Anjali gets taller, smarter and stronger every year and this year was no exception. She is still
silly and full of joy and loves to jump on her trampoline, but asks lots of interesting questions
and delivers mature comments that often surprise us. She continues to be the joy of our lives.
We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of a brother, but there is no news to report. Anjali is
most eager to get a brother and often pretends he is around...setting the table for him or
pretending he is in the shopping cart when we go grocery shopping. This year we are
beginning to establish traditions as a family and it feels good. Raleigh is home and we hope
to stay here for a while.
August 2018
August started with the usual lazy summer activities. Anjali had a good trip to the NC Museum of
Natural Sciences with her good friend Adeline. She was also very busy getting ready for her first
Bharatanatyam dance performance on Indian Independence day at the Hindu Temple in
Morrisville. Everyday she practiced the dance. Also exciting was that her Nana came for a
nice long visit. On August 15th, she performed with her dance mates in a beautiful performance.
After the dance performance we went to see Trombone Shorty at the NC Art Museum.
The show got partially rained out, but we had a blast. It took quite a long time to get her
ready, but she looked beautiful and performed her dance beautifully. Anjali also switched
from a traditional gymnastics class to a Trampoline and Tumbling Class and her good friend
Olivia was in the class. We got to get away for a day at the beach with Nana at Top Sail
Beach. It was a perfect day to go and there were lots of sea shell collecting and dips in the
ocean. At the end of August, Anjali started 1st grade. Her teachers were Ms. Robinson
and Ms. Murphy and she was so excited to get back to school.
September
September got off to a good start with a visit from Warren and family. They were heading to Portugal for a month long vacation and stopped off to visit us for a few days on the way. We took them to the science museum and enjoyed their time with us. We also went back to the NC Art Museum for a Paperhand Puppet Intervention Show. It was delightful and Anjali was amazed. Just as Anjali was about to get into the swing of school Hurricane Florence hit. The news made us all very nervous about the hurricane. School was cancelled for 4 days so we headed up to Spruce Pines to avoid the hurricane. We got a small cabin on a private farm and enjoyed exploring the land around the farm. We also stopped by Penland for a glass exhibit, spent some time in the town of Spruce Pines and got out to Linville Falls National partk for a hike. On our way home we stopped at Slappy's chicken in Winston Salem for some seriously delicious fried chicken. The hurricane missed Raleigh for the most part, so we probably didn't need to go to the mountains, but it was a nice getaway. This month Anjali started doing a Cirque Du Vol child's play class where she got to play on aerial silks and trapeze. Anjali and I went to see a professional Bharatanatyam Dance group perform at Duke. It was inspiring. Anjali had some fun playdates and also a birthday party this month as well.
October
October is always exciting for a young girl as Halloween is during this month. But one of the most special things about this October is that Anjali became part of a Y Guide troop which is a program through the YMCA that pairs father's and their children and they form a Y Guide troop with other families who have children the same age and sex and usually live close to one another. It is a big deal here in North Carolina and it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for Adam and Anjali to bond and get to know some like-minded dads and their daughters. They have one outing every month and then several bigger outings with other Y Guide troops throughout the school year. They had a Fall outing and their first camping trip during this month. There was also a neighborhood Pig Roast that was well attended by families in our neighborhood and was a lot of fun for the kids and parents. Anjali had an unfortunate incidence of bullying at school with regards to her medical condition, but we handled it quickly and in a way that Anjali felt good about. At the end of the month there was the first grade book character parade. Since Anjali decided to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween, we used that for her book character parade. As tradition would have it, she and Elsie, her closest friend and sidekick went out on Halloween night in the neighborhood. All in all, it was a good month with old and new friends.
