Happy 2010 !!

Welcmed 2010 by waching TV and enjoying Akki's new dance steps...sometimes when he is in mood all we need to say is dance and he dances wihout any music ..
And tried my hands at baking ...the cake that too eggless turned out to be OK .thought it got stuck in the tin and didn't come out properly..and 2010 looked more like 2070
But there were no complaints from both the men as they gulped on the cake ...
Akki already had licked off all the icing fom the bowl which had little leftovers ..

Hope this new year will bring lots of happiness and fullfillment to everybody ...
Happy new year 2010 !!

Daily Dose 5

Well what can I say Akshaj is still not speaking anything ..or his understanding/speaking of words is limited to 2 only ..

He is fascinated about fans/light switching them on/off so if u ask him where is fan he will point to fan and when he switches on tube light he will say 'light' ...once when I and P were talking something abut light Akshaj went and switched on the 'light'...

But sadly that's it ...it is not just that he is not talking, he is also not figuring out the words as of yet..he says mama and ba(for his grandfather) ..but there he says so randomly to know for sure if he actually means to us .He has absolutely no interest in showing us where nose ,head ,mouth is or understanding other words...

But I can't say that he does not know anything ..he is showing amazing progress and intelligence for things he is interested in(basically for his mischief) :-)

• he now knows in which drawer we keep our snacks item..If that drawer if full he can put his hand in and take out some or the other item.So if his luck is favoring him u can see him eating biscuits which nobody has given him..I even caught him happily eating uncooked maggi once ..And if the packet is closed he will bring it to us to open the packet and give it to him to eat..if we do not comply you can hear his shrieks almost immediately...same is the case when he cannot get anything out of the drawer to eat..
• He can open all containers with lid if they are not very tightly closed..and if cannot open again he will bring them to us for opening.
• He got a baby pushcart-cycle for his birthday ..he does not sits on it much..but he has devised a great use for it ..He uses it to access the things which are not reachable to him mostly over TV stand..he brings it near to TV stand and stand over it to get the thing he desires ..even if I keep the cycle a long way away then also he will push it and bring it back and stand over it.
  
• His grandpa normally works on the desktop computer which is kept in his room...so if Akshaj is playing with us in another room and his grandpa comes to talk to us, without wasting any time he goes and climbs on the chair and starts pressing keyboard..if pressing keyboard does not result in any change in screen appearance then we will start using mouse (combination of keyboard/mouse) till he gets the desired result on screen ...and don't be so foolish to think if u remove the chair u can stop him ..he can push it back and start his business again...If his grandpa is working on the system and he wants him to play with him rather then he goes and switches off the Internet connection(Our house is so supportive of our brat that all our switches are placed by builder in easy reach of him) and gives him a mischievous grin saying now what will u do!!
• When he goes for a bath he puts his tub in proper place and tries to open the tap..he does not even give mug to me he takes the water from the bucket and tries to put water on him himself...I feel really lucky if I get the mug from him.
• Same is the case with spoon ..he absolutely have to hold it himself..and he tries to eat 'daal' from the bowl with the spoon..now he can put 'daal' in spoon and take till his mouth but he still has not figures the part of how to put in mouth..and any help is most unwelcome..u just have to touch the spoon to get the most violent scream out of him..but he has figured a way around the spoon problem..he just takes the bowl and directly puts in his mouth .This all results in the most messy way of eating ..everyday we shroud in horror seeing him after he is done with his food...but in this process he easily eats one bowl of daal and one chapati so there can be no complaints .
• he just has to see what all we do in kitchen...he tries to see from close if he cannot see he even moves back a little and then tries to see !!Making food in kitchen has become a big problem as he will push us and cling to us till we hold him up and show him what we are doing ..
• he has started putting blocks also..he can atmost put 3-4 blocks now (if he has more blocks he just gets more confused ,also since he loves to throw them as well this many he gets in the end )..but the best part in this is even if he puts one block over the other he will start clapping and make that happy noise and look at all of us with a big smile and ofcourse we have to clap in return (which we are more than happy to do)...this is one of the best moment nowadays ..this makes me realise how happy parents become when their children achieve something and how important it is for parents to keep encouraging their kids and for kids to expect recognition and praise in return for the work they have done ..even a small baby of 15 months expects that recognition which we all so need in all our life..
• Since I go to office 3 days a week he happily stays with his dada-dadi..but for the days I am at home he will just be with me or his dadaji...he does not go to his dadi at all ..even if I keep him with her for 5 min to prepare his milk or go to loo he starts to cry..wonder how these oh..so innocent babies become such good blackmailers..while we are at blackmailing if you had seen these saas-bahu soaps and seen the vamp face when she hugs the herione ..she makes a that cunning smile seeing her scheme succeed...same face my little baby makes ...when Akshaj wants something.. like he wants his grandpa to take him out and he clings to him(dadaji) so much that he has to give in ..then when his dadaji is holding him in his sholder his face against him and where we can only see then that sweet baby gives the same kind of smile..saying 'see dadu had to take me in the end ..I succeeded"..
  
