Spring is Near!

Rohin,

My really big boy -- we have ended winter and had such a great time together.  Like I've said to your brother and sister -- It's been soooo long since I wrote your last blog entry, actually last July to be exact. So much has happened since then, it's really hard to catalog here.  So here is 8 months in short:

1) We had a great summer!  Favorite time was going to the St. Michael's house on the water, where we swam int he pool, took boat rides on the bay and also tried (without any luck) to catch fish. You loved swimming in the pool, driving the boat and trying to catch fish!  You also loved checking the crab pots and would pull them up all by yourself!

2) You started first grade and continue to flourish!   You are really a math whiz -- like crazy good.  You can take a page of math problems and bang them out in seconds!  Your best friend is -- I think is Noah at the moment -- who you love to talk about Minecraft with.  You are excited to have joined Cub Scouts and are almost done with your Tiger badge.  On the funny things you say, it's probably "do I have to...." or to your brother or sister "stooooop".

3) Play time: You love playing with your brother and sister. You're actually the game inventor and come up with games and recruit the other two to play -- like freeze tag or hide-in-seek, and when lucky -- you grab an ipad and play minecraft.  Favorite shows right now -- transformers and ninjago.  That brings me to Chess Club.  First rule of chess club -- no one talks about chess club...  just kidding (you'll get that reference later on life).  You also are in chess club and love chess tournaments. I love watching your confidence and focus in these events Rohin.

4) Halloween -- you dressed up as a -- you guessed it -- a ninja!  We tried to all do a theme, so you and Talin were ninjas, mommy was a Geisha princess and I was Sensi Wu.  We went over to Pooja aunties house and had a great time trick or treating -- you all ran between houses and received a ridiculous amount of candy.

6) Thanksgiving -- great fun at our house -- we had everyone over -- and had way too much to eat!   Most of our family was there, including Ammuma and Thaha!

7) Christmas-- total awesomeness!  Everyone came over to our house again this year -- Ammuma and Thaha and Grandma and Grandpa.  Sadhana chechi was there but Savitha Chechi couldn't make it this year.  But we had so much fun opening presents and spending time with family. If I get some time, I will post up pictures  from Christmas.

8) Winter -- so that brings us current.  This was the year of snow sports. You continued skiing this year Rohin and you were so awesome!  It started by us going to Wintergreen, where we rented a one room apartment and did ski school that weekend.  You were so good that you were doing blue slopes by yourself!  We then went to ski liberty and did more skiing and ski school -- where you were fearless!  On top of that, Jan and Feb brought a lot of snow again.  So we would sled down our back hill (and try not to hit the tree at the bottom of the hill), have snow ball fights, and eat marshmallows over the fire.  We had one snow day on a Sat and all of our friends came over and we played all day together (sooo fun -- you played with Jovin and Jayan).  Finally, we went to the farm this past weekend, where it started to warm up -- but the snow was on the ground and so we dug out three snow caves, had a snow ball fight and skated on the pond at the farm.  It was magical honestly to be out with my kids and play int the snow. You love it too Rohin and you're always willing to put on your gear and frolick int he snow -- but you love to hit daddy with snowballs!  But don't worry -- I'll get you back next year :).

Rohin, as I watch you grow, I think about just how precious a gift you have been to us.  You're so incredibly smart, thoughtful, helpful, and loving.  You have a heart of gold and I love your sense of humor.  You're always the one that can find humor in a situation and help take the stress out of something.  That will serve you so well in life, as life is full of stress, but it's our ability to diffuse it, relax and have fun that makes life magical.  You have that gift.    I will try to be more diligent here and write in a few more months to check back in!  Until then, onward and upwards and appreciate every moment we have!  I love being your daddy Rohiner and let's make every moment count. We love you so much - big hugs and kisses!

Happy Birthday Rohin!

Happy late 6th birthday my big boy.  It's so hard to believe that you're 6.  Seems just like yesterday that you blessed this world.  I thought I would spend some time talking about your birthday, about you, and the great winter we had this year (almost 50 inches of snow in total).