November
The weather was quite nice during November and as usual the Fall leaves were beautiful in Raleigh. Our number one tradition in November is to spend it with my parents, but this Thanksgiving was especially special as it was also my father's 70th birthday. My brother and family decided to surprise my dad and drove up for the holiday as well. We had quite the feast, but the most fun thing were the soccer games we played as a family. We also had a good time playing table tennis at the TT center in Cary We got to see a wonderful Harp performance at Duke Gardens and finally went to the Chinese lantern festival at the Koko Booth Amphitheater. Probably the most exciting thing for Anjali is that she got her ears pierced. She was, of course, super brave and no tears. She also did a great job of cleaning them everyday. My baby girl is growing up!
December
Anjali started back at Indian Dance again this month. Her teacher had been in India for several
months, but Anjali was excited to get back and we found out she would be doing another dance
performance in January. We got our first snow early this year at the beginning of December, but the
rest of the month was fairly warm especially as compared to last year. Christmas season always takes
over in December and we got to spend lots of wonderful time together as a family. Papi and Pixie
came for their traditional Christmas visit and we went to the Church of the Good Shephard for
Christmas service and had a lovely Christmas dinner on Christmas eve. Anjali got lots of presents
that delighted her as Santa continues to be alive and well in Anjali's life.
January
Anjali's second dance performance occurred in January and she performed the part of Radha,
Krishna's wife. It was part of a more elaborate peacock dance done by some of the older girls on the
team. Her costume was quite elaborate and she did so well. Right after the dance we had to head up
to Johns Hopkins for close to a week. Anjali had her annual cystoscopy and had urodynamics done.
Dr. Gearhart performed the cystoscopy and then we met with Dr. Marlo and Dr. Bartolini. It was a
really great visit and we came away with a good plan for Anjali. We stayed at the Why Hotel right
downtown and it was a perfect place to stay with really nice accommodations where we could walk to
so much. We found a wonderful VIetnamese restaurant for hot Pho on cold Baltimore nights. Anjali
and I spent one day at the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum which turned out to be a lot of fun.
Unfortunately for her surgery we had to take out her earrings and within 3 days her holes closed up.
February
February offered us unusually warm weather and no snow in sight. Anjali actually got to enjoy a fun day at the creek which was less common this year. Anjali's teacher was out a lot which was disappointing. Anjali made a really cute Valentine's day box and easily filled out all of her Valentine's day cards for her classmates in one sitting...what a difference from last year. We got to see Mamma Mia at the Duke Energy Performing Arts Center which was a gift from Papi and Pixie. It was so much fun. The dancing and singing was fantastic. Anjali really enjoyed it. Anjali took part in the Polar Bear Plunge a Y Guides activity. Unfortunately, she got pretty sick and a very nasty cold followed that kept her out of school for almost a week. We ended up at the emergency room, but luckily it was just a bad chest cold. Anjali had to miss Black History Presentations, but she created a beautiful poster about Gandhi for the presentation and presented it to her class once she got better. Anjali also got to try rock climbing for the first time at the Triangle Rock Center with her good friend Arianna. She had a blast and was quite good at it. Anjali also had her first communion this month at the Church of the Good Shephard. Anjali also took part in a Y Guides kite festival and got to fly a kite for the first time.
March
March was a super busy month. Anjali started swim lessons at Gypsy Diver again. She wore her wet suit and it went a long way towards keeping her warm. Anjali had her birthday party at Defy Gravity and it was a huge success. Almost everyone she invited was able to come. Everyone had a blast. Anjali had her third dance performance of the year at the Cary Performing Arts Center. It was a beautiful dance and part of a beautiful show that showcased some of the best dancers in the area. At the end of the month, Anjali's class got to go to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. They rode on fancy charter buses and had a blast. Anjali's partners for the day were Olivia and Keona. We took a quick day beach trip to Top Sail due to unusually nice weather. It was a great way to finish off the month.
