10 months!

height 27" = 92.5th %

weight 21lb = 75th %

Back from Myrtle Beach!

Myrtle Beach was great. I got there and hung out with Grandmom, Granddaddy, Ms. Mary, and Memaw! Then the next day Tio Carlos and Ms. Carly came. And after that Aunt Laurie and my cousins - Jordan, Jessica, and Morgan! Everyone was so nice to me and played with me non-stop, especially Jessica and Morgan. Grandmom has a huge closet in her enormous bathroom which I slept in! It was the perfect place to sleep for me. I think her bathroom is bigger than my entire bedroom at home. Every time I woke up I was so excited I immediately crawled all over the bathroom and played with the drawers. We ate spaghetti the first night, then Eggplant parmesan the second night, and pizza the third night! The second day I went to the driving range!! I hung out in my stroller while Ammu, Daddy, ms. Carly, Tio Carlos, and Granddaddy all practiced their swing. I was trying to put the golf ball in my mouth (Ammu rinsed it off a little with water first but it still hard dirt on it I'm sure)....then it started raining..really hard!!

The day after that I went to the beach but didn't like getting in the water. I was scared. Afterwards I was so exhausted my normal one hour nap lasted for 2.5! Thanks Grandmom for having us all there in your house, I hope I can see you all soon! Pictures are coming soon...(after Granddaddy sends them to Ammu)

In other news, I stood up today on my own for at least 30 seconds!

Happy Birthday GRANDDADDY!!!

happy birthday granddaddy! see you next week at the beach! and happy fathers day to DADDDY, nanabhaiya, granddad, granddaddy, and mama!!!

i perfected my first word the last couple of days. it's....DAD-DEE...DADDYY!

2 bottom teeth on their way up!!!!

By the way don't think I don't know that Ammu and Dadu call me "dakat" or ROBBER!!! I am getting a little out of hand though, I don't like to stay still for even one second! I don't like to sit I only like to climb things and stand up all the time. I like to pull hair, try to climb up on top of people's bodies and heads when they are sitting down, and I love all electronic cords and wires. Especially pulling out Ammu's laptop charger! When people try to kiss me and be gentle with me I like to try to eat their faces instad or claw at them while laughing.
You can see my two front bottom teeth...they feel sharp! I'm also starting to eat dinner with the family, I don't have a high chair but I have something similar. I sat with them last night and ate baked potato, catfish, cornbread, and asparagus! Ammu says from now on dinner will be whatever they are eating, no special "beby" food! YESSSSSSS

I'm almost 9 months. I'm 20 pounds now, 75th percentile. Don't know how tall I am. I haven't been to the doctor in a long time...

8.5 months OFFICIALLY CRAWLING!

i've been trying hard for the past 1.5 months but now i am officially a crawling expert! i can go from the back bedroom to the kitchen following dadu's voice!

HOME ALONE!

daddy and ammu went to VEGAS for tio carlos' 30th birthday!!! i am home alone! hehe well dadu is here with me. it is my first time away from ammu...

Tio Carlos is 30 Big ONES

Happy birthday tio carlos!!

Happy Birthday MAMA!!!!!

Happy 29th Birthday Mama!!!! I LOVE YOU

Daddy graduated from law school!!!

This weekend was awesome, we had so much family come over and all stay with me!! Both Granddads, Nana, Tio Carlos, Aunt Carly, Abuelita, and Aunt Jennifer! Granddad Tom was here too but I never got to see him because I fell asleep around 7 every night!

The graduation ceremony was fun. The student speaker Mister Matt Arnold was controversial. It seemed people either hated him or loved him. Ammu loved him. I'll try to get the text of the speech to include here later...

back in chicago - ammu's in her late 20s now!

just got back to chicago from alabama yesterday. it was a looong drive!! today is ammu's 27th birthday. to 'celebrate' i got to go grocery shopping with her because we still have the rental car and car seat! it's the first time i drove anywhere since i got back from mexico. in the grocery store ammu put me INSIDE the grocery cart! for the FIRST TIME! we do groceries on devon street where all the "ethnic" people shop. first we went to a butcher then we went to get produce.

Going to see Nana in Birmingham!

We drove down to Birmingham after Nana had a heart attack and stroke! He is doing better now but needs to work less and take it easy. It was fun being at Nana's house for 10 days, there were so many people there as usual. Abuelita came and stayed with me too. I love that! I even slept by myself for the first time ever in a "crib" for a few hours every night. It was alright but not as good as sleeping in the bed with someone else!