• He has started recogonising when we are going for work and starts becoming restless when we are about to leave ..and monday morning are tough on his grandparents since I go after a 4 day gap to office.
  

One of the most bratty things he is doing these days is he comes to kitchen breaks the basket ..and he throws all the potato-onion from the basket ..this has become his favorite pastime..


So much for his daily routine and his progress ...getting too much confused and wee bit worried about him now ...we had gone for his progress check to doc also ..she also said that his understanding should have been a little more till now ..speaking comes later..what she was saying is that whatever he is leaning till now he is doing it on his own but he should respond more to what we are saying to him..hmmm..with such a stubborn doing everything on my own kiddo wonder how that is possible ..!!

What do u do ..

when your baby boy mixes poori,sabj,raita,kheer in his plate in worst possible way and then instead of eating it himself (like he usually do)..puts that food with his tiny fingures in ur mouth ..with those very expactant eyes and most beautiful smile in the world...

You just take a deep breath and with a very reciprocating smile eat and think is the food sweet or salty ...

Only thing which kept me going was his face filled with so much happiness and achievement!!

This 'jabla' (as it is called in Hindi) I made in my stiching classes when I was in class 10th...now my baby boy is wearing it ..thanks to my mom who saved it for so many years ..and finally gave to me ..
Looks more like a frock on him though !!

Painting ??

Akshaj has been very interested in designs from the very beginning ..so I thought its time to give him some hands on in it ...

We all never thought that he will actually make something great looking but wanted him to just have some fun...so I placed the colours in a plate for him..

And this is how his some snapshots of some of his painting ..

Off course painting for him was not limited till chart paper...it soon spread to his hands legs and face

And so much of work ...he turned pensive ...and he decided to sleep over it literally ...

But after a while we was quite happy with the way things turned out to be ... and we were all in splits with Akki's this new twist in the tale

As for the final look this is how it turned out ...

And these are caught on take video's of Akki's creations ;

Daily Dose 4

Some updates due on what Akshaj is upto lately..

• He is running away with CD's and trying to put the disc in computer... he even tries to switch on the monitor by clicking the start button
• One day he was wearing a pant which was little loose and was falling down again and again ...and before I could change his pant ...when his pant went down one more time he himself picked it up and was walking holding it ...it was such a lovely sight to see him protecting his modestly ..literally
• he takes his diaper and tries to wear it himself !!
• Same is the case with shoes and socks..One day he picked his sandals brought in front of me ..put his feet in front so that I make him wear the sandals when I obliged ..he straight went to the main door and started banging to go out .
• he takes the broom and starts to sweep the floor himself..it is a big task to keep the broom away from him these days
• But the best is ..he takes 'roli' from 'puja ki thaji' and tries to put 'tilak' himself..This was a real surprize as we do not daily put tilak only in case of festivals we do it !!

Baby Einstein DVDs

Came across this newspaper article today :

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article6894458.ece

Disney is refunding money to parents in US who bought Baby Einstein DVDs with a premise to make their babies 'little Einstein' but were disappointed with the results .

What I really do not understand is why parents are so much after making their child genius and know all wizards at such a small age.

I do understand babies need a stimulating atmosphere for their better development. But with one research coming and other one rebutting its claims how much can you believe to be true and how far will you go to 'stimulate the minds' of your little ones.

