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.

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.

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.

three bald babies

There was a farewell party for us and another family the other night. Aashini and Hazel wore fun skirts that Andrea and I bought for $1 at one of the markets. I actually bought one in my size, and it was the same price! I'm not sure if mine was super cheap or if Hazel's was a rip off. :)

Sweet smiley Meredith was there too. Our 3 baby girls are a lot different than Indian babies, obviously, but one of the big differences is ours don't have any hair! Hazel has the most out of the three, I think, but that's not saying much.




In typical girl fashion, Aashini was loving her skirt, so much so that she kept looking at it. Which caused her to lean on Hazel...

pool party!

The Shefs have a little baby pool on their balcony, and very sweetly asked us to come over this week for the girls to have a pool party. Aashini enjoys the pool - mostly - and so we were hoping Hazel would have fun too. So Hazel had her first swimming experience! You be the judge on how she felt about it...

It's almost like she's wondering if she's gonna like the pool...


This was within seconds of putting her in there.


Then she went right on into the Ugly Cry.


Trying to get Aashini to help her find a way out.


We (incorrectly) thought she'd enjoy being in the raft.


This was not posed! Aashini grabbed Hazel's hand in what I like to think was reassurance. What a sweet sympathetic little girl she is. :)


Aashini is clearly trying to comfort Hazel, don't you think?


"Hey Mommy, 1991 called. They want their scrunchie back."


Apparently Hazel needs a little more time to get used to swimming. We'll have to try again soon so she'll enjoy the lake this summer!

buddies

We went over to hang out with the Shefs for American Idol the other night. We tried keeping Hazel up a little past her bedtime so she could 'play' with Aashini, but she wasn't too thrilled about it.
It's funny, both Andrea and I had the idea to title our blogs "Buddies". I think it's because of this picture. How can you look at it and not think they look like buddies? Andrea pointed out that Hazel looks like she's saying, "Oh my!" in this picture.
Then we had the "bright" idea to put the babies on their tummies. Immediately upon being put in this position, she rolls over now. So here she is, frustrated that the pillows are blocking her movement. This was end of the photo shoot for Hazel, who went to sleep promptly after her wail-fest. Aashini's face in this picture cracks me up!

I'm really sad we only have a couple more months to hang out with the Shefs and our other great friends here in India. But one thing that cheers me up is that Hazel will have lots of other buddies to meet when we get back - Sophia, Boston and Olivia, and Micah, just to name a few.

hazel's first easter

Today was Resurrection Sunday, and we celebrated in several ways. First, we went to a sunrise service in some gardens here that have a lot of really, really old tombs. I love the idea that Jesus' tomb is empty!


We had to wake Hazel up pretty early, but she was pretty fascinated by the gardens and all the people, so she was wide awake through it all. In our sleepy fog we forgot to put her tights on her, and also didn't realize how cool it was outside. I got tsked a lot by some aunties who came around wrapping Hazel in her blanket and covering her head.


I like this picture of her and James.


This is her Easter dress. Dress from Ashley, tights and bow from Mimi, and patent leather shoes from Nana. Thanks, y'all, for wardrobing my daughter! :)


We went to the regular service, and then over to Matt and Tiff's house for lunch and fellowship.


This is Meredith who is 5 months older than Hazel. She loved Matt and Tiff's dog, and squealed loudly in delight every time he came near. She even said her second word today - "doggy". It was pretty cute! I'm looking forward to when Hazel squeals more and surprises us with words.


This picture is so cute! Meredith was trying to comfort Hazel as she toppled over.

color blind

One of the fun things about Hazel spending her first 6 months in India is that she gets to have lots of Indian friends! I always wonder if she notices the differences in looks between her parents and most of the people around us. Maybe one of the many reasons Jesus said we should be like the children is because babies are color blind when it comes to skin.

Hazel with one of her biggest fans, Jaya.

This is D*, one of the ladies from our prenatal class. Hazel and I went to her house last week to visit with her and her baby boy.

Hazel and Abir. He's 5 weeks younger than her, and much sleepier than her!

Our landlord had been dying to meet Hazel!

The Andrews sisters holding Hazel at church: