Going Home

We recently went home to Philly for Abbey and Soby's engagement. (My understanding is: In my husband's Malayalee culture, there is a tradition of the wife and husband-to-be getting their families together during a dinner/party to officially meet and give their blessings for the impending wedding...which is called an engagement.) We stayed with Roby's brother Rony and sister-in-law Rani, although they were in Canada for the majority of the time. Mummy and Pappa came and stayed with us, allowing Mummy to have some quality time with Owen during the days while Roby was working in New York. (During our stay, Owen brought forth chuckles from her and the other women in the family by making a silly sound while moving his tongue back and forth across his lips every time Mummy would ask him to speak to them in Malayalam. I guess that is what it sounds like to him :)

On Sunday, my Mom drove up from Harrisburg, meeting up with my brother Jason and his fiancee Melinda, Roby, me, Owen, Mummy and Pappa for brunch. It is nice to get both families together since it doesn't happen often. Later that day, we celebrated Owen's birthday early. Roby's sister Renu, brother-in-law Alex and son baby Alex came over and Alex seemed to have fun playing with his younger cousin, who he used to call "cousin Onin" :) O didn't really know what was transpiring with the cake and all the fuss. His favorite parts were dragging a helium balloon around and his presents of course! Surprisingly, he didn't display an affinity for cake icing. I thought all kids loved sweets!

Later that week, Mummy and Pappa held another party to celebrate the birthdays of all 4 grandchildren. (Their birthdays fall in succession: Isabel-July, Alex-August, Anngelina-September, & O-October) Many relatives came to the get-together, as well as family friends. It was lovely to be able to see many of our family members while we were home, which is sometimes difficult due to the size of Roby’s family. Hopefully next time we will be able to see more of my family too!

Abbey and Soby's engagement was the first I had been too. It proved the perfect opportunity to see all our friends in the same place as we shared in Ab and Soby's special day. The day began at a church where a priest offered traditional prayers and blessings to the bride and groom-to-be. Later we congregated at a local country club, located on beautiful grounds. My favorite part = Abbey sang Soby a song he penned for her. We are so excited for them and for their upcoming wedding in May. Roby, a long-time friend of Abbey's, is proud and honored to be a groomsman!

After the engagement, Mummy and Pappa looked after Owen while we all gathered at Pat's Steaks on South Street and then moved on to the reggae club Carribean Reef. Roby and his circle of friends have always been into the roots reggae scene, so this was something he really looked forward to. Since I have not been to a club in years, I found myself a little apprehensive about going, but it turns out we all had so much fun- and this white girl still had a few moves in her (or so Roby reassures me :) I found it wildly entertaining to watch a guy, who I shall name "mr. interpretive dancer," do his thing on the dance floor. I desperately wanted Dooney or Div to challenge him to a dance-off, but no such luck. I kept trying to impersonate Dooney's signature moves, only to be greeted with hearty laughter from Tobi and Joyce. Joyce, Bindu and I shook it for awhile, and it felt like college all over again. Fun times for sure.

And YOU KNOW that if we are in Philly there will be a lot of eating of local delacies, such as cheesesteaks, hoagies (I had 6!) and Rita's water ice. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

There is so much more I could write about, but I need to keep this short since I have been itching to blog about Owen's first birthday-hopefully a entry will follow shortly!

Thanks everyone for a wonderful time in chilly philly! Can't wait to visit again!