Sofia has had a chucho since the day she was born. Earlier this year we had weaned her down to just using it during naps, bedtimes, or when we knew she was really exhausted and just needed to calm down. We have gone through so many [...]
Sofia has had a chucho since the day she was born. Earlier this year we had weaned her down to just using it during naps, bedtimes, or when we knew she was really exhausted and just needed to calm down. We have gone through so many [...]
I showed my support of NoBloPoMo by posting only once in November. I didn’t post every day like other bloggers, in fact I avoided it at all costs. Busy with work, tweeting and facebooking. Now it is December and I am forcing myself to slow down. I love this month, [...]
“I’m gonna tickle your belly!”
“Watch out, there’s germies on there Mommy”
“There’s germies on your belly?”
“No…. just toast.”
I know, I know. Where have we been? I think this is the longest we have been MIA. In fact, we have been away so long that Bean is now reading. Next post she will tell you about her college applications.
Click here to view the embedded video. [...]All is quiet in the Rana household tonight. It has now hit 9 and Sofia is in bed, fast asleep, a full hour before her normal bedtime. Mondays and Wednesdays are like this now. Those are the days Sofia has school and has no nap. She has been loving school. [...]
This was taken by Grandpa at the farmer’s market a couple weekends ago. Sofia is looking for good food through her “monoculars”.
[...]Today Bean did not have a nap. Of course it was the one day that I had told myself it was okay to snuggle up with her and snooze out for an hour or two. But she wanted none of that. She had loco legs she said. Those Fresh Beat [...]
Sofia is becoming very independent. She loves to try to do things herself and will get really mad at us if we try to help her. Like really mad. Like running full force at us screaming “I DOOOO IIIIITTTTTT!!” mad. Please, try not to laugh. That makes her run screaming [...]
“Thank you Mom!” She said it twice like that so I knew it wasn’t just a mistake. This was Wednesday. It is now Friday and that is who I have become. Mom. Not Mommy. Not Mama, although that one still slips in from time to time. Just Mom. When did [...]
There is something magical about being a kid in the summertime. I remember the days being so long and full of fun. And the smiles and laughing. Those were the good times. The only thing you had to worry about is how many more days you could put off doing [...]
“He’s here, he’s home, my daddy, your…. your…. your sister!”
“My sister?”
“Yah, your sister!”
“You think daddy is my sister?”
“Yes, he’s your sister.”
“Um, sisters are girls. Is daddy a girl?”
“No. Daddy is a…. daddy! He’s a daddy! He’s my daddy. He’s a Ajay. He’s a UNCLE [...]
Today is going to be a recordbreaking heat day. 107 they predict. Eh, what’s the big deal you ask? It is Portland. Here we don’t believe in snowplows or A/C. Well I shouldn’t say we, we believe in cranking it up as high as it will go. Food carts are [...]
Last night as I was putting Sofia to sleep I said “Are you my chota?” I sometimes call her that since choti is the hindi word for small. She replied with “Yes! Are you my best friend?”. “Heck ya!” I replied. I know this phase won’t last long so I’ll [...]
We are heading out in a bit to attend Noah Holden’s first birthday party. Well one of them. But come on, first birthday! Craziness. I can’t believe it has been a year since we were all sitting around staring at Jacqueline’s belly, analyzing every move she made wondering if that [...]
Fun little website creates a cloud of words based on how often you have used them on your site. I am a little sad that “problem” seems to be used more than “laughing” on the site. Gotta work on that.
[...]I could tell some stories about this weekend like how we took a family trip to Hood River yesterday and sat by the side of the river enjoying the kite surfing and sun. How Sofia and I dipped our toes in and played along the rocks. Or I could tell [...]
If I had a penny for every time Sofia asked this question I would have a million pennies. And now you are probably asking that question as we have been MIA for the past few weeks. No idea how it has been three weeks since our last post. We have [...]
We are in potty training mode here at the rana household. For the most part it is working and I think the only thing stopping us from being diaper free is my hesitation. I am not totally convinced that bean will tell us she needs to go. She has though, [...]
Yesterday afternoon Sofia woke up from her nap rather cranky. No idea where she gets that from. Anyway, after her visit to the bathroom we put on a pullup and headed out for a walk to the park. We were only about 50 feet from our house when a dog [...]
We are on day 2 of potty training (ish) with Sofia. I say ish because she wears a pull-up if we go anywhere, just diaperless at home. Today after a couple incidents, namely peeing outside and in the garage, I have been diligently asking her if she has to go [...]
Christmas came early when I found this one. Total time waster but unending hours of fun. I have been trying to track down other favorites but can’t remember what they were called…. Gina? Bueller?
[...]And my mom for sending this video. Happy Mother’s Day weekend everyone! Go hug your mom.
Jennifer Rana named Mother of the Year
[...]We are trying something new here. Joint blogging. I write, Sofia contributes. Ready? Here we go.
me: Say a word
bean: can you say quiet?
me: no really, say something
bean: no
me: say anything
bean: say anyting
me: come on. what’s your favorite thing ever?
bean: winnie da pooh
me: [...]
How is it already May tomorrow? I don’t know where April went, and from my blog posts, or lack thereof, I guess we were busy. It was a busy month. First Eloise turned 3, then it was Easter, then Sebastian turned 5… yes you read that right, 5! I can [...]
Last night was one of those nights where we kept wishing we had a video camera set on record. Sofia was on fire. When she is tired she gets really wound up and hyper and spews hilarious phrases from her mouth. Things like “oh no mommy, Thank you!” and “let’s [...]
Sofia is funny. I am not sure if she is trying to be. Sometimes it is really obvious she knows she is being hysterical and will let out a full bellied “Ha!” to let you know you should be laughing. Other times we have to stifle our laughter because she [...]
I think Sofia turned 3 overnight, or 4, or 12. She has been really into projects lately, including helping me cook. She helped make empanada dough the other day as well as made ravioli from her play dough while I made dinner. She is very into cooking. She will climb [...]
That is just one of the new phrases that has been coming out of Sofia’s mouth lately. Another one is “oh! guess what?!”. She also has been shouting “I’m gonna tickle you!” as she chases you down the hallway, through the kitchen, or into the closet as you are trying [...]
a.k.a Lakdi Ki Kathi. It gets good around 26 sec.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Where to start. Lately Sofia has been more attentive to what is going on around her. As I said before she not only hears songs but she listens to them. She now will ask what I am singing when I start humming at home. We had a great outing to [...]
I apologize for not updating in awhile, and also for having the site down for so long. I just am so ready for spring I couldn’t stare at that holiday pattern anymore. So here is the updated site. There is lots more to add but I wanted to get it [...]
Sofia loves to dance so when we are in the car I usually have the radio tuned to the local top 40 station. I hadn’t thought too much about the songs or the lyrics, just the beats that made bean dance in her car seat. One of these songs is [...]
I was making dinner last night and noticed it was quiet. Not the nice peaceful baby’s asleep or you are alone in the house quiet. The OMG how fast can I find that child quiet. I walked into Sofia’s room, no bean. I walked into our room, no bean. Bebe [...]
Sorry we haven’t posted in awhile. there has just been other things going on like Bebe and Grandpa visits, co-op research and open houses, snuggling with bean on the couch, trying out new daal recipes. Which by the way turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. [...]
Besides the obvious look alike, here are some signs that Bean is indeed my daughter. I mean, I know the fact that she came out of my belly is a good argument that I am her mom, but these sort of seal the deal.
She loves to pick. Anything. Everything. A [...]I try hard not to filter what I post. Some things I don’t because they aren’t relevant to miss Bean, but whenever she is involved I try to tell the whole story, nothing but the facts. Keep that in mind while reading and I apologize if I offend.
Lately Sofia [...]
Wednesdays I have the privelege of working from home. If you try to reach me and I am not available, please leave a message with the receptionist.
[...]Sofia’s favorite book lately is Millie Moo, a book about a cow looking for her friends and every time she thinks she finds an animal, she is wrong and it is a silly version of another animal.
Click here to view the embedded video. [...]I read something today that made me sad. It wasn’t only because it was about a child who lost their life, but who also felt unloved. I won’t post it here because it is just too sad and some things we like to not know about. To pretend things like [...]
Sofia’s latest phrase…
“I want to throw this at your face”. At least she says it with a smile.
[...]I can’t believe it has already been 5 years. Some days it seems like only 5 months and other days it seems more like 5 decades. No matter what day it is I love you to India and back and am so thankful you choose to put up with me… [...]
Our sweet bean turned 2 on Monday. We were in LA visiting her Auntie Nattie and Aunt Hayley and Uncle Mark. We had a great time at the beach and Sunday went over to the Dziaks to have a pre-birthday celebration. The kids were happy with bouncy castle and the [...]
Sorry we have been MIA but this has been a busy few weeks. Just back from Spokane and now off to LA on Thursday. I wouldn’t even unpack but I assume we’ll be wearing something different for the 60 degree weather than we did for the 10 degree weather. Hope [...]
It happened again. I wasn’t sure it would to be honest. This year has rushed past and we have found ourselves with Christmas a week away and the holiday spirit was hibernating. It all seemed rushed this year. Thanksgiving seemed to come in August and stores started decorating before trick [...]
This is Sofia’s latest obsession, and it is a pretty cute one. It is “Galli Galli Sim Sim” which is Sesame Street in India. She goes to sleep at night saying “Wake up, Galli Galli, Daddy watch with me?”. One of Ajay’s batchmates works for them and had offered [...]
I got 10 hours of sleep last night. Granted it wasn’t straight through but still. I had a hard night of eating apple crisp with vanilla ice cream and watching “Charlie Brown Christmas” on tv… or Snoopy! as Sofia calls it. I had to follow that up with a good [...]
A recent email from Aunti Gigi:
subject: too much dora
message: sebastian just told me he didn’t know where the recycling was and needed me to click on it so he could see. took me a minute…
The dora infiltration has begun… muah ah aha ha…..
[...]Today on truemomconfessions.com someone posted:
“I always dance to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “hot dog” song….I have my own dance I’ve perfected! Watch out Momma is bustin’ a move!”
I could have written that, only I would have said “Dora” and the “we did it” song. A little sad but mostly funny [...]
This time of year always leads to some sort of introspection. We often examine our lives and count on our fingers and toes the things we are thankful for, the things we have been truly blessed with. I could write a post of how I am thankful for our house, [...]
These things are just too much fun. This year you get to pick from 4 dances.
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Here is the Fleschners.
[...]Or from our vacation. Time really flew by and the only real reminder we have that we left is the jet lag we are suffering through. Sofia took a 6 hour nap yesterday, I joined her for 4 of them. Hopefully by next week we will be back to normal. [...]
Working on uploading our pics but here is a video of Sofia during one of her many baths in India.
Click here to view the embedded video. [...]We got into Bangkok around 7 last night. Sofia was brilliant on the plane. She didn’t sleep for the whole flight but the plane was empty so she could have her own seat. No breakdowns, just a few try-to-break-frees. Otherwise all was good. We went out on a limb and [...]
Well somehow it is already time to pack up and leave India. I don’t know how but our two and a half weeks are already over. Tomorrow morning early early we head to Bangkok. I haven’t posted because we haven’t been doing much really, but somehow I am exhausted. The [...]
Sofia and I have been attacked by mosquitoes here so at night we have been sleeping under a mosquito net. Sofia was trying to get out of it this morning and got stuck. She started saying “Mommy! Help! Ayudeme! Ayudeme!”… if you have ever seen Go Diego Go! you know [...]
It seems everyone here is just as excited as we are. Sofia couldn’t contain herself while watching Obama’s speech.
[...]Just wanted to take a moment to check in. It is noon on the 31st here so Happy Halloween to all of you in the states. We are doing fine here, overfed and underslept. Sofia has acclimated just fine and is adjusting better than any of us, except with her [...]
Safe and sound. No major issues on the plane, Sofia basically slept the whole way from Bangkok to Singapore and from Singapore to Delhi which was nice since those were the legs where she was on my lap. About and hour outside of Delhi Ajay woke me up to mention [...]
Well 12 hours to be more exact. We are almost to India, waking this morning in our hotel room in Bangkok. Well rolling over and checking the time to be more exact. Not much sleeping happened as Sofia decided she didn’t want to sleep, just kick Ajay and pinch me [...]
It is 9:30pm and Sofia and I are still up with Bebe and Granpda watching the news and being entertained by Sofia’s exhausted antics. She is literally bouncing off the walls. We leave in 6.5 hours and have 48 hours of traveling ahead of us. Cross your fingers that Bean [...]
Yes we are still here under all these boxes. Just when I think we have made some progress in the unpacking, I open the garage door and see the gazillion boxes we have left to unpack. Things are settling in though and we are loving our new home and new [...]
Well we are finally moved. It only took us 4 days, 5 hours, 27 minutes and 30 seconds. Not that anyone was counting. And that isn’t including the unpacking. That should take another few days, or weeks. We are trying to get everything settled before we head on our big trip [...]
I don’t know why it takes me so long to get a post up here. Maybe because the times that I sit down to do it are either right when I wake up or right before I go to bed and in each case I would rather be sleeping. We [...]
Tonight when putting Sofia to bed (we are averaging just over an hour on this one) she and I got to talking. We were talking about how was sleeping, who we would see tomorrow, what we would do tomorrow.
“water, tomorrow?”
water is what she calls the fountain in the park [...]
Sometimes after Sofia has gone to bed, I sneak back into the bedroom to peek at her. I look down at her, sleeping peacefully and in the darkness many thoughts go through my head. I think of how big she has gotten, how precious she is, how much joy she [...]
Sometimes, I will admit, when I need to get something done, like cook dinner, check emails, brush my hair, I turn on a cartoon for Sofia to watch so she isn’t right under me the whole time saying “what’s that?” or “uppie down”. Most of the time it will buy [...]
We were graced with the presence of some high school friends this past weekend. Yvonne, Briettney and Thatcher came in on Saturday morning and it was the tour of eating. We started out at Hot Lips for lunch. After a nap by the kiddos we took the streetcar up to [...]