Diwali post

This was Akshaj's first Diwali in Bangalore(actually mine also)...last year he was with me in my parents home...and since he takes active part in everything we do now (like if I try to clean the mandir ..he will come and sit on it) so doing diwali preparation was very exiting and challenging...

Diwali was on Saturday ...and since everyone was so occupied after running around with Akshaj it was only on Friday night I could start decorating the 'mandir'...(that too after Akki finally slept)...so I slept real late ..

But I had not even imagined in my dreams that I will be woken by sounds of crackers at 5 a.m in the morning ...I had heard that Diwali in Bangalore is celebrated in the morning times..but crackers 5 'o clock in morning and they generously continued for 3-4 hours after that ...even Akshaj woke up early and scared with so much sound ..

On the Diwali day we also make 'Devi(Godess Lakshni) '...for that we take Devi's face and attach it on tripod made by sugarcane sticks.These sugarcane sticks are held on a heavy plate(which has corners) and we keep 'kheel' and Lord Ganesha and Godesss Lakshmi silver coin .Then we decorate it further with lehanga and chunni for Devi and malas ...This work is usually done by my father-in-law...

And this is how finally the Devi's and the mandir after all the decoration...You can also see a board with red and white design below it ..normally instead of making rangoli ....You can also see a board with red and white design below it ..normally instead of making rangoli ...we use this red base called "geru" make design over it with powdered rice(rice put in water overnight and grounded next day) mixed with water.Akshaj just loved the makeover and was hoping we all vanish from that area so that he can do some hands-on on how we have done this ..

And I even made a small rangoli(first time) with color paints as I knew if I did it original way it will not last even for a minute ...And since Akshaj was super-exited with everything happening around I did it in least possible time .. And then as outside firecrackers had started ..Akshaj was busy hearing the sounds of all the bombs ..though he was very scared yet he was in balcony to hear the sounds ..so he went with dadaji for a live show outside...but in few minutes he was back crying uncontrollably ...and later when crying was over he started making so many sounds ..woof ..woof ..etc with huge face to show all of us that there were lots of noises like this happening outside ..it was a so much fun to watch him explaining what happened to make him cry so much ..

We normally do not burst any cracker on Diwali ...just bring one 'fuljhadi'(came to know its called sursurbatti here) packet ..but as this was Akshaj's first Diwali and he likes fire very much we bought all non-sound crackers like pencil,anar,fuljadhi ,chakkri..

And since we had brought them, we thought we will take Akshaj outside again....we went to terrace as nobody was bursting crackers there ..but the moment we lighted pencil again the tears started to roll off ...and to pacify for our guilt of making him cry ..we let him watch lots of songs in TV ..so that he becomes normal again...

Then we did the puja and Akshaj obviusly had to join it ...we just can't keep him away from puja area for too long anyway ..he just loves to go there ..

And this is Akshaj putting the kheel in the house ...we have to do put them in all the rooms of the house ..actually lady of the house ..who is considered as lakshmi has to do it ..but since he is the start of the house so he also did it along with me ...You can also see the 'Lakshmi paav(feet)' which we make in all the rooms and till puja...on Diwali day Godess Lakshmi is supposed to come in all the houses over these feets and supposed to fill the houses with you know what ..Lakshmi ..meaning prosperity ...

And finally some great Diwali food and our Happy Diwali over !!

Let's rock and walk (videos)

Akshaj loves to dance ...just put on some good item number and he will be swaying with the beats ..check out some of his moves..

And these are his videos from first and second day of waking ...he even started playing football on the second day of walking

Balancing with outstretched hands ...it was so much fun to watch him..

Fevicol add and rest!!

Remember the Fevicol ad when there's a small baby continuously running away and his mom in between her work picks him up and makes him sit and the baby runs away in jiffy until the fevicol box is brought in to resolve the . Oh how I wish I could have that magic fevicol !!


I need tons of it for Akshaj...not only he has become extra naughty he even has started stamping his feets on floor and hands on whatever ..he even hits sometimes...and crying comes naturally when he is stopped from doing something.


And I really do not have a clue how to make him stop ..I have tried making him understand by words...by little scolding..making serious face..but he just does not listen...


