Different but same same

I had always known that the boys will have their own personalities, same likes and lots of in-between. But it is interesting to see how similarly different they are at times and how differently similar they are at times.

On the one end is the sameness, both want to be first to get into the car, to get off from the car, to run to the bath or whatever else it might be. They love to dance and sing to bollywood dance numbers from Chamak Challo to Bol Bachchan.  Boys will be boys and their fascination with 'poop' and singing nonsense is uncannily similar that it is often hard to disearn who started it this time.



In the middle of the spectrum is the imitation/flattery angle. Here is the little one trying to imitate his big brother on the bike. At 2 he already mastered the little bike. Kunju wants to do, and learn anything the older one does. At the playground, he has no fear of the big slides or monkey bars and if we try to slow him down, he looks at us like we must be out of our minds to even suggest it!

Where Kochunni was all into cars from the time he was 6-7 month old and collected so many cars, Kunju was never very fond of them. Of course since he grew up around the said cars that he probably was not in awe of any of them.It's the same with everything be it food or toys. Older one wants chappati, little one wants rice, though both like to munch off Amma's plate whatever that might be!

I am sure as they grow they are going to be poles apart and yet I hope that the bonds they share today will help them stay close and in contact forever.

Titbits from the toddler

- Kochunni pastime these days is to drop the P words at any opportunity he gets. His fascination with the words might seem uncharacteristic to most, but a few moms seem to relate. Like my cousin whose kid loved to make 'fart' sounds at the most (in)appropriate moments. Kochunni hasn't figured that out yet but he loves to sing nursery rhymes, film songs etc to the tune but with the words substituted to that of poop and pee. It is often funny to listen to the 'special words', but my worst fear currently is that Kunju's first words would be "appi/muthram" (poop/pee).


- We visited our friends house some weeks ago and as we were leaving the adults were having some last minute conversation. I strapped the boys in the car seat and joined the conversation. About a minute later my friend walked over to the car and started to talk to Kochunni. Couple of minutes later, I hear cries from him. As I walked back to the car thinking he was probably bored sitting inside, my friend tells me the real reason he was upset. Apparently, she told him let Grandma stay with me and he answered "But grandma cooks for me, she has to come with me" He knows everyone's role so well. Of course I step into the kitchen only to pass through it.

The new school

Kochu went to the BIG school today!!!!

His time at the local Montessori daycare/school ended a month or so ago. He did not realize the significance of it on that day. Though his teachers gave him a hug and we talked about coming back to visit etc he just gave the widest smile and said the usual byes not realizing that it was an end of chapter. I was a sad - we were saying goodbye to the school that helped him with potty trainings and taught him to read his first words. His teachers have had a positive influence on him. Of course in a couple of years he would forget them but for posterity sake ....

Ms. Lupe was a teacher, who always had a grandma like attitude to things - smiling, all forgiving, handing out gifts for the smallest of small things to big events like birthdays and everything in between. She made sure the kids played well was and truly was a great first teacher for the little ones. She helped ease the pain of parting for us and especially potty training.

Ms. S was his next teacher who helped him acquire reading and math skills - addition and subtraction, writing down his name, and reading skills. She helped with his social skills as he learned to speak English at school & nurtured him in to a social kid, helping him make many good friends - Elijah, Nathaniel, Derek, Anya along the way.

After a month off, Kochu started his Pre-K at the big school today. Kochu is still a baby to us and in this school alongside the 8th Grade kids he seems totally out of place, and yet we are all exited about going to the new school.

We prepared him as much as possible as we shopped for lunch bags and clothes. I even took him to meet his new teacher Ms. V at orientation. When I told him his new class will have 23 other kids whom by next year would be his friends that he could invite for his birthday party he was thrilled. Today morning, Kochu was ready, he did not cry or show any concerns as I helped him get ready in the morning.

The bigger challenger now will be adhering to the new rule of going to bed at 8.30 PM and getting ready by 8.00 AM in the mornings!! Go ahead, if anyone still reads this space, give me some tips on quick-n-easy lunch box ideas and how to get a toddler ready quickly without growing any more gray hair in the process ....

*Image courtesy Google search

Indoor activities

Winter days are a challenge when you have a toddler at home. Over time though 'we' have up with some little ideas to spend a few hours of fun together. I say 'we' because some of these are things that Kochunni has helped carve along the way.

