Birthdays and Big Boys

Time waits for no man ... 

You only have to look at two energetic boys to know the truth in that.

As Kochunni turned 7 a few weeks back we noticed changes in our once little baby that previously escaped our attention. Two of his teeth have started to move and he is super exited about the 'Tooth Fairy' visit. He is taller and asking questions and answering questions that show his complex thought process. He was probably already taller and already asking questions but it was his birthday event that made us realize that our life with him began just 7 years ago and in this short span of time (when compared to our 30+ years in this world) he has become so intertwined that we hardly notice the little changes. Gone are the days when his "Firsts" made big news at home or on this blog, but all the same, they seem to occur ever so often.

Kunju on the other hand, is called the baby and probably will remain the baby of the house and yet he insits every time that he is now a big boy. We laugh at it, but in our hearts we know it is true. He is definitely taller than what Kochu was at his age; talking more than what Kochu did and yet has a little babyish charm that makes us forget that years are passing by.

A William Henry Davies poem that I had learned such a long time ago somehow seems to haunts me today -

...A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

The Big One

Happy Birthday, my baby.
Happy Birthday!! Happy Birthday, Kunju.


Today was a double whammy celebration at our house, with Vishu falling again on the 15th of April and our little baby turning one, and yes we had a blast.

We set up the Vishukani the previous night and also talked about it to Kochu so that when we would wake him up early morning he will not be upset. As expected, the appealing factor to him was about hearing about "vishukaineetum".

Early morning, Amma set up the diyas and woke the rest of us. After we saw the beautiful kani, I woke up Kochu and holding my hands over his eyes brought him over to see the beautiful sight. An hour later Kunju woke up and we brought him to see the beautiful array of things. He seemed to be intrigued with all the items and kept pointing out to things. He received Vishukaineetum from him Ammamma in form of a gold chain and I continued the tradition of silver coins for the boys. With all the family around, Kochu also made $30 that he been asking to buy chocolate with. (I have kept the money away telling him that we will buy soccer cleats instead, lets hope he will agree at the time of actual shopping).

Post breakfast and bath, everyone got to wear the new clothes and the ladies started to prepare the sadya. We made the usual suspects with avial, moru curry, payasam, papadam, ingi thaiyer. Since it was Kunju's birthday we also ordered a small cake at the local shop. By evening both the boys were on sugar high and Kunju seemed to be in seventh heaven having tasted most of the treats for the first time. He also received a little musical toy to which he kept dancing. In the evening we made a trip to the temple and had a good meal together as a family once more. By the end, everyone was tired and ready to hit the bed by 10.

Looking back at the day, the day was indeed is a great day. Somehow having family around and just knowing its a special day puts a smile on everyone. The big party with friends is not until next week and my party planning will be in full swing next week.

As the celebrations continue, here's to you my little one. Hope, Wish and Pray for many more wonderful days.

Happy Birthday Big Boy

As superheros becomes part of your car and truck collections, as you become a little taller, as you turn from a toddler into a BIG boy, I wish you the very best.

Kochunni still has the charms that can steal my heart, the smile that lights up his eyes, and when he knows he has been naughty that very smile turns into a giggle that puts a twinkle in his eyes. Even though he loves to play in his imaginary world he cannot be a second alone in a room and much rather play where every one else is; though if he notices one of us watching him he gets very upset. TV and videos have a grand appeal, but a good book can keep him occupied for sometime too. He is still shy among strangers, but he seems to make friends with kids at the park very easily (which I hope will come in handy next month as he goes to the new school). He is often lazy and lacking in patience (like me, says Amma). But still when the mood strikes, he is a great helper.

Kochu has taken on the role of brother with perfect ease (kala tikka). He sings to the baby and scolds his Ammamma when the baby is crying asking her to take the baby immediately to me to be fed. And even though sometimes he tries to play with him by pulling his arms or patting his nose a little roughly, there is no doubt in my mind that he loves him unconditionally.

We ended up with two birthday parties, one for family and friends at the local Pump-it up and another one at his daycare/school. Kochunni was particular about superhero cakes to order (Transformers and Iron Man) and enjoyed all the attention showered on him. He kept telling anyone who would listen that he was a 4 year old "BIG" boy. :)

Here's to you my dear 4 year old. Wish you the best Birthday today and always.

