For the sake of ease, we've combined all our blogs into one family blog, and will be catching up with all our friends over there from now on. So change your Bloglines links, and make sure to comment!
Saturday, June 7
Sunday, June 1
family happenings
Lots of fun things have been happening this week.
Just a cute picture of Hazel in her cool shades:
1. A 21st Century Wedding!
Yesterday, Hazel got a new aunt!! Stephen, James' brother, and his fiancee Angela eloped to Florida! They were planning a wedding for August, and then decided to forgo all the wedding hoopla for a private ceremony. Last weekend, Stephen sat us down at breakfast and said, "So...next weekend Angela and I are getting married." It was a shock and we cheered for them. We were bummed, though, that we couldn't witness it, and then someone had the idea for a webcam wedding! So no kidding, Stephen set up his laptop and we watched their super short ceremony. They were pretty giggly, and it was really cute, and also a little Bollywood because Angela's hair was blowing in the beachy breeze. :) Here's the family watching the ceremony:
(Uncle Jim has on a mask because of the surgery...he's not supposed to be exposed to any germs)
"You may now kiss the bride":
2. Olivia's Ballet Recital
I can't get over how adorable her tiny ballet slippers are! She did really well - she pointed and plie-d and twirled gracefully.
3. Play Dates!
We went this week for a play date with Hazel's cousins.
Sophie couldn't look more like my brother if she tried.
Hazel really liked Boston...by day...
But his super hero persona seemed to frighten her.
Just a cute picture of Hazel in her cool shades:
1. A 21st Century Wedding!
Yesterday, Hazel got a new aunt!! Stephen, James' brother, and his fiancee Angela eloped to Florida! They were planning a wedding for August, and then decided to forgo all the wedding hoopla for a private ceremony. Last weekend, Stephen sat us down at breakfast and said, "So...next weekend Angela and I are getting married." It was a shock and we cheered for them. We were bummed, though, that we couldn't witness it, and then someone had the idea for a webcam wedding! So no kidding, Stephen set up his laptop and we watched their super short ceremony. They were pretty giggly, and it was really cute, and also a little Bollywood because Angela's hair was blowing in the beachy breeze. :) Here's the family watching the ceremony:
(Uncle Jim has on a mask because of the surgery...he's not supposed to be exposed to any germs)"You may now kiss the bride":
2. Olivia's Ballet Recital
I can't get over how adorable her tiny ballet slippers are! She did really well - she pointed and plie-d and twirled gracefully.3. Play Dates!
We went this week for a play date with Hazel's cousins.
Sophie couldn't look more like my brother if she tried.
Hazel really liked Boston...by day...
But his super hero persona seemed to frighten her.
Friday, May 30
root root root for the astros...
My super cool sis-in-law (nanand to be specific on which one :) had the great idea for both sides of the family to go to an Astros game the day after we got back to the US. So everyone (minus my mother-in-law who is still recovering from donating her kidney to her brother) went to the game to cheer on the 'Stros. Yes, the first picture on the next blog is from this game. My in-laws had them do a message to us! Wasn't that cool?
I know it's a lot of pictures, but we're huge Astros fans. We listened over the internet when they were in the World Series. Live. At 5am. So, this was a big deal for us to go back to a game. And we won, too, but that was just icing on the cake.
Hazel and Sophia buckled up safely, American-style. Hazel is still getting used to the car seat.
Like a lighthouse, beckoning us home, here we are in front of Minute Maid Park.
Aunt Belinda and Katy.
My brother holding Sophia, and Boston with his hand on his daddy's neck.
Livvie loves Hazel. Check out Hazel's cute Astros onesie! Courtesy of Aunt Julie. She also bought her some cute pink Converse, but they are a tiny bit too big right now.
The Roberts siblings! Aren't they cute??
Christi cooing with Sophie.
Hazel loves her Pops' goatee. (that's my dad)
She fussed a little bit, so here we are fussing with her.
Hazel and her PawPaw. (James' dad)
Biggio and I sharing a joke.
Hazel and Mimi.
Livvie and her Foofa.
Boston was super excited to get his cotton candy. I asked him for a piece, and he pinched me off one about the size of a pencil eraser. What a generous little kid he is! ;)
Thanks Aunt Julie for such a fun night!!
I know it's a lot of pictures, but we're huge Astros fans. We listened over the internet when they were in the World Series. Live. At 5am. So, this was a big deal for us to go back to a game. And we won, too, but that was just icing on the cake.
Hazel and Sophia buckled up safely, American-style. Hazel is still getting used to the car seat.
