The busyness of this time of year has meant less time to spend with Priya. She has been in the care of some great babysitters (including my parents over the past 3 days - THANK YOU MOM & DAD!!). It was wonderful for Ashish, Priya & I to have some quality time together this evening. Below is a small glimpse of our time together.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Simpson Square Dance
Tonight was our 3rd Annual Simpson Square Dance. It's a really fun event that we put on during Orientation every year. This year Priya was able to attend as well and I had fun dressing her up for the event. I stumbled across some cute little cowboy boots and found a little pink cowboy hat - both were perfect for the occasion. Yeehaw!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Our Indian Princess
When Priya was born she received a number of adorable traditional Indian dresses. They are still far too big for her, but I thought it would be fun to try one out (with a lot of cinching in the back to make it sort of fit). Priya is also standing on her own in this photo. She's been doing that quite a bit as of late. Often when I walk into her room to get her out of bed I'll find her free-standing in her crib. Other times I'll find her hanging onto the rails of the crib jumping up and down. She is growing SO fast!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Another New School Year
I (Jessica) am in the midst of my craziest time of year (hence the lack of regular updates on our blog these days). Our student leaders are here on campus and we are half-way through our time of intense training with them. Our new students will arrive this Friday and then our returning students will storm the campus on Sunday afternoon. I'm looking forward to eventually settling into a regular routine as the school year is officially set in motion.
Ashish has entered a new and exciting phase in his life. He has decided to go back to school! He started a week and 1/2 ago at Shasta College (about a mile from where we live). He is planning on going into the LVN program (Nursing) and is currently working on some of the general requirements while he awaits entry into the program. It's a very exciting time for him and it's been wonderful to see how much he is learning already!
Our life these days feels rather chaotic. We are juggling very full schedules and trying to care for Priya through it all. Ashish actually is taking some time off work during these two weeks where life is extra crazy for me to take care of our little one. But we've had various babysitters here during Ashish's class hours to watch Priya. I'll be sure to update things a bit better once the craziness settles down...
Ashish has entered a new and exciting phase in his life. He has decided to go back to school! He started a week and 1/2 ago at Shasta College (about a mile from where we live). He is planning on going into the LVN program (Nursing) and is currently working on some of the general requirements while he awaits entry into the program. It's a very exciting time for him and it's been wonderful to see how much he is learning already!
Our life these days feels rather chaotic. We are juggling very full schedules and trying to care for Priya through it all. Ashish actually is taking some time off work during these two weeks where life is extra crazy for me to take care of our little one. But we've had various babysitters here during Ashish's class hours to watch Priya. I'll be sure to update things a bit better once the craziness settles down...
Monday, August 18, 2008
Happy Birthday Ashish!
We enjoyed celebrating Ashish's 32nd birthday yesterday as a family. And Priya had her first taste of Indian food too! Well, she had a small piece of naan bread and a few pieces of rice. She'll have to wait for the good stuff until she's a little bit older. :)
Ashish blows out his candle and Priya tries to get involved.
Below Priya and I enjoy some time with Esther Bhasme - Priya's special babysitter last week. Esther is the sister of David Bhasme, a recent Simpson grad who is originally from India.
Ashish blows out his candle and Priya tries to get involved.
Below Priya and I enjoy some time with Esther Bhasme - Priya's special babysitter last week. Esther is the sister of David Bhasme, a recent Simpson grad who is originally from India.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sneak Peak
We have 2 big days coming up in our family. Ashish will turn 32 on Sunday (August 17) and Priya will celebrate her 1st birthday on September 19. Oh how time flies...
Below is a hint about how we will be celebrating Priya's birthday. And no, we don't have any cute pictures of Ashish to hint about our plans for his birthday. He's not a duck fanatic like Priya is... :)
Below is a hint about how we will be celebrating Priya's birthday. And no, we don't have any cute pictures of Ashish to hint about our plans for his birthday. He's not a duck fanatic like Priya is... :)
Saturday, August 2, 2008
We enjoyed attending Caleb Brown's first birthday party today. Caleb is the son of my cousin Jeff and his wife Kara. They moved to Salem, OR several months ago so it was wonderful to have the chance to see a bit of them and to celebrate Caleb's special day.
Below Priya enjoys putting her 2 weeks of swim class to good use with Jean, Kara's sister.