And I do understand that he is too small to comprehend things but still he is sure showing all signs of a totally stubborn child..


Doing all the mischievous things is OK ..that's what a child will do ..but stamping feet ..hitting that is is way too much..





Never thought such problems will arrive so soon!!

Walking on 2 feet!!

Finally Akshaj has started walking...since it was so long due ..it was such happiness mixed with a about time it happened kind of feeling ...

Since he had started crawling pretty early he had become a pro at it ....so he never felt like walking...he would take 1-2 steps and then will again be in all fours ...

He was at such a stage instead of walker making him walk ,he was making the walker walk !!

But thankfully at last ...he is walking ..though he tries to walk so fast that he falls more than he walks but still he has no issues with it so we are just overjoyed ...

He has finally done 2 of the 'to do ' thing from his list he is walking and he has learnt to climb up and down the bed...

Now one the major problem I am facing is weaning him completely out of bottle ...when I am at home from morning till evening I make him drink with a spoon...but at night time I am still offering him bottle (though I do clean his teeth after it)..this way he sleeps peacefully(so do we) and gets up only in the morning(so no night time feeding)...

But I am just not finding the courage to make him stop using bottle completely...sometimes when he cries for milk in his sleep and just do not know how he can drink without bottle..sigh..

Also for the days I come to office things are not in my hands...so it is a mix of bottle and spoon he is getting ..

I have tried sipper but he just does not like to drink from it and again drinking from sipper is also not considered to be good so do not want to do it anyway!!

Well he has completed his milestones for now .. but mine are still long way to go !!

Munnar Trip

We all went to Munnar towards the start of September but somehow couldn't write about the trip...

Mettur Dam enroute Munnar

Enroute to Munnar we saw thousands of beautiful windmills....and even saw the wing of windmill in a truck....that was before the wind mill and I stupidly thought that it was the wing of airplane instead ....

Then came those famous tea estates..just one look at those lush green tea gardens for as far as we could look had us all energised and all set for the trip...

But sadly it was raining so heavily when we reached to Munnar and it was sooo cold that we were all thinking it was such a mistake come at this time ..just holed up in our cottage ..but by evening we decided as we have come better we do go out and enjoy all the same...

So off we went to Munnar town to get the necessary things for the trip---umbrellas ,sweater (for his papa) and raincoat for our star boy ...

Now we were all ready and enjoyed shopping in Munnar Town ..got hold of Munnar tea,dry fruits ,spices ....had spicy Munnar Tea....

But since the rain Gods were still above us ...and roaming around nearly impossible we decided its better that we pack our bags and leave as we were doubtful if Akshaj and his grandfather will be able to bear the cold..

So we packed our bags and started back and what do you see ..sun had come up ..though it was raining but nearly as bad ...so we went to boating ...

Akshaj totally went to a pensive mood in midst of so much greenery and water...

After surviving the famous stunts of Munnar streamer drivers ...our next stop was the breathtaking views of Munnar from the Top view ...but Akshaj enjoyed the adjoining branch present there instead...

And he was so truely happy to see the hens around the top spot...

And so with the promise of 'We will be back' left Munnar with some mesmerising memories..

Daily Dose 3

Hi ..
thought of adding on to the list of my activities ..in case u people start thinking I am a lazy bum..
This time I am going to share my daily routine ...all boring work I have to do ..like ..

Morning morning brushing of teeth ..I don't even eat chocolates then also I have to brush ..but u know what when mama-papa put their finger in my mouth for proper cleaning then I bite their figures real hard..now nobody is ready to brush my teeth :-)

Then off course I eat my lunch ..see how much I love my food..

Then comes the outing time..see how innovative I am..I love to sit in pram this way ..

And I love helping mama putting up all the clothes to dry ..but since I am small sometimes I have to stand on the bucket to help her ..though its tough but still I manage to do it ...but somehow papa does not like it ..and drags me away :-((



So I help mama in a way that doesn't offend papa ...like cleaning the drawers ...

Am I the best baby or not !!

Daily Dose 2

Hello everybody ,I am back to describe how I spend my days ..I think u know by now I fell very ill in recent past ..so when I got better I had to cover up for all the lost time and had to make a fresh start ..so this is what is my best past-time these days..