I even went to the hospital with Nana. On the last day we all went and got our picture taken at photo studio. Then the long drive back home...

I'm about to find out if my new cousin will be a BOY or GIRL.....in one hour!

....and i'm going to have a new GIRL cousin!! Her name is Mia!!! Aunt Trina says she's already waving at us! We're going to be best friends!!

Potty training!

I went to the toilet this morning! I hear it's uncommon here in the US, but it's actually very natural and the norm in most parts of the world/less industrialized countries where people don't use diapers. Here they give it a fancy name "elimination communication" (Wikipedia says "EC is a practice in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant's need to eliminate waste. Typically the goal is to partially or completely avoid the use of diapers. EC emphasizes communication between the caregiver and child, helping them both become more attuned to the child's innate rhythms and control of urination and defecation. The term "elimination communication" was inspired by traditional practices of diaper-less baby care in less industrialized countries and hunter-gatherer cultures.") Ammu thinks everyone should do this because diapers are made from NONDEGRADABLE plastics = landfills!! Also the idea of sitting around in my own poop isn't nice! Here's a picture from this morning, as you can see I'm a little shy to get photographed mid-action!

Nana Bhaiya surprise visit to Chicago!

Back in Chicago! Moved into a new apartment it is awesome and huge!! I sleep in a King size bed now with Ammu and Daddy. It's the Kellogg dorms and lots of Ammu's friends are our neighbors so it's fun! Also we finally got a tv this week for the first time in my entire life - and I love watching tv. Lately I've been watching a lot of President Obama in Europe.

Last night Nana bhaiya showed up here and surprised me!! He drove 12 hours on the spur of the moment just to see me. He stayed up late watching Troy with Ammu (Daddy left yesterday for LA for his friend Siho's bachelor party!). So this morning I woke him up at 8am and Ammu left me in the bed with him for a while. We played together a lot and then I went to the bathroom and he had no idea what to do. So I went to the living room and now I'm chilling on the couch, ate some papaya, playing with my toys, and watching the news.

We're going to the lake, bookstore, and library today! It's 37 degrees here.

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary Nana and Nanu!

It's so cool that you have so much fun together every day! I like that. Once Ammu and Daddy gets jobs we will have a party for your 30th anniversary!

San Francisco treat!

We're in SF! Staying at Tio Carlos' pimp pad. We went to Google it was amazing!! We ate in their cafeterias, I met another baby, and Daddy dropped me into a thing of plastic balls (I landed on my face, it was weird, I cried). I also went to check out the Stanford campus, since I'll be heading there for medical school one day. I got a t-shirt! Mostly we rode around in Ms Carlys car, dodging from the police because 1) I didn't have a car seat and 2) Tio Carlos doesn't have a license. Uncle Mark and Aunt Alusha came over on Thurs night and Uncle Mark treated us to Thai food! Then we all went over to their place Fri night and I met Aunt Jennifer for the first time. We went out to breakfast at an awesome crepe place in the Mission today. I also learned to sit on my own during this trip! And Ammu started me back on bananas. It was such a good trip...Ammu and Daddy have been trying to go to SF for the past 3 years...guess they just wanted to wait for me before rolling through.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANU!

i love you and miss sleeping with you

Hasta luego Mexico...

I'm leaving Mexico today. It is sad...it has been perfect here for me. The weather was so nice I went for walks every day. The people were so friendly with me, strangers would talk to me on the street and play with my cheeks. Kids here really love babies, Little toddlers and kids always get excited when they see me and would tell their moms "MIRA MAMA LA NENAAA" and come over and play with me. I will miss Sra Marta who I know loves me and will me so much. Sometimes Sra Marta just stays with me and watches me sleep, I wish she could come with us or I wish she had some family to keep her company. I grew up a lot here in Mexico. I am 17 pounds now, I can hold things and grab things and play with them. I can move little bit in my walker and I can stay busy on my own. I can scream and laugh. I can say "agoooo". I can eat solid foods. I still can't drink from a bottle though...

Puerto Vallarta hun-moon

We are in Puerto Vallarta! Sra. Marta came too - it was her first time ever on a plane. She was a little afraid, but I showed her the ropes. Abuelita was here for few days but she left. Ammu and Daddy are on their second 'honeymoon'. If this is what honeymoons are like, I want one too! We chill around house, Bucerias, and pool. We'll be leaving Mexico for good from here. I got a bit of stomach infection and Daddy rushed me to hospital. Probably from some germ I ate in real food. So Ammu took me off of all food for now, just back to all milk. Yes!!

6 months old! Eating real food.

