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So it’s Kavya’s first Christmas. She’ll be 10 months old, and we’ll be in California, sans snow, sans tree. Sans celebration? Christmas has always been an odd holiday for my family. We’re not Christian, by any stretch of the imagination, yet since we got to this country when I was all of 4, we’ve celebrated. Growing up, we had a tree — fake and white, with silver accents, bought for five bucks at a garage sale — and presents and even Christmas cookies. Of course, then there was the signature masala …

TweetWhen we first booked our semi-annual trip to California a few months ago, I was worried about how baby Kavya, now 9 months old, would handle the flight. After all, it’s nine hours across country, trapped in a disease-ridden box with barely enough space to wiggle your toes. (And our return flight is a red-eye. Yikes.)
I hadn’t been thinking about the plane as a death box, though.
Now, thanks to continued controversy over whether babies should be required to have their own seat on a plane, I have been. Lovely.
My husband …

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Kavi and her little half-tooth grin.Last week, after months of teething, baby Kavya’s first toothfinally erupted. It’s really cute, half a tooth really, sitting primly on the bottom of her little smile.
And boy does she love to use it. To take a “bite,” she snags her cookie or other random food on it, then pulls to tear. Or she gnaws on her carrot for half an hour, really working that little tooth like she’s sharpening it for future use.
I know, now that the first tooth has arrived, the teething is only going …

TweetThis Thanksgiving, Kavi will be digging in with the rest of us.With Thanksgiving coming up, we’re all excited to give Kavya her first taste of my mom’s signature masala turkey. It’s hearty and spicy, a classic in our family — really, it makes the whole meal.
So far though, Kavi, at 9 months, hasn’t had any meat. I’ve been wondering if we should start giving her some here and there to prep for the big day.
But that got me thinking, what if my baby’s a vegetarian?
My husband, a voracious carnivore, scoffs at the very idea. …

TweetThe other day, I was on the phone interviewing a TV star when Kavya, hanging out with her papa in the background, let out a laugh-out-loud squeal. That’s one of the perks of being a work-at-home mama: your office chatter tends to veer toward baby babble. Generally a fun thing, but it can be inopportune at times.
Anyway, the celeb, a dad himself, commented that I sounded like a young mama. Which I probably do. I have a young voice, and had it been an in-person …

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Kavya crawling means chaos for mama — and her Mac.
A long, long time ago, before I was a mama, I judged my sister-in-law and her husband for putting their newly mobile little one in what amounted to a huge cage in the middle of their living room. Now, I’m wishing my living room was big enough to house a huge cage.
Yes, it’s official. Kavya is crawling. Let the chaos begin.
About two weeks ago, she started — but she was sort of shoving herself backwards, …

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This one looks cute.For the past few weeks, nay, months, we’ve been on the hunt for what will officially become Kavya’s first Halloween costume.
And when I say we, I mean that this is a very, very communal experience. My whole family is involved.
Kavya’s the first grandchild and the first official niece/nephew, et al, so that means that all these special occasions are that much more special. And that means that everyone wants a say, of sorts, in what goes down. It’s part of what makes it so …

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It’s been a month since Kavya started day care, and she’s adjusted surprisingly well. In the beginning, she was so busy sizing up everyone and everything about the place, she wouldn’t so much as crack a smile.
The difference now is shocking.
She’s plays favorites a bit, lavishing snuggles and giggles on Ms. Sarah and having laugh-out-loud moments with Eduardo, her favorite teacher’s helper, but she’s comfortable with everyone now.
And she loves the freedom she gets at day care, where she’s got a wide-open …

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Kavi’s only 7 months old, so I know it’s a little early to expect her to start talking. But I swear, it seems like that first word will come any second now. In fact, I’ve been thinking of taking bets on what it will actually be.
Given that both my husband and I are very verbal, and early talkers, too, it seems like she’ll start talking any second.
Kavi already makes lots of word-like sounds, amongst them “mama” — which she tends to use exclusively when she’s …

TweetIt’s my birthday today. My first as a mama. I wanted to keep Kavi home from day care today so we could all celebrate as a family, but I’ve got a lot on my plate today work-wise and school-wise, and my husband is still under the weather.
So we’ll have to celebrate later. But it’s weird being the birthday girl now. It’s different.
Every year on this day, I find myself taking stock. And usually, when I look at where I am and where I want …