bad dad...

 

okay, so i have used the broken computer excuse.  contemplated the "dog ate my homework" excuse, but couldn't put this one on kiya.  i have neglected to update our blog for the sheer fact of procrastination.  i truly didn't think my absence was going to be over a year.  well enough of the explanations - lets get caught up!  

AVI & CATHERINE. so, i have blogged about avi and catherine before and they seem to be pretty good pals! however, catherine's father, del, always seems to give avi a disapproving look when avi hugs on his daughter - obviously, he knows how much of a player his dad was back in the day and you know the old saying, "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree"... considering the fact that i have been either married to or dating harshna for over fifteen years is irrelevant for those of you that tend to over-analyze things.  as you can see in the picture above, the little man has plenty of game!  in all seriousness, we love getting together with the hoyt's and they turned us on to one of our favorite restaurants in carytown - weezies  (http://www.weezieskitchen.com/).  we kicked off the new year grabbing breakfast with them and it has now become a favorite of ours.  we order take-out from there once a week!  harshna loves the 3-cheese tortellini and i usually go with one of their nightly specials!

BANANAS!  as avi continues to develop a taste for solid foods, we have explored into a wide variety of arenas.  starting with simple things like fruit.  in fact, one of his favorites (then and even now at 2 1/2) are bananas!  we lovingly call him a monkey all the time and i guess it should surprise us how much he digs the yellow treats!  at first, he had some difficulty grabbing the little pieces out of his bowl and often times he would end up knocking his bowl over in his retrieval attempts.  harshna founds this nifty bowl with a huge suction cup on the base and for a few weeks, it worked like a charm!  however, as some of you know, at the age of one, curiosity is at the core of their little beings.  soon, the suction bowl became a game - how long will it take me to pull this off of the high chair!  i tell you, we can never win!  anyhow, check him out chowing down - 

   

BOYS AND THEIR TOYS!  knock on wood, avi has always been a good eater and as we transition away from the typical baby food, he is seemingly enjoying the exploration into new tastes and treats.  along with showing some enthusiasm for trying new foods, he is equally enthusiastic about one other thing - playing!  i've enclosed some of our fav pictures of him in his element - 

   

 

as you can see, he is often pal-ing around with his buddy kiya.  unfortunately, she may not be a willing participant, but if avi has his way, she is joining in on what ever the activity.  from reading a book to flipping over his push and ride lion!  the day i busted out guitar hero on the wii he immediately jumped into my lap and started to press away at every button in sight.  he loves music and we rarely let him watch tv - combine those two with a "toy" with buttons and avi was in heaven.   this little dude cleared exactly zero levels, but the pleasure it brought, one would have thought he had beaten the game.  naturally, harshna gave it a disapproving look.  she could see where this was going...the two of us playing video games day in and day out - therefore that vision of the future, ended avi's gaming experiences (for now).

MORE "BEST BUDS"!  now the video gaming future for avi may have been tapered by his mother, but the bond that he has for his kiya is probably inseparable!  avi will spend hours upon hours talking about, playing with and following around kiya.  she represents one of the key components to our mental sanity. lets not kid ourselves, raising and caring for a toddler is hard work and any reprieve you can get - you take it....check out the slideshow, you can see that we truly lucked out with the bond avi and kiya have formed!  my fav's are the last two where avi is giving kiya a kiss and then she returns the favor in the very next picture!

DAY OFF WITH DAD! so, with valentine's day right around the

corner, my mother works some serious hours at wilkenson's flowers.  she is great friends with the wilkenson's and has worked with them for years.  needless to say, with her working, either harshna or i had to take some time off from work to watch avi...well, i already feel like i don't get enough time with him, so when opportunities like this present themselves, i jump on it!  all together, i had two straight days with avi and we got into all kinds of trouble. 

OBAMA OR CLINTON? so, as some of you may or may not know, we took a recent interest in the past election.  i wasn't too outspoken on which way i was leaning.  however, thinking back to that time, i may have sent multiple mass emails, texts, and did a bit of canvasing. one of the first items on the agenda for our mini-vacation, i took the little man with me to the polls on democratic nomination day and gave him his first taste of politics. he was a little older than a year and he didn't seem to have any issues with a "hanging chad"...

MORE TROUBLE!  i wouldn't say it was due to boredom, well, maybe so, i took a couple of pics of avi that i couldn't wait to share with harshna - you know when you take pics that are purely being taken for our humor and poor avi has zero say...

  --dad! 

 ------why!

 ------finally, this is more like it dad!  courtesy of my auntie ally and uncle raj, rockin the bomber jacket; thats right, play on playa...

  -----and it wouldn't be a day off, if you didn't get to wear those pjs with the slippers that are attached to the pants...i use to love those!  

february 13th