After a wonderful fun-filled evening yesterday, I woke up refreshed for another day of fun. After all, it is my birthday today . Initially, we had decided to go to the Brooklyn Aquarium and beach, but decided against it last night as we were all really tired. Since we were going to take it easy anyway, we all woke up late… past 10 a.m.! After a lot of lazing around in bed, Mamma and Dadda gave me a huge surprise by showing me the “Hero of the Rails” DVD . I have certainly become quite a fan of “Hiro” – the latest Thomas and Friends engine. I held on to my new Hiro engine that I got yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the video. After that, we headed out for a swim to cool ourselves on this hot humid day. I sure was tired and soon fell asleep after getting home.

I woke up to another beautiful surprise – a “Hello Kitty” Cycle. In the party excitement yesterday, we forgot to pick up the bicycle from Sonu Aunty’s house (where we had hid it from all the kiddos). This bicycle was a gift from Neera Aunty, Charu Aunty and Karyshma Aunty – Thank You So Much . After “practicing” for about 20 minutes, it was time to head out for more fun. We were going to have dinner first and then go to ToysRUs where Ritu Bua was going to buy me another birthday gift! Oh, aren’t birthday’s fun .

Before leaving home, I really wanted a jellybean, but Mamma reminded me of the rule of the house – “No candy before dinner”. But I really really really wanted it, so I asked Mamma if I could hold onto it, but promised I wouldn’t eat it before dinner. I held onto the tiny jellybean all the way and kept telling Mamma and Dadda to “Please give me some food. I want food. I am hungry”. Our co-passengers sure thought that Mamma and Dadda were starving me, but the truth was that I knew I couldn’t put that candy in my mouth till I had had my meal . We got to Nanking (an Indo-Chinese place) and ordered food. I had my first bite of soup and asked if I could put the jellybean in my mouth. Mamma and Dadda were very impressed that I had exercised a lot of self-control for over an hour and a half, that they let me have it . I relished my dinner and had my fill, and as a reward, I got 3 more jellybeans in the end – one each from Bua, Dadda and Mamma . Next stop – ToysRUs.

On our way to ToysRUs, Ritu Bua took a lot of photos of Times Square. We also got a caricature made of me . Though we didn’t think it looked like me, we sure thought it was pretty. Once we were at the toy store, I made a beeline for the Giant Ferris Wheel. Dadda sat with me while Mamma and Ritu Bua took photos. After the ride was over, we headed up to the “Thomas section”. I was looking for Mavis, but couldn’t find him. I finally found Henry and had my heart set on buying that train. Mamma was still looking for Mavis, when I suddenly spotted Gordon – the big mighty engine. I dropped Henry like a hot potato and claimed Gordon for my own. So Ritu Bua bought me Gordon as a gift and I had her open the box as soon as she bought it . We headed back home and soon hit the bed. What a great day it’s been .

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A Big thank you to Saugaat Uncle and Fred Uncle for taking all these wonderful photos

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Today Mamma’s dear Billi has left for Kitty heaven . I am sure Naani and Naanu are missing her very much… after all she has been their little pet for over 15 years! Naani and Naanu told us that Billi was suffering and though it was a very hard decision, it was best to euthanize her. We were all prepared for this day, but upon hearing the news, Mamma got upset and started to cry. I asked her what had happened and Mamma explained that her cat Billi has gone to Kitty heaven and that she is missing her. I asked her if we could call Billi back, but Mamma said even though we couldn’t do that, we can make sure that Billi always stays close to our heart. Mamma showed me some photos of Billi and that sure put a smile on her face. Later in the evening, Dadda made a slideshow of Billi’s photos and put that as a screensaver on Mamma’s laptop. To cheer Mamma up, I gave her my favorite stuffed toy cat and said, “Here Mamma, take my cat” and hugged her tight. Mamma told me that Naani and Naanu need a hug too, so I gave another big hug to Mamma and told her it was for Naani and Naanu (I sure hope they felt it). Bye Bye Billi, we will miss you, but you will always be in our hearts.