Below Priya enjoys putting her 2 weeks of swim class to good use with Jean, Kara's sister.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Family Day
Ashish, Priya & I enjoyed a nice family day together today. We took Priya to a fun little place in the mall that is a great play place for kids. This was Priya's 3rd time visiting this place and she squealed with delight once again as she crawled across the play area, crawled through tunnels, pulled herself onto the fun objects, and even went down the slide with Mommy!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Time For An Update / Priya's First Swim Class
It's been a while since I've put anything new on our blog. Time for an update!
Andrea & Madilynn
Madilynn & Priya drying off after a fun-filled time in the pool.
Priya enjoys her first "biter biscuit" and makes quite a mess in the process. At least she enjoyed herself! :)
Priya gets ready for church on Sunday. She loves playtime in the nursery!
Today was Priya's first swim class! What an experience it was! We were joined by our good friends Andrea & Madilynn Mullens for a 45 minute session at the Redding aquatic center. There was one other baby and mommy in our group. Both of our girls took the water right away and had a fabulous time splashing around and playing. I was surprised by all that the instructor had us do with them. We sang songs, practiced blowing bubbles (well, the mommies did at least), had the babies float on their backs and on their tummies and practice moving their arms in swimming motions and kicking. We held them as they glided across the water towards toys that we threw in front of them. The class culminated with a full dunk at the end! Both Andrea & I were a little surprised by that and chickened out initially. But in the end we were able to dunk our little ones and were pleasantly surprised by how great they did! It was a wonderful experience and we're excited to go again tomorrow! The class runs Mon-Wed this week and then Mon-Fri next week.
Priya's very first experience in a swimming pool.
Andrea & Madilynn
Madilynn & Priya drying off after a fun-filled time in the pool.
Hmmm...do you think Mommy would be mad if I crawled to the pool and got back in?
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Two Thumbs Up For Freecyle!
I can't end the day without sharing about my most recent discovery - FREECYCLE (thanks for the tip Jenetta). I signed up for the Freecycle in Redding about a month or so ago and have been receiving about 20-30 emails a day where people are advertising things that they are giving away for free. They run the gamut from garage sale leftovers, furniture & baby items, to appliances such as microwaves, dishwashers & stoves. I even saw someone giving away a car once!
I finally responded to one of the offers this weekend and was thrilled to find that the giver chose us as the recipient. He was offering an exercise bike and I thought that it would be really nice to have something like that when it's too hot outside to walk and difficult to get to the gym with a baby. On Sunday we went to pick up the bike and found that the giver was a very kind man that attends Neighborhood church (where much of my family goes). He knows one of my uncles & has played softball with him for years.
He helped us load up the bike and then asked if we were interested in any baby items. They had the mother-load of baby equipment back in their garage. If I had been greedy I could have gone crazy in there! But I referred them to a local 2nd hand store where they could easily make several hundred $ selling their items. They did give me a few items that were much appreciated (an extra pack & play to use for visiting friends), a cute little Hawaiian looking bathing suit for Priya to wear next year (it even has a little grass skirt).
The grand prize was an elliptical machine called a Gazelle that they also wanted to get rid of. I love elliptical machines! They are by far my favorite piece of exercise equipment and I'd heard good things about this particular one. It's not like the fancy, high-end ones that you'll see in gyms, but it's perfect for home use.
The man even offered to load it in his mini van and follow us back to our place to help unload it! His wife kindly joined us and we made a little trip of it. (They even ran into someone they knew once they got to our place - it's a small world!)
I'm getting some great use out of our new exercise equipment and am so thankful for the wonder that is freecycle! I highly recommend it! If you join it in your area you'll get a ton of emails, but you never know what you might be able to find - or who you might be able to bless!
I finally responded to one of the offers this weekend and was thrilled to find that the giver chose us as the recipient. He was offering an exercise bike and I thought that it would be really nice to have something like that when it's too hot outside to walk and difficult to get to the gym with a baby. On Sunday we went to pick up the bike and found that the giver was a very kind man that attends Neighborhood church (where much of my family goes). He knows one of my uncles & has played softball with him for years.
He helped us load up the bike and then asked if we were interested in any baby items. They had the mother-load of baby equipment back in their garage. If I had been greedy I could have gone crazy in there! But I referred them to a local 2nd hand store where they could easily make several hundred $ selling their items. They did give me a few items that were much appreciated (an extra pack & play to use for visiting friends), a cute little Hawaiian looking bathing suit for Priya to wear next year (it even has a little grass skirt).
The grand prize was an elliptical machine called a Gazelle that they also wanted to get rid of. I love elliptical machines! They are by far my favorite piece of exercise equipment and I'd heard good things about this particular one. It's not like the fancy, high-end ones that you'll see in gyms, but it's perfect for home use.