*image courtesy Google search

3 Year Old

Today is Kochunni is 3rd birthday. My little guy is no longer a baby – he is a big kid now, reaching almost up to my waist and talking a mile a minute. His eyes still sparkle when he is being mischievous or gets a big treat (read chocolate, he finally figured it out), though temper tantrums are still very much part of him. He knows his numbers and alphabets, shapes and colors. His love of cars is still intact and the collection keeps growing like a weed, that cannot be curtailed. He is a good little helper when the mood strikes, an awesome dancer and suddenly loves to sing loudly in the car like his Amma, especially to songs that rock. If the song is a bit slow, he would explain "idenu dance cheeyaan patilya" (cant dance to this song)

We got a him a Thomas Engine starter kit as his birthday present and his eyes seemed to bug out in anticipation while waiting for the set to be opened and the tracks all laid out. He still went to daycare, though we got their early with McQueen Cake and balloons. He was sitting with all his friends at the table eating their afternoon snack. As we approached he was surprised and seemed taken aback. When the teachers started asking him about his big day, he seemed totally unsure. As I walked up close, I realized that he was on the verge of tears, and the moment I stepped closer he came rubbing his tears away. Yes there were real tears, that surprised us all; not crying like he was in pain, more like tears that he couldn't stop. He kept rubbing his eyes and it seemed he wanted to hide away, but the sight of the little tears made me realize that he is still such a baby. We decided to give him a second, thinking that we probably overwhelmed him, and in a few minutes he was better as we opened the cake and we asked him to settle into a chair.

He gave his Acha a big hug and was super exited to see Lightening McQueen and Mater. With the cake underway everyone sat around the table talking. It was kind of nice to see him in his world, and spend a few minutes with all his friends and teachers instead of always rushing around. His teacher Ms. L gave him a little bag of goodies and they hugged. It filled my heart with joy, to see the apparent bond they shared.

We came home early and after checking my office emails (sorry) I sat down to play with all his new toys - Thomas, Percy, Caboose, McQueen and Mater. I called home and he talked to his Ammamma, though it was probably hard for her to understand everything he said when he is almost screaming into the phone. No he hasn't figured out phone etiquette, yet!

The big party with family and friends is not until next month when his grandparents will be here, so today was sort of a preview for the little guy. But still a cute wonderful day.

Happy Birthday, My Dearest. May all your dreams come true. And remember 3 or 30, you will always be my little treasure.

Happy B-Day DADDY!

To the dad ...

who would never forget little treats for his girl; however late he was

who would always act surprised when he finally found the girl hiding under the bed

who taught her how to ride the bike and play badminton

who always argued a case with her until another joined the fight, that they would mysteriously become best friends

who made her laugh

who wrote up a new lullaby for his grandson (still his favorite one at that)

who is and forever will be the BEST dad this girl could have ever!

Happy Birthday, Achan.

Celebrations galore

Saturday morning dawned in the K3 household with a flurry of activities. Of course, Kochunni awoke earlier than usual and was surprised to see the front hall decorated with streamers of blue and green. He pointed out the Y and A from the Happy Birthday sign, and called the streamer a W because that’s what it looked like.

The theme for the party was Mickey and friends since we just had a Disneyland visit and Kochunni really loved hanging out with Goofy. Of course, when we decided this initially we had not realized how hard it will be to find Mickey stuff … Safeway has only one Mickey cake - with Mickey and Minnie holding hands sitting on the bench – it looks more like an anniversary cake than one that can be used for a kids party! Friends suggested trying some other specialty cake shops but I was running out of time and this would be pretty expensive too. Suddenly I had a fabulous idea – how about I find some plastic Mickey and friends and use that instead of the topping. I made a trip to the local party store Diddams and all I find is that it has is a teeny-tiny section devoted to Mickey while there are aisles devoted to Thomas the train, Cars, Winnie the pooh and of course 2 aisles the Princess/Pink themes (girls have all the fun - hmph). All poor Mickey got was some cutlery, hats and a little candle. I bought the candle as a backup and went back to Safeway and ordered a Winnie the Pooh cake thinking I can substitute the Pooh to the candle. Luckily the nearest Dollar store finally came to resume where I found Mickey, Goofy and Donald all for a buck!

Now we were all set to rumble. The jumper (bouncer) arrived on time at 10 and once that was set up I quickly showered and dressed up for the party. Honey got a few more chairs from our friends house and our first guests arrived around 11.30 AM. Some great Punjabi food and a Cheese Pizza for the kids was delivered to our doorstep & by lunchtime and we were all set.

As friends trickled in, Kochunni seemed to get more clinger and moody. I wasn’t sure if it was stranger anxiety or something else. Finally of course, he said "Toh-lelah chaachi" (let me sleep on your shoulder). Ah! He wanted his afternoon nap. I was mighty surprised … usually he would not take a seconds rest if we had kids around, but I guess waking up early and the Friday activities took a toll on him. So I put him to sleep. I was a bit sad about this, because he had still not climbed the jumper nor had cut the cake. But what to do if your baby wants to sleep …

The party continued, conversations’ flowed, kids bounced on the jumper. A couple of kids took naps as well. I set up the Step ‘n Splash sprinkler for the older kids and they had a whale of time in water. Then it was time for desert with ice cream and some more jumper time.

