Once a baby, now a toddler!

K, it's been a while since I posted about what you've been upto. This post comes rather late, but I am happy, I've found the time to put it together! There are a lot of exciting milestones to share! :)

Last few months have been nothing but fun. You are growing up to be such an interesting little boy...a total copy cat who is full of MISCHIEF, so much so, that I can see it in your eyes! Really! :)

You spent the most amazing time with the family.

We went to parks, water fountains, weekend outings and you enjoyed them all. Your favorite is playing in the water!

You love listening to stories. There are times when you pick the books yourself and hand them over, so we could read them to you.

You have the best time, when I read to you "The very hungry caterpillar". You roll laughing when I tickle your tummy, when the caterpillar gets a stomach ache. O, we have so much fun! :)

You've been talking...a LOT!! :) It's so great to hear you utter words. Your vocabulary is expanding rapidly, you can say apple, ight (light), cat, ball, dog, puppy, nose, teeth, hiding, alright, i know, bye-bye, no, ammi, nani, mommy, mama, daddy and MORE!

Of all the words that you can speak, "Daddy" is your most favorite and Daddy can't be happier! :)

 Hiding! You love to hide; be it behind the legs, in the closet, in the pantry, or just under the island in the kitchen. And once you hide, you say "hiding" in your cutest voice. :) It's the best!

 We love being silly! Spending time with you is so much fun!

Every Saturday morning, we've been going to the Music Together class! It's a 45 minute session full of music and play and you've been enjoying it a lot!

You now know where your nose, teeth and eyes are! When asked where they are you point to your nose and teeth and blink your eyes! It's super cute! :)

You are quite a dancer already! See how cute you look dancing! :)

We gifted you a rocking horse for your birthday, which hadn't  excited you till just recently, when you tried to climb it yourself and rock it. Earlier you would only pull its tail, eat it's ear and give it a kiss and a hug! :)

You give the best kisses and hugs. I can never have enough of them! :)

You are very active. You only nap once a day now and want to play the rest of the time.

You've been working on a shape puzzle these days and you are very good at it! 

We now have Tita looking after you. She's wonderful! She spends a lot of time playing with you and making sure you are safe. She can juggle balls and balance your milk bottle on her head when she walks! You've been having a great time with her!

These days you are learning how to climb down the stairs and are starting to show your stubborn side...yup, already! :)

You've taken us by surprise by lifting some large and heavy pieces!

Sitting is no more your favorite thing. You now love to be free so you can run around.

O, and the most eventful story of these months! Back in June we were hit by a Derecho; a severe thunderstorm. Luckily, we survived it without any damage but a power outage for 3.5 days. I hear one comes across such a storm once in a lifetime, so I hope no more for us! Had you been a little bigger, you would have probably enjoyed the thrill from watching it!

You are an absolute darling, my love! We LOVE you all the time! Have the best time growing up, sweetie!

Love always!
Mama

Vacances à Montréal

We recently got back from a week long trip to Montreal, Canada. Tarun had been wanting to visit Montreal for a while, it being a French city. I didn't think it would be that European, till we reached and started touring the city. It sure was like going to France and not having the jet-lag!

A very different city from any other American/Canadian city we've been too.

We rented a loft at Auberge du vieux-port in Old Montreal and Kabir enjoyed it's open space to run freely!

Old Montreal has a lot of character, with cobbled roads, narrow alleys, outdoor cafes, Notre Dame, museums, horse drawn carriages, art galleries, street artists etc. I was happy we chose to stay there.

Every day we would yelp for good local places to eat. Our first day's find was Muru Crepes for brunch. Right in Old Montreal, just a few blocks away from our loft, this place serves the best crepes I've had!  I could move to Montreal just for Muru Crepes...it's that good!

On our first day in the city, it rained heavily, so after our brunch, we decided to check out the underground city. A stop at the apple store was a must to procure the wireless router for the loft, which only had cabled internet.

Kabir spent some time at the Apple store's Kids zone

where he was more attracted to the iPad's base than the iPad itself! :)

We spent rest of the day just walking underground in the shopping malls connected to each other underground.

It was a bit of a mall overdose for me and I wanted to stay clear of them after that! We did find Kabir a cure t-shirt that had "K" on it but other than that it was a very long day at the malls!

Later we walked to Chinatown and dined at Restaurant Mai Xiang Yuan; a small chinese restaurant serving just dumplings! How could we have not eaten there! They had a delicious vegetarian option (dumplings with egg and tomatoes), which Mom enjoyed!

Next day onwards, the weather got better and we walked a lot outside. We would start every afternoon after K woke up from his first nap and continue till the end of the day. Walks are one thing I love about city vacations! 

Kabir adjusted very well outside and enjoyed his independence!

Notre-Dame Basilica  was definitely one of our favorite spots. It is a beautiful church which is very popular for weddings, so much so that it is booked for the next 3 years!

It has an organ with 7000 individual pipes!

It was just the day to be sitting out in the sun, so we enjoyed the outdoors after visiting the church.

We spent time at Place Jacques Cartier; which had outdoor cafes, street performers and a lot of people.

Kabir enjoyed his time by the fountain there!

One day, we visited Mont Royal and enjoyed the lovely park and the views!

Kabir enjoyed playing with the grass!

On our way back from Mont Royal, we stopped at McGill University which has a beautiful architecture!

Tarun and Kabir explored the grounds!

Sherbrooke street was one of my favorite streets...clean, quiet and very artistic. A visit to the Fine Arts Museum took us there. When we reached, it was almost time for the museum to close so we spent some time at the gift shop where Kabir and I did some coloring together!

I loved the art on the street; the sculptures were beautiful!

One whole street was a piece of art! Kabir loved walking through the white and yellow sheets 

and then there was love! :)

We did make it to the Fine Arts museum another day and checked out a few exhibits. It has a vast collection of paintings from both local and international artist, some of them very young!

We walked on Rue Saint Laurent; which divides the city into East and West; Rue Ste Catherine, Rue Saint Crescent and Rue Saint Denis to get a vibe of the different city sectors.

We spent a lot of time in Old Montreal, checking out the art galleries and walking by the water!

Our last Sunday in Montreal was Father's day. I found just the right place to celebrate Tarun and the great Dad he is! We had a wonderful lunch at La Croissanterie Figaro and on our full stomach's I decided to order a chocolate croissant (which I had read good reviews about) to share. After sharing one, we all wanted more! We started with one other order and ended up doing a repeat!! They were yummy!

We later went back to the Sherbrooke Street for a stroll.

And just like that the week was over and it was time to fly back home. We enjoyed our last luncheon at Muru Crepes and then hailed a cab to the airport.

It was a week with the people I most love, great food, great location and beautiful weather! All in all, a perfect vacation!