I get on the table and try to switch on the TV ..and you know what if the TV is in standby mode I can turn it on...I really don't know why mama is angry with my new found wisdom ..she just hates it if I turn it on ..and as u can see I like seeing real close..but sob sob ..these days this TV is mostly off and they blame it on me for this ..on me can you believe it .. I love watching TV but still I get all the blame ...so since I cannot turn it on I move on ..so I take the mobile and dial some numbers ...I can imitate very well how everybody in the house talks on phone ...(though I never talk on phone just smile hearing voice coming out of it (another of mama's grudges with me))...then its time to listen to some music ....sadly when I turn things on they don't work I wonder why ..I even try to get in the cabinet to get some new CD's ...but sadly I can't go in there ...so I turn to good old books (this gets mama smiling a little finally)...
After so much of work finally some rest .....!!

Now with all recharged energy I move to my dada-dadi's room...since I want to perfect my work I try my skills to drawers as well...and look I have become a pro at this .I can open this drawer also and sit on it easily ...

Now it looks like I am really doing good!!

As they say you have to perform another time to be sure its not luck ..

So strange..

It feels so strange when you have spend so much time running around your little troublemaker ,wishing he would sit in some place for 5 min so that you can atleast get some reprieve ..and one fine day you see him just lying in bed unable to get up...and just clinging on to you and not going out of your lap..
Poor baby got high fever last week ....and it just broke our hearts for us to see him trying to do all the daily naughty things he does everyday.But with no strength to do that , he would just end up crying instead...And in this scary times of swine flu ..you can't just be sure ..even taking to doctor is risky ...
Thankfully now fever is all gone though leaving him much paler and with lots of cough and cold...but that is nothing for the brave wonder boy ...and he is back with a bang ... covering up for the lost time with never before stunts ...and the normal life (of him leading the way and we helplessly following him has started)...

One of the funniest thing he did the day he was able to move was to check out the whole house to see what has changed while he was sick ...and then when he was sure everything is still the same , he took out my spects(that is his favorite pastime with me) ...he had to do something to show he was well now ..isn't!!

I have been awarded by Gaelika....yipeee..my first award...how cool!!

My Birthday Party..

Hi ..I am back ..this time to describe my birthday party...

First a prelude to the birthday ..my birthday dress kept my parents very anxious .Till the last moment I resented wearing it ...mama made me wear it 1-2 times before the party with the end result like this ...

Poor mama-papa they even got me a new dress as they didn't wanted me to cry on my b'day .But mama knew if I was crying there will be some reason as normally I am never choosy while wearing anything. Then she came to know it was actually the tag on the dress which was hurting me ...and with problem solved ....and one more trial (which went just fine .)final selection was made.

So this was me all dressed up for my party :-)

..you would notice dhoti is replaced by payjama as even by modifying it ..as it was sooooo long that it would fit me when I am 3-4 years.

Mama made the 'happy birthday poster' and mama-papa-dadu did all the decorations themselves.

They also got a collage made with all my first year activities

And then while the guests were trickling in and some of them left waiting I thought I would take the matters in my hand .And with some nice foot tapping music number playing and with me in good mood I danced to entertain the arriving guests...well the party was for me..so I had to make sure I get all the attention...and entertain the guests as well

I got little to possesive about a gift and started to carry it along with me..frankly I would have carried all but mama didn't let me have them ..I guess she was J

But then ,because of the all day drama and running around with no sleep made me tired and I started to feel sleepy... but how I could have slept without cutting my cake ...so I somehow managed to wake up till then...
Finally cake cutting ..'Happy Birthday to me ..Happy Birthday to me'

ohhh...I got so tired that I took a quick nap...but I had to eat the cake ..lets see what all the fuss is about ... the proceedings did continue with the game (which was so much fun)...and dinner but for me I nicely slept off ...good babies do not wake up too late in night na ..
P.S :Special thanks to M auntie for being the official photographer for the evening.

Naming Ceremon +Birthday Greeting--for archiving

Naming Ceremony:

We had Akshaj's naming ceremony little late as we wanted to be sure that he will be able to sit through it ...and then there was so much confusion on the appropriate day to do it ..but finally we did manage to it and it went off just fine with Akshaj sleeping all though the post ceremony party (which was on next day)

Birthday:

What to say ..still can't believe he is one ..

