Happy Birthday Kabir!!!

I'll post a lovely long post soon about our first year as a family. It's been wonderful! 

Here are a few pictures from Kabir's first birthday that we celebrated as a family.

I never want to forget

I never want to forget:

Before I was pregnant and we were trying

• All the nights I cried because I felt broken
• All the times Jay just held me and let me know that no matter what we were going to try and make it happen 
• All the friends I had that talked to me about what I was going through and knew when I needed to talk about something else 

While pregnant

• The phone call that gave us the good news 
• How we had a storm during a heat wave and had to make two trips to Frederick so that I could be in an air conditioned room 
• That I donated 15 inches of hair in celebration 
• The first baby item I bought a little froggy rattle for my little growing baby
• My favorite foods: pomegranates, mangoes, kiwis, baked potatoes, bean burritos, dosa and masala egg, idli vada sambar, stew and pooris, hot dogs... 
• I couldn't stand eggs (1st trimester), mint (so I brushed with kiddie toothpaste), ranch dressing. Towards the end I had such bad heartburn, even from something like a banana. 
• All the back massages Jay gave me, and how he'd put lotion on my feet when I couldn't reach
• Jay "playing" with Kabir with flash lights and whale sounds 
• How Kubs would kick me when he was bored, or it was snack time, or he just wanted to let me know he was there

Labor and Delivery 

• My water broke while watching tutorials about cloth diapers. I wait an hour before calling my doctor because I was so nervous 
• The crazy lady next door at triage 
• How fast Jay fell asleep once we got our labor room 
• How Kabir wouldn't stop moving with the heart monitor so the nurses were always coming in to find him again, until they just put in a probe. 
• My amazing nurse, Sada, with her red hair and heart tatoo, who completely made my experience wonderful! She was so present and so positive. 
• Mom and dad eating Chipotle right before the action started. 
• How lonely I felt for the 30 minutes that Jay wasn't in our room. 
• How during the whole time, Jay just held my hand and looked at me. He kept telling me that he knew I could do this and that I was strong and beautiful. 
• The pain which you cannot describe because as much as it hurts, it's serene and beautiful because you know at the end you will have brought a person into this world 
• Kabir didn't cry when he came out, he just calmly looked around for a minute. I was in tears and could not stop saying "Jay that's our son. Our son is finally here." 
• Holding Kabir for the first time and just knowing that he is absolutely perfect. 
• Kissing his tiny hands, and his sweet face. 
• Looking at Jay holding Kabir. When I saw Jay with the Kabir for the first time I was amazed to discover that there is a well of love that just overflows. 

Life as a family 

Newborn

• How alert you were when you were born 
• The first night at the hospital was easy peasy! You slept, your pooped, you ate. Night two you refused to sleep if someone wasn't holding you and mom and dad were so tired. So Amama and Grandpa Joe came and spent 3-4 hours holding you so we could all sleep. 
• The first sound you made- you howled like a little wolf in your sleep and dad and I laughed at around 2 weeks. 
• Splitting feedings in half so that we could get your spend time on your tummy 
• How proud we were at the doctors when she complimented your neck strength 
• How relieved we were that we didn't haven to wake you every 3 hours for a feeding
• Trying to get you to latch 
• Every one of your gas smiles :) 
• How the cloth diapers raised your bum high and had you sleeping at an angle 
• The first bath in a tub, you were so small! We had to line the tub with a towel and roll it up to give you extra leg support 
• Fist pumping in your redskins hat
• You could sleep through anything - fire alarms, being swaddled, being passed around. 
• Grandpa Steve, Aunt Nicole and Aunt Alicia came to see you as soon as you came home and Grandpa Steve put up your special shelf.
• Nana Sue visited you every weekend, with Aunt Ems and Zachy, and made you a special quilt.
• Sometimes the only way we'd get you to sleep was in your swing 
• Breaking out of your swaddle 
• How nervous we were to bring you home
• Peeing on Uncle Noel when we just changed your diaper 
• Uncle Andrew feeding you 
• Uncle Tony being amazed at you
• Duct taping your swaddle blankets
• The way you cried on our way home from the lactation consultants 
• How nervous I was to have dad go back to work. 
• How lucky we were to have Amama home to help. 
• How tiny you were and yet you were the biggest part of lives! 

