First Birthday

My little Bobby boy is all of one year old! Little miss Haana and I have been calling him "half a thing" all this while, cause we had decided only after he turns 1 year old does he become a full thing in his own right (regardless of the fact that he's been his own thing right since the moment he was born). And now that he's turned one, we have to concede. He's this one full thing now. One full thing. 

For his birthday, little miss Haana had plans. She is on

ly the best sister in the world! She decided we had to bake a 3 tiered cake. I had turned down the idea several times before but apparently it was still a go (Raj had gotten cake pans of different sizes). I had decided on the menu for the big day - everything little Bobby boy likes to eat - chocolate pancake, cheese crepe (dosa), carrots, grilled chicken for dinner and of course cake, lots of home baked chocolate cake! 

Little miss Haana tried to get out of school for Bobby's birthday,  but alas that didn't work. I had taken the day off to spend with Bobby boy. 

After a breakfast of chocolate pancake, Bobby and I met with their Godfather Keith at the park. It was beautiful sunny day, and we had ourselves some cake at the park. Bobby tried to feed the rest of the cake to the grass, but somehow i rescued it. He waved to the geese at the pond and rode on Keith's shoulders pretending to fly like a duck. We hung out in the park for sometime and headed back home later.

Back at home, Bobby boy was put for his nap. As soon as little miss Haana's school got over, we got to work. There were eggs to be beaten, ovens to be preheated, cake pans to be lined, and cakes to be baked. There was work to be done. And all before the boy wakes up. Somehow little miss Haana and I got through it without even breaking into a fight once. Soon, 3 cake pans with perfect looking chocolate cakes made it out of the oven. Meanwhile Bobby's Krithi aunty texted that she'll stop by in the evening. So we decided we will wait for her before the cake cutting. 

As always Raj had gotten surprise gifts for Bobby boy on his birthday. One of them being new clothes - smart shirt and pants with suspenders, complete with a bow tie! Bobby boy was changed to his new birthday attire (not birthday suit after all!). Krithi aunty, Karthik uncle and Varam stopped by. And we all huddled for cake cutting. A 3 tiered cake, decorated with whipped creme toppings and with exactly 1 candle on the topmost tier. Just like the best sister little miss Haana had planned!

It was a fun evening with more gifts, toys and clothes! Bobby boy and little miss Haana- two most special babies ever!

Banana Chocolate Cake

Usually when little miss Haana and I cook together, it starts off like a fun excercise! This will be a fun, bonding experience. But in reality, it stresses me out aplenty.

I usually stress out about making a mess in the kitchen- the counter tops and the floor. Then i start snapping at little miss Haana at what I would claim is her sloppiness. Then she gets upset. Then i feel bad. Then i go up to her and try to win her back with a 50-50 chance. All this rollercoaster drama happens while also working on the cooking task. Sometimes i try to remember what Papa said to me- she's only 9!

Last week, though was different. Little miss Haana was home on spring break and decided she wants to bake. We had found this chocolate banana cake recipe and on the counter 3 bananas were rushing to go overripe, perfect for the recipe. There was a catch though. Dad had to go out for some work, I had to cook dinner and I had a contractor coming in that evening, and I expected to be working with that contractor in stead of helping and monitoring little miss Gugu. I told her to wait for Papa to get back, but she couldn't wait.

So she got her stepping stool so she can work on the counter, and got cracking. I was directing and helping her briefly, but soon, the contractor showed up and little miss Haana was now on her own to make sense of the recipe. 

She worked at it with care and precision, and next thing I knew, ahe only needed my help with placing the cake tray into the oven! 

She continues to astonish me, by being outstanding. At the same time, I am not surprised that she's outstanding! 

Nine

The excitement of little miss Haana's 9th birthday had been building up for weeks. The calendar had been marked and the count down had begun several days prior. She couldn't wait for her birthday! And she had a plan for the day:

There will need to be a treasure hunt set up for her birthday (a few years back I had set up, what will be the first of many, treasure hunt on Raj's birthday. Both of them had read through the clues hidden in rhymes and found treasures hidden around the house. Now it was a main stay of birthdays for her).

Then, there needed to be a play date with her best buddy Rushil. 

She also wanted to play with her neighborhood gang of friends. 

In there, somewhere, there had to be a home baked chocolate cake and cake cutting. 

Good thing her birthday was on a sunday and we had all weekend. 😉

We started the birthday weekend on friday evening with not only a playdate but a sleep over at Rushil's! We went over to theirs' early evening, spent the evening together, and little miss Haana stayed overnight for a sleepover. In the morning she helped her Ranjeeta aunty bake cookies, and i saw pictures of 2 happy kids having milk and cookies. At home that Saturday morning, i started setting up the treasure hunt. I had already gotten the "treasures" (just small little presents) a few weeks back. Now was the time to pack them, hide them and set up the clues. I had to hurriedly wrap it all up when she was dropped off back home. 

