Are you happy?

These days Gianna keeps a check on mommy’s mood by asking -”mumma, are you happy?” If the answer is a “YES”, then everything is fine, but if mommy’s answer is a “NO”, then there is a problem! She is smart enough to ask this question especially, when she does not eat properly, or do something naughty, or when I am doing some work very seriously, or when I am really sad.
Here’s how a conversation usually begins & ends-
Gianna- “Mumma, are you happy?”
Mumma-“No”
Gianna- “Mumma, are you sad?”
Mumma-“Yes”
Gianna- “Happy please! I am sorry and I will not do it again (She thinks that mommy always gets upset because of her.)”
Mumma- All smiling
Mumma’s worries take a back seat with all this conversation and Gianna gets a bear hug from mumma.

Jingle bells Rock!

Sweetness lies in its name! Just by the mentioning of “Christmas”, all fond memories become alive - presents, Santa, stories, candies, and a Christmas tree! Today is Christmas Eve and I am looking at Gianna who is carrying a red sock all over in the house and waiting for Santa to put in a present for her.
“Mumma, I want 100 presents” says my 3 year old girl who is eagerly waiting for Santa. Like all kids of her age, she also believes that Santa will come to her home at Christmas night time riding on the sleigh pulled by the reindeers. Gianna wakes up in the morning and after she finishes breakfast, we tell her to go and find out what surprise Santa kept for her? Hurriedly, she rushed into the room and found her favorite lollipops and a pair of crocs in the sock.
Thank you so much Santa! You indeed know how to bring a big smile on my princess’s face!

Happy 3rd Birthday to you, my sweetheart!

TIME, I want to hug you! I want to hold you tight! You are flying so fast! Gianna turns 3 today on 12-12-2011. These 3 years went by with great satisfaction, happiness, joys along with some tears & pain. My girl is now three. I still remember the day she was born as if it was just yesterday. Those inquisitive eyes moving everywhere and meeting new world in front of her!









Today, I breathe in pride, contentment and gratification. Every moment says thanks to the omnipresent God for blessing us with Gianna. I ask myself “Why am I so happy today?” and then, I tell it to myself that “some days do make difference in our lives”. Gianna is very special to me from other kids but then every parent feels this for his/her child. So, I am no different if I feel this way :-).





Gianna, mumma-papa wishes you your wellbeing and a very happy birthday! May you become the good human being in life! Amen!

I am thankful for

November is the thanksgiving month in America. There are so many things (good & not-so-good) in our lives for which we remain grateful, but we often forget to thank each other and to God without whom this would not have been possible. I feel that this day is one great celebration and realization to be thankful for everything and to everyone. As a mother, I am and will always be grateful to God (for blessing me with a daughter like Gianna) and to Gianna (for gifting me such happy, heavenly and matchless moments). My heartfelt thanks to both of them!

I thank God for sending my bundle of joy (Gianna in the laundry basket).

Spooky October Fun!!

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, oh, my it's getting late!
The second one said, "There are witches in the air.”
The third one said, "But we don't care.”
The fourth one said, "Let's run, let's run!”
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?”

Then Woooooo went the wind
And OUT went the lights.

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.



It was the first time when I saw Gianna performing in her school on the 31st Oct-Halloween Day. It felt so good to see all little stars shining in their costumes. I was one of many parents who were trying not to miss a single expression on their child’s face and to make videos of their loved ones. Gianna was dressed up in a butterfly costume. All these kids had to recite few poems on the dais (one of the above too). It was a moment of pride when I saw Gianna speaking out loud among many others.



I was glad to see Gianna not being hesitant or shy facing the crowd while performing for the first time.

Say Cheese!

It is surprisingly true that Gianna took two weeks (only) to start feeling good about her school as compared to what the teachers have told me (about 4weeks). In the beginning, each day passed by in much of thinking, anticipation, headaches, tears and what not! Whenever I used to give Gianna a bath, she would get the clue that it was time for her to go to school. With tears in her eyes she would say “mumma godi le-lega” (mumma, please take me in your lap). It was very difficult for me to see her doing like that. Gianna was so scared that she used to wake up during the nights crying “mumma godi le-lega”. It had never happened before! She never woke up before in sleep and cried for something like that. Keeping my patience, conversing with ma & papa, and some hope by my side all that time has helped me a lot to go along with the flow of those troublesome days.



The day was such a big relief for me when I learnt that she was happy to get dressed up for school. I must say that making her belief that ‘school time is fun time’ was not at all easy for me as it happens with most of the parents. It took us a while to explain her about how everyone goes to school without his/her parents. What helped us the most was the idea of telling & showing her the examples of her favorite cartoon characters like Dora, Olivia, & Little Bill who go to their respective schools without their mommy-papa and enjoy those hours with friends, teachers, doing activities and playing on the slides. Another thing that Gianna has understood now, is the fact, that her mumma is going to come back to pick her up without any fail.



After two weeks, there was a “Parent Meet” in the school, where the children were supposed to make their parents tour their classroom and show them the kind of activities they do there. I was happy to see how Gianna behaved and what all she showed me during all that time.

My little sunshine’s first day to pre-school-

It was a “BIG” day for us! Gianna’s first day to school..!





For the first time, she was going to be away from me for three long hours. Anxiousness prevailed in my mind. We both had never been away from each other for this long. I was afraid because I knew that it would be really difficult for BOTH OF US;
For Gianna - to accept the fact that she has to go to a new environment without her mommy;

For me - that she was going to cry for me without me around.
And my fear turned true! Gianna walked into the classroom with a belief that we would be following her. She waited inside the class for few minutes and was startled when her teacher closed the door. She started crying on top of her voice, “open the door, I want to be with mumma-papa”. It was not easy for me too. I couldn’t take it. I walked outside the school to distract my attention from her. Those three hours were tensed for me as I was continuously worrying for her. Lots of questions kept coming to my mind –“would she still be crying?”,“would she understand that mumma-papa will come to pick her up?”,“what her teachers would do to pacify her?”