• Role Playing – Kochunni becomes the teacher, while we become his students. Of course it’s a good way to get Kochunni to talk about his activities at school and listen to him sing new songs. A win-win situation for everyone. Sometimes another good game is to play with the doctor set. Kochunni usually recalls all the process from the last doctor visit even asking us to breathe in & out as he checks us out with his stethoscope.


• Little Helper – Some days when Kochunni is in a good mood he turns out be really good helper. We make him sit on the platform and I let him wash the vegetables or the rice. When we make some chappati he sits on the other end dishing out instructions on how big and fluffy it will and should get. Sometimes he plays with the dough and even ends up making a small chappati for himself


• Riding the bike – This is something my mom came up with - when the days are rather cold, we park the cars outside and let Kochunni ride the bike in the garage – he runs in circles and sometimes makes his Ammamma (grandma) run after him. Though heaven forbid she should ever catch him!


• Scavenger hunt – Another hit at the house is the box of scavenger hunt cards that I bought as a return gift for Kochunni’s first year party and I had one left over. When I opened it when he was still 2 and ½ all he wanted was to play (read bend) the cards so I had to put them away. But recently it has become a fun activity. Some of the items are so easy to understand that he doesn’t need my help to pick a red colored object or a shoe, while others I just need to read the card out to him. He is also the judge of what rest of the family picks out and though I try to sway his opinion in the right direction he often has the final word on who got all the correct items.


• Misc - Music masti is also a fun way to get the little guy to shake his butt. Sometimes making him tell a story is a great way to see how his mind works. Another easy activity is painting especially finger painting or stamping.
  

With all of these one thing that stands out is the fact that Kochunni gets distracted very easily. Within a few minutes of the game (max about 15 minutes) he decides he is done with the game even if we are only through the middle of it. I do hope this attitude changes in due course. This is another reason that most common games like Memory or Candy Land only last through one game, and that too after weeks of inactivity.

So what about you guys - how do you get your toddler to have fun during sometimes deary days of winter?

Hooked on [blank]

And so it begins … the hooked on (blank) phase!

Two weeks ago we came home with at least 6 toddler books from the library, ranging from colors, trucks, level 1 reading (no he can’t read yet). There was one about Dora and oh boy did he get stuck on that one like a leach. Of course it was about how Dora and Boots worked together to help the ice cream truck that was stuck, which probably fascinated him; but for us it was a torture reading and re-reading the same thing over and over again.

Then there are the shows, it has to be Curious George in the morning (now this one I can at least stand), and evenings dedicated to Bob the builder (no can’t stand the “Yes we can” mantra anymore). I used to think I had a record for watching the same movie 4-5 times, but this little guy has beaten me to the punch. He probably knows the whole 30 minute dialogue like the back of his hand, but he doesn’t get bored … or maybe just maybe he knows it will drive me crazy! Argh!

Kochunni Speak!

Every month, every year passes by and each time I think this is truly the best time to be around this wonderful kid. It was a great ride when Kochunni was still a baby and would gurgle at our antics of peek-a-boo, it was fun zoo at the house when he started to crawl and nothing was off limits, it was beautiful when he christened every member of the family from Muthu to grandpa in his own sweet way and its beautiful today when he talks mile a minute.

One of the best part of the Europe trip was actually spending time with him – when usually all we get are weekend which are cramped with birthdays, house work and a million other things. The trip was total unadulterated time with him and his lively conversation. He talked about the cars, made up stories and best of all gave us directions. Yes! I said directions. It was rather sweet to. He watched us looking constantly at the map trying to determine the way and one day took the map from us and started to peer closely into it and then pointed to the road and explain rather matter of fact way “This way you can see the giraffe, That way you can go and see the elephant.” When we told him that we need to go the way he showed us to see the elephant – he of course wanted to see the giraffe first.

Then there was the time when we bought him a European Volkswagen toy bus – he was super exited and wanted to call home to his Ammamma immediately to let her know that he now has a bigger car than her little brown jeep (a toy that he has given to her when they both play together).

It is super cute (biased opinion, I know) to hear him converse in Malayalam with us and English to his toys. He pretends sometimes to the teacher explaining something to his toys, while at other time he holds up two cars in each hand and pretends that they are having a conversation – usually one is the good car, while the other the bad car that pushes the good car out of the way. The moment we look up at him, he shy’s away sometimes even holding his hand up to his eyes, like the cat who believes no one can see because her own eyes are closed.

