Pumpkins!!

It's been a really fun and exciting month - from the arrival of my new little baby cousin sister, Nayathi, on Oct 5 (my 7th month birthday) to visitors in NY to celebrating my very first Halloween, this month flew by so fast!

It all started with a trip to DC to visit Nayathi - I had so much fun seeing a teeny baby, playing with Ashvini, all her toys and going to the pumpkin patch with her to pick out pumpkins to carve. I slept through the carving session but that's ok, my daddy still carved one just for me. And I got to ride around the farm in a wheel barrel with Ashvini.



Then my Ashay Mama, Eshaan Mama, Trusha didi and Aku baa came to visit me in NY on Halloween weekend. It was a bit cold but we tried to go see my daddy play ultimate frisbee anyway - could't stay long as it was too windy. Then I took everyone to the very cool playground in our neighborhood. I hope they loved every minute a lot so that they come back again soon!



Finally, the very last day of this month was Halloween - what a fun holiday!! I can't wait to actually be able to eat all that candy I collected. I dressed up as Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars and my daddy was Obi-Wan Kenobi. In other words, I was his Padawan (but I don't think I really need training, I think I could actually teach him a thing or two about becoming a Jedi).



In other news, I'm sitting quite well on my own now and although I can't crawl yet, I'm pretty good at scooting on my belly (only backwards - still working on the forward motions). AND, I think I might be sprouting my very first tooth - guess we'll see if I'm right next month! What a fun month it's been...

My Big California Adventure

Has it seriously been over a month since my last post??! I'm blaming my mommy for the delay this time - she's been keeping me super busy with baby gym classes, baby music classes and mommy & baby groups. On top of that, she and daddy keeps running off to work when I tell them I need to computer to update my loyal blog readers!

In the past month, I was away for 10 days though - we took a trip to California for my parent's friend's wedding in San Diego for which I got all dressed up:



Flying all the way across the country launched a whole adventure up the coast to visit friends and family in San Diego, LA, San Jose and San Francisco! Was so much fun flying on a plane, going to beaches, swimming in pools, eating my first avocado, meeting new friends, going to my 4th wedding and so much more!



Just before my 7th month birthday while I was on Venice Beach in LA, I finally learned how to sit all on my own! This is very exciting and I really enjoy not having to be carried around, propped up or staring at the ceiling all the time.

I'm a half-year-old!

I'm a half-year-old...I can hardly believe it's already been 6 months! Just for the big day (well, ok, for my daddy's friend's wedding, too), I got all dressed up in my first pair of jeans, sweater vest AND shoes! :)

I have feet!

I recently found my feet!! It's so exciting and most importantly, they are quite tasty!

I'm a busy, busy lil man!

I'm so sorry for the delay in updates....I've been a busy little guy for the past 2 months and mommy went back to work so it's been tough to get on here to post updates.

I've had many, many new experiences in the past couple months from visiting even more of my incredible and huge family to eating solids and almost rolling over!

In June, we went to the beach in NJ where I got a chance to try out my cool new shades:


Then we went to Ashvini's 2nd birthday party in DC and had a fun family photo session:


In July, I started eating solids in my new high chair!! Rice cereal was great, but I think I might like oatmeal more like my daddy (I'm also a very messy eater, just like daddy):


I also went to NJ with my parents to visit more of my daddy's family where I got to play and laugh with Chitra again!


So, you see I've been quite busy and I imagine life will go on getting busier and busier...I get so tired after my fun-filled days that I'm in bed by 8:30pm and sleep almost 12 straight hours every night! My goals for next month include rolling over back and forth and eating more colorful food :)

I have toys!!!

Everyone has always been giving me these colorful things but I never really knew what they were for - now I finally understand! They're my toys!!! And I have so many of them - but favorite so far is my froggy!

Back home in NYC!

After a week of lot of activity in the Arizona Sun and being away from daddy, I enjoyed a nice quiet evening with my daddy. :) While it's great being home, this now means that my mommy is going back to work and won't be playing with me everyday :(

Do I really look like my Neil mama?

So, everyone in Arizona kept saying I look just like my Neil mama - what do you guys this?

Meeting all my future buddies!

I had so many playdates with my mommy's friend's kids while I was in Arizona that I can't wait to go back an hang out again! I met 3 cute little girls: Teresa's daughter Jade, Sheetal's daughter Riya and Lindsay's daughter Holland. And then I met 2 super cool guys - Gopi's son Aanik and Taylor's son Graydon.

