Periodic Clan Pictures

It would be interesting to measure Vivian's journey by taking pictures of her at regular intervals. My neighbor does this by taking a picture of his son laying/crawling/sitting/standing next to his own personalized Louisville Slugger on his birthday each month.

Alas, we are not organized enough to mold the present, and instead must look for patterns in the past. One such pattern was recently discovered. For two consecutive summers we have taken family pictures at Alu's. The first is from May 22, 2007 in Ann Arbor. The second is from Aug 2 in Rhode Island.

This year, Vivian looks prettier. I look younger. Everyone else looks the same.

The Ocean State

We spent a few days at Alu and Michelle's home in Rhode Island. Vivian learned to play the piano from - surprise - Alu (sample lesson: "one finger, one key"). And sing and dance with Michelle. And climb up the stairs by herself using the handrail to go find Dadu. And ride (actually, be pushed around) in a lovely little trike that Eric and Kathy brought over for her. And ride in ferries and boats all over the place. And visit Beavertail lighthouse (the third oldest lighthouse in the US). And tour Newport harbour (including a couple of America's Cup winners) from a boat. And have tonnes of fun being spoiled rotten by her uncle and aunt and grand dad. And learn all kinds of new words. Some pictures from the trip:

Beach Bum

Vivian could easily grow up to be a full time bona fide beach bum.

Last year, she had a quick introduction to the beach at Florida when she was about 4 months old. Not too crazy.

Then came South Padre Island last month. Interested. But preferred sand to sea. And turned out to be a shell collector - much to Grandma's liking.

At East Matunuck State Beach in Rhode Island, Vivian found her true calling. She loved playing in the sand. And frolicking and skipping as the sea water surged and receded from her toes. And screaming and laughing and giggling as the waves crashed on her face. Yep - loved all of it. And when it was time to head out, she wailed and cried as if we had taken away her favorite toy.

One Friday, Alu and Michelle and Jo and Vivian and my Dad and me took the ferry to Block Island for a few hours. Jo found Vivian a lovely clear pexiglass beach bucket trimmed in bright blue, and a yellow shovel at one of those toy/souvenir/tshirt stores along the waterfront. And then we walked to a patch of sand and set her down (the beach was another few hundred yards away and my Dad was already tired from walking and we had left on a bench on the pier and this way, we had visual contact with him and Vivian had some sand to play in).

Vivian played and played. And when it was time to go and catch the ferry back, she started to pitch a fit. In an effort to head it off, Jo and I took a few steps away from her, as if we were walking away, and called her to follow. After a few moments, Vivian looked in my direction and raised her arms and made noises that usually signify "Come, get me. I already miss you". I walked back towards her, patting myself on the back for good parenting. No fit. Child prefers parents to beach. And she picks to come get her. Not bad.

When I reached her, she took the bucket from my hand, turned her back to me, and went on playing in the sand. Bye, Dad.

Some pictures from the beach:

Take a Bow, Please

One evening, we were driving to Narragansett for our pre-dinner constitutional along the sea wall. Jo had flown off to Baltimore earlier that day for her friend's party. So Alu was sitting next to Vivian's car seat during the drive. He had a packet of raisins and was handing them to Vivian one at a time. Every time Vivian asked for a raisin, Alu told her, "say 'Please'". Not once did Vivian say please, and the packet was empty by the time we reached Narragansett.

On the way back, I hear her singing to herself in the back "please, please, please...". Wow - I am not sure what surprised me more - that she had picked it up, or that Uncle Alu was the one teaching her manners.

We get back home and sit around the kitchen table and eat pizza. Over dinner, well past her bed time (Mom's not home), Michelle sings and hums and claps a few tunes and Vivian tries to mimic her. Then she bows and Vivian does that too. About five minutes later, I look at Vivian and say "take a bow, please", and she grins from ear to ear and drops her head in a quick nod more than a bow. But hey, it's her new repeatable pet trick. Next time you see her, try it.

Five Strikes and you are....

...my Dad.

Back in May, I had written about going to Fry's to buy a Wii to fill my Dad's time in Austin. And Jo laughed at me - saying that my Dad would never play the Wii, and it was obviously for myself.

We were up at Alu and Michelle's in Rhode Island. I dragged the Wii with me there - just in case someone wanted to play. And every evening, after dinner, the Chatterjee men faced off at bowling.

The other day, my Dad challenged me to a quick pre-lunch game and beat me hands down. He bowled five strikes in a row.

Vivian had fun watching us Wii - specially skiing. And when we weren't playing, she swung the Wiimote around, or spoke into the nunchuck as if it was a phone. I need to look into Wii games for little ones. Wiis for wees...?