Four months and grinning! (Did Daddy intentionally add the shadow to add mystery, or is he just a poor photographer? He'll never tell.)
Arjun is four months old! And he has been for the past two weeks! But I think we're well beyond any reasonable expectation that these entries will be timely. The past month Arjun pass some major milestones, including his first ever rollover (back to stomach). He still hasn't quite mastered it, but in his defense, he's four months old. He also coos and smiles constantly, and appears to be on the verge of non-stop laughter, although we haven't yet heard it. He still hasn't really grown any hair, which makes him the anti-Saavan, and which makes me sort of sad because I'm super eager to do his mundun. (It doesn't get much more fun that shaving your unsuspecting infant's head.) If his hair growth doesn't pick up by month 6, I'm going to start rubbing Chia seeds on his head.
Pictures from this past month!
Arjun is not allowed to watch television, except for Michigan football games. He's required to watch those.
Pumpkinbutt has totally mastered the art of head control.
Boyz.
The 4-month elephant photo! These are all just terrible.
Saavan is transfixed by Arjun's early-onset lip curl.
Not amused that his monthly updates are not on schedule.
Last week Arjun turned three months old, and I just can't keep up with his exponential rate of growth anymore. Each new month totally sneaks up on me, and now all of a sudden he's cooing, lifting his head up while lying on his stomach, kicking constantly, and melting our hearts with his beautiful little smile.
Your heart it is melted.
The 3 month elephant photo! These really aren't having the effect that I'd hoped for.
The biggest Arjun-related news is that he's starting daycare today, which is sort of insane, given he's only three months old. (He's starting a month earlier than Saavan did.) It's depressing that he's growing up so fast, but also sort of exciting because he will be in school with Saavan, and even though neither of them are really in school and Saavan is not nearly old enough to check in on Arjun and take care of him, I find the idea of the two of them in school together to be very exciting. I imagine being in school when they're older and being known throughout the halls as "The Vohra Brothers" and they'll have notorious reputations as...overly wordy writers? I have no idea. But it's a cool thought.
In Saavan-related news, regular readers of the blog recall that Saavan has pretty much the coolest hair you've ever seen. For a recent reminder, see here:
Though his hair has always been super awesome, it had been getting a little bit long, especially in front of his eyes and around his ears. With his Minni Mausi's wedding fast approaching, we thought it would be a good idea to get it trimmed a bit, so we took him, against Neha's wishes, to "The Hair Cuttery," a low-budget "hair salon" specializing in what appear to be not particularly good haircuts. (Do you go to the Hair Cuttery? I'm sorry, but it's true.) After explaining to the nice lady who was about to cut his hair that we still wanted it to be long and that she should only trim it, she proceeded to give him pretty much the worst haircut of all time. I'd post a picture, but really, it was just too terrible. His hair was still long, but around his ears, it was crazy. We left the Hair Cuttery thinking that it would grow back in a week and look fine, but after a few days we realized that we couldn't leave it alone. So we took him back and asked them to clean it up. And if that required them making it short, so be it. The result?
Actually I'm lying - he still looks awesome.
Saavan's new haircut isn't bad, but it's not his awesome long hair, hair that, until now, I always took for granted. And it's sort of a bowl cut. (The lady who re-cut it used clippers, and then did a terrible job blending. It's frustrating, and frankly I'd rather not talk about.) If he wasn't my son, I think I'd be able to make a strong haircut that the bowl cut is kind of dorky. Of course, if YOU suggest his hair looks kind of dorky, you get a punch in the face. Fortunately, it's hair, and will grow back in short order. So we consider this another life/parenting lesson: Rockstar hair is always the way to go.
Saavan's new hairstyle: a perfect complement to the toddler suit.
Arjun on August 4, 2011. 2 months old! (The elephant will make sense when you see the successive monthly photos. Promise.)
