We're Toddlers Now!

The babies are now 27 months old!  We won’t be referring to them as babies much longer…they are toddlers now and really cute ones too (yes parents tend to be biased towards their own). 

Not a day goes by where we aren’t surprised by something they’ve learnt or said.  They make us laugh and they make us want to cry out (sometimes), but at the end of the day there’s something special about hearing the pitter-patter around the house and we certainly don’t take that for granted.

This is such a wonderful stage.  Observing our little guys become communicative is surreal – it demonstrates how amazing the human brain is and how capable it is of learning and advancing.  Frankly, it boggles me how much the kids are learning and picking up on their own.  Every moment of the day offers a new experience for them to learn from – whether it’s sitting during bath time and watching them analyze how water flows from one jug to another, or learning to take a risk and jump off the couch.

What’s New?

JJ got a haircut!  The truth is that mommy and daddy couldn’t part with cutting his hair too short.  It’s an iterative process!  KK also got one, but it was just a small trim.

The house is full of singing these days.  Popular tracks include “the ants go marching…”, “Two little trucks when out one days….”, “the wheels on the bus….”

We’re also hearing lots of mis-pronounced words that are just so cute:

“granola bar”…”gralola bar”

“popsicle”…”popcsicle”
"triplets"...."chicklets"
                                                                                      
Sentences that come out of nowhere… that make you wonder how they learnt that.

"Get down get down and move it all around” (yes it was a Backstreet Boy song)

“Mommy I miss you” J

Most Challenging Part of this Stage?

The challenge of this stage is certainly about learning how to encourage the right behaviours and discourage things like screaming, pushing, hitting, pulling hair etc.  Screaming is probably one of the more challenging ones, and it’s exasperated by always having to share toys amongst siblings and compete for mommy & daddy’s attention.  Certainly, being consistent, fair, and catering to three different personalities is not easy to do.

Some recent pics and videos.

JJ got a haircut!

A visit to the local fire station....

26 Months Old!

I had the opportunity to take a week off of work and what an amazing week it has been.  Firstly, being around the babies for more hours of the day allowed me to observe more of their cuteness and development...it has been a lot of fun.  Further, seeing Geeta and our nanny run their daily routine has amazed me...there is no doubt in my mind that the little babies are ‘creatures of habit’.  Geeta is doing an amazing job being at home with the babies and looking back (despite the drawbacks of a single income), having mommy at home was probably the smartest thing we’ve ever done.  Juvy, our live-in nanny, is doing a wonderful job after only a few months on the job and has become a part of our family.  The kids love her and she’s certainly taking care of a lot on the home front allowing Geeta and I to spend more quality time with the munchkins.

What’s New?

We took our first long distance day trip to Montreal.  The kids were amazingly well-behaved and the 2 hr car ride from/to Ottawa virtually passed by eventless.  In Montreal, the kids got to visit the Biodome and see many of their favourite animals.  They are at an age where they can tie characters in their books to their visual experiences and it’s gratifying being able to give them experiences like this one, especially when they talk about it all the way home.  Geets and I try to make an effort to recap our activities over dinner time...we try and help them solidify their memories and learning’s from the day and it really works.  An example; we recently went to the agriculture museum a few weeks ago and the kids saw cows...following our visit, if you ask the kids ‘what do the cows eat?’...’kids: they eat grass’....’why do they eat grass?’....’kids: so they can make dudu (aka milk in hindi)’.

All the kiddos are progressing into talking sentences now...it’s still mixed with baby talk so it’s extra cute.  When JJ gets frustrated at Kailen or Ariya, he’ll often yell out ‘why you do that KK’ (eyebrows raised).  It’s hard not to laugh at his anger...he says the darnest things!  Kailen is starting to say things like ‘that’s my book’.  In the mornings while waiting for everyone to get to the couch to watch Dora, Ariya will say ‘JJ, are you coming?’.

Some recent pics...

JJ and KK are due for haircuts!

at the biodome looking at fish

down the slide we go

JJ and KK together down the slide

JJ is not scared of that fish

Watching the birds

Mommy and Ariya at the Mt. Royale summit in Montreal

Miss. Bella

Look at Ariya's face :)

Juvy (our nanny) and Ariya at Mt. Royale

 

Spring is Here!

Amazing how quickly time is flying by. The babies are keeping us pretty busy and with everything else going on the gaps between blogs is unfortunately getting more and more spaced out!

So much new stuff is going on and it’s hard to keep up. Each one of the munchkins is rapidly developing and honestly it’s hard to describe how amazing it is to watch them learn new things everyday.

Kailen is a very visual boy. He can stare at his book of ‘items’ all day long (i.e. it has pictures of cars, trucks, boats, and bicycles). When we take him to a museum or for a drive in the van, he recognizes things instantly. He loves to touch and feel and see things. He’s usually quick to spot aero planes taking off, or buses on the street. More recently he’s developed a fascination with Dora the Explorer. I think it’s a really cool show (yeah I said it) – I think it’s great for the kiddos because it teaches them how to navigate and break down a problem (i.e. how to get to a destination). He still loves to cuddle and show his affection toward his siblings and mommy/daddy. He sometimes gets over-excited and a bit aggressive with Jaiden but most of the time he doesn’t seem to mind - the boys like playing rough. When we sneeze, he says ‘bless you’ …makes us laugh every time :)

Ariya has really come out of her shell. She still tends to get a bit shy around new folks, but when she get comfortable she becomes a little chatter box full of energy and laughter. She’s also got an amazing sense of confidence and a major presence amongst the boys – you wouldn’t think it since she’s a bit shy and delicate-looking but she can get pretty feisty and often demonstrates that she’s the ‘little boss’. She loves her tricycle and often puts on her helmet to go for a little ride in the house. She’s also starting to like playing rough with the boys often joining in and trying to tackle them. Ariya likes to lounge – she loves to get comfy and lay back…no need to walk in the museum… give me my stroller and push me! Did I mention how good Ariya’s manners are?...’thank you’s’, ‘welcomes’, and ‘please’s’ are common language for our Bella.

Jaiden is just full of laughter and joy these days. He’s become less aggressive with his sibling and has become a really sweet boy often asking for a hug or sharing his toys. He’s starting to hoard his favorite items (apparently pretty common for this age), and you’ll often see him struggle to hold ten items at once in fear of losing one to a playmate ;) JJ loves going outside and the looking for yellow school busses, and coach busses! He’s such a busy little boy and loves trucks and tractors. The other day we found a parked tractor and let him have a look up close. He had a great time and it was hard to pull him away! JJ is quite the mimicker and we’ve got to be super careful about what we say around him. He can pick up and repeat practically anything now! Jaiden has got a knack for counting – he can count to 20; knows all his colours and shapes and has even done a good job of teaching KK and Ariya too!

Some recent pics below.

Terrible Two's - Here We Come...Happy Birthday!!!

Happy 2nd birthday to our little munchkins!!!

We're so blessed to have you in our lives. A day never goes by where we don't thank god that you're healthy and thriving.

Welcome to the terrible two's :-) Please don't make it so terrible!

Love Mommy & Daddy

Take a look back at our first birthday here.

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!!!