Sometimes everything in nature comes together to make it a perfect day.
The day after Surina was born I went down to get something from the basement and looked into the pool area. There I saw this bougainvillea resplendent in pink. 'Did it know about Surina!' At the end of fall, when all its leaves had fallen, we brought it in and left it in the swimming pool area to winter. It looked dead but I had hopes it would revive in spring. It surprisingly bloomed to perfection to welcome our Laxmi. Now it lives upstairs, near our kitchen, where we can enjoy it all the time.
Of course nothing matches the joy of watching Jyoti slowly becoming adept at taking care of her own miracle. Jeff is not far behind.
The threesome seem to be getting along pretty well. They even manage some sleep at night.
I guess not enough though. Wailea, their dog, has gracefully come to terms with her demoted status. She is gentle and more well behaved than most humans.
Jyoti is spending a lot more time in Lincoln now. When here she takes over the master bedroom ("its the best one mom !") and orders us around. Not much change there I guess.
Surina loves her mommy no matter what bed she is on. This picture reminds me of Yashodha and Krishna.
Suraj put together this play mat for Surina to enjoy the toys hanging from its arch.
The two mamus sit around watching her antics. They melt if she coo's and smiles at them.
There is a lot of baby talk in the house these days. Everyone wants to tell their story to her.
Bath time is a major production; lots of pictures, music, ten people helping (whether you want them to or not). Surina takes bath in her Aja's (grandpa) sink. We put a sponge or towel lining in it and then bathe her with nice warm water. At five weeks she is getting to be too big for this. We will move her into her baby bath tub soon.
She loves the baths but hates our obsession with cleaning her ears and nose.
After bath comes play time. I am glad she cannot talk and tell you what produced this laugh. Grownups can be such clowns.
All dressed and ready. For what! For nap time of course.
Like every year Christmas was a great time for family get together.
This being Surina's first Christmas it was very special. She had a special outfit on and all we did was look at her.
This is post dinner photo time. She slept through it all.
Suraj and Ravi forget to watch their games on TV when she is around.
Aja coaxed Surina awake and Jyoti joined in to make her smile.
Then it was time for rendezvous at the Christmas tree.
"Mom! Take a picture of my family."
Sachi got a surprise suede jacket from Santa. Ravi dug up an old straw hat to complete the cowboy outfit.
Then he tried it all on himself. He is always trying to fit in Baba's shoes.
Sachi has gained back most of his taste and it is fun to cook again. He still has hard time with chillies though. Here he is sampling the dessert pies. We brought an apple and pecan pie from Village Inn. Ravi made his (now famous) pumpkin pie.
The apple and pecan pies remained barely touched. Ravi's pumpkin pie vanished.
Ravi loves to cook. He often hovers around me when I am cooking and asks a lot of questions.
Suraj loves turkey and ate too much. Now he is relaxing with a game on TV.
And Jeff is right by his side on his favourite seat.
And someone is ready for cuddle time; I was meaning Sachi, not Surina.
"Someone take a picture. Quick. Don't we look alike?"
Everyone likes some one to one time with Surina
"I don't have the foggiest idea what you are saying Biji but keep talking!"
"Now this makes sense. I will let you sleep at night if you promise to hold me like this."
Suraj has the tender touch and Surina loves him. He will be a good mamu.
This is how we strap her in the car seat for travel. She is all set and ready on the kitchen floor to be taken to the car. Vivek mamu is comparing his feet with her feet for posterity.
Surina's morning routine: Watching TV with Aja and Biji.
Surina is trying to hold her own on a visit to cousins Isabel (4yrs.) and Finley (6 months).
When things get too rough it helps to tell Aja.
This is Surina's favourite toy to which she offered her first smile. She loves to look at it for ever and ever. What will we do when she finds out it cannot smile back?Here are some specially memorable pictures
Being weighed at birth. 6 Lbs 12.2 ozs
The first cry.
Being weighed at birth. 6 Lbs 12.2 ozs
The first cry. Taken by Jeff with his cell phone.
