Favorite Fall Photos

Ok, so I had to add these photos too. I can't tell which are my favorites. I showed them to Pankaj last night and he loved them too. Our little boy is growing up! It's hard to believe that he's been a part of our family now for one year (he left Bal Vikas on November 21, 2006). Time certainly does fly!

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We are looking forward to our first Thanksgiving dinner at home (last year's was spent in Mumbai and the holiday is not celebrated there), followed by a trip to Portland, OR to visit our good friends Jay and Judy and their daughter Maya, who was born in May. Samedh keeps telling me, "Going to see Baby Maya." And, "Play toys." I keep reminding him that Maya will only be 7 months old when we visit, and she doesn't walk yet. She'll have some toys, but not the kind Samedh is expecting. Maybe I'll have to sneak a car or two in his suitcase. One fun thing Judy and I have planned for this trip is to dress the kids in matching Christmas pajamas and have their photo taken by the tree. Samedh and I bought the pj's the other day and they are really cute. I just hope Samedh will sit still with Maya so we can get a couple pictures of them together.

Fun in the Leaves

Just had to share these photos of Samedh from the other day! It was warm and sunny, so we took advantage of not having to wear a coat...It's just hard to keep him sitting still for a photo. Earlier in the week, I bought this outfit for Samedh at a local consignment shop. He recently outgrew his only pair of khaki dress pants, and needed something for the upcoming holidays. The entire outfit, shoes included, was under $20. I'm also proud to report that the turtleneck Samedh is wearing is a size 24 month! The sleeve length is perfect (he has long arms like me), but it's a little long on his body. That's ok though, because the longer shirt just helps keep his pants up around his waist!

Our Diwali Celebration

On Saturday we celebrated Pankaj's birthday and Diwali with my family. Even Baby Justin came to join in the fun, although he slept most of the time. We had a nice big meal of spaghetti and meatballs and had cake and ice cream for dessert. We didn't light fireworks this time, but we did incorporate the tradition of Bhaubeej gift giving which is typically done on the 5th day of Diwali. Since Samedh's cousin-sisters were already visiting on Saturday, we had Bhaubeej a little early. Samedh gave each one a small activity book and chocolate caramel candy. Then the little guy wished them a Happy Diwali. Samedh is supposed to vow to protect them, but he'll understand that more as he gets older (and bigger). Right now, the "mother hens" are very protective of him:)

Earlier on Saturday, Pankaj, Samedh, and I attended Lakshmi Puja in Grandville. We arrived just in time for the cultural program and songs, which Samedh enjoyed very much. We had a small lunch before we left, and Samedh helped himself to one of the bananas that had been blessed by the priest who performed the puja.

Happy Birthday, Happy Diwali!

It's Diwali...
It's also Pankaj's birthday, so we had lots to celebrate today. We put up lights inside the house and out, and added a few diyas and lanterns. Our first blessing of the day came when we returned home from running errands (Pankaj took the day off). Friends of ours left a beautiful Diwali card and gulab jamun sweets on our front porch. Samedh looked at the sweets and immediately informed me, "I need this." It was right before lunch, so that wasn't happening. It wasn't until later in the evening that we all sampled them. They were delicious!

Later in the afternoon, the three of us drove down to South Haven for lunch at Clementine's. The last time Pankaj and I had been there was right after we accepted Samedh's referral. On that day last year, we brought our referral papers and Samedh's photo along and the "three of us" had lunch. Samedh enjoyed the restaurant, especially because we were sitting pretty close to a huge moose head mounted on the wall. He loves moose, elk, and deer (I just dread the day when I have to explain to him how they got up on the wall...)

In the early evening (it gets really dark early these days), Samedh and I stood among all the lights on the front porch while Pankaj lit two fireworks fountains. We only lit two so we could save more for tomorrow when my family comes to visit. After we came back inside, Samedh did some Diwali crafts and colored a Lakshmi, Hanuman, and Shiva with his crayons. I glued the Lakshmi to colored cardstock and we'll display that tomorrow for our Lakshmi Puja at home.

We'll also be attending the Lakshmi Puja sponsored by the West Michigan Hindu Temple tomorrow morning in Grandville. The temple is still under construction (only about 70% complete), so everyone still meets in the banquet room at a local hotel. Samedh is excited to go, and asked if there will be flowers, diyas (lights), and songs. I assured him there will. It's cute to hear him pronounce "Lakshmi puja" - - he calls it "Lucky puja". Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity and brings good luck and fortune to all in the new year. So he's got the "luck" part right:)

Welcome Little Guy

We are happy to announce the newest addition to our family, Justin Daniel. His proud parents are my sister Liz and her husband Marcus. Baby Justin was born on November 2 and went home from the hospital on Sunday. Samedh was excited to visit Justin at the hospital and at home, and kept asking if he could "play crayons and cars and trucks" with him. Once he saw how small his new cousin is, I think he realized that it will be some time before the two boys play anything together.

Bob the Builder...

Just some of our photos from Samedh's first Halloween...

We really didn't know what to expect this year, so we kept the costume simple and easy. Samedh is a fan of Bob the Builder and his team, so we gave "Bob" a try. Samedh's only denim overalls are shorts, so instead of buying a longer pair, I just put his jeans over the top. He didn't seem to mind. Then I decorated a $1.49 plastic hard hat with Bob the Builder stickers he got for his birthday, and tied his toy hammer to his belt loop. Sorry, no tool belt this year! I don't think Samedh would have liked wearing a tool belt anyway.

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Samedh never really had candy before, except for M&M's once in a while. We weren't even sure if he'd like getting candy. He got a big candy bag full of stuff from our next door neighbors, and we quickly discovered that Samedh doesn't really like sweet-tart or sour candies. He's simply a chocolate guy, though he did like the taste of strawberry Nerds candies.

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Our first big stop for the evening was to Samedh's friend Sam's house. Sam is our neighbor and he will be 2 in January. We brought him a small plastic pumpkin full of chocolates. Sam gave Samedh a big Tootsie Roll and a sucker. Samedh was more interested in playing with Sam's toys. He and his family were going to their church's "Trunk or Treat" event, so we didn't stay long. Samedh really thought we were at Sam's house to play, so he got really upset when we had to leave. Next stop was Jerry and Kelly's next door. That's where Samedh got the big bag of candies! Then we were off to Grandma and Grandpa's house so Samedh could "trick or treat" at their house for the first time. He even helped Grandma hand out candy to the kids who came to the door. (We have that on video and I'll try to post it later here or on Samedh's blog.) All-in-all, Samedh had a great first Halloween. There were some "spookies" that he didn't like, but as long as he had a chocolate in his hand, he felt much better:)