Monday 21st June

This morning we went to the FRRO (Immigration) in Gurgaon. We left home at 8.45 and were there just after 9. There were people already queueing but at least this time there were only 10 people in front of us and we didn't have to queue outside. When Penri finally got to the front of the queue, it was about 10 a.m and we found out that the forms we had filled out were the wrong ones. Penri had downloaded them off the FRRO website a few days ago and they were exactly the same questions, order and layout as the new ones but they just looked slightly different. So, Pen had to go and get the form copied four times for each of us. The photocopier was far away and Pen said it would be quicker to just handwrite all four forms each so we sat there in the office filling out all the information again. It took ages and during that time there were two power cuts! Poor DJ was strapped in the pushchair so he couldn't run away (as we were in a HUGE building) and Abi got herself so hot and bothered that she was screaming the place down. One of the guys who worked there told Penri that me and the children could go and wait in the car but I explained to him that the car was hotter than waiting in the office so we just had to wait it out. It was not a pleasant experience and I felt so bad for both the children. I know how awful and hot I felt so I could imagine how they were feeling.

We left immigration at 11.45 and headed straight home. When we got here I phoned down to the swimming pool to find out the opening times. I was told it was 6 a.m till 1 and then 5 p.m till 9 p.m so we gathered all our swimming stuff and headed to the pool. When we got there we were told it was closed (it was just after 12). They told us that they closed all day every Monday for cleaning. Why didn't they tell me that when I phoned a few minutes before?

Anyway, we came back to the apartment and both kids went for a nap. After such a long hot morning, I think they were both exhausted! Unfortunately they could only sleep for about 45 minutes as Abigail had a doctor's appointment at 3.30 so we had to leave home at 3 so I had to wake them both up.

I registered them both at the hospital and for their new patient check they had their height and weight taken. So, Dylan is 86.5 cm tall and weighs 13 kgs and Abigail is 68.2 cm tall and weighs 9.05 kgs. She is catching up with DJ lol. The reason we went to the hospital was for Abigail to have her baby vaccinations. She is a bit behind with them but yesterday she had the 5 in 1 injection plus one other one. She was an absolute star and only cried for a few minutes.

In the evening Abi had a temperature so we didn't go swimming; we just relaxed in the apartment and were in bed by 8.30 p.m.

Day Five - Friday 18th June

We all were late to bed last night so I had to wake everyone at 7.30 a.m to get ready to go to Immigration to register ourselves in India. You need to go to the Foreign Office within two weeks of being in India in order to get a Residence Permit. It is normally a long day with lots of queuing and lots of waiting around. We weren't looking forward to it but it had to be done.

We left home at 8.30 and drove to the FRRO in Delhi. We arrived at 9 a.m and Penri went to wait in the already long queue that was there (the office doesn't open till 9.30 but people get there early because of all the queuing and waiting). The first queue was outside and Penri was number 32. I had to go with the kids to get some photocopying done as we didn't have all the paperwork that we needed copied (each page had to be copied four times each (or it's not accepted). Tyagi found a photocopy shop very close by and we were back at the FRRO by 9.15. I gave all the paperwork to Penri and then took the children to the side of the queue to begin waiting. Even being outside was cooler than sitting in the car. Dylan was wearing sandals and he got all sand in them so was very upset. He started taking his shoes off and everyone in the queue was watching him and laughing. I told him to put his shoes back on and cleaned his feet with wet wipes and then put them back on him. Within minutes, he'd taken them off again. After the third time, I told Pen I was going to go and find a chair to sit on.

Right at the front of the queue there was a desk with two chairs so I sat there holding Abi and watching Dylan running in and out of the building (through the x-ray machine thing you have to walk through). When the guy came to start taking peoples details and sending them inside, he looked at me and asked for my passports. I went back down the queue and got the papers off Penri and then gave them to the man. We ended up being numbers 13 and 14. This all sounds great but then we got inside and had to join the second queue.

It was whilst in this queue that Penri asked if I photocopied the passport pages when at the copy shop. Oops! No I hadn't. I told Pen we may as well leave and go get it done, but we were next to the desk so he said we should wait and see. When he got to the front, it turned out they were being really picky about the date on Penri's job offer letter because it wasn't within the last couple of days. So, we were sent away. The good news is, we were told that there is a FRRO in Gurgaon which meant we didn't have to go back to Delhi again.

When we got home, I showered and changed both children and then was feeding Abi to put her down for her nap. While I was feeding her the telephone rang. The phone is down the hall in the living room. DJ went running down the corridor past my room. Next thing I heard was Dylan talking on the phone. This is what I heard …

“Hiya Dada”
“Dada”
“Mama eeding Abba”
“Ok Dada”
“Bye bye Dada”

Then he put the phone down. I was laughing so much! A few minutes later, the phone rang again and Dylan went and answered it again. It was Pen again ringing to ask DJ to get Mummy to the phone; he didn't do that, he just said “Bye bye Dada” and hung up. It was so funny!

Managed to get the kids to bed at a reasonable time and then I followed; I was exhausted.