Like a lighthouse, beckoning us home, here we are in front of Minute Maid Park.
Aunt Belinda and Katy.
My brother holding Sophia, and Boston with his hand on his daddy's neck. 
Livvie loves Hazel. Check out Hazel's cute Astros onesie! Courtesy of Aunt Julie. She also bought her some cute pink Converse, but they are a tiny bit too big right now. 
The Roberts siblings! Aren't they cute??
Christi cooing with Sophie.
Hazel loves her Pops' goatee. (that's my dad)
She fussed a little bit, so here we are fussing with her.
Hazel and her PawPaw. (James' dad)
Biggio and I sharing a joke. 
Hazel and Mimi.
Livvie and her Foofa.
Boston was super excited to get his cotton candy. I asked him for a piece, and he pinched me off one about the size of a pencil eraser. What a generous little kid he is! ;)
Thanks Aunt Julie for such a fun night!!
Thursday, May 29
back in america!
We're back in the US! We've been here for a few days now, but have been so busy reconnecting that I have a few fun posts to get caught up on. It may take a few days.
Hazel was such a trooper on the flights! She slept over half of the first flight (which was 15 hours!) and then this is her on the second flight (only 4 hours). One lady asked us why our baby didn't cry, so I took that as a sign that she was a good little traveler.
My brother and James' sister got special passes to meet us at the gate! So we walked off the plane, and there they were!! It was so cool. Julie took hold of Hazel immediately! It was so great to hug my brother and sis-in-law.
The rest of the family (and two sweet friends) was waiting at the baggage claim. As we stepped off the escalator, they started cheering, and we ran over to them and hugged and cried. Some of the airport employees were there to watch the reunion and thanked us for letting them be a part of it. They also had some signs for us. It was so great. Hazel was passed around quite a bit! We all went immediately to have some good Mexican for lunch. Our little introvert was a bit overwhelmed at that point, so Mimi walked her around a lot until she fell asleep.
Our home church has a house they are letting us stay in for 6 months, which is so characteristic of them. They are quite a generous church. It feels like staying in a palace, and it's wonderful having a dishwasher and dryer and constant water heater, etc. They just installed a new double oven, and I just don't know what to do with two giant ovens. I foresee lots of casseroles and cakes in our future!
The second day back, we went to the grocery store. I marveled at the size of all the produce. In India, we could only get red onions, so it was cool to see them here too. But American red onions are HUGE. I laughed so hard, I couldn't believe how big they are. I also had a hard time walking the aisles and seeing all of the choices on the shelves. How we make any decisions in the grocery store is beyond me.
Hazel was such a trooper on the flights! She slept over half of the first flight (which was 15 hours!) and then this is her on the second flight (only 4 hours). One lady asked us why our baby didn't cry, so I took that as a sign that she was a good little traveler.
My brother and James' sister got special passes to meet us at the gate! So we walked off the plane, and there they were!! It was so cool. Julie took hold of Hazel immediately! It was so great to hug my brother and sis-in-law.
The rest of the family (and two sweet friends) was waiting at the baggage claim. As we stepped off the escalator, they started cheering, and we ran over to them and hugged and cried. Some of the airport employees were there to watch the reunion and thanked us for letting them be a part of it. They also had some signs for us. It was so great. Hazel was passed around quite a bit! We all went immediately to have some good Mexican for lunch. Our little introvert was a bit overwhelmed at that point, so Mimi walked her around a lot until she fell asleep. 
Our home church has a house they are letting us stay in for 6 months, which is so characteristic of them. They are quite a generous church. It feels like staying in a palace, and it's wonderful having a dishwasher and dryer and constant water heater, etc. They just installed a new double oven, and I just don't know what to do with two giant ovens. I foresee lots of casseroles and cakes in our future!
The second day back, we went to the grocery store. I marveled at the size of all the produce. In India, we could only get red onions, so it was cool to see them here too. But American red onions are HUGE. I laughed so hard, I couldn't believe how big they are. I also had a hard time walking the aisles and seeing all of the choices on the shelves. How we make any decisions in the grocery store is beyond me.
Saturday, May 17
best 5 years
Today is our wooden anniversary! (5 year wedding anniversary) I can not imagine a better husband, now also father to our first child, and these past 5 years have definitely been the best of my life so far. We realized we've spent more of our married life in India than we have in America.
Last week, Andrea the Super Photographer (I think that's my new nick name for her :) took our little family of 3 out to some super cool ruins to take some family pictures before we leave. She did a fabulous job!! These are just some of the pictures she took. There are a few more on my facebook/myspace, and lots more in my picasa.
