Eat, Drink and be Cherry!

The Cherry Blossom Festival is kind of a big deal for the Washingtonians, it not only brings in a lot of tourists (which means good business of course) but is also the official trumpet call announcing that, "Spring has sprung at last"! 

The Washington Monument, standing tall amidst the pastel bloom

The opening ceremony was held at the National Building Museum. The ongoing Family Day festivities had a lot of activities to keep the little guys busy with. My Mom learnt how to make paper cherry blossoms and the kids  played with clay. They were having so much fun but I finally had to take it away because they mistook the brown clay for chocolate and were ready to gobble it down.

The entire place was abuzz with people buying festival memorabilia, learning origami, creating crafts and getting their faces painted with exquisite designs. The colorful Japanese parasols hung high up in the main hall filtering the bright, March afternoon sun. there was a band playing too but we stayed away from the loud music (and it was really loud) for the sake of the kids.

Nael and Ryad stayed busy coloring with crayons. I believe it was their first time using crayons and they got a kick out of it. I showed them what to do and they got it in an instant! Such geniuses. Well, that doesn't mean they didn't try tasting the colorful sticks once in a while. Toddlers will after all remain toddlers. Sigh.

Nael loved using crayons, he and his brother were probably the youngest on the table. But that didn't stop them from creating there art work.

Ryad simply loved the canopy of flowers that cascaded down the Cherry Trees.

Nael, the explorer, loved running around the splendidly green grass and discovering new things. He spotted a newly married couple sharing a moment for a photograph under an old Cherry Tree. He was captivated by the brides pristine white dress. I was pleasantly surprised to notice that he didn't go chasing after it, instead he stood at a respectful distance and watched.

Ryad is our very own nature lover. Plants and animals simply intrigue him. He was more than pleased to spend time with the ducks at the George Mason Memorial, which BTW is nice but very low key and a scantily crowded place (I thought he was more of a big deal than that, since we have a University and several roads named after him here). I hadn't even known this place existed prior to seeing it.

The sun was out, the flowers in bloom, the kites were in the sky and the brides were out getting pictures taken. Perfect day for a family's day out.

This Day Last Year - Ryad

Ryad,our first born (well, technically speaking he is a minute older to his brother, so there!) is the more serious of the two. He has an attention span I thought babies could never have. I know this because when he was 2 months he would be able to just look at his musical mobile for 30 minutes at a stretch. He has always loved observing things.

He might have been the second one to roll over, crawl, walk and talk. But when he did, he was amazingly meticulous! I guess his philosophy is to keep watching until he gets it right in his brain and then one day take you by surprise by sitting up perfectly after getting up from a nap. 

At birth he was under weight and other complications didn't help help him pick up right away. I would read that it took preemies 2-3 years to get back on track with their peers, but Ryad's growth rate was off the charts when we went to the pediatrician for his 1 year check up! The Doctor was amazed at how fast he not only caught up but surpassed over 99% percent of babies in his age group! If he were a normal baby I wouldn't have bothered about statistics so much, but for my boys it is a big achievement amongst many more to come. Ameen!

Reedu Peedu

Ryad and his musical mobile, he just loved it!

Ryad, taking a break on the glider

This day last year Ryad was 4 months and week old, these pictures are from around that time.

Ryad's Guide To Eating Oranges - Baby Style

Ryad : I love oranges, or anything sour for that matter. I probably get that from my Mummy. If any of you babies are confused about how to eat an orange this post is for you! It might be a little more tricky for those  of you who haven't started teething yet. 

First take an orange and bite off a little skin. Remember to let someone wash before you sink your precious teeth in it

Now comes the fun part, you get to use your hands!

I'm making it look pretty easy, but its not

Feel free to use both your hands

That hole has gotta reach the other end of the orange!

Drill Baby Drill

Don't forget to reap the sweet (and sour) reward of your efforts

Bookie Woogie

I went to Barnes and Noble today and got some books for Ryad and Nael. They show such interest in books and it seemed as if it was time they got some of their own.
I know some parents start reading to their babies at 5 months (and some do it in utero too) but I think those stages are a little too early for the young ones (ever noticed the attention span of a 5 month old?), instead I would chat with them a lot and made small talk about the weather now and then. But today, I thought that it was finally time.

Besides, they have a lovely table and chair set which they usually use to hone their climbing skills. So I had to do something to stop it from becoming less of a reading place and more of a jungle gym. With books I was hoping to make them aware of it's other uses.

 

It started out great! 

  

The kids were having so much fun

  

This one book had pull outs to help learn colors

  

 And there was one with a torch that would really light up

 

 and one came with CD to sing along to

  

 Nael was really into the color book

  

But the afternoon ended with...books on the floor

  

...kids on the table again...

  

...and bite marks.

Tomorrow we try again :)

Never too Early for Discipline?

This is one of the 'caught in the nick of time' expressions of Ryad

I hadn't even thought about it until I read Stephanie's blog. How will I discipline my kids? Heck, I have no idea. According to Stephanie who is mother of 5 (including twins, wow!), her twin toddlers get together to venture out and conquer territories that her single kids didn't even dream of. I think that it might be true for most twin siblings, not because twins are more curious and outgoing than single babies, but simply because there are two inquisitive toddler minds at work instead of one. Being with another like-aged person they get a partner to help and even advice them in their conquests.