And before I could comprehend Arjun had turned 1 month, he's already 2 (months)! It's pretty crazy. I will say, Arjun (along with Saavan and Neha) spent two of the last four weeks in Ann Arbor, so the 2-month birthday really did sneak up on me. Arjun at 2 months isn't SUPER different than he was at 1, although he's pretty much stopped peeing on us, which is great. He does, however, poop constantly. (Always into diapers, thankfully.) We are changing roughly 40 diapers a day. What's amazing is that in the first couple of days after Arjun was born, we were a little concerned because he wasn't peeing or pooping. Our doctor told us not to worry, that sometimes it takes a day or so for him to get started. Now we're begging him to slow down.
Another perspective on the elephant.
At two months, Arjun is doing a great job with his neck control (a major milestone for any infant), and is starting to make some consistent cooing sounds. He's getting close to the age where they get super fun! And he looks fricking adorable sitting next to that elephant.
Sometimes sad.
But mostly happy!
As far as big brothers go, Saavan kicks ass.
Regardless of what Arjun does or does not do, Saavan already adores him. Saavan gets upset when Arjun cries, and constantly wants to hug and kiss him. And if that weren't enough to convince you, check out what Saavan did the day Arjun was born, the first Saavan ever saw him, laying in the nursery (it gets awesome at the 47-second mark) (for reasons too stupid to explain, I was unable to load this video until yesterday):
Once you've wiped the tears from your eyes, feel free to agree that Saavan is, in fact, a great big brother. And like Saavan said, Happy (2 month) birthday baby!
Arjun at 1 month! (Photo actually taken on July 6, two days after Arjun's 1-month birthday, but given the timing of this post, a two-day delay is plenty acceptable.)
...was on July 4, 2011, over two weeks ago. Nonetheless, this is being posted in the month of July, so it's generally timely. In my defense, Arjun's first month was an eventful one, with the newly-expanded Vohra clan traveling to Los Gatos, California for Soccer Mama and Shar Mami's wedding. Which, to be clear, meant that we took Arjun on a 5-hour cross-country flight before he was 4 weeks old. Needless to say, everyone with whom we shared this plan was horrified, as were all of the fellow passengers on our flight who saw us board the plane with a very young child the size of a tiny seedless watermelon (they're typically smaller than the ones with seeds). Fortunately, Arjun did a great job on the flight, sleeping through pretty much all of it and waking only to feed. (Saavan did great too, but for a short stretch when he displayed a bit of fussiness that prompted the nice lady sitting across the aisle to lend us her iPad to distract him. It totally worked, and would have made a great commercial for Apple. Call me, Jobs.)
BREAK FOR ADORABLE CLOSEUP PHOTOS OF ARJUN:
A freshly-bathed Arjun rocks some naturally-spiky hair.
.
The official name of Arjun's current eye color? "Stunning."
The wedding was a blast, and Arjun and Saavan were well taken care of by scores of family and friends. (The subject of a separate blog entry.) After the wedding, we flew to Ann Arbor, MI, to begin Arjun's indoctrination into the cult that is the University of Michigan. Said indoctrination included Arjun being nursed in the middle of the Michigan Diag, something I'm pretty sure neither Neha nor myself envisioned when we were 18-year old freshman on campus. (Which was 15 years ago. Holy crap.) And we wouldn't be Michigan parents if we (and all of our friends) didn't force our kids to constantly wear Michigan gear:
L to R: Karina, Aarav, Saavan, Kavi, Baby Raina, Baby Arjun. All destined for a lifetime of football disappointment.
In the six weeks since his birth, Arjun has been - knock on wood - a mostly easy baby. He nurses well (something Saavan never did), poops on schedule, and sleeps well at night. There's really nothing else we could hope for. There has been one Arjun-related issue, however, that has been difficult for at least me to deal with. Arjun is a merciless pee machine, consistently releasing a steady and powerful stream during diaper changes. I've been nailed a number of times. This was never an issue with Saavan, but with Arjun, I've learned to be legitimately fearful of losing an eye. (This actually makes some sense, given that the original Arjun was a masterful archer.) But it makes for a good laugh every time it happens, and provides blog fodder, so I cannot complain too much.
Arjun is a thoughtful sleeper.
Happy 1-month birthday Arjun! I'm sorry this is late, but it wouldn't be my blog if it was timely. Now please stop peeing on me!
Saavan wishes his little brother a happy 1-month birthday!
In the midst of hectic work schedules, the twilight of Neha's pregnancy, Arjun's birth, and the whole family's adjustment to having a new baby in the house, Saavan's third birthday totally snuck up on us. And seriously, he's already three?!? I'm horrified, but it's true. Saavan turned three today, and he is, indisputably, a little boy. He speaks in full, clear sentences, has clearly discernible likes (cars, and the movie "Cars") and dislikes ("food"), and effectively argues with us on a regular basis. Though he's still incredibly skinny, he's no longer tiny, and every day we're a little surprised at just how big and tall he's gotten. (Though admittedly he seems even bigger given how tiny Arjun is.) At age 3, Saavan is obsessed with collecting cars and sprinting around the couch in our family room "racing" them (also, "losing" them). Saavan still isn't potty trained, but he will sometimes tease me into thinking that he's ready. I'll excitedly throw him on the potty thinking that we're about to have a major breakthrough and he'll just laugh - he was messing with me. The lack of success in potty training is frustrating, although I must say, I'm excited about his wicked sense of humor.
At the age of three, Saavan is also full of adorable little phrases, my favorite being, to express his disdain for something, "I throw it in the garbage truck." Example: Me: "Saavan, let's go downstairs and eat some breakfast." Saavan: "I don't want breakfast. I throw breakfast in the garbage truck."
The imagery is pretty effective. I'd like to throw work in the garbage truck.
Impossibly cute. Chock full of attutide.
In the past year, Saavan has mastered riding his tricycle. It's a sight to be seen. Not only is he a speed demon who can turn on a dime, he's fearless, as evidenced by the following two videos. (NOTE TO CONCERNED PARENTS AND DCFS AFTER WATCHING FIRST VIDEO - HE WAS TOTALLY FINE.)
Okay, so that didn't go so well. But check out Saavan, undeterred, as he immediately get back up on that horse (and by horse I mean "tricycle"):
Redemption!
At age three, Saavan has also shown himself to be a fantastic big brother. He constantly showers little Arjun with love and affection, as is cleary demonstrated by this photo, taken the day after Arjun's birth:
Best photo ever? Best photo ever.
Saavan also makes it a point to climb into our bed each morning, where Arjun currently sleeps (this is poor parenting, but it's the only place Arjun will sleep at night, and STOP JUDGING US), and the first thing he does is put his arm around the little guy. And whenever Arjun starts to cry, it's Saavan who first tells Arjun that "it's okay," and it's Saavan who runs to find Arjun's pacifier. When Arjun is on his stomach for tummy time, Saavan is usually right there with him, getting his own tummy time and serving as one of those fitness coaches who's always yelling at you to do more sit-ups.
More tummy time!
If anything, Saavan is a little too enthusiastic about Arjun, and that enthusiasm often manifests itself in incredibly tight hugs and big, wet, sloppy, and sort of violent kisses for Arjun. Thus our job as parents is to find a balance between Saavan's incredible affection and the need to prevent Arjun from being smothered. It's a challenge, but doesn't change the fact that in only two weeks, Saavan has already come to kick ass as a big brother.
Happy birthday Saavan! You remain the best thing ever.
On Saturday, June 4, 2011, at 4:28 p.m., we welcomed Arjun Singhal Vohra into the world. The handsome little bugger is pictured directly above this text. The actual day of Arjun's birth was relatively non-eventful: around 6 a.m., Neha announced that she was pretty sure she was in labor (Arjun's due date wasn't until June 16, but we were expecting him to be out early). We got our stuff together, confirmed that Neha's dad was comfortable handling Saavan for the day on his own, and headed off to the hospital. (One hiccup - Neha decided that she had to take a 20-minute shower before heading to the hospital. I was freaking out the entire time.) Very shortly after checking in it was confirmed that this was not a false alarm, and less than 12 hours after Neha woke up feeling contractions, and after she had pushed for less than 10 minutes, the Sequel had arrived! When Saavan was born, we didn't know whether he was going to be a boy or a girl, and so finding out the sex sort of distracted us (or at least me) from the magnitude of the event. This time, there were no distractions, and so I'll admit - I cried a bit when the little guy arrived.
