23 month update!

I can't believe Avinash is almost two years old already. Actually, looking back on it seems even longer.

I can't even imagine a baby this small anymore.



I remember him being so playful and interactive, but boy has that increased now that he is (slowly) learning to speak.

I love how he always requests a 'boon' when he eats but mostly just holds it in one hand while he eats with the other.

I love how he points out all forms of wa-wa that he sees - puddles, rain drops, lakes, rivers, any liquid in a cup. Even waiters now understand his request for it.

I love how anything slightly circular is a ball. Especially balloons. And the moon. Or the letter O. And tomatoes, which he loved to pluck from my mom's plants in the backyard, bring to park and then give them to her to put away.

Well, that only goes for cherry tomatoes. Normal tomatoes are called applays. As in apples. Any fruit basically is termed an applay, not sure where he got the french pronunciation from. Maybe it's more creole.

I love that waves and says hi to everyone he passes (including homeless people - it makes us kinda nervous, but sometimes they wave back).

He also loves Sesame street so much now. He calls Elmo 'lala'. This one took me a while to figure out, I thought he was mispronouncing the word Elmo, but he is actually just referring to his intro song (la la la elmo's song...). He has a little Elmo doll which he carries around and tries to share his food with.

Avinash loves coloring now. Especially after his Naniji and grandma took him to the Discovery center and got him tons of coloring books. Ever since we got back from Pennsylvania, we have integrated some crayon time into our nightly routine. Now he and I color (he loves picking out which colors I use too) while Ryan reads a story. One of our favorites is the Winnie the pooh storybook collection. A. A. Milne has a really great, wry sense of humour. Ryan and I are always cracking up over it. I love how Avinash will join in with very loud and pretty fake laughs as well.

I love that Avinash can climb practically anything, including the sliding ladder in our living room up to the ceiling. He used to be very timid when it came to new places, but lately he has been more confident on even brand new playgrounds - climbing up the monkey bars, up rope bridges and rock walls. Now if he would only walk across the balance beam at gymnastics by himself. (Of course it freaks all the other parents out when we try and let him.)

Avinash is also a huge helper in the kitchen. He runs over when he hears me starting dinner and drags a chair over so that he can reach the counters. He can chop up mushrooms with a butter knife, peel the paper off garlic and help me pour things into the pan. He can also stir and season with the best of them. My mom even keeps 'Avinash' party mix at home that has twice the normal amount of spices that he dumped in. Tastes great though.


There are so many more lovable things and cute moments, that I can't seem to get them all down. We are just so proud of how he is growing and love watching his progress!

Franklin Institute.

I have so many memories of the Franklin Institute when I was growing up. I loved everything about it. The train ride, the IMAX show, running up and down the spiral walkway in the center of the museum, the cell biology area and the giant heart.

I was soo excited when I found out that our Houston children's museum membership was accepted there as well. Score! My parents and I stopped by there on our way to the airport at the end of my last visit home.

Very first thing I practically ran to the giant heart with Avinash. My Dad chickened out half-way through because it was such a tight fit. Avinash, however, loved it! We had to go through again and again until he would even look at anything else in the museum.

Here is Avinash dancing circles around his Nanaji in the electricity room.





They also had different mechanisms for generating static electricity. I did it with Avinash as well and he was so confused and kept patting his head trying to figure out what that weird feeling was.

He wanted to stay up in this plane all day long. There were so many buttons to press and he loves flying.

Look at that grin!

Just before we had to leave we made it down to the big train ride. Avinash instantly loved it and was pulling on all the gears and levers he could find (with the help of Nanaji). I couldn't resist showing him how we used to slide down the coal car in the back. Of course the little monkey was clambering up to the top himself and sliding down in no time!

So glad that we enjoy all the same things at the museum!

New California Layouts.

Our trip to California was challenging to say the least. The kind of vacation that you need a vacation from. Taking a road trip from San Fransisco to San Diego may not have been our best idea ever. We did have a lot of little adventures, and took lots of pictures. I am having trouble scrapping them though, not sure why. I find the whole family ones or wedding event ones the most challenging. I don't want to do really formal pages but am not sure how to treat them otherwise.

Here are a few random pages of our family only, which I was much more at ease with.





A random sea world pictures page. I love this fancy pants stamp and used it all over my Costa Rica album as well.




About the polar bear area at Sea World. I love this striking Studio Calico patterned paper and the 3-d American crafts sticker accents. They are the perfect addition of depth and color here, plus the two coordinated well together.




I used a lot of making memories travel kit accessories. I love the random assortment of elements they have, stamps, tags, die cut paper. Unfortunately the actual photos were pretty tough to get, but I like the final effect.


I was dying to get cute pictures in front of the golden gate bridge. We drove there early Saturday morning and dressed Avinash in his insanely cute sailor romper. But, the poor guy was so sleepy and cranky that he flat out refused to smile. I struggled with this layout for days and still don't think I got it quite right. Sigh.



This is my favorite new layout. When you have a great subject I feel like the pages just make themselves. Avinash loves this pair of shorts he has with a monkey attached to one of the pockets. We always ask him to find it and show us, he gets really excited each time. I love these little anecdotes and are my favorite thing to document in my scrapbooks.