But Ariv was in a great mood. He wore the Dhoti and gujrati style kurta which said " hare raam, hare krishna", so looked absolutely cute .(thanks to mama and mami for sending it) He sat there and was ringing the bells like a rattle, which was perfect.
The pujari was so amused at Ariv's behaviour that he was talking about his 6 month old daughter in between the process and comparing it to Ariv's activities :)
Later in the evening, people started gathering , I dressed him up into a much prettier and glitzy dhoti /kurta and stole...Ohhh he looked so cute, just that the dhoti was longer for his legs and he kept stumbling over. I tucked the dhoti on the top of his tummy to make it short and people started joking that it is the tamilian style....
we had a lovely cake from Shatila for him with some toys and a musical candle. I made some navratan korma and spinach/cheese swirls ,shashi toast ,fruit punch and sooji halwa (pooja prasad) ...ooh didnt realize I made so much. And then we had ordered some Paneer lababdar,gobhi manchurian, veg biryani , onion kulcha/garlic naan/butter nan from Ashoka.
Ariv and Shiv loved playing with the balloons and enjoyed acting like celebrities .

Next day , we celebrated Ariv's Bday in his school with cupcakes . He absolutely loves cake now...thank goodness.

Best thing for Ariv's Birthday

What do we do for Ariv's 1st Bday is my biggest concern nowadays.
I want to keep it simple and fun for my lil baby as well as celebrate it with couple friends,
to show off my handsome young boy to the world.
And why not, he is really a charming and a handsome dude with a cute personality and I am
really proud that he is my. Don't you show off your prized possessions....well, I do :)

And in these times, when world is mourning over M J's death or is worried about economic
meltdown or maybe something smaller..Covisint worried if GMAC will
renew its contract for 5 point something million (well I should be concerned about this one , as this is where my paycheck comes from) or more personal : Ariv's Dad worried about when and where should he do his MBA frm and how much would it cost him
....But naaaah, I am stressed out to the limit about the Bday plans of my adorable son. So
lets check out my options:

1. Grand Party... well we spend a fortune on a celebration when we were in India...Around 6-7
K DOLLARS ..and Ariv slept throughout....yes throughout...he woke up when we sat in the car to go home.
Lesson Learned : Kids that age don't have that much attention span. Keep it short and sweet.

2. A trip to Disney land : I believe he is too little for most of the rides. As of now, I am
still waiting for him to walk so not sure . But may be a little delayed trip, like in December..he will be 18 months then... lets keep our options open.

3. A trip to some water park...well, I would love to do this myself..forget Ariv..i am sure,
he will love it too ...:)

4. Some people said zoo.... he probably doesn't even understand the difference between animals
and humans....well, if we think as an outing and a picnic..then maybe..

so we still are not in consensus between me and Manish....lets see what we decide ...

11 month old

Can you believe it , Ariv will be a year old in a month..Yeah,my lil brat will be a toddler soon.
Life has just been so wonderful in the past year and if not for pictures and videos, I would have no memories
of what my sweetie pie looked like. He has changed so much in past 1 month, his face is no more of a baby but of a
mischievous looking young boy :) , with hair having their own mind.
He started using a push walker and really seemed to be enjoying it now.
An excerpt from Ariv :Monday was my 11 month Bday. Before that, it seemed like mommy was forcing push walker on me and
I didn't want to use it yet.But now that's my fav toy and I love walking around with it on deck and in school.
Talk about food : I love pasta and pizza and everything which has cheezzee. Ohh, I also like paneer paratha or any paratha,and corn and I also need to eat whatever Mommy and daddy are eating.
I think, they eat all the good stuff and give me all boring stuff. So be it bhujia or spicy bhelpuri, I have to eat whatever they are eating.
I dont like cake,muffin,rice krispies and banana..ohh that simply means, I don't like sweet stuff..
Dad says, I am health conscious like him...Mom is worried, what if I don't like sweets like dad then she wont get any company for eating sweets.
Also, she wants me to gobble all of the cake on my 1st b day. Good Luck Mom..keep trying.
Ooh...Did I mention, I love cheerios and I love to listen to songs and rhymes..I kinda don't like books much yet. I think sitting down to read a book with Mommy is Lil boring, I would rather get up and mess around with my toys .
And I can play peek-a-boo by hiding behind the drapes .
I really am having lot of fun at day care as well, I love to play with all the toys . Open cabinets ,pulling out toys , without Mom pulling me back.
And yeah, the buggy ride is so much fun and playing outside on swing and slides on nice sunny day is my favorite activity.
Well, I have also learned the art of climbing up 3 stairs to get to the slide and I do slide on my own ,on my knees....Once I get off the slide, I want to climb up the slide and then my teachers shoves me off to the steps , so that i can go up and down again...whoosh, is it fun or IS IT FUN....

Ariv is 9 month old now !!!!

Ariv turned 9 months last week and its amazing to see his developments from last week.He has started putting food in his mouth and chew it. I got some teething biscuits for him.
I tried it myself before I gave to him and to my surprise , they are really hard.I gave it to him and he just loved it instantly.Its amazing to see
how he can do tricks to amaze us or to grab our attention. He put it in his mouth and kept licking,sucking it and drooling all over his shirt.
In minutes, his shirt was brown with his drool but I can make out that he absolutely loves it. I also tried giving him grapes, strawberries and apple slices.
He does not like strawberry, may be because they are a little sour. He loves apples and fills his mouth with it without finishing. and then in couple minutes everything is juiced out and spit out.

He follows me to the kitchen , I try not to speak from Kitchen, else he realizes mom is in kitchen and I can go to her. The moment he finds out mom is in kitchen , he crawls . If nobody sees him crawling to kitchen, he takes his own sweet time to travel to kitchen, halting at each stop between living room and Kitchen:" chairs , couch , dining table etc... But if dad sees him creeping to kitchen silently and calls : Arrivvv.....he increases his speed....2nd call for Ariv and he literally starts running while crawling....Its just amazing to watch him react in such a way.
He teases me the same way, crawl-running to bedroom from living room.If I call him and ask him to come back, he will squeal and run faster. if I ignore him, he will crawl a little, turn around -wait and watch ,if anybody is looking;if nobody is looking he will come back.

Never Give up !!

Ariv is growing at an amazing speed. It somehow amazes me how soon they can learn stuff and find out a work around for things they want to do but are not allowed. We have rearranged our living/family room to accommodate Ariv's toys and to provide him lot of crawling space. The couches are in 1 line along the wall and same is the case of my favourite Coffee table. Our coffee table is made of glass , not a piece of anything else but glass which makes it look beautiful, heavy and expensive. I don't know , what we were thinking when we bought some expensive pieces of furniture in our then-new-home.
But anyway, coming back to Ariv, I put my two long lovely glass vases which were kept on floor beside fire place on the cofee table , so that Ariv could not reach to it and break it... But, I guess ,something that is denied is always fascinating. He always used to come to the table , stand up and tried to touch the vase by extending his hands. Yesterday, I put some other stuff on the table, so that he could not reach it. He tried with all his strength to reach it, by extending his lil arms. I thought, he might give up after couple tries, but kids dont know what giving up is all about. Its only us adult who think and settle, if we cant get somethign we want. We give UP !!

So Ariv, after couple tries, didnt want to give up . Instead, he tried to climb up the table to get what he wanted. I was furious as well as amused by his this new act. So, I chuckeled to myself and thought it a good story to tell my hubby and family.