Finally she's TWO!

Anna Simran Parmar, aka Kudoo Simran, what a wild two years it has been.  From the sweet little baby that you once were to the feisty, yet lovable, little toddler that you are, to the wonder that you will keep bring into our lives, we love you little girl!

When Nat was two, I recapped some of who she was, so, here's to you Anna:
 - her favorite person: well, some days its Uncle Walter, or Uncle Kevin, or Anty Lianne, or whoever is willing to spend some time with her
 - her favorite show: "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, come inside, fun inside" or "Super Why to da Rescue"
 - her favorite song: "Jesus loves me this I know, for da bible tells me so" (used to be just Bible tells me so) or "mazing grace how sweet da sound"
 - she's real good at singing her ABC's, along with twinkle twinkle little star, oh Africa I love you, and almost every other song she hears (she LOVES to sing)
 - counting to three to get her to stop (whatever she's doing) doesn't work as she continues counting to 12 or 13 (she skips a few numbers after that, creative counting)
 - she can keep up with the three and four year olds, and tends to be the tough one in the crowd... she refuses to be little
 - she loves babies and is surprisingly gentle with them
 - and cannot forget: "I do it" sums up her little being.  Anna will go through life figuring it out for herself.
There is so much more that makes up our kudoo.  We love you Anna and look forward to what God will teach us through your vivacious and precocious personality!

Dad: man, myth, legend

My girls are very lucky, they have their own superhero.  They call him Daddy.  This father's day my girls made a tribute to their superhero and showered their daddy with fun superhero gifts.  I am thrilled to see how much all three girls love their dad.  They run to the door to give daddy hugs when he comes home from work.  The other day, after just giving dad a hug, Nat says: "I just love that guy!"  I do pray that someday, in the very distant future, they look for a husband that loves them just as much as their dad does.

beautiful hair

Natalie has escaped getting a haircut (with the exception of a small snip on her own part), and her hair is pretty long.  It's also got beautiful curls that can be fun to look at, but difficult to work with.  One morning she asked if she could have straight hair, just like her mommy, so that's what we did.  It looked beautiful, and made her look much older than her 4.5 years.  It also highlighted the fact that her ends need a trim (I've warned daddy that she's getting a haircut before kindergarten).  It was fun, but I do love her beautiful curls.  Here's to the start of fun hair play.

Big and brave!

Kindegarten shots... does mom dread them more than Nat?  In this case, yes.  I was preparing Nat for a couple of weeks that she needed to get her needle before kindegarten, and that it would be a little pinch.  I even pinched her to show her how much it would not hurt.  But, to be honest, I was extremely nervous as I was afraid of the reaction (and the future trauma) that the needles would create.  Well, Nat was extremely brave, and she said the needles didn't even hurt (I think the second might have hurt just a little).  Not sure what I was so worked up about.

As a treat for being so brave, I took Nat to Starbucks for a frap.  She clearly enjoyed it. 

Way to go Nat.  You're growing bigger every day, and we're so proud of you!

Attempting to adventure out

We took the kids to the acquarium last month.  Another attempt to adventure out and enjoy the many family activities in our area.  We had not taken the littles there yet, and now that we're only dealing with one nap for Anna, we thought we'd try it out.  It was fun, but Anna does not like to be contained in a stroller while we walk through crowds.  Makes it stressful for me when we're trying to contain a toddler who clearly does not want to be... just too much for her to explore.

I also get anxious when my kids are screaming or crying, and makes it hard to enjoy these outings.  Hopefully this summer will be a little easier each time we venture out.  Here's to exploring with kids!

I got waterpipes :(

Nat got to open a very large present at Christmas, but she was pretty apprehensive when she saw what was inside... waterpipes.  Her expression was priceless, and not one of excitement.  Well, the waterpipes were only half of the present, the other half had not been sewn at that time (it was a very hectic semester for me, and my dreams for this present were bigger than my reality.  But, none the less, we put the waterpipes together, and made a make shift cover to create the playhouse that it was to create.

Well, my free time in May came with a to-do list, and at the top was the playhouse cover.  Well, here it is, sewn and on the waterpipes.  We still have embellishments and fun stuff to finish, but it is functional now.  I'm going to get the girls to help with the flowers and names for the outside, to make it personal for them.

To save on the fabric costs, I used blue flat sheets, light aqua shower curtain, and striped pillow cases from Jysk.  (the two side pics show the pipe structure, made all out of 3/4" pvc pipes and joints - if you'd like to know what I used to put this together, just let me know)

Kites... fun or freakout!

I have fond memories with Chelsea and this particular kite.  Its a Strawberry Shortcake kite that I kept around for many years without using it.  So, one beautiful but windy day I took the girls to the park to fly the kite.  Well, these Parmar littles have an aversion to wind, and an extra aversion to kites flying away in the wind.  The experience was not fun... NOT fun!  I had two little girls freaking out.  We spent a total of 5 minutes out on the windy field screaming and crying. 

Kite flying for these Parmar littles is not fun, but rather a freak-out session.  Maybe we'll try again... in a few years... maybe.