A Dozen Years Old!

The days is etched in my memory, a dozen years ago driving in the snow for delivering my first born. I was amazed, dazed and elated!

And now here, 12 years later as Miss V turns 12, I am still amazed, dazed and elated.

She has truly been an easy breezy baby, toddler, kid, tween and now a wonderful 12 year old!

Miss V, Happy 12th Birthday!

Considering you have found my blog and continue to read my posts, I will still be honest but this year instead of my annual letter to you, I will highlight 12 things that make you super special!

1. You are wise and mature way above your years. I can talk to you like a friend sometimes, an adviser sometimes and sometimes like a mom and interestingly you know what role I am playing!
2. You can perceive others feelings with ease. It amazes me how sometimes in a gathering, you will just look at me and smile.

3. Your face is transparent at least to me, yes a mom just knows sometimes!

4. Your emotions run high and deep. But you are guarded for the world, and read point 3, yes to me you are transparent! Though as you get older, I wish there was a mind reader that I could use from time to time.

5. You are analytical, more practical than emotional. Which again goes back to point number, you are way wiser than a 12 year old!

6. You know which buttons to press to either get what you want or annoy when you want and above all you keep testing the boundaries. It keeps me on edge, but your sense of responsibility shines even when at times when I am exasperated!

7. You are a true foodie! You will try everything and are showing increased interest in whipping up elaborate meals! I am excited for the years to come to have a foodie buddy.

8. Your friendships run really deep. You will know a  lot of people, but you stick to your core of evolving young friendships. It is truly amazing.

9. Your ability to grasp complex scenarios or concepts is outstanding. It is really fun explaining you how things work and learn new things with you. You make me want to stay "current"

10. Your passion for anything sporty is awesome. This middle school year, with all your commitments, I know it has been lesser than you'd like, but I love that you are passionate about your passion (Yes, cheesy!)

11. You are not afraid to voice your opinions. Be it a dinner party, a BBQ gathering, a Dance party. You do however take time to listen to another's point of view and then slowly will adapt!

12. You are a beautiful kid, inside out! The kindness in your eyes reflect your heart. Your smile is naughty, thoughtful and always charming.

It is no surprise that a lot of the kids (young and same age) hang out with you. You become their pied piper! You love to engage with the adults and are cool to hang out with them, immerse them in your world and be adorable. 

I do understand you are at a tricky age- too old for young kids and too young for old kids. It will be a learning experience for all of us. You do love that big sister role and yes you annoy each other and me as a result! (Eye Roll Insert!).

Happiest 12th Birthday to you!

Life is good and beautiful and it will be filled with crazy ups and downs! But remember we are always there in your corner. Be yourself and continue to evolve in this beautiful person you are becoming!

My First born, you are a dozen years old and NO, I don’t feel old (yet!)

SSSSSSEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNN

That's how old the Little Lady is now.
Over a long pre-birthday celebration lunch, the Little Lady told me: " Mummy I fell Odd" and of course I asked her why?. She responded "Since I am turning Odd years old"

Aaah!

I was reading her birthday posts at 3.5, 5, 6 and oh my gosh, hasn't the theme of Musical, Rainbow- Unicorn loving and slow eating continues on!
My Little Lady, you continue to mesmerize me, keep me on my toes in a good way and you amaze me with your darling charms!

My Annual Letter to Her
Dear Sassy Seven year old.

We ALL love you. You are amazing, very generous, empathetic and above all very affectionate. You talk with a smile, you dance with a smile, you sleep with a smile and you even cry with the lips turned upwards!
I love you through your "crying at a drop of a hat", "endless chatter", "slow eating","super long chats" and above all Endless Hugs.

You do LIGHT up a Room.
You do annoy your sister and also you miss her the most when she is away
You pick up an extra lollipop for your didi ALWAYS
You sung, hum, chant, play the piano and every thing musical
You skip more than you walk.
You ask "I dont understand that?" And continue to ask questions until you get it
You leave little post-it's around the house: "Teach me chess", "Can i see TV"
You have read "Harry Potter Book 1 & 2" before your 7th birthday!
You can spend hours watching TV without blinking
You need to know everyone in the room or the party
You can hug, my gosh you can hug!
You have your favorites and then you add more to your favorite list of people
You can debate with a smile and generally get your way

And above all: You teach us to Smile More and above all you show sympathy and empathy way above your age. It makes our heart melt.