So far having family around has helped keep the mother tongue plus other Indian languages alive at home which in turn amazes me. I am not sure how long it will continue but I guess exposure to various cultures, traditions and languages helps his understanding of the uniqueness in each and every human being around us.

The trip to the park

A long time ago, a girl her father and mother would take the bus to go up about 2 miles to reach a little park in the middle of the town. It wasn't huge, rather small that had little trails weaving in an out of grassy patches. All around the park were tall buildings, and the park seemed a little oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle.

Often the father would buy a small pack of roasted peanuts from the street vendor right outside the park and munch on them as the little girl played around. After some time, the family would head back home, walking most of the way home. It would be nice weather the heat having settled down. The parents would talk about pressing matters that were far beyond the little girl. But she enjoyed the walks, sometimes the father buying a little treat - ice cream, bhel puri, ganne ka juice, towards the end of the journey.

This is what a park reminds me of ... the long walks home, the little treats, the window shopping. As I grew up and the traffic in town build its way up, we had to find newer less traveled routes. And within months, those routes would in turn have "developed" into multi-lane roads with cars honking while stuck in a traffic jam, as if honking loudly would magically clear the road.

Unfortunately Mumbai doesn't boast of many parks, we had grounds to play in ... just empty fields that kids captured with their imagination and played cricket, football and catch (wonder if that is fast disappearing as well). But that is the memory of parks that I hold very close to heart.

Today as I take Kochunni to nearby parks, there are no street vendors nearby (sometimes a ice cream truck), just designated playgrounds by age groups and vast open grounds with wonderful trails. We meet new folks, exchange pleasantries, the kids play together for a while, and we come back home. A new memory is being formed, a memory vastly different, but who says they have to be the same. Its still a sweet memory of the good times, a memory that one day is (hopefully) close to Kochunni's heart.

On a hot summer day

Pull out a big tub,
fill it with some water,
get the water toys .... AND ....
let the kid splash up some joy!

TV Land

For a while now, Kochunni prefers to eat his lunch/dinner in front of the idiot box watching his cartoons and songs. It’s the daily ritual and seems like the food wont travel down his throat if the TV isn’t on, though our recent India trip dispelled this myth, making me want to clear the clutter on the dinner table and use that for a family meal. Of course easier said than done , with too many things going against it.
One, the dining table is very near our entry point into the house, which means the stack of letters (read spam), bags and everything else virtually are always placed there until the next morning when needed again.
Two, family meals is a thing of past as Kochunni (presumably) needing to go to bed early has to have his dinner by 7, at which time (on most days) husband is not home. Then having just two people sit at this large table seems too elaborate an effort.
And so the TV saga continues, though to be fair, I too love watching my shows eating my dinner (the Gen Y effect)

Now for some of his favorite show reviews
Curious George – A monkey living in the big city with his man-friend in yellow hat, a perfect foil for a toddler learning new things, curious at figuring out the ways of the world. George doesn’t really speak but just makes sounds Ah! and the OOO’s, while the background commentator helps move the story forward. A nice blend of learning and fun makes it very entertaining even for adults

Sagwa – The Chinese Sesame Cat and Clifford – The Puppy Days - These two shows are in some ways similar and yet different. Both show talking animals and their owners, living in harmony. Though the owners don't realize that these pets can talk and only hear their barks or meows they seem to understand them well. Often the stories are split between the adventure of the kitten/puppy vs the adventure of the pet owner, both teaching viewers the importance of family, friendship, valor and other important qualities. Where one shows a family of kittens, Clifford has a made friends with a bunny, a bird, kittens and even a family of mice.

Bob the builder – This is an eternal favorite with the little guy, more for the trucks and than anything else. The first time he saw the video it was at the local Walmart store as we were doing some shopping. Kochunni then a 18 month old, squealed in delight at the sight of the brightly colored trucks and would get mad and cry every time Bob or Wendy came on the scene. He wanted to stay on the same aisle forever and we had the hardest time moving along. Seeing his enthusiasm, I did buy a video for him and to this day he sings the opening number with much gusto, even when he hasn't seen the video in months.

Thomas the Tank Engine – The first time Kochunni saw the show (again around 18 months) he seemed to be frightened at the somewhat plastic , chubby face of Thomas and his friends. He cried “Venda” (don’t) and asked us to stