Jo wants me to write something to insert in her Christmas cards. I am not sure what to do. So I start blogging furiously. And Vivian gives me the best smile ever. And again. She is almost 10 months old. That's not very many months - but I only have a very vague memory of life before her.
2007 started slowly for Jo and me. By the time January rolled in, Jo was ready to put pregnancy behind her. And I was a bit restless - we hadn't traveled anywhere in over a month. We were both looking forward to this easier phase called parenthood. At about 03:00 on Feb 16, Jo informed me that the baby was on the move. At 19:58 that evening, she held Vivian Bina in her arms for the very first time. Six pounds and 10 ounces, and nineteen and three quarters inches of life.
The first two weeks were a blur. And breastfeeding
is rocket science. At the end of week 2, Vivian had her first bath and loved it. It was the start of our almost daily ritual since. The blue bath tub in the kitchen with the toys and ducks and baby soap and baby lotion. At about 830pm, that's where you'll find us.
Vivian started sleeping in her own room a few days after she turned two months. From 9pm to 7am, some sort of normalcy returned to the house. Jo and I sat on the couch and shared common thoughts for few seconds at a time. The cats wandered back in. For Jo's birthday, Carol babysat and we went to Musashino for dinner. It was the first time Jo and Vivian weren't in the same body or same house in almost a year. Everybody survived.
For her third month birthday, in May, Vivian laughed. She was in her bathtub and looked up at us and let out a full-throated laugh and then repeated it. I am grossly understating it when I say that the parents were mesmerized. A couple of days after that, three generations of Chatterjees congregated in Michigan to chat about cricket and the traffic in Hyderabad. Dadu (Grandpa) was in Ann Arbor at Uncle Alu and Aunt Michelle's for the start of his summer trip. The plane ride there was OK, but on the way back, Jo looked like a PTSD kid.
June rolled around and we took a road trip to Florida for Uncle Aaron's fini flight. Vivian was suitably awed as Major Clark's F-15 thundered up into the clouds followed by the roar of the glowing afterburners. In July, we headed off to Nebraska for the Burns family reunion. Jo and 55 of her closest relatives (the number as well as the sentiment includes various pets) met in Falls City. Nicolle, Michelle, Grandma, Vivian's five cousins, Dadu, Mom, Dad, Vivian and Ellie and Kirby (the dogs) camped out in two RVs in Lake Stanton Park. Now there's an experience.
Back at the ranch, the new pool was finally ready. Vivian quickly discovered that her favorite pastime was to float around in Katurah's red inflatable crab. In August, the ladies (Grandma, Nicolle, Katurah, Jo, and Vivian) went to see Uncle Erick and Aunt Jean in North Carolina. I used that time to wear out the soles of my hiking boots in the Canadian Rockies. I saw some of the best scenery on the continent for a week and missed my little girl acutely. August saw another major milestone - Vivian turned six months and started on solid food. This bundle of life had so far subsisted completely on the secretions of a couple of glands on her mother's body. Mind boggling stuff. In August, we also observed Arjun's first death anniversary - it was easier with Vivian laughing in my arms.
In early September, Uncle Tom and Aunt Anna and Brian and Kim visited from Nebraska. One day, everyone else went to Sea World while Vivian and I hung out at Grandma's. We painted and lounged and swam and chilled. Vivian could crawl but hated to. After one step she always splatted herself on the floor and then rolled on to her back. But she mastered another trick - she could pull herself up. She practiced on everything - coffee tables, entertainment consoles, cats, cousin Katurah.
At the end of September, we went to Houston to visit Cara and Eric and little Holden who was three months old. We also checked out the Lucy exhibit. Vivian met her oldest known hominid ancestor from 3.18 million years back. Vivian will soon be a walking testament to Lucy's bipedalism.
October was marked by three things: eating out, another trip, and Halloween. After months of self-imposed (well - almost "self") exile, we returned to the world of restaurants - Vivo's, El Chile, Musashino, EZ's, the Hula Hut and Satay. A small step for a little girl, a giant step for the sanity of her parents. Jo and Vivian went to Baltimore to visit Vicky and Brett and little Lilly who was four months old. And then we spent a few days in Rhode Island at Alu and Michelle's new home, and enjoyed the riotous fall colors and the lovely coast at Narragansett and Newport and Mystic, and returned home in time for Halloween. Vivian chose the costumes - by virtue of her natural Mohawk we were a family of punks. She dressed in black with a spiked Mohawk and black boots and a "My Dad Rocks" shirt.
In the course of one weekend in early November, Vivian mastered the art of crawling, clapping, blowing raspberries, and walking with a walker. She realized the potential of mobility and got into everything. Furniture and nicknacks were hidden or moved. Electrical outlets were plugged up. Cats slept with one eye open. As if in celebration of all this, an already happy child became even more cheerful. Going out became a bit of chore for her socially challenged parents - Vivian made all kinds of new friends at every restaurant or store.
In a few days, Vivian will be ten months old. And in a few more, 2007 will be history. I remember walking down to Central Market with Jo just the other day. It had snowed, the sidewalks were icy, and the grass in Ramsey Park was crunchy. We drank hot chocolate and discussed names. Luke or Eva? Since then, another year has almost come and gone. And these are some of the things I remember of it. And that the universe has changed for ever.