April
April followed March with a lot of activity and the warm weather continued. Anjali really got into doing lego projects this month. Spring Break was also this month. Anjali went on a Y Guides camping trip out at the Freeman's farm in Rocky Mount. We had a relaxing week and then towards the end of the week we headed to Savannah for a weekend getaway for Easter. It is a beautiful little town. We spent one day walking around Savannah and enjoying food, bookstores and architecture. The Easter Bunny left eggs and a basket for Anjali in our motel room. We had a wonderful Easter brunch and then we headed to a beach for the day and were treated to beautiful weather and delicious seafood. Then three days later we headed to Las Vegas for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was a blast and Anjali danced the night away. When we got back Anjali was totally pooped and got some weird fever flu. We took her to the emergency room again, but no signs of a UTI which was a relief.
May
In May, we winded down for the school year, but still had fun. We spent a lot of time in the garden. Anjali helped me plant flowers in the yard and we also planted a few vegetables. Anjali got to attend her good friend Faith's birthday party and it was at a Art studio. The party involved everyone painting a Unicorn. It was really neat and Anjali had a blast. We hosted a neighborhood barbecue and it turned out really well. Otis and Clare came over for Anjali to play and most of the people on our block attended. Anjali got a new haircut for the summer and it was super cute. By the end of the month we were ready for summer to get here.
June
June started off with a wonderful drama production at school of The Day the Crayons Quit. Anjali was the green crayon along with her classmate Bridgette. It was super cute and fun to see the whole class perform together. School during this month was mainly about celebrating and finishing the year. Anjali had a blast at field day as did all the kids. This would be the last year Conn would be in the old building. It was bittersweet as it means that next year Anjali would have to take the bus to a temporary school, but also exciting that a brand new school would be built in its place for Anjali to enjoy in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. We enjoyed the last time at Conn at Popsicles in the Playground where Anjali got her yearbook. At the beginning of May Anjali took an intensive swim lesson class at Millbrook pool to help her get ready for swim team. She was the smallest kid in the class by a lot, but the class really helped her out. Once school got out Anjali enjoyed a week of relaxing and had a fun playdate at Marbles with her good friend Adeline. During the second week of June, we got into our summer routine which involved a lot of exercising and some summer work. She ran a mile every other day and the days she didn't run she biked 3 miles on the greenway. She also started cognitive training at Learning RX. The first day of swim team was a little daunting for Anjali and I, but once she got in the appropriate group, it was a lot better and she really improved as a swimmer over the course of the summer. We took another day trip to Top Sail beach and it was wonderful. The weather was perfect as was the water for swimming. At the end of the month, we headed up to Baltimore for the annual picnic and had such a good time. We went to an Orioles baseball game which was a treat. The following day with the Bladder Exstrophy Community. Anjali got to hang out with Braelyn who was in the hospital at the same time as her as well as with other BE kids her age.
July
We had a low key Fourth of July to start off the month. Anjali's good friend Olivia came over and we barbecued and lit fireworks in the street. Anjali worked hard during the summer on creating an Octonauts Project and also read her first chapter book, The Adventures of Sophie the Mouse: In the Crystal Cave. She competed in two events in her first swim meet and we couldn't have been more proud of her. She was proud of all of her summer accomplishments too. She gave up nail biting for an entire six weeks and was treated to a wonderful manicure and pedicure. At the end of the month Anjali got to attend two really fun Art camps through Arts Together. For the first week, she did Fairy Tale Ballet in the morning and an Artist a Day in the afternoon. It was so wonderful for her to be back at Arts Together and see some of her former teachers. She made some wonderful art and did a little ballet performance at the end of the week with her friends. The second week of camp was at Raleigh Charter school and it was entitled Wild Beasts. She made lots of wild beast themed art included a 3D Paper Mache Dog sculpture. The end of the month finished off with a wonderful Jada Jones Dance Party that Anjali got to attend with her good friend Mia B. She got to meet the Author of the Jada Jones series and also take part in a really fun dance off.
Year 4 with Anjali was a good solid year where her friendships deepened and her abilities increased. One thing that hasn't changed is her enthusiasm and positive spirit and we are so grateful for that. She has definitely gotten taller and stronger and smarter and we are so, so very proud of her.
