Sweet dreams.

I don't know what it is. But Avinash is definitely at his most adorable when he is sleeping.

Just look at him trying to take a nap at Sky's bridal shower?


I mean, he pulled those towels out of one of the gift boxes himself and laid them out on the floor.

Of course he had to pull one of the other babies on to the floor to take a nap with him.

Then proceeded to stroke his head and face while drifting off to sleep.


Sigh. So darn cute I can't stand. Why did he do this!?? Is he just weird? I don't know.

It probably has something to do with the fact that he needed a nap about an hour before that happened. But he made up for it on the metro ride home. He napped the entire time, slumped over in his stroller.


I even stopped to take pictures of him on the walk home because he was so stinkin' cute.

Of course, he could care less about sleeping (ie, letting me catch a little shut eye) once he returned to the hotel room.

God, even looking back these are some of the sweetest photos of all time.


He was less than a month old here and had passed out from all the extertion of trying on new outfits for his naming ceremony. What is he dreaming about ?? I would die to know.


I love this picture my Dad took on his iPhone. The low resolution gives it an ethereal quality. We were all visiting Anuj in Dallas and hanging out in the hotel for a little bit. Avinash is the worst sleeper in hotels (especially around one year). So it was amazing that he was sleeping at all! I just love how pure and innocent he looks. And he also has this weary expression on his face, like he is guarding his sleep with a lot of effort.

Lately he has been better about sleeping in general. We have our little routine. He will protest, cry and try to run away when we tell him it is bed time. But then he calms down after Ryan holds him. Ryan picks him up around 10, carries him over to me for a goodnight kiss, tells him that we will see him in the morning and lays him down in his crib, bottle optional. He almost always goes to bed sweetly and calmly after that. We do sometimes hear him chattering away in his crib for a few minutes. Just softly to himself. I wonder about this so much. Does he have an imaginary friend? What are they talking about?


(Okay, this is just a picture of him acting silly around the house.)

I almost think that he thinks he is talking to my Dad. They always sleep in the same room when we visit or go on trips together. And when Avinash ever wakes up or starts whimpering at night, my Dad just needs to talk to him softly and reassure him that he is there for him to fall back asleep. Other than a few scattered solo trips we have not slept in the same room as him much at all. I don't know what else it could be. How amazing would it be if the thought of my Dad was enough to comfort him at night?


Avinash is 100% completely obsessed and in love with his Nanaji right now. Everytime he sees the phone he flips out and demands that I call him. He usually just says Baba or Nana, but once I swear he said 'dial!' He gets easily distracted while 'talking' on the phone, but has lots of long stories to relay to my Dad about his hectic life. He somehow thinks that my Dad can understand him unlike the rest of us who are too slow apparently. He uses his slowly growing vocabulary pretty regularly, but only in single word requests (or just plain grunting and pointing). But with my Dad, these long sentences of gibberish come pouring out. Something else I need to capture on video before he gets to saavy and outgrows it.

I never found Avinash's gender before he was born. And I am really torn about whether or not to find out this time around. My family seems to assume that I should. I have always thought it wasn't that important. I mean, as long as the baby is healthy the gender shouldn't matter right?

Now, I am dying to have a little girl while Ryan wants a baby brother for Avinash. Not that it would change our love either way. I remember reading that the proof that our society lack gender equality is this: What is the first question people ask when they find out a baby was born? Is it a boy or girl?

I guess that was partially why I decided not to find out ahead of time. Finding out now would feel like giving in. But, it's true. I really do care.

Avinash is so precious reading his book along with us and doing the animal sounds. The sounds keep evolving over time. First he said 'mmm' for moo, now it sounds more like bmoo. He also now likes to point out every D that he says (real and imaginary). Ryan and I decided that we had to take a video of it, before he gets too big and learns all the words. Enjoy!