Lunch was from her favorite Torchy's taco. But after lunch i took her out for a surprise. 

I had been thinking of getting her a real sewing machine for sometime. She had a small baby sewing machine for sometime but it wasn't really a proper sewing machine at all. And little miss Haana always has ideas up her sleeve of what she wants to do, some craft project or the other. A sewing machine will be a great tool in her tool box, I thought. On the other hand, I have never done any sewing myself, and don't know my way around a sewing machine at all. She's just an 8 year old, I wouldn't really be able to guide her into learning to sew. But when I talked to a few friends of mine, I learnt there are tons of tutorials online. Youtube can her useful sometimes! My dear friend Kim gave the recommendation of the sewing machine, and I had been to the sewing store closeby to check it out. I decided I will come back with the birthday girl took make the final selection. 

So, I took little miss Haana out on a drive with me for a "little surprise". Only when we came to the store did I tell her about my idea of buying her a sewing machine! We saw the 2 machines i had looked at before, and she choose the one she liked better. She was excited to get started! And i was too! I had to temper the excitement a little by reminding her, it will take us some timw to get up to speed. We will take baby steps in trying to learn how to sew. I was telling myself more than her. The sewing machines can be complicated! 

Back home, we began setting up the machine right away, but looking at the instructions manual and learning to thread the needle was not as straight forward. Then we had the idea to look up youtube, and a good idea that was. She figured out how to thread the needle in no time. And soon we were in business. 

The next morning was the big B day. The morning started early for me and Raj. While i was finishing up the clues and hiding the treasures, he started on the cake - all before the babies woke. Soon, we had the cake in the oven, the treasure hunt all set up, and i sat to have some morning chai. 

Little miss Haana woke up and i gave her long long hugs and kisses to the birthday girl. And then gave her the booklet full of clues. Her eyes lit up - "Treasure Hunt!!", she squeeled with delight! I had the clues set up purposefully to have her rub around the house, upstairs then down the stairs, then in this room, then in that.. could it be in the laundry room? Could it be under the bed, in the bathroom cabinets? Inside the car? 

I saved the best present for the last. Raj had gotten her a smart watch with which she can call us up if she's outside playing with her friends. I liked that it had parental controls, but we can also check on where she is. It was the most delightful presents of all!!

Meanwhile the cake was all done. We had 9 little candles, all lit up. Then, a big huff and puff, all the candles were blown out, a birthday song sung, and we were eating chocolate cake soon. 

Later that day, we had aaloo paratha (wheat tortilla stuffed with potatoes and cooked with oil, eaten with a healthy heapof butter!) for brunch, also by popular demand. During the day, both grand parents called. Softy mausi called. Little miss Haana's Godfather Keith called to wish happy birthday. 

In the evening, just before dinner, little miss Haana's Jinu aunty stopped by with more gifts! She got Enid Blyton set of books for miss Haana. I read those long long time back! It's funny how some books become symbolic of a certain time! 

After dinner, little miss Haana's friends started showing up. I had pinged their parents to send the kids over for cupcakes outside by our garage. And they were here. Little miss Haana's Kirthi aunty and Karthik uncle and little Varam came up too. We all hung outside, with all the neighborhood kids, talking, enjoying cupcakes. 

It was a good day and a great birthday. Now stay on 9 awhile little miss Haana!

All's Well That Ends Well

Long weekend passed and not quite enough. This week was the best, then the worst and then back.

Suhaana had a big, big Elmo party. Lots of kids. She had a great time. She had the best time tasting Elmo cake icing!! Mommy had never given any cake to Suhaana so far. And what a dearth it had been for! She lapped up with all the photo session and her favorite aunts all giving her one bite each.

Then a couple of days later, poor baby got a stomach bug pretty bad. I was at work and freaked out when Raj called to say the nanny had called her and said Suhaana is not well. She was throwing up. When I got back from work, she'd already thrown up 3 times. By the time we saw the doctor the same afternoon she'd thrown up 10 times that day. Her doctor held us at her office to watch Suhaana, giving her 1 tsp pedialite every 5 minutes. The following day, the vomiting was gone, but hello diarrhea. :( Next 3 days, this little girl barely got up. She just slept mostly.

Meanwhile both raj and I took turns throwing up and generally feel unwell too over the weekend. But then come Sunday, and every one feels somewhat better. So much better.

All's well that ends well, right? Except that the weekend is gone!