1 Month Old 

• You learned to flip and did it every time we put you on your stomach so we had to invent new ways to give your tummy time
• Holding your rattle ball for the first time 
• Sitting up with assistance 
• How cute your  buns look in cloth diapers 
• Your strong lungs! 
• The first time you cuddled with a blanket
• Going to church for the first time and thinking you were big enough and then realizing just how small you really were 
• Discovering that travel coffee mugs are great for heating breast milk on the go! 
• Mom's first trip alone with baby to work. I had practiced carrying the car seat around with a 10 pound weight inside! 
• The delicious shrimp and sausage brown rice dish I made for the first time. It was so yummy I made it for dinner and lunch the next day! 
• Realizing that I hadn't learned a lullaby, so I would sing The National, Kings of Convenience, and Feist. 

2 Months Old

• How you howled when you got your shots and the awful doctor who told us not to give you tyelnol and so you howled again at Target
• You and your sunglasses! 
• How strong you had grown! You could fully fight the swaddle when awake. 
• Your bunny ears and bunny bum for Easter! 
• Your first snow! We bundled you up and took pictures but it was rather uneventful
• Having Uncle Noel, Tony and Andrew visit for Easter! And their comments on how big you've grown! 
• Seeing the Divitas for the first time with you! 
• Your sweet little vest for Easter. 
• Daddy's discovery that you loved being held airplane style 
• Having a "I will not sleep in my crib" phase. So we tried with a pillow, and on a couch. It lasted about a week. 
• Thinking that 3 am - 8 am was play time! We broke you on that after about 3 days. 
• How the Kings of Convenience could calm any fit and help you fall asleep. 

3 Months Old

• Your serious grown up face when we went to take professional pictures 
• Your chunky thighs in shorts!
• How you really began to listen and enjoy story time 
• Your laugh!
• How you smiled at everyone you saw 
• How much you enjoyed being outdoors 
• Singing songs by Kings of Convenience, The National and the Lumineers as you fell asleep. 
• Flipping from your back to your stomach. 

4 Months Old

• You began to outgrown your blankets for floor time 
• We started you on solids - rice cereal. You took to foods so quickly. You loved sweet potato, butternut squash, pears, and peaches. 
• My very first mothers day. Thank you for that wonderful gift! Daddy wrote mommy a sweet letter, and bought the first movie to start our tradition. Uncle Tony took us to breakfast. 
• Hardcore sleeping in the baby bjorn, front facing! 
• You began to babble 
• The silver chain on your waist
• Sitting in your baby bumbo! 
• Eating solids meant watching Mo Willems: The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, Knuffle Bunny, Naked Mole Rat, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and Leonardo the Terrible Monster. 
• Going swimming: the first time you just cried so mommy stood outside with you. The second time we gradually brought you in and you loved it! You are so happy splashing around in the pool! 
• Truly enjoying quiet time with you mobile. 
• Mommy and Daddy's first night leaving you with Grandpa Steve and Grandma Grace to go see the National in concert. 

5 Months Old

• Staring to creep and act like a big kid
• Teething! 
• Becoming big enough to jump in your jumper and jump you did!
• Fighting the bottle- we had to hold you tight and sign songs to get you eat. Some of your favorite songs were "Doe a Deer" "Favorite Things" "Precious Lord" "Amazing Grace"
• Giving you a teething biscuit and watching you start at your eyes and work your way down to your mouth. 
• Drinking water from a cup. 
• Making the same faces as daddy. 
• How you missed Grandpa Joe and Amama and Uncle Tony when they moved. Whenever you heard their voice you'd look at their room expecting them to come out. 
• Holding your toys and passing them to each hand. 
• Your first fever- you handled it like a champ! Your temperature was 101 at about 6 p.m. after 2 doses of Tylenol and 12 hours you were back to normal. Then came the coughing and stuffiness :( 

6 Months Old 

• Going to the park and playing on the swings and the slide. How much you loved laying the tunnels.
• Discovering how big your voice was and wanting to be a part of all the conversations 
• Teething is rough and makes sleeping very hard! 
• How whenever you got upset, if mom recited (because she had memorized it by now!) All of Baby Nose to Toes you calmed down 
• When you eat, how you love to watch daddy dancing or hear mom recite "Moo, Baa, La La La"
• Exploring more foods: fish, chicken, spaghetti, spinach, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, yogurt, oatmeal and so much more. 
• Wanting to help feed yourself. 
• Starting to hold your bottle. 
• Graduating to your big kid stroller and car seat. 
• Spending time in the car exploring your new car seat. 
• How exciting sitting in the grass was!
• How much fun it was to flip on the changing table when mom and dad were changing your diapers. 
• Falling asleep in mommy's arms in mommy's bed. Saturday and Sunday mornings become filled with baby, mommy and daddy cuddle time!
• Your baptism! See more in the post. 
• Just once, you were almost asleep and you sighed deeply and said " ummm yea". It was your first accidental word. Although, you do scream "ma ma ma" when upset. 

7 Months Old

• Really beginning to enjoy the park 
• Our trip to Denver- we took walks in the afternoon, met daddy for lunch, and mommy got to read! The flight was good- you napped and drank a bottle. 
• Enjoying your blooming bath 
• Your first little tooth broke through your gums! But it hasn't come out all the way. 
• You eat about 1/2 cup of baby food and love chewing on bread! 
• You also stopped fighting the bottle as much. 
• Pushing you around the house in a laundry basket.
• Watching football with dad. 
• How excited you got every time we walked through an open house. 
• Sitting in a shopping cart :) 
• Visiting with Great Grammy Lawson 
• How you mute or end calls when you're done
• The way you scramble to grab mommy's iPhone whenever I put it down 

8 Months Old

• Your first interaction with another baby about your age. The two you just sat an explored feet, faces and hands. You even shared socks. 
• Our first class at Romp and Roll- you had a great time until yoga. You just wanted to play!
• Your second little tooth has broken through your gums. 
• You eat about 3/4 cup of baby food! 
• You can crawl! Well army crawl with the use of one leg and kind of really crawl
• Laying in the guest room looking at the stars projected on the wall in the hopes that you sleep. 
• Separation anxiety- how it's a mixed feeling of "how sweet he misses me" and "he really needs to know I won't leave him for long"
• Laying out in the grass and playing all afternoon long. 
• Finally, getting into a rhythm with your schedule 
• Realizing that the baby bag means you're going out 
• Drinking from your sippy cup 
• Matching your toys when playing 
• Putting the ball through the right hole and watching it go down the ramp 
• How much of a chatty Charlie you are! You can say da-da, ma-ma, mom, dad, ga-ga, ba-ba, hmmm, yesh, and you can blow a mean raspberry! 
• You love bread! and trying to be and independent eater 
• Your new calm down songs are an assortment of Disney songs (Pooh, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast) and You are my sunshine 
• You love playing stinky feet 

9 Months Old 

• How much fun on our yearly trip to Great Falls
• How adorable you looked in your bear sweatshirt 
• Your 9 Month photo shoot where you showed so much personality 
• You're starting to really enjoy books being read to you 
• Your first Halloween: you dressed up as a little monster and had no idea what was happening! 
• How active you! You love crawling around and getting into everything! 
• Your trip ti Butlers for the Pumpkin Festival- you loved seeing all the kids and climbing the haystacks. But your favorite part was getting to chew on the pumpkins! 
• You didn't enjoy carving the pumpkin as much I thought you would it was too slimey for you. 
• Your first halloween party with your friends! You crawled around the party fallowing the kiddos around. 
• The sweet way you light up whenever you see mommy in the morning and daddy when he comes home. 
• Darling baby cuddles during nap time. 
• Meal time battles! 
• You're starting to pull up on things :) 

10 Months Old 

• Your first trip to Los Angeles to visit family there! 
• You flew alone with mommy and you were such a good baby! You didn't really sleep much but you were quite and played with mommy and didn't poo! 
• When we arrived you were so happy to see your amama and babbaloo and uncle tony. 
• You had a great time meeting all of our family there. You were smiles and hugs and were happy to go to everyone. You had a hard time adjusting to sleeping but who could blame you there was so much to do and see! 
• We all had a lovely time at Shilpa Perima's wedding- you looked so handsome in your little pajama kurta. 
• You started to pull up and walk a little using walker toys! 
• You got to meet Nana Norma which was so important to me. It makes my heart swell knowing that she met you and that you go ther love and blessings. 
• You visits Mali Perima's grave and just enjoyed the sunshine 
• You dances while Amama sang for you- it's still one of my favorite videos. 
• We went to Los Angeles before dad, and it was the sweetest thing to see you so excited when we went to get dad from the airport. You had truly missed him and we were so happy that he was back and yours again :) 
• We had our first Thanksgiving. You were so well behaved at mass and enjoyed the turkey mash I made for you for Thanksgiving dinner. You had such a blast playing with your cousins at Aunt Natalie's house.
• We bought our first Christmas tree and had our first snow- you weren't too sure about the snow but loved the Christmas lights! 

11 Months Old 

• Celebrating Christmas as a family for the first time- going to the Children's mass, putting on our special jammies, and waking in the morning to Christmas breakfast and a tree full of toys. Buying our Christmas tree and how enamored you were when we put the lights on. The sheer delight on your face as you opened each toy realizing they were for you. 
• Going to play dates galore and seeing you interact with other kids and the toys. You have grown so big and independent! I miss the little baby you used to be, but it's amazing to see your personality develop. 
• You love play dates and playing at the park! You're pulling up on objects and cruising. You love to babble all the time. And you've inherited your mom's love of snow. You love to watch it and play with it. 
• You went to your first birthday party and had a great time! You wore a party hat and sang along and loved playing with all the other kids. 
• You met Santa- and you didn't cry! 

12 Months Old

• We made it to a year! What an amazing journey it has been!
• You got croup a few days before your birthday and while you hated the medicine and the first night was rough. You were a trooper! You were the same happy smiling baby like always :) 
• Amama, Babbaloo and Uncle Tony came to visit
• Grandma Grace, Grandpa Steve, Aunt Nicole, Aunt Alicia, Aunt Therese and Uncle Chris all came to celebrate your birthday. 
• Nana Lawson also came and had a special day with you!
• You didn't really care for your smash cake although you ended up with 3 since we celebrated multiple times. 
• And even though your parties were cancelled we decorated the house and celebrated you! 
• You had play time at romp and roll and had a blast crawling and climbing on everything. Yoy discovered how to crawl backward. 
• After croup and the stomach bug we started you on solids- you loved avocado, amama's dad's egg and cheese, hot dogs, sausage, toasts and mangos. 
• You still hated drinking from your bottle even though it was milk now.
• You loved drinking water from a cup but didn't like milk in a cup
• Your favorite book was All of Baby Nose to Toes 
• You loved your blocks!

Laundry Day

Looks like this in my home 

At least he's reading while I fold :) 

Daddy Goes Back to Work

I realize that I should probably pepper the slew of recipe posts with some actual baby posts, because you know this is a blog about babies. At least that's what I was told. 

The shutdown is done!! And daddy (Jay) went back to work! Both good things... 

But this morning, our little guy spent a good 20 - 30 minutes after daddy left, crawling around the house saying "dada dada" looking for his dada. It was a little heartbreaking.

And I realized that I was back on full time poopie diaper call.

As the day went along, we enjoyed a play date with our new moms group friends. And the day seemed to be getting along just fine. 

But when quitting time came, and daddy walked through the door. Little Kubs's eyes lit up as he raced to get his daddy. Because he missed me. And I'm sure my eyes lit up just a little too!

Moments like these make my heart melt as I realize that I have an amazing love-filled little family. 

Shutdown Foodie- Day 5 and 6: Tacos, Meatballs, and Garlic Bread

Today you're getting a two-fer because well tacos (the lazy way I make 'em) just isn't a recipe. 

Tacos

So our tacos aren't fancy by any means. Our tacos are the ground beef with a packet of seasonings and lots of side dishes. Sometimes I switch it up and do shredded beef or chicken or fish or shrimp. But more often than not, taco night is ground meat (beef or turkey). 

Our go to seasoning packet is.... Trader Joes! They make the best taco seasoning packet hands down. Full of cumin, and cayene, and garlic and yumminess. It does have salt, so that is a drawback. But I use about 1 - 1.5 Tbsp per 1/2 lb of meat. Oh and a tablespoon of tomatoe paste. 

Our favorite sides are: guacamole, cilantro lime rice  (saute 1 cup of rice in 1 Tbsp of oil, when fragrant and lightly browned add to rice cooker with 2 cups of rice. When rice is hot toss in 1/2 limes worth or juice, salt and cilantro. Sometimes I add a little sweet corn), and fajita mix. I like a little cheese and sour cream. Oh and plenty of salsa! I love that taco night takes about 20 minutes to get on the table and it's so customizable! Plus who can deny the satisfaction that comes when the taco shell crunches! It's crunchy, spicy, creamy, fresh, cheesy goodness! 

If you're a taco lover, with kids who love tacos, or you just enjoy a good kids book, check out: Dragons Love Tacos. 

Meatballs

Nothing fancy here. But I'll take a home made meatball over a store bought one anyday. 

Ingredients:
1 lb meatloaf mix 
2-4 cloves of garlic, zested 
1/4 onion, zested
1 tsp garlic powder 
1 tsp onion powder 
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1 tsp dry Italian seasoning 
1 egg, beaten 
1 Tbsp tomato paste 
a good squirt of ketchup 
1/4 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper 
1 jar of sauce 

Mix everything together, just to bring it together. Don't over mix- it leads to tough meatballs. If  the mixture is too wet, add some bread crumbs to dry it out. But not too much. 

Form your meatballs. I like to cook mine for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven, then pour on the sauce and put them back in for 10 more minutes. Some people like to fry them. Others drop them in sauce on the pot. Do what calls to you. 

Garlic Bread 
1 loaf bakery bread (or home made if you're into it)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, or combo olive oil and butter 
2 - 4 cloves of garlic, zested
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
parmesean cheese (optional)
sprinkle of paprika

Cut your loaf in half. 

Mix the butter, zested garlic, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and parmsean cheese. Spread on each loaf. Sprinkle with a little paprika for color. Throw in the over until the broil setting until toasty brown. 

Shutdown Foodie Day 4 - Pork Vindaloo and Shrimp Byrani

Indian cooking is work. It's chopping, grinding, roasting, frying, simmering and so much more. And it's damn delicious! 

If you're Indian, you probably have a good number of "mom" recipes. The ones that pull out all the stops and require at least 2 trips to the store. I love my mom's recipes and I make them whenever I am very homesick. But I am no where near as adept as my mom as throwing it together seemingly effortlessly. It usually takes lots of time and effort. 

And then I discovered two saving graces (I'll save the second for later). The first is Madhur Jaffrey. She writes Indian cookbooks. And don't be mistaken, some of her recipes can require lots of time and effort. BUT she has one cookbook called "Quick and Easy Indian Cooking" and all the recipes in it are just that. Kid you not most recipes I use from her book get me kitchen to table in 30 minutes- for both a meat and a veggie. I use a rice cooker for rice so that doesn't count. If the recipes take longer, it's usually simmering/pressure cooking time where you can do something else. I love this book! I went from making Indian food once a month-ish to every week. Get the book and thank me later it will be the best $15 you spend!  with regard to Indian cooking anyway.. 

