Mini Dhingra

Summer Madness

2011-07-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

Your safety crew for today's voyage

Gopher, Isaac and Doc

If y'all don't mind, I'm gonna sit right down and work these goldfish.

Rock throwing could keep them busy for days.....

Kicking it on Chris and Jenna's porch out at Great Diamond

Little guy ran out of gas.

On the dock "upta camp"

Hitching a ride with Mom.

The Dhingra entry in this year's 4th of July parade

See Rhys? He didn't MOVE for an hour. I may look into the cost associated with running a parade in front of my house 14 hours a day.

Feel the intensity?

Grace joined us on the sidelines.

Nik took a break and hung back with Dadi Ma.

Double click on this one....Sarah Palin lookalike at the parade.

Beach!

Double Christening

2011-07-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

The Baptismal cake.

I am now, officially, the only heathen in the bunch.

Rhys was phenomenal during the ceremony

Nik was a little gentleman as well.

Taking a spin with Rev. Dominic

Dadi Ma and Rhys. Love this photo.

Wabbit Hunting

2011-07-31T17:29:00.001-07:00

Rhys's 2nd Birthday cake. Always gotta get the photo in before the grubby hands do their dirty work.

Case in point, the birthday boy.

Birthday gnomes spotting the action from on high.

Tuckered out and down for the count. With dino close by.....

Boys and bunny ears

Unleash the hounds!

Must. Stay. Focused.

Empty basket? No worries.

I call this one "Taking care of business in the back and in the front".

Winter Fun

2011-04-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

We could have saved money on a crib if we knew that he'd be so happy in a dog bed.

Nik, bend those knees! He really is taking to the slopes.

Emma and Nik hanging at in the bunk room zoning out after a day of skiing.

The littlest cousin had no need to "zone out".

Double-click on this photo and you can get a gander at the "teacher's pet".

Nik, Hannah, Emma and Rhys.

Emma, Rhys, Hannah, Emma and a Squirelly Rhys

Hannah and Rhys seemed to be getting in all of these photos....

....actually, it seems like Rhys is the little ham.

Storytime at Dadi Ma's.

Hallway racin'

Banana Head Jones

Happy Birthday Gil!

Dubious version of "How Deep is your Love".

The Fabulous Dhingra Boys.

Chistmas / New Years 2010

2011-01-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

The latest misadventures of the Dhingra crew.....

My mom's friend Veronica made these cookies for the boys.

When Nik is old enough, we may need to explore the existential relevance of this photo.

I'll probably skip that conversation with Rhys.

Nik made his first Gingerbread house at the Christmas fair this year.

Throw him behind a keyboard and call him Rhys Charles.

Movie time at the Christmas cookie swap. There wasn't a Dad within 200 feet of this room.

We took the boys out to see the huge train display at the Maine Mall.

As you can tell the boys were enthralled and...

.......enthused!

We took the boys to Ruski's (a watering hole in Portland.....with zero high chairs)

Rhys is probably not the first Ruski's patron to eat his pancakes without utensils.

Takin' it easy on Christmas eve

Twas the night before Christmas....

Those are two very attentive Grandchildren flanking Peter.

Ready to tear into the loot!

Gil's annual Christmas morning move.

Best gift of the day was the dollhouse for Emma. Catherine was pretty jealous.

Blizzard romp!

Geared up and ready to hit the slopes.

Grace, Rhys and Nik took a New Year's sled ride.

Trudging into the New Year.

Fallin'

2010-11-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

Take a seat, lots of photos to sift through.....

Common face at dinner these days.

Thankfully the "Bad Dinner Mood" is not contagious.

Separated at birth?

Apple pickin' with Dadi Ma. Although in this photo, Nik is doing more ear pickin'.

Apple eating intensity

Apple eating indifference

Bathing them at once is adorable and efficient. Mostly efficient.

Nik's cousin Emma Grace Bingham just arrived from China. I haven't met her yet, but word on the street is she's cool.

The Dino Treats that Catherine made for Nik's 3rd birthday party.

We had the party at the Kids Klubhouse in Woburn. Indoor race track....

....which kept Nik occupied for most of our time there.

Mason preferred to spend his time pondering in the castle.

I have no idea what is going on in this corner of the place . And neither does Violet.

May I present to you.....Dubious and Committed Construction Company.

You're not fooling me, those are jean capris.

Look at this place. It's completely bananas. If you click on this photo, you can see and overwhelmed and exhausted Cash in the corner. Good stuff.

More Kids Klubhouse Krazyness.

The assembled crew.

Somehow we ended getting the most creative cake maker ever employed by Stop and Shop.

Time for some chow and party hats.

Dig in birthday boy.

Gippy will always give a hand when birthday cake is involved.

Violet just passed her pilot's exam.

We made it out to Ipswich to check out the bird sanctuary

Top notch bird watchin' crew.

He's smiling here, but 5 minutes later Rhys clubbed him with that wooden piece. A pirate's life is tough.

Kanga-Rhys toeing the wagon.

The costume parade held at Pete and Casey's.

Scoopin' seeds for the Nik O' Lantern

Nik and Rhys's neighborhood gang of costumed hooligans.

Happy Birthday Nik!

Worst magician ever

Rollin' through summer

2010-09-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Catherine and Nik made it to the "Teddy Bears and pajama song night" to hang out in their jammies and listen to kid's songs. I immediately volunteered to take care of Rhys this night and stay home.

Toddler rave

Still partying

Sons of Anarchy

This is Rhys before his haircut...

....which we are affectionately calling "The Moe".

Suave...

...and not so suave

We made it up to Maine for our vacation. We spent most of the late August heat wave at Taylor Pond.

And Nik learned to tell exaggerated fish tales. Hence my skeptical face in this photo.

One of our last nights at the camp.

I love the "Whatchoo talkin' bout" face by Cole Harris in this photo

Cath and I look great here....but since they're my kids....I can say the boys don't.

Fired up for the first day of pre-school!

Rhys getting in on the hysteria

Chasing bubbles

The boys team up to call Dadi Ma

Meeting the new neighbors

See you next year Summer!

This is one REALLY overdue Blog entry...

2010-07-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

The dreaded water table hooligans. They show up without warning and under the impression that their hats disguise their identity.

Some of the other little'uns that our friends are accompanied by these days.

Nik's first "dry run". Literally, it was a dry run.

Fishin' out at Taylor Pond with Emma and Grampy.

Coolin' off at the July 4th pool party with Emma and Catherine.

Apparently Nik's parade commentary was not that stimulating to his Uncle Pete.

The Patriotic Duo.

The Patriotic Trio.

If you click on this one, you can see what the kids got painted on their face at the Yarmouth Clam Festival.

Rhys may have a future as a "Carny".

Henry and Nik got to spend some quality time watching cartoons and cooling down. This summer has been HOT.

"Ok, don't make me laugh. I am going to be wicked serious in this picture."

This was taken right before they hit a rock.

At which point Catherine promptly got back to the helm.

Alphabet Soup....

Spring done sprung

2010-04-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, here is the latest batch of shenanigans!

"Any chance you can fix this wedgie before we start skiing?"

Nik and Cath had a great time on the slopes.

They didn't have the SpongeBob skiis in Catherine's size.

This harness system woreked out great for our little beginner

Click on this photo and you can see a ferocious pair of teeth.

Fresh from church in our Easter best.

Easter Bunny ears courtesy of Dadi Ma.

The hunt is on.

Bingo!

Bam!

Pow!

No caption required

Getting fired up for birthday CAKE!!!

The teddy bear cake prepared by Rhys's cousin and brother

The "scrunch face" just started appearing on the scene

The boy's first meeting with CAKE!!!

Rhys giving everyone a hand for being delightful birthday party guests.

Video time

Cheese!!

Bouncin' baby Rhys

Best birthday serenade ever.

Back in Business!

2010-02-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

Both trying to look tough behind bars.

Baby standoff between Cassian and Rhys.

Nik's enthusiasm for shoveling far outweighed his effectiveness.

Chubface.

Nik's first time on snowshoes. If you click on the photo, it will give you a good idea of his overall feeling about it.

The boys rolling two deep in their sled.

Good cop, bad cop.

String bean and pork chop.

We took the boys to the Museum of Science, where Nik got to see a T-Rex!

Nik also loved the nanotechnology exhibit. Remind me of this in twenty years when he's pumping gas.

Maximum smile.

Emma and Nik during hour 2 of the 8 hour Elmo marathon.

3 lil' cousins.

"Seriously, this is the ONLY robe here that's my size?"

First Galub Jamun!

Down the slide, watch for the high five from Jack Vernaglia!

Nik has no chance...

Hangin' with the boys

2009-11-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

A profile shot of Wakefield's finest

The boys came in their costumes to my office for a Halloween party.

This was the other "Nemo" in the mix. This is Finn, born one day before Rhys.

My favorite Giraffe

Cath and I got in the act and dressed as the Munster's. We may dust these off in a year and make Nik go as Eddie Munster.

Nik getting in the pumpkin carving act.

