Outside Fun & Priya's 1st Ponytail!

Priya enjoyed some outdoor fun this afternoon...

Looks like it's time to retire this shirt...But she still loves to represent!

Priya dresses up for the evening and tries out her first ponytail!

She's looking more and more like a little girl every day - and less and less like a baby. How does that happen so fast?!

A Milestone For Mom & Dad

Ashish & I FINALLY have finally crossed the threshold...We have finally moved on...We have summoned the courage to step out and leave Priya in the hands of others...We have finally taken the step to leave Priya in the nursery and have regained our ability to go to church, enjoy it, and actually get something out of it! This was a huge accomplishment and a major milestone for us as parents! I know that there are very capable people volunteering to help out in the nursery but we have been so anxious about it for far too long.

We have tried church at home, leaving Priya with Grammy & Grandpa so that we could attend and bringing Priya along (only to end up in the cry room or out in the foyer every time - Priya is a loud and very squealy, communicative baby). We have also tried having one of us go while the other stayed home. But none of these scenarios have been ideal and we have definitely felt the deficit of not being able to attend a church regularly in our lives. So today was a wonderful day!

Priya did great by the way. Just a couple of days ago she dropped from 3 naps a day to only 2 so our evenings are now more free to enjoy with Priya in tow. There were 3 girls in the nursery with only about 6 or 7 babies so Priya was extremely well taken care of. And it helped that one of the girls was someone I knew! Thank you for that extra bonus God! And thanks to Emily for giving me the kick in the butt that I needed to just get over my mommy anxiety and do it! :)

Profound Words From Priya

Priya wanted a chance to share her own message so here goes...

ghcvv,y., kjjjjjjjjjjjjjj mo6i-3kx,./. AWED

Translation anyone?

A Fun Day

Hi, my name is Priya and I'm a jumpaholic. Who are you talking to Daddy? I want to get in on the conversation!
Enjoying tummy time in the dorm lobby - while saying goodbye to my MANY adoring fans.

Sitting Up

Priya has been making some valiant efforts at sitting up on her own lately. She is getting better every day!

Priya's second tooth also made its way to the surface this week. She seems to thoroughly enjoy using her tongue to play with these foreign developments in her mouth. On the other hand, she doesn't enjoy the discomfort of these sharp items pushing their way through her tender little gums. She is quite a trooper though.

On a side note...we will be without a computer starting tomorrow for about a week and 1/2 or so. We have to send our laptop in to get the speakers fixed. We're not sure how we're going to handle not having our computer!! Ahhh! How did we ever survive before the internet and email?!

Very Entertaining!

Priya seems to have found a way to solve her crazy hair problem. Whenever we put her down to sleep she always ends up in a corner of her crib - with her head nestled against the bumper. And now wallah - no more crazy girl hair! Another side effect of no longer being swaddled!

Priya hasn't learned to mind her manners quite yet...

What a cutie!
There never seems to be a dull moment with Priya around!
Grammy and Grandpa were thoroughly entertained by Priya's lizard impersonation skills this evening.

First Tooth!

Today Priya's first tooth began to make its way through her little gums!  Her second seems to be right behind the first and should make its way to the surface any time now.  Poor girl!  She's been a bit more fussy than usual and seems to be struggling with her sleep a bit more.  Hooray for baby tylenol!

Priya also fell asleep on her tummy for the first time tonight.  I keep worrying about her and have been in to check on her more times than I'd like to admit.  Overprotective mother?  Yep - I think I qualify! (insert sheepish grin here) :)

Natalie's Birthday

Priya enjoyed celebrating Natalie Miller's birthday with the other RA's and ARA's of Irwin-Shellrude.

Natalie, Priya & Jadonn

Kim, Lorimar & Sarah

Natalie attempts to instill in Priya a love of Starbucks at a very young age!

Starbucks might want to hire Priya for their next marketing campaign!

Enjoying life outdoors.

Enjoying a relaxing stroll across campus after the party.

Fun Times With Daddy & Mommy!

Enjoying nap time with Daddy.

Mom & daughter in matching shirts (we just got our Irwin-Shellrude dorm t-shirts this week!)

