All in a Days Work

Recently I was left alone with both kids for 9 days. This is the longest I've been solo, and with a toddler and a baby, oy ve! But we survived. The kids did great, it was just me being on double duty that was exhausting. During this time I also (very stupidly I might add) decided to potty train Riya. This meant I had to keep her home from school for 3 days plus the weekend.

A few months back when Ram told me the dates for his second annual work trip to Cali and asked if he could extend it to the weekend to go to Vegas and catch up with a very dear friend that he hasn't seen in 5 years, I said yes without hesitation. However, at that time, I had no intention of potty training Riya. We received word in April that she would be moving up to the 3 year old class in May, so I wanted to wait until she adjusted.

But as the weeks and days passed, Riya's desire to be diaper free kept growing and I couldn't ignore it any longer.  So as Ram's trip drew near, my anxiety reached a whole new level of WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?! Being solo with both kids is hard though I was beginning to feel more confident about doing both of their bedtimes by myself. We had a routine down and Riya has become quite the little helper. But add potty training to the mix and whatever false sense of security I felt as Ram walked out that door last Sunday morning, left with him. Just the thought of potty training exhausted me. All the books out there said, block out a whole 4-5 days and focus solely on your child. You will not do laundry. You will not clean. You will not look at your phone. You will do nothing but watch your child. These authors either have only 1 child or a plethora of help. I don't fall into either category.

Thus began the daunting experience of potty training. Riya started out very strong and we had no accidents on day 1. Day 2 the resistance began (expected) and it was clear that she knew exactly when she had to pee and poo but pooping while seated was our sole issue. This is a common road block in potty training, so I was very proud that she at least was making the connection and getting to the bathroom on time. The sitting while pooping thing would come, it just takes time. After 5 very long days with both kids, I sent Riya to school and was so happy to hear that she did great. No accidents! And it stayed that way for the rest of the week.

I am beyond proud of my little girl, who is acting all grown up. Although this solo venture was tiring for me, the kids had so much fun bonding with each other. I cannot help but beam with pride when I look at these two:

Copying Rayan. LOL

Riya can never have enough cuddles with Rayan <3

Daddy's home!!!

Master Rayan is 4 months old

Over here they call little ones "Master" or "Miss," I love it! Master Rayan is no longer a newborn. Now that his reflux is miraculously gone, this boy is BUSY! In the last month his skills have exploded. He is rolling on both sides, kicking, cooing, laughing, smiling, grabbing toys, trying to sit up (!!!), and started teething. He is sleeping 10 hours at night and has a love-hate relationship with his swaddle. He is standing tall at 24.5" and weighs 14 lbs (just under 50th percentile for both).

He is such a happy guy. He hardly cries except when you try to feed him milk through a bottle. That is not happy hour at the Aiyer household. The clock is ticking on that transition, but it's our only struggle right now, so I'll take it.

Now marks the beginning of a series of cute phases. The simplest things crack him up and he doesn't need much to be entertained. He stays right where I left him and when I return its all giggles and smiles:)  Don't grow up Rayan!

I see parts of my Dad in him sometimes which catches me off guard. But mostly I think he's the spitting image of Ram. Both my boys are quite handsome, don't you think?

Peek-a-boo!

Windsor

This past weekend was a long weekend (Easter and Bank Holiday), so we decided to take advantage of the four day weekend and set our sights on a town nearby called Windsor. Its home to Windsor Castle, a residence of the Royal family. It was built in the 11th century!

We were so excited to take Riya to the Windsor Castle and Lego Land, but the weather did not cooperate. On our first day we took it easy and walked around town. Its a really charming city and we had beautiful views of the Castle from our stroll down the main street. But on that day the line for the Castle was hours long, so we had to forgo our afternoon tour, and ended up not making it back:/ But we took pictures from the outside!

Fun Fact: those black poles sink down to the ground if you have the key code:) 

We purchased tickets in advance for Lego Land on Sunday (Easter). We were so excited for Riya to experience her first theme park. It was a bit of a trek to get from the entrance all the way down to the main area, but when we got to the part of the park for under 3's, we were pretty disappointed. All they had was a play area and even that was not appropriate for Riya. Disappointed, we decided to stroll around for a bit to check out the other games and rides. But suddenly there was a big clap of thunder and within minutes it was pouring rain. Luckily the kids were safe and dry in the stroller with the rain covers on them, but Ram and I got soaked. It rained and rained and feeling defeated, we decided to head back to the hotel. The rainstorm put our kids straight to sleep. Ha!

