New threads!

We've generally been dressing Sarina in onesies and sleepers. This weekend we (meaning, Smita :) tried on some cute new outfits. Here's a few pictures of Sarina wearing stylish jeans for the first time as well of some photos in her cute little bear sleeper.

BRUNCH!!

We have recently began to introduce Sarina to our favorite meal... brunch! It is near and dear to our heart - so much so that we have a brunch club! We took Sarina to Boogaloos for some fabulous traditional brunch.

We also ventured to Berkeley to the Thai Buddhist Temple for their Sunday Thai brunch, where thai brunch is prepared and served by Buddhist monks as part of their "community service". There is recent controversy with neighbors complaining about their brunches and with the threat of their Thai brunches closing down, we thought we would make sure Sarina experienced it in the event this was shut down in the future. We're glad we did - it was like a little trip to thailand!

With that, Sarina has already made her first political statement (Berkeley style!!).

Here's some brunch photos... Also, if you're interested, here is an article and a video clip from today's Wall Street Journal about the Thai Buddhist temple Sunday brunch:

Feb 10 2009 Wall Street Journal Report

Feb 10 2009 WSJ Video

Mommy and Me Yoga

Last week, I took Sarina to a mommy and me yoga class, hoping she would take after her grandmother in her love for yoga and wellbeing. Sarina did enjoy relaxing (read: sleeping) through most of the class, doing a few poses with mommy, and deciding she would be vocal when it was time for mommy's relaxation. None the less, mommy got a great workout, and met some other moms - and Sarina had yet another fun outing! There's still time to turn her into a Yogini (I just like that word)...

Adventures with Sarina

We've been taking Sarina on many of our favorite bay area adventures over the last week. Last weekend we went to Berkeley where we got some pizza, walked around telegraph avenue visited Pyramid brewery. Then, mid-week, the three of us also went wine tasking in Sonoma where Sarina got to enjoy the pretty scenery inside and outside the wineries. We also took Sarina on her first hike; we hiked the very mild Tennessee Valley trail to Tennessee Valley beach. Some photos are below...

6 weeks old!

Little Sarina turned 6 weeks old yesterday. We weighed her at home and discovered she is now a whopping 8 lbs 10 ounces! That's more than 3 pounds gained since she was born! Her cheeks continue to add some cute mass that we smother with even more kisses..

Here are some photos from the last week or so:

Emotional eyes

We've noticed that we can tell a lot about how Sarina is feeling through her eyes. Her eyes give us a clue about how she is feeling and what she is going to do next... sometimes they surprisingly fast. Here are a few photos to illustrate....

Tennessee valley

Smita, sarina and I just hiked to tenessee valley beach and made good use of the mountain buggy!!

A Tribute to Aji and Azoba!

[Smita Writing] Aji and Azoba returned back to Canada on Sunday. There are very few times in one's life that you can feel like a child again. For me, the 5 weeks that Aji and Azoba were here brought that back as they came with the intent to take care of me as much as Sarina. Both of them worked tirelessly over the last 5 weeks to make our lives easier and make Sarina feel secure and loved.

Some people say mom's are like superwoman... grandmothers, then must be super-duper-woman, because my mom managed to take all the household activities, fed me fresh food every meal (apparently no leftovers were good enough for the new mom), swooped in at any (and every) hour to take Sarina when I needed rest, made me feel like I was a fantastic mom even when the baby was crying in my arms, and still she found time to do her personal yoga practice almost every morning.

My dad started on the sidelines, helping wherever he could in the apartment, shopping, cooking, but made a big transition part way through his trip to participating in Sarina's care. At some point we discovered he had a secret talent and patience for burping (the baby!), at which point, he was in charge of all burps. He also discovered he could put her into a peaceful sleep by singing mantras and she'd accompany him on his daily walk. He got VERY close to doing a diaper change. He'd get her to the changing table, get everything set up and then call in reinforcements for the cleaning part. :)

We all miss you, Aji and Azoba! Here are some photos of your last week, and a video.

Three Generations

Here are a couple photos of three generations of boys and three generations of girls from the Vakil family...

At Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley

Asleep amongst the hustle and bustle of Zachary's pizza.

We are all busy chomping away.

Happy Bird-day to youuu

Last week was Sarina's one month birthday... We had a little birthday celebration for her. I couldn't resist posting this video highlighting our wonderful musical harmony in singing happy bird-day to you. Sarina can now get used to a lifelong of "unique" singing using this same tune for "happy graduation to you" and "happy everything else" for the rest of her life. A couple photos as well...

The resort life...

Here are a handful of photos of Sarina as she crosses her one month old mark. She's been up to her usual antics... eating, sleeping, getting baths and massages, and going out for excursions. Certainly living the resort life.

A little video clip from the weekend

Here's a fun video of Sanjay Mama, Hanuman Dada and Sarina playing. Please excuse the camera re-tilt.

Visit from Smita's brother and family from Boston

This weekend, Sanjay Mama (Smita'a brother), Naoka Mami (his wife), and Hanuman Dada (his son, and Sarina's cousin) all came to visit from Boston. Sarina loved meeting her extended family and we all had a great weekend of games, walks, grandma cooked meals and of course the occasional ice cream...