Well -- for your actual birthday, we had so much fun.  It was a normal school day for you.  Daddy drove you to school and had a little surprise for you.  You received 6 Ten Kai knights, which is your latest obsession and were very excited to build them.  Daddy came to read to your class in the afternoon.  Per your request, I dressed up like Thor with a blonde wig, hammer and all, armed with cup cakes and your favorite transformer book.  You met me at the front office and were so happy -- it was really so cute to see your face.  You walked me back to your class and everyone was sitting on the floor.  Everyone wanted to touch the hammer and asked if my hair was real!  We then read almost the entire transformer book before we broke out the cupcakes.  After eating, I got to read one more story and you sat in a chair next to me and I let you hold the hammer.  I love to see your face at that moment. As your father, I can tell you that I have an incredible sense of pride of seeing the great big boy that you are becoming.  There is nothing greater in life, then to know that this little person if your midst, will one day grow up to be bigger than I could ever be.  You're so smart and thoughtful Rohin.  Being your daddy is one of the greatest honors I have ever had in life.

After the school day, we drove to mommy's office, where you got to build your Ten Kai knights on the floor with daddy, as mommy worked.  Uncle Dow was there too -- which was really fun.  We then went home and had a great little party with the Larsons, Ammuma, Tha Tha, Sadhana and of course your brother and sister and mommy and daddy. You all played outside and then came in and played with your robots.  We had wonderful ice cream cake (thank you mommy) and you cut a gigantic piece that you went off with -- with a big smile on your face.  We had so much fun. And the best part is that we have another party on Sunday at Lifetime Fitness!  So more to come!

On the winter front, I have to say that I had the most fun this winter than I have had since I was about your age Rohin.  To say it was magical would be an understatement.  We had so many fun memories this year -- in fact -- the most magical.  A couple of quick stories.  One of them was we went to the farm when it was snowing and the pond was frozen.  I spent hours with you, Talin and grandpa outside, pushing you with my foot on the sleds across the ice and then dug an ice cave in front of the fire that papa put outside in a fire put.  Other memories was sledding down our back hill on the saucers (and even our front hill).  We went so far that we went from the top of the hill to the maple tree in the middle of the yard

Let's see -- I'm so late posting this -- so many things have happened. We rented a house on the Susquehana river this spring and went to Hershey park -- which was so fun!  You love roller coasters!  We spent a lot of time on the farm this year visiting grandma and grandpa and are going to have a great summer!

Love love you Rohinder!  I'll write more here soon.

January, 2014- Happy new year!

Happy 2014 my little Rohinder!  So I have to admit that I have not written for far too long to confess.  There's been so much since that time that I think I can only provide a quick summary.  But before I do that, I have really big news.  Starting right after Christmas, you began to read! Yes, you are now reading.  It started with this book about Sam.  You sound out the words and then say them together -- it's really amazing to see Rohin. Mommy and daddy are so proud of you.  There's nothing better as a parent then to watch with pride of their child doing so well, and learning and engaging the world.  It's one more step as you quickly grow older (and do I ever mean quickly).

So onto the remainder of 2013, since May, we were in a bit of a whirlwind with so many things going on.  The biggest and most time consuming was the pretty much re-construction of our house!  We ended up ripping up the driveway and re-doing and expanding it, building a barn, rebuilding our back walkway and then changing mommy and daddy's bedroom, bathroom and the entire downstairs area, and changing the front deck.  It really took us almost 9 months. One day, you're going to get to go through this Rohin.  All I can say is -- it's one of the most stressful things to go through. Right up there with new jobs, marriages, etc...  But we are happy it's done and so that's my biggest excuse for not writing more timely blog entries.

I'll start with our india trip.  We left in June to go for three weeks to india and the Maldives.  We got to meet your family from mom's side of the family -- which was lovely.  We stayed in Kochin first and had fun visiting Ammuma's sisiters and aunties.  It was so fun getting to know them.  We also took time and went to do some adventurous things like going to a river and helping to wash elephants -- which was so fun.  You really were such a good boy and were great on the airplane and were really curious about the environment that we were in.  You also were very brace and went and petted the elephants that were being bathed in the river. 

We also went to a resort where they took us on a boat to view the backwaters of India and viewing how people live in rural areas.  You all got to look at fish and see how they live -- and even saw what old Kerala homes look like.  You even got to the drive the boat!  The next part of the trip, we went to the Maldives and landed on a little strip of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean.  We hoped a boat and you all loved being on the boat as it took us to our resort.  The resort was lovely and served western food -- so you all refueled up again.  You and your brother and sister had a blast playing on the beach, in the ocean and the pool.  Our little house was only 20 ft. from the water's edge -- it was stunning.  After 4 days of sun and fun, we tralved to Trivandrum and stayed at Thatha's house.  We visited some more friends and family and then went down to Kovalam for 2 days.  Our hotel was unremarkable and it was cold and wet the first day, but the second day we went to visit a Taj resort and the pool was awesome -- you and Aeowyn and Talin spent the day climbing the little island in the pool and jumping in.  We would have your life jacket on and you would just float around the pool.  It was so fun.

