Its a little difficult to hear Anusha’s voice clearly through the monitor as I lay reading The Thirteenth Tale in my own bedroom, but it is so entertaining that I had to put my wonderful read down for the most wonderful…

“No more cupcakes… more, more…” is what I hear through the monitor.  My daughter reading Pinkalious in her crib while attempting a nap, and a very late one at that too (it’s 2:40!)!  Oh how I love when she reads… music to my ears.  That and when she sings… it didn’t get any better when she sang Rocky-A-By-Baby along with me today  Now she has proceeded to singing… which is no surprise considering that I still sing to her often before nap/bed-time.  Ahhh… how I wish I could record her sweet little voice from another room!  It’s almost 3:00, and I wonder how late she’ll nap today.

Sometimes I wish I had a voice recorder with me at all times – switched ON at all times!  I understand that’s not practical but these are memories I want to cherish forever.

Expectation.  Expectation that we can actually deal well with it!

I realize that my last post was over a month ago.  During the time that has passed since, we celebrated Anusha’s 2nd with her little friends at the park, and then we made a big trip out to San Diego.  Grandma and Grandpa visited a few days before her actual birthday, and her Great-Aunt Katie came to see her a a couple of weeks after her big day.  I think it’s fair to say that our little girl a great birthday month.

Its amazing how much has changed since the two-year mark.  For starters, Anusha is stringing quite a few words together to make sentences.  Before I write down some of the popular phrases she uses, I must note down that she gave herself a nickname a few weeks (or maybe months?) ago – Fafa!  We love it!  So, without further ado, this is what we hear on a consistent basis - too far away… Fafa do that… Mama too big… Fafa too little… Dada home… all-done yogurt (more like *bogert*!)… Rocky (more like Nucky) sit down!… messy, messy padaan (what she means is *parmesan* cheese – and she loves it!)… oh dear… baby fell down… Fafa pick it up… Best of all, she can now say I love you Mama  Besides language development, she is very particular about doing things a certain way.  I suppose that is toddler independence in a nutshell.  She is pretty determined to do things by herself, often refusing a any help (which becomes challenging sometimes!).

Keeping a toddler entertained is pretty serious business as is toddler nutrition, but let me skip the food part because that deserves its very own post and will most likely take me hours to write!  I have set up several activity stations to keep Anusha entertained while encouraging creative play.  The latest addition is the lego station with a lego duplo table and storage containing the lego duplo pieces of course.  She also loves her cardboard house, which started out as a plain canvas and is now adorned with her crayon scribbles  She has two activity tables: one with a vast surface for her Thomas trains & puzzles, and its pretty neat it comes with storage and plenty of storage space underneath too!  The second is a desk with with 2 benches where we enjoy anything from meals, reading, art projects and playdoh.  Then we have the flannel board area, which is more of a work-in-progress for me trying to come up with new interactive fun.  The latest addition is actually the little kitchen play set & accessories that I set up overlooking the kitchen so that she can see me when I am in there preparing food or cleaning.  And this is all in the living area of our somewhat-small apartment.  Her bedroom has everything sleep/nap-related – rocking horse, doll cradle, books, chest with all her favorite stuffed animals/dolls, etc.

And how has my life changed as a stay-at-home mom dealing with toddler tantrums, expanding a wholesome menu, planning toddler activities/play-dates and keeping the house clean?  In every way!  I no longer have the luxury to pick up a book (which by the way reminds me to that I am still only 20% into The Forgotten Garden…!) during nap-time because I am planning out the next activity to keep Anusha happily entertained.  And what’s strange about it is that – I actually don’t mind it (yes of course there are days/times when I feel overwhelmed but who doesn’t in their everyday *work*?).  Maybe that’s what happens when you stay at home for 2 years!

I have half an hour before we leave for the 2-year check up so I have to cut this short, but why do I make the time to write here now when time is so scarce?  Because I don’t want to look back in 10, 15, or more years and realize that these precious first few years have passed too quickly.  This is perhaps my way of stretching it out as long has possible.  Now to make a list for Target and the craft store while I can…!

