Spring is Near!

Rohin,

My really big boy -- we have ended winter and had such a great time together.  Like I've said to your brother and sister -- It's been soooo long since I wrote your last blog entry, actually last July to be exact. So much has happened since then, it's really hard to catalog here.  So here is 8 months in short:

1) We had a great summer!  Favorite time was going to the St. Michael's house on the water, where we swam int he pool, took boat rides on the bay and also tried (without any luck) to catch fish. You loved swimming in the pool, driving the boat and trying to catch fish!  You also loved checking the crab pots and would pull them up all by yourself!

2) You started first grade and continue to flourish!   You are really a math whiz -- like crazy good.  You can take a page of math problems and bang them out in seconds!  Your best friend is -- I think is Noah at the moment -- who you love to talk about Minecraft with.  You are excited to have joined Cub Scouts and are almost done with your Tiger badge.  On the funny things you say, it's probably "do I have to...." or to your brother or sister "stooooop".

3) Play time: You love playing with your brother and sister. You're actually the game inventor and come up with games and recruit the other two to play -- like freeze tag or hide-in-seek, and when lucky -- you grab an ipad and play minecraft.  Favorite shows right now -- transformers and ninjago.  That brings me to Chess Club.  First rule of chess club -- no one talks about chess club...  just kidding (you'll get that reference later on life).  You also are in chess club and love chess tournaments. I love watching your confidence and focus in these events Rohin.

4) Halloween -- you dressed up as a -- you guessed it -- a ninja!  We tried to all do a theme, so you and Talin were ninjas, mommy was a Geisha princess and I was Sensi Wu.  We went over to Pooja aunties house and had a great time trick or treating -- you all ran between houses and received a ridiculous amount of candy.

6) Thanksgiving -- great fun at our house -- we had everyone over -- and had way too much to eat!   Most of our family was there, including Ammuma and Thaha!

7) Christmas-- total awesomeness!  Everyone came over to our house again this year -- Ammuma and Thaha and Grandma and Grandpa.  Sadhana chechi was there but Savitha Chechi couldn't make it this year.  But we had so much fun opening presents and spending time with family. If I get some time, I will post up pictures  from Christmas.

8) Winter -- so that brings us current.  This was the year of snow sports. You continued skiing this year Rohin and you were so awesome!  It started by us going to Wintergreen, where we rented a one room apartment and did ski school that weekend.  You were so good that you were doing blue slopes by yourself!  We then went to ski liberty and did more skiing and ski school -- where you were fearless!  On top of that, Jan and Feb brought a lot of snow again.  So we would sled down our back hill (and try not to hit the tree at the bottom of the hill), have snow ball fights, and eat marshmallows over the fire.  We had one snow day on a Sat and all of our friends came over and we played all day together (sooo fun -- you played with Jovin and Jayan).  Finally, we went to the farm this past weekend, where it started to warm up -- but the snow was on the ground and so we dug out three snow caves, had a snow ball fight and skated on the pond at the farm.  It was magical honestly to be out with my kids and play int the snow. You love it too Rohin and you're always willing to put on your gear and frolick int he snow -- but you love to hit daddy with snowballs!  But don't worry -- I'll get you back next year :).

Rohin, as I watch you grow, I think about just how precious a gift you have been to us.  You're so incredibly smart, thoughtful, helpful, and loving.  You have a heart of gold and I love your sense of humor.  You're always the one that can find humor in a situation and help take the stress out of something.  That will serve you so well in life, as life is full of stress, but it's our ability to diffuse it, relax and have fun that makes life magical.  You have that gift.    I will try to be more diligent here and write in a few more months to check back in!  Until then, onward and upwards and appreciate every moment we have!  I love being your daddy Rohiner and let's make every moment count. We love you so much - big hugs and kisses!

Happy Birthday Rohin!

Happy late 6th birthday my big boy.  It's so hard to believe that you're 6.  Seems just like yesterday that you blessed this world.  I thought I would spend some time talking about your birthday, about you, and the great winter we had this year (almost 50 inches of snow in total).

Well -- for your actual birthday, we had so much fun.  It was a normal school day for you.  Daddy drove you to school and had a little surprise for you.  You received 6 Ten Kai knights, which is your latest obsession and were very excited to build them.  Daddy came to read to your class in the afternoon.  Per your request, I dressed up like Thor with a blonde wig, hammer and all, armed with cup cakes and your favorite transformer book.  You met me at the front office and were so happy -- it was really so cute to see your face.  You walked me back to your class and everyone was sitting on the floor.  Everyone wanted to touch the hammer and asked if my hair was real!  We then read almost the entire transformer book before we broke out the cupcakes.  After eating, I got to read one more story and you sat in a chair next to me and I let you hold the hammer.  I love to see your face at that moment. As your father, I can tell you that I have an incredible sense of pride of seeing the great big boy that you are becoming.  There is nothing greater in life, then to know that this little person if your midst, will one day grow up to be bigger than I could ever be.  You're so smart and thoughtful Rohin.  Being your daddy is one of the greatest honors I have ever had in life.

After the school day, we drove to mommy's office, where you got to build your Ten Kai knights on the floor with daddy, as mommy worked.  Uncle Dow was there too -- which was really fun.  We then went home and had a great little party with the Larsons, Ammuma, Tha Tha, Sadhana and of course your brother and sister and mommy and daddy. You all played outside and then came in and played with your robots.  We had wonderful ice cream cake (thank you mommy) and you cut a gigantic piece that you went off with -- with a big smile on your face.  We had so much fun. And the best part is that we have another party on Sunday at Lifetime Fitness!  So more to come!

On the winter front, I have to say that I had the most fun this winter than I have had since I was about your age Rohin.  To say it was magical would be an understatement.  We had so many fun memories this year -- in fact -- the most magical.  A couple of quick stories.  One of them was we went to the farm when it was snowing and the pond was frozen.  I spent hours with you, Talin and grandpa outside, pushing you with my foot on the sleds across the ice and then dug an ice cave in front of the fire that papa put outside in a fire put.  Other memories was sledding down our back hill on the saucers (and even our front hill).  We went so far that we went from the top of the hill to the maple tree in the middle of the yard

Let's see -- I'm so late posting this -- so many things have happened. We rented a house on the Susquehana river this spring and went to Hershey park -- which was so fun!  You love roller coasters!  We spent a lot of time on the farm this year visiting grandma and grandpa and are going to have a great summer!

Love love you Rohinder!  I'll write more here soon.

January, 2014- Happy new year!

Happy 2014 my little Rohinder!  So I have to admit that I have not written for far too long to confess.  There's been so much since that time that I think I can only provide a quick summary.  But before I do that, I have really big news.  Starting right after Christmas, you began to read! Yes, you are now reading.  It started with this book about Sam.  You sound out the words and then say them together -- it's really amazing to see Rohin. Mommy and daddy are so proud of you.  There's nothing better as a parent then to watch with pride of their child doing so well, and learning and engaging the world.  It's one more step as you quickly grow older (and do I ever mean quickly).