Xmas was also fun, we had all our family with us.  For Xmas, you had lots of great presents from Santa Clause, including a volcano, remote control helicopter, remote control truck, etc...  This is the first year that you wrote your own Xmas list.  Xmas day brought lots and lots of presents, which you loved.  You wanted to play with the water bottle rocket and the volcano. 

Daddy and mommy are so proud of you Rohin.  You're really an amazing boy.  You're now playing piano so nicely and reading books to your family now.  You love your new school and are so cute on how you dress up in your suit for school.  You also are quite the chatterbox on the cellphone now and when daddy travels, you use mom's phone and call me.  I love when you hear something that is exciting to you -- you say (yeaaa).  It's a pleasure being your daddy my big boy Rohin and mommy and daddy love you so much!

Shot from the Maldives:

End of Spring 2013

Rohin,

I’m so sorry it’s been so incredibly long since I wrote last.  All I can say is that life just has kept us very busy, with our building projects and getting ready for India, etc…  Let’s start with a very important story about you recently.  Recently, mommy and daddy started noticing increasingly that you had a hard time hearing us (you would say huh or what pretty often) and we also noticed you had a hard time sleeping at night and would sleep in in the morning.  We took you the doctor, who told us that you should have ear tubes put in and that you should have your adenoids taken out.  We ended up scheduling the procedure very quickly.  I have to say that you were just amazing.  We talked about the surgery and what would happen -- and you were so calm and had no issues.  Finally, the day of the procedure, we took you to the Reston outpatient biulding.  We walked in and the staff all commented on how nice you are.  You were so calm again, while mommy and daddy explained what would happen that morning.  We then walked in the back for the pre-op meeting and you changed into your surgery gown (daddy made a seymour butts joke) and put on your little slippers that they gave you.  They also gave you a little tiger that you would carry into surgery with you.  You weren't too crazy about taking your pants off and putting on the gown -- but you did it perfectly.  You sat in daddy's lap and mommy and daddy kissed and hugged on you while we waited for the consultations to end.  Finally, they came to take you to surgery.  Daddy and mommy walked with you and held your hand until we got to the operating door.  At that point, we were told that you had to go alone.  At first you said no, but like everything in life -- you were so brave and courageous -- you took the nurses hand and started walking down the hall.  I yelled "Rohin" -- and you turned around one last time as I flashed you the thumbs up.  You nodded and walked on.  Your mom and I hugged each other as we watched you disappear down the hall.  Many years from now, when you read this, you'll realize just how hard that was for your mom and I one day when you have children.  It was all that I could do to not break down and cry that morning.  I saw that in your mom's eyes too.  We walked outside, nervous, scared and sad about having to send you on your own way. Your mom and I went to get a cup of coffee in the waiting room and just hugged each other for 5 minutes.  You see Rohin -- no matter how old you are, as a parent, it's a struggle to say goodbye.  I think I lamented about this in a prior entry in your blog years ago.  But as parents, it's something we have to do, as our parents did with us.  To make a long story short, you came out and recovered from being under.  Within 20 minutes, you ate a popsicle and were preparing to go home.  We stopped at McDonalds and you had a big breakfast platter, milkshake and ice cream.  Immediately, your hearing was better and you slept soundly (and started waking up really early in the morning).  What's amazing is that from the time we walked into the building, to the time we got home -- was 2.5 hours.  I suspect that this decision, as hard as it was for us, will benefit you over the many years ahead.  As your daddy, I cannot tell you how amazingly proud I am of you, your courage and steadfastness.  I believe many times, you find courage where I have little.  It's a great lesson in life, that sometimes even big daddy continues to learn things in life.  In that day, I learned what true courage meant.  You embody that spirit Rohin.  It will serve you well in this life. 

