| Jump to: |
2005 |
2006 | 2007 |
2008 |
| Sound bites: |
Maya
likes ducks |
Maya
saying Hello |
Maya
crying to beat the band |
2009 |
| Serenade
in Spanish |
Maya
saying Dada |
Aditi asking for privacy on the potty |
Maya laughing |
|
| Aditi singing |
Aditi's
first years |
Maya's
first years |
March: Naomi comes to visit and gets
immediately roped into babysitting so Anu and Mike can go out, for
perhaps the fourth time in 6 months. Funny, Naomi has stocked the
house with a lot fo wine and beer, and is staying out late a lot more
now. Coincidence?
March: Maya in charge in the
kitchen. I can't wait for the first meal they cook me. They
like to cook vegetables, just not eat them. Foreground:
emptied mac and cheese pot.
March: Helping make the weekly
bread. Diti and Maya are getting good at kneading.
February:
The first good snow of the season turns Jackson (as we've come to call
the house) into a winter wonderland. Aditi and Maya get to
know snow and cold; Anu and I get to know gas bills that are in two
months are bigger than for 8 years of hot water in Tucson.
Aditi and Maya get to know down comforters and sleeping bags... And
learn how to sled down our rather steep and slick driveway.
Maya is a litle
cautious in the snow; but Aditi is learning to slide. 
January: My first teaching assignment
at Maryland is at 8am. My commute is up Sligo Creek Trail,
through New Hampshire Highlands, to University Heights, then through
the University. It's about the same distance as my commute in
Tucson was, but the conditions are a little different. For one
thing, it's hilly here.
And then I don't really need the thorn-proof tires, but I do need ones
that can deal with major potholes and with ice. Today I had one
gear: low. Together the hills and weather are driving a
noticeable increase in my caloric intake. Breakfast was two eggs,
two pieces of toast, and half a stick of butter; lunch was a quart of
soup, two apples, and banana bread; dinner fish, rice, zzzzz.......
January: Sleepover with the cousins,
and setting up the Lionel trainset Grandpa Jackie sent. Who is
having more fun with it - the kids or their fathers?
2009, January: Moving is fun!
But not for Mama and Dada. We are hoping this move is the last
for a while. The schools here are supposed to be first-rate; the
house is plenty big enough; we are about a mile from the Metro, the
Coop is a few blocks away, and Takoma Park seems to be people like
us. Neighbors to the north brought us quiche; neighbors to the
south had us over for dinner the first week we are moving in; both
families have two little girls. They could be a posse to reckon
with in 5-10 years time... 
December: We take a break and go
visit Grandpa Jack in CT for Hanuka. Aditi and Maya learn how to
build a snowman. And defend themselves with snowballs. 
December: In October we made an offer on a house in
Takoma Park, and get outbid, only for the house to reappear on the
market in these strange real estate days of late 2008. Our second
offer in December is accepted, and the mortgage rate is much, much
better at this point, so we can afford the deal. There's an
office space for Anu; nice wood floors; a finished basement, and an
attic with skylights for the kids to own. Lots of big trees and
shade, and almost 15000 square feet of lot. The windows, although
drafty, are beautiful big 1930's steel casements that we decide to have
adjusted rather than replaced. We also tear up the living
room/kitchen Pergo flooring and have some old pine replaced with the
oak that is in the rest of the main floor: much better.
December: Buddies.
December: Shocking but true.
These kids can be a big help around the house. They also help us
cook. 
December: Usually this is my lot in
life, so I'm happy to be the one getting to take the picture than to be
getting sized up for the truss.
December: A visit from Jon, Nancy,
Same, Aviva means an excuse to have a great meal and some laughs.
Meanwhile Aditi and Maya are learning how cold it can get in the
Northeast, and that snuggling on a cold winter night is good.
December: Oh, joy. The end of
the diapers is near. The time of long waits for the bathroom
looms. Obligatory embarrassing photo I can drag out for the
significant others dragged home to meet the parents.
Thanksgiving: Yet another large meal
has put most of us into 'digestion-only' mode. 
Thanksgiving: Working the
grandparents.
Thanksgiving: Pink and Purple People
figuring out how to share two Sit 'n' Spins four ways. 
November: Thanksgiving on the East
Coast. Of course nothing can stop Nani from cooking, and hard to
stop her from making dhosas (I'm NOT complaining). Anu enjoying
the extra help at least as much as me. Maya enjoying even more
attention than usual.
Hallowe'en 2008: Two happy sugar
fiends.
October: Left: Dancing with my best
friend in the Woodberry living room, which is essentially the girls'
space. Note the $1.98 Value Village Sit 'n' Spins have total
trumped the fancy German-engineered dollhouse. Right: Aditi has
learned to copy Mama and Dada's hours at the computer, and Maya is
figuring things out. Yes, they can mouse before kindergarten.
Scary.
October: Even the crappy electric stove at Woodberry
can't stop me from baking bread - here is some of Aditi's favorite,
whole wheat pita. A bit of constancy in so much transition.
We'll take off our shorts and dance for dessert!
October: It's easy to get Southwestern natives excited
about raking leaves at the Woodberry house. Especially when I
show them how to jump in the piles.
September 2008: Cupcakes and the
hypnosis of concentrated sugar. Photos by Erik.
September 2008: Aditi's 5th birthday at
Woodberry. It is hot and humid, so Becky's backyard inflateable
pool definitely is the place to be. Check out our matching Hello
Kitty swimsuits by the House of Nani.
September 2008: Aditi's 5th birthday
party. By now we have had 6 addresses in six weeks; Minneapolis,
Petey's basement in Baltimore, Ocean City, Petey's basement again,
house-sitting at our friend Erik's neighbor's place, and at the end of
August, after some fruitless house-hunting with "Stevie Wonder" (we
have
to wonder what he was thinking), we rent a big old house on Woodberry
Street in University Park. It's just a trombone section away from
the University, if you know what I mean; after Mike's time in the West Stadium at Arizona, we are not going to be
able to live this close to a marching band. But it is nice to be able
to catch our breath and unpack a little. Many thanks to the
Greenbelt Childrens' Center folks, who kindly have found space for both
the girls, and made life a lot easier. And we have connected
with old friends (Erik, Naomi, Liz, Will) in the DC metro area, and
made some new ones (Jen, Yudijit and Victor). The kids have been
amazingly good and patient during this other of transitions. Photos by
Erik.
July 2008: A week at the shore is a
welcome respite. We bury Shoshana in the sand every chance we
get. Maya pees on the beach every chance she gets.
June 18, 2008: After 7 1/2 years in
Tucson, Mike has a job offer at the University of Maryland -- and takes
it. By July 1 we have shipped the care, readied the house for
sale, and are on a plane to Baltimore via Minneapolis. It's
a bittersweet time - Tucson, Sonora Cohousing and the University of
Arizona have been good for us, but it will be so good to be located
closer to our families, and life in the desert has been hard for
Anu. Meanwhile it's a scramble to pick up and go. At this
point the camera gets packed and we don't find it again for a
while. This becomes a pattern...
June: Our hair is long enough for us
to have pigtails!!
May: cleaning the floor. No,
this is not staged, or retouched; they are cleaning the floor.
How did I get them to
do it? I'll never tell.... but
these other pictures might tell some of the story.
May: In response to the nasty plastic
'character' lunchpags, Anu is making our own out of floral organic
cotton and batting. No, you can't have mine, but you might write
her and get her to make you one for the right price.
We like ketchup. Clearly the genetics skipped from
Grandpa Jackie straight to these girls.
April: Drinking tea with my sister.
April: Nani comes to visit.
April: As I'm getting ready to go to
Tahiti, Aditi wants to come scuba diving too.
March: With our cohousing "sister"
Angela.
March, Tucson: Maya on a
warm spring morning (heading up to mid-90s).
March, Tucson: On the
same recent, cold (68F) morning, Aditi models the down coat she insists
she needs because "it's coooold!".
March, Tucson: Neighbor
Cynthia gave us a little rocking chair, and Maya really likes it.
Along with her "sleepy".
Tucson, March 2007:
Playing doctor; sick dogs fortunately getting the medical care they
desperately need.
March, Tucson: Vegging
with Ellie around night-night time during a childcare swap.
Jan, Tucson: Aditi is
getting pretty good at the monkey bars.
Feb, Tucson: Moosie just
can't stay away. No complaints from any of us, especially as she
is helping Anu while I'm at a conference in Germany for a week.
Feb, Tucson: I'm looking for a
few good graduate students. These two characters look
promising. The one on the left has completed some preliminary
training (see notes on November, below) but the one on the right has a
long ways to go... 
Jan, Tucson: Neighbor Jen
breaks bread and has a heart-to-heart with Aditi. Jen, we'll miss
you. Be safe and well in Mozambique.
Jan, Tucson: Why do
small children feel compelled to beat up on fancy, fragile
glasses? Aditi used to do the same thing; now it seems to be
Maya's turn.
Jan, Tucson: Homemade ice
cream (1/2 the sugar, real yummy) puts a smile on everyone's face.
January 2007. Dada
once again asleep at the wheel. What's happened to quality
parenting, anyway?