Wednesday, August 30, 2006

doll names

Guddu:

These are your doll names - no doll goes nameless - of course, apart from a mass of balls which can only be called balls :-)

Soft toys
a. Reindeer is Rudolph
b. Plump rainbow coloured bear is Kaloo
c. Bear that nani nanu got from USA is Teddy
d. Chubby Baby Doll that nani nanu got from USA is Baby - you gave this name
e. Barbie-like Doll that nani nanu got from USA is Anupama !! (mamma is the culprit)
f. Tall ragamuffin doll Doll that nani nanu got is Candy
g. The other tall ragamuffin doll gift is Noorie (mamma again the culprit)
h. The gift dog is BowBow - you gave this name
i. Singing doll is Angelica
j. The penguin is only called Penguin
k. Two squeaky baby toys are Bebo and Booboo

You know all these by their name and even call for some of them (Moo for Noorie, Anu for Anupama, Bowbow for Bowbow, Baby for Baby) by their name

You love them all, and love beating them up also ...

More dolls to come, baby and i am sure, lots more names also ...

Pappa

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

This day, last week...

Dear Gabdu,

Last week mamma was to attend meetings at the client site. It was sudden and unplanned .. And well at the customer site mamma cud not pump as the meetings were all day long , mamma cud not leave them and moreover I am sure it wud not have been very easy to ask the client who met me for the first time for a secluded room where mamma cud pump. Well... so it finally happened...mamma has stopped pumping ... In a way it was good that it happened suddenly and in an unplanned fashion, as that way mamma did not feel too bad.. Also it expedited what was gonna happen 2 -3 mnths down the line anyways ... But somewhere mamma feels bad too for substituting the nourishing and protecting mammas milk for the cows milk ( which I am sure is best for the calf but not so sure if it can be anywhere close to mothers milk for human babies).
You have adapted beautifully and its been a relatively hassle free transition to cows milk for the 4 pm feed u usually have ( abt 5-6 oz). So to that extent u have not contributed to additional guilt around this. However , like I always feel weaning is more for the mom than for the kid .. so somewhere there is a feeling of sadness and loss for mamma ..
To transition to cows milk and to wean is a very personal decision for each mother but it is a very big and not so easy decision as such ..I mean I know for sure that mothers milk is the best ... I don't need scientific evidence and books to tell me that simply because I know that it is there in the first place for this purpose and every mammal nourishes its little ones with its own milk and its only in humans that a substitute comes up.At the same time there is a nagging fear that a mother may be making the child too dependent on her by not letting the child have an alternative source... so what happens if the milk dries up and so on .... The questions are endless and the social pressures on this count also are immense .. most people seem to think its boorish to be nursing ur child esp beyong 1st year. I plan to continue till u self wean or till 2 yrs, whichever is earlier ... So lets see how it goes ...
Anyways the upshot of this post is to tell u that mamma has hung up the pump and so u now take one substitute feed whereas the rest are still mammas duddhu :). So the nice thing abt this is no more sterlisation of pump and bottles giving mamma a good additional 15-30 mins with u and pappa . Also mamma can spend the 30 mins at work actually working instead of pumping which means the late hrs at work if any can be avoided ... so yippppeee :)
Don't ya worry ... I will get over my sadness over this by loooking at these positive things !Meanwhile I shall let ur patti have a blast at feeling less dependent on mamma and having her way in feeding u cows milk :))
luv
mamma

Monday, August 28, 2006

Milky Ways :)

Dear Duddhuobsessed,
You have learnt to say "duddhu" since the 26th Aug and you say duddhu so cutely ..sometimes uttering diddhu sometimes duddu :). And you have taken this as an opportunity to ask for it every now and then . So on Saturday and Sunday you must have been nursed at least 8-10
times ( ok may be a little less than than say 7-8 times!). Also for quite sometime now you've taken to pulling up mammas clothing in ur desperation to get to ur milk :). Hopefully with the word to communicate that , mammas vastraharans wud be minimised but the downside is that u wud just say diddhu whenever u feel like and mamma wud find it so cute and be totally disarmed with ur cute look when u say that and be ready to give u ur favorite natural pacifier that u cud get more dependent on it !
And for some reason diddhu also equates with soyi soyi .. so sleep and milk are like bundled products for u that go hand in hand
Sigh ! Just when we thot communication wud make life simpler, we realise that it wud never be that life wud get simpler .. it wud only get more complicated .. and thankfully more exciting and adventurous and wonderful with u
luv u
mamma

