Christmas Family Reunion

What a fun Christmas for the babies – they got to meet most of their cousins in one shot! The babies had fun with Nevin, Nivan, Anika, Ayana, Gia, Rohan, Rhea, and Sanya....21 family members in all including the adults. Good times! We also were very happy to meet our newest family members, Gargee & Nivan, with the marriage of my eldest brother, Sanjay.

We took advantage of the rare family gathering and got a few photos done at the studio..boy was it ever difficult to get 21 people to keep their eyes open and smile!

Lots of activity over the last month....

We said bye to Betty-Ann who’s been our nanny for the last 8 months. She’s been absolutely fantastic and we will miss her dearly. Betty is moving to Italy to be with her husband. We say hello to Juvy, our new live-in nanny who’s come all the way from Hong Kong! We’re very excited to have Juvy as part of our family.

Incredible speech explosion all around!! Not only are they singing full songs on their own but they're saying the darnest things. The other day Jaiden told Geeta, as she climbed the stairs, to "be careful Mamma - don't fall". Ariya has become "Ms. Manners". She says 'please' when asking for something and is quick to say 'thank you' when she gets it. Kailen will say 'bless you' when someone sneezes! All three can count to 5 on their own and up to 10 with a little help. They are growing up so fast.

Naming body parts has become very popular in the Gera household....especially pointing/poking eyes :) The other day, Ariya was in our bed while Geeta and I were still trying to grab a bit of sleep...she used one hand to open my eye lid and the other to poke it while saying, “eye”....very good Ariya Bella but not the nicest way to wake up daddy...but of course too cute for me to get upset at! KK also loves pointing out eyes and will often give you a good poke when you least expect it.

KK has become a bit more aggressive, often pushing around JJ or bugging Ariya. It’s amazing how often their personalities change. Last month JJ was the aggressive one and it has been a complete turnaround in just 4 weeks. The boys love the rough play and often climb on the sofas and walk off the plank...they call it ‘tumble tumble’.

Happy New Years!

Christmas is Near!

Holy moly...what a crazy month!

The kiddos are growing up real fast. Some major talking going on in the Gera household - JJ is a parrot, KK and Ariya are learning new words daily. It's such an amazing time and such a cute stage.

Work has been a little insane lately so haven't had much time to keep up with the blog. I'll keep it short with a few interesting updates/stories.

JJ is a little comedian always trying to make us laugh - he recently immitated me sleeping by putting on a fine show of snoring and weezing :-) The other day, I sneezed and he caught me by surprise by saying 'bless you'.

KK can now flip through his picture book and name almost everything in it (26 items - one per letter in the alphabet). He's learned to jump and he enjoys doing it; you'll often catch him hopping around. He's heavy footed so you can hear him thumping around the house...so cute.

Ariya is a little nurturer - so amazing to see how that quality is innate. When KK or JJ cry she brings them toys to make them feel better. She gets so concerned about them when they are upset. She also loves Christmas lights; they make her so happy...all smiles. We took her to the new Ikea store in Ottawa the other day and she absolutely loved it...smiles for three hours straight!

Looking forward to Christmas and some family time. The kiddos met santa the other day at a work get together but weren't really interested - they were probably more scared than anything....maybe next year they'll be excited about Santa. In this household Bert & Ernie & Elmo rule!!!

'You Ariya, no... You KK'

JJ - maybe a haircut is in my near future?

KK running!

Ariya loves sliding

Ariya Bella

Some serious confusion going on in the Gera household - pretty cute consfusion...Kailen and Ariya seem to confuse each other for their own names :) For example, on a typical morning we'll bring them down from their cribs; when the two see each other KK will typically point to Ariya and say 'KK' and Ariya will point back to Kailen and say 'Ariya'. We'll need to straighten that one out soon!

Major vocabulary explosion in the works for Kailen. He' starting to put two words together more easily. He's understanding emotions...the difference between Happy and Sad. His staple words include: 'more', 'open'...pronounced 'apen', 'fall down', 'nini' aka nap/sleep time in english. Kailen is such a happy boy these days - every since we seperated his crib from Jaiden's into his own room, he seems to be getting better quality sleep and is generally a happier boy. When he's really happy, he starts rambling 'galacgalacgalacgalac' while shaking his head side to side (what a coincidence - KK is sitting in my lap at the moment, and while i was writing that exact sentence he started doing that!). KK also started doing this funny new behaviour where he climbs onto the couch and walk off the plank just like a pirate would - he loves to take a tumble; very strange but hilarious. He's especially daring when we put a few pillows out on the floor for him.