While I burn some calories every Friday morning in my Zumba class, Anusha has been spending an hour at the childcare provided at the fitness center.  Only problem is: she is not a happy camper  The first session went really well, but as she caught on to the idea of being left there without mama, it became a lot more challenging.  I felt very sad to hear that she cried 10 minutes after I left last week.  Whats worse was seeing her be consoled when I returned an hour later, which makes me think that she was actually miserable the entire time.

We were lucky that daddy worked from home today, hooray for no childcare (at least this week!).  It was a rough night of sleep in our home last night.  We all woke up groggy and exhausted.  Anusha was tired from a bad night of sleep, Mike from working all night, and me?  Well, I stayed up until 2 working on my many projects, and when I finally got to sleep Anusha woke up from a bad dream, and it only got worse from there.  I spent 4 hours in her room this morning – I think I fell asleep with her for about an hour or so around 7.  Anyway, after 2 hours of sleep it seems that Zumba was just what I needed to bring on some energy to my day.  I love it… plus it nice to see my mommy-friend Sandy and her daughter Ellie

I planned on taking a quick nap, but decided to put together a craft project for my busy toddler instead.  Stay tuned to see what I have to add to Anusha’s afternoon activities…!

Anusha has certainly been a busy little bee this spring with back-to-back classes over the past few months.  We started the season with parent-and-me preschool classes at Lakeshore Rec. Center, which is practically right outside our home.  The Friday morning classes were an hour-long, and filled with activities that encourage fine motor-skills, craft-projects and circle-time.  Its run by the San Mateo Parks & Rec. that organize a whole host of other programs and classes.

Here are some photos to summarize what went on during those Friday mornings… some taken at home, some at the playground waiting for the classroom doors to open, and some during class of course:

Just when pre-school fun ended, we got into our dancing shoes… and here is Anusha making sure that her dancing shoes are up to the task:

She did not want her legwarmers on (there was a cool breeze that morning):

Ok, so its really a Music & Movement class at this age, but its pretty unrealistic to have high expectations for a 22 month old, right?  Anusha really enjoys this class at Small Fry Dance Club in Foster City.

Here is my little ballerina in class:

We missed the registration deadline for Art Class at Beresford Rec. Center (which, BTW was highly recommended by friends), but I’ll definitely be watching their curriculum for the next available session.  Stay tuned!

Mike celebrated his second Father’s Day with Anusha on Sunday.  What did he want?  To spend time with his two favorite girls (that’s what he said!) – but wait there is something else – CHERRY PIE!

Here’s Mike with a personalized gift from Anusha… a plate that she painted herself at Laurel St. Arts in San Carlos:

We also made a special Father’s Day Butterfly card.  Once her craft projects were well received by daddy, we headed out to Los Altos for park play and lunch.  We found a quiet little park that daddy fir daddy best:

Lunch at our favorite kid-friendly spot – Bumble was deliious.  Mike had pizza, and Anusha got a pretty impressive lunch plate that included pretzel crusted chicken with dip, edamame, grapes and a cookie.  Here is Mike shelling the edamame for her (she didn’t eat any).

The plan was to allow Anusha to explore the $10/half hour play area so that mommy & daddy can have a little time together, but she made a face when I was about to leave her there.  She just wanted to sit with us and watch the fishes swimming in Bumble’s impressive indoor aquarium.  And so she did!

It wasn’t until 5 that I had a chance to start working on Mike’s favorite pie.  Making pie from scratch is not a difficult task; it just takes a up a lot of time!  I made a few variations to the pie that I’ve made a few times already, and it was all worth the time and effort when Mick proclaimed it the best pie he’s ever had… hooray!

Happy Father’s Day!

