March was an eagerly anticipated, exciting month for Anjali. As if her 4th birthday and very first birthday party weren't enough to be excited about, Easter also fell in this month this year and brought many delightful surprises for Anjali.
Everyday Anjali asked about her party, "Party today?" We talked about flying to California and of course, Anjali was very excited to be going on an airplane again and more importantly everybody who was going to be there. She would get to meet her aunts, uncle and cousins for the first time and all of her grandparents would also be there. "Everybody's coming to California?" Anjali asked on a regular basis. Well not everybody, I would tell her. Her family from India and people like Mr. Daniel her gymnastics teacher probably wouldn't be able to make it. Her wide eyed, appreciative response, "A LOT of people love Anjali!"
March brought in all of the beautiful spring blooms to Raleigh and quite a few bright sunny days. Anjali has really gotten into riding her bike this month, inside and outside of the house. We also learned that she got accepted to Arts Together preschool for next year. It sounds like a really wonderful program sponsored by the city of Raleigh. She will go Monday through Friday and do a mixture of drama, art, dance and music. She is so excited about going to school and we are excited for her to go.
Anjali got to go on her first Easter Egg hunt at the Mordecai house in our neighborhood. She wore her bunny ears and insisted on wearing her favorite pink dress. She was a little stunned at first, but luckily was in the 3 and under group. She got about six plastic eggs and was pleasantly surprised to find each one filled with goodies.
The week of her birthday party started with the decision of what to pack. Anjali wanted to take all of her dresses which we didn't end up doing, but she was satisfied with the ones we did take. The trip to California was a long one. We had a three hour layover in Nashville then a 5 hour flight to Oakland. Anjali did really well. Northern California is beautiful and green this time of year. As we descended into Oakland, we got a lovely view of the velvety green hills.
My father and mother rented a lovely house in Woodacre, California. It had a trampoline and a couple of swings that all the kids loved. We stayed there with my brother and family. Anjali really enjoyed spending time with her cousins, Diego, Lucy, Gemma, Giselle and Sophie. Diego and Lucy were very eager to hang out with Anjali and they spent many hours playing in the house, on the trampoline and swinging. We went on a short hike on Tuesday morning. In the evening, Adam's family came over. Anjali had a blast hanging out with Gemma and Giselle. We went out for pizza and Anjali spent most of the time on Gemma's lap.
On Wednesday, we headed to San Francisco and tooled around Chinatown, rode a cable car and walked up and down Lombard street, the curviest steepest street in San Francisco. Then on Thursday we went on another nice hike. Thursday evening, Anjali got to go to the party store and pick out her party goods. Boy, was that a thrill for her. She picked out red and white polka dotted decorations and lots of balloons! Adam arrived that evening and Anjali got to wake up Friday morning in his arms.
We head to the ocean on Friday morning and had a picnic lunch. We spent the afternoon getting everything ready for Anjali's party. Everyone chipped in to make the party extra special for Anjali and it was a huge success!
Once everyone arrived and we had time to chat and catch up and put on our birthday hats, Anjali was treated to her first birthday piñata. Luckily her cousins were all pros and helped her out. She loved it, especially when the candy came flying out. Next was a big family photo followed by yummy Indian food.
Gemma, Giselle and Aunty Tata made Anjali a delicious chocolate cake. Anjali put on her special birthday crown and everyone sang happy birthday to her. When it came time to blow out her candles she was ready!
After cake and ice cream, we watched the amazing video (https://vimeo.com/160624867) that Pixie made for Anjali's birthday. We were all mesmerized. It covered the time we were in India with Anjali and took us down memory lane. The night ended with Anjali opening all of her presents. She got so many lovely, thoughtful gifts from everyone. Anjali's birthday was everything she had hoped for and more. I am so grateful for everyone coming together to make this possible.
Next up Easter! Anjali got to go on her second Easter egg hunt on Saturday. It was up in the Marin hills in a place called open space. She was now in the 4 and up category and it was definitely a more challenging Easter egg hunt. She still got plenty of eggs. We then headed to Gemma and Giselle's father's house to decorate eggs and finish off the Indian food from her birthday party.
Easter morning we headed to Aunty Tata's house for Easter Brunch. It was a beautiful day and Alexandra had a wonderful feast waiting for all of us. There were lots of kids there and Anjali had fun spending time running around with all of them. This day also included another Easter egg hunt with the real eggs, the girls decorated. Anjali was the only kid that thought to actually eat the eggs. Though Shadow, Alex's dog also managed to find an egg that she promptly ate up!
The following morning we headed to the airport for a short flight to Las Vegas for a few relaxing days with Aji and Ajoba. Anjali got to ride a gondola at the Venetian casino and be serenaded by an Italian named Pepe. She also went to the Bellagio and enjoyed the flower garden and water fountain show. We had a lot of fun just walking to a nearby playground and of course, enjoying Aji's yummy home cooked food.
On Saturday we took a flight back home and her Papa met us at the airport as he had just flown in from a work trip in Sweden. We arrived back at the blue house at a little past midnight. Papi and Leela greeted us with wagging tails and we were all happy to be home after a wonderful trip.