The terrible twosome on All Hallow's Eve

"Ok kids, look over here. Over here. Over here....aww forget it. "

Nik and Catherine did much better for Take 2

Post "trick or treating" booty

Enjoying the fruits of his labor

Turning two requires two birthday parties

2009-10-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here are Cath and Rhys at the World Famous Cumberland Fair.

Here are "Gippy", Nik and Emma. I have no idea what the sheep's name is. Let's go with Marcos.

"I got a deal for you goat. You stay there and I'll stay here."

Emma and Nik got to enjoy a few spins in this hot rod.

As soon as they got back from the fair it was time for birthday cake!

The birthday boy.

Nik and Emma enjoying some breakfast in the den.

Birthday party #2. Here is Meera feeding Rhys a bottle.

This is one of the countless times he said "WOW!" during the party.

Here is Rhys in some traditional Indian clothes. We had him wear them for...

The ceremony where he ate solid food for the first time.

The Little Prince

One more of the Lil' fella.

More birthday cake!

Niky lecturing his birthday cake.

Matching sweaters knit by my mother for the boys.

Birthday parties will tucker the best of us out.

Finally, here is Nik on the morning of his birthday.

Enjoy!

How bout them apples?

2009-09-23T17:23:00.001-07:00

Our apologies for taking almost two whole months off. With that out of the way, let's get to the pics!

Rhys and his lady friend Violet. Watching these two grow up together has been great.

"It vibrates on it's own, honest. Quit shaking it."

We were once again graced with a visit from cousin Emma and Grammy.

Nik is the only person I know who still reads "The Family Circus".

Nik's maiden voyage

"Put down the camera, stop laughing at me and help me out of this thing!"

Look out, sneak attack!

Happy lil' Baby boy

TWO happy lil Baby boys

Spontaneous dance party

We took the boys apple picking, complete with hay ride.

Nik has a future as a migrant farm worker

His apple orchard intensity is unmatched

Cath and Rhys enjoying this beautiful day

We were joined by Juls, Finn, Kelly and Tyler

Here are Cath and Rhys at the Special Care Nursery reunion at Winchester Hospital. Hard to believe how much he's grown since his time there.

See you guys next time, Go Pats!

Shucking and jiving

2009-07-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

Catherine Crane, Lisa Crane, Catherine Dhingra and Destructo at the July 4th parade in beautiful downtown Wakefield.

Here is a video for you to get a sense of how creative people in town get with their floats.

Rhys, the barrel chested wonder. Nik won't be able to push this guy around for too much longer.

More smiles every day.

Nik and Emma modeling the double stroller that was a godsend on our trip to the Clam Festival in Yarmouth.

A slightly confused Nik on his first carousel trip. I'm guessing the non-blinking horses creeped him out.

Her excitement level is off the charts. And not in a good way.

Clam Festival. Hooray?

A trip to the children's museum for some money laundering "practice" seemed to suit Nik just fine.

"Jesus! You didn't tell me this thing vibrates!"

And we close with a kiss.

Summer

2009-07-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here is Nikhil reading about his latest obsession, trains.

Emma came down to visit and enjoy some birthday cake made in honor of her turning the Big F-O-U-R.

Nik, did you get enough cake?

The partygoers worked off their sugar high and took to the street on their bikes.

"Are you tired? I wanna see if we can make Atlantic City by sundown."

Cousins

We made it up to the Gorton's to visit with Miss Hannah. Who as you can see, LOVED holding Rhys.

Rhys and Lady Violet gettin' acquainted.

Nik and I hit the Crane's pool for the 14 minutes it wasn't raining last month.

Hangin' out at Catherine's house

"Do you know anything about trains?"

The rare newborn smile

:Seriously, I want my own blog."

Me and Baby Brother

2009-05-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

This was Rhys' home in the Special Care Nursery and Winchester Hospital. All told, he spent 18 days there.

Here is the little fella strappin' in for his ride home. He was breaking the scales here at a whopping 5 pounds 7 ounces.

Nik waking up to the newest bundle of joy in the house.

Unfortunately, the experience has caused some regression on Nik's part as you can see here...

.....and here

To take Nik's mind off of things, we took him to the fair. This was as close as he could get to the rides. Both attempts to ride the train were met with tears and screaming.

Rhys loves keeping his arms above his head while he sleeps.

Are horizontal stripes slimming? I can never remember.

Loungin'

He's so tiny, he makes ME look big.

Meet Mr. Tyler Prevost, he's been tearing it up for about 4 months now. Sleeps through the night too.....showoff.

Finally, some video of lip smacking good times at the dinner table.

Why can't we be friends?

2009-05-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

We are very sorry for the prolonged absence. But as some of you know, we've been preoccupied with some big news. Let's get to the picshas!