So onto the remainder of 2013, since May, we were in a bit of a whirlwind with so many things going on.  The biggest and most time consuming was the pretty much re-construction of our house!  We ended up ripping up the driveway and re-doing and expanding it, building a barn, rebuilding our back walkway and then changing mommy and daddy's bedroom, bathroom and the entire downstairs area, and changing the front deck.  It really took us almost 9 months. One day, you're going to get to go through this Rohin.  All I can say is -- it's one of the most stressful things to go through. Right up there with new jobs, marriages, etc...  But we are happy it's done and so that's my biggest excuse for not writing more timely blog entries.

I'll start with our india trip.  We left in June to go for three weeks to india and the Maldives.  We got to meet your family from mom's side of the family -- which was lovely.  We stayed in Kochin first and had fun visiting Ammuma's sisiters and aunties.  It was so fun getting to know them.  We also took time and went to do some adventurous things like going to a river and helping to wash elephants -- which was so fun.  You really were such a good boy and were great on the airplane and were really curious about the environment that we were in.  You also were very brace and went and petted the elephants that were being bathed in the river. 

We also went to a resort where they took us on a boat to view the backwaters of India and viewing how people live in rural areas.  You all got to look at fish and see how they live -- and even saw what old Kerala homes look like.  You even got to the drive the boat!  The next part of the trip, we went to the Maldives and landed on a little strip of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean.  We hoped a boat and you all loved being on the boat as it took us to our resort.  The resort was lovely and served western food -- so you all refueled up again.  You and your brother and sister had a blast playing on the beach, in the ocean and the pool.  Our little house was only 20 ft. from the water's edge -- it was stunning.  After 4 days of sun and fun, we tralved to Trivandrum and stayed at Thatha's house.  We visited some more friends and family and then went down to Kovalam for 2 days.  Our hotel was unremarkable and it was cold and wet the first day, but the second day we went to visit a Taj resort and the pool was awesome -- you and Aeowyn and Talin spent the day climbing the little island in the pool and jumping in.  We would have your life jacket on and you would just float around the pool.  It was so fun.

Xmas was also fun, we had all our family with us.  For Xmas, you had lots of great presents from Santa Clause, including a volcano, remote control helicopter, remote control truck, etc...  This is the first year that you wrote your own Xmas list.  Xmas day brought lots and lots of presents, which you loved.  You wanted to play with the water bottle rocket and the volcano. 

Daddy and mommy are so proud of you Rohin.  You're really an amazing boy.  You're now playing piano so nicely and reading books to your family now.  You love your new school and are so cute on how you dress up in your suit for school.  You also are quite the chatterbox on the cellphone now and when daddy travels, you use mom's phone and call me.  I love when you hear something that is exciting to you -- you say (yeaaa).  It's a pleasure being your daddy my big boy Rohin and mommy and daddy love you so much!

Shot from the Maldives:

End of Spring 2013

Rohin,

I’m so sorry it’s been so incredibly long since I wrote last.  All I can say is that life just has kept us very busy, with our building projects and getting ready for India, etc…  Let’s start with a very important story about you recently.  Recently, mommy and daddy started noticing increasingly that you had a hard time hearing us (you would say huh or what pretty often) and we also noticed you had a hard time sleeping at night and would sleep in in the morning.  We took you the doctor, who told us that you should have ear tubes put in and that you should have your adenoids taken out.  We ended up scheduling the procedure very quickly.  I have to say that you were just amazing.  We talked about the surgery and what would happen -- and you were so calm and had no issues.  Finally, the day of the procedure, we took you to the Reston outpatient biulding.  We walked in and the staff all commented on how nice you are.  You were so calm again, while mommy and daddy explained what would happen that morning.  We then walked in the back for the pre-op meeting and you changed into your surgery gown (daddy made a seymour butts joke) and put on your little slippers that they gave you.  They also gave you a little tiger that you would carry into surgery with you.  You weren't too crazy about taking your pants off and putting on the gown -- but you did it perfectly.  You sat in daddy's lap and mommy and daddy kissed and hugged on you while we waited for the consultations to end.  Finally, they came to take you to surgery.  Daddy and mommy walked with you and held your hand until we got to the operating door.  At that point, we were told that you had to go alone.  At first you said no, but like everything in life -- you were so brave and courageous -- you took the nurses hand and started walking down the hall.  I yelled "Rohin" -- and you turned around one last time as I flashed you the thumbs up.  You nodded and walked on.  Your mom and I hugged each other as we watched you disappear down the hall.  Many years from now, when you read this, you'll realize just how hard that was for your mom and I one day when you have children.  It was all that I could do to not break down and cry that morning.  I saw that in your mom's eyes too.  We walked outside, nervous, scared and sad about having to send you on your own way. Your mom and I went to get a cup of coffee in the waiting room and just hugged each other for 5 minutes.  You see Rohin -- no matter how old you are, as a parent, it's a struggle to say goodbye.  I think I lamented about this in a prior entry in your blog years ago.  But as parents, it's something we have to do, as our parents did with us.  To make a long story short, you came out and recovered from being under.  Within 20 minutes, you ate a popsicle and were preparing to go home.  We stopped at McDonalds and you had a big breakfast platter, milkshake and ice cream.  Immediately, your hearing was better and you slept soundly (and started waking up really early in the morning).  What's amazing is that from the time we walked into the building, to the time we got home -- was 2.5 hours.  I suspect that this decision, as hard as it was for us, will benefit you over the many years ahead.  As your daddy, I cannot tell you how amazingly proud I am of you, your courage and steadfastness.  I believe many times, you find courage where I have little.  It's a great lesson in life, that sometimes even big daddy continues to learn things in life.  In that day, I learned what true courage meant.  You embody that spirit Rohin.  It will serve you well in this life. 

One interesting side story the day before this all began -- I met a government official in-peron for the first time and when she asked if I was to come back to meeting the next day, I told her no because I had your ear surgery.  She turned around, walked back to me almost in tears and told me her story.  How she had ear infections and never had the surgery.  Her parents never knew and she faked hearing things until she was in her 30s and had two hearing aids.  She told me I was doing the right thing.  I thanked her for her story and told her that sometimes people are placed in your life for a reason -- and that was one example.  It just reminds me Rohin that in life, you are going to meet people that seems perfectly normal, but through meeting them, you'll sometimes see the hand of God at work -- guiding you.  Pay attention to that when the chance permits.

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In other news -- the other day mommy got some fishing rods for the three of you.  Immediately, Rohin and Talin went to the bath tub and sink and spent an hour or so fishing for mgnetic fish.  You both really enjoyed it tremendously and we are going to do some fishing this summer at grandma's house in order to see how the three of you make out with the real thing!  For birthday season, mommy and daddy bought you all fishing rods to use for real at grandma’s house.

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The other big news is the construction projects.  This year, we had a new barn built, our patio done and outdoor fireplace and the driveway re-done.  At the same time, we also did a lot of landscaping.  This meant tons of fun for the jopp children.  You loved to play in the pile of dirt, you’d put things in the big sand pile that was used for cement and loved to walk down the unfinished steps of the walkway.  You and Talin also helped daddy plant grass seat and would pretend to be pirates and would dig holes looking for gold.

One last piece of news –as of May 11, 2013 – you got your first case of strep throat. So we have you on antibiotics – of course, this all happens as mommy and daddy had to drop all of you off at grandma’s house since we had to travel for daddy’s conference.

I’m very proud of how helpful you are Rohin.  You’re turning into such an wonderful little boy.  Also, in other news, you are now doing basic addition and subtraction.  It’s so awesome to watch you grow and learn.

Fall to Thanksgiving

Rohin -- sorry for the long delay in posts.  It's  been so crazy busy this fall.  We have so much to blog about.  So let's jump in.  First, I have some very exciting news - as of the middle of November, you stopped wearing diapers at nighttime!  It just sort of happened one day and you really went cold turkey -- mommy and daddy are so very proud of you.  In other news, school is going great for you. we just had  meeting with your teacher who was so impressed with your math skills.  You can count 10s, 100s, and 1000s - which is awesome for your age.  You talk with other kids in your class and your best friend is Tamirat who is in your class this year.  The teachers do talk about how sometime you will look outside and they have to engage you occassionally -- I think this much to do with you being in introvert.  As you go through life, this is a blessing and at the same time, something you will need to be mindful of.  Daddy is an introvert too and loves to get his energy from his family and home -- but in life, you'll constantly need to work on stretching yourself in your professional life.  But you're doing great in school our little boy!  So proud of you.

So onto the trips.  Since we last wrote, we have been on two majors trips.  One was an impromptu trip up to Cape May New Jersey in the middle of September and the other was a trip down to Orlando, over to Palm Beach for a small boat cruise to the Grand Bahamas and back.  I'll start with the Cape May trip.  So we had rented out a top condo unit in a place called the Merry Widow in Cape May -- it was an old victorian. You three munchkins loved to run up the five levels to the very top.  It was very cute with two bedrooms, a little kitchen, living area and balcony.  On the first day, we went to the beach and you all
You would do modified hand stands with you head in the sand and all of you loved the sand and played in the tire tracks before we could even make our way to the ocean.  As we walked down the ocean, it was just magical watching you all play.   Rohin, you loved playing in the water and would hold daddy's hand and jump over the waves.  After dinner that night, everyone crashed and we spent the whole day on the beach.  You played sand castles and had mommy run out and fill up your water containers and used the sand buckets. you were  down with daddy again for quite some time in the surf jumping waves.In the afternoon, we went to a really neat place that was setup like an old ice cream store and sat down and had HUGE ice cream sundaes.  The next day we came on home -- so it was a short trip but so amazing.

Next up, a couple of weeks later, we took our Orlando trip.  So Ammuma, Thatha, Savitha Chechi, Sadhana Chechi, Mommy, Daddy, Rohin, Talin and you all took an airplane from Ronald Reagan airport to Orlando.  On the plane ride, you rode next to mommy and were a very good girl.  You watched TV and played with the ipad for most of the time while Aeowyn sat with mommy further in the airplane.  We got our car rental (a van) and then got checked into an apartment with a small kitchenette, pull out sofa bed and one queen sized bed.  The first night, we pretty much all fell asleep quickly while daddy went our and got some groceries.  The next day, we all packed up and drove over to Disney World.  we pulled into the parking lot and then waited in line to get on the train to take us to the magic kingdom.  We then got to the entrance of the park and put everybody in strollers and headed on inside.  It was about 87 that day, so it was pretty hot and you and the boys weren't big fans of the heat.  However, that faded away on main street when we saw a big parade with all of the Disney characters.  We followed the parade up to the magic kingdom and then headed over to the fantasy section of the park where we rode the Peter Pan ride.  The lines were pretty long unfortunately -- but once we got in -- you, Rohin and Talin loved the ride as we soared through the Peter Pan story.  Afterwards, we went and ate lunch and then headed over to the racetrack over in the future world.  You had a great time on the track and rode with daddy in the race car and had sooo much fun.  Finally, we went over to adventureland and climbed through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.  Unfortunately, after that -- you were getting tired so mommy and daddy took you all back to the apartment for naps while everyone else stayed at the park.  All of you took naps and then we went out to dinner at a Joe's Crabhouse -- which was awesome.  They actually had a playground attached to the restaurants, which you loved to play with the stones. We then picked up everyone back at Disney world and all slept soundly that night.

The next day, we all just relaxed and swam, swam and swam in the pool that was in our apartment complex. You and Talin and Aeowyn swam your hearts out in the pool and running to the kiddie pool to play some variant of the fireman Sam show.  After relaxing this day, we headed over to Islands of Adventure and had a wonderful time.  we started off in Dr. Seuss land, where you and the boys ran through the maze area to explore and rode a couple of rides, including the Cat and the Hat.  We then headed through the Harry Potter land, but couldn't ride anything because you all were too little.  we then walked through Jurrasic park and played in the rope playground for a while before heading over to toon town and Super Hero town.  We all had our picture taken with Popeye and Olive.  It was such a fun day -- we even got to see Spiderman and other superheros in Superhero land.  You and Talin got to take the spiderman ride and were a little nervous as you had never seen an action cartoon like that -- but the highlight was getting your picture with Superman and pretending you had your web shooters out.  With that part of trip done, we spent one more night and then headed over to Palm Beach where we took a boat over to Grand Bahamas for two nights.  In essence, the boat was nice, but the room was small -- we had all four of us in a 25 X 15 room -- with two bunks and then three of us in a queen bed.  You slept in the bed with mommy and daddy on the way over after a failed attempt at sleeping in ammuma's cabain :-).  We ate pizza at their little on board restaurant and arrived to the island the next morning.  After a quick taxi cab ride (without any car seats!), we arrived at the Grand Lucaya, which was a very pretty resort.  We spent the next two days playing on the beach and  swimming in the pool (where you pretty much lived for two days) before coming home and catching our flight home.  It was such a memorable trip.

After coming back home, we settled in for a few weeks and daddy had a conference in Reston.  One night, mommy brought you over to the conference and all of you ran through the halls when you saw Daddy. We went up to the room that night and watched TV and played in the room.

One more big event was Thanksgiving, which we just celebrated.  We had our family and friends come over to the house for two days and had 10 more people living with us for a couple days.  You got to sleep in your bed while the boys slept in the tent in our bedroom.  You had so much fun playing with Avaya and Layla outside in the cars -- with 5 of you at one point in one of the little gators.  that night, we cooked up a turkey and ammumama cooked up the sides and we had a great feast!  You played upstairs with everyone and it was such a memorable evening.  The next day, we went to ticonderoga farms and then finished off our left overs.

Rohin -- now that we are reaching the end of 2012, I'm going to consolidate the blogs so I don't have to write the same events 3X as we go forward and to focus more on writing things directly about your development, thoughts and advice as you get older.  It's been four years since I first started writing the blogs and it's been so much fun -- but I find that I need to evolve these entries so I can be more timely.  You're in awesome little boy and we're so very proud of you. Happy Thanksgiving big boy!

