Babies Change Every Day...

Folks will tell you but its true - little babies look different every single day. This one is
already beginning to outgrow some of his newborn clothes. Guess that's what you get when you're born 8.5 lbs...


We love his iPood gear - not only is it cute, but its very, very accurate...

Parenting 101

Shyam and I are getting our bearings and picking up new parenting skills each day- but we have come to realize that parenting is no easy task between the feedings, burpings and the stacks and stacks of poopy diapers! Vijay, however, also requires plenty of good things like lots of loving and cuddling. Here are a few of our favorite pictures of Vijay- I especially love his Spike Lee onesie poses, a gift from his Uncle Jon and Aunt Clare.

Bath Time

While he looks a bit frightened, don't be fooled- Vijay actually loves bath time. He did a great job with his first few sponge baths, but was clearly most comfortable wrapped safe and sound in his bath towel.

Arms in the Air

Another one of Vijay's signature moves involves the fact that he loves to have his arms free and in the air! Constantly struggling out of even the tightest of swaddles, he love to sleep with his arms raised above his head and to flex his muscles (or as Shyam thinks, he is signaling a touchdown for the Eagles). Either way, this little guy definitely has some strong arms! Here are a few pictures to demonstrate what we mean.

First Days at Home

Here are a few photos from our first few days at home. We had lots of help from family and they got to get some very special one-on-one time with the little guy.

We began to learn some of Vijay's signature moves. Always has his head resting thoughtfully on his hand, as if to say: "Let me ponder this for a while..."

Daddy gets a kick out of singing to him. Since Daddy only knows old jazz tunes, he's already set himself up to be that guy singing the "old person music".

Coming Home

Possibly the most harrowing drive that anyone will ever do. White knuckles and puttering along at 12 miles per hour, the proud new parents safely (very safely) make their way home from the hospital with precious cargo. We made it home just fine, mind you, but I can imagine that there are a few drivers in DC who have cursed my slow driving that day...

Proud Grandparents...

After getting a moment to rest (well, not really) Sharmila and I had the chance to introduce the little guy to his proud grandparents.

Here Comes the Son...

Vijay Santosh Kannan came into the world on April 6, 2008 at 3:14 pm. Mommy had a sneaking suspicion that he was a big baby - and indeed he was! Weighing in at 8.5 pounds and stretching 21" from head to toe, this little baby also came to us complete with a full head of shiny black hair.

In Sanskrit, Vijay (pronounced "vee JAI") means "conquering", and Santosh (pronounced "SUN tosh", with an "o" as in "toe") means "happiness" or "bliss", and we do hope that our little boy will always have the ability to conquer life's challenges with happiness. Cool thing here is that Sharmila's name means "blissful", and we like that little Jai gets to carry on that legacy for mom. We also love the name partially because we love the nickname "Jai", and we've spent many an hour listening to the kirtan of Jai Uttal (including while hiking through the Grand Canyon and Sedona).

Sharmila did a fantastic job through the labor, and I even got to play a role in the delivery of Vijay. Vijay Santosh is definitely the sunshine in our lives!