Ashish has REALLY been enjoying his paternity leave and the time that it has provided him to spend with our little Priya.

Priya has been amusing us with her fun new sounds (grunts, groans and growls) and the humorous facial expressions that accompany them!

A Different Perspective

Priya began rolling over about a month and 1/2 ago, but has decided that she wants to do it all the time now!

Last night she gave me a whole new taste of what it means to have a squirmy baby. I put her on her changing table to start getting her ready for bed. Before I was able to finish undressing her she had flipped over - working against an incline! Impressive! I put her back on her back and reached down for a diaper. When I lifted my eyes there she was on her tummy - again! (No worries - I didn't leave her for a second - she'd go flying off the table if she had her way!)


I don't know if it's the new found freedom of no longer being swaddled or if it's simply the stage of development that she is in (maybe a mixture of both), but she flips on her tummy EVERY chance she gets (when we're feeding her, changing her diaper, dressing her, ANY time!! The problem comes with the fact that she hasn't yet realized that she already knows how to roll back over onto her back again. She seems to get stuck on her tummy and then screams for help - every time! Whenever she wakes up I find her in her crib on her tummy - often screaming for help to turn over. Silly girl! :)

Priya also continues to amuse us through her talkative, fun-loving nature.

Operation De-Swaddling

We are happy to report that Operation De-Swaddling has been successful! Priya is officially able to sleep without her "straight jacket"! This is a huge victory for us! We began the de-swaddling process about a week and a half ago. With each passing day, Priya seemed to catch on more and more. We started with nap times only - expecting to wait a bit longer before seeing if she could handle the night hours as well. Priya intially started this challenge by dropping from 1 to 1 1/2 hour naps to only 10-20 minutes! She would wake up and not be able to put herself back to sleep. She gradually stretched the nap time out to 30 minutes and then 45. She's even had a few naps that have lasted more than an hour! While nap times don't seem to be at the quality they've previously been, her progress leads us to believe that as time goes by she'll improve more and more.

The night success actually happened by accident! Ashish is usually at work when I do Priya's bed time routine to put her down to sleep. He has been on paternity leave for about a week now and has been fantastic in reinforcing her day time nap routines. He happened to put her down for the night on Wednesday and forgot that we were still swaddling her for the night time shift. When I came home I was anxious - assuming that we'd be in for a night of many wakings and lots of crying. I was surprised to make it to the next morning without as much as a peep from our little trouper. We tried it again last night and she slept for a whopping 13 & 3/4 hours STRAIGHT!!! Tonight she again went to sleep without being swaddled and chattered quietly for a few minutes before drifting into a deep sleep.

Needless to say, we are thrilled with this great accomplishment. We are so proud of our little Priya and happy to say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

6 Months Shots!

Priya survived round 3 of her immunizations today! She was a brave little girl and barely even cried this time! In place of crying were a few screams (literally - she has discovered this new sound that she is capable of making and has been practicing it quite regularly - both when happy and upset).

She also showed great improvements in her growth! She weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs, 10 oz today and is now 25 3/4 inches long. It's hard to believe that she's grown nearly 8 inches and has gained almost 9 lbs since she was born just 6 1/2 short months ago! Impressive! :) During our last doctor visit she was in the 10th percentile for height, weight, & head size. Today she came in at 50% in weight, 50% in head size, and 25 % in height. Way to go Priya! :)

Do we have a cheerleader in the making? Still happy after round 3 of shots!

Priya enjoyed some fun time this afternoon with Emily Johnston as she took in her first ever Simpson University Shopping Cart Races!

It's been so much fun to see Priya enjoying interactions with other babies. She enjoyed making friends with Lucy Slavens today. Looks like a beautiful friendship in the making.

Daddy's Girl

Priya made her daddy very happy today! She said "dada" for the first time! Ashish's paternity leave is paying off already and it's only just begun! We have really enjoyed having him home this past week! He has been an amazing help and is thoroughly enjoying this opportunity to bond with Priya. He'll have next week off as well and then will have 3 more weeks that he'll be able to take anytime before mid-September. We have much to be thankful for!