Awana

A very busy school year has now come to a close.  I'm wrapping up my work for the year and prepping for next year before the end of May and then I'll have 2 months to be a full-time mom and wife.  :)  

One of Priya's year-long activities came to an end last night as well.  She completed her 2nd year in the Awana Cubbies program.  I took Priya out on a mother-daughter date prior to her Cubbies Awards Night to celebrate and to enjoy some quality time together.  Josiah was enjoying a walk with his auntie as we left campus.

Priya and I started out at Starbucks (a place she's been wanting to go with me on a date for quite a while).

She practiced her photography skills and took a shot of her new "Twinkle Toes" shoes that she has been working for over the past couple of months.  They were a huge motivation for her in giving up sucking her thumb.  Nothing else worked until the option of "Twinkle Toes" was on the table and then she went after her goal hard core!

I accompanied her to Cubbies after our date and enjoyed observing something that has become quite special to her.

She was in the "white group" again this year and was making a necklace below.

Playing "hot potato"

Ashish, Ami and their parents arrived with Josiah prior to the awards ceremony so I stepped out and got to play with Josiah a bit in the playground area.

Then it was back inside for the awards ceremony.

Hooray Priya!!

Some of Priya's special teachers

Family Day

In mid-April we enjoyed attending a Family Day put on by Commuter Life at Oasis Fun Center.  

Priya got to make her first attempt at playing miniature golf. 

Josiah was thrilled to find two of his loves in one - an Elmo car!

 

 

The kids both experienced their first ever go-cart ride.

And we even got in a round of Laser Tag!

 

We then went over to Grammy and Papa Penner's home for some quality grandparent time.

Easter 2012

Happy Easter! We enjoyed a wonderful time at church and with family as we celebrated our Risen Lord.  At 4 1/2 Priya seems to have grasped why we celebrate this special day.  I wish I had gotten a video of her explaining Jesus' death and resurrection.  It was so precious!  She explained how He died on the cross to take the consequence (yes, she used that word) for our sin.  She told us that 3 days later He rose again and how He ascended into heaven (yes, she used those words too).  She explained that Mary went into the "tunnel" and found that Jesus wasn't there and she was so happy that He was alive.  

Priya and I also made "Resurrection Rolls" together this year:

"A great Easter recipe to do with the kids! Rolls with marshmallows wrapped inside, which become hollow as they bake, it represents the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning, when you break them open they are empty inside!"

I had heard about them from a friend last year and decided to try it out since Priya was old enough to participate and understand their meaning.  I think this is a tradition we will continue to do for years to come.

We enjoyed Easter dinner at my parents' home and Ashish's family joined us as well.

 

The kids got to do a little Easter egg hunt which, of course, was fun to watch.

I really love to watch my kids play together and enjoy each other's company (especially when they are behaving well and keeping the noise to a sanity-saving level).  Below is a glimpse of some fun moments between them.

We love walking around campus together.  Josiah gets faster on his feet as the days go by.

Priya's relationship with her Daddy is a very special one.  She is definitely a daddy's girl.  You're a great daddy, Ashish!

Catching up

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted!  It's time to get caught up!

Life continues on at a steady pace at the Christian household.  Ashish is pressing on with his studies and working for Campus Safety.  Priya continues to enjoy preschool and has been growing at a rapid pace.  She is really into puzzles and loves to practice writing and identifying letters.  She is very eager to learn to read.  Josiah is almost 17 months and is growing at a rapid pace.  He is talking up a storm and is communicating in both English and Gujarati.  He is nuts about going outside, balls, cars and Elmo.  I am nearing the end of my 12th academic year at Simpson.  How time flies!

Ami, Ashish's dad and I recently helped to put on an Indian church service for the World Serve missions team training at SU.  It was awesome to see Ami shine as she shared about life in India and to see Ashish's dad's passion for worship as he and Ami led the students in some Gujarati worship songs.  When we came home Priya was excited to see me dressed in a sari and asked to wear one as well.