We love this children’s museum and zoo at Cayote Point for several reasons: (1) its only a 10-minute drive from us, (2) it has several interesting science exhibits to explore and is very engaging, (3) we get to meet some cool animals during the outdoor classroom sessions, and (4) they only keep those animals that would not survive in their natural habitat (injured animals and pets that have been given away for example).  I know that sounded like a sales pitch for CuriOdyssey, but I promise I am not on any sort of commission!

Mike and I decided to divide and conquer the glorious Saturday morning.  Mike volunteered to cook and clean up while I took Anusha for her morning fun, and this is where we ended up after a $6 parking and $8 admission fee.

Anusha’s favorite exhibit: the otters!  What fun she had watching them swim to the front of the tank then kick off the wall and swim away!  Our special spot was viewing the two playful otters from the little cave… until, two boisterous girls intruded upon us!  Just joking; we were happy to let them take their turn… no, really.

Anusha’s second favorite sight was watching the tadpoles over at the frog pond.  Why tadpoles?  Because we’ve been playing with turtles, frogs and tadpoles at home.  Not the live-kind of course, but wonderful, quality pieces that cover the life cycle of creatures that I never thought girls would be enjoy!

I didn’t lug my 10lb camera today, but here’s a pic from our first time at CuriOdyssey with grandma & grandpa in November last year:

Then we came home and ate quite a bit of salmon…  Long story short: we had bow-tie pasta with salmon & peas for lunch, and Anusha decided that salmon was all she was going to eat today (not a bad choice to pack in the protein and omegas!).  Mike did a fantastic job with the laundry and cleaning up; I am filled with gratitude.

While the little darling napped, I baked the chocolate cupcakes that I had promised her a couple of days ago (after reading our latest book: SPOT BAKES A CAKE).  Mike helped with the clean-up and I luxuriated in a NAP!  I wonder why I don’t nap more often when it is the perfect way to rejuvenate for the second half of the day.  Answer (although not a good one) is simple: I always find something to do… I can’t help it.  Here’s Anusha having her first experience with chocolate cake (and a wholesome one at that!):

Looking forward to an even MORE fun day tomorrow…

The Children’s Museum at Yerba Buena Gardens in SF is a fun place for kids.  We learned about all the fun activities they had from Anusha’s (parent-and-me)preschool teacher Ms Jacklyn.  She had clearly picked up on Anusha’s affinity towards the art projects that were set up in class.  It turned out to be a great suggestion.

We spent an entire morning at the museum experimenting with craft projects.  We even held a puppet show (with daddy for an audience!).  I swear she had more fun than depicted in this pic:

Lastly we SANG to You Are My Sunshine. Yes, we had a little Karaoke session at the music studio with a video that is pretty amusing to watch – amusing because I remember Mike and I out of sync on many occasions, and him denying it all!  It was all good fun.  Best of all, Anusha was highly entertained.

Next we rode the Carousel a few times.  Lunch was soon after at the Tea Cafe across the street.  I brought along the little darling’s trusted travel meal – pb & jelly on multi-grain bread.  As it turned out, Anusha was delighted to eat some of the food we ordered.  She especially loved the quinoa waffle that was perfectly crispy on the outside yet fluffy and soft on the inside.  I must attempt it at home one day although Mike claimed that he preferred my home-made waffles – what a good husband  Poached eggs were also a big hit with Anusha:

And what did I get for tea?  A Japanese matcha-brown rice combo.  I wish I could give the exact description but I am sure it is on the menu somewhere if you look up the restaurant.

Back at home, I’m delighting in the pictures of Miss Anusha who by-the-way has just graduated to 2T apparel… my little girl is getting big!  Her favorite answer over the past couple days is *no-more* (yikes!).  How did she become an opinionated toddler in the blink of an eye?!

Just weeks since we purchased family membership to Happy Hollow Chilrens Park & Zoo, we discovered *the happiest place for toddler* – Gilroy Gardens.  Its a non-profit corporation founded by Michael and Claudia Bonfante.  They don’t have live animals like Happy Hollow, but it is a well kept amusement park equipped with many toddler-friendly rides, a water feature and lots of pleasant walking space.  Anusha especially enjoyed strolling in the tranquil gardens, and especially the one close to her favorite ride…

… the mini-carousel.  This little carousel is perfect for little people because it has mini ride-on animals and structures – and here is the littlest of them all enjoying her ride (yes, my brave little girl was really the youngest rider):

This is where we started (and pretty much ended) our fun.

