And just like that, the pandemic wound down…I’ve lost count how many times we have been sick with or without Covid, but the parent drain was real.

Real.

Real tough.

But part of my new year’s resolution was to shake off the funk the pandemic brought, and to emerge and share as a Punjabi Dad should…so we start this year’s first post with a Sprinf Holi pic with my daughter,

Clearly she’s grown, and as a child of the pandemic, having so many friends and adults around, not only overwhelmed her, but then we played loud foreign music and threw colored dye on each other!

No better time to get them back into the game of being human than Holi…

The reality of adulting and parenting during COVID is that you never have time anymore; you’re either knee deep in work, or knee deep in managing kids, or managing the people managing your kids.

Every now and then we do get away though, and vacation are absolutely the worst idea in my opinion with kids if one of them is under 5.

I know not a popular opinion, and we do it for them, but there is no room for relaxation and in fact because you’re out of your element, the kids are more clingy. That’s when you take them to the beach…

I returned to work for about 6 weeks before we were all locked down due to the novel Corona Virus (COVID-19, C19).

Before C19, life on the weekends was intimidating because we had the kids without a school or nanny. Our new world since March 17 was one where we balanced 2 careers, one 1 year old, and a Kindergartner at the same time.

I think adults were slow to adapt…kids were more flexible. And bless them for handling our mismanagement of everything. He took the virtual schooling well, and it continues to this day as he’s in 100% virtual schooling for first grade.

We did have fun though between calls and school, so just a few pictures to capture the glass-half-full of C19…

The minute I got back to work, my blogging productivity went to heck.

So we celebrated Christmas and her birthday all within two weeks of each other…this will get expensive when she gets older for sure. It’s remarkable how as each month passes her personality (rather demand personality) continues to emerge.

And that’s where that post ended.

Covid happened and everything upended. Will update later!

I’m more than half way through and dreading the days before I head back to work. She has grown so much since I’ve been home, and cataloging the days and pictures makes me sad because I’ll be missing her growth when behind the desk.

We spent the weekend organizing and sorting toys, so she helped of course, while her fearless super hero brother sorted out the giveaway pile.

I’m on the fence on giving kids money for chores and upkeep of their own things. Allowances are equally dubious in my book-money management comes from earning it, not doing things around the house you should be doing anyhow. Unsure, but the oldest gets it and is very good about helping with cleaning and organizing after some coaxing.

Football season is in full swing and the kids are patient with me watching Saturday Michigan games and Sunday NFL Live (since bronocs have not given me a reason in years to pay Direct TV).

This also means hair is growing longer and we are getting creative with the new found experience of putting bows in everything….

I write about week 6 almost in the middle of week 7. And I get sad about the countdown…as a Dad, I probably won’t ever feel what a Mom feels, but I can understand emotionally the tug that mother’s feel when they go back. It ain’t easy…

And I can’t believe I’m almost at the mid point for my leave….

Diwali came and left quickly. We had a small gathering for her with just close family and friends, and she was of course the star!

Food was perfect, and we enjoyed it the week after too since Chand Palace always gives so much. She’s started solids now and really doesn’t shy away from anything…above she is having Mac and cheese, but she has had Indian chickpeas with rice, home made pizza, etc. We’ve been more aware of food with her in terms of GMO/Organoc vs not. Labels are better now than when the oldest was pioneering his diet with us (this is what I tell myself!)

Blessed as always that my grandmother was able to come, and to see her spend time with both of them is always touching and timeless,

We had our first parent teacher conference the following week, and also had our first “teacher conference week”, which meant we had to entertain him for 4 straight days. Not easy when the temps were dropping g outside, but we got semi creative taking him to Manhattan (while I picked up from Diwali present), and after realizing we needed tickets to a slime exhibit, drove across to Queens to enjoy the Art of Brick exhibit at the Annals of Science,

We left the little on behind since she was fussy and tired from teething, and got to spend some old school 2:1 time with him. Watching his nasent skills blossom is so fun…he’s so method and rule driven. But also likes to have goofy fun, it’s such a tug of war with him (internally).

I enjoyed shooting the exhibit too, Leica and natural lighting always lend to above shots that pop out at you. My manual focusing can improve both in speed and focus but I like starting over in my 40s…

This was a quick week, we managed to relax for a day in NYC and reset our parental clock. Was exciting to see the Vessel from up top..

She has been out of sorts the past few days, with a small cold and just mildly fussy. But she always smiles and tries to be happy. It’s funny how kids are just programmed from the outset.

She is watching her brother hit some tennis balls against the garage with my Dad who is here for her first Diwali in the above pic. We spent the past two days cleaning and prepping, hoping for a healthy new year for these two. Never a moment I don’t thank the universe for giving me them to us…

My time with my second little one finally arrived, after a long and winding year at work.

She’s not a colicky baby, and took to sleep training well using a Snoo (highly recommended). My job was transitioning her out of her Snoo and into her crib full time (she was doing nights already thanks to Mommy’s hardwork!)

True to form (both above pics were taken the first few days at home), she adjusted well to the crib and by week 2 it was easy sailing.

I’m deeply disappointed that more Dads don’t take paternity leaves, and that more companies don’t give them. I have 9 weeks planned and hope to do weekly updates since I finally have time back…these days have flown by, here are a few precious moments that are too ephemeral…

Between Memorial Day and Independence day, we didn’t get a moment’s rest and went on two road trips with the kids.

We just returned from a “only us” get away and were rejuvenated but found ourselves missing them and lamenting (not always relishing) the silence.

This was our first Saturday of just lounging around, and it was epic. She is growing so fast and he has become a model big brother. I wish I actually had a hand in it…

These days will pass so quickly…can’t wait for my daily posts when I’m finally on paternity leave.

Our oldest has made it to 5 and we survived. He’s got an awesome sense of humor, loves to dance, is emotionally intelligent and witty but still isn’t sleep trained. I guess you can’t win them all!

It’s amazing to see him develop a personality and it almost makes me pause to see what we did so we can replicate some of the good stuff with her…

But I snap out of the reality where a parent can actually impact and guide these strong personalities…. 😜