Riya does not like her picture being taken unless she asks for it! 

Little cities built in Legos

Lego London!

Looking at the weather forecast for the next day our stay, we were debating on whether to leave. Forecast called for 100% rain and heavy winds. In the end, we decided to stay and enjoy our break from reality. London had the same forecast so I'm glad we stayed. The city is close enough for us to try again another time. It was so cute to watch Riya entertain herself in the room without wanting to play with any of the toys I brought from home! That was a huge milestone in and of itself:)

Picture time!

Saying "Cheeeeese!"

She loved talking on the phone, haha

This girl loves a view

March Madness

Sorry folks, this post isn't about sports!

March is here!!! March is the start of spring, though London hasn't gotten the memo yet. It's okay because I'm loving the cold weather. March is the month of Riya's half birthday and mine, Rayan's 3 month old status, and we take our first vacation of the year over Easter weekend.

Rayan has doubled his birth weight at 12.5lbs and is 23" tall. He is growing so fast and those cheeks...!

I cannot believe Riya is 2 1/2 now! So much has changed in the last 6 months. We can have conversations with her now, she sings all the time (Riya means singer, so I guess we got it right), and she's really good at saying and recognizing all the letters in the alphabet, knows all her colors, and counts to 10 but sometimes skips a few numbers, haha.

She is FINALLY over her balloon obsession. We have been balloon free for a month. Hooray!!!!! Her current obsessions are beads/bracelets, dinosaurs, and stickers. For her birthday we bought her a bead set and a dinosaur color and shape matching game. 

Now that I'm not so pregnant and Rayan is willing to nap on the go, we are trying to capitalize on this short window and check out new things over the weekends. We spent Riya's half birthday going to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Riya is obsessed with trains and buses, so I figured this was the perfect place to go and it was a hit. It's geared towards young children and has a small play area where they can dress up, which she loves to do lately.

We are about to start transitioning her out of her crib this weekend which is a big milestone but also makes me nervous. I really hope she catches on that she has to stay in her room sooner versus later. Wish us luck! 

Our London Anniversary

Well it came and went...over a month ago. But it will be one year at the end of March in our flat in Putney, so I'm not too far behind:)

Our first year in London has been one heck of ride. In the span of a year we traveled, played tourist in our hometown, watched Riya reach so many milestones, the biggest being her ability to talk (and yes she does have a slight accent. I'm so proud!), spent Luca's 10th birthday here, and expanded our family. I love living in a city that has different seasons. I love living in a city that is lively and cultured. And most importantly, I love sharing a zip code with the Royal family:)

Living in London has opened my eyes to a new way of life. The idea of raising small children in a big city that relied mainly on public transportation has always been unappealing to me.  Walking on the sidewalk and having people in close proximity would freak me out. I always dismissed Ram's desire to live in New York for those reasons. But here we are! I don't even notice the people anymore as I walk around. I've become another floating head lost in a sea of people. It is tricky not having a car when you have car seat and stroller bound children, especially on the weekends when you just want to jump in the car and go instead of waiting 20 minutes to finally catch a bus that can accommodate my stroller. But its a trade off.

One thing hasn't changed, I'm still at a loss for friends with kids. Usually by the one year mark we are happily settled with a new circle of friends but this city is just too spread out and I haven't connected with anyone. Honestly, I'm over it. It is unfortunate because we are so happy here but don't have that social aspect to go along with it. Its one of the few cons of expat life. We got lucky with our friendships in Aberdeen and Dubai, so I guess our luck ran out. Ram gets my daily dose of "this happened and then that" and truth be told he's probably the only person that actually cares about my day in that aspect, so I can't complain. Ram, on the other hand, may have a complaint or two!

Looking back at how small Riya was when we first arrived in our new hometown is such an eye opener. So much has changed in a year and here's to many more in London!

And here she is now, my grown up baby girl.