Dear Little Lady, continue being who you are. You  make my heart go mush and you make me teary eyed without your kind heart and empathy!

We love you my 7 year old,  Sassy,  Eye Rolling, Expressive, Loveable and chanting Little Lady

Because you are never too old for bubbles!!!

A wonderful afternoon during the holidays in Southern California, all of us were coming out of a cactus garden and 2 minutes later the girls sprinted.
I couldnt run at their speed and saw both of them chase these humongous bubbles.

Once I caught my breath, I sat in a corner and saw the kids just enjoy the simple joys in life. I looked at Miss V, like really really looked her

She squealed with laughter, made those massive bubbles and popped them with equal zeal. It was heart warming.

Miss V, my Chatterbox, My old soul, my kind soul and above all my strong soul turns 11 today.

She is at that confusing age when You are too old to hang out with little kids and still too young to hang out with adults. That confusing age when you want to be silly but are too cool to be one. When you are too cool to be cool. Her turning 11 is just a step in this confusing age.
I will hence forth call these years "Sighing Years" or "Eye Rolling Years" or "Mom, this is embarrassing" or "Urgh" years!

You get the idea!

Under her shell of snappiness, kindness, strength, resilience, anger, frustration is still my little girl, is still my chatterbox, my lovely Miss V. She lights up the room, engages everyone around her in deep meaningful conversations, she reasons, she debates, she loves immensely and takes every challenge on!

Miss V, she is becoming such a lovely lady. A lovely strong lady!

Happy Birthday dearest, you turn 11.
We can no longer count your age on our fingers.

Wait, what: 6. No Way

Yes, Little Lady is now 6.
You need fingers on both hands to count how old she is... wait what, 6 No Way!!!

Little Lady: Who knew this nick name...Little Lady will be so apt. She is the Little Lady of the house or the Little Sassy Lady of the house!!!

A letter for your 6th Birthday for 6 Life's Lessons honey"

1. Be Yourself
I wish I had learnt it way earlier. Be yourself. More than that: Be comfortable with who you are. You will evolve with age, but be comfortable with that.

2. Be Kind
This is you, you are kind, empathetic and you figure out how to make it nicer for someone else. This kindness is what makes you unique and loved and pampered. Your little acts of kindness make me want to do better as well

3. Trust
Trust people and as you get older have the ability to let people trust you. Of course, don't go trusting blindly. Yes, Unicorns are mythical. But have trust in its mythical powers if that's what makes you smile.

4. Enjoy food
As a foodie myself, your relationship with food worries me. You try it, but you are not driven by it. Food brings everyone together, makes travel fun and above all is the easiest thing. You said it this thanksgiving: "We always have food and always have people over" Remember this!

5. Speak Up
And you do, you speak your mind, your heart all the time. As you will get older you may get inclined not to. But remember Lesson 1 "Be yourself" and speak up. It can be contradicting. Always Speak Up.

6. It's okay for pants to be loose!
Now this.... you my little sassy lady: My fashionista! If you had it your way, you would wear dresses and tutu's 100% of the time! And for you, pants always have to be fitting. But remember: "It's okay for pants to be loose" So if its in your closet you wear them, you wear them like the coolest thing on the planet and be your own trendsetter!

My Little Lady, Happy 6th Birthday!

A decade old.... or a decade young!

Miss V, my Chatterbox, my wonderful, my kid who continues to amaze me (and push her limits):  You are officially a decade young old

Yes, you are 10, in double digits and oh man, where did the time go!

This day, ten years ago: My doctor says: Your child is ready to come in the world and I say, hell no, I have 2 more weeks left and above all, I just dropped off Sumit at airport for his work travels! Nope, the doctor says, the kid is coming in 2 days!
Oh well, I call hubby dearest as he gets off the plane across the country! "Yes honey, you heard me right, come back by tomorrow"

He returned, my mom calmed me down and I went in at 7 am to the hospital!
At 10 am, my doctor tells me: "Ma'm, you are about to have a baby, please keep the blackberry aside. " I chuckle... and then around 5 pm, Miss V arrives. A girl! A beautiful perfect girl!

That was a decade ago!
Miss V you are ten! You are entering "Double Digits"

You are fierceless, you take on challenges, you are a perfectionist and above all you are a girl who wants to change the world and challenge the norms and at the same time your sensitivity and your attempts at not crying to be 'strong' leave me dumbfounded!