We grabbed some healthy lunch from the concession stand while Anusha happily ate her home-made pb & jelly sandwich.  We squeezed in a last ride on the train since Anusha wanted to ride on the choo-choo train, but she was getting pretty tired.

Gilroy Gardens was definitely worth the extra 20 minutes drive (in comparison to Happy Hollow) and I wholeheartedly recommend it for a fun family day with the little ones.  It was certainly the funnest place to be for Miss Anusha

What did I want for Mother’s Day this year?  A pedicure!  Yes, I’m excited about a pedicure because life is so busy that it can be tricky to find a little time for something that may seem a simple luxury or a warm weather necessity!

Ok… so I wanted more than that (there is nothing wrong with that, right?).  Since we moved out of the NY area, I’ve missed the energy of the city so much.  I decided that we could spend the morning in San Francisco, and meander around Stow Lake.  I figured that Anusha would enjoy going on a boat and enjoy watching the ducks.  I called my mom to wish her a happy Mother’s Day on our way to Stowe Lake.  Once we arrived, we fed the ducks before renting a paddle boat…

The paddle-boat was a first time experience for both Mike AND me, and it is not one that I would repeat!  Its annoying and takes all the fun out of boating (I vowed to stick to the trusted row-boat next time).  We saw lots of ducks – even the little ones – frolicking in the water, and birds.  It was very enjoyable.

Lunch was a selection of savory crepes at the local Crepevine before a quick stop at Jumba Juice for a smoothie on the ride back home.  The fit n fruitful smoothies (without the boosts!) at Jamba are working really well for Anusha who  had such an exciting morning that she was fighting sleep in the car.  Despite out best efforts, she fell asleep 5 minutes before we reached home.  Of course she woke up when I picked her up, and then we battled to get in nap-mood for about 45 minutes (I hate when that happens!).  And that was only half the Mother’s Day fun…

While our little girl napped, I embarked on the pink cupcakes I had been waiting to bake for a while.  Some say that I am crazy to bake on my day *off *, but I say why not- if that’s what I love to do!?  So bake I did, and these raspberry swirl cupcakes turned out to be so yummy even Mike approved!  Anusha nibbled, and sampled a little frosting.

Mike offered to make dinner, and I didn’t object.  I requested fish tacos with a mango salsa… a recipe I had been patiently waiting to try for a week.  When dinner was all gone, Anusha soundly in bed, and the dishes done, Mike and I sat down and sipped a delicious glass of red wine – my favorite organic bottle from none other than WFs.

Happy Mother’s Day!

What glorious weather we are having this weekend, 82F – a little taste of summer in late April.

We headed down to Shoup Park in Los Altos.  The creek was all dried up, but my little girl had a blast in the play ground; she especially loved the seesaw and did not want to give it up!

The sandpit is always a hit with Anusha so no surprises there.  Apparently she wasn’t the only one having fun in the sand – look who’s immersed in sand play behind her…

We absolutely love this park.  I skipped my Bikram yoga class to explore downtown Los Altos.  I picked up a mango-peach from Jumba Juice to quench the thirst, and it turned out to be a huge hit with Anusha.  Mike found an Italian place for lunch called Pompei, and it was delicious.  Anusha and I had Pasta Primavera, and Mike went for a Meatball Panini (which he declared pretty tasty).  Best of all, Miss Anusha approved!  She even tried something new: olives that were slices up in the pasta.  Hooray for expanding the palette!

Back in San Mateo, we had home-made mango ice-cream to celebrate a weekend of warm weather.  Here’s the little breezy beauty enjoying a mango fruit pop on the deck…

How delightful it is to enjoy such warm weather in April…!