A Party Just For ME!

I had a great time meeting all of my baa and dada's friends because they had actually hosted a "Welcome to Arizona" party just for me - and I got a chance get all dressed up again! My daddy took a bunch of pictures at the party!

Hello Arizona!

My first plane ride was so much fun, I just couldn't wait to fly again! So, my mommy and daddy took me to Arizona to visit my Naina baa, Umi baa, JD dada and Ashok dada during my mommy's last week of maternity leave. When I got to my mommy's house in Scottsdale, my Naina baa made my footprints in the front entrance right next to my cousin, Ashvini's footsteps. And then when we got to Umi baa and Ashok dada's motel, they did another aarti for me!

My First Plane Ride, Beach, Pool, Wedding, Hotel Room, ...

My parents took me to Florida this past weekend to attend my daddy's friend Justin & Angie's wedding. It was so great to sit on a plane, dip my feet in the beach, float in the pool with my dad and see a wedding!! I think I really, really like this whole traveling thing...

A Five Generation Mother's Day

I had a very special Mother's Day weekend - I took my first road trip with my parents to Massachusetts to visit all my Patel family. It was my Deesha masi's sweet 16th birthday party (my first party!!)

I'm a very lucky guy because I got to take a picture with my mom, my grandma Naina, my grandma Umi, my great grandma and my great great grandma!! My great grandma claims to be about 9 but some of us think she may already be 100...no one knows for sure but one thing is for sure, my grandmas are incredible!!

My Bathtime

My parents give me a bath every night before bedtime and it might just be my favorite part of my day! I get a bath in the kitchen sink for now since I fit right in...not sure what my parents will do once I outgrow the sink - guess they'll have to get a bigger sink?

There's a video of my bathtime on my video page

(I may regret posting this picture later, but here's me in my shower...)

First Visit to Patti & Thatha's House

My parents took me out to Long Island to spend a weekend with my Patti and Thatha! It was fun to be in big house and it was my first time spending the night away from my house. They welcomed me with an aarti and a sign with my name written in Tamil. We even went to the beach, but it was too windy for me to get out of my stroller and look around.

I discovered a new toy...my thumb!!

I was enjoying tummy time on my boppy yesterday just like I do every afternoon and I found something...my thumb! It was great - I just starting sucking it like I would my binky and it was so fun (and everyone kept saying I looked so cute doing it) :)

I haven't been able to find it again (where did it go??) - but I'm determined to find it again soon!

I've graduated!

This week, I graduated out of newborn diapers to Size 1!! This is a huge milestone for me - I guess I'm no longer a newborn! I think my mommy was a bit sad about this but come on, mom, I gotta grow, right?? How else will I get big enough to beat daddy at basketball!

And yet ANOTHER bed!

I have SO many beds - a crib, a pack 'n' play, a co-sleeper, a swing, a quilt on the couch and now I have a true desi-style baby bed! My Ashok dada ordered this Indian style swing for me from India - it's actually very cozy and I guess I have now been desi-fied :)

The new Lord of the Ring!

When my daddy was born, his Thatha gave him a small gold ring and now my daddy has passed it on to me...I'm not even two months old and I already have my very first piece of bling!! (And I think I definitely have a future as a jewelry model, don't you agree?)

Photo Shoot #2

I'm really starting to love that so many professional photographers want to take pictures of me...my parent's friend Kristine came over a couple weeks ago to take more incredible pictures!

Oh boy, time sure does fly when I'm having fun!

The last couple weeks have been so busy - and even busier for my mom since Umibaa had to go back to Arizona (Ashok dada was getting lonely and missing her yummy food...and now I miss it!).

I've had so many visitors lately...mommy's friends Katie, Deb & Camila, daddy's friends Roodley, Isabella and my new friend Natalie and more of my fun family - Ashay mama, Eshaan mama, Trusha didi and Raadhay bhai! I hope I can keep track of everyone's names!

Most importantly, I'm getting much bigger...I keep hearing how I don't look like a newborn anymore (though I still feel like one - I still don't know much about this new place I've come into). My mom makes me do some tummy time everyday and I don't like it one bit! I prefer to lay on my back so everytime she puts me on my belly, I try my hardest to flip over to my back....I'm determined to succeed one of these days!



As expected, my parents are taking lots and lots of pictures - check out "My Latest Photo Album" in the right column.

My Crib!

Now that I'm a month old, I can sleep in my very own big crib!! I am loving the way my mom has decorated the room...I remember my dad saying something about adding Transformers to the room but I don't see anything. I hope he gets around to it soon because that would be super cool - get on it, dad!

My First Month Birthday Celebration

So, my first month birthday was a HUGE event - even the NCAA scheduled the March Madness championship game on April 5 to celebrate my first month! :) It was a great game...although it would have been way better is Duke had lost. I was really hoping Butler would win - they really deserved it!

My daddy invited a couple friends over to meet me and watch the game. My Umi baa made yummy food - chole/bhatura and pau bhaji - for all the guests and it was so good that they couldn't stop eating!

Daddy & Me Time

I don't get to see my daddy too much because he works a lot, however when he comes home from work, he always wants to play! If I'm sleeping (which I usually am), I get to cuddle with him while he winds down watching TV (usually Law & Order)...

My Weekend Out in the Sun

My Neil mama came to visit me for the weekend! It was cool to finally meet him since he's given me so many cool clothes...I really liked his shirt, too. Maybe he'll take me shopping in the future (tho I'm not sure my daddy would let me wear so many designer duds). A lot of people think I look like Neil mama....hmmm











The weather finally got warmer and sunnier so my mommy took me out with my grandparents and Neil mama to see my daddy play basketball and the views from the East River! Was so great to be out in the fresh air - I fell alseep almost immediately and had such a nice nap...

My First Photo Shoot

When I was just 2 weeks old, my daddy's friend Jon Lemon came over with all his fancy photography equipment and took pictures of our family - just looking back at these now, I've grown a lot in just 2 weeks!

Meeting my Cousins!

My cousin Ashvini came to see me when I first arrived at the hospital but I don't remember much from those days - there were just so many people there, I couldn't keep track of everyone that I'd met! Luckly, Ashvini came to visit me again this past weekend, so we spent some quality time together. She knows the whole alphabet...that's just SO cool!!! I can't wait to learn that from her!



My cousin Chitra also came to visit me this weekend with her parents an grandparents, who came all the way from India! Unfortunately, I was so sleepy when they came that I slept through their whole visit. I'll have to invite them over again when I'm awake so we can hang out.



I'm noticing that I have a lot of girl cousins....oh boy! Mom and Dad, I need a brother PRONTO!

The Week I was Supposed to Arrive!

I was expected to arrive on March 20 - which is also my Thatha's birthday. It would have been very cool to share a birthday with my Thatha, but I just couldn't wait that long, and on the bright side, I got to celebrate his birthday with him!



Earlier that week, my Suba athai came to visit me! It was great to meet her - she's really busy in school right now, so came during her Sprig Break...it's a good thing I came early or else I may not have met her until Summer!









That same weekend, my mommy & daddy's friends came to visit me! I met Camila, Nico and my new friend, Manuel. I also met Chris & Christina (my dad has known Chris for almost 15 years so I'll definitely be asking Chris for embarrasing stories about my dad in the future!)

Mommy & Me Time

My mommy and I have reading time together - my first book was "Good Night New York City" - this is quickly becoming my favorite book.





















She also does a lot of embarrasing things like give me manicures.

AND she keeps saying something about "Mommy & Me" yoga?!?! (Oh boy, are you serious, mom?!)

Coming Home!

My Neil mama gave me this super cool Phoenix Suns outfit to wear home from the hospital. Even though it was slightly (ok, more than slightly) big for me, I really wanted it to be my first outfit. My dad wasn't too happy because he wanted me to wear NY Knicks gear before Phoenix Suns, but my mom beat him to it...go MOM! :) But my dad insisted on covering up some of the Suns stuff with a sweatshirt - my mom picked an University of Arizona hoodie (that my Neil mama also gave me)...

The prince formerly called Taco...

Welcome everyone! I came into the world just 19 days ago (which was actually 15 days earlier than I was expected)! After hearing the hustle & bustle of the big city everyday for 9 months, I just couldn’t wait any longer. And boy am I glad I didn’t wait because I’m loving it out here. Now I get to stretch my legs as often as I want without making mommy uncomfortable AND I finally get to meet my daddy!

For those of you who want to see more about my journey to this point, my mom has been documenting it in another blog: tacopc.wordpress.com (FYI – I was known as Taco before I was named Adaiyan. I once heard my parents say they called me Taco because they both love Taco Bell… they are so strange!)

This is Taco...


And this is me (Adaiyan)...