Saturday, August 26, 2006

play time folks

Dear gabdu:

You have begun playing big time ... you love going down and running around. Today pappa and mamma took you down, with your bat and ball. You held the bat in your hand and brandished it at all and sundry ... and even whacked mamma with it ...
You love looking at the bigger kids playing - esp. football. And when they play, you stand and shout at them.
You also love seeing the doggies and you shout at the dogs too.
And you hate coming back home after you finsih playing.

Today, pappa took you in for a bath and while you did not mind being bathed by pappa, you became hazaar upset once pappa removed his glasses and poured water over himself. You cried and looked betrayed. Even after pappa came out of the bathroom, you pointed out the action of pouring water over one's head and thulped pappa properly :-)

Nowadays, Arsh is your dream boy - you wake up saying Arsh and sleep saying Arsh. You can be silenced with the word Arsh. But when Arsh comes face to face, no reaction ... is it shyness ? (wink wink) ... Whatever it be, it is very cute ...

Love you,
Pappa

Friday, August 18, 2006

Babys Day out :)

Kuttu,
There is one thing you always love ( apart from "appur " or apple of course ;-), and that is being out and watching the world go by :) . You love being downstairs esp when there are like dozens of kiddies playing. You love the attention the grandmas and mommies or other kiddos give u and you love to "speak" to them at the the top of ur voice in Tanvispeak (copyright :) - language that you speak in). You are ready to leave mammas hands and run behind a much bigger childs cycle as u try and explain to mamma that u want to ride that one. You love the balls other kids play with ... and your ball .. well it is of least importance to u and you let the other kiddos play happily with it ...
You fall many a time but u are so excited when u are downstairs that you don't really care .. you hold mamma only to get up and then run away in the opposite direction.. we have a good tug of war .. and u cry when mamma takes u back home as if u are gonna be jailed !! You don't even seem to get hungry as such !
Its fun to watch u mingle with the other kids.. yesterday u admired a talisman "Jijju" or someone was wearing and u spoke to a "biya" on the cycle ! And not to mention the fact that u like boys more than girls ( I did not know that this happens so early on !!)
You smile at strangers knowingly and as if they are ur long lost friends ! I am sure u bring a cheer to many a dull evening of the oldies downstairs ...
Its fun to watch u become independent and deciding where u are headed on ur own but it tough too for mamma to see her little one who was once attached to her womb with an umbilical cord now heading out in the big bad world without as much as the support of a hand !! Ok thats mamma going overboard .. but it is really interesting to see how my completely dependent infant is now becoming an independent toddler
Luv
mamma