Breaking into dance!

A couple days ago Smita was watching a slide show set to music... Spontaneously, Sarina erupted in dance! The video is below (sorry for the sound... I'm not the only one who accidentally puts their finger on the microphone). We've nicknamed this Sarina's "froggy dance"....

And we thought we were done with baby showers...

The wonderful women I work with were very gracious and threw a joint baby shower for Jill, who I work with, as well as a baby welcoming shower for Smita/Sarina. They had the party at Carol's place... here are some photos from the evening. Thank you for the kind celebration!

Even more uncles and Aunts

This post is a little overdue, but here are some more of Sarina's Aunts and Uncles who came over to come play with her. So much love for baby Sarina!

Long Weekend and 4 weeks old!

We all had a great long weekend... we took a trip to Sausalito and spend an afternoon on the embarcadero and ferry building. Sarina got a new bathtub for her four week birthday! She likes this one much more and now actually enjoys bathtime. Here are some photos from the weekend and the last week or so....

Yes We Can!

In honor of Barack Obama's inauguration, Sarina woke up in anticipation hours ahead of Obama's swearing in. She watched the TV remote carefully to make sure we didn't channel surf on her and demanded she be propped up so she could watch the speech.

Story Time with Azoba

A very attentive Sarina gets to hear the story, "Bear Snores On" by her Grandpa (Azoba.) She happily listens to the story and even makes us believe she is looking at the book. Although Sarina listened and stayed alert through the whole story, it sure knocked me out; the book can now be called "Bear (and Daddy) Snores On" (Please pardon the annoying echo for the first 9 seconds... I'm still getting used to where the microphone is and where my finger shouldn't be on this camera.)

Getting a bath (and "vocalizing")

We can't say that Sarina really loves her baths just yet, though everyone else seems to love the idea of bathing her! She does like being nice and clean after the bath but certainly doesn't seem to be a fan of the bathing process. Here is a clip of her getting a bath by mom and Aji. As our pediatrician likes to say, she "vocalizes" very well...

Oh, and this is what you miss before she is lowered gently (i.e., dropped like a hot potato) into the bathtub:
Daddy: I've changed her, can I just carry her to the bath?
Mommy: No. Put her diaper on. No diaper is DANGER.
Daddy: I think I'm willing to take my chances
Mommy: No. Put her diaper on. Danger danger!
Daddy: (puts on diaper, carries to bath area but then proceeds to remove diaper and play with Sarina in prep for bath)
Mommy: Oh Boy, you seem to be willing to take your chances!!
Sarina: ... I'm FREEEEE!!! That air feels great on my tush!
Mommy: (noticing brown substance collecting on daddy's arm) I think she's POOPING on you!
Daddy: AAAAAAAAAH!

New meaning to "open air accident" and I *think* daddy learned his lesson on the dangers of an undiapered baby.

Sarina clearly won her first competition...

If you recall, I asked a while back what would be first, Sarina's arrival or the car getting to 100,000 miles.... The car just turned 100,000 miles this weekend... Sarina's arrival came over three weeks in advance of the car's big event.

Bend it like Sarina

Sarina is prepping for her future soccer stardom. Kicking practice seen below in the video.

3 weeks old!

Here are a few photos as Sarina crosses the BIG three week old mark. She's not only three weeks old, but also now 7 pounds big and has even grown over three inches since being born.

Mmmm... Bi-rite ice cream

Sarina should get her first taste in a couple hours once mommy converts the ice cream into milk.

First trip to bi-rite ice creamery

On our way back from a trip to the pediatricians office. We stopped and got some ice cream. In celebration of Sarina's weight gain (now 7 pounds!!), we thought the rest of us would work on our weight gain.

That was a joke...

To the relatives and friends (in India or others) who may otherwise not be up on American pop culture, restless arm syndrome doesn't exist (well, at least I haven't seen a TV commercial for it yet.) It is a joke. Thanks for your concern though! We do like her ninja like arm motion. (Note to self: no more fake illness jokes)

Restless Arm Syndrome...

I'm afraid to report that Sarina may have a case of Restless Arm Syndrome (RAS). As the video clips below show, she waves them uncontrollably, knocks herself in the face, waves a gang sign or two, and even throws her hands in the air and waves 'em like she just don't care...

More visitors for Sarina!!

Sarina got to see even more of her favorite aunts, uncles and friends this past weekend. Here she is with some of her visitors...

Out and about... (translated to oot and aboot in Canadian..)

We took advantage of some of this great weather we've been having in San Francisco (70+ degrees all weekend and all this week!!) and ventured out on some excursions with Sarina. Here are some photos of her first trip for a walk on Golden Gate bridge and Golden Gate park. San Francisco also has an annual "family appreciation day" where you get into most of the city attractions for free as long as you are a San Francisco resident and have a child under 18 years old - this year, we were able to participate... Sarina got us into lots of park attractions for free.