Nik loves to wear his Elton John Glasses during breakfast.

Easter morning arrived with the beloved Elmo. Honestly, I think they embedded a chip into his brain that would not let his parents rest until Elmo was under our roof.

Nik cleaned himself up, found his Easter sweater and got to work on his basket.

And by get to work, I mean cover his head in green confetti.

When you're 18 months old, this is really the only way to travel.

This photo was taken about 50 hours before......

these little feet entered the world.

Rhys Carter Dhingra. Born April 19th at 4:14 AM. He weighed 5 lbs. 1 oz.

Our latest tax write off enjoying his first bottle.

At first Nik didn't seem bothered by Rhys moving in on his turf.

But he soon needed to lean on his friend Catherine for emotional support.

He quickly warmed to the news

And we were ready to go back and see Rhys as a family.

Nik made one quick run for the door, but we were able to convince him to stick around.

And, by the looks of it, things will work out just fine.

Hello again

2009-03-16T18:17:00.001-07:00

So we took WAY longer off than we intended. Without further adieu....

Nik and Emma riding in the sled together. Nik's getting to the restless stage, where being held is losing it's luster.

Trucking through the snow with his big cus' is definitely more his speed these days.

The boys did some couch surfing with me up on the couch at the ski condo.

We took Nik to one of those indoor playgrounds......

...where he decided to start gnawing on some plastic balls that were probably last disinfected in 2005.

Is there any way this could be comfortable?

He's been loving some new books of late like "Ten Fingers and ten toes"

Reading with mom seems to keep him momentarily still.

Nik, don't feed the dogs please.

Got this picture of him in the middle of "breakdancing practice"!

Wearing his favorite player's jersey. Rondo!

Winter Follies

2009-01-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. Too much time between updates. Consider one New Year's resolution broken. Onto the pics!

Nik's buddy Jack invited him over for a book swap around the holidays. You can see them here keeping an eye on the "suspicious" neighbors.

We also got a visit from Isiah O'Keefe all the way from Dallas!

Here are Emma and Nik getting some sage advice from Grampy.

And here is the twosome in their matching Christmas PJs.

Emma.....you've hit the motherload.

Christmas morning was briefly interrupted when the cousins engaged in a "dance-off". Thankfully no injuries were reported.

Nik stopped moving long enough to get some quality time with Uncle Pete.

Christmas with my family included Story Time with Uncle Anand.

We had another visitor from the Left Coast too. Miles Nanda came out from Seattle. Here are the two little guys at the Museum of Science.

Nik decided to do some longjohn lounging after we did some sledding up at Sunday River.

I had to take care of Catherine , our neighbor, the other night. Despite my vocal recommedations, no food fight broke out. Maybe next time.
Nik's lumberjack shirt has been a big hit this holiday season.

Today's snowstorm got Nik the chance to do some more sledding!

Here is Catherine towing the lil' guy. This time next year, we'll be towing two kids in that sled.

This was our brief experiment with convering Gil to a sled dog. He needs more mushing and less sniffing.

New haircut. See you guys later and enjoy the video!

Naughty and Nice

2008-12-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Back in November, Nik's buddy Alex came out for a visit. I love the band aid on Alex's forehead here. He asked for one that day, "just because".

This is Nik's unnatural, "natural" pose.

Each piece of furniture is another "toy" these days. Our house will be destroyed by March.

Christmas sweater, right side up.

Christmas sweater, right side up.

Christmas sweater, sneaking sips of beer.

Nik's wearing one of the party favors from our friend's annual cookie swap. I think he kept the hat on for 17 seconds.

Back to "furniture" toys. He's turned the Ottoman into his crypt.

"Be honest Santa. Do you ever get sick of Christmas music?"

Boo!!

2008-11-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Here's Nik relaxing over by the outskirts of the "cage". That sweater he's wearing is a Mabs Harris hand knit original.

His first costume was to dress as a Beatnik poet.

But in the end, he decided to go with a bat costume.

"Bee Happy"? Doesn't really seem to be the case here.

Catherine was Nik's parter in crime on Halloween night. Eight tentacles means eight pieces of candy per house. Smart girl.

The happy lil' bat.

For authenticity's sake, we hung him upside for about 12 hours.

Going Mobile

2008-10-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

Nik just started walking! We've been taking him down to the lake to get him lots of extra practice.
Struttin' around in his little tracksuit like a giddy retiree.

Slides go by too fast when you're an adult. Luckily it's plenty long enough for him.

We went apple picking and if you look closely, you can see that Nik thinks the baby to his left is totally suspect. Since Nik is walking, we've had to make some "modifications" to the living room.

