Visit with Miritte Aunty

One of my near and dear friends Miritte, came to visit us all the way from San Francisco this weekend! We took Miritte to Joe T. Garcia's Mexican restaurant for a true taste of Tex-mex, then to Dallas to the Sixth Floor Museum - and no trip to Dallas is complete without SHOPPING! We went to Northpark mall for the afternoon. I can't tell you the last time I went to the mall with good friend and no kiddos to watch. In fact, I rarely go shopping at a mall anymore because its too exhausting! So it was definitely a treat for me! We will miss you Miritte! Thanks for a great weekend!

Urban Oasis

We took Jaidan to a cool little park in Downtown Dallas this past weekend. We sort of just stumbled upon it. It had a great splash area, which Jaidan loved, and a very unique playground with little "bowls" that kids sit in and spin around!






You spin me right round baby...

Three little monsters

We babysat our neighbors adorable twin boys last week! All the boys played very well together. It was a fun adventure for Manish and I and gave us a glimpse of what it would be like to have more kiddos in the house! ;-)

Jaidan is sitting in the toy chest.

With their favorite toy - CARS!

Flying high!

We recently went to an airplane observation park at DFW airport. It was a very neat experience. Jaidan loved running up the hill watching the airplanes fly overhead.

Jaidan running up the hill...

...and getting closer...

...and closer!

Our House

We put our home for sale a few weeks ago. I will miss this house because it is the first house Manish and I bought together, and where Jaidan spent his first years. It is a beautiful home, I must say, and it will make its new owners very happy. I wanted to post the link of the house tour, so I'd have a nice memory of our humble abode!

http://tours.refgx.com/28140?a=1

Mothers Day

Since we were in New York, we headed to Brooklyn on Sunday to see my cousin Sheela's new condo and we enjoyed a lovely Mothers Day Brunch there. For my Mothers Day/birthday gift, my sister gave me this beautiful necklace with 3 charms: a J for Jaidan, a bluejay, and his birthstone. I love it!

A Wedding in Manhattan

Last weekend we celebrated Angelina and Randall's marriage ceremony in Central Park followed by a magical, picturesque wedding reception on the rooftop of the Arsenal building, located in the park, with gorgeous views of the city. Angelina is Nisha's sister in law (Neil's sister). Jaidan enjoyed all the festivities too.

Poor Jaidan, he needed a nap.

Tanya gives a reading.

Rooftop reception

Jaidan surveys the plants

What a view!

The beautful newlyweds

So romantic!

Motherhood

I had a great Mother's Day and will post about the day later, but I just wanted to journal some thoughts. I want to write how honored and blessed I feel to be Jaidan's mommy. From the moment I pick him up in the morning from his crib, to when I breathe in his little boy scent at night while I read him a story, I feel so fortunate to have this time with him. I just don't want him to grow up! Sure there are tough moments (trying to get him out of a store while he is screaming for something) and moments I am not exactly looking forward to (potty training) but at the end of the day I experience a "good tired." A feeling that I'm making a difference in my child's life. I may not be getting everything right, or doing enough educational or motor skill development activities every day, but one thing is for sure - Manish and I shower him with love, love and more love. I kiss him every chance I get. Some people wonder how I can be a stay at home mom, how I don't go crazy all day, etc. There will be a time when he is older that I will pursue ventures outside the home, but for now, the simple truth is this: there is no where else I'd rather be than at home with my child!

I guess in this case, the grass IS greener on the other side! (Connecticut)

Easter Egg Hunt

We have been in CT this past week. We are house hunting and enjoying time with family in the meantime. Easter was a rainy day so we moved the egg hunt indoors. Jaidan and his cousins Riya, Aman and Sahil had fun looking under sofas and behind doors to find candy and other yummy treats!

Aman excited to open his stash

Riya looking pretty in her Spring PJ's

Even baby Sahil gets in on the action!

Jaidan kept running and shouting, "Yaaay!!" He had so much fun.

Big changes!

My dad and his little prince!

