Thanksgiving!

Hello all,

It was Thanksgiving two weeks ago, and Medha and Pavan took their first trip aboard an aircraft. They were kind enough to take us (parents, grandparents and aunt) along with them. We went to Seattle (actually Poulsbo, WA) to spend the week with Niru and Ranga. And the lil pup Roshan. It was a lot of fun. A lot of food was eaten, and a lot of rest was taken. Mostly by yours truly, of course.

Niru and Ranga's home is simply fantastic. Nice and bright on a 3 acre lot, it sits adjacent to rainforest like hiking trails. It feels really like you're in the woods. And Roshan is such a well behaved dog, I never heard him bark.

As for the kids, they saw their Dr. O'Malley just before they headed off to Seattle. They logged in quite healthy on the scales.

Medha: 20 Lbs, 15 Oz (90th percentile); 29 inches tall (90th percentile) ; 44.25 cm head circumference (50th percentile)

Pavan: 23 Lbs, 2 Oz (90th percentile); 29.5 inches tall (90th percentile); 45.75 cm head circumference (75th percentile)

See below for some of their recent pictures from their trip to Seattle...

Pavan totally posing for his picture...

Medha and Pavan in their Thanksgiving finery

Hey Pavan, what's up lil buddy?

Y'know Gramps, i'm chillin.

Wheeeeee! This laundry basket sure is a lot of fun....Now where's the accelerator again?

As always, Pavan spends more time with the box than with the toy itself...

Medha with her Niru Pedamma.

Pavan freshly bathed, hair combed and looking very sleepy while hanging with his Ranga Pedanaanna.

Medha conducting her laudatory research on the migratory patterns of slow moving carpets in lands close to temperate rainforests and National Parks..

The kids riding their ponies ragged...

Medha enjoying her dancing time with her Syam-taatagaru.

Lakshmi proving that she can singlehandedly take care of the two... :-)

Yo Mom! Someone ate all the carrots! No, not me, mom. Someone else!!!

Phase 1 of the Thanksgiving lunch...The deserts came later...The cranberry salsa (ask me for the recipe) was terrific...

Extreme closeup of the excellent turkey that Ranga baked. Needless to say, it was tasty! First time for him, he claimed. I was licking my chops and holding my stomach from the overeating....

They're beginning to get more rambunctious and uncontrollable here. With their Syam-taatagaru

Dipavali 2004. All the more bright because of two out-of-control chippies...

The tykes with their (maternal) Gramma and Grampa.

Pavan with this Syam-taatagaru on Dipavali...

Medha with her Ammamma on Dipavali ...

They're 8.5 Months Old!!

The Charming Chums planning something BIG.

They're 8.5 months old now and are a lot of fun. They routinely crawl all over, and are also busting out of their clothes.

If you look closely you may notice that Pavan's left big toe is creating a hole in his bodysuit. Oh, we're such careless parents!

Pavan sitting on the kitchen floor. He never gets to sit here, so when we sat him down there he was BEAMING!

Medha playing with her non-Rubik's cube. It is child's play for her. Here she was laughing at something Lakshmi was saying.

The boy wonder cheerfully stuck in his crib. He seems to enjoy playing in his bed....

Prasad

Hans and Nancy came a-visiting, the first time after they got engaged (You can't miss the large shining diamond on her ring finger). Both Medha and Pavan took to them really well. They're normally a little shy of new people these days, but they were quite comfortable with the power couple. If you're nice people, kids take to you, no? :-)

Prasad

Pavan reading a new book of rhymes...

Prasad

Medha unleashed!

Prasad

Medha finds her way back into her one time bassinet, which now works as Mom's laundry basket.

Prasad

Prometheus, er, i mean Medha Bound. To her rocker anyway...

Prasad

Pavan standing up on his own looking for toys...

Prasad

What one can do, the other can do too... Medha and Pavan seeking out new toys to play with...

Prasad

Pavan has a great fall and trys to get someone to pick him up..

Prasad

Medha and Pavan are now 7.5 months old and are absolutely heaven to be around. Here's a shot of how happy they are for most of the day. I try to avoid taking pictures of them during the evening hours when they're hungy and/or sleepy....

Prasad

These kids know how to ham it up for the camera. Pavan shows the rest of the world how to do it.

Prasad

Pavan decided to take his temperature by himself. He is a hands-on kinda guy, y'know.

Prasad

Medha just woke up from a nap and boy! was she chipper. Yep, she loves her pacifier. We'll let her dentist worry about the effects... :-)

Prasad

Aaaawwww. Their first fight. Medha trying to take one away from Pavan. She was in the exersaucer but still managed to grab the elephant thingamajig that Pavan was playing with. Don't ask about the caps... Lakshmi has a thing for them. :-)

Prasad

Get up! Sit up! Sit up for your rights...

We give this play time two thumbs up - way up! Yep, definitely up.

Prasad

Celebrate good times, c'mon!

We're ready to par-tay!!! All the desis in the house say "hey...", say "ho...."

Prasad

Medha enjoying her sitting time...

Prasad

Look ma, no hands!! Medha tries to upstage Pavan...

Prasad

Look ma, only one hand barely touching the ground....!

Prasad

Pavan sitting up and enjoying it...

Prasad

Pavan just after chowing down some rice cereal - happy camper

Prasad

Labor Day 2004 with the Saggurti Twins

Medha and Pavan enjoying their Mom's silliness. Lakshmi was making some funny sounds and clapping her hands. They loved it as this picture shows...

Prasad

Medha was running off to do something and Pavan is trying to stop her ...

What's Medha reading anyway?

Aha! Caught her! She's reading up on colleges. A few years early and a Berkeley Engineering (Lakshmi's Alma Mater) brochure too.

Visit's From India

Srikanth also came to visit, all the way from Bangalore. He was on an invited trip to talk about his eGovernments work, and it was hugely successful. It was hot today 89F and that should explain why the studly Pavan has his shirt unbuttoned.

My childhood buddy Satish came to visit - all the way from Vizag. Of course, he just happens to be my other childhood friend Deepalu's brother. Here he is with his neice Ruhi (deepalu's daughter).

Prasad