Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Swish

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No, we are not in Italy this week…

Ashish and I have developed an affection for international wine. However, sometimes you should check what’s available in your own back yard, before you venture elsewhere, right?

Well, we did just that! We spent the day in Stillwater where we had a picnic lunch (lovely all organic grocery store right in town) and spent some time wine tasting at the local winery. Tuscany, Napa…it’s not. But it was fun…and it was a gorgeous day to be along the banks of the river. We passed our time strolling the siewalk and sharing the enthusiam of two little boys who couldn’t get enough of the boats and the lift bridge.

Home improvements can wait for another weekend when it’s not so sunny. Living in Minnesota, you have to take what you can get.

Baby K

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Awaiting Kalegeta… Some babies are not born under bellies, some are born in our hearts. My dear, sweet friend MB is eagerly anticipating her baby in her arms. Kalegeta was born in Africa this past May, and is this short time, he has already made an imprint among our hearts. I can not wait to hold this baby in my arms…I can only imagine what MB is going through. We had a lovely garden baby-shower for her. I made the diaper cake, invitations and thank you cards…all an honor. I just love MB and can’t wait to hang out with her again…soon!

2000 Tickets

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While Daddy flew back to India because of his Mom’s passing, I treated the boys to Space Aliens’. (By the way, love their tag line- “Fill Your Inner Space.”) I had to compose a post about this because there was a couple there that boosted mine, and the boys spirits. I was really missing Ashish and I could sense that the boys were as well. Of course this is something he had to do, and we fully supported him, but none-the-less, it’s hard…especially on a 3 year old and a 1 year old. While playing games and waiting for our food, an older couple came up and they were watching Nishad passionately pounce on a “shark” game and laugh with glee when he collected his ONE ticket. haha. They smiled and said, “What are you going to do with all of your tickets?” He just smiled and then they said, “Well here. Our Grandchildren don’t live near us and you are such good boys, we want you to have this” and they handed us all their tickets. How sweet was that? The boys now only had their Grandpa’s left on this earth, and they too were far away in Chicago and India. We stood at the ticket redeemer feeding tickets in for quite awhile. The boys had about 2000 tickets all together! Nishad beamed as he was able to pick out the tractor/farm set displayed way at the top. Tiger was happy with anything! He’s always happy. The couples act of kindness might not have meant a lot to them…but it sure did mean a lot to two very special boys.

Como Fun

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It was a beautiful day at Como Zoo for a picnic and visit with the animals. Of course, everything is just that much better when you have a friend to share in your adventures. Nishad and Tiger had fun with L and his little baby brother. Good times from A to Z!

And with a blink of an eye…

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August is here! So much for the dogs days of summer…especially, when “summer” arrives a bit late! Despite the cool temps, we’ve been enjoying our summer and keeping busy. (Sometimes, a little too busy for my liking!)

July greeted us with fun visits with friends! Some play dates, open gym, 2 straight weeks of daily swim lessons for Nishad, a pot-luck luncheon, toss in “Peter and the Wolf” at Minnesota Orchestra Hall combined with fun times at Como Zoo, Minnihaha Park, Lake Calhoun, Lake Beebe, Elm Creek, a water park and….whosh! July flew by!

Nishad is such a fish ~ and Tiger wants to be “just” like Nishad. He tries so hard to swim like his big brother- even jumping in and going under, flapping his arms and kicking his legs. Nishad always loved the water, however, I think the consecutive swim lessons for 2-weeks were just the boost he needed. He has made such strides, and loves to swim around with a simple ring around him. He hasn’t mastered the back float yet- something we have to work on. We may have to get him some ear plugs as he says he doesn’t like it when water gets in his ear. He was in a class with 5 year olds because the other two 3 year olds were below his level, so after an evaluation, they thought they would give him a little challenge. Being that he will only be 3 years old this September, he’s still a bit young for these classes…but his age has never stopped him!