End of Summer Nearing

Well little Rohiner, I'm very sorry that it's been over 3 months since we last updated our blog.  You're growing up just fast Rohin.  It's amazing to watch.  First things, first.  This picture was taken recently in July of 2012 when you and your brother and sister were upstairs jumping in a pile of stuffed animals from the sliding board in the actic.  Speaking of jumping -- you are a jumping master.  you love to jump all over the furniture.  You're really quite amazing to watch.  you can jump all the way from one living room chair all the way to our sofa -- a solid 6 to 8 ft.  You also love to jump off the bed into a pile of our pillows. 

Rohin -- you're so incredibly smart and your mind is a sponge.  You love these mind game books and can nail every question in them. You also are a voracious reader and love to ask what things say.  You're also so perceptive -- you have the ability to see things and understand things well beyond your years.  Mommy and daddy love you so much.  I just cannot imagine what the future holds for you -- it's going to be immense.  I just hope that the time travels slower so that I can enjoy all of thes perfect moments in time that I've been blessed to have with you. 

Summer has been just great this year.  Over the summer, we went to Masanutten with many of our family friends,  we went to the farm and you also went on a trip with mommy, Usha auntie, Nisha auntie to New York to visit Savitha auntie.  Summer has been filled with trips to Great Falls park, Smithsonian parks, Sport bounce and children museums. I'd need to write about 20 pages to talk about all of these experiences and am sorry that I didn't keep up with the blogs this summer.  I promise we'll do better this fall. 

In general Rohin, you love spending time with your brother and sister.  one night mommy and daddy split up to take you and Talin on separate date nights.  We called each other on the phone and you and Talin were so cute talking to each other -- you agreed that we should all meet at Chic-fila (your new favorite restaurnat) for dinner -- and you both were so happy to see each other.  That happened recently when mommy and daddy had to travel on a business trip and Aeowyn was with amuma for the day and you hugged her so much when she came home.

With Fall coming, so too is school Rohin. Mommy and daddy have been thinking so much about the next year when you go to school.  It's such a huge decision to think about your schooling and the impact that it will have your on personality development and happiness.  It's actually one of the hardest and scariest decision I think we have faced as your parents.  I hope we are making the right decision Rohin when you read this many years from now.  I want you to know that we do agonize over these kinds of things as you will one day for your children.  With that said, pre-school is on tap -- and you're not too jazzed about going back.  But I think you'll love it when you get back into the flow of things. Aeowyn is joining you both at school this year but will be downstairs. 

In other news, daddy got a skid steer -- that's been pretty fun news -- but you still love the gator the best and love to drive it and press the accelerator.  You also still love to shove things in your pants pockets and one night when you had pajamas on without pockets, you had to reach down in your pants and pulled out coins -- which was just hilarious to see.  Most times we find side walk chalk in your pants.

One daddy thing that he loves to do is put you boys down to sleep at night.  He lays in between you when you go to sleep to keep the peace!  Well, this is so much fun because every night you and Talin talk about things.  Recently, we talked about how to deal with bullys and mean people -- but we can sometimes talk about the next day or things that are on your mind.  It's so much fun.

Last funny story for now -- recently you had some balloons and were handing them out to everyone in your family.  you walked up to mommy and said mommy here is a brown balloon.  Mommy asked for anohter color and you said -- "no mommy -- this is yours because your gums are black".  Sometimes Rohin -- you're just too much. Of course, it's your way to work through why mommy and a beautiaful indian woman.  You've asked the question about pink gums versus brown gums before-- which is so cute. 

Love you Rohin so much. You've made our life so incredibly wonderful.

Easter and More

Rohin – you continue to amaze us at what a four year old can accomplish.  Your intellectual ability to learn is really quite amazing.  You are now able to write your name – Rohin and recognize many of the letters and numbers when you see them. You are now even taking books and guessing what they mean.  Recently, mommy bought picture books that ask questions (e.g. where does the helmet go, which of these Is not a fruit, etc)… and you know pretty much most of them.  Daddy went to a kindergarten seminar the other day and all of the items on the checklist that 5 years are supposed to do, you already do them at 4.  You’re very conversant now and have a great memory (you can sing A, B, C songs, Doe a deer, and We got the beat (courtesy of mama).  Even last night, daddy was sing “Johnny Be Good” and you  were already to join in and sing with just a couple times through the song.  You love to draw and are really good with shape recognition – and drawing a hypnotic swirl.  You love to ask penetrating questions about why things are and also like to take things like pliers and act like you’re happy daddy with cutting weeds.  You love the jungle gym and are a HUGE fan of Great falls park, where you love to play on the mountain climbing section  (especially if daddy pretends to be a monster) and love to slide down the fireman poll.  So onto a couple memories:

Let’s start off with Easter – which was a blast.  The weekend before – you and mommy went over to Chucky Cheese with mommy, where you had a blast playing with the video games.  You really like riding on the truck and taking pictures of yourself riding with Chucky Cheese.  Though, you’re now getting interesting in games like ones where you can race or the fire fighter game. We then hoped in the iron horse (our car) and drove down to Ticondergoa farms – home of the outdoor slides!  They had their annual easter egg hunt going on and our children were real  contenders J.  Imagine, 75 children gathered for one gigantic easter egg hunt.  Daddy sat down with all of you and reminded you to not follow other children – he recounted a story when he was a child and used to chase other kids – who would pickup the eggs first!  You were a trooper Talin and went right to work picking up eggs.  Everyone did a great job and came back with three huge basketfuls of candy! Your basket was brimming over – I think you had a really good strategy lined out.  You also go to see the easter bunny.  The rest of the afternoon was spent going down slides, bouncing on the big bouncy hill and climbing up in the wooden fort – which you and Rohin really enjoyed doing.  The following weekend, we went over to Grandma and grandpa’s for Easter weekend – where you got to dye easter eggs (pink of course), and we road on the gator – and got our big easter baskets from the easter bunny.  You seemed to really love the gummy worms the best and quickly figured out how to find the eggs that sounded like they had gummy worms inside.  The rest of the weekend – we spent time on the gators and walked through the words – where daddy build you a little lean to fort – that you enjoyed sitting in.

We also recently went to Jovin’s birthday party – which was a blast.  Batman even came – ok, well, long story – it wasn’t really batman – but a pretty overweight dishelved version of him.  But we had a great time.  You loved riding on the train with Talin and Aeowyn at Burke Park Lake and also riding on the Mary Go Round. We spent the afternoon have a little impromptu dinner in the median strip in the parking lot with some of your closet friends. 

Rohin – you’re now to the age where mommy and daddy are going to start blogging about our experiences and stories and how they might relate to you.  You’re ready for that.  I have to talk from Daddy’s perspective for a minute because it’s really important to share this.  Two right now – one was recently we were downstairs and you were talking about my grandfather’s chair and we talked about death – and what happened to my grandma – and you asked if we will one day die.  Such penetrating questions for a 4 year old.  Daddy was almost in tears talking about this.  But one thing I want you to know – even at this age Rohin – is that while death is a certainty in our life – so is love.   Love is the binding force across space and time.   While one day, we will face this in our lives – I want you, Talin and Aeowyn to know that love is never broken.  Your faith in God, as mommy and daddy are teaching you, is your ability to understand this – your ability to believe and have faith that there is more to life than life.  Your mother and I often talk about this – but the universe(s) (I believe there are multiples) – is incredibly vast – beyond our comprehension.  That when we do pass one day – we’re going to be amazed at how incredibly beautiaful, complex and simple it all is.  And the love we share as a family endures.  You won’t read this for many years from now – but it’s important to remember that love and faith are your armor for the hard battles that you will face in life.

