Our First Visit With Santa

This was the first year we have been brave enough to take the girls to see Santa Claus. We weren't sure how it was going to go, but luckily they did great. Our neighborhood hosted a Cookies With Santa Party and it was a lot of fun, but VERY crowded. This was the first year so I don't think they knew what to expect, but I have to give them credit because they had a pretty good system for everyone to get a turn to see Santa. They also had a coloring contest and a station where the kids could make ornaments. Mr. and Mrs. Claus were amazing. When they came in Santa was playing the bagpipes and that really got every ones attention. The clothes they were wearing were absolutely beautiful and Santa had this deep warm voice that sounded just like I remember Santa sounding when I was little. It really was a neat experience. I had to go with the girls to meet Santa because they were a little nervous, but no tears were shed! Good job Oberoi girls.

It was hard to keep Diya happy before we saw Santa. She wanted to run around and play, but there were so many people I was afraid she would get trampled. She was happy once she got a cookie!

Here's Isha with a big mouthful of cookie.

An Update Before We Go On Vacation

Diya Diya Diya!!! This girl is going to make me grey!!!! She has to be the most persistent kid on the planet!!! She also loves to climb. Here is how our day goes: Diya climbs on something - I pull her off OR Diya gets into something she shouldn't be into - I take it away - Repeat over and over and over and over again. Even if she drives me crazy I still LOVE her a ton. Here are some of Diya's new tricks: She tries to fill her cup up from the fridge, luckily she isn't tall enough yet to reach the water. She brushes her hair and teeth and washes her own face. She can point to her eyes and can even say it. She is learning lots of new words, but her favorite is NO!! Lucky me.

Here is my little cheese ball!!! Isha is doing great. She will be testing for her yellow belt at Tae Kwon Do this weekend. She is really enjoying school and has lots of fun playing with all her classmates. Lately she has become more defiant and her attitude has grown!!! Eventually she does what you want her to do, but she has been pushing it a little farther lately.

Poor Diya has been kind of whiny lately. She is getting her molars and she has been very sensitive. The smallest thing will set her off. I have been giving her Tylenol and hopefully her teeth will pop through soon.

Here is a much happier picture!!

Yesterday Diya pulled her stocking off the mantle and the heavy pointed snowflake hit her on her head leaving a nice little hole. Luckily it didn't bleed very much and the cut is up in her hair so hopefully there won't be a visible scar. At this point I am thinking that it might be safest to put Diya in a helmet 24/7!!!

Tonight we are going to our neighborhood clubhouse to see Santa Claus. This will be a first for both of the girls so it should be fun. I am expecting some crying to be involved. I will post some pictures this weekend. Then we are off to the Dominican Republic. We will have lots of great pictures and stories to share!

Here is one of Isha's school pictures. I didn't really need any pictures of her and these were really spendy, but how do you say no to this? So like a sucker I ended up ordering one sheet. I got a different pose from this one, but I scanned this so I could share it with all of you.

Happy Halloween 2010

This year Isha was a pink fairy/princess and Diya was a spider. Usually I am not a fan of spiders, but even I thought she was pretty dang cute!! Getting ready to head out and do some trick or treating. Parul spent Halloween with us so she took Isha out to get lots of candy while I pulled Diya around to a few houses in the wagon.

Two cuties in their matching "Wickedly Cute" spider shirts!!!

Oh My Gosh I love these cute girls!!!

We went to a Halloween party Friday night and the girls had a blast in the bounce houses. I hardly saw Isha all night. I don't think she even ate any dinner because she was having too much fun playing.

Diya had fun jumping with the little kids.

My fearless little spider!!

Vacation

We booked our anual December vacation. This year we are heading to the Dominican Republic.

We are staying at The Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real Resort. We should have lots of fun pictures to post once we get home We made this calendar to help Isha count down to the beach and to hopefully stop the daily question: "Are we going to the far beach today?"

Diya Finally Starts Walking

Actually she has been able to walk for awhile now. She would take a few steps occasionally and walk from one chair to the next, but as soon as she fell down she would crawl because she could get around much faster that way. Well, this week she finally decided to start walking full time. She is still a little wobbly but she is getting better every day. She has already started to run away from me! As soon as she started walking she got mighty feisty!!! I guess she figures that if she does all the work to walk over to get something then she doesn't appreciate you taking it away from her. Let's just say that there has been a lot of screaming around here lately. The girls have also started fighting because now Diya can keep up with Isha. All I can say is that life is going to get even harder now!!! Diya hasn't gotten any more teeth, but her vocabulary keeps growing. Her new words are baby, bear, oh boy and bye-bye. She is a babbler and I love to have "conversations" with her. She gets so animated. She is still eating like a champ, but tiny compared to all the other little kids. Having Diya in our family has made us all feel complete!! Having two little girls is the BEST!!!

How can you not love this naughty little mess?