Two hours had passed and I decided it was time to wake up Kochunni. I enlisted his best friend and chechi’s help (our friends daughter who lives nearby) to help me wake him up. I knew seeing her he probably would not throw a tantrum. And I was right, and after his usual glass of milk, we decided to cut the cake. Finally Kochunni was smiling and seemed to enjoy all the attention - the nap had worked its magic.

It was almost 4 by this time, but folks hung around, kids played some more. Poo-amma (m-i-l) and her sister set up tea for everyone and everyone relaxed in the backyard. I was finally able to persuade little Kochunni to try the bouncer while I sat on the edge of it. As expected once inside there was no coming back!

Come evening as the last of the guests left, I changed into a more comfortable churidaar and climbed aboard the jumper too. Even the oldies (mil, her sis + husband) tried their hand (leg) at jumper. All in all the party turned out to be a great time for all of us.

Of course, Kochunni’s birthday was not until Monday, but that was just a small family affair. I took the day off and played all day with the little guy – circle time singing songs, hide-an-seek, ring around the rosés. In the evening we went to the temple. One damper came in way of a light cold and cough for the little guy – I guess 2 –days of non stop partying is not such a good thing for him! :D He is much better today, though he gives an occasional cough and then demands “Amma velam” (amma water).

The party is officially now over, but with family around for another week and with a couple of “cool gifts” (yet to be opened) I am sure I can extend the joys some more ...

The party begins...

No drum rolls

No petals dropped from the skies above.

But a baby stepped up into toddlerdom, and the K3 house celebrated it with all the pomp and celebrations it deserved and more.

The celebrations started Thursday night when family arrived. Somehow the advent of family and friends really brings out a little cheer that any celebration deserves. The next morning, when Kochunni learn't that his ettan had arrived from Texas, he was too exited to do anything but go meet them all. Of course, he clung to my hip like I was going to take him to the butcher, but within minutes apprehension gave way to pure joy. The morning rituals done, he was happy to play with his “chachu” and ettan. Elephant rides; non stop singing to the tunes of Lakdi ki kathi and the nursery rhymes enthralled the visitors.

Finally around 10, I pushed honey to take the little guy to the daycare. (We had already planned for a little celebration at the daycare – so he had to go). The house suddenly quiet I turned to get some work done, while honey continued with the house cleaning and last minute shopping. During lunch hour, I set up the goodie bag for the kids at the day care and we were all set to drop by around 3. Every minute passed, looking at the clock – is it time yet I wondered. It felt like the last day in school before the summer vacations – you can’t sit still but you still have the last Math class to attend.

Finally at 3, we set everything into the back of our car and headed to daycare. Instead of going straight to the play area, we stopped at the front, waiting patiently with the teacher S to ensure that kids had woken up from their nap time. After another 10 mins we went in, looking into the 7 pairs of surprised eyes, looking for one pair that almost immediately showed confusion and happiness. Kochunni ran to me and then to his dear Achan, hugged our legs and cried "Aae-daku" (life me up). As I laid the carrot cake down, he came running to me. All the kids, still groggy eyed from their sleep sang beautifully to the “happy birthday tunes”. The cake cut, the kids couldn’t wait to get their hands on it. The kids were more than happy to get their hands on the ice-cream and goodie bag later.

All in all, it turned out well. We said our good-byes to everyone and the teacher hugged little Kochunni good bye.

We got home with a small piece of cake and remainder of the ice-cream for rest of the gang at home. The sugar rush seemed to give the little guy extra energy that I left him at home, to get some t-shirts for dear honey, whose birthday was the next day.

At the mall I decided to treat myself to a pedicure session that turned into a waiting game of – please can you finish this soon? From the looks of it, the girl doing the manicure on the lady sitting next to me started to have some sort of an argument with another girl – possibly about whose turn it was. Its amazing how even without understanding a word of what they said in an Asian language we could figure out what the argument was about.

We finally hurried home to the little guy, who still seemed to be on a sugar rush. A quick dinner and some more games later I put him to bed, hoping that tomorrow he would sleep in so we can get some of the at-home party preparations out of the way!

[To be cont ... ]

2 Year Old

Kochunni

(img courtesy Disney)

Happy Happy Day!

To the one, who has always loved me unconditionally!!!!


To the one, who has always been there for me!!!


To the one, without whom I would not be! (Sorry Achan! ;))


Happy Birthday, Amma!
Happy U, Ammamma!


Ed to add: Sorry for any confusion, folks - it was my mom's birthday, not mine yesterday. But she often visits all of you, so I am sure she is very happy with your wishes. Thanks guys ... U ALL ROCK!!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

As the post title suggest, its dad’s birthday. It sort of had slipped out of my mind until yesterday when I happened to check the date. I wondered how I could make it special for the man that I adored, the handsome guy who taught me how to ride the bike and play badminton. He was always jovial and had a mischievous smile about himself (tha I now see in Kutie). Now retired, he keeps telling me that he seems to have a lot of time, but to me he is busier than ever. Traveling all across Bangalore in his little scooter – the new found freedom seems to have done wonders! The twinkle in his eye as he dashes across the busy streets is just of pure joy of being able to do things his own way!