One interesting side story the day before this all began -- I met a government official in-peron for the first time and when she asked if I was to come back to meeting the next day, I told her no because I had your ear surgery.  She turned around, walked back to me almost in tears and told me her story.  How she had ear infections and never had the surgery.  Her parents never knew and she faked hearing things until she was in her 30s and had two hearing aids.  She told me I was doing the right thing.  I thanked her for her story and told her that sometimes people are placed in your life for a reason -- and that was one example.  It just reminds me Rohin that in life, you are going to meet people that seems perfectly normal, but through meeting them, you'll sometimes see the hand of God at work -- guiding you.  Pay attention to that when the chance permits.

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In other news -- the other day mommy got some fishing rods for the three of you.  Immediately, Rohin and Talin went to the bath tub and sink and spent an hour or so fishing for mgnetic fish.  You both really enjoyed it tremendously and we are going to do some fishing this summer at grandma's house in order to see how the three of you make out with the real thing!  For birthday season, mommy and daddy bought you all fishing rods to use for real at grandma’s house.

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The other big news is the construction projects.  This year, we had a new barn built, our patio done and outdoor fireplace and the driveway re-done.  At the same time, we also did a lot of landscaping.  This meant tons of fun for the jopp children.  You loved to play in the pile of dirt, you’d put things in the big sand pile that was used for cement and loved to walk down the unfinished steps of the walkway.  You and Talin also helped daddy plant grass seat and would pretend to be pirates and would dig holes looking for gold.

One last piece of news –as of May 11, 2013 – you got your first case of strep throat. So we have you on antibiotics – of course, this all happens as mommy and daddy had to drop all of you off at grandma’s house since we had to travel for daddy’s conference.

I’m very proud of how helpful you are Rohin.  You’re turning into such an wonderful little boy.  Also, in other news, you are now doing basic addition and subtraction.  It’s so awesome to watch you grow and learn.

Fall to Thanksgiving

Rohin -- sorry for the long delay in posts.  It's  been so crazy busy this fall.  We have so much to blog about.  So let's jump in.  First, I have some very exciting news - as of the middle of November, you stopped wearing diapers at nighttime!  It just sort of happened one day and you really went cold turkey -- mommy and daddy are so very proud of you.  In other news, school is going great for you. we just had  meeting with your teacher who was so impressed with your math skills.  You can count 10s, 100s, and 1000s - which is awesome for your age.  You talk with other kids in your class and your best friend is Tamirat who is in your class this year.  The teachers do talk about how sometime you will look outside and they have to engage you occassionally -- I think this much to do with you being in introvert.  As you go through life, this is a blessing and at the same time, something you will need to be mindful of.  Daddy is an introvert too and loves to get his energy from his family and home -- but in life, you'll constantly need to work on stretching yourself in your professional life.  But you're doing great in school our little boy!  So proud of you.

So onto the trips.  Since we last wrote, we have been on two majors trips.  One was an impromptu trip up to Cape May New Jersey in the middle of September and the other was a trip down to Orlando, over to Palm Beach for a small boat cruise to the Grand Bahamas and back.  I'll start with the Cape May trip.  So we had rented out a top condo unit in a place called the Merry Widow in Cape May -- it was an old victorian. You three munchkins loved to run up the five levels to the very top.  It was very cute with two bedrooms, a little kitchen, living area and balcony.  On the first day, we went to the beach and you all
You would do modified hand stands with you head in the sand and all of you loved the sand and played in the tire tracks before we could even make our way to the ocean.  As we walked down the ocean, it was just magical watching you all play.   Rohin, you loved playing in the water and would hold daddy's hand and jump over the waves.  After dinner that night, everyone crashed and we spent the whole day on the beach.  You played sand castles and had mommy run out and fill up your water containers and used the sand buckets. you were  down with daddy again for quite some time in the surf jumping waves.In the afternoon, we went to a really neat place that was setup like an old ice cream store and sat down and had HUGE ice cream sundaes.  The next day we came on home -- so it was a short trip but so amazing.