An Eye for Detail

Dear Gabdumms,
As grown ups we often lose the curiosity to explore and forget to enjoy simple things by viewing them in a different light. With you we are getting to explore the world anew and learn things afresh. You hold the caterpillar that sings the numbers and colours upside down and turn the wheels and bang the battery cover in an attempt to open it ... unlike us who try to press the shoes on the caterpillar to make it sing ... You find the objects you know even if we do not spot them .. for example you find babies even if they are in the faded background of a picture ...You say "Biya" and mommy looks like .. now where is biya beta .. there is no biya ...I ask you to pt to the biya u are talking abt and there u pt me to the corner of the newspaper where there is a child in the faded background of a picture showing something else. You spot balls even if they are say spheres forming some other design ... its amazing to see how you identify stuff and the eye for detail that you have. Its so amazing to see you do "Jai" to any God /Goddess even if mamma papa do not explicitly tell you that there is an idol there... You spot a bow bow even in a moving car and say excitedly bow bow bow bow .. and I look at u like u are crazy and then see a dog thats somewhere on the sidewalk way behind ! I let u taste cheese just once and I think you saw me take it out of the side shelf of the refrigerator just once and the next day patti told me you were asking for something from the fridge from the very same rack ! ( patti thought you were asking for honey as she did not know abt the cheese) ... Also you don't forget even if u've been told something weeks back .. I mean we think kids need repitition to learn but I think we are a little mistaken on that count...
You open and close the lid of a bottle and can go on endlessly as it is so fascinating for you to see that ... oh such joy in simple things in life that we elders take for granted ..
You were so scared of the bowbow when it started yelping ... you asked mamma to put it off .. but then few seconds later you asked mamma to put it on again ... and got scared yet again and asked her to put it out .. Its amazing to see you wanting to know what happens each time and slowly overcome ur fear ...
We watched birdie everyday to show you birdie... I mean I don't think I have noticed a bird sit and then fly away in a long time and now with you mamma gets to watch all these things long forgotten
You practice your words every night even ur sleeep and make combinations and extensions of words to hear how they sound...
You notice mammas changed earrings even if no one else notices ... mamma gets all the attention that she craves for from you ..
You give mamma her dupatta in case its lying on the bed ...
You help mamma dry the cothes ...
Well the list is endless and darling you fill up every big void and the tiniest of crevices ( or shud it be chinks) in mammas and papas life ....
Its a pleasure to see u discover and learn and grow ...
Its a self discovery for us too in some sense ...

luv
mamma

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Tough Choices

Mamma read an interesting article on overprotective parenting. We need to ensure as parents that we do not unknowingly and unwittingly hinder ur development by being overprotective and extra careful. How else would we see u walk with complete confidence? True, you would pbbly have a few falls and even hurt urself ... but that does not mean we kind of hold your hands at every step and don't allow you to walk independently right?That wud stifle ur development. We need to ensure that while we try to protect u from falls by being alert, we shud let u walk and do stuff on ur own.For example if you are working on replacing the lid of a bottle , unsuccessful though you may be couple of times, we shud not immediately get down to helping you for there is no pleasure greater than discovering things on ur own... thats the joy of learning .
In fact seeing Shriya on ur birthday party made me feel like its not merely genetics that manifests itself in the behaviour of the child but its the behaviour and attitude in parenting that shows up in the attitude of the child.Shriya was as bindaas as her mom was ... to put it simply. Her mom was not too concerned when she fell off and said "Oh well .. this happens all the time" and Shriya reflected her moms attitude by giving a damn to the fall ..
Mama and pappa need to loosen up definitely... but its so difficult to draw a line .. I mean how cautious is too cautious and how cautious is overprotective ? Who decides this? I guess this is something that is subjective but what the results are in terms of the childs learning and ability to cope with life and its vagaries will definitely vary depending on the choices ...
Thats the crux of parenting ... tough choices ... and choices that wil shape and mould the childs future .. as good or bad ..

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

stranger anxiety - 15 steps to overcome it

Guddu:

Yesterday was Independence Day - and we all stayed home. Amita aunty came home to visit you - she was seeing you for the first time ... Here is how it went:
1. You wake up and come out
2. You see aunty and she sees you
3. Three people laugh in the room, one cries aloud - no points for guessing who cried
4. Aunty tries telling hello to you from a distance - only glares from your side
5. Pappa moves guddu to the same sofa as aunty
6. Guddu continues to glare
7. Guddu sees gift - well wrapped nice item - some curiosity but lots of caution - still no overtures
8. Aunty offers the gift paper (and the gift) to guddu - no response
9. Aunty removes cellotape on one side of the gift paper - some interest from guddu
10. Demand by guddu for gift paper to be removed - demand complied
11. Gift opened - pretty set of four cars
12. Lots of interest, gist and also Aunty look interesting
13. Aunty allowed to touch guddu and show the cars
14. Aunty accepted as "aankh" and bonding starts
15. Full fledged bonding
Total time from step 1 to step 15 = 30 minutes
After that you were inseparable from Aunty and you asked for her even in your half sleep state

It was nice seeing you first scared, then cautious, then bindaas and finally enjoying ...

