Stay At Home Mom's Survival Guide

Now that Riya is down to 1 nap a day, I'm struggling to keep this girl busy for 5 hours in a row (cue panic attack). That's a BIG jump from 3 hours. At first I thought, great, now I can be out for longer stretches and get my errands done! But how many errands do I think I have?! Certainly not enough to keep me out every single day.

I feel a lot of pressure being a stay at home mom (SAHM). I am responsible for raising my child(ten) to be productive and positive members of society. That is a tall order! So I'm constantly trying to find ways to stimulate Riya. So I've been searching high and low for time killers creative activities. Here is what I found and I hope it helps some of you out!

1. Baby Center: this site has 4 activities per month for your baby. I wish I had discovered it earlier but lots of the activities are suitable for a wide age range. We've only tried a few. These "activities" don't hold her interest very long. Like 10 minutes. Thats IT. I think they are better suited for younger, less mobile babies, but they do have some cool ideas.

Contrary to what this site suggested, she did NOT like being pulled around in a box. 

Tunnel fun <3

So it begins...

Knocking things down is her favorite thing to do!

She won't do water play unless it's Luca's drinking bowl! (Sigh)

Haha took me a while to put this together and she didn't even last a minute. HA.

2. Sensory classes: we were attending these pretty regularly before summer hit, so this was a no brainer. However, the company we normally went with changed the schedule and the timings are less than ideal. So I found a few classes closer to me. However, the first class we tried was 1.5 hours long and the age range was 12-20 months. I was skeptical going in both because it was too long and that is such a wide age range for babies, all of them are at different developmental stages. Sure enough, it was not the right class for us. After 45 minutes, Riya was dunzo and the kids were at the top of the age range and the activities seemed more for their level, so we didn't go back. I then found another one with closer age range 12-15 months, and the class is only 1 hour long. This class is just perfect for us. Riya has already done her first painting! Will have to grab the masterpiece next week though after it dries:)

3. Swimming: I've gone back and forth about doing lessons and figured she would benefit when she was a little older. So in the meantime, I have decided to at least let her splash around and get used to the water a few times a week. I plan on looking up baby lessons on youtube and testing them out with Riya. Our pool has good shade, so this makes for a perfect before bedtime activity.

At the end of the day, she doesn't really care for all these "elaborate" activities that I spend hours thinking of and putting together. We still tend to get bored here and there and that's O-K.  All she really wants to do is chase Luca around all day! Sigh....

Riya's Birthday Bash

Riya's birthday party theme this year was "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" I thought this theme was especially fitting considering the year we've had. One obstacle after another, our 3.3 lb baby has come a long way. From worrying that she wasn't staying awake long enough between feeds (oh how naive I was) to wondering when she would roll over and crawl. From anticipating her first tooth to watching her feed herself. And now we wait for the day that she takes those first little steps all on her own. Take your time, baby girl, we are in no rush!

The first year really is a magical, unforgettable, all consuming love, and the ultimate test in patience. I'm both happy and sad it's over. It feels like the longest days of your life, but they are the shortest, most precious years.

Alright, enough of the sappy stuff!

Lucky girl had 2 parties this year. An early one in Houston with family and then one in Dubai with our Dubai family. Riya had a great time spending her birthday with all her loved ones.

Here are some pictures from her birthday morning:

"What, I'm ONE?!"

The Houston party. We hired a professional photographer and got some awesome family photos:

Cousin love :) 

First time eating a sweet! 

The Dubai party:

These are all the places Riya has been! Okay, okay, some of those were during our baby moon :)  

Her new toy:) 

Round 2!

Flash Friday

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Riya! We are making a fuss and throwing her a party so will share details next week. In the meantime, here are some pictures from our photo session with our birthday girl:)

Destination Wedding: St. Maarten

We headed out to the Caribbean on Wednesday, August 20th, to begin a weekend full of family togetherness, beautiful scenery and to witness the Daniel nuptials. I've only been to the Bahamas so I was excited to see another island in the Caribbean. The island is divided in 2 parts: the Dutch side and the French side. We stayed on the French side, which was the more relaxing part of the island. The view didn't disappoint. It was beautiful to see the mountains and ocean and we all enjoyed beach and pool time on our first full day.

Riya finally meets her Masi (Aunt) and Masa (Uncle)! 

That evening was the welcome dinner.  The guest list was small, a cozy 38. The theme of the night was "How They Met." In the spirit of that, our side did a video skit and we also did a few ice breaker games including mad libs. Who doesn't love a night of games?! It was a great way to get the conversation going and to meet everyone.

The forecast for the next morning was rain, rain rain, so the couple had to change their plans of having the wedding on the beach and instead made it semi-indoors. The wind was pretty strong that day, but you can see a sneak peak of the ocean in the background. The backdrop was still unforgettable.

In Hindu weddings, a married couple (usually the parents) gives away the bride by performing opening ceremonies. My sister asked Ram and I to give her away. We were honored. Sadly we didn't capture this part(!!!) but it was fun. I can't believe we married a couple. Feel free to line up folks, the Aiyers are now in the marriage making business!

Send off in a Harley. Not too shabby! 

Later that day they performed a Christian ceremony. Luckily the weather cooperated and we witnessed a beautiful courtyard wedding.

Then it was time to dance the night away!

Sadly Ram had to leave early with Riya both nights so I missed him dearly. This was the first time we attended an event of any kind with Riya, so it was definitely an eye opening experience. We kept taking turns to watch Riya and make sure she wasn't uncomfortable. It was extremely hot on the island and most of the public areas were all open with only fans to cool. But Riya was a trooper. She got to meet lots of family and we are thankful they got to see her as a baby.

The majority of the group was staying till Monday, but we left Sunday. We really wanted to check out another island, St. Bartes, but after inquiring with the hotel it would have been an all day affair. Since we had Riya, that was not a possibility.  So we spent our last day enjoying the island. My mom graciously agreed to babysit, so we did some more pool hanging with the group and at night we went out (well some of us didn't make it cause we can't handle daytime drinking...ahem Shilpi and Emily...haha) The Dutch side is the party side, so we hit it up to check out the nightlife. As a special treat for my gambling addiction, Ram found out there was a casino so while most of the group decided to bar hop, Ram, my brother, my cousin and I spent the evening gambling:) And oh what a good night it was!

There were way too many pictures to post on the blog, so if you want to see the full album, please click here. 

Congratulations Shilpi & Jake! So glad we were able to share this one of a kind weekend with you all! Hope you're having a blast in Greece!