Another item I need to talk about is when I attended the kindergartner prep class at Westbriar – they talked about the story of Jack and Bean Stalk and modified it to talk about Jack and his mom preparing him to climb up the stalk – and dealing with the fears and concerns of the unkown.  I have to tell you that I was one of those dads, holding back tears at the tought of you going to school next year.  You’re my big boy and I love you so much – we always want to protect you and always want the best for you.  But as someone once told me – from birth, as a parent, we must practice letting go.  I find myself preparing to once again let go of you, to let you become the boy and eventually the man that you are destined to be.  Mommy and daddy will be sharing our stories with you in hopes to help guide you’re and protect you.  But I write about my feelings here because as your daddy, I won’t be able to talk with you about this.  I will be totally encouraging, loving and excited about your next step because you need that from your mom and I.   Watching you grow up, transports me back to when I started kindergarten. Even at my age, I can remember taking the bus to school, the people, the environment, the other children that I encountered.  I loved my elementary school and thrived in it.  I hope that I can provide you the same opportunity that I was presented with – the ability to love your life as a child, to enjoy the environment, to be safe, to be excited, and to have fun without growing up too fast.  Mommy and I will do everything we can Rohin to guide you and protect you on your life’s journey that is taking off in full speed.  It’s a pleasure and an honor to be your father Rohin.  

Happy February

Rohin – you’re becoming such a big boy – it’s amazing to see how incredibly mature you are for a 3 year old (almost 4). You really have come into your own. You are quite the artist and are very good at drawing (even with multiple pencils at one time) and can even write some of the alphabet (e.g. A and R). Your language is excellent. You are very excited about gardening and always ask if we can light a Bonfire. You and Talin are so helpful – you both even bring in firewoord for daddy to light the fireplace. You also are a huge lover of picnics and always ask mommy to take you on a picnic after she picks you up from school. In terms of games, you love to say “Do Do – DI DI” – I’m not sure what this game is – but you seem to enjoy it. You always play a game with Talin where you pretend to be a kitty cat. You also now really love to play with Aeowyn and try to pick her up all of the time – while she protests typically. You are very helpful Rohin and always are willing to help with cooking or cleaning. Mommy and daddy are so proud of you!

Happy 4th Birthday

Hi Rohinder - it's been a while since we had an opportunity to update the blog -- but Happy 4th Birthday! You're such a big boy! Daddy was remembering the other day when he could hold you in his hands practically and you would snuggle right on his chest. Now you've turned into this incredible little boy - so thoughtful, sweet, kind and intelligent!

So let's talk about your big day. First the night before, mommy and daddy stayed up late and decorated the house for spring, with all the Easter stuff and streamers to celebrate your big day. Mommy made delicious cup cakes! For your birthday -- you had so many different parties. When you got up in the morning, you went to school and then went with mommy on a date day out to Chucky Cheese. Mommy had wanted to take you to Toys R Us to buy toy, but you wanted Chucky Cheese! You had so much fun playing there with mommy. Afterwards, you bought a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake (your favorite cake now) and came over to Great Falls Park where you met up with the rest of the family and Tha Tha. We celebrated in style!

The party continues this weekend when all of the grandparents come over and we have all of your friends and family to one of your favorite places in the world -- the sports bounce.

BTW -- I had to include this other picture of you the other day -- you drew this spider with side walk chalk (you're a big fan of side walk chalk and carry it in your pocket). You've got some great artistic skills.

Two other things to note about you turning 4. One -- you now get two vitamns (yum)! Two - you love to climb on EVERYTHING and over everything (including baby gates), and Three -- you are so affectionate -- you love to give hugs and kiss us when we leave for work -- it's adorable.

Happy 4th birthday our little son. I hope you know how incredibly proud we are of you! We love you so much!!! Mommy & Daddy

Merry Xmas & Happy 2012

Merry Christmas my big boy and happy new year to you! Another year has drawn to a close and what an incredible year for you and for our family. Let’s dive into it then – you’re getting close to 4 years old now Rohin and are wearing 4T clothes and size eleven shoes. You and Talin just got a pair of spider man shoes that light up (which is the 2^nd pair you have had btw). You really are so very helpful around the house and mommy and daddy are so proud of you. You love to reason things out and to talk to us like you’re an adult Rohin. The only times you get upset with mommy and daddy is when we don’t treat you like an adult! You love do also love to pretend to be baby Aeowyn everyone in the while and say “guk” or “feed me” as a way to get a little extra parental attention. You dress yourself routinely, brush your own teeth and are very responsible. You and Talin love to play the kitty cat game and meow and carry on (which is very cute). You also love to throw all the pillow off the sofa and jump off into them. Outside this fall, the key word has been “bonfire”. You and Talin go out with daddy and collect firewood and then we have little bonfires out by the river. We even cooked out over the open fire one night!

As for Christmas, Santa Clause really took care of you kids this year! For starters, I have to say we picked a really small tree this year for you guys, which worked out great. All of you worked together to decorate the tree standing on your step stools. This seemed to have taken off the fascination with Christmas ornaments – we can all thank mommy for this brilliant idea! This year, leading up to Christmas, we also read our advent calendars and you boys opened the windows in the calendar. Rohin – you always wanted to open the star! For Christmas eve, we had over Ammuma, Thatha, Savitha and Sadhana and Das uncle and Provanti. We had a big indian meal for Christmas eve and had so much fun together! Then late on Chirstmas eve, Grandma and Papa came over and spent the night. When you all woke up the next morning, there was a huge pile of toys. Toys from Santa, mommy & daddy, from each other, from your grandparents and aunts and uncles – it was pretty amazing. We opened presents from 7:30am to about 3:30pm in the afternoon. Your favorite present Rohin was a wooden firehouse and firetruck. You still love Fireman Sam – so this was a big hit for you. You also got a dump truck and dozer, which fed into your fascination with construction vehicles. You also seemed to really take to a Tupperware container that grandma gave to you and loved this duck hunting game that you got from Thatha that was pretty well destroyed in 5 minutes or less. On Christmas day, we spent the time outside riding around on cars after we finished presents and topped off the evening with a great dinner. We had ham and filet mignon, seafood casserole, crab dip, etc… We watched Christmas movies (the barney Christmas special was a bit hit btw). Over the holiday we also went over to the National Harbor and looked at an indoor ice sculpture show – which was really neat, but super cold (the temperature was 19 degrees inside). Cold and Rohin don’t typically go very well together little boy! You were ready to get out of there. But we had a lot of fun that day.

