408 Months Old

I turned 408 months old on Sunday, oh wait, at what point do you stop counting in months? I'm probably a little old for that. Oh well, 34 then.

Sophie's pinni Aparna dropped by on Saturday with gifts from India from Amamma Parvathi including the most adorable little outfit that included a skirt, halter and duppatta(scarf) as well as little bracelet bangles and a silver spoon and bowl. The clothes and bangles are a bit big yet, but I can't wait to get her in them! Thanks, Parvathi, as always, you are so thoughtful and generous!

Aparna has promised to teach Telugu to Sophie. I am both delighted and nervous about this. On the one side, hopefully my daughter will succeed where I have failed, (despite listening to Aparna for approaching 20 years, I still only have a few words and phrases) and plus when we go to India (hopefully, someday!!) she can be our little translator. However, I just know that the two of them will have long conversations about Sophie's poor mother(me) while I sit ignorantly in the same room with a stupid smile on my face because I'm so happy my daughter speaks another language.

Mammom and Grandy came by on Sunday so that we could go out for dinner for my birthday, although I suspect they had an ulterior motive in wanting to see Sophie. :) We went to Outback Steakhouse. Now before my cosmopolitan epicure friends and family raise their nose at this much loved spot, I would like to pose the following argument. I was once the urban foodie who absolutely refused chain restaurants thinking they were the end of all things tasty and good in the world. However, now that I am beyond the beltway and happily ensconced in suburbia, the appeal of the family-friendly chain restaurants has finally come to me, especially now when dining out with Sophie. Almost all of them have these special slings for holding infant car seats and they are very accommodating to our spatial needs as pertains to said car seat. I would also like to point out that although I am unlikely to find any really daring combinations or unique menu items, I have never had a bad meal at one of these places.

In conclusion, ladies and jelly spoons, I still enjoy the small restaurants with trendy one-word names that give absolutely no clue as to the menu, but I love the predictability of the yummy Bushman 'Shrooms. And don't even get me started on Red Lobster's cheese biscuits.

On another note, as might be visible in these pictures, Sophie has developed a bit of a cranky side when it comes to being held by anyone other than Neil and I (although doesn't Grandy look very Old Spice-guy handsome?). She warms up to people fairly quickly, but she can be a bit fussy at first. I suspect this is a consequence of us doing the stay-at-home thing. Although I do get out quite a bit (I'm no shut-in), its not really that often that other people hold her. So she's very social when she's in my arms or her car seat with lots of smiles and wookie-speak, but the minute she hits someone else's arms, she starts crying. I hope this is just a phase that as she develops she will grow out of.