Family Notebook

Miss Ria Emily,

I thought we might be so lucky to have a quiet month, but you’ve been on the move the entire time.
On February 1st you had your very first visit to the temple. It was a short but you really liked taking in the lights and shiny objects around you. The family was so happy you finally went, we had planned so many times to take you but life had been so busy it just took a little longer than expected.

On the 3rd was the unofficial opening of the new office. You’re our new little luck charm so of course you came along and everybody enjoyed meeting you. The office should open very soon and hopefully we will get out and see Daddy more for lunches through the week.

We held a welcoming party like we had for you in Australia on the 6th. Friends, Family and some business colleagues who hadn’t met you yet all came and you had a blast. You were such a little angel like always and you won everybody over. You also tried to make a new friend, Sanjay. I was wondering how you’d act around other babies and you’re just as social as ever, you must get that from your Daddy. One day later we had to take you for the dreaded BCG shot. Mummy didn’t have the heart to hold you this time, and neither did Daddy but he did after much convincing. You didn’t like this one at all, you were very upset afterward, it must have really hurt You fell asleep soon after and were back to your cheery self by the evening. You’re such a little optimist, we love how you can smile no matter what is going on.

You also celebrated your first Valentines day! This was exciting, Daddy arranged a beautiful lunch for us and we dressed you in your red heart shirt from our good friend, Panagiota, she always looks after you with the cutest of clothing. You were very well behaved through the meal and you had a blast playing with the rose petals on the table, you had them stuck all on the bottom of your feet and it was quite a task to keep them out of your mouth. Daddy gave you a single red rose which you slobbed all over in appreciation and we took you for a walk around the gardens.

The day after, Daddy had to leave for a wedding in Vijayawada so it was just you and me for the night. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to co-sleep for the night but instead I was half awake most the night scared I would roll on top of you. You slept very soundly though and we made it through the night unscathed. Daddy bought you back a lot of presents, one being a new Link-a-Doo toy. It quickly shot up into your favorites list after you discovered the little pieces of ‘ribbon’ coming off either side. 3 days later you got to wear your first Indian party dress to the reception. It looked adorable on you but we had to take it off later on in the evening because it was getting uncomfortable.

On the 24th, you got your first tooth! You didn’t want to show it off but 40 (yes, 40) attempts later, I managed to get a somewhat decent picture of your new little addition. It was your bottom right incisor tooth and we expect the left to come through any day now.

I guess you wanted to scrape in something else special before the end of the month. On the 25th you delighted us with the word ‘Mum’. We were both so happy and proud of you but the unfortunate side is that you only say it when you want something and you’re upset and we really don’t like seeing you unhappy. Can ‘Daddy’ be on the list next?

You started to sit for longer periods without assistance in the latter half of the month. First it was 5 or 10 seconds which has increased to 10 or 20, especially if one of your favorite shows is on TV. Your army crawl hasn’t improved mainly because you don’t want to lift your head up. You’re such a funny girl, you burrow your head into the bed and make little battle cries as you pull yourself along. You’ve also started to whimper when you want to go back to me when somebody else is holding you, it may sound silly but it makes my heart melt. I can’t believe it but you’re still in 0-3 month clothing and just moving on to 3-6. Your Grandma and Grandpa sent you a beautiful bunch of 6-9 month clothing but you’re still too little for them.

From the 5 months I have learned that every month with you is going to be more eventful than the last. You’re just growing so quick and eagar to take in the world around you. We love everything about you, from your crazy hair to your 2nd toe that is just a little longer than the first just like ours. You look more and more like daddy every day

Happy 5 months princess

Love always,
Mummy.

She has been saying ‘ma’ amongst other sounds when she cries for a little while, but today when I left the room and she was hungry she said ‘mama’ 5 or 6 times in a row, then said it again when Rajiv bought in her bottle

Another tooth seems to almost be here, right next to the one that broke through yesterday.

She’ll be walking before we know it.

Ria’s first tooth broke through this morning.
She really doesn’t want me to get a picture of it so this is the best I can do since its only just broken through the gums as well

She also sat up for 10 seconds unassisted today. Shes growing up too fast!