That is for this posting, more later ...

Pappa

Monday, August 14, 2006

Crafty Mommy

Well ... mamma is forever browsing weblogs and other web pages for the so called "craft " info to get really crafty :) The idea is to create and make stuff myself for you ..The idea is so exciting ... I mean making something with my own hands .. and not picking up stuff off baby shop shelves .. creating something unique for my daugther and not going for what is mass produced ...Well this idea is really captured my imagination ..and well to put it simply I want to gift wrap my love and present it to you daily in new forms by the way of craft. Gives mamma a chance of creating and getting to know her creative side ( if at all it exists) and also gives me great opportunity to spend quality time with you when you grow up and we do crafts together ...
Hmm .. well wanted to put down my thoughts even if the whole idea does not fructify into any useful craft and instead just ends up being hours of browsing the web and piling up every bit of waste at home with the idea to use it to create something nice out of it ... But just wanted to let u know we thought of it because as they say its the thought that matters...Papa is also into the craft thoughts so as of now we form one big happy crafty family( sounds like the fox family ;-)

The other thing mamma and papa are upto is finding innovative methods to make learning process for you fun... so well as we played "chuppana" with you yesterday, we discovered that we cud teach you the name of a new object by hiding it away from you and asking you where the object went. This would teach you the name quickly and easily without the usual pointing and asking routine that may become tedious for us if not for you ...

hmmm... well have a lots more to update you on ( your star birthday, your dolls and all the other stuff you play ) but that will have to wait for later

lots of love
mommy

Sunday, August 13, 2006

wrestlemania

Dear Guddu:

Today you wrestled with pappa, at last ...
What happened was u were sleeping with mamma on the side and didnt notice pappa on your other side. Then you woke up aroiund 4:00 and pappa saw you awake and spoke something to mamma.
But, that made you turn around and look at me - giving me a naughty and deliciously cute smile, full of impishness. Then that wa sit - no more sleep for you.
Pappa took you away to put you back to sleep, but you would only say "mamma", "pappa","bowbow", "baby" and also permutations like "mappa","pabow" etc.
So pappa and you ditched all pretence of sleep and pappa lied down and you sat on pappa's tummy. Then you beat pappa on his chest with your chotu chotu hands, and jumped up and down as if astride a horse ...
In the middle you pottied and piddled, then came back and continued the game. You enjoyed a lot. But pappa enjoyed the most - first time you came and played with pappa on your own.
Of course at 5:00 or so, you put your head on pappa's lap to sleep, but by then it was time to get ready to go out.

Pappa loved this session and wants more ...
Love you, pappa

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Standing on your own

This weekend on 5th Aug to be precise, you have started ( ok you did it twice only :) to stand on ur own, without pulling up on anything.
Also you have been walking more and more and a crawl happens only either early in the morn when you just wake up or when you are really desperate to reach something ...
You have also started to almost try to run !! When mamma does pakado pakado .. you almost break into a run
New words added
a) Eyes
b) Dahi ( almost there- dai is what you say)

And your latest obsession in food items - the running hot ( or cold eitherways:) favorite is the boiled pear :))

Also mamma has decided to let u try and feed urself more often. Mamma needs to loosen up and let you try to feed urself. Mamma tried it with great caution this weekend, by making u sit on a newspaper and feed biscuits and apples . Biscuit you managed to eat ( which you have been managing for I think close to 3 months or even more !!) but apples were eaten in more of a pretend play :)) .

What else - oh yes u almost close ur eyes when mamma asks you " aankh kaise bandh karte hain". You want to see us so you don't close them fully :))

And your answer to "Guddu kaise giri" is "Maammmm" for "Baaammm" which mamma keeps saying

Also you want to "talk" on the real phone all the time to papa

Two nights back you did "Papa japam" and "Bow bow japam" reciting papa and bowbow for abt 2-3 hrs in sleep or out of it . Papa feels thrilled I am sure but I know better when u say the two words together :))

Hmmm... so thats for the updates on what u've been upto

love
mamma

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Your birthday ...