This face is an unfortunate byproduct of this situation.

As you can see, the downturn in the economy has stripped the shirt off of Nik's back and turned his pockets inside out.

Nik's First Birthday!!

2008-10-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at Nik's birthday. This is Cash sneaking a quick ride on Nik's new Radio Flyer
The irrepressible Miss Kamn Shaver. I think she's reacting to another of my mother's dirty jokes.

These are our neighbors the Cranes. Their daughter Catherine is one of Minidhingra's most popular subjects.

Another of our favorites, Miss Josephine Rose. Scientists estimate that she is 98% cheeks.
And the birthday boy. The croquet wickets turned out to be a fantastic steadying source for his newest talent, walking.

Catherine gave him some help with the pinata. Which was filled with....

.. hand puppets and candy.

Our resident landscaper extrordinaire was imparting some advice on how to properly operate a toy lawnmower.

" I love this party!"

Cousin Emma made the trip down from Maine for the party.

And with cakes like this, who could blame her.

" Ok, I'm not so sure about this anymore."

Once he started in on the cake, his mood changed considerably.

100% Dhingra.

This is Nik and I playing a song called "I got Six strings and no pants"

I'm never buying him another toy. From here on out, it's just gonna be balloons.

"What? Is it someone's birthday or something? "

See you guys later!

So we went on vacation....

2008-09-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

...and that's why we haven't posted anything in a while. But we're back to the grind and it's time for our first ever "super-post". Grab a snack.

Nik LOVED the beach. So much so, that he claimed this little patch of sand as his. We made it out to Chatham one day and he got to get in a great workout in the sand.
We headed down to the water to get a better look at the waves hitting the beach.
Nik and his new boat. The aptly named SS Squirt.
Nik and Catherine at Rock Harbor Beach in Orleans. Luckily this place was walking distance from the place we rented.

And if you look closely here, you can see his top two teef coming in. They've been a great source of amusement for him. It's made eating Cheerios a rich new experience.

The Bingham gals made it to Fenway to see Neil Diamond. His sequins temporarily blinded them midway through the 2nd set.

Josie and Nik made it the playground for some time on the swings. This probably looks as uncomfortable as it is.

Grampy got to give both the grandkids a push on the swing...

...before they adjourned to the dome climber.

As you may have noticed, Nik's hair was getting a little bit long. Something had to be done.

Has a kid ever look more unsure of anything?

Still very skeptical......

Utter resignation.

"What does ' it'll grow out ' mean? Should I be worried? "

Well that's it from us for now. We'll be back with a new post in a few weeks. Promise.

Man of leisure

2008-07-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Cousin Emma came back down to Wakefield for a visit.

And Catherine's friend Sam rolled through town as well. If you look in the corner, Gil seems to be forcing himself into the camera shot. Glory hound.

Double click on this picture, to get the full "cheese on nose" effect.

Nik's friend Josie dropped by recently as well. Josie is about to hit the big 6! 6 months.

We decided to stop sitting around the house waiting for visitors and headed up to Maine for some rest and leisure activities. As you can see, Nik had a great time on the boat.

So much so, he went out and got his own boat. Right now it's Mommy powered, but he's working out the financing on a used Boston Whaler.

Keepin' the faith. Go Sox!

Grandma Connie, this video is for you.

Summertime Rolls

2008-07-07T18:10:00.001-07:00

We've had a busy beginning to the summer. Hence the lack of posting, but we're back with a fury!

Nik's hair has really started to come in. He's the envy of bald infants everywhere.

With the rash of summer thunderstorms, the foul weather gear he scored last Christmas has come in handy.
He was the first one down to grab the paper the day after the Celtics won their latest championship.
Here he is keeping his friend Logan entertained.

This photo kills me. When he was first learning to crawl, he kept going backwards but invariably ended up under the couch. Look, if he wants to cover himself in dog hair, he can be my guest!
Look Ma! No pants!

We went to the July 4th parade in Wakefield. Which was an overall success.....

Nik really enjoyed seeing everything there, it was the "hearing" of the BLARING sirens that caused him to cry uncontrollably for about 5 minues. This is the only rescue vehicle that escaped his crying jag.

We recently headed out to Baker's Island

with some friends and Nik was free to crawl around to his heart's content. Or to sit and work on some angelic poses.

Finally, here is the documented evidence of Nik's mobility. Please excuse my silly falsetto. I swear that's the only way he'll crawl towards me.

School's Out!

2008-06-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

Catherine got her graduate degree with honors a few weeks ago! So, for those of you keeping score, over the past 8 months she:

- Raised a newborn
- Held a full time job
- Finished her degree
- And put up with an annoying husband who'd start sentences with " Hey, when you have a free moment....."