The man even offered to load it in his mini van and follow us back to our place to help unload it! His wife kindly joined us and we made a little trip of it. (They even ran into someone they knew once they got to our place - it's a small world!)
I'm getting some great use out of our new exercise equipment and am so thankful for the wonder that is freecycle! I highly recommend it! If you join it in your area you'll get a ton of emails, but you never know what you might be able to find - or who you might be able to bless!
Our Little Social Butterfly
We are consistently amazed by how unbelievably social Priya is! We definitely have an extrovert on our hands! She gets so excited at every opportunity to interact with other people of any age!
Every time we visit a store she makes friends with other shoppers (yesterday she seemed to be overwhelmed with joy by an older gentleman who made some faces & talked to her at the grocery store). She squealed with delight at her play date with Caleb & Zach Hiester and was thrilled when our friend Cathye Riley stopped by (she was visiting from Florida). She showed great enthusiasm this afternoon when some students stopped by to do a little maintenance on our apartment.
It is so much fun to see the joy that she receives when she gets to interact with others. It's pretty great to see the joy that she seems to bring into other people's lives as well. What an incredible gift we have in our little Priya. We are so thankful for her.
Zach & Priya hanging in the kitchen.
Cathye getting a little cuddle time with Priya.
Priya eagerly observing as the student workers went about their business in her room.
Priya has now mastered "hello" & "bye bye". She waves enthusiastically whenever she says goodbye or greets someone. She kept calling for these three to come back after they left our apartment. It was pretty cute.
Every time we visit a store she makes friends with other shoppers (yesterday she seemed to be overwhelmed with joy by an older gentleman who made some faces & talked to her at the grocery store). She squealed with delight at her play date with Caleb & Zach Hiester and was thrilled when our friend Cathye Riley stopped by (she was visiting from Florida). She showed great enthusiasm this afternoon when some students stopped by to do a little maintenance on our apartment.
It is so much fun to see the joy that she receives when she gets to interact with others. It's pretty great to see the joy that she seems to bring into other people's lives as well. What an incredible gift we have in our little Priya. We are so thankful for her.
Zach & Priya hanging in the kitchen.
Cathye getting a little cuddle time with Priya.
Priya eagerly observing as the student workers went about their business in her room.
Priya has now mastered "hello" & "bye bye". She waves enthusiastically whenever she says goodbye or greets someone. She kept calling for these three to come back after they left our apartment. It was pretty cute.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Priya's Reputation
Apparently our little monkey is getting a bit of a reputation in the nursery at church! When we dropped her off today one of the girls exclaimed that Priya was the most energetic and active baby of the bunch during the previous week. When we returned to pick her up after the service we were greeted by another nursery helper who said that Priya was one of the most active babies she had ever seen! We are definitely going to have our hands full as she continues to grow and starts running around. :)
We are finding it rather challenging these days to dress her and change her diapers. She wants to move constantly and doesn't enjoy having to lie still for even a minute! I am especially grateful for the times when Ashish is around to give me a hand. He holds her hands and tries to keep her occupied with toys while I get her cleaned up. When it's just me I give her something to play with - hoping to create a distraction - but that rarely gets us through the full changing.
Priya also likes to challenge us during feeding times. Her desire to move and play makes it difficult to keep her still long enough to finish a bottle. We give her a toy to occupy her hands and that usually does the trick, but we have to be careful that she doesn't flip herself over and try to scoot away.
On the positive side, she definitely is a lover of life and enjoys getting the most out of each waking moment. There is obviously much that we can learn, and are learning, from her and her enthusiastic approach to life.
Ahhh...the joys of parenting... :)
We are finding it rather challenging these days to dress her and change her diapers. She wants to move constantly and doesn't enjoy having to lie still for even a minute! I am especially grateful for the times when Ashish is around to give me a hand. He holds her hands and tries to keep her occupied with toys while I get her cleaned up. When it's just me I give her something to play with - hoping to create a distraction - but that rarely gets us through the full changing.
Priya also likes to challenge us during feeding times. Her desire to move and play makes it difficult to keep her still long enough to finish a bottle. We give her a toy to occupy her hands and that usually does the trick, but we have to be careful that she doesn't flip herself over and try to scoot away.
On the positive side, she definitely is a lover of life and enjoys getting the most out of each waking moment. There is obviously much that we can learn, and are learning, from her and her enthusiastic approach to life.
Ahhh...the joys of parenting... :)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
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