I know its hard to believe but I got this body through hard work and just mommas milk. But once I turned 6 months last week I got real food. I'm still refusing to take the bottle so I am successfully dodging the formula bullet (yes!). Every time Ammu puts it in my mouth I just stare at her blankly, what does she expect me to do w/that plastic thing? But surprisingly I like to eat bananas and avocados and sweet potatoes. Papaya not so much, like my Daddy!

I'm in Vallarta now. It's so hot here. Going to hit the pool tomorrow. Life is good.

Last few days in Mexico City

Daddy came here and we are leaving Mexico City together! Spending last few days hanging out with Ammu's friend Paul. He took all of us to a Peruvian restaurant where they ate Peruvian ceviche - very different from Mexican ceviche. It came with sweet potato which Ammu gave to me - delicious! My clothes are also starting to get smaller, some tshirts i can't even get my head through!

New nanny - Senora Marta

Ammu Shonamoni,

Yesterday your nanny Angeles showed up in the morning in tears. She said it was too stressful for her to watch a baby. She said sometimes since you cry and she can't stop you from crying she goes crazy, she feels responsible, like she can not do her job right. I told her to relax, don't sweat it, you're a baby - babies cry! But ultimately I didn't want her to be with you anymore if she's so nervous. Of course you need to be exposed to all kinds of peoples and all kinds of personalities, but I hope you always try to surround yourself with as much positive energy as possible. The world is too big to be bothered by 99% of the things most people in modern society are bothered by. There is a lot of suffering in the world, a lot of real problems of science and economics and justice and health and loneliness and maybe love. These, I think, are worthy things to be upset about. So I asked Sra Marta who cleans our apartment to take care of you in our final week here in Mexico City. So she is here now and Angeles is gone.

Every person you meet in your life has a story, and if you try to find out their story you will learn a lot about the world and how we humans are. I will always write some things about the people in your life, and maybe one day when you're old enough it will mean something.

Sra Marta is 42. She's a little quiet, a little shy. She has two sons in their 20s. Her husband went to the US to work, to North Carolina when he was 30. When he was 32 his company sent his dead body back to Sra Marta's house, he had died in a car accident they said. She is a Jehova's Witness, she converted about 6 years ago after doing a lot of research and reading. It started by a Jehovah's Witness knocking on her door. Now she has two jobs. She cleans Sra Blanca (our landlady's) apartment for 200 pesos a day (US$13) and also sells tamales. On a good day she sells 20 tamales a day. They are 7 pesos each. But you have to subtract the money for inputs (chicken, corn, etc) She needs to work 2-3 days a week to pay for her food, the other days she wants to spend at her church or going door to door to spread her beliefs. She reads all the time, and sometimes she is so moved by what she reads that she is crying.

Here are both of their addresses in case you ever come to Mexico and want to find them, they like you very much and I know they will remember you forever, even if you show up 20 years later:

Uncle David in Mexico!

I met Uncle Dave from Montreal Canada finally! He is one of Ammu's best friends, they met when they were living in Thailand. Uncle Dave was sooo good with me, he never got tired of carrying me or changing my diapers or changing my clothes or even putting me to sleep!!

After PV, once we were back in Mexico City, Ammu had a big project at school and had to work all weekend. She had to take me to one of her important meetings!! They all sat around a conference table and argued while one person wrote on the board. I was watching intently at first but after a while it got reallyy boring and i started shouting/screaming (thats what I do when I'm unhappy...and if that doesn't do the trick I step it up to crying but I hardly have to take it there...except when I'm sleepy then I always cry). Oh, see the picture with the parrots? That was right after Ammu got her ear pierced! She told me she did it so she could share the pain with me from my ears!

This week we went to Frida Kahlo's house. It took forever to get there but it was cool! I was hot though so they took off all my clothes in the garden, I was much better after that. We took the metro a lot, and walked a LOT. I ate in so many different bathroom stalls...but I don't like eating in them. It's so hard to move especially with Ammu's huge cast always in the way! One time she had to stop and sit on the street so I could sleep...I know I have a bad sleep habit, but come on give me a break..it's my only major vice...yet!

There's this one type of tree here with purple flowers that is so beautiful. Ammu calls them Dr. Seuss trees because she says they look like the Horton Hears a Who tree! By the way I can't wait to read all the Dr. Seuss books...Behind our apartment there is a swingset, I rode on it for the first time by myself!! We go to the market every week to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. Meat there isn't nicely packaged/compartmentalized, it's in your face. Ammu says thats important so people know what it is they're eating...but if you ask me it looks funny as you can see from my expression!