DisneyLand!!!

It has been a busy summer in the Shah household.  Daddy spent the majority of the summer studying for his board exams, so when he recently finished them, we were all very excited to go on a family vacation together!

On the plane, looking forward to
our family vacation!

We are so proud of Daddy for all his hard work and dedication to his job and studies and for everything he does for us!  He is our hero in every way, and we love him so much!  Thus, when he proposed the idea of a mini family vacation after his boards, we jumped at the opportunity to get some exclusive, quality time with him!  And what better place to take the kids for a fun-filled vacation than visiting Pranav Mama and Disney?

We were very excited to take Arjun to DisneyLand for the first time because he is a huge fan of Mickey Mouse!  DisneyLand was the best place to start for Arjun's age since it is not as large as DisneyWorld.  The kids were in awe of all the magic and excitement around them, and despite the heat, we all had an absolute blast at Disney with Pranav Mama!  It is so exciting to see the kids' reactions and joy towards all that Disney has to offer.  From the characters and rides to the shows and parades, there is nonstop excitement around every corner.  Krish definitely looked like a seasoned Disney visitor this time, but Arjun was in total awe!

Their favorite activity, by far, was watching the Mickey and the Magical Map show.  It was the first thing we did so the boys were their freshest.  In addition to watching Krish, watching Arjun clap, wave,  sing, dance, point, and say Mickey's name during the show was amazing!  They were so into it!

As the day wore on, so did the boys' energy levels, but among our other favorite activities that day were the It's a Small World ride, the Buzz Lightyear ride, meeting Mickey Mouse and Goofy, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, the Dumbo ride, and watching Mickey's Soundsational Parade and the marching band performances before we left.

We all loved It's A Small World,
especially Krish!

In Mad Hatter's TeaCup!

Arjun in awe of meeting his very first
character!  Neil and I immediately agreed,
"Just to see this, it was all worth it!" 

No matter how many times you get to meet Mickey in your life,
every time is just as magical as the first! Arjun was completely enamored
with him!

Disney Parade!

College Marching Band Performance!

Admittedly, we were worn and beat by the end of the day, but it was worth it!  We still look forward to showing Arjun DisneyWorld and related parks one day just like we did with Krish!  After he turns two, I think he will be able to last longer as well!

Summertime Shenanigans!

What we do in summertime in Texas:

Play Dates with our amazing friends!

Play date at Roma Foi's: Snail-collecting and making
delicious homemade ice cream!

Enjoying some rare, beautiful 70 degree weather at our
community park with Pallavi Auntie, Raj, and Ria!

Play date at our home: Making gak with Ariyan and Nyla!

Silly boys got gak stuck in their hair!

Making yummy s'mores and playing the piano!

Mommy's time with her boys!

Enjoying the rides at Sandy Lake Amusement Park!
Arjun's first time riding rides!

Daddy's time with his boys!

Dave & Busters! Krish's Favorite!

Choo Choo Train ride at Grapevine Mills Mall!

Swimming at Ba and Dada's Pool!

Play Date with our School Friends at Greenhill!

Nine of the Fourteen children in Krish's Pre-K class
playing at the school playground and having a bagel
breakfast together!  Doesn't Arjun just fit right in?

Playing at the parks!

Big brother Krish loves swinging baby brother Arjun on
the swings at the playground after basketball class, and
Arjun loves being swung by his big brother! I think
Krish looks so dashing in his Mavericks jersey when he
plays basketball, but I'm biased!

Personal Accomplishments!

Krish achieving his Purple-Orange belt in
Karate!

Krish completing his summer reading and receiving
his certificate and prizes!

Cooling off after a hot day outside!

What we do when we get home from a hot
summer day in Texas: stand in front of an
open freezer door with shirt off and ice
cream in hand.

Summer Reading!

We have been looking for various activities to participate in this summer, and since Krish has now been reading consistently, we were very excited to sign up for the summer reading program at our favorite library, the Grapevine Public Library.

The summer reading program has been an awesome opportunity to encourage Krish's interest in reading.  He was so excited to sign himself up as a "Reader" and Arjun as a "Listener", record the books he read so far this the summer, and return to the library to collect his prizes for every 5 books he read up to 15.  Krish recently completed his list of 15 but still loves to read!  Some of his favorite books are The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, and Ten Apples Up On Top all by Dr. Seuss.  His stories are so silly and interesting, and his words are so musical.  He is definitely Krish's favorite author!  Reading has become one of Krish's favorite daily activities, and it brings Neil and I so much joy to see him develop a passion for it!

Krish is not the only one who loves reading in the Shah house.  Arjun is equally into his books and story time!  Here is video of him "reading" one of his favorite books, Hop on Pop.

4th of July Weekend!

We had a very relaxing 4th of July weekend at home this year.  Tricia Masi and Atul Masa came to visit so we had a lot of fun hanging out with them!  The boys played with sparklers in the garage, Krish learned Settlers of Catan from Atul Masa and Daddy (and is now addicted to it!), Tricia Masi, Tanya Masi, and I got to enjoy some sisterly bonding while attending a macaron making class at Sur La Table, and Daddy took the boys on a tour of the AT&T Stadium for some father-son bonding!  

Brothers playing in the morning over the long weekend!

And then playing again with Daddy!

Krish intently learning Settlers of
Catan from Atul Masa…

Arjun learning his shapes!

Sparklers with Tricia Masi!

Yummy Macaron Making class with Masis!

Daddy and the boys at Cowboys Stadium!

They even saw Ms. Lessard, Krish's first pre-school teacher
at the gift shop!

They loved running around the empty field and playing
football with Daddy!

Boys' Day Out!

Momma and Daddy even got to
enjoy a date night on lower Greenville!

Arjun and the Alphabet!

Arjun absolutely loves the alphabet: singing it, playing with letters, naming letters, reading books about letters.  Anything to do with the alphabet is, by far, his favorite daily activity!  His favorite alphabet books are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Alphabet Book, and Dr. Seuss' ABC.  He also loves playing with his bath letters, his magnetic letters on the dry erase board easel, and his alphabet  blocks.

Since the past few weeks he has been able to identify every letter at one point or another.  This usually happens when I'm reading to him before bedtime and nap time so I have yet to catch a video of it.  However, we did manage to get a playful video of him playing with his alphabet blocks and naming almost every letter correctly!

The Fort Worth Water Gardens!

Earlier this year, we took a day trip back to visit our old home town, Fort Worth, Texas!  We took Tanya Masi to see a main attraction there that we had actually never visited before either.  The Fort Worth Water Gardens is a downtown park with a beautifully constructed waterfall, surrounding steps and unique, steep climbing structure (called the "Mountain") that makes it a "can't miss" tourist attraction when visiting Fort Worth.

At the waterfall!

On to the "Mountain"

Arjun at the top of the "Mountain"
with Tanya Masi

Krish jumping with Daddy!

Tanya Masi with the city of Fort Worth behind her.

Daddy carefully walking behind Arjun at the top of the
"Mountain".  Arjun loved every second of the experience!

Krish loved seeing the illusion of his "high" jumps through
the camera!

Tanya Masi and Krish
climbing the "Mountain" 

Mommy at the top!

The whole family, especially the boys, had an amazing time at the Water Gardens.  I am surprised we had never been there before!