The 9-Month Birthday Post!

It's okay. You can say it. I look amazing.

Is this post three days late? You bet it is!

Saavan is nine months old! Can you believe it? Nine months ago, Saavan was born. Nine months before that, Neha wasn't even pregnant (or was JUST pregnant). That seems...significant. It may not be.

Sadly, Saavan is celebrating his nine-month birthday with his first-ever ear infection. He grabs at his ear constantly in a way that is sadly adorable, and consistently wakes up in the middle of the night in a terrible mood. To make matters worse, to combat said ear infection, Saavan was prescribed a drug called Amoxycillin, which has caused a harmless but not-particularly-attractive rash on the Saav-man's face. Which sucks, obviously, because Saavan's rugged good looks should not be trifled with under any circumstances, but even moreso because Saavan's first Caribbean vacation (the Bahamas!) is set for next week,*, and now there's a chance that he's going to look splotchy in all the photos. When he's looking at those photos twenty years from now, he's going to be pissed.
Wait. You're saying the photos won't be airbrushed?

Ear infection aside, Saavan at nine months has moved on to babbling his "bas" and his "na's," but much to Neha's chagrin, still no sign of his "ma's". Remember, he's been saying his "da's" for a while now, and recently busted out a "daddy." Does this mean Saavan likes his daddy more than his mommy? Absolutely.

In other 9-month progression news, Saavan is now an amazing and speedy crawler. He's all over the place, and into everything. As a result, Saavan refuses to sit still. Which, as I will explain in a future post (I can't use all my good stuff at once), has made changing Saavan's poopy diapers, um, an adventure. Saavan has also become a terrible eater. He likes pretty much everything, but loses interest in it after a few bites, meaning that we have to force food into his mouth, when he's much more interested in spreading it over his hands and his clothes. And ours. Sigh.
On my best eating behavior.

*Saavan's ability to travel to the Caribbean is contingent upon him being able to procure a passport prior to this Saturday's trip. As his parents, Neha and I filled out all his paperwork nearly 6 weeks ago, but to no avail - no passport yet. After spending 3 hours of my life speaking to people at the national passport office over this past week who generally could not have been less helpful, I had to make an appointment at the "Regional Passport Center" (it's all very official) on Friday morning - less than 24 hours before we're scheduled to leave. Will Saavan be able to join us? Truth be told, I'm not overly worried about this passport nonsense. Assuming we don't get his passport in time, we can always put him in one of the suitcases. He's still quite tiny.

Check out photos from this past weekend, when Dada and Dadi came to visit!
With Dada and Dadi here, I'm bound to get a ton of gifts!

There are presents, aren't there Dadi?

Presents confirmed!

A silly caption will ruin this sweet photo!

One of the few family photos we've taken thus far. If only daddy had shaved. And not worn a ratty old t-shirt. And not totally ruined this photo.

Great Moments In Saavan History...

This hat is too big.

Up to this point, Saavan has been babbling incoherently, with the majority of his verbiage being a mishmash of "das" and "bas." And sometimes growling. It's his thing. This morning, however, that all changed. Saavan, while lying in bed with us, said "Daddy." "Dah-dee" is how it came out. It was unmistakable. Neha and I looked at one another in shock and disbelief.

Did Saavan have any idea what he was saying? Almost certainly not. But such minor details are irrelevant. I was ecstatic. Neha, on the other hand, admits that her "stomach dropped" a bit when Saavan said my name before hers. Jealousy? Perhaps, but it's a pretty momentous occasion, so that's understandable. Besides, Saavan saying my name first was the least he could do to soothe my bruised ego. He has made no effort to attempt to hide the fact that Neha is his favorite parent. Whenever I'm holding him and Neha walks into the room, he squirms and kicks his way out of my grasp in an attempt to get to her. If Saavan sees Neha leave a room he immediately starts whimpering. When I leave the room, on the other hand, Saavan barely notices, and goes right back to putting everything he can find into his mouth.

In any event, Saavan said my name! It's pretty frickin' awesome. I just hope he wasn't surreptitiously flicking me off at the same time.
Dah-dee.

Kavi and Saavan - They're Just Like Us!

Again with the camera?

Saavan spent this past weekend hanging out with Kavi at Kavi's crib in Langhorne, PA. And by "crib" I mean "house," and not Kavi's actual "crib." Although Saavan spent some time in Kavi's actual crib. (In retrospect I realize that using the word "crib" as slang for "house" is a bad idea. Lesson learned.) It was a great weekend for the boys. Though they don't quite play "together" yet, they do acknowledge one another, and have clearly formed a special kinship that can be forged only from mutual uncontrolled drooling. You know, I drool uncontrollably every now and then. I'll bet that you do too. What does that mean? Kavi and Saavan - they're just like us!

They play side-by-side!
Kavi likes to eat plastic toys. Saavan prefers plush.

They engage in the underage operation of motor vehicles!
Saavan expresses trepidation at Kavi's attempt to stand atop his moving ATV.

They take glamour shots!
Saavan flashes his mischievous grin for the ladies.

Kavi shows off his long locks and movie-star good looks.

They smile for the camera (at the same time)!
I can't think of a clever caption for this photo!

Kavi and Saavan - they truly are just like us. Now please return to your uncontrollable drooling.

(End gimmicky blog posting.)

Don't worry - my daddy's nose is WAY bigger.