Next up, a couple of weeks later, we took our Orlando trip.  So Ammuma, Thatha, Savitha Chechi, Sadhana Chechi, Mommy, Daddy, Rohin, Talin and you all took an airplane from Ronald Reagan airport to Orlando.  On the plane ride, you rode next to mommy and were a very good girl.  You watched TV and played with the ipad for most of the time while Aeowyn sat with mommy further in the airplane.  We got our car rental (a van) and then got checked into an apartment with a small kitchenette, pull out sofa bed and one queen sized bed.  The first night, we pretty much all fell asleep quickly while daddy went our and got some groceries.  The next day, we all packed up and drove over to Disney World.  we pulled into the parking lot and then waited in line to get on the train to take us to the magic kingdom.  We then got to the entrance of the park and put everybody in strollers and headed on inside.  It was about 87 that day, so it was pretty hot and you and the boys weren't big fans of the heat.  However, that faded away on main street when we saw a big parade with all of the Disney characters.  We followed the parade up to the magic kingdom and then headed over to the fantasy section of the park where we rode the Peter Pan ride.  The lines were pretty long unfortunately -- but once we got in -- you, Rohin and Talin loved the ride as we soared through the Peter Pan story.  Afterwards, we went and ate lunch and then headed over to the racetrack over in the future world.  You had a great time on the track and rode with daddy in the race car and had sooo much fun.  Finally, we went over to adventureland and climbed through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.  Unfortunately, after that -- you were getting tired so mommy and daddy took you all back to the apartment for naps while everyone else stayed at the park.  All of you took naps and then we went out to dinner at a Joe's Crabhouse -- which was awesome.  They actually had a playground attached to the restaurants, which you loved to play with the stones. We then picked up everyone back at Disney world and all slept soundly that night.

The next day, we all just relaxed and swam, swam and swam in the pool that was in our apartment complex. You and Talin and Aeowyn swam your hearts out in the pool and running to the kiddie pool to play some variant of the fireman Sam show.  After relaxing this day, we headed over to Islands of Adventure and had a wonderful time.  we started off in Dr. Seuss land, where you and the boys ran through the maze area to explore and rode a couple of rides, including the Cat and the Hat.  We then headed through the Harry Potter land, but couldn't ride anything because you all were too little.  we then walked through Jurrasic park and played in the rope playground for a while before heading over to toon town and Super Hero town.  We all had our picture taken with Popeye and Olive.  It was such a fun day -- we even got to see Spiderman and other superheros in Superhero land.  You and Talin got to take the spiderman ride and were a little nervous as you had never seen an action cartoon like that -- but the highlight was getting your picture with Superman and pretending you had your web shooters out.  With that part of trip done, we spent one more night and then headed over to Palm Beach where we took a boat over to Grand Bahamas for two nights.  In essence, the boat was nice, but the room was small -- we had all four of us in a 25 X 15 room -- with two bunks and then three of us in a queen bed.  You slept in the bed with mommy and daddy on the way over after a failed attempt at sleeping in ammuma's cabain :-).  We ate pizza at their little on board restaurant and arrived to the island the next morning.  After a quick taxi cab ride (without any car seats!), we arrived at the Grand Lucaya, which was a very pretty resort.  We spent the next two days playing on the beach and  swimming in the pool (where you pretty much lived for two days) before coming home and catching our flight home.  It was such a memorable trip.

After coming back home, we settled in for a few weeks and daddy had a conference in Reston.  One night, mommy brought you over to the conference and all of you ran through the halls when you saw Daddy. We went up to the room that night and watched TV and played in the room.

One more big event was Thanksgiving, which we just celebrated.  We had our family and friends come over to the house for two days and had 10 more people living with us for a couple days.  You got to sleep in your bed while the boys slept in the tent in our bedroom.  You had so much fun playing with Avaya and Layla outside in the cars -- with 5 of you at one point in one of the little gators.  that night, we cooked up a turkey and ammumama cooked up the sides and we had a great feast!  You played upstairs with everyone and it was such a memorable evening.  The next day, we went to ticonderoga farms and then finished off our left overs.

Rohin -- now that we are reaching the end of 2012, I'm going to consolidate the blogs so I don't have to write the same events 3X as we go forward and to focus more on writing things directly about your development, thoughts and advice as you get older.  It's been four years since I first started writing the blogs and it's been so much fun -- but I find that I need to evolve these entries so I can be more timely.  You're in awesome little boy and we're so very proud of you. Happy Thanksgiving big boy!

End of Summer Nearing

Well little Rohiner, I'm very sorry that it's been over 3 months since we last updated our blog.  You're growing up just fast Rohin.  It's amazing to watch.  First things, first.  This picture was taken recently in July of 2012 when you and your brother and sister were upstairs jumping in a pile of stuffed animals from the sliding board in the actic.  Speaking of jumping -- you are a jumping master.  you love to jump all over the furniture.  You're really quite amazing to watch.  you can jump all the way from one living room chair all the way to our sofa -- a solid 6 to 8 ft.  You also love to jump off the bed into a pile of our pillows. 