Congratulations from me and the Little guy

As you can see from the above photos, Nik and I made it out to the lake to escape the heat.

He took his first stab at fishing.

" I said PULL my finger. Not EAT my finger! "

I'm not sure about this Elvis hairdo.

It's looking more and more these days, like he may be destined to be a plumber.

He also made it up to Maine, to stir up some trouble with Cousin Emma.

Nothing like some good times with Grampa.

And, FINALLY, more video. Behold....."Advanced Bouncing"

Keepin' busy

2008-05-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

Nik has somewhat of a "drinking problem" these days. The sippy cup makes it to his face and then he throws it on the ground.

Eating is going considerably better. The puffs make it to the vicinity of his mouth.

I can put my WHOLE hand in my mouth...what can YOU do?

Our neighbor Catherine came by to play. Don't worry, they're "just friends".

Then Nik visitied with Hannah, where he promptly got "too fresh"

He pulled it together for the group photo with new baby Ainslie ( born on Mother's Day!).

I like to call this one..."Take the damn photo already!"

We got some work done in our backyard recently, so we were able to get some time together in the Bobcat!

After he pulled that lever, we weren't allowed on the Bobcat anymore.

Finally, what else is there to say but "Go C's!"

The wedding is OFF!

2008-04-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

Some of you have been saying that Josie and Nikhil are destined to be married. As you can see by the picture below......

Josie doesn't feel the same way. Needless to say, their first play date was a disaster.

It sent Nik into a bit of a tailspin, where he hung around the house in a sweater and his diaper.

We hit the playground to get his mind off of things...

I cheered him up with some encouraging words....

and some funny jokes.

He got back to his silly ol' self..

Just in time to kick back with his Uncle...

and to join us at Fuddrucker's for hamburgers and onion rings ( the best I've ever had!)

The End.

Video time!!

Quick Update...

2008-03-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

Wanted to drop a few photos on the site. Video to come later this week......

Nik's first Easter basket. He was lucky enough to have both Grandmas in attendance for the big day.

He got a ton of St. Patrick's day gear, but I think this "lil O' cutie" t-shirt summed it up the best.

We spent the weekend up at Sunday River for some family time recently. Here's Nik with his cousin Emma.
Grandpa got in some quality time with the little guy too.

New Tricks

2008-03-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Nik spent a whole day recently, sticking his tongue out. It was hilarious. He quickly moved onto his newest trick....

Which is eating cereal! So far most of it gets on his bib and he makes puzzled faces when eating it.

The weather has been nice enough lately for us to take a few walks. Spring can't come soon enough for him. The snowsuit, while adorable, keeps his delicious hands and toes covered.

X-Rated toe sucking

The other big news, was Gil turned 5! He got a brand new bed which he can't get enough of.

Auntie Sarah came by for a visit recently. She got him a boatload of clothes that he'll modeling on the blog soon enough.

Onto the movies!

Nik and Gil

My Left Foot......

New toys, new friends and feet

2008-02-24T17:38:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody, back with some photos of the boy wonder.

Nikhil got this snowsuit from his Auntie Reed soon after he was born. He finally grew enough to fit into it and not a moment too soon for this New England winter.

"Hey Dad, hope you don't mind I just put the exersaucer together. This thing rules!"

This is Nik's newest friend, Miss Jospephine Rose Desmond. She arrived less than two weeks ago and is doing great so far.

The preppy sweater look has been getting a lot of traction around the house lately. Please let me know if you guys catch him with a turned up collar.

That's all we got for now. Check back in a few weeks!

In honor of the Oscars, here is "Grab my feet".

The blog is alive!

2008-02-10T17:17:00.002-08:00

Hi everyone. Well, it has been a hectic few weeks with Cath going back to school, Nik starting day care and me trying to erase the entire Super Bowl from my brain. We're gonna try and update this more frequently. Onto the pics!

Catherine and Nikhil got to spend some time playing recently. "Playing" these days is comprised of laying them down next to one another. Check back in 4 months, and these two will be zooming around the floor together.
I like to call this series the "360 of Catherine"

Here she is at 180

And back around to zero. You would think these things would tire them out, not so much.
Big ol' Brown eyes. He's looking up adoringly at Mom here.

And here you can see why I need to start buckling him into his bouncer. He goes from seated to horizontal in 3.5 seconds.
Nikhil generally needs coffee, a grapefruit and the newspaper before he can start his day.

He was kind enough to share the editorial page with me.
Another moment spent smiling at his mom. We usually bring him into the kitchen to help us prep the evening meal. Once he's walking, I think his skills as a prep cook may go downhill in a hurry.