Later that day we enjoyed an Indian meal together as a family.  Priya helped Ami to prepare it.

In mid-March we spent a day in Sacramento.  We took the kids to Funderland (a children's amusement park) but quickly got rained out so the kids were only able to get a few rides in.

After the rain chased us away from Funderland we went to check out IKEA.  The kids loved it!  Priya especially loved seeing all the staged rooms and had a blast exploring them.  Below she found a girl's room that was her absolute favorite.

She has decided that she likes posing for photos now. 

Grammy and Papa Penner returned to Redding and the kids have been soaking up quality time with them.

We had a surprise dinner for Ami's birthday at the end of March.

 

 

And bringing up the rear of this post is a fun outing with Papa Penner.

Josiah made his first attempt at riding a bike.

And the kids had a blast on the slide.

It'll be fun when Josiah is old enough to ride a bike and to really keep up with his big sister!

Update

It's been a while since I've updated anything here.  So here are a few things that we've been up to.  

Below, Ashish and his family surprised me with an early birthday celebration.

 

And Mom, these are for you.  Josiah has been walking up a storm these days.  Here's a glimpse.  By the way, in the video below, Priya is dressed up for Crazy Hair Night at Awana. :)

 

This week was Homecoming at SU.  The students decorated the main lobby in our hall to show their school spirit.  Priya and Josiah enjoyed what they did quite a bit. Notice Priya's basketball skills in the video below.  :)

Priya's 1st Dentist Visit

You can probably tell by now that it's really important to me to document my kids' lives and to create an avenue for them to remember what life was like for them growing up (hence the blog).  I don't know that I would typically document something like going to the dentist, but this was a significant moment for Priya and one that I want her to remember.  It was a time when she conquered a significant fear in a big way!

Priya is four years old and had never been to the dentist before today.  Because of some rather traumatic medical/hospital experiences in the past she has been very resistant to seeing a dentist.  We've tried a number of things to help her overcome her fear but she has always made quite a big protest.  We've been praying for wisdom in knowing when to take her and how to prepare her and for the Lord's guidance in helping her to overcome her fear.

I recently took her with me to my dentist appointment to help her get an idea of what she could expect.  She was surprised that I didn't cry and kept asking me if it hurt.  I think it helped to ease her into the idea of finally stepping foot in a dentist's office.

I also found a really cute play set that I thought might be serve as a reward as well as a teaching tool to help her understand what going to the dentist is like.  It's a Calico Critters dentist set complete with a dentist, patient, dental chair, swiveling dentist stool, dentist tray on wheels, bib, toothbrushes, cleaning tools and more.  I also found it for half price which was another bonus.  :)

Ashish, Josiah and I all went to the appointment with Priya and we gave about half of the pieces to her when we arrived at the dentist's office.  We told her that we'd give her the rest at the end of her appointment.  It was a hit!  When she sat up in the dentist chair for her x-rays, she had the little beaver sitting upright in her dentist chair (under the protective apron to keep her safe too).

She compared the beaver dentist to her dentist and was excited by the many similarities between them.

She adjusted the toy dentist chair and had the little patient lie back when the dentist adjusted Priya's chair and asked her to lie back.

Both the hygienist and the dentist (Dr. Perez) at Access Dental were absolutely wonderful with her.  They played with her, explained everything well and allowed her to feel in control at just the right times.  I was really impressed!

One thing the beavers didn't have was cool glasses and glove balloons so this was an added treat. 

She finally agreed to her teeth being cleaned and loved the bubble gum flavor!  We were all thrilled by her willingness to cooperate!

Ashish and I were so proud of her for facing and overcoming her fear.  She didn't cry and made very little protest.  It was truly a special moment for our big girl.

Josiah's 1st Steps!

Just minutes before we left our home for the airport for our trip to Florida on Monday, January 9, Josiah surprised us by taking his first steps.  It was awesome to have my parents there to witness this huge milestone.  He was 13 months and 3 weeks at the time of this big milestone.