Adorably tiny feet.
The fact that the labor and delivery itself was relatively painless only sort of makes up for the fact that the pregnancy itself was anything but. Once again, Neha suffered from hyperemesis (severe morning sickness) during her first trimester, at which point I was once again totally unsympathetic. Plus, being pregnant while also having a toddler is a lot tougher, and while Saavan is not particularly difficult, he's obviously too young to understand that Neha's pregnancy limited her ability to do certain things. And then there was work. Neha has spent the last few months heading multiple work proposals that all came to life at the same time. And since early March, I was working horrific hours in preparation for a four-day trial that began last Tuesday, May 31st. That stress alone would have been enough, but it was coupled with the fact that the Sequel was due at some point in early June. Given that Saavan was born 8 days early, there was a decent chance that I was going to have to field an urgent phone call while in Court, which would have obviously been a mess, although it would make for a pretty cool story.
The new family!
Fortunately, we survived all of that, and the result was little Arjun, a happy, healthy baby boy who has been nothing short of amazing in his first 5 days of life. It's crazy to think that despite the fact that we went through all of this three years ago with Saavan, we don't really remember a lot of it - the constant waking up in the middle of the night, the adorably tiny diapers, the totally helpless little guy who needs to have his head propped up at all times. But not remembering it is nice - we get to re-live it without the stress of the last time (having successfully navigated nearly three years with Saavan, we know we're generally capable of being parents), and this time Saavan is involved in the experience as well (the subject of a future blog post, I swear!), which makes it very different and fun in an entirely different way.
Welcome Arjun! Saavan, Neha and I cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives with you.
I'm ready to teach my little brother how to ride a tricycle!
The pressure to blog has become overwhelming. I'm getting hit from all sides by "friends" constantly bugging me about not updating this thing, and asking me if I've forgotten about Saavan, or the fact that we have a second kid on the way.
To which I always respond, "wait, WHAT?"
Just kidding! I haven't forgotten about the Sequel! In fact, Neha, Saavan and I talk about him the time. Over the past couple of months, we've been slowly trying to warm Saavan to the idea of having a little brother. And he's coming around! When he first learned a new baby was on the way, Saavan's initial reaction was to declare that he intended to share neither his toys nor his mommy. (Apparently I was expendable.) Now Saavan walks around talking about the baby in his tummy that constantly kicks him, and carries around a little toy elephant that he refers to as his baby brother. One of the books in Saavan's current reading list is Joanna Cole's "I'm A Big Brother," which talks all about a new baby coming home. While reading the book, Saavan always declares that he's ready to give his baby brother a bottle when mommy is in the shower. (Whether or not that ever actually happens remains to be seen, because I don't think Neha will have any time to shower once the Sequel arrives.) Given the importance of bottle feeding, I think it's safe to say that Saavan is ready to assume those responsibilities that come with big brotherhood.
And how to make a huge mess while eating!
As Saavan gets a little less wary about the idea of a little brother, Neha grows a little larger. She's already massive. With Saavan, Neha wasn't the size of a truck until month 8. With the Sequel, she's already there, and still growing. It's sort of intimidating. And with Neha's size come challenges with Saavan, who always wants to sit on Neha's lap, but is finding less room to maneuver. He's all, "hey you're fat like daddy!" And we all laugh. (But really I cry.)
Whether or not I actually share my toys remains to be seen.
The point is, we're in full preparation mode for the Sequel, and we're terribly excited. We've undergone massive home preparation in anticipation of the Sequel, painting all the rooms in our house, getting bunkbeds for and painting blue what will eventually be the boys' room (it looks SOOO awesome). And pretty much every day Neha and I jokingly freak out about how we're going to feed and put two kids to bed, given that Saavan already has us totally wiped out by 9PM.
But if Saavan is going to help out with bottle feeding, we should be alright.