I, however, consoled myself because I knew that this new change is going to be good for her. When we reached to school to pick her up, we couldn’t hear anyone’s cry but when Gianna looked at me, she started crying again thinking that the people (teachers) over there are not letting us meet and she would never going to see us again. On our turn she came to me and we hugged each other. She calmed down and slept while coming home.



It’s been a week now, and despite of having all her favorite activities, Gianna still doesn’t show any interest in going to school. I hope and pray that she soon starts taking interest in going to school and enjoying new friends and teachers, fun-filled activities, and play area.



We pray that every day brings her good learning for her to make her a good human being.


Through her eyes –



It is always interesting to see how kids think! They live in their own world of imagination where any object can take any form and where their playmates are their plush toys.



1. Nothing could be better than using this mic for my singing!

2. Hello dada! “main theek hun, tum kaise ho?”



3. This popsicle tastes better than any other!



4. This umbrella should be good enough to protect me from rain.



5. “….and bingo was his name ooooo….”This is one song that Gianna likes to play on her creative set of cookie box as a drum and crayons as sticks.



6. Mumma don’t worry I will help you in cleaning up this mess with my vacuum cleaner.



7. I love fixing my bicycle using sporks (forks).



8. Who is sweeter? Me or my whistle!

9. I love riding my scooter with my helmet on.



10. I am a doctor.



11. Who says I can find a see-saw only in the park? I own one in my house.



12. I have Penguin feet!



13. I am a “Paaiirate”!

Summer of '11

Summers: ‘perfect’ sunny days for Gianna. By perfect I mean cool shakes & flavored yogurts, countless hours of outdoor plays, sweating, playing & bathing in cold water. Gianna beats the heat by her favorite cool drinks. Day time is spent indoor playing with her toys, coloring, watching tv, seeing me cooking.



She waits eagerly for the evening and tries to finish off her meal on time because she knows that it’s going to be her play time outside with her friends. She runs around one big tree which stands tall in the playground. She likes to catch the bubbles and kick the ball.



Gianna tried her hands first time at water colors yesterday. It was interesting to see, that in no time she became very much involved with colors. She came to me and said “mumma Rapunzel bhi colors karta hai”.



This made me believed that children fancy everything that their favorite characters do either in reel life or in a real life (Gianna has been in love with this enchanted movie “Tangled” and very much cherishes the characters of Flynn Rider, Rapunzel, Maximus, & Pascal. She gets fascinated every time by the sight of Rapunzel coloring and painting the walls in her house). Gianna is so fond of this tale that she wants to listen to its story from her popsy or mumzy. (BTW, that’s her new way of addressing her papa and mumma.)



Gianna has always been fussy about food. She still has a much selected menu for everyday. Crispy food items have always been a preference over soft foods. There is one food item that she has been in love with since the age of two and it is - peanuts. They are her favorite snack. She always wants to eat handful of them before going to bed.

What's going on...???

What’s “NEW” this time?

Gianna turned two and a half years this month. Time is flying and she is gaining a little more of everything –

A little more inquisitive now (mumma, where is the big spider gone?)
A little more responsible (helps mumma with laundry)
A little more talkative (mumma, did u see the big aaannt?)
A little more independent (tries to wear her sandals on her own)
A little more naughty (biting every unwanted thing)
A little more playful (initially swings, now slides),
A LITTLE MORE. . .

God has shown me his love through Gianna. Some good and some not-so-good activities that is worthy to be noted -

1. Wearing a pair of socks as gloves in her hands.

2. Befooling mumma quite often by pretending.

3. Biting everything that she gets her hands onto, nails are her favorite of all. Even biting the velcro of her sandals to soothe teething.

4. Shouting for fun every now and then.

5. Love to raise her piggy balance. Gianna doesn’t leave a single chance to fill her piggy bank with money from my wallet. I don’t even get an idea of when she does all this mischief and after every few days my wallet is empty.

6. Wearing mumma’s jewellery.

7. Playing with papa’s ipod.
8. Jumping on sofas and coffee table.

9. Tearing off toilet tissue roll into bits and pieces.
10. Demanding for her favorite songs to be played on the music player in the car.

May “may” brings some sunny weather –

It’s been more than six months of snow, chilly breeze, and now rains. We are longing to see some consecutive sunny days. Summers have begun but these non-stop rains made it difficult for us to go out and play.

Gianna is learning to cycle these days but more of her efforts go in just looking around than paddling! Moreover, the bad weather is not letting her to practice more.
Despite of unwanted weather, we had some good days to count on.



This month started with a get together of cousins. Gianna met two of her uncles (Vikas and Mohit), aunt (Hemi) and her cousin (Vaishnavi). In not much time, Gianna mixed up well with her Mohit Mama and enjoyed reading book with him the most.





We all spent a weekend at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, where she was amazed to see the underwater world. Out of all sea creatures she fondly remembers the Lobster (“Logster” as per Gianna) the most. She asks us to put the aquarium pictures and asks us, “Did you see that big Logster??”





We celebrated our anniversary (22-May) at Johnson’s Park in Edison where Gianna enjoyed the kiddy rides and animals in the petting zoo.





The month ended with a trip to Atlantic City, where Gianna loved jumping in the water from Atlantic ocean.