Ria's Mango Milkshake

Ria never ceases to amaze me with her way of thinking and her analogies. She has a keen observation and always watches carefully whatever I do in the kitchen.
She has seen me make milkshakes and juices using the blender. So this is what registered in her tiny mind : You need a :
a)Blender
b) A liquid of some sort (water or milk)
c) Chunky stuff (fruits)
d) Lid

The other day when we were giving her a bath , she declared she would make mango milkshake for all of us. She took the transparent water jug, filled it up with water, added her 3 frogs in it and closed it with the red plastic container. Then she said you go 'whirrrrr' and thats it a delicious mango shake is ready!! . We were so taken aback by all this brilliance that we could not help laughing for a long time!!

Santa Claus is coming to town...

Ria had been rehearsing a couple of songs everyday for the Christmas Party on the 19th. The 2 songs were 'Jingle Bells' and 'Santa Claus is coming to town' . Turns out that when Santa Claus
did visit them, all the kids started crying and the song was forgotten. What was surprising to me was that Ria did not get scared. It seems she went up to Santa and sat near him. When Santa asked her what she wanted , she even replied. The kids had a blast in school with all the arts and activity. Ria has caught the Christmas spirit!!

Ria celebrates Halloween.

Ria wanted to be be Cinderella for Halloween. She just loves the blue gown worn by Cinderella.
Unfortunately the stores did not have the costume in toddler sizes, so I bought a pink princess dress for her. Fortunately Ria didn't complain, she liked it.
She tries to be very dainty and lady-like when she wears this dress. She had a good time in school that day. In the evening we went to her friend Vishnu's house for a Halloween Party.
Later that evening all the kids and parents went 'trick or treating'. Ria collected a lot of candies.

Ria's new haircut

Ria had her first proper haircut today. It's amazing what a good haircut can do to your face even though it's just a few inches of hair gone!
She looks so cute now and I don't have to put a clip to hold it in place.She sat like an angel and did whatever the hair stylist told her to do. The lady was so pleased with Ria that she gave her 2 candies. Ria got few compliments on the way back too.

Daddy's Birthday!!

Today Ria was very excited as it was Daddy's birthday. Ria and Mommy got a wonderful cake for Daddy. Ria helped Daddy blow the candle. Ria and Mommy had prepared Daddy's favorite
snack 'Sev Batata Dahi Puri' . Daddy was very happy!




This is Ria's gift to Daddy :

New Backyard

We recently installed a new patio. We got rid of the old paver patio and the patch of grass.
Now we have a beautiful slate patio in it's place. there is lots of room for Ria to ride her trike now.
The backyard actually looks bigger now. Here are some before and after pictures :

Men At Work

One day the men decided to display their culinary skills. The menu was nice and simple : Spicy vegetable chow mein. It was good team work :
Actual work : Kunaal
Advice, suggestions and 'interventional surgery' : Ramdas Bhavaji
Tasting, cheering and comments : Manish
It turned out to be surprisingly good :-)

Ria in Racine

Ria had a fantastic time in Racine. She was following Vijay and Kunaal everywhere.Needless to say , it was a very relaxing time for Manish and myself. It felt wonderful to be with family and do nothing but eat and chat!! Ria had a great time too as we visited the JellyBean factory and the Zoo.
We also went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Ria saw Nemo , Marlin and Bruce , she was so thrilled!

Miller Time!

We paid a visit to Miller Brewery in Milwaukee. The biggest draw was the samples of beer at the end. Here you see Manish in 'HappyLand'.

Ria and Shadow

Ria loves dogs. She felt like she was Mommy to Shadow. She would take him for a walk, order him around, say "Good job!" when he listened to her. It was hilarious to watch her!

Ria goes to Bonfante gardens!

Ria paid a visit to Bonfante gardens with her friend Shweta. She enjoyed a variety of rides like the Caterpillar ride, Boat ride, Hot Air Balloon ride, Strawberry ride, Car ride, Goldfish ride and Carousel. She had a fantastic time in the water park. It is a good thing that we bought the season's pass! We will definitely go there again, it was so much fun and the gardens were so beautiful!

Ria hits a milestone

Ria is potty trained now!! We celebrated this important event by dining at Cheesecake factory :-).
It happened pretty effortlessly without us having to do much. It just clicks one day in their head and thats it!! Now she's determined to achieve perfection. She flushes, drags her stool to the sink,
washes her hands with soap and wipes them. She even says 'Good job' !!
We do reward her with 1 M&M for No. 1 and 2 M&M's for no. 2.

Ria goes to the zoo

On Sunday, we took Ria to Happy Hollow zoo for Adi's second birthday celebration.
There were lots of rides and and the kids had a wonderful time. Ria even attended a puppet show.
When Ria saw all the animals from such close quarters, she was like 'Oooh' and 'Aaah'.
This is the list of things Ria simply loves :

1. Playing in water in the pool or at the beach.
2. Dogs and animals in general.
3. Mangoes
4. Cream biscuit (she can eat a whole pack of Britannia cream biscuits)
5. M&M's

Ria's first visit to the dentist

Since Ria is almost 2 1/2 years now, we thought it was time we paid a visit to the dentist.
Ria was all excited when we told her where we were going. The dentist's assistant was a jolly and friendly lady. Ria soon warmed up to her and did whatever she told. We were thrilled that the visit was going so smooth. Unfortunately the X-Ray did not come out good, so they had to do it all over again. Now, there was a new assistant, this one was stern looking, wearing a mask and had a loud voice. We knew looking at her that Ria was going to turn on the waterworks. Sure enough , it happened as expected. Finally she sat on Daddy's lap for the second round of X-Ray's. The assistants were very nice and gave Ria a bag of goodies for being so good!
Ria got 2 tooth brushes which light up while brushing. She now uses the fluoride tooth paste.

Fourth of July fun!

We got an inflatable swimming pool for Ria. She had a great time splashing water and playing with her collection of fishes, turtles and frogs. Of course all good things come to an end and so we had to let her know that it was time to get inside the house. Manish had to carry her inside the house, kicking and screaming. She somehow freed herself from his grasp and was back again near the pool. Next time we have to plan a better pool exit strategy!
In the evening we watched the fireworks from the nearby Canoas Park. It was a lot of fun. Many families were out there in the park and the kids had a wonderful time.

Ria's pretty sundress

Yesterday when we reached home, there was a surprise gift waiting for Ria at our doorstep.
Aunt Malini had sent Ria some lovely sundresses. Ria peeled off her skirt in about 2 seconds (I didn't know she could do that!!) and was ready to try out her new dresses. She loved them so much that she went to bed last night wearing one of them! She is turning out to be a fashionista.
Thanks to Aunties Shalini and Malini, I do not have to shop for any more summer clothes for Ria!

Ultra chic sunglasses

Ria has 3 pairs of sunglasses : green, white and blue. She likes to wear a different one every time.Since both Manish and I wear glasses, Ria is happy that finally she has a pair for herself!
Ria can now ride her trike effortlessly. She has learned the technique of pedalling.