Rohin -- you're so incredibly smart and your mind is a sponge.  You love these mind game books and can nail every question in them. You also are a voracious reader and love to ask what things say.  You're also so perceptive -- you have the ability to see things and understand things well beyond your years.  Mommy and daddy love you so much.  I just cannot imagine what the future holds for you -- it's going to be immense.  I just hope that the time travels slower so that I can enjoy all of thes perfect moments in time that I've been blessed to have with you. 

Summer has been just great this year.  Over the summer, we went to Masanutten with many of our family friends,  we went to the farm and you also went on a trip with mommy, Usha auntie, Nisha auntie to New York to visit Savitha auntie.  Summer has been filled with trips to Great Falls park, Smithsonian parks, Sport bounce and children museums. I'd need to write about 20 pages to talk about all of these experiences and am sorry that I didn't keep up with the blogs this summer.  I promise we'll do better this fall. 

In general Rohin, you love spending time with your brother and sister.  one night mommy and daddy split up to take you and Talin on separate date nights.  We called each other on the phone and you and Talin were so cute talking to each other -- you agreed that we should all meet at Chic-fila (your new favorite restaurnat) for dinner -- and you both were so happy to see each other.  That happened recently when mommy and daddy had to travel on a business trip and Aeowyn was with amuma for the day and you hugged her so much when she came home.

With Fall coming, so too is school Rohin. Mommy and daddy have been thinking so much about the next year when you go to school.  It's such a huge decision to think about your schooling and the impact that it will have your on personality development and happiness.  It's actually one of the hardest and scariest decision I think we have faced as your parents.  I hope we are making the right decision Rohin when you read this many years from now.  I want you to know that we do agonize over these kinds of things as you will one day for your children.  With that said, pre-school is on tap -- and you're not too jazzed about going back.  But I think you'll love it when you get back into the flow of things. Aeowyn is joining you both at school this year but will be downstairs. 

In other news, daddy got a skid steer -- that's been pretty fun news -- but you still love the gator the best and love to drive it and press the accelerator.  You also still love to shove things in your pants pockets and one night when you had pajamas on without pockets, you had to reach down in your pants and pulled out coins -- which was just hilarious to see.  Most times we find side walk chalk in your pants.

One daddy thing that he loves to do is put you boys down to sleep at night.  He lays in between you when you go to sleep to keep the peace!  Well, this is so much fun because every night you and Talin talk about things.  Recently, we talked about how to deal with bullys and mean people -- but we can sometimes talk about the next day or things that are on your mind.  It's so much fun.

Last funny story for now -- recently you had some balloons and were handing them out to everyone in your family.  you walked up to mommy and said mommy here is a brown balloon.  Mommy asked for anohter color and you said -- "no mommy -- this is yours because your gums are black".  Sometimes Rohin -- you're just too much. Of course, it's your way to work through why mommy and a beautiaful indian woman.  You've asked the question about pink gums versus brown gums before-- which is so cute. 

Love you Rohin so much. You've made our life so incredibly wonderful.

Easter and More

Rohin – you continue to amaze us at what a four year old can accomplish.  Your intellectual ability to learn is really quite amazing.  You are now able to write your name – Rohin and recognize many of the letters and numbers when you see them. You are now even taking books and guessing what they mean.  Recently, mommy bought picture books that ask questions (e.g. where does the helmet go, which of these Is not a fruit, etc)… and you know pretty much most of them.  Daddy went to a kindergarten seminar the other day and all of the items on the checklist that 5 years are supposed to do, you already do them at 4.  You’re very conversant now and have a great memory (you can sing A, B, C songs, Doe a deer, and We got the beat (courtesy of mama).  Even last night, daddy was sing “Johnny Be Good” and you  were already to join in and sing with just a couple times through the song.  You love to draw and are really good with shape recognition – and drawing a hypnotic swirl.  You love to ask penetrating questions about why things are and also like to take things like pliers and act like you’re happy daddy with cutting weeds.  You love the jungle gym and are a HUGE fan of Great falls park, where you love to play on the mountain climbing section  (especially if daddy pretends to be a monster) and love to slide down the fireman poll.  So onto a couple memories:

Let’s start off with Easter – which was a blast.  The weekend before – you and mommy went over to Chucky Cheese with mommy, where you had a blast playing with the video games.  You really like riding on the truck and taking pictures of yourself riding with Chucky Cheese.  Though, you’re now getting interesting in games like ones where you can race or the fire fighter game. We then hoped in the iron horse (our car) and drove down to Ticondergoa farms – home of the outdoor slides!  They had their annual easter egg hunt going on and our children were real  contenders J.  Imagine, 75 children gathered for one gigantic easter egg hunt.  Daddy sat down with all of you and reminded you to not follow other children – he recounted a story when he was a child and used to chase other kids – who would pickup the eggs first!  You were a trooper Talin and went right to work picking up eggs.  Everyone did a great job and came back with three huge basketfuls of candy! Your basket was brimming over – I think you had a really good strategy lined out.  You also go to see the easter bunny.  The rest of the afternoon was spent going down slides, bouncing on the big bouncy hill and climbing up in the wooden fort – which you and Rohin really enjoyed doing.  The following weekend, we went over to Grandma and grandpa’s for Easter weekend – where you got to dye easter eggs (pink of course), and we road on the gator – and got our big easter baskets from the easter bunny.  You seemed to really love the gummy worms the best and quickly figured out how to find the eggs that sounded like they had gummy worms inside.  The rest of the weekend – we spent time on the gators and walked through the words – where daddy build you a little lean to fort – that you enjoyed sitting in.

We also recently went to Jovin’s birthday party – which was a blast.  Batman even came – ok, well, long story – it wasn’t really batman – but a pretty overweight dishelved version of him.  But we had a great time.  You loved riding on the train with Talin and Aeowyn at Burke Park Lake and also riding on the Mary Go Round. We spent the afternoon have a little impromptu dinner in the median strip in the parking lot with some of your closet friends. 

Rohin – you’re now to the age where mommy and daddy are going to start blogging about our experiences and stories and how they might relate to you.  You’re ready for that.  I have to talk from Daddy’s perspective for a minute because it’s really important to share this.  Two right now – one was recently we were downstairs and you were talking about my grandfather’s chair and we talked about death – and what happened to my grandma – and you asked if we will one day die.  Such penetrating questions for a 4 year old.  Daddy was almost in tears talking about this.  But one thing I want you to know – even at this age Rohin – is that while death is a certainty in our life – so is love.   Love is the binding force across space and time.   While one day, we will face this in our lives – I want you, Talin and Aeowyn to know that love is never broken.  Your faith in God, as mommy and daddy are teaching you, is your ability to understand this – your ability to believe and have faith that there is more to life than life.  Your mother and I often talk about this – but the universe(s) (I believe there are multiples) – is incredibly vast – beyond our comprehension.  That when we do pass one day – we’re going to be amazed at how incredibly beautiaful, complex and simple it all is.  And the love we share as a family endures.  You won’t read this for many years from now – but it’s important to remember that love and faith are your armor for the hard battles that you will face in life.

Another item I need to talk about is when I attended the kindergartner prep class at Westbriar – they talked about the story of Jack and Bean Stalk and modified it to talk about Jack and his mom preparing him to climb up the stalk – and dealing with the fears and concerns of the unkown.  I have to tell you that I was one of those dads, holding back tears at the tought of you going to school next year.  You’re my big boy and I love you so much – we always want to protect you and always want the best for you.  But as someone once told me – from birth, as a parent, we must practice letting go.  I find myself preparing to once again let go of you, to let you become the boy and eventually the man that you are destined to be.  Mommy and daddy will be sharing our stories with you in hopes to help guide you’re and protect you.  But I write about my feelings here because as your daddy, I won’t be able to talk with you about this.  I will be totally encouraging, loving and excited about your next step because you need that from your mom and I.   Watching you grow up, transports me back to when I started kindergarten. Even at my age, I can remember taking the bus to school, the people, the environment, the other children that I encountered.  I loved my elementary school and thrived in it.  I hope that I can provide you the same opportunity that I was presented with – the ability to love your life as a child, to enjoy the environment, to be safe, to be excited, and to have fun without growing up too fast.  Mommy and I will do everything we can Rohin to guide you and protect you on your life’s journey that is taking off in full speed.  It’s a pleasure and an honor to be your father Rohin.