Oh and the best part: Each recipe is prefaced with a lovely anecdote about Madhur's life. If it weren't for the picture and the type, you could almost swear she was you grandma passing down tricks to keep a happy well fed home! 

Note: I know I'm Indian and I should have ground ginger and garlic paste ever at my disposal. And once upon a time I did. Now whenever I need ground ginger and/or garlic I just use my trusty microplane zester. So much easier!! 

Also, I steam veggies in the microwave and add them to dishes to save time on cooking. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 Tbsp grainy mustard 

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 

1 1/2 tsp ground tumeric 

1/2 - 1 tsp chili powder 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp red wine vinegar 

3 Tbsp oil 

1 small onion. cut in half rings 

6 cloves garlic 

1 1/4 lb boned shoulder (pork or lamb) cut into 1 inch cubes 

2/3 cup coconut milk 

2 potatoes, skinned and cut into 6 large pieces each 

You can use a pressure cooker or a deep nonstick pan with a lid  for this. 

Mix the mustard, cumin, tumeric, chili powder, salt and vinegar and set aside. 

Put the oil in your pan and add the onion rings. Cook until brown. Then add the garlic and saute for a minute. Next put in the spice paste followed by the meat. Stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes and add the coconut milk. Mix well. 

If you are using a pressure cooker, add 2/3 cup of water, seal the cooker bring up to pressure once, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. 

If you are using a nonstick pan, add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 60 - 70 minutes. 

Towards the end, toss your potatoes in a little oil and salt and steam them in the microwave. Once the curry is done simmering, mixx the potatoes in. 

Enjoy with rice or rotis. 

You'll lick your plate clean!

Shrimp Byrani

 

This is one of my mom's recipes. I make it pretty well, but I don't quite have my mother's hand. And I'm sure she'd have my head if I gave out her recipe en masse. If you desperately need to have it - I'll see what I can negotiate!! 

Enjoy!!

Shutdown Foodie Day 3 - French Toast, Drunken Noodles, Chocolate Pudding (kinda)

Oatmeal French Toast

So we all know that French Toast is yummy. It's that sweet gooey-ness and crisp buttery-ness and subtle cinnamon and nutmeg that just makes it tantalizing! 

Home made bread takes French Toast yummy-ness and makes it better... exponentially  The lesson here is you should try and make bread! King Arthur Flour's back of the bag bread is fairly easy and oh so yummy. 

Ingredients
4 slices thick cut bread, a little old 
2 eggs 
1/2 cup heavy cream 
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/8 - 1/4 tsp nutmeg 
2 - 4 Tbsp sugar, to taste 
1 Tbsp Grand Mariner (optional) 
butter 

Mix the eggs, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg  and sugar. If you're using the alchy throw that in as well. 

Let the slices soak up the custardy goodness on both sides. Heat the butter in a griddle and lay one slice down at a time (as many fit comfortably in your pan). Brown on both sides. 

Serve with maple syrup, dusted with powdered sugar, or fresh fruit. 

Drunken Noodles 

This is another Cook's Illustrated Recipe from the 2013 Cooking for 2 Issue. I don't have the magazine in front of me, and of course it isn't online. 

So the lesson here is: Go pick up this issue! You'll thank me later. I'm sure of it :) 

Chocolate Pudding 

This is another Cook's Illustrated Recipe from the 2013 Cooking for 2 Issue. I don't have the magazine in front of me, and of course it isn't online. 

So the lesson here is: Go pick up this issue! You'll thank me later. I'm sure of it :) 

If you really want this or the drunken noodles recipe and cannot live without them- email me. I'll dig up the magazine. 

This is kinda a bust of a recipe update but tomorrow's will be nothing short of ah-maz-ing! People were licking plates after the pork vindaloo, multiple people. And it was easy enough to throw together for lunch! What is this magic you ask? Check back tomorrow.