A Very Special Wedding

We've been friends with Mickey since 2004, so when he told us he was getting married we were so excited! We immediately cleared our calendar and made sure we'd be home for the big event. I bought a new sari and Mickey gave Josiah a sherwani to wear. Because Mickey is a Sindhi Hindu, his wedding was different from any other weddings we've attended. He asked us to come to the baraat (the procession of the groom to the wedding) at 4:00. We went to his home and watched as many Hindu ceremonies were performed. Then we danced, sang and threw confetti before we started walking to the ceremony. In all the weddings we've been to, the groom rides a horse to the ceremony, but Mickey actually rode in a car behind us. On the way he stopped at three temples to offer pooja.

Here we are with Mickey. I'm guessing that the money around his neck is to keep away the evil spirits.


Josiah with Mickey's cousin during the baraat.


Josiah and I are taking a break from the walking.


Josiah and Papa waiting at one of the temples that Mickey had to go to before reaching the ceremony.


During the baraat there was a lot of fireworks set off and some really gross smelling colored smoke.


In addition to confetti, they sprayed fake snow all over each other.



Another video of people dancing during the baraat.

The actual marriage ceremony began at the third temple but we didn't stay for that part. We finally left the baraat at 7:00. Yes, that's right it took us two and a half hours to walk six blocks! We had to leave because Mickey wanted us to come to the reception at 9:30 and we knew Josiah would need a nap before that. We took Josiah home for a nap and then came to the reception at 9:30. Mickey and his new wife, Roma, showed up around 10:30 and we got to meet her for the first time.

Josiah's crawling on the stage while we were waiting for Mickey and Roma to come.

Josiah dancing on the stage.


Roma, Mickey and Josiah.


Josiah on Papa's shoulders.


All Indian weddings and receptions have lots of good food. This is a mocktail (or mock cocktail) table. They are so good and come in all kinds of great flavors.


This is a dosa table. The man at the top of the slide makes the dosa and the man at the bottom serves it. Dosa's are SO yummy - even Josiah enjoys them!


Josiah and Mom in front of a fountain. He's getting really tired at this point.

We had a great night and still made it home a little after 11 - not too bad for an Indian wedding!

On the move

Josiah has been crawling for a few weeks but he's only now starting to get really good at it. He's quite fast actually! Now he's literally getting into everything. He really enjoys his new found freedom. He's also standing by pulling himself up on the furniture. I'm guessing that it won't be long and he'll be walking!

Here is a short video of Josiah crawling. The things on his legs are baby knee pads. The floors here are marble and he had little bruises from crawling so we decided to give these a try. I think that they help but they also make the floor a little slippery for him.




We bought Josiah a small blow up pool last week. It's getting really hot here so we thought it would be nice if he had a way to cool off during the day.


Wild man!


We only wish that all three of us could fit in the pool!

We're party animals!!

Two weeks ago we were invited to two parties. Both were for close friends of ours and, of course, both were on the same night! This might not seem like a big deal to you, but you have to understand that parties don't usually start here until 7 PM or later. We wondered if we could possibly make it to both but we did it! Josiah was so good too! He was passed around, danced with, and his cheeks were pinched all night long, but he was a trooper!! In all honesty, he was the highlight of both parties!

The first was an engagement party for our neighbor's daughter. This family has become our family and it was a huge honor to be invited to the ring ceremony as this is an event only for family members. We even got to drive the bride-to-be to the party! Our neighbors daughter - Kanika - and her finance - Abhi - had not met until this night. Their marriage was arranged by their parents and so they had only seen pictures of each other. On the way to the party Kanika told us that she was nervous...I would have been too! Abhi lives in a different district (about 8 hours away) but he will be coming to visit Kanika at least once every month. It's kind of like they date after they become engaged. This will continue until the wedding which is in November.

Bride and Groom-to-be

Exchanging rings

It was also Abhi's birthday, so there was a cake for him.


All Indians give Josiah their cell phones to play with. I'm not quite sure why this is, but he loves it. Mom, however, has a hard time with it because the phone always goes straight to his mouth. Gross!!


Here is Josiah with Kanika's father. We call him Josiah's Kaka or Uncle.

On of my favorite things about going to parties here is watching the people dance. It's so much fun because they don't care if they actually can dance or not...they just get out there and shake it! Watch this video, but be prepared to laugh! Oh, and the man in the background is waving money around. Kanika's sister told me that it helps keep away evil spirits.


This is Kanika's little sister (Josiah's Didi - or big sister) and her mom (Josiah's Masi - or aunt).


And on to the second party...

This one was a marriage - what they call here a "love marriage". We are good friends with the groom. This couple got married last September without their parent's blessing. The parents were furious, but what could they do? The parents decided to "arrange" this marriage after quite a few months, so they had a proper Indian wedding.

Here is the bride and groom.


Josiah with his friend, Sanjay. I think he's got his eye on that cell phone.


Josiah really did well to be passed so much. We left the house at 6 and didn't get home until 11 and he hardly fussed. What a great kid!

Travels

We've been traveling so I thought I would just post some pictures of our latest trip.

Josiah's first time in a swimming pool.

Josiah and his new friend, Suryavir - a 5 month old boy. He has makeup on his eyes because people here believe that it will keep away evil spirits.

Josiah was really interested in this man's mustache.

Josiah's new friend let him borrow his turban.

Josiah enjoyed watching the peacock that lives at the guesthouse where we stayed.

I Have A Seven Month Old!!!

Today is the 15th and that means that our boy is seven months old - or as the people here say - "he's completed seven months". Wow! Where have the last seven months gone?! It's so amazing to think that just a few short months ago, Josiah couldn't sit up, crawl or even roll over...all he could do was lay there and scream! :) Now there's no holding him back - he's all over the place.

Josiah is doing his best Alfalfa impression.

Josiah fell asleep on Papa's shoulders on the way to the park.

He's drinking water from a sippy cup now.

Hammin' it up!

Winner smile!

Mangoes!

Although I'm really dreading the scorching hot summer that is coming upon us quickly, one thing I love about this time of year is that it's mango season! The mangoes here are so flavorful and juicy and I love them! As you can see from the pictures below, I'm not the only one around here who likes mangoes. Josiah makes them look so good!

Recent pictures

Nothing really exciting going on here...I mean no more than normal. Anyway here are some recent pictures of Josiah.

A Day At the Park

It's starting to warm up here now and we figured we better take advantage of the not too hot and not too cold weather since it doesn't last long. So, we took Josiah down the street to a park in our neighborhood. He had a great time being outside, enjoying the fresh air and discovering new things like leaves, grass, slides and swings.

Look at those bottom teeth!


The happy boy with his soccer ball.


I think he looks like a little old man in this picture...it makes me laugh!


Josiah and Papa are playing with his soccer ball.


Josiah is practicing crawling.


Josiah and Mommy playing with his blocks.


Taking a break for a picture.

Josiah on the camel slide!


Swinging!