Ariya is saying new words every day too. Her speech isn't as clear and her voice isn't as loud as the boys, so sometimes you'd think she's just doing baby talk when she's actually talking. Over time we've realized that her speech is more advanced than we thought and those unclear words are getting clearer by the day, e.g. "all done." We noticed recently that Ariya has got quite the nack for problem solving and organization. For example, a typical behaviour for Ariya will be to find a ripped out piece of a book page (usually a picture of some sort) from somewhere on the floor, and then she'll go and find the right book from the shelf, pull it down, open it to the right page and put the missing piece back - amazing!

JJ's starting to form small sentences and is our miniature parrot: "car fall down", "Ariya crying - she sad", "I cry - KK woke up". He's at such an adorable stage. For some reason, he's having a harder to time going to bed these days. He's got so much energy that he no longer likes his 8PM bed time ritual any longer. Geeta and I generally have to rock him to bed (just like the old days), and he usually follows by about 30 mins of screaming after we put him in his crib - "no nini' (aka sleep in hindi).

20 Months Old!!

It has been a really busy month for Geeta and me. The kids and us have been under the weather for a while now off and on - lots of sleepless nights and moodiness. Our nanny was sick with the flu last week and was away....by the end of the week we were poofed. Coupled with a really busy work and home front, it turned out to be one of those month's we'll remember as a 'tough one'. We haven't had one of these probably since the kiddos were much younger or maybe when they were teething. On a brighter note, our basement is officially complete (all renos done) and our new (permanent) nanny got her visa to immigrate to Canada. We are hoping to have her here on Jan 2, 2012.

Despite the busyness, this stage is so amazing. Not a day goes by when the babies don't surprise us with something they've learned. Jaiden especially is picking up new words daily. He can now articulate a short story: 'Ariya ....fall down....i cry' (translated: "Ariya pushed me down and I cried"). He often puts the word 'I' in front of a verb to describe things to us; 'I fall', 'I cry' etc. JJ also knows his own name and nick name, and gives lots of kisses to mommy and daddy. When he doesn't know what to call something or if he can't pronounce it, he defaults to a made-up word 'Anners'. For example, he can't say Kailen's name so he'll call him 'Anners'.

Kailen's personality is shining through - he's such a loving boy. He'll often run out of nowhere and give you a hug just because he wants to. He's also very good at sharing. Mommy made the babies a small photo album that has pictures of all the members of the family including his cousins; he's taking a really interest in it and can name some of his family members (he especially loves 'nana' - aka: Grandpa Uppal). Kailen's vocabulary is growing too, and he does an excellent interpretation of a dog; 'wooooof wooof'. He calls out to 'Ariya' very clearly and has also picked up Ariya's habit of 'da da da'...translates to 'I want that'. We're trying to teach him that 'da da da' is not real sentence :)

Ariya Bella is such an independent girl - she needs mommy and daddy the least and is often content doing her own thing. She deals with her aggressive brothers with finesse and a cool head and has really calmed down her own aggression (i.e. pulling their hair when she gets mad). Ariya's vocabulary now includes a very clear use of the words 'yes', and her own name 'Ariya'. Unfortunately, she also calls Kailen and JJ 'Ariya'...a bit of confusion on that front :) She's also picked up on the boys dancing moves, trading her own butt wiggles for feet stomping - so amazing how they teach each other!

KK give Bella a Kiss

KK in the Gatineau's

Two brothers and their sister

JJ taking time to sniff the flowers

Having fun with the leaves

Ariya buries herself

Mommy and Ariya

Motion shot of KK

Motion shot of JJ

We three sure love it here

JJ in the Mackenzie's garden

Catch me if you can

Jaiden

Ariya being cute

Thanksgiving outfit - JJ

KK is dressed the same :)

Ariya enjoying our 'Indian summer'

Jaiden and Mamma

Kailen

Check out Ariya's teeth and beautiful smile

We are letting daddy take a cat nap

Mommy is Organized

Thought it would be interesting to share Mommy's latest baby schedule....

Eat, Play, Love

We're growing up quickly! Every week, we're adding new words to our vocabulary. This week, Jaiden put three words together "big red car". Ariya figured out how to use her pencil crayons as chopsticks, and Kailen loves the playground and especially slides - he can climb up all by himself, slide down, and repeat without mommy and daddy.

The kiddos started singing (or at least trying to), lots of jumping going on, and chasing around the house. They've been attending playgroups weekly and have started to interact a bit more with other kids. Elmo rules in this home!...no one better to influence them. Puppet shows are a big hit - daddy does a pretty good doggy and cow impression....I get curtain calls all the time. Mommy gets requests to sing and bring out the instruments.

1. Ariya likes fries & ketchup

2. Ariya eats fries with ketchup

3. Ariya is satisfied

Kailen in mommy's sweatshirt

JJ at the mall during 1-1 time with mommy

Milk time

Sand Angels by JJ

Kailen loves to slide

JJ finds food