Guddams:

Let us start from the very beginning - mamma and pappa wanted to organise a nice party - with friends (campus, college, office) ... but then mamma had a good point - we were doing that party for us and not for you. So mamma had a brainwave to get people whom you would love to play with - kiddies of your age !!!
So that was it - we decided we would invite only bachchaas in the 6 m - 18 m range + Arsh (ur, hmmm, first , hmmm, crush ... well well well). The party would be nothing but a play session at home for 1 - 2 hours with party grub for the elders and apple / marie biscuits for you and your gang.
We decided the following:
a. party at 5:00 pm, after all the guests would have woken up from their seistas, and ending by 6:30, before dark
b. the dining area (actually,drying area) would be the venue - one gadda would be put on the floor with the bedsheet containing sun, moon etc. motifs.
c. guests would have all the house ke toys at their disposal on the gadda
d. guests would be encouraged to crawl around the house and explore
e. cake in the front room - which would have all the party decor
f. kiddie and cartoon posters in our middle bedroom which is where we nowadays sleep after your gravity-challenging feats from the bed

Then we got down to the task.
Mamma made a lovely invite which read very nice - pappa, as usual, does not recollect the full text
Mamma pappa ordered a Bugs Bunny cake from Birdy's. The snacks were to come from Andheri West Mewan's.
Mamma tried making the "Happy Birthday" dangler at 12 in the night two nights before your bday - but it was so tough we packed the idea
On the night before the BDay, Mamma and Pappa hung up the decor - the Happy Birthday Danglers on the front room window and the kitchen door, the shiny balls on the walls and the curtains, face masks of Mickey, Tweety and a clown on the walls and the curtains, lots of general shiny danglers and paper festoons.
Then came the D Day - balloons were missing !!! pappa could not blow them nor could mamma, so pappa got balloons blown at the tyre repair shop. lesson for pappa: get ready blown balloons, and big ones - these were cute but very small ...
Finally at 5 pm the cake came and all was set - and in walked the first guest ...

Utsa came in first, all of 6 - 7 months. She and you fraternised very little and you went inside ... then came the next set - Shreeya and Mukund. Then the fun began.
Shreeya, Mukund and Utsa occupied the gadda and you sat at the fringe - lording over them as they were anyway younger to you.
And, of course , before pappa forgets you wore a pretty pink and white frock which Nanu nani had got from udaipur. You also wore your gold ring that they had gifted you.
Then, we had the three of them playing on the mat, and then came Vriddhi (18 months old). She was very happy playing with herself and alone with some balls and toys. She was very cute and peaceful.
Meanwhile, Shreeya had assaulted Mukund and made him cry, then she attacked you and took your clip and pulled your hair and made you cry. Mukund had to be escorted to the front room window for boosting his spirits, while mamma picked you up and calmed you down.
Arnav and Aarohi came in the last just around 5:45 or so - they hung around with one another and their mom.
Pooja and Arsh did not come by 6:00 so we got the cake cutting at 6:00 in the front room - and it was then that mamma discovered your ring was missing !! Damn painful, na ...
Anyway, the party went on - cake and snacks for the parents / grandparents / junta - the guests had mashed stewed apple, cheese cubes and marie biscuits. Then they all filed out one by one. Mamma and pappa had bought books as return gifts for the kids (except the twins who got a bucket and a book) which we handed over to them.
The kids enjoyed the party - you had an ok time ...

And then came Arsh ... He came in with his naani and maid. He first came in and saw you. Mamma had just put on some tapes and he swayed to it.
Then the fun began - you went inside and got your cycle along. And our man pushed you along in it. He pushed the buttons and played the music. He danced, he did namaste to you, then kissed you (pappa was looking helplessly !!! - kidding ...)
Then you and he had a gala time, playing with one another - you in your cycle, he standing around.
Then his naana and mom came, we all kept eating and chatting. Then around 7:45 or so, the party came to an end - they left ...

