And the award for 'Best Traveler' goes to...

... none other than our very own Yo! The boy was an absolute gem during the 33 hours of door-to-door travel from Bangalore - Hong Kong - San Francisco - Portland. There were kids wailing on either side of him, but he either slept (like a baby) or was happily looking around when he was up, smiling at everyone around. We prayed for easy travel for him, and thank God that he bore through it all well! Like the lady sitting behind us said, "He was a great baby until his parents' dropped him on his head". Well, technically, that didn't happen, but he did take a tumble from the seat to the floor when his dad was looking the other way. Thankfully he didn't get hurt (much), and it built character.

Things were also a lot easier on his parents since on both the long flights we were given bassinet seats - so when he slept, we could too.

We didn't have too long of a wait at the airports, and even in SFO where things took longer than usual through immigration he was very patient.

We were greeted in Portland with a frigid blast of 4 deg C (39 deg F) weather, and it even snowed yesterday! Hopefully we'll get over this cold spell soon...

The day after we got back the poor guy must have caught a stomach bug, and he started vomiting a lot, and eventually had diarrhea too. Both Susan and I were the recipients of generous amounts of throw-up, and much cleaning was required. We've been putting him on Pedialyte all of yesterday to combat dehydration, and after that first night he hasn't thrown up yet, thankfully. We're praying the diarrhea will work its way out soon too. This + jet lag isn't a winning combination, and the nights have been, shall we say, challenging. At least I didn't have to go to work in the middle of it all. Speaking of which, today is the last day of my extended hiatus - it's back to the grind from the morrow!

A Choice of Trades

Journalist..... or Engineer?

Two Months Have Passed Us By

We got back to Bangalore last Sunday for the last week of our very extended holiday. Can't believe that two months passed by so quick. All three of us have been thoroughly spoiled with the full red-carpet treatment both in Madras and Bangalore. And today the pampering stops, as we head back :(

We went a couple days ago to get a family portrait taken. At the end of the session we finally concluded that getting Yo to be cheerful in such new surroundings wasn't easily accomplished. He was looking around very quizzically, preferring to go for the stern look instead. Hopefully we'll get the prints before we leave.

The Little Maharaja has lately taken to adopting a regal, lounging position in his high-chair as he is fed his many meals of the day, surrounded by a host of willing entertainers. All this meal-time entertainment will soon come to an abrupt end, and I am seriously considering recording all this so we can play it back for him when it is just Susan, Yo, and a bowl of food.

Yo's First Stand

(As you can see, I'm obviously running out of steam when it comes to thinking up creative titles. "Custer's Last Stand" came to mind during the time of topic-pondering, and that may or may not be relevant to the subject under discussion).

Yo has just started to stand by himself for a few seconds before toppling over. He typically goes about it in this order:

1. Pull himself up to examine something of interest on a chair. At this point he's standing holding on to aforementioned chair.
2. Pick up said object of interest from the chair with one hand, using the other to continue to hold himself up.
3. Release second hand from chair to more closely examine the object of interest, at which point he's standing by himself.
4. In a few seconds, all balance is lost and both boy and object of interest meet the floor.

The Heirloom Chair

All three grandchildren have had the pleasure of using this Lilliput chair at their ammama's house.

We apparently also have an heirloom serving bowl now.

Staircases and Fun Family Times

Following in his older cousins' footsteps has led the boy to discover stairs. He has been causing his mother and grandmother some amount of anxiety by zipping up the stairs and then turning around to look back, with little or no understanding of how gravity works.

On the occasion of all the George family being in town we took on the task of trying to take a family portrait. Trying to get 3 kids to (a) sit still, and (b) smile at the same time is no small feat. As it turned out, we achieved (a) but not (b).

We've been having a great time here in Madras, with the full royal treatment being doled out. Pia, Sujan, Zeph, and Josh just left last night for Bangalore, so the house is a tad too quiet right now with only one munchkin around. Here are some pics from the last few days, continuing from where we left off last time (after Christmas).

(embedded slideshow)

Neil, Zach, and Alyah

Yo got to meet three new comrades past week.

Cousin Neil just turned 1, and is the son of Susan's cousin Neha and hubby Rohan. This happy chap just started walking, and it's so cute to see him wander around exploring every little thing.

Zach was born Dec 12, and is the adorable son of Susan's childhood friend Mallika and her hubby Ollie. He was just 10 days old when we got to see the cute little fella.

Alyah is the beautiful daughter of Vijay and Tanya - childhood and church youth group friends of ours. She is about a month older than Yohan, and they recently came down to Madras as well for a holiday. Alyah is all dolled-up here for her christening.