I know, I know, she shouldn’t be standing/dancing/twirling in the bathtub. But it was oh so cute…
[www.ajayandjen.com] [...]Sofia loves to type on any keyboard… even if it is just an ad in the magazine. (Yes, that is just an ad in the back of a magazine)
[www.ajayandjen.com] [...]Early this morning the Fleschner’s welcomed another baby girl into their family. They haven’t decided on a name, although Sally Petunia is Sebastian’s favorite. We are off to visit them in the hospital whenever the bean wakes up. We are beyond excited and so happy for them.
In other bean news [...]
Sofia fell asleep in her highchair at 7 o’clock last night. She was mid bite.
Back from vacation and back to reality. Today I was wonderfully woken up by Bean at 4am. She was tossing and turning and couldn’t get back to sleep so she tried pinching me instead. I tucked my arms into the covers and after about a half an hour of poking [...]
I don’t know where this child gets her brain. I mean she isn’t a genius, but she sure gets it. Last night we were walking home from the store and she pointed at the bananas in the bag behind her and said “Anana” so we pealed one and shared it [...]
I guess I am on a weekly posting schedule. I always have big plans to post something and then either forget or fall asleep while putting Sofia to bed. She has definitely been keeping us busy and changes everyday I swear. She is constantly saying “I sorry” to us and [...]
I had been a little bummed all week knowing that BlogHer ‘08 was this weekend and I was not attending. I was happy today that I was not going because I would have missed out on meeting my new nephew, Mr. Noah Sanderson Holden. I think this more than [...]
As most of you know mommy-to-be Jacqueline is about a week overdue. Little baby Holden is just as easy going as his daddy and he just is content where he is. Warm, cozy and well fed. Bebe and Grandpa had come into town this past weekend, just in case, and [...]
I meant to post this yesterday but our site was messed up so I couldn’t post until today. We are always late lately it seems. I think our realtors now just tack on 15 minutes to whatever time we tell them we are meeting. I will say it is not [...]
Sofia has watched this video 658 times since this morning… make that 659.
[www.ajayandjen.com] [...]I can’t believe it has been over a week since our last post. Sorry for no updates but things have been very busy around here. Work has finally picked up and now instead of being bored at work and no freelance gigs, I am swamped at work and have three [...]
Sometimes you just need a good laugh. Hope you are feeling better Nonno!!
[www.ajayandjen.com] [...]I think Sofia has hit her 18 month sleep regression. She doesn’t have too bad of a time staying asleep but it is just falling asleep that seems to be the challenge. Last night I thought about how I will have to start bringing the camera in with me when [...]
I am not quite sure where to start. It has been a busy few weeks and I have been slacking on my Saturday updates. The past few weeks have been filled with fun and excitement, baby showers and birthdays. We got news that when our lease is up in August, [...]
It’s cold here. Really cold. We had turned off our heat for the year and switched to just cool air when needed but now it feels like we should switch back to the heat. The weatherman assures us that the warm air is coming but in my mind it is [...]
Well nothing. But what is funny about photoshopping a man’s head on a baby’s body and vice versa? Everything. This one is for you Auntie Baba in case you need a laugh.
Check out manbabies.com.
[...]I know, I know, I have been lazy posting. Things have just been so busy. I promise I will upload some new photos and stories in a bit. For now Sofia is helping me work from home.
First it was the window washers outside our windows and on our deck that entertained her for an hour, then it was kermit and fozzie bear on the view. All that excitement and it isn’t even 11am yet!
p.s. I don’t think it was the real [...]
Are you as exhausted from this week as I am? It seemed like we were busier than ever. I know you are feeling a bit neglected. You are doing your usual freak out everytime I head towards the computer, but you are also acting out in different ways. You will [...]
When we were in Boston, Sana tried to teach Sofia a few new moves…
[www.ajayandjen.com] [...]We had a great weekend here in Portland. Bebe and Grandpa flew in on Friday night and we came home from the airport to freshly baked pizza’s courtesy of Auntie Gigi which was so tasty. I don’t know how she does it all. Saturday morning started at the farmer’s market, [...]
This has been a busy week for us bean. You are picking up more and more habits that are turning you into a little girl. You love to watch what we do and want to try it out. Whether it is wearing our shoes, carrying around my purses, or brushing [...]
You can tell it is getting close to election day here in Oregon because the political ads are out in full force. They never seem to make me want to vote for a candidate, more often I have the urge to not vote for that particular person because of their [...]
This has been a crazy few weeks for us Bean. First we fly you across the country, make you stay with people you don’t know, meet a bunch more people you don’t know, stick you in front of a few big dogs, fly you back across the country, then have [...]
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