I have seen that both my boys have such different personalities (they are like the North and South Pole) Ryad thinks of things that Nael wouldn't and Nael does activities that are so not Ryadish. When they get together they do things they wouldn't have if they had been alone. They push each other at milestones too, if one started walking early you could expect the other one to watch and learn quickly from them. 

And same goes for all their mischief. If one climbs the TV table be sure to find the other close at hand, attempting to do the same.

As a first time parent I am little concerned if my kids will get into more trouble or if it'll be more problematic to discipline them. Till now the only discipline we have used is to keep temptations at bay and keep the 'no-don't-touch-that' items out of reach. I have heard and read that timeout techniques are effective for toddlers but I'm not sure if mine are ready for that right now. There is a cool timeout product (check it out here, there is also a giveaway that might interest you) that I came across on Stephanie's blog, a roll-up, machine washable time out spot, how clever! Not sure if my 14 month olds will really understand it's true implication though.

I really don't know when they will be old enough for 'big boy discipline' but right now I am happy with the lack thereof. I guess we will wait to impart real discipline till they are old enough to do real mischief :)

Nael at his naughty best

Q.F.T. - Quality Family Time

So the epic snow continues for the Virginians (also the Washingtonians and the Marylanders). It has stopped for the weekend but come Monday we are expecting another couple of snowy days (teachers and students rejoice!). As more of the fluffy white stuff  accumulates outside I start thinking that it is actually a blessing in disguise. That's because the more indoors we all are the more quality family time we get to spend together. 
So here I am trying to make the best of the weather with the help of ye old faithful camera and make my  contribution to some QFT (quality family time)

 

Ryad was such a sport...

  

...and posed like a pro for my camera

  

Presenting Ryad in his Sarah Palin inspired 'Moose Hunter Sweatshirt'

  

Nael could tolerate the cap for just one second

  

There, off it came the very next moment.

  

...well, I'll let you choose a caption for this

Below is a bonus picture, depicting the way we do dishes around here

  

we use team work to get things done

  

So what if it seems like nothing is done even after 20 minutes of toiling over the dishwasher

  

we don't give up and keep trying till the work is done (or till Mommy finally pushes the start button)

 

Best picture I took all week

The Very First Haircut Day

Previously I had posted pictures of Ryad and Nael's homemade haircut :). Here's the thing, it wasn't their first. Their first haircut was when they were only 2 months old, executed by their Great Uncle, who also happens to be a Pediatric Surgeon (yeah, we got in the expert to do this one)


Both of them peacefully sucked on their pacifiers through out the process. Trust me when I say this, they didn't cry even once!


There are many benefits of shaving a baby's head early. When I say shaving, don't picture a razor running across a soft newborn head. A handy gadget like the Clip and Trim will do the job. It is soothing for the baby to have a clean head and also reduces the occurrence of cradle crap.
I had researched before I delved into this controversial terrain and found that there were more pros than cons that supported shaving a baby's hair as early as possible. One more benefit is that if your baby is born with thick locks (like mine were), they will desperately need a haircut around 8-9 months. That is a stage when they are starting crawl or are already very mobile. It is  very difficult to pin them down to one place and can also prove dangerous if you are working with scissors. So if you get the baby bald early, they will be ready for their next real haircut only when they old enough to handle one. This makes life a little more easy. Plus, they looked super cute with their clean heads, I guess bald is beautiful when it comes to babies.

Nael, just out of bed and ready for his haircut.

 

There it goes, no looking back now.

 

Nael found the vibrations from the machine so soothing that he fell asleep again

  

Ryad's Turn!

  

Almost done! Thanks to multi-talented Great Uncle.

 

Do you see a smile too? I think he liked it! 

Haircut Day

We had been contemplating this day for some time now. We had planned on how we would go about doing it, decided on a salon to get it done (my husband had talked to his hairstylist who was more than happy to help us out), prepared for the tantrums they were going to throw, came up with innovative ideas to pacify them through the process. Yup, we thought out every detail, everything except the part where we cut their hair on our own, in our own bathroom.

You read it right folks, we gave the boys a much-wanted haircut yesterday. 

Well actually, Daddy gave them the haircut and Granny and I helped out.

OK alright, Granny helped out and I took pictures :)

It all started last evening, we were sitting in our living room having tea. Daddy took the last bite of his cookie, turned to me and said, "how about we cut their hair?". I munched on that. It had been snowing through out the weekend and news had it that we would get more the following week. Shops and businesses were either closed or open for limited hours. It would be a hassle to change their nap and meal times and take them out to an unfamiliar place to get their haircut. 

I looked back at him and said, "Ok, I'll get the scissors". And that was it, that's how it happened. Don't you just love these impromptu adventures? We cut hair, bathed the boys, got them into night suits and cleaned up the mess all under 60 minutes. And yes, may I also add we also had loads of fun.

 

Ryad could sense something was about to happen

 

I have never seen that look on his face, love it!

 

Of course he wouldn't let it be a piece of cake

  

We were almost done when Ryad started loosing his patience. Immediately resorted to the IPhone  for help and played his favorite song

 

Nael's turn! He was such a trooper

  

 Didn't even change his position once! Can you believe that?

 

Nael was such a cooperative baby, Reason: he watched Ryad getting a haircut and wanted one too, I have such competitive boys on my hands

Notice how he is in the same position in all the pictures

 

Ryad in the shower, notice all the hair on his neck

  

Nael- ha, love that face

Last, but so not the least, I couldn't let you go without the 'Before and After' picture now could I?. Here it is.

Before

  

After