Finally, here is our first youtube video!

Back in Business!!

2008-01-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posting. Cath just got back to work and things have been slightly hectic. But, we're got most things under control now, and we're back to the blogosphere with more photos!

Nik's friend Miles came for a visit around the Holidays. His parents Gabe and Charly braved a flight from Seattle to Boston with a 3 month old! He did great on the flight except for the usual comments about the food and the poor movie selection.

Nikhil had his first day in jeans! And as you can see, smiles are abundant these days.

Bath time continues to be a great time to get some photos of him. He gets so calm, it's definitely become a great way to help finish the day.

He's begun to laugh. A lot. Especially when he's getting bounced in the bouncer. Thanks to Elizabeth and Colby for the "freeloader" shirt!

This is what happens when you stop bouncing him in the bouncer.

That's all we got this time! Stay tuned for:

- Photos of him in his new Bumbo (Thanks Auntie Beth!)
- Video of a laughing fit
- Video of him chomping away on his forearm. Apparently it's tastier than the thumb. Who knew?

Go Pats!

Christmas, buddies and New Year's Wishes....

2007-12-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! We kept pretty busy the last week or so. Headed back up to Maine to visit with some friends and up to my inlaws for Christmas.

This is our friend Amy, who met Nik for the first time. She is actually the one who introduced Catherine and I , which makes Amy the reason Nik is here! I think in a few southern states that would make her his legal guardian. That's her boy Henry on the right. He's about 3 months older than Nik and can sit up without being wedged into the corner of a couch unlike our boy.
I took this photo after I told them to expect lots of coal in their stockings. The boys were quite unpleased with that prospect. Nik's cousin Emma was a pro at tearing off wrapping paper this year. Based on her performance, I'm willing to bet she'll be pulling that duty next year as well. Here's Auntie Sarah giving Emma a hand with a gift.

This is the traditional "Santa Suit" that is worn in the Bingham family. And by "worn", I mean stuffed into, until the adults realize that there is no way the child is fitting into that outfit.

See you in the New Year, suckers!

Rest, relaxation and tummy time

2007-12-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I figured we'd start off this post with some "outtakes" from Nik's chistmas card.

I snapped this one riiiiiiiiiiiight after he smiled. Getting the timing of the photo, the smile and him actually looking towards the camera has proved exceedingly difficult.

As you can see here. Quite a Captain Grumpypants, no?

"Santa is coming!!!! Santa is coming!!!"

That brief bout of excitement tuckered the poor guy out. We ended up rescheduling the whole photo shoot.
This is "tummy time". The bane of Nikhil's existence. We're hoping he warms up to it, but at this point if he lasts 30 seconds on his stomach, we're doing cartwheels.

So, after the photo shoots and tummy exercises, Nik demanded a vacation. He and Gil headed up to Sunday River for a few days of much needed rest and relaxation.

Nik spent plenty of time reclining and getting around to some books about his belly button.

When we got home........we had no HEAT! So, we had to bundle the little guy up and send him over to the neighbors while I frantically got the boiler running again. Cold babies are unhappy babies.
Finally, Nik and Cath headed over to the Vernaglia's for a Christmas Book Swap. Pictured here are (L-R) Kristen and Jack, Elena and Sofia, and Cath and Nik.

That's it for now, we'll have some more photos up from Nik's first Christmas next week!

Graduation Day

2007-12-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody,

Lots of happenings at 8 Converse this week! First.....we got our tree and a new ornament found it's way to the tree (Courtesy of my Mom and Nik's Dadi Ma)!

This is one of Nik's final examinations from baby class. How long can you last on your tummy? 35 seconds gets you a passing grade. He'll be back for summer school. Don't ask.

This is our first photographic evidence of Nik getting fresh with a lady. Greta doesn't seem to mind much, but she also thinks he lasted 1 minute and 45 seconds during tummy time.

This was the class' final exam. A coordinated group effort on YMCA. It was an adorable failure.

Catherine showed me this photo 10 minutes ago, and the first thing I said was

"Did he just come back from the Alps???"

That's it on this end. We'll try and get some more stuff up before Christmas.

Big Finish

2007-11-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. The Family unit had a nice time at my Mom's place. Nik was very well behaved for the entire meal. By my estimates, that should be the last time that will happen until he's about 40. He's doing really well and starting to demonstrate some new tricks. Like his laser like focus on the mobile above his bed. A fantastic invention, that would be slightly more awesome if it lasted slightly longer than 14 seconds.

I like this one a lot. Really shows you how much his face is filling out and how he's leaving his newborn face behind and on his way to baby stylin'.

This is another favorite. I think he was dreaming about being a mafia don and screaming "Fugeddaboutit".
His neighbor Catherine came by for a visit. I'm not sure what he's reading to her, but she seems pretty engrossed.
Grandma came down from Maine for a visit which allowed us some time to do a bunch of stuff around the house. Despite how Grandma appears to be clutching him, I can assure you she did not stuff him in her luggage before she went home.

Here's the "Big Finish". He just started smiling about a week ago, but it seems to disappear as soon as I get the camera out. This is the best one I got so far, but I can promise there will be more to come!

Sorry for the "brief" interruption in service....

2007-11-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

Things got a little hectic here over the past couple of weeks. Not really on the homestead, more for me at work! So, the blog and it's many fans have suffered. My apologies. Here is a new batch of silliness to tide you over.

It's been really tough to get a photo of him smiling, which is his newest trick. Until then, we'll all have to settle for his old standby. Pensive infant.

This thing is called a Bundle Me, which is one of the many items I had never heard of, until we registered at Babies R Us. Now, it's one of the many items I can't imagine us doing without. It should keep him pretty warm all wintah!

Cath has been practicing some baby massage on Nik. Which he seems to enjoy. She also has a song that goes along with the massage. So far the two lyrics, I've made out are "baby" and "massage".
This is Nik, feigning embarrassment. His best trick to date.
Well, that's it for me.....now check out some photos of my folks!

So, there has been some debate on who our little boy looks like. We decided to put it up to the readers out there. Here are baby photos of Cath and I as little ones. Post your vote in the comment section below.

Baby Vake
Baby Cath

Tricks and Treats

2007-11-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Things are progressing here. Nik is growing more alert with each day and spends a lot of time looking at me with a puzzled face (He obviously got that from mom). We had some recent visits and Halloween to provide us with the chance to get some more shots of him. It's such a chore to photograph babies!

Holding a grandson has to be one of life's great pleasures.

Holding your nephew is up there too.

Psst! Wake up, you've got company over! Your neighbor Catherine won't keep coming over for visits if you keep this up.

Super Pumpkin

What a handsome devil. Not the baby....me!

Wash that big ol' Baby belly.

Squeeky clean and getting ready for bed.

A bunch of "firsts"

2007-10-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

Things are going well and we'd like to thank all of you for the kind thoughts and gifts you keep sending our way. Cath's mom has been around this past week to help out with a lot of stuff, so Cath and I actually got to whisk ourselves away for a romantic dinner at Chili's. Beers and burgers. Can't beat that. Nik is getting over a particularly snotty week. Having that in the rear view really put us at ease. Now if he can remain perfectly healthy until age 18, we should be in great shape. Ok, here are the latest shots. Most of these are "firsts" of some kind.

This was the first bottle he took. Coincidentally, it's the first time I've had a ridiculous breast feeding pillow strapped to my waist! Being a dad is the coolest.

This is the first time he offered to make me a "knuckle sandwich".

This is the first piece of clothing he's outgrown. Don't worry, I won't start posting this stuff every time, but it's pretty remarkable how quickly it all happens. Thanks go to Auntie Aubrey for these lil' cowboy threads.

"Why did they start my first World Series game so late at night? Honestly, 7PM works better for me. "

Travellin' Man

2007-10-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

We've settled into somewhat of a routine over here at Dhingra Manor. Nikhil seems to be getting with the "sleep at night" program, which has been very thoughtful of him. This past week has flown by and I can't believe I'm headed back to work so soon. We're going to try and update the blog every week. Once he has more "tricks" in his bag, that pace may quicken. We took a nice stroll this morning, here are the action packed photos:

Resting up for the morning outing...

Getting his "gear on"..

The little King in his mobile throne

Gil likes to be the scout leader for Team Dhingra

That tuckered me out! Good night everybody!

Settling In....

2007-10-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

So we got home on Sunday afternoon and Nik's first few days home have been great. We've been squeezing in about 3 hours of sleep a night, which on the "New Parent" scale means he's taking it easy on us! Gil has been great too. After his walks, he bounds into the house to give Nik a quick sniff before heading off to his doggie blanket.

Here are some photos for your enjoyment. And don't be afraid to drop a note in the comment section.

Take care,

Vake & Cath

Nursery? Check. Hospital Bags? Check. Baby?????

2007-10-01T12:19:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody,

So, we're getting close to the arrival of Mini-Dhingra. Catherine is doing well and we're both very excited to finally meet this little baby that has been the topic of much conversation. Wanted to post some photos of the nursery and a belly shot or two.

Hope you're all doing well and that we'll be sharing some news again very soon!

- Vake