Kutie seems to enjoy his company now as well. And in true grandfather mode, ‘Muthu’ is always in defense of the little guy. Often to my dismay, he would burst out laughing to his little antics that most likely would be one of the ‘wrong’ things that he might be doing. But I guess its grandfather’s prerogative.

But back to making the day special for my dad, I got him one book (since he is into reading), waited from Kutie to wake up to get him to give him the present. I was thinking of going out someplace, but with no car (another story, another time) we were restricted to our walks. But it was a great day and we did have a good walk. Overall it was a great day, and since it was weekend, it was nice relaxing Saturday. And I am happy to report with another holiday tomorrow it can be an extended celebration for the big guy!

Happy Birthday Dad/Muthu. Hope it’s was a great day!

Growing Wiser?

Growing wiser or not! Don’t care – as long as I get flowers, chocolates, perfumes for my birthday. HA!


Thank you my dear friends and family for letting me know that I am loved each day!
Thank you!

Happy Birthday!

Happy First Birthday, my dear handsome son!

What a bright sunny day it is,
Glorious for you are with us.
We love you, dear son,
We wish you the very best.

Twelve months have flown by
You smiled, you cried
You laughed, you babbled
You crawled and you blew us a kiss,

Your grandparents are proud of you
And happy as can be!
They think you are a miracle,
Waiting to unfold!

Know that we will always be with you
Helping you every step of the way
We wish we can take away all your tears
And grant you all our best wishes.

We wish you all the happiness
We wish you lots of special friends
May you grow up strong,
May you have all that you wish for!

We think you are just perfect
You are our dreams, personified.
Our very own bundle of joy!
Happy First Birthday, my dearest one!

Another crab in the family!

T minus 6

YUP! We have another crab in the family !!! Honey is also a cancerian, just like Kutie. (In fact he had hopes that Kutie, might be born on his birthday.)

And today, is my honey's nakshathira birthday. It was not that big an event; but we got him a Sudoko puzzle which he greatly enjoys and made a little feast in his honor. The weekend was quite busy with last minute shopping and some house cleaning before guests arrive.

Looks like the week ahead is going to very busy with guests, party organization, school exams (Yup I back to school on the Project Management courses) and of course work!!! Wish us luck!


HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
To A Wonderful Husband and a Great DAD!

A Star Birthday

T-minus 8

Like many cultures, we follow the lunar calender for all the big events - birthdays, weddings. For birthdays, we follow nakshathira birthday or the star birthday - the star that you were born under. This generally means that you get two birthdays! One is your 'star' birthday and one the actual birthday (date of birth). The star birthday is a bit complicated because it is based on the lunar cycle and the patterns of solar system. There is no constant date of your star birthday. One year it might be a week before, next year it might days later. Either way, as a kid you get to enjoy two days of fun - and believe me thats all that matters!

Today is Kutie's Star Birthday - and it actually falls on the day he was supposed to arrive - I don't know if I should look for any *hidden* meanings - but its a nice coincidence.

Since its a big day I took PTO from work and decided to have a fun time with the little guy before all the guests start to arrive next week. I wanted to make it special family event. I was hoping to either go to the zoo if the weather was not too hot or go hang out in the pool - apart from the daily birthday oriented festivities of food, going to the temple, new clothes and of course presents!

Going out unfortunately did not materialize, but I still had a great time with Kutie. Kutie got up around 7 & after giving him a quick bath, he said his prayers (Such a cute thing - he will fold his hands and just babble something out) We opened the Lego Dump Truck that we got for him. Of course he still doesn't understand playing with the blocks, but he was quite happy with the dump truck and was pushing it everywhere around the house. I prepared a small sadya(feast), with the usual Malayalam dishes and of course payasam.

Since I had promised myself not to be sitting at the computer today, I played with him all day long. Only break was when he took his afternoon nap and I watched some TV.

It was a great relaxing on a hot summer day.

HAPPY STAR BIRTHDAY, My Dearest Son

Happy Brithday Amma

Wish you a very Happy Birthday, my dear Amma .....

Here's wishing you
A wonderful day and a year of wonderful
Possibilities.
Perfect that
You are in every way!

Being a wonderful confidante
In showing me the right way
Rooting for me all my life
Teaching me all I know
Hugs and kisses
Dear Amma
Always and forever
Your loving daughter.

By the way, with a new status of Ammamma - here's wishing you all that your heart desires.
With all our love & regards,
K3
April 6th, 2007