Our Lunch with Ria

We woke up late, got ourselves and Ria ready and headed out. I was clueless as to where we were going as Rajiv had organized the day for us.
After 30 minutes we arrived at the Taj Krishna and we walked outside to one of our favorite restaurants, Alfresco. It had a little sign up which had our names on it and as I turned the corner I saw a beautiful little hut set up next to the lawns. I had said I would like to take Ria for a picnic for lunch so he did one better

We sat down and I was offered wine, which I don’t drink, and I started taking everything in. The center of the table was a love heart made out of rose petals and there was a boquet of flowers for me and a single rose for Ria. We had our own chef and two buttlers waiting on us so we began the meal with an entree of mixed chicken kebabs. They were really nice and a different flavor to anything I’ve tried before.

We chatted a bit and we were asked if we wanted lobster. I personally don’t like seafood so I declined and Razz didn’t feel like it so we left it. 30 minutes later this huge lobster arrives on a platter. I nearly dropped dead in my seat. I felt sorry for the poor thing, it was already dead but still, I hate food presented in its ‘original state’. We declined the poor lobster, again, and the chef recommended us some really nice mains.

Shortly after they arrived. I had grilled chicken breast stuffed with mozzerella cheese & sun dried tomatoes on bazil mashed potato, and Rajiv had a huge rump steak with grilled pepper vegetables and garlic mash. We both couldn’t finish such a big lunch but it was really tasty. It was getting really hot so we decided to take Ria for a little stroll around and leave.

more pictures found HERE

Our Dinner Together

We were both really tired when we left for dinner. Rajiv had booked again at the Taj Krishna but in a lawn setting with a 6 course meal. There was a large round table with flowers and candles scattered around. We were meant to have the lawn to ourselves but they thought the lawns were such a great idea they arranged square tables at the other end for other valentines day couples. It didn’t matter though, the atmosphere was lovely. We had a great time talking and yawning while our food arrived.

It was a very heavy dinner of Mushroom vol au vents, grilled shimp, wild mushroom soup, chicken stuffed with spinnach & fetta cheese, crumbed garlic chicken, pepper mushroom grilled chicken, a rack of lamb & tiramisu for dessert.

Again, we were so stuffed by the end that we decided to have the cake Rajiv had ordered packed so we could take it home with us.

So that was our Valentines & Anniversary date. It was lovely to spend time with Rajiv & Ria.
Rajiv always puts so much thought into everything. I’m so lucky to have him, he’s so many things that are wonderful that I cannot describe.

On Sunday the 5th, we had a little get together for some of our family and friends to meet Ria.

Ria with Kim and her new friend, Sanjay
More pictures can be found HERE

Thank you for everybody who attended, it was lovely to be in such nice company and Ria had a blast meeting all the new faces and opening her wonderful gifts when we got home.

Ria also had her BCG shots today. She wasn’t a very happy camper at all but she’s doing just fine

The opening of the new office was yesterday. A religious ceremony was done and some guests as well as staff were invited to look around and have a light lunch. Everything is coming along really nicely and the official move in date shouldn’t be too far away

Here is a sneak peek, it still has a little bit more work to be done & furniture to be added

Ria had her first trip to the Temple on Sunday night. She had a great time taking in the colors and lights. She tried her Rice & Moong Daal cereal and has really taken a liking to grabbing the spoon and smooshing everything all over her cheeks. I wasn’t interested in trying cereal just yet but the mix she is on is packed with nutritional value, unlike the plain white rice cereal I was comparing to. I am hoping to delay true solids until 6 months but we’ll see how things go.

She also had her four month check up on Saturday. She weighs in at 6.4kgs (14lbs) and is 63.5cms (25 inches) long. This puts her up by just over 5lbs in weight and 4 inches in length, she’s getting so big! She had her booster shots today and was such a brave girl. She was all smiles minutes afterward which is a dramatic difference from her first set.

She has been army crawling a lot as of late. She can get herself from the bottom of the crib to the top, and from the bottom of our bed to the top.

The new office opens on the 2nd of February, we have paid a few visits to see how it has been coming along and it looks really nice. Rajiv is in his prime location, its a mere few doors down from KFC.