You love to help me cook and yet are forced to lay the table and clean up!
You are creative and have yet have a sucky handwriting.
You love to read and yet hate to document a book report.
You are religious and yet question some values preached.
You are you, sweet cheeks (Yes I know you hate to be called 'sweet cheeks")

You are my daughter. And I could not be prouder!

Here are your ten highlights!

1. You donated 12 inches of your hair for Wigs for Kids and smiled!
2. You are a fish, competing, learning and swimming.
3. Soccer remains your true love and you now have jerseys of your favorite teams/ players. And now our dearest friend costum made a soccer necklace with your name engraved!
4. The writer in you is shining and man your narration leaves us spell bound
5. You have taken on Kathak and I am impressed with your dedication to this classical form
6. You are happiest while travelling, be it swimming in El Nido or hiking the Great Wall
7. Oh yes, you are competitive. Even in the smallest things, you like a challenge
8. You kick my ass in scrabble, not fair!
9. With your sister, you half adore her, half fight with her but you are 100% by her all the time!
10. You truly are amazing (even with the eyerolls, the subtle drama, the stomping of feet, the misty eyes, the soft snuggles)

Miss V, Miss Chatterbox: Welcome to double digits!

She has the music in her... Little Lady is 5

She loves rainbows and unicorns and Sparkles is still her favorite color!

She is spirited beautifully, is such a happy go lucky kid, smiles, laughs, lights up a room and above all gives you tonnes of hugs and kisses and peeks in your room to just say "I love you"

Yep, that's my Little Lady turning 5!

Her charms..At a soccer game, her team mates run behind the soccer ball, and My Little Lady, skips and then kicks the Soccer ball and twirls in delight!

On a coloring sheet, my little Lady hums a song (making it up along the way)and colors the hair of the princess pink!

On a phone call with India, we chat, we share stories and pictures with grand parents and the little lady takes the phone and starts singing a song, why? Just because!

I think its fair to say that this little lady is keeping us on our toes and off our chairs! Why you ask, we are giggling all the time with her and at her!!

Little Lady: You are 5 now.

My baby,

Year after year, I try to capture your 'updates' amongst all the fun that ensues as a family.

You are 5

Food: Oh man, your one BIG issue. Yes, you will try 'almost everything provided is not green' but you are VERY slow eater. I have asked you to go to bed without dinner since no timers seem to work on you. One thing that definitely gets you excited for food is presentation. If it looks 'awesome' you gobble it down right away

School: You are blossoming in your new school and I love that you just go in school skipping and are always complaining at pick up time that I picked you up too early! You have become an avid reader and in your break, you amazed us at sitting in your bed and just reading all the books, chapter books.

Dance: My gosh, the music in you. You loved your Indian Dance class and I cannot tell you how proud I am of you for dancing in front of a hundred people at your dad's birthday! Ballet, I love your passe and you love your ballet outfit more than the dance for for sure

Sports: Remember the skipping at soccer, well that's you. Ice Skating, you have been at it for about a year, but I think you like chatting with your friends more than the ice skating for sure. Let's try gymnastics next year, what do you think?

Love: You are affectionate, kind and above all very observant. You complain if we dont hug you before school or at bed time. You are happy soul and a very content sole (No contentment when it comes to candy/ sweet stuff though). I think of you and it makes me smile, since your kind heart makes me want to be a better person also

Reading: My gosh, what a difference 4 months in this new school has made! You are reading voraciously, you are writing pretty well and you can spend hours on your laptop and play games, play puzzles and above all sing yourself merry!

Yes 5 is a milestone and we are celebrating in 5 ways
(Especially since you have been bugging asking what we are doing for your birthday for about a year now)
1. Your surprise trip to Disney before your birthday... gotcha!!!
2. An upcoming surprise trip to a Waterpark (Shh!!!)
3. On the day of, dinner to your favorite restaurant with your favorite people and painting your toes
4. A daddy-daughter day on your birthday!
5. And your party with your friends, i am thinking Unicorn & Rainbow themed!



Phew, yes turning 5 means 5 special celebrations! But more importantly turning 5 means:
1.  Be yourself, always
2. Be kind as you already are

3. Be the goofball you already are
4. Please eat and not just candies!
5. Be 5, be a kid, scale the mountains, swim deep waters and twirl just because!