Ok, before I forget - your thathaa paati, periya paati and raju mama were there, and so was the mythili paati from chennai and karthik chaachaa from dombivili - from the family side ... At 8:30, except your paati, everyone else left ...

And we concluded the day .

I think it was a wonderful idea - pappa and mamma could have done better in terms of making it grand. But, you enjoyed yourself quite well - and did not feel pained. 100/100 to mamma for the idea !!!

The ring, by the way, was found at 6:30 itself, it was just under the gaddha.

Mamma pappa enjoyed putting up the party - and we want to do more parties like this for you. What pappa enjoyed the most was that everything was done by mamma pappa - themselves, no event managing, no outsourcing - that just made it all the more personal for us.

We love you guddu, and we will celebrate all your bdays in real style and with lots of fun for you and us

Pappa

Friday, August 04, 2006

Running between the wickets

Gabdumms ,

You are walking and marching ahead on full steam ... I mean from ur birthday u are really "into" walking so to say .. you take off voluntarily and walk till u drop literally :). You took your first steps on July 1st or so but now its like walking and walking . You pushed Arnavs cycle around for quite some distance yesterday till mamma picked you up because she felt you wud get tired.
You had such fun walking downstairs holding mamas hands .. and mama was equally excited and proud ...
You keep moving around the living room from sofa to deewan..deewan to table and back to deewan .. running between the wickets is what mamma calls it
You are now able to ask for specific food with words ! Its getting really exciting now as you are able to communicate quite a bit .. you say "Paa" when u want water .. its the short form of "Paani". You say "Appp" for "Apple". You say "Anu" for your doll Anupama and "Noo" for ur doll "Nooorie". And the favorite toy of the week is "Boww" - a electronic puppy that was ur birthday gift. You are ready to go to papa in ur middle of the night wake ups if he mentions "Bow"

You now can identify nana nanis photos, thata pattis photos and of course mama papas photos.

You even came close to saying "Offf" today for "Office" when I asked you where papa has gone ...

Your my little smartie pants ( Its no surprise of course given that u are mammas little daughter :)

Luv
Mamma

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

First Crush

Dear Gabdumms/Dabadumms,

Well .. thats how you roll ur tongue at times ...:))
Anyways so looks like your first crush is already here .. we won't know whether its really a crush or just some sisterly affection you have for Arsh till you are able to tell us abt it but we will give you the benefit of doubt and assume its your first crush :)) ( Am I giving papa the heebie-jeebies already ?;-)

Well so Arsh has visited our place coupla times ( may be like 2-3 times) before your birthday. And its always been the case that you've been trying to impress him and hit off a conversation with him while he is busy exploring ur play area and testing your toys in his mouth !!( Well ... this is the only time a girl will be behind a boy as when you guys grow up it will always be the other way round !). Also you have this special love for his mommy right from the beginning .. I mean even in the hey days of ur stranger anxiety , you wud be ready to go to Arshs mommy !Well girlie ... you sure seem to know how to get ur boy :)) .. Anyways this is what has convinced us that you are definitely behind Arsh. Also when u cud not crawl , just to impress him you rolled and rolled all over the room and reached to him, when you cud crawl and he cud stand , you even tried to stand !! And now on ur birthday again you took the support of his shoulders ( !!!) to stand ... awww !
Anyways so on ur birthday you did not find any kid as interesting as Arsh. But as soon as Arsh arrived you became quite active...and then Arsh took you around on ur new cycle and even showed a few dance movements to prove what a fine gentleman he wud be growing up to be ...Theres about a 30 min video coverage of the two of u prancing around with each other oblivious to the rest of the world


And now when patti has brought home some photographs that thatha has clicked, there is one with Arshs back showing and when mama told u its Arsh you have even started saying his name " Asssssh " . I am sure papa wud have preferred and felt better if you called it "Asss" right now ...


love
mommy