Mumma Pappa and Dhaani 's 2018 ( in months)

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As the new year arrives, Pappa is tempted to walk down the lanes of 2018 and list what was the highlight of every month of 2018. So here goes:
January - The month took us to a long-pending destination, Tarkarli. And we got to stay in an out of the world Farm " Machhli". Dhaani had her first experience of farm stay and her first steps towards organic living. The food, the flora and fauna and the hospitality of the place guarantee future visits from us. Also, I overcame my fear of diving and went for Scuba Diving.
Feb - This was Dhaani s first birthday month and dhaani took Pappa and Mumma to yearly pilgrimage to Goa. Along came Dhaani s Nani, Nana, and Mausi. It was a vacation full of frolic and fun with a lot of Vitamin Sea.
Mar - Dhaani got her first tooth. And we traveled to Delhi to attend Mrinalini `s wedding. It was about time we attended a wedding having missed many of them in the last year.
April- A month of new celebrations and challenges. Himani`s got a promotion+ a role change within Mahindra. In her new role, she had to shift office from Andheri( closer to home) to Worli ( very far from home) . It added long hours to Himani s daily commute. I was ( and am) more stressed out than her thinking how much she manages. Things only women can pull off !!
May- A life-changing month for the pappa. I attended the Inner Engineering course by Sadhguru; and took to meditation and yoga. Along with it came many changes in my lifestyle. Waking up early, practicing meditation and yoga, eating mindfully and being grateful became an integral part of my existence.
June - A windy, chilly and wonderful break at Mahabaleshwar after a long drive. This was Dhaani s first looong drive after few 2-3 hour drives in her first year. Another first was that she started calling us Mumma and Pappa.
July - A milestone month as Dhaani started her Daycare on 4th of July. We were all very anxious for so many months before this as to how will she take it. The initial days were tough with Dhaani crying a lot. Thanks to Dhaani and people at Sandbox ( her daycare) , she settled in pretty soon and well.
Aug - It was a huge challenge for Mumma, pappa as for the first time the 2.5 of them were on their own. Dhaani s Nani, who was in Mumbai with us for last 2 years, and sailed us through the whole pregnancy and your 1.5 years, left for Ranchi. To manage dhaani without a helping hand looked like a daunting task at first. but it had its own fun and learning. We managed well I would say.
Sep- My mother was in town for some months and Dadi- poti got their we time. Also, dhaani started talking in single words. Started calling Mumma, Pappa, Dadi , apple, danana ( banana), tatata( paratha) yeh Chaiiye....bahar chaiye...upar chaiye etc
Oct - Dhaani s cousins from her pappa s side visited Mumbai. It was a Housefull of fun and gup shup. Dhaani loved being with her Didis, bhaiyas, and Buas and almost forgot her mumma and pappa for 5 days. It was amazing to see how quickly she bonded with them.
Nov- Dhaani s trip to her nanighar. She got her first hand experience of picking vegetables from her farm for the meal. Her second Diwali; she enjoyed it to the core -with enthusiastic participation in dressing up, rangoli and lighting. And after Diwali, she witnessed her first Chhat Puja. Towards the end of November we had 2 unique experiences at 2 eco stays. First at goverdhan eco village in palghar and second at dongarmath in chiplun. Both were very different and in a world of their own. And we ended the moth with a visit to guhagar beach.
Dec - This month we took another plunge and extended our endeavor of healthy living. Himani got in touch with Sharan and was highly influenced by their take on why we should be vegan. We anyways had started taking small steps towards this month back. So in December, we decided to turn vegan. With this decision came a lot of new interesting recipes, new cooking methods and people to meet. We found a whole new world of soups, smoothies, and teas, and we have just started. Oh and Dhaani started singing complete rhymes - in her own sweet language ( mixed with english)

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