My Little Lady: We love you!

Last year of being Single Digits: Happy Birthday Miss V

This is her last year of being Single Digits.

She reminds me very frequently and I really don’t want to know. She is turning 9, that is a freaking big deal and now the reminder: 'Last year of Single Digits mummy'

Great!

Miss V, Miss Chatterbox, Dadi Maa, Didi, Nunu, Bittu, Vedu, Champion... all different names for this amazing 9 year old!

A very Happy Birthday!

Miss Chatterbox,

I tend to gush about you a lot, you are my first born and you will always be my baby. You are mature beyond your years and extremely observant. But let’s stop time for a minute and really enjoy yourself at 9.

You tell me right now: 'I don’t want to be a teenager soon, since they are so annoying'

(You and me Both!!)... but you are growing, older and wiser. As one of your aunt's told you... you don’t have to be one of those annoying ones!

You takes her role as 'an older sister: didi' really seriously.

There are times I have to remind you- just be an older sister and not a parent! Be your little sister's confidante!

I love watching the two of you play, and as you are growing together, you giggle together when I yell at you. You have your own secrets and little eye rolls.

You were the first kid in all our friends and family and that makes you super loved and adored. It makes you super lucky and yes sometimes you get annoyed being the oldest. It has its own pressure.

I am getting impressed at how you are standing up for yourself and saying: 'I can help so and so at the party, but I rather do this' I do like it. It is such a fine line and you are doing well on it.

Its a mental reminder to let you enjoy being yourself and your age.

You are definitely getting your sense of humor from your father (thank god for that!). You and your papa have started ganging up on me a little bit now.... boo hoo. I giggle and I chuckle and I love that daddy-daughter 'grown up' bond of yours.

My lovely 9 year old. I love you, I yell at you, I snuggle into you, I dance with you, I laugh hysterically with you, I cry with you, I just love you so much!

You are growing up to be this beautiful, kind, sport and above all confident girl.

I love it, you inspire me!

Love'

Mummy

Now, as always, here are the highlights of your year 9!

1. Harry Potter:

You are me are reading this together. We start the book together and all through the five books, you complete it before me! Yes, now we can watch the movies together

2. Swimming:

You joined the Sheridan Swimming league and though we cannot make it all the practices or the swim meets, you are doing well. Your back stroke is the strongest stroke. Thanks to your nana

3. Phone:

You are talking more enthusiastically to your grandparents in India on phone now. There have been a few calls with your friends as well and that is amazing. But no phones till you turn 13 or may be 20!

4. Sleepover:

Yep, my baby you have had your sleepovers this year. Your friends are welcome anytime for a sleepover, but I am sorry you are not allowed to stay over at your friends yet. House Rules. Have your friends over whenever!

5. Foodie:

Oh my gosh, you are a spice lover (Yay!) You will try different things and always want to help me make them at home. Your favorite this year has been 'Kutiyonaam' by your aunt and surprisingly 'Daal Baati' made it back in the list. I am impressed.

6. Soccer:

Yes, I am a soccer mom now and I love it. And yes I think to encourage you more and let your love for the sport continue, I will look for a girls only league for next term. You loved the Secret Santa gift of cleats and shin guards the best!

7. Bike:

Yay, you are riding without training wheels now! And thanks to you, I bought a bike as well. We had fun biking along Lake Shore, in forests, in the park. Looking forward to all our vacations dotted with bike rides

8. India:

This past summer you spend 8 weeks in India with your sister and grandparents. You did get bored a little and saw a lot of TV and bonded well with your cousins, swam a little, travelled a lot. I like your disconnected summers, its 8 weeks of just being chilled!

9. Kumon:

Its worth mentioning this in yearly highlights. Why? Since this is the ONE thing, we have had a lot of water works, yelling matches and drama on. Yes, you don’t like it. at all. However you will be continuing this. It has helped you immensely on the speed element. And logically you do get it, and though you love being the 'Math Champion' in school, you don’t like doing Kumon.

10. Birthday List:

Your 8th birthday was a massive birthday party and then also a bowling party with your friends. And your 9th is a birthday list! You have made a list of things you want to eat/drink/visit and I am so happy that the list is simple and it shows me, you enjoy the little things.

My very kind, gentle heart-ed, inquisitive and lovely young woman.

We wish you a very Happy Birthday