Tidbits

Kunju started to go to Kochunni's old daycare this past week. In preparation, the weekend before I was asking him his name in English to ensure he will not have any trouble at school. Without battling an eye, he responds "Kunju and Baby". Yes of course, he is the baby of the household and we often refer to him as that and apparently he has taken it to heart!


A few months ago Kochu was inspired to write some poems, it started out as wanting to rhyme and then realizing that he was able to write a few lines he was not only impressed but also super exited to send the poems off to his aunt who is pretty good at these kind of stuff. Yesterday evening he came up with another one that I thought was rather cute --

Trick or treat, trick or treat

Give me something sweet to eat

Cookies, chocolates, jelly beans

Happy, happy Halloween

Trick or treat, trick or treat

I can sing and dance to beat

That’s the trick to make you smile
Happy, happy Halloween

I have no idea why Halloween was the chosen theme of the day, but as long as he is trying something new, I guess it doesn't matter.

The Gentleman's Game

I am a definite lover of sports, and cricket like many Indians is one of my favorites - to watch, to cheer and to cry. Though I haven't followed it closely for many years now especially after moving to US, I still get connected when there is a big event like the World Cup. That is to say to some extent.

When they make Sachin Tendular into a modern day God and idolize him I find the whole matter dis-respectful to my faith and ridiculous to say the least. I understand that he is a good, ok maybe a great player, but thats it. He does what anyone else does on a daily basis. Be good at our chosen profession. Dumb luck that some of our professions is not so colorful as one might have hoped for and we don't get the same mass following that he does. But everything else is the same. Of course he can be an inspiration to the team, but what else would you expect of a seasoned player, or a VP of a company? Good folks in turn lead the rest and continue to do so in all walks of life.

Now the game, I love it. I can watch a good match and sit at the edge of the seat cheering our team. But I don't get completely sucked into it either and I don't want to. To those who have superstitions on what color of shirt to wear to a match to which God to ask favor on, I say it doesn't matter at the end of the day. Only the best team (yes TEAM) wins. Take our final match for example, at the beginning it looked like Sri Lanka would be all out for something like 150 but they came back and gave us a score that would give any team some fear. Then when we started our wickets fell like ripe apples. Even now I recall the face of a lady on the stands as they announced that Sachin was out - her mouth wide open, the shock and almost fear of us losing was well written in her eyes. But then Ghambir stayed on and turned the pace somewhat into our favor. Yet up until the last few balls, it was a tight race on who will become champions.

But post the win, we are back at being ridiculous and seemed to have crossed the lines of jubilation! One can offer an incentive to win, to do well on a job but only so much. If the BCCI has already offered 10M per player, you don't need states offering up their states player additional money or offer land for each of the players. This is all excluding their pockets over-flowing from endorsements they do. To be fair, since companies are answerable to their shareholders so at least they are likely to ensure the player continue to endorse the products. But states spending so much money without a care in the world for its people seems outright unfair.

I still will stand-by the good game of cricket, but will not stand by for this. But for the time being I am proud of these boys, they delivered. What a victory!!! I don't remember the last World Cup win, but this one will be etched in memory. Hats off to you Team India. Good work!


* pics courtesy Google pics

Kunju's affairs

Kunju has been keeping a pretty low profile on the blog, though that is not the case at home. He is a very vibrant kid, though being in awe of his big brother he seems much more laid back.

It's now 9+ months since he joined us and as Kochu's euphoria has died down he can't seem to wait for Kunju to join the fun. He still wants to help though he wants to keep touching the baby much more. But Kunju's personality sometimes shines through as he starts to yell when his big brother keeps tugging his arm. Of course, the moment I separate the two and big brother walks away in a huff, the little cheek follows him leaving me wide eyed!!! The bond of brothers and all that ... I guess. But I am getting ahead of myself. Since last year turned out to be very less time on bogging and the poor fella did not seem to get a fair share, I decided to pen all my memories of the last 4 months down.

After his Choroonu Kunju started on rice cereal and post 6-month checkup gone on to some carrots, avocados, peas and bananas. He eats them with relish though seems to show what he doesn't like just as easily. His motor skills are much advanced especially when we compare him to his brother as he already starting to stand up and even taking a few steps along the sofa. Its probably the fact that there is an older child in the house that makes him want to explore faster.

He loves to babble and a few words shine through like the constant "Amma" or "yee-tha" for ettan (older brother). Sometimes when we spend hours talking about his nose or book, he seems to repeat it back to us. He loves listening to my bad singing with an all knowing smile that makes me want to cuddle him some more. If we play one of the jazzy Bollywood song he starts to shake his butt to the tune and sometimes come running to me expecting me to hold him and dance. A true music lover!

He pretends to know more about the TV remote than we do and expects every time he picks it up; the TV will turn on automatically turning his head constantly towards it. Of course with an older brother at home it is much harder for us to keep the TV out of his life, though we have managed it to some extent.