We rang in the New year very calmly this year. We were home with ammuma and thatha and Sadhana with us and just had a really nice dinner. On New Year’s day, mommy and daddy hosted a big party of all of your friends – Jovin, Bella, Raquel, Sophia, Adam, -- it was so much fun! 2012 looks like it is going to be so much fun! This past weekend, we spent two days outside as the weather was simply gorgeous. You and Talin and Aeowyn played outside in your cars and helping to build the bonfire. Daddy got out the chainsaw and cleared part of the property line – which you all loved seed the chainsaw. All three of you drove on daddy’s lap – which probably isn’t going to last much longer as you all are getting so big! It was so much fun being outside. We also had Ms. Salini and Sandeep come over with their children – and we all warmed ourselves by the fire and you all played in your cars until night time. Even then you had your flashlights out. Also over this weekend, you started kicking the soccer ball around (quite well), which mom and dad didn’t know you knew how to do it. You said you “love” soccer – so that was fun to learn.

In school Rohin, you continue to do very well. You are a little bit of an introvert, but a great leader. Talin is joining you this week in your classroom – which I think you two will enjoy very much. Mommy and daddy both hope Rohin that you are enjoying these years and each day is filled with true happiness – because certainly that is how our days have been having you in them. We love you and look forward to a wonderful 2012!

Thanksgiving in Brooklyn

Sorry it took a while to write Rohin. For some reason, I skipped a blog entry for you. Let's make it up then! Lots and lots of things to talk about. First I have to tell you that you like to say this. When I ask you for example how many vitamins you might want -- you would say "a lot and a lot". Your o's still sound very british, which is really cute.

So let's start with Thanksgiving. We went up to New York with Mommy, daddy, Aeowyn, Talin and you all traveled up in our car on a 4 hour trip to a three story Brownstone townhouse in Brooklyn were we stayed with Maria Auntie and Chris Uncle and their children (Ava and Layla). We stayed in the basement, where you slept in a crib next to mommy and daddy and the boys in another room next door. You loved playing in the house and were all over the place. You and Talin loved the upstairs playroom with all of the toys and occupied yourselves exploring the house. You were particularly fond of playing in the outdoor trampoline and would jump out there for the longest time. We visited the Brooklyn Children's museum one day -- where you loved making pretend pizzas and the Afria room. We also went to the macy's day parade -- where you loved watching the floats. You were on daddy's shoulders and Talin was on mommy's and Aeowyn was on Savitha's shoulders. At the parade, you pointed up to this tall building to daddy and said "look -- it's a princess" - of the woman in a robe watching the parade from her hotel room. We also went to Harmony park, which we later found out was the same playground that Knuffle Bunny frequents... On Thanksgiving night, we went over to Lulu Auntie's house -- where you and Talin and Aeowyn were angels. You played music and played monster so nicely together. We had a wonderful dinner together with our family and friends (about 30 in total). We then packed up and came home that Sat. We had perfect weather -- it's been almost 70 here recently.

When we got home, this past Sunday, we decorated for Christmas and are gearing up for Santa's visit. You are a HUGE fan of the electric train. You and Talin (and Aeowyn to some extent) take turns driving the train. You and Talin also were a big help in decorating and really helped put everything out this year.

Personality wise Rohin -- you're such a sweet little boy. You're very thoughtful and caring and wise beyond your years. Recently, when daddy wanted to put you to sleep (but you wanted mommy to) - you said - "Daddy, I love you but I want mommy to put me to bed". Or another recently was when we were riding in the car and when the navigation voice interrupts the DVD --you always tell daddy! You're also very inquisitive Rohin and love to ask questions and want explanations about things. This is a great quality in life that will serve you well. You sense of exploration and your wisdom are true gifts Rohin!

School wise, it was a tough couple weeks. You missed almost a week recently when the hand, foot, and mouth disease wiped through our family. Then the holidays. So you haven't exactly been begging to go to school but continue to do really well. You apparently play with Maggie and Lilly quite a bit and love to play outside. Your teachers compliment you on how great you're doing. You know all of your ABCs now, can count almost to 20 and are getting the hang of your numbers., You are now showing a lot more interest in reading and writing. You said today that you wanted help to write a note to Savitha auntie. You also can recognize letters pretty well know -- particularly - R, O, and T. You also love books and have a great attention span when read to. We even made it through the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

Otherwise, you do eat well. You love your green veggies and fruits but still not a huge meat eater (chicken is your favorite). You do love your cereal and pancakes as well and milk is your favorite beverage. You love to play outside in the yard with Talin and cook up all kinds of games. You tend to be the mastermind of many of them and enlist Talin's support. You love to drive around with Talin the little gator.

We're very excited to be spending another Christmas together Rohin! You're getting big so fast --it's scary. We're very fortunate to have such a wonderful son in you. Happy Thanksgiving and we'll write back at Xmas time.

Earthquake & Floods End the Summer

Well Rohin -- it was quite a busy summmer with a big bang at the end -- we had a 5.8 earthquake today August 23, 2011! It was really unbelievable to see the building shake. Everyone was safe though. But it's amazing that we have had two earthquakes in little over a year!

About two weeks later, in early September, we had so much rain that the roads around our house were flooded out. We had about 7 to 8 inches or rain in a single day, which flooded our creek across our back yard and along the side and front. Our mailbox was even under water. Mommy and daddy couldn't make it home that night and had to spend the night at a hotel and came home the next morning. You, Talin and Aeowyn stayed with Giovanna. Rohin -- you were very curious about this and asked often about what happened with the flood and how the police officers wouldn't let us come home :).

In other news Rohinder, you're growing up to be such an awesome little man. Mommy and daddy are so proud of you. You just finished up school for the summer and have really adapted well to your new school. The teacher always talks about how helpful, kind and smart you are. You and Talin are in school together and love to play with each other. One new game we've all been playing recently is the three little pigs. Mommy or daddy chase you and Talin around and say little pig little pig let me in -- and you say "not by the hair of my chinny chin chin"... It's great fun! You guys love to play monster now too where daddy or mommy chase you all around the house. You also still love to play outside and to help drive the lawnmower and love to drive your little gator.

You are really also doing so great in school -- you're so focused. The other day you were playing with mommy upstairs and building mult-level bridges! You also still love to read books. TV wise, your favorite show is Fireman Sam -- you and Talin play together outside riding around in the mini gator and pretending to rescue people.

Rohin -- you're such a loving little boy. You love to hug on Talin and Aeowyn and always

You're a great reader Rohin and love to read books with mommy and daddy. You sometimes even take books to bed with you at night. You really liked these books called Knuffle Bunny and also have really gotten into doctor seuss books -- like Wocket in my Pocket. You know almost every word by heart.

You are really also doing so great in school -- you're so focused. The other day you were playing with mommy upstairs and building mult-level bridges! TV wise, your favorite show is Fireman Sam -- you and Talin play together outside riding around in the mini gator and pretending to rescue people.

Eating wise - you're a great eater and love pasta, chicken, peas, string beans, broccoli, and salmon.

We had such a wonderful summer, we're sorry to see it end already. recently, we visited grandma and grandpa at the farm one weekend. We had a great time visiting with them and rode the Gator and visited a really quaint town called Chestertown, where we walked through the farmer's market and had lunch together. You and Talin were memerized by a man playing a banjo, harmonica and another man that was playing bass. On another weekend, we had a very special Indian holiday that we celebrated over at Ammuma and Thatha's house. All of our friends were there -- and you and Talin played all over the house, playing "monster" and jumping off the bed.

Well, off we go into the Fall of 2011 Rohin. We love you so much!

Summertime

Rohin, we’re so sorry that we haven’t updated your blog for a while. It’s been a pretty busy spring. SO let’s see – since May – we had Talin’s birthday, we went to Charleston, South Carolina, and we had Aeowyn’s birthday party.

Let’s start with you for a moment. As we look at your first school picture, all we can say is what an incredible little man you are becoming. It’s seems like yesterday that you fit practically in the palms of our hands. You’re now 3 years old and so wise beyond your years. Every morning now, you get out of bed, rip off your diaper, clean yourself up and put your clothes on (though in fairness, you do put your underwear on backwards but tell me it’s ok). You brush you own teeth at night, you’re always willing to help mommy and daddy and are really a wonderful big brother to your brother and sister. You and Talin play and play together.

You love to read books and know almost the end of every sentence in “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket” and always enjoy reading the words Constantinople and Timbuktu in the book Hop on Pop. You love to play outside and enjoy riding on your car. We recently had wild raspberries grow in the back yard and you love to pick them with Talin and Aeowyn.

You’re a good eater and like chicken and vegetables – still not a big spicy food fan (but we’re working on that). You say the cutest things one time – like one time when you’re kundi hurt, -- you said – daddy I need a bandaid for my kundi. You love to cuddle and ask why ALL the time – which is awesome. That will serve you well in life later on son. I hope you, Talin and Aeowyn always have a sense of wonderment about this world.

The trip to Charleston was really incredible. We rented a house on the beach in Charleston when we went to Chet uncle’s house. You guys loved playing on the beach. You also were in Chet’s wedding as the ring bearer and did a GREAT job. You walked down the aisle, gave daddy the ring, and then sat down and ran back over and gave me the pillow (I think you thought you forgot J). You ran around the hall that night and were just so delightful – mommy, daddy and you had a great wedding night. The rest of the time, we spent on the beach!

When we came back, we were in birthday season and celebrated at JW Tumbles for Talin’s birthday – where you had a great time (more details in Talin’s blog) and then for Aeowyn’s – we had another big 1^st birthday party – where you were very excited about the three inflatables that we had (more on Aeowyn’s blog).

July is coming up Rohin and you will be starting a new school. You are growing up so so fast – it’s actually scarey. You’re a wonderful little boy and mommy and daddy are so excited to share the year ahead and watching you grow into an equally incredible little boy. We love you Rohin.

Cherry Festival

Everday with you Rohin brings something new now. You are quite the little man at this point. Your vocabulary and ability to grasp things is amazing. Recently, there was something very touching that you said. One day you and Talin were playing and daddy said to you both that even if daddy or mommy aren't there you should always watch out for each other. You stopped, turned to me (while we were in your bedroom) and said -- if mommy and daddy and Giovanna (our nanny) aren't here -- Rohin, Talin and Aeowyn will talk about our day to each other. This was in reference to how at night time you love to talk to mommy and daddy about your day. It really was a profound moment for daddy who was there at that moment.

You definitely are also a master negotiator at this point and love to negotiate on everything -- from what it will take to eat your dinner, to how long to stay outside and play.

Recently, we also went out on our very 1st train ride. Mommy, daddy, Talin and Rohin all went out on a train into DC. We went to the Cherry Festival parade and had so much fun. You and Talin sat on mommy and daddy's shoulders and watched a nascar, police motorcyles, marching bands and so much. We had a nice lunch together and then came back on the train. It was a magical day for all. We love you Rohin!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Rohin turned three years old on March 20th! 3 years has flown by. We celebrated by going to the Kennedy center for a puppet show, where Rohin even wore a Tuxedo. He was accompanied by Talin, Aeowyn, Mommy, Daddy, Ammuma, Thatha, Grandma, Poppa, Savitha Chechi, Sadhana chechi, Alka aunty, Viji auntie, Ashok uncle, Annu chechi, Ashwin chettin. After the puppet show we all went over to Old Ebbitt Grill -- where you were such a good little boy. After dinner you blew out all three candles on a train cake -- made by mommy! Happy Birthday Rohin!!!! Love -- mommy and daddy.

Spring is Finally Here!

Well Rohin, this upcoming weekend -- you're going to be 3 years old! Mommy and daddy cannot believe that you're 3! It seems just like yesterday that you were being held in almost one hand. You're such a wonderful little boy Rohin and we love you so much.

In recent news, you had another ear infection but are back to good health again. You really are doing great at school and recently took two field trips to museums. Mommy even chaperoned one trip to the Museum of Natural History. Your class also took a field trip to mommy's dental office -- which you loved!

Recently, we also had a Spring party in the backyard with some of our closest friends. We had a picnic in the backyard with mommy, daddy, Talin, you, Aeowyn as well as Venna auntie and Ahmeet uncle and Nisha and Usha aunties as well as Jovin and Bella. We rode cars around the yard. You love to drive your gator with Talin in the passenger's seat. You really know how to drive perfectly -- turning side to side and even going in reverse.

Recently, daddy has been taking you and Talin down to the river since the weather is better. The other day, you walked down by the river and went into the riverside where there was a little beach. Daddy, Rohin and you threw stones together into the river. Daddy loves taking you boys there and playing with you together.

In other news, you have fell in love with a new movie -- Mary Poppins. You love the movie and watch it for hours on end if mommy and daddy let you. On the food front, you're still a big fan of Italian food and pastas. You also really are into your deserts and love cupcakes and popsicles.

We're so excited to celebrate your 3rd birthday Rohin. Mommy has done a great job of planning your birthday party next weekend! We love you!

2011

Well, January is behind us now and you've grown so much Rohin in such a little bit of time. You're really turning into quite the mature little boy. So far, we only had snow one time this year -- about 8 inches. You actually spent time out with Ammuma in the backyard making your very first snowman with Talin!

First, we have to talk about Santa Clause -- he made a really big impression on you this year! You were amazed at how he could fit down the chimney and asked about this often. You still love to hear daddy read "Twas the night before Chritmas". You also really fell in love with frosty the snow man and asked about him often too. We went to a local convention center that had a Christmas show and asked if Frosty was going to be there. You love to sing the song frosy the snow man as well. Also, you came up with your own version of "Tis the season" -- you sing "tis the season to be sorry". In the same category of funny things you're up to -- one day our nanny wasy leaving and daddy said -- say goodbye. So you said "bye Giovanna -- have fun storming the castle", which is a quote from the movie Princess Bride. Daddy was definitely to blame for that one.

Night times have become a very interesting experinece these days Rohin. We go to bed around 7:30, but it can take up to an extra hour sometimes to get you to sleep now that you're not in your crib. After reading books and saying our prayers, you love to have mommy come and lay in your bed and talk to you about the day. Sometimes, you tell us that you're afraid of the dark -- but daddy tells all of the monsters and creatures to leave your bedroom and they do it because they scared of daddy.

You're such a loving and respectful little boy Talin. You say please and thank you and are so responsible in helping your brother and sister. You and Talin are best friends and play so much together -- everything from chasing each other around, to making hideouts with each other.

Food wise -- you're still a big veggie and fruit fan but recently have gotten into ham as well. Spaghetti is still one of your favorites! We think you're going through a growth spurt recently because you've been eating so much and getting sooo tall. You're actually starting to wear 4T clothing at just less than 3 years old. It's hard to believe that you're turning 3 soon Rohin -- it's just like yesterday that mommy and daddy held you for the first time.

You also still love your school and mommy went with you as a chaperon to a field trip in DC to visit a museum, which you really enjoyed. You love to read books Rohin and love to ask Why now. You love asking Why so much that even Talin likes to ask Why now! Mommy and daddy always try to explain why. The biggest why question recently is why daddy's lawnmower doesn't wory. In other power tool news, you and Talin also got to watch daddy cut down a tree outside of the house with his chainsaw -- which was a fun event!

It's going to be a wonderful Spring ahead and we're so proud to have you as our son Rohin.

Christmas 2010

It’s hard to believe that Christmas came and went so fast. Before talking about Christmas, we have big news last night Rohin on 12/27/10. Daddy took the rail off of the crib and turned it into a toddler bed. You were so adorable jumping in and out of bed. You also were such a good boy and went right to sleep last night and didn’t get out of bed. You fell out one time at 1am and daddy heard you, but you were fast asleep and he put you right back in. We’re so proud of you.

December has been a really busy month getting ready for the holidays. You did have another ear infection though and so did Talin – which was the only downside this past month. This makes 7 ear infections since the beginning of the year, so we have to take you to a specialist doctor to check it out.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year – the best ever in fact! All of our family was here to celebrate. For Christmas eve, we had dinner at Ammuma and Thatha’s house. Grandma and grandpa and some of your aunts and uncles came over as well. You all had a great time running around the house. You kept showing Thatha the fountain in his house and was so interested that the water was smoking but not hot! At night when we got home, you set out cookies and milk for Santa – but drank a little bit of his milk out of his glass – but we didn’t tell him. On Christmas day, mommy and daddy, grandma and grandpa were here to greet you, Talin and Aeowyn when you awoke to find all of the presents that Santa had left for you! You really were excited about presents this year Rohin and got so many wonderful toys and clothes.

In other news, you’re really getting into singing songs now Rohin and even were singing the lyrics to frosty, jingle bells, and the time to go sheepy sheep song that we sing every night. You still love your fruits and vegetables but not much of a meat eater still. You also love light switches – and turning the light on and off in the upstairs playroom.

We cannot believe that you are coming up on three years old Rohin. 2011 is shaping up to be a wonderful year and we look forward to watching you grown into such an awesome little man. You’re very responsible and thoughtful little boy. So now onto 2011 – you go back to school next week and go up one grade level. Talin is also now going to school with you and will be in your old class! Happy new year son!

Thanksgiving 2010

Well Rohin – you continue to grow up too fast! Every week seems to bring something new. Your command of the English language is amazing. You string words and sentences together so easily. You love to listen to conversations and love to ask “why”. You’re an absolute master at procrastinating for bedtime now. You like to say “one more time” many times over when we rock you or pat you in your crib at night. You also love to ask to go potty right when mommy and daddy put you down in bed. The big news is that you have learned how to get out of your crib to mommy and daddy’s surprise. It happened in the middle of November when we let you and Talin switch cribs (which was a bad idea) – and you got out of his crib. Then, the other day, after nap time – daddy went to get you out of the crib and you came running out of your room laughing away! So a toddler bed is in your near future. You love to read books and really still love to drive your car around. You’re really into this little yellow car and also the new doctor play kit as well as carrying around fake food in a jack-o-lantern. We had a great Thanksgiving together as a family and went to ammuma and tata’s house. We had guests during that time, including Chris Uncle and Maria Auntie along with their two children Ava and Layla. You and Talin had so much fun playing with them. About 30 people came for Thanksgiving and it was so nice – all friends and family.

Also, we’re in high gear for Christmas and this past weekend, all of us went and got our Christmas tree. We went to this place that not only had trees but farm animals that they allowed you to feed and pet. So off mommy went to get the tree with Aeowyn and daddy, Talin and you all went to play with the farm animals. You had a great time and loved the billy goats and rabbit but thought the pig was a little pushy. You didn’t like the chickens very much either. We put up the Christmas tree and you and Talin had a blast running around it and pulling on the lights. Daddy also bought a train to go around it and you and Talin love to watch the train and make it go and stop – but you keep pulling the trains off the track … Christmas is coming Rohin! We cannot believe this will be our third Christmas with you. It’s hard to believe what Christmas was like before mommy and daddy were blessed with you three in our lives.

Happy Halloween!

Wow Rohin... Where to begin. 30 days since our last update and you keep changing so fast. You are about 33 pounds now and well over 3ft tall now and growing so fast. You are now wearing 4T one piece bed time fleece outfits and size 9 shoes. You love going to school and your teacher LOVE you Rohin and met recently with mommy and daddy where they talked a bout how helpful you are, so considerate and patient. You have great manner and say "may I please have an x". You know most of your alphabet and 1 thru 10 but we are still working on colors. Your language is amazing for your age. One cute thing you say is "sit for a little bit" when you want mommy or daddy to sit down with you.

You really enjoy drawing pictures, driving you cwr around the house and driving your car in the backyard (electric). You and Talin love to boh sit in daddy's lap while he drives the lawnmower too. At night time you like to cuddle up with mommy or daddy on the recliner or sofa. Your favorite shows are still blues clues and yo gabagaba. You love reading books and love to say "one more book". You also really seem to love the jack'o'lantern bucket filled with fake food and the new doctor kit mommy bought recently, You also enjoyed going to nana judy's house for story time and love to go to ammuma's house or grandma's house. Also, when we ask what you would like to do... After going to one of the grandparent's house, you would say "go to a restaurant". Which by the way, you and Talin behave so well. But one funny story is church this past weekend. Talin made a break out of the kids room for the holy water fountain and you, being so responsible, ran after Talin and yelled "NO TALIN". Of course, it echoed through the whole church!!!

In other news, we had a greets halloween this year. We all dressed up as characters from the wizard of oz. Talin was the scarecrow, you were the lion, Aeowyn was the the good witch, mommy was Dorothy, and daddy was the wizard of oz. We went to your school party, where you had so much fun running around outside with Talin. At one point you ran over to the cookie table and grabbed s cookie, and ran over and gave it to your teacher. Mommy and daddy are so proud of you. We also carved out first pumpkin together, where you and Talin helped clean out the seeds.

It's been so wonderful seeing you guys growing and turning into such kind and thoughtful children. Mommy and daddy love you!