Let's try this again, mmmkay?

Well, I have proven to be a horrible blogger.

I blame Facebook. :)

Nevertheless, I have been inspired by some new blogtastic friends to start blogging again. Heck, I might even give out the blog's address!

There are so many posts on here that promise what the next (never to materialize) post would show- our house in Chennai, lots of photos of Kathmandu, etc., etc. I am going to try to avoid doing that this time around. Just a few notes to help us get our bearings:

• Halfway through our two-year tour in Chennai, I went to California to give birth to the darling Lillian Emily (7 lbs., 7 oz, 21" long) who is now almost 2.
• We have been very lucky with bidding on assignments and are on our way to Mexico City at the end of August, for at least two years.
• Sam is now four years old, and thinks that the old videos of him are hilarious. He and Lillian will be attending a trilingual (Spanish/English/Hebrew) day school in D.F.*
• Since January 2011, we have been back in Virginia, studying Spanish and getting ready in general for Mexico.
• I'm sure there's more, but I'm not promising anything specific! Stay tuned anyway...

*Mexico City, the nation's capital, is technically called Mexico D.F., for "Distrito Federal," (like Washington D.C.) or just "D.F." for short. The cool Spanish way to say it sounds a little like "they effay."

Sam the Singer, Take 2

He was very put out at having to stop going through the kitchen cabinets to sing for the camera (and almost rolls his eyes during the song), but still cute:

Sam the Singer

Sam sings all the time. He recently started singing himself to sleep (last night for a full hour), and happily breaks into song at any occasion. Um, unless there is a camera pointed at him. Then, he becomes somewhat reluctant, and decides that the camera lens is a button he needs to push:






It should be noted that he also turned out to have a fever today, I blame that. :)

Video Attempt

OK, we've just discovered that our awesome digital video camera is lacking the cable to connect it to a computer (??). So, while we track down a cable, we're exploring other options. Today we went to lunch at Sparky's, the American Diner in Chennai (run by a real American, chef Thom Petty). Sam discovered that he can now open and close the high chair tray himself, and while he was doing that Mark tried out the video recorder feature on his cell phone. So, here's a snippet of Sam:



He says "namaste" and shows how to put his hands together, then says "I want a paci, Daddy," and laughs because we've been trying to wean him from pacifiers by telling him he doesn't need them.

Soon, higher quality video...

"More Weemaway?"

Sam is a big music fan, and one night Mark played "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" for him. Oh, man, it was a dance party, ranging from some silly swing hustle (with Sam being held between the two of us) to freestyle American-Bandstand-type frugging. Ever since, Sam has requested "More Weemaway!" every evening after getting into his PJs. He even puts down his beloved bottle to dance all over the living room with his goofy parents, and is doing his best to sing along. Here's a little taste...

The Mango

Back when I was pregnant with Sam, before we knew his gender, Mark had a dream that we had a boy and that I insisted on naming him "Peachy." We both thought that was pretty funny, especially since we were living in Georgia at the time (the state, not the republic). So for the rest of my pregnancy, the developing baby was known as Peachy. Lori's daughter Anna, four at the time, weighed in that she didn't think Peachy was a very good name for a boy, and was relieved to hear that he wouldn't be called that after he was born.




Once we knew we were going to India and that our time in Chennai would coincide with wanting to have a second child, Mark and I decided that its in-utero name would be The Mango in honor of one of India's native fruits (the kind that will hopefully grow on the tree in our courtyard come May!).



Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Mango:

Here s/he is in a close-up:

In other words, I'm pregnant and the baby is due at the beginning of September (the actual due date is September 7, my parents' 40th wedding anniversary). :)

If all goes as planned, Sam and I will fly to California in July and stay there for at least three months. Mark will join us for several weeks of that time, and when The Mango is six weeks old we'll all fly back home to Chennai. Incidentally, if anyone reading this has an OB you like with admitting privileges at Cedars-Sinai or UCLA, let me know!


Stay tuned for more Mango developments, and we look forward to seeing many of you this Summer!

We made the paper...

Sam (along with several of his friends) goes to a brand new preschool in our neighborhood called Alphabet. It's a great place; the founders Kavita and Anil are dedicated educators who gave up half of their property to build a fabulous facility, and they have a staff of newly-minted, enthusiastic teachers who are just so happy to be there. Sam loves his Mommy and Me class (he graduates to preschool in June) and talks about "Afabeh" all the time.

Before classes started, there was an official opening day, with an open house at Alphabet, a luncheon in Kavita and Anil's garden, and a fancy dinner with speeches at a nearby hotel. Sam and I went to the open house with our friend Paula and her sons Jeremy and Jonathan. There were a lot of people taking pictures, and a nice woman with a notepad was asking Paula what she thinks of the school.

This past Sunday, a picture of the five of us (and some of the other moms we were talking to) appeared in a local edition of The Hindu newspaper. A very, very local edition, the particular version of the "Downtown" section that only covers the five neighborhoods closest to ours. :) Seriously, even the copy of the paper they get at the Consulate didn't have the story, and it's certainly not on The Hindu Online.

In any case, Kavita saved copies for Paula and me. Here's the full article:

And here's a close-up of the photo:

(Mom, that was before I got a haircut.) You'll be happy to know that despite the photographic evidence, Sam does not bring his pacifier to school. :)