Family Notebook

Hello Miss Ria,

What a great time in Australia we had! I can’t believe we are home already.
Christmas day was a blast for you. Mommy, Daddy, all the rest of the family and Santa* treated you very well. Mummy and Aunty Louisa cooked up a storm in the kitchen then headed over to Great Nanna’s house to keep her company as she wasn’t feeling very well. We had a second Christmas celebration a bit later when Great Nanna was feeling back to her old self again and you got a second big feast and a lot more presents, lucky girl!

Many people came up just to see you which was so lovely. Leonie, Jarred and Baby Jett dropped in to say Hello, Aunty Louisa, Uncle Frank and Nicholas came to stay with us twice and Aunty Ally made so many trips up that it didn’t seem like she left at all.

In Australia you had many firsts. Your first pony ride, your first choo-choo train ride, your first trip to the beach, your first taste of many different foods and the list goes on. I think your favorite thing about Australia was the carnival. Every time we passed it you’d scream “there, there!” and want to go on all the rides again.

You had a trip to the doctor’s for your immunization and you weighed all of 9.5 kilos. The doctor says you’ll likely be a petite little person.

Grandma and Grandpa had a wonderful time showing you off to everyone and you loved meeting all the new people all over again. You didn’t sleep very well out of the comfort of you own nursery but camping in with mummy and daddy seemed to work okay for you.

On New Years eve we had a bit of a quiet night in. We had wanted to take you to your beloved carnival but it started to pour down rain so we sat in the car while you watched the fireworks.

It was a very sad day when you left Australia. Everyone had gotten used to you being around and it was very hard to say goodbye. We had dinner with Aunty Ally and Uncle Mark after we arrived in Sydney and you were a little cranky after the flight.

You did so well on the big flight back to India. We had a short stop over in Darwin and headed straight to Mumbai. You did a lot of sleeping and eating, much to mummy and daddy’s approval. We stayed in a lovely hotel once we arrived and you had a great time swimming in the pool the next day, although you did a giant poop and we were so thankful we got you out of the pool when we did!

Once we arrived in Hyderabad you couldn’t wait to see everyone again. Dadima, Rahul Kaka and Neela Aunty met us in the airport. When I tried to buckle you in your seat, I realized how much you had grown while we were away. The straps wouldn’t fit anymore and had to be adjusted all over again.

Over the next few days you not only caught up with all your old friends again, but also saw a lot of new people who came to stay with us for a little while on their trip through India. You love a crowd and soaked up all the extra attention.

Another exciting thing is also happening at the moment, we are moving into a new home in 2 short weeks! What a change this will be for you, no more stairs to worry about and you can free-range all over the place. I don’t know what you’ll think when your breakfast isn’t accompanied by Ba, Dadima and Dadaji and I’m sure you’ll miss them as much as they will miss you.

Another thing I can’t forget to tell you is that you are learning all your body parts. You can now point to your eyes, nose, mouth, ears, tongue, belly and knee, we can’t believe how clever our little girl is getting!

Happy 15 months, big girlie!
Love Mummy.
xoxoxox