Hello Akki

Hello my baby,
Thanks for being there and filling our life with joy and happiness in a way only you could have done.Making our already imperfect life totally unmanageable yet so totally fun and complete.

With love,
Mama

Crossed the '1' milestone !!

Well..well ..well...keep adding one day and 365 days over and my little frail baby with all tubes over his body becomes a vibrant full of life toddler...
The first thing which I remember while writing this post is my baby's face when he was born ...at that time I thought how can such a beautiful baby be mine ...he was just perfect ...and then he was taken to ICU and I still regret why I didn't take snap of him at that time ...since after that for next 13 days I could only see him with tubes over his body ...and under bright light(put because of jaundice)...but he was there sleeping peacefully unaware of the things going around him..

And this has been how he has been thought this one year always smiling ...I cannot say he troubled me anytime ..nor he gave me any chance for to tell stories of long sleepless nights(except maybe for starting 1 month)...he has only 2 enemies --cold and lots of gas in his stomach ..but still he would keep on smiling even through his worst enemies -- cold and gasthem ...he would cry for just 5-10 minutes and then he would be himself again...I would fear will this phase be over and he would become fussy like the horror stories I have heard but no...as days passed he become more and more playful ...now he is just a personification of naughtiness ..there is not one minute he can sit still..

Working for last 4 years it was my dream to take as long a leave possible when my baby would be born...so for full 9 months(yes the positive side of him arriving early was that I didn't even waste 1 day of my leave ) ...after my delivery I was with him 24X7...and with papa at office we had a great time together ....those were the best 9 months ...then as time to join back office came there were all those worries will he be comfortable without me around ...will he cry ...but he took to my in-laws very comfortably ...so much that he has become a 'poonch' of his dadaji as I put it ..following him anywhere he goes ...he even prefers sitting in front of bathroom for 1 hour if he has gone there over anything else...

He got one step further in keeping us at ease as he goes with anybody ...he doesn't have any stranger anxiety ..he just needs 5 minutes and then he wants all the attention of the guest who have come ..it can be ever "ironwale","maid","delivery boy" ..it doesn't matter ..all are his friends

For rest of the progress I don't know if I should be happy or sad ...since whatever he does he will never do if I ask him ..and will learn nothing from me ...looks like I cannot make him do anything(if this trend continues I am sure I will have lots to worry about )....but then he has learned a few things ....though learning is not in his agenda...

most of the things he has learnt all by himself when he wanted to ...like clapping ..off course he will not clap if we ask him..but if he likes something he will clap....he can dance also by moving his bums up and down ....and can stand if put to standing position ...just sing one item number with lots of beat in it ..he has learnt to open the door and run out ..to hold anybody's clothes the moment they get dressed to go out ...he has started making sounds like gundaas ..."aey"..and he has become expect on a child's best weapon... crying which he does uncontrollably if he doesn't get anything like mama's spects ..mobiles ...cameras etc...he even cries if he doesn't get the amount of attention he wants from anybody...OMG ...there I have started cribbing about his bad habits when I thought one year post to be all goody goody ..

I can go on and on ...but all I want to say is ...

This past one year has just come and gone ...and changed our lives in profound way...it has helped us to stop and notice the small things with him...seeing how a baby evolves and sees the world around him,understands it ,with each day a new discovery and a life giving new colours and meaning to daily cacophony
And we all just love this precious gift we got !!

I year 1 day old ...first activity

Yes finally ,my boy wonder is no longer a baby ...which he never thought of himself anyway...Will update on the happening on the special day after some time..but this is the first things he did after turning mature(so to say)...

He opened a jar of pickle takes out the spoon and happily ate it ....that too from below the dining table so that nobody can find him....all this in just 4-5 min we were all away from him.What is so surprising in it he loves to make things fall ..but in this case he nicely opened the jar and was calmly licking the pickle !!

This is one photo of caught in the act (couldn't take better one as was scared of pickle stains over my chair)

khata khula ..

Finally ..Akshaj got his first teeth ...and if u look closely in the photo u will be able to see it as well..