Thursday, May 8
things hazel likes
Hazel likes to play with my bangles.
Hazel likes her Lily Maussi. ('maussi' is Hindi for mother's older sister) I asked Lily if she wanted to be Lily Auntie or Lily Maussi, and without hesitation she replied "Lily Maussi. I am Lily Auntie to the neighborhood children, but Hazel is like family." As soon as Hazel sees her Lily Maussi she starts to smile, coo, and squawk.
Which brings me to the next thing Hazel likes - to squawk. That's her version of laughing. I must admit, I like it as well.
She also likes her walker. As soon as we put her in it, she squawks, smiles, and tries to push the squeaky toy. Today, she kept trying to put it in her mouth, which made her lean forward and "walk". Then she realized she was moving, and kept doing it. This video is her enjoying her walker, and Meredith trying to enjoy it as well. You'll also get the listening pleasure of Mindy and Aaron singing and playing bluegrass in the background!
She likes to close her eyes in pictures. She gets that from her Mimi.
She also likes her blue eyes. Well okay, that's something Mommy likes, and she actually has no idea about them. But if they stay blue, I'm sure she'll like them one day.
Hazel likes her Lily Maussi. ('maussi' is Hindi for mother's older sister) I asked Lily if she wanted to be Lily Auntie or Lily Maussi, and without hesitation she replied "Lily Maussi. I am Lily Auntie to the neighborhood children, but Hazel is like family." As soon as Hazel sees her Lily Maussi she starts to smile, coo, and squawk.
Which brings me to the next thing Hazel likes - to squawk. That's her version of laughing. I must admit, I like it as well.
She also likes her walker. As soon as we put her in it, she squawks, smiles, and tries to push the squeaky toy. Today, she kept trying to put it in her mouth, which made her lean forward and "walk". Then she realized she was moving, and kept doing it. This video is her enjoying her walker, and Meredith trying to enjoy it as well. You'll also get the listening pleasure of Mindy and Aaron singing and playing bluegrass in the background!
She likes to close her eyes in pictures. She gets that from her Mimi.
She also likes her blue eyes. Well okay, that's something Mommy likes, and she actually has no idea about them. But if they stay blue, I'm sure she'll like them one day.
Saturday, May 3
wedding time!
Hazel attended her first wedding this week! She did really well...she actually laughed and cooed through most of the ceremony. One of my best friends is getting married this summer, and I'm excited to see if she's as sweet during that wedding, too!
Nitin and Prerna, the newlyweds. I love it that even though they are not of the majority religion here, they still kept their wedding 'Indian.' I don't know the history of it, but sometime ago, foreigners must have come and told the Indians that if they were not Hindu, they should wear a white western gown, have bridesmaids and ring bearers, etc. Well, they kept anything of true w0rship in their ceremony, but she wore a lehenga, not a gown, and most of the men wore these traditional suits. (the name of them has slipped my mind) I think that's so cool! Who cares what traditions are in a ceremony as long is the Son is glorified, right?
The perfect wedding guest!
Since I don't put face pictures on the other blog, I'm using Hazel's blog for my own purposes. (this is why I'm planning to combine into one blog when we return to the States) Andrea and I went today and got our noses pierced! This picture makes us look like siamese twins joined at the head.
Saturday, April 26
hazel has a 'boy' friend!
Yesterday, we got together with some friends of ours that were passing through the capital. They have a little boy, Josiah, who is 8 months. Adam and Andrea came as well, so of course we had a picture time. Would we be good first time parents if we didn't capture every moment on film?
Hazel and Aashini hanging out. Notice how Hazel's legs are always straight out. She rarely bends her knees.
Josiah being the typical boy had better things to do than hang out with the girls.
But Melanie put him between the girls and we snapped away. This picture makes me giggle.
Hazel liked meeting a boy baby for the first time. (yes, Aaron and Melanie, I put that on the blog just for you! ;)
Here's a short video I did of the three babies together. The funny thing to me is not the babies but how excited we parents are to watch three babies lay on a pillow. Well okay, that babies are pretty funny too.
Hazel and Aashini hanging out. Notice how Hazel's legs are always straight out. She rarely bends her knees.
Josiah being the typical boy had better things to do than hang out with the girls.
But Melanie put him between the girls and we snapped away. This picture makes me giggle.
Hazel liked meeting a boy baby for the first time. (yes, Aaron and Melanie, I put that on the blog just for you! ;) Here's a short video I did of the three babies together. The funny thing to me is not the babies but how excited we parents are to watch three babies lay on a pillow. Well okay, that babies are pretty funny too.
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