There have been some lapses between posts lately, I know. We have been on the move for the last few weeks and haven't stopped for a second. We are in the process of moving to Connecticut and just put our house on the market. It's been an exciting and emotional time. Exciting because Manish accepted a job that he is thrilled about, and we are moving to a beautiful part of the country, we will be close to Jaidan's cousins and Manish's siblings, and we hope to provide Jaidan with many unique opportunities as he grows up. It is an emotional time because we will be leaving a special little world that we had created for our family in Texas. I refer to the community of friends and my parents who have all had an integral part in Jaidan's formative years. My parents have played an especially important role in Jaidan's life. Because of their love and nurturing support, Jaidan is the sweet little soul that he is. At least two or three times a week, Jaidan would spend playing and spending time with his Nana and Nani. They have been a part of his life literally since the moment he was born. Although they will always have a special place in Jaidan's life, it won't be exactly the same when we are geographically no longer close. I take comfort in knowing that we will be visiting my parents often, and during that time, we will hopefully connect with all of our friends from our playgroup and their children that we have come to know so well over the years. And of course, I hope for many visits from my near and dear ones in Texas. We are so blessed and grateful to have such wonderful family and friends! We will miss everyone dearly!

Now that's funny!

Now when Jaidan watches cartoons, he "gets" the funny parts and laughs uncontrollably. It's so funny to watch him.

I love his profile - it's just like his daddy's.

Bobby and Tim come over!

My good friend from college Whitney came over with her two little boys Bobby and Tim. The boys had fun playing at the park down the street while Whitney and I had some time to catch up. It was so good to have them at the house!

Ian's Birthday party

A few weeks ago, Jaidan's friend Ian turned two and had a fabulous party at Paradise Pond, an indoor playground in Grapevine. Jaidan had fun in the bouncehouse, the bicycle ride and of course, the cars. There was also a huge slide that we both decided to go down and we ended up hitting our heads and I burned my hand against the plastic as we came down. These playscapes can be pretty scary! Now Jaidan says "Slide - ouch."

And down the slide he goes!

It's not a party unless there are cars to play with!

Riding the bicycle merry go round

Aafke dressing up like a car! I tried putting Jaidan in this - but he isn't into dressing up.

Happy Birthday Ian!

Yes, I'll have cake!

Sweet Sofia

Chicago!

Okay, so I am backtracking here - sorry, but I want to have a memory of recent events which I haven't had a chance to post. We were in Chicago recently for my cousin Parag's 50th birthday. He and his wife Chris went all out to celebrate. They rented a Hummer limo Friday night, which took us to an exotic Mediterrenean restaurant downtown. This place, Alhambra, was amazing. The food was great, and so was the entertainment, which consisted of belly dancers and flamenco dancers. This night was adults only - kiddos stayed home with the grandparents. We had fun family time during the day though. Jaidan met his cousin Carina for the first time (my cousin Ami's daughter). She is almost two years old and she is a sassy little cutie. Carina and Jaidan had a blast playing together. We took the kids downtown to Gino's pizzeria for some Chicago-style deep dish pizza and took a walk on Navy Pier. A fun weekend, we always have the best time in Chi-town!

(L-R) Manish, Gita, Nisha, Chris, my cousins Parag and Ajay in front of the limo

The nice ride downtown!

Parag and the belly dancer doing a birthday dance!

Jaidan taking in the sights at Navy Pier

Carina looking cute in her hat and pink coat!

Beach Blogger

Ahhhh Cancun. We have just begun our relax-cation in Mexico. We have been so busy these last three weeks, I haven't had time to post updates. But I have a little downtime now! :-) This was a long awaited trip for us.. First getaway for Manish and I together in three years. That seems like a lifetime ago, especially because the last trip we took was before Jaidan was born! Looking forward to a weekend of R&R!

View from our bed as I type - not bad..

A Day out with Thomas!

We spent last Sunday afternoon at the Grapevine Vintage Railroad for the Thomas the Train event. There was Thomas & Friends themed entertainment, including storytelling, music, arts and crafts, and train tables set up for the kids to play with. We ended the day with Jaidan's very first train ride! The weather was unseasonably cold, but that didn't put a damper on Jaidan's excitement!

Jaidan picked out the tatoo himself - his favorite train is Mike the engine

A blacksmith shows off his wares

Jaidan petting the goats at the petting zoo

I let Manish help out here. Petting zoos gross me out.

A magician performs

An electric train display

These conductors took their job seriously

"Smoke" coming out of the engine

OMG it's Thomas! Kids were shrieking with excitement. It was funny.

Posing with the conductor

His expression cracks me up. He couldn't contain his excitement!

The conductor comes by to take our tickets

Jaidan gets a "Junior Engineer" certificate