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These pictures inspire me to start a dialogue on world peace so we can leave a better place for our children. Our diversity, which is man's biggest asset, is being used to push humanity over the precipice. Can we save ourselves? Do we even know what is PEACE? Will this prove to be our Armageddon
Till next time.....Ambi.
She weighed 6lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 in. long at birth. Her card stated her age as 'zero'. The time of birth was 10:18PM (Nov.17,2008) and she was delivered by C-section. She was born with her eyes open and stared into the camera as it flashed to capture her images. We were expecting her eyes to be closed and were amused at her surprisingly inquisitive expression. In the above picture she is two days old, safe in the arms of her Ravi mamu, watching her dad take her picture. What a Diva.
Jyoti and Surina may have been physically separated but are emotionally still very much attached. Their rythms are a little bit off though. One wants to sleep at night and spend the day awake; the other is ruled by hunger and sleeps in 1 to 3 hr slots; day and night. Jyoti is learning to cope. Maternal instinct is baby's greatest weapon for survival. 
Jeff had no idea he could be so tender. Surina at age zero grabbed her dad's heart and will not let go. Jeff has her picture on everything he uses. All his friends have Surina's picture and his vocabulary does not stray too far from his daughter's name. He is a 'hands on' dedicated dad and is proud as a peacock of his beautiful daughter. We love this quick transformation.
Just like us Jeff's family has been recording Surina's every move and gesture. Here Jim (Jeff's dad) is video taping her and Brad (Jeff's immediately older brother) is clicking a few pictures while grandma Norma and aunt Kelly (Brad's wife) are openly admiring Surina. They had come to our home for Thanksgiving dinner.
Naren and Vivek were here too, to complete the get together. They come and always energise all of us. And look how good the Mahapatra boys look posing for this picture. Thu...thu!! (as Sini would say).
Naren and Vivek gave a wonderful gift to Surina. They framed a picture of her with a shirt that says 'my heart belongs to my dad', and photoshopped 'uncles' over 'dad'. Then they invited and penned in messages (from all the family members that they could contact) on the matting around the picture. Jyoti and Jeff were greatly touched.
Naren and Vivek have earned the title of Godparents and are responsible for Surina's spiritual and physical well being. Right now they are just overwhelmed by the miracle of her existance.
This was Surina's first visit to her Naanke (mother's home). Jeff and Jyoti introduced her to all our ancestors in the prayer room. We lighted agarbati (incense) and candle to honor our family's religions and read paragraphs from the holy book. We also offered a memorial to Naren and Vivek's Tata (maternal grandfather) who had, just the day before, joined the ancestors. They shared their happy memories of him with us. Jeff fondly remembered his grandmother, Grace Burlington, who passed away in September of this year. I remembered my brother, Kuku, who so loved Jyoti and will be Surina's guardian angel. It was a wonderful ceremony and we concluded it with Prasad.
Nana Anup checked her out with a doctor's eyes and declared 'Cute and Healthy'. 
Nani Sarbani looked for resemblance to Jyoti and Jeff and decided Surina is her own special person. We think so too. Sachi, however, can see slight resemblance to Jeff from a particular angle. I can see resemblance to Jyoti when Surina cries.
Meet Surina's pretty cousins, Isabel and little Finley. They came to visit in the hospital with dad Jim (Jeff's older brother) and mom Noelle. Grandpa could barely conceal his pride at seeing his grandkids together. Isabel in the end managed to steal the show though with her flirtatious demands for attention and ladylike antics. She will not easily give up her status as queen to Finley and Surina.
This is Uncle Brad and aunty Kelly, getting their first look at Surina. Kelly is natural with kids and is beaming with joy. Brad likes to enjoy them only with his eyes right now. No pressure uncle Brad. There is plenty of time.
Surina left the hospital on Nov. 20th. for her home. Jyoti and Jeff's nest is now complete. The whole house is filled with baby things. They live to fulfill Surina's needs which, to their amazement, happen to be many for such a small bundle. They are sleep deprived and exhausted but happy.