Isha Gets Her Orange Headband & Tiger Patch

Isha had her second testing for her orange headband and tiger patch and she did great!! Here she is with her teacher, Mr. Coakley, getting her orange headband.

A few action shots.

BLOCK!! KICK!!

SIDE KICK!!

Her next test is in December and she will be getting her yellow belt.

A Visit From G & G Oberoi

Grandma and Grandpa Oberoi drove all the way from Texas to come and visit. The girls had lots of fun playing with their grandparents and being spoiled rotten!!!

California Pizza Kitchen

My mom's group had an outing at the California Pizza Kitchen where the kids were given a tour of the kitchen and then they were able to make their own pizza. A little sauce and cheese! Isha was so proud of her pizza, but I think that Diya ended up eating more of it than Isha did.

A big smile for the chef. All of the people in the kitchen were great with the kids. It was fun to see them working together to help the kids with their pizzas.

After we finished making pizza we got to visit with all of our Richmond Mommy friends while the pizza was cooking. They even brought out pizza and drinks for all of the mommies!! What a treat.

Fall Festival 2010

Every year our neighborhood had a fall festival and it is always lots of fun. My sweet little girls in the pumpkin patch. There was a petting zoo and the girls had a good time visiting with all of the animals.

Diya LOVED this donkey. She just kept squealing every time we went to see him.

Diya also loved the bunnies. She didn't want anyone else coming near them and if they did she would scream at them. After checking out the animals we washed our hands and then had pizza and cotton candy and then played a few games.

Isha had her face painted. This was the first time she had ever had it done and she loved the finished product.

It is so much fun hanging out with these two girls. It was also fun to hang out with all of our neighbors.

A Day At Colonial Williamsburg

All of the kids in Isha's preschool class get a chance to spend the day with "Emma Bear". The assignment is to take Emma Bear outside and explore nature so we decided to head to Colonial Williamsburg to enjoy the day. Isha and Emma

Checking out the cannon.

We walked through a small bamboo forest and we found this old tree stump. It was nice and shady here which was nice since it was a warm fall day.

There was no way that Isha was going to stick her head in this thing, but she did let us put Emma in the pillory.

We had such a great time hanging out with Emma and after our adventure moms homework started. I had to take pictures and write up a summary of what Isha and Emma found. We also collected lots of leaves, walnuts, flowers, rocks, shells and sticks that Isha shared with the class. Her teacher said she did a great job and that she got a lot out of the experience. We are so proud of our little girl.

More Professional Pictures

I took the girls to Portrait Innovations to get some pictures of them together, some for Diya's first birthday and some of Diya in her baptism gown. After lots of wardrobe changes, a little crying and once again more money spent than originally intended here is what we came home with. Diya in her Indian dress complete with bracelets and bells on her ankles.

My two little Indian princesses!!!

I hadn't planned on getting any of Isha by herself, but the photographer was taking her picture while I was getting Diya dressed and how could I say no to this? I can't believe how grown up she is looking these days!! Her hair has gotten really long and she gets prettier every day!

Diya in her baptism gown.

And finally the birthday girl!!! I loved this strawberry dress. It was perfect for a summer birthday baby!

We didn't buy any of the pose with the block because Diya spent most of the time climbing on it.

I still have pictures from early summer that I need to send out. I am so sorry for being such a slacker. I promise to get them in the mail soon and just think since I waited so long now you will be getting twice as many pictures.

Baby D Update

Diya is definitely the climber of the family!!!

I have to keep a close eye on this one!

We went to a baby shower up in Northern VA and Diya missed her nap so here she is snuggling with her Uncle Vinnie! This girls loves to snuggle up with men. Her daddy is going to have to keep a close eye on that!!!

Here Diya is munching away on corn on the cob! This girls loves to eat.

Some sister fun. Isha loves to drive Diya around on her fairy power wheel. You better watch your feet because these girls are crazy! I love to watch the two of them playing together.

Our Tiny Tiger Gets Her Orange Belt

Isha has been taking Taekwondo for about 4 months now and today she had her first test and earned her orange belt. This is her instructor, Mr. Coakley. He is amazing with the kids!! The kids all love and respect him and he makes Taekwondo tons of fun!!!! I am so impressed with how well he deals with all the kids, especially the little ones that have very short attention spans.

So proud of herself. She goes to class three times a week so she was definitely ready for her test today.

After all of the kids have had a chance to do their form there is a ceremony where they all get their new belts. Here is Isha with her old white belt.

Mr. Coakley presents her with her orange belt and puts it on for her and takes her old white belt and ties a knot in it.

Here she is doing her form, Songham 4. The kids have learned all the colors of the belts and the order they are in rank. Isha has really enjoyed making new friends in her class and it has been good for her to learn some respect. I also like that they teach the kids about strangers and what to do if they are approached by a stranger. They also teach them who is a "safe" person to run to. It amazes me how much these little kids can learn and remember!

Congratulations Isha, Mom and Dad are so proud of you!!!