Sometimes on weekends, he seems to forget that everyone is home and every time he sees a new person he acts surprised and runs to them like he missed them for ever. It works like a charm on the people, enough for us to pick him up and now carry him around everywhere.

The two boys are truly an entertaining pair and in some ways I can't wait to see them grow up together - playing, fighting, loving each other and at the same time I want it to go real slow - for me to cherish the baby-ness of my little one.

Transitions

It's my last week of leave. As usual, 3 months flew by quickly and it feels like there was not enough time to spend with the baby.

My heart very openly desires more time, so much so that I secretly wish for some sort of a lottery ticket that would help us financially just enough that I could maybe work part time or not at all for a few extra months. On the other hand, I have to be thankful for many things that is definitely going to help me go back to work with peace of mind. My parents have extended their stay till end of year, which means Kunju can stay at home with them, my boss has agreed to let me work from home couple of hours each day which is a huge relief. It hopefully reduces the number of bottle feedings and in turn pumping and storing issues of breast milk.

Unfortunately, Kunju is yet to learn the fine art of bottle feeding. The blame lies on me, as I started the transition training just couple of days ago. Though we had been warned by his pediatrician to start training at least 2-3 weeks in advance, I did not want to give up the special time with him. It is peculiar how the heart and mind wants to extend the ties when you know time is limited. Where I on one hand waited until the last week of leave to start the training, a stay at home mom has bottle trained her baby at 2 months of age.

As another ball gets added into my role of juggler, I am thankful for having such wonderful parents who are ready to help us out and sad to know that some of time will be divided at work. It also makes me realize that the little stay-cation that was the last few months - random mid-week picnics, late night movies, day trips around the Bay area, shopping and spending tons of time with the family - was indeed the best vacation ever!

The ties of brotherhood ....

Before Kunju was born I wrote a post about changing family dynamics, about foreseeable fights between siblings. Of course family dynamics have changed - there is a toddler and a baby in the house, which means their needs, their choices are vastly different from each other. But for now the the famous siblings fights are far away. (kala tikka)

Kochu loves his brother - his baby. He helps me when its time for a diaper change, by setting up the table with a new diaper, wipes and butt rash creams. If the baby is crying he tries to sing to the baby and then like a boy that he is, and then runs away cringing his nose if the baby has pooped, yelling YUCK!

Sometimes he talks to the baby, telling him about his day at the daycare and gives strict instructions on not trying to suck his hand and to be a "good" baby. The baby for his part listens avidly and sometimes even responds with a 'ooh' or a 'ah', which in turn makes Kochu super excited. When the baby is lying down with his face away from him, Kochunni insists on one of us turning his head around to ensure that he can always see him.

Yesterday evening one such thing happened that makes this whole parenting gig a wonderful expedition. Being memorial day weekend, we made a trip to Lake Berryessa and Sacramento. We got home quite late in the evening and it seemed like the baby had a temperature. So when we got home, the first thing I did was to check his temp. Now being poked with the little thermometer was not something he liked and he started to cry almost immediately. Kochunni on the other hand ran to his toy chest and picked out his cars and started to play, while rest of the family was getting things from the car and quickly freshening up. After I checked the temperature, I tried to soothe the little guy but nothing was really working. He would stop crying for a bit and then cry again when I would put him down.

After a couple of tries, I put him down and went to get some water in the kitchen. Suddenly I heard the wail again, and I tried to talk to the baby from the kitchen, without going to him and continuing to check the fridge to figure out dinner. A second latter I hear Kochunni talking to the little guy " Endena kariyune? (Why are you crying?) Thermometer eshtaalla? (Don't like the thermometer?) Pani endo nokande. (Have to check fever, right). I put my head out of the kitchen to find Kochunni with his face very close to the baby, while the baby looking into his brothers eyes, as if seeing him for the first time, cries long forgotten.

Of course, Kochu has seen us talking to the baby, of course he himself has done the same thing many times before, but the simple gesture of stopping his own game and doing something without being asked or even told to quieten his little brother's cries was without doubt his own intrinsic nature - the unseen ties of brotherhood taking effect!

Little bundle of joy!

Happy Vishu!

New year came with a bang in our house with the arrival of little baby boy. Unlike Kochunni who was late and kept us waiting for weeks on end, this guy ended up being early. At 6 lbs and 3 oz, 20 inches long he is our little Vishukaineetum, being born on April 15th.

This wonderful tax-deduction was pleasantly welcomed by Kochunni. He has become my little helper - helping me during diaper changes and feeding times. The little guy for his part does his part well - sleeping, crying, eating. Of course, tiredness, sleeplessness is part of the package. But with a great family to help out its been a crazy, wonderful, busy first week.

Random (cheesy) updates! :)

Finally my genes seeping through ...


A voracious reader in the making - lounging on the chair, covered in my favorite blanket lost in the world of words (so what, if he is just looking at pictures - its the pose that matters!)













I was in for a surprise on Thursday as I picked up my voice mail at my office phone. The receptionist informed me that I had some flowers that I could pick up, and believe me that was out of the blue, so I listened to the message again. As I went down to get the flowers my colleagues teased me about it and I blushed like a new bride. Yes indeed there were flowers waiting for me - a beautiful bouquet of red roses and daisies from my husband and he was thoughtful enough to add Kochunni's and baby's name as well to the card.

Thank you, my dear. This just made my day! X0X0!



Happy Valentine's Day!

The stick figures

As I read UTBT's post a few days ago about the stages of growth in a kids speech, art, music – their development; I lamented about Kochunni still in the scribbles phase. Of course he was coloring (inside the lines even, mostly) on the coloring sheets he was given, but drawing on his own was still scribbles – just lines going all over the white board or paper. He would claim it was the fish, the lion or whatever his fancy was at that moment, and I would agree that it was nice. Sometimes he would ask me to draw and I would draw a car, the sun, the jeep, or even the birds for him, hoping eventually he will get the hang of things. Today that milestone happened.

Kochunni was at home today, and since I was working I asked him about going out for a walk – maybe ride the bike to spend some time and energy. It was sunny but still cold, so I bundled him up. But then Ammamma (grandma) and Muthu (grandpa) were not ready yet. So I asked him to wait for them. As he walked by the white board, he picked up the red colored pen lying on the shelf and started to draw. First a circle and then two lines out and then two dots. He turned around and claimed it was Achan (daddy). Mom and I had a wide grin as we realized he just scribbled his first stick figure. So we encouraged him. He went on to draw himself and then went back to draw some “meesha” (mustache) for his dad. When I asked him where I am, he set out to draw me – and, this is a big thing, he drew the baby inside me. Now of course, some of our hands might be coming out of the head and there are just two strands of hair everyone is sprouting, and I seem to have a blob of hair on top of my head – but eh the family picture is drawn. Here it is, right to left - Achan (daddy), himself and then me with the baby.



After he came back from his walk he wanted to draw again, so after I took a snap he cleaned the white board. This time around instead of the family came the crow eating lunch on a tree, with water flowing beneath for the crow to have a drink after lunch. The drawing is still present on the white board with strict instructions to all of us to not erase it – not even when he is sleeping. He wants this to be a surprise for daddy when he comes home from work. For now, he is back to playing with his toy trains but I wanted to record his first works of art for posterity sake.


I guess I should have been patient, but that is an area that I still need to develop - we parents are always in a rush. I think back to Kochunni's first year and how many of his milestones just seemed to happen when the time was right and this time again he did it. I am not sure if this was a coincidence or some superior power working His magic, in some ways telling me not to rush things but let them be, to provide the space for the little one to grow and grow-up he shall and when I look back to this day - it would all seemed to have gone through all too very quickly!

Vidyarambham

Today was Kochunni's Vidyarambham - the initiation into learning and writing in front of the Lord. This was one of the main reasons for our journey. We reached Kollur yesterday evening after a long car ride from Bangalore.

As the sun rose we quickly got ready for the big event. Luckily Kochunni was showing little signs of tiredness and we hoped that he will be a happy fella during the puja activities at 7AM. After bath, we quickly headed out to Goddess Mookambika temple a few minutes away from our hotel.

Luckily there was not much crowd and one of the priests was getting ready to do the ceremony for two girls when we arrived. He asked us to join them and we sat down inside the Sarswati Madapam. Kochuuni sat on his father's lap and myself next to them. He followed all the instructions that the priest gave with a curious look in his eyes. After prayers he wrote down 'Om Hari Shree Ganpathaya Namaha' in rice and that initiated him to his new learning's. The priest also used a gold ring to write the same on Kochuuni's tongue, represting Goddess Saraswati being with him through/for speech.

The event went off well and then we visited the temple and seeked Goddess blessings. After leaving the temple we stepped outside to see an elephant. Kochunni gave a 'laddooo' to the elephant and in return the elephant raised its trunk to Kochunni as if blessing him. Kochunni liked to feed the elephant but when the elephant turned to bless him he cried a little and tried to turn away. Few minutes latter though he kept re-telling the story of the elephant give him a blessing.We bought Kochuuni a 'chenda' (drum) that was an instant hit with him as he kept trying to play a tune and do a little dance walking down the street, amusing many folks.

Soon it was time for breakfast, re-packing and heading out to Kerala - our next stop.

My Amma

Finally after 2 and 1/2 long years I hear these words – “MY” amma - spoken today morning with every ounce of emotion that a 3 feet, 2 year old can muster – a possessive, matter-of-fact sound that’s usually reserved for his toy cars and fire trucks he plays with.

A little mommy’s heart no doubt is joyous and ecstatic. Be back after my feet touches the ground, ta-ta! :D

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Ed to add: Kochunni calls me amma for a long time now, it was one of his first words but the change today was the very possessive “my”. That is usually reserved for his toys and bob the builder videos, today it was Me! That totally made the day!