Another year has gone by so quickly and our dear Chhori is turning 4 today.
Dear Chhori,
The day you were born was the greatest moment of our life. We never knew we could love something so tiny so much, but the day you came into our life we were overwhelmed by all the love we had for you.
Watching you grow up has been such a joy, and we know that only greatness lies ahead for you. May your birthday be just as spectacular as you are.
As I mentioned before in my post, we had Chhori’s birthday celebration in Nepali way and at her childcare. But we also decided to throw a small party for her. We thought it would be nice to celebrate her birthday among our friends and family.
Now she is at that stage that she understands the celebration and so she was looking forward to her Peppa themed birthday party. She would go around telling everyone who would listen, that she is turning 3 and she will have a Peppa themed birthday party.
We also decided to hire a professional photographer to capture the memories on that day and I am glad we did.
We did some family photo shoot before the party.
I had a table decorated with everything Peppa.
The table was full with lollies, juices, biscuits, cupcake and goodie bag. Chhori was super excited so see all the arrangements.
Around noon, guests started to arrive. When most of the guest was in, we served lunch.
It was followed by cake cutting, yes, a Peppa one.
To make the things fun, I had a few games planned for the kids and the parents as well.
We did the egg and spoon race, balloon race and bingo. We had so much fun as everyone laughed and enjoyed the day.
The day ended with bubbles all over the park. We had bought bubble wands and as the day was slightly windy, it was so easy to make a lot of bubble.
Overall we had a great celebration and Chhori was over the moon with all the attention, gifts and Peppa around.
As I have mentioned before, we do not follow the Gregorian calendar so on the Nepali Calendar we have birthdays on different days every year depending on the position of sun, moon and planets. So we celebrated Chhori’s Tithi birthday in traditional Nepali manner with puja and sagun.
Luckily it was a weekend so I had enough time to prepare and wasn’t too rushed.
I wore a tradition sari and Chhori wore a lehenga. She was so excited that she was turning 3 that she had been telling everyone she met that she is going to be 3 soon. It was cute to see her excited about her birthday.
Once everything was prepared, Chhori sat down and I started the pooja.
I started the pooja for Lord Ganesh and then pooja for to Chhori. I explained to her everything I was doing and she listened and followed the instructions. She didn’t complain or try to get up from her place for the whole time and I am super proud of her.
She got the sagun and gifts and she was so happy.
I am hoping our effort to show Chhori our culture and tradition will help her understand where her roots are and how amazing and rich Nepali culture is.
I made a small pink birthday cake to cut that day as I didn’t want her to have a birthday celebration without a cake 🙂
On her birthday according to the Gregorian calendar, I baked a cake and took it to her childcare. When she saw me with the cake she was so excited and started to show the cake to her friends.
The teachers had arranged the table for us to celebrate her birthday. She sat with her friends when we sang the birthday song for her and then cut the cake.
As childcare has a policy of no nuts and no chocolate I had made a simple vanilla sponge cake with fondant and it turned out OK.
If you are a parent, kid’s birthdays are so special and I hope Chhori will have a special one every year.
I cannot believe my daughter turns 3 today. Most of you have been with me on this journey from the day I announced that I was pregnant. Can you believe that it has been full 3 years since I introduce her to you all?
I wanted to write a letter to Chhori to reflect on the first few years of her life. I hope she will read this one day and understand how much we love her and how much she has changed our life.
Dear Chhori,
I still can’t believe how fast time has flown since the day I first laid my eyes on you.
Even before you were born, you were already a part of me, every second of every day, for almost 9 months. For this reason alone, Chhori, I will never, ever stop loving you for the rest of my life.
When I was pregnant with you I was a little scared at times thinking about how the future would be but the moment I saw you, I was sure things would be ok.
You were so tiny then, all helpless and fragile. I used to spend nights awake nursing you and just looking at you because you have completed me. I loved to carry you in a baby carrier with you enjoying hearing my heart beat and snuggling up against me.
You evolved from lying on the cot, to sitting on your own, from carrier to stroller and from crawling to waking then running. Now, you’ve grown into a little girl who has accomplished so much.
You are already potty-trained, know what you want to wear when we go out, sing along to numerous rhymes, dance to Nepali songs, can identify different shapes, colours, numbers, letters, and so many other things.
You are this beautiful little soul. From you I have learned patience, I have experienced family, and I have evolved too. I am a better person for having you in my life.
Every day is a testament to the wonderful person that you are, and Papa and I will always be proud of you. We love you, simply because you are our daughter.
Happy Birthday Baby Girl. Wishing you a million days that reflect the possibilities you see.
I love you with all my heart.
Love,
Mama
We are having party to celebrate so will post more about it later.
As I have mentioned before, Nepal follows a different calendar than the Gregorian calendar so Nepali New Year falls on mid-April instead of 1st of January. Bikram Sambat or Nepali Calendar or Nepali patro is approximately 56 years and 8½ months ahead of the Gregorian calendar. Unlike Gregorian months, the lengths of Nepali months are not predetermined, and change from year to year, varying from 29 days to 32 days. The year 2074 started yesterday as 1st of Baishak, 2074.
For us, in Australia, this year had been great as the New Year Eve fell on Easter long weekend so it is double celebration here. I will write more about about Easter long weekend soon.
Just want to wish everyone celebrating a
Happy New Year 2074!!!
To mark the occasion, on Saturday 8th of April, “Tasting Nepal “, a food festival entirely dedicated to Nepali cuisine was organized for the first time here in Sydney.
As there was to be food and entertainment, we decided to go and enjoy the festival.
The festival featured food and culture from various parts of Nepal including Momo, Sekuwa, sel roti, chatpat, puri, jeri, samay baji and many more varieties from various restaurants in Sydney.
But the highlight of the event was a stall of Bajeko Sekuwa, one of the popular restaurant chains in Kathmandu. The chef came all the way from Nepal just to join the event and I am sure he was not disappointed as there was a long queue for the sekuwa throughout the day.
Personally for me, the highlight was the pyramid of Samay baji displayed by Guthi Australia. Check out the video and see the detail yourself.
I was surprised to know that even AS hadn’t seen such a pyramid in Nepal before. For me, it was a yearly thing that they did in the temples near us.
As the number of Nepalese are increasing in Sydney, it was no surprise that the festival was busy. We had a great time with our friends and family as well.
Wishing all of you a very Happy start of new year once again from 3 of us.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for riding along this journey with me.
I appreciate all the love and support you guys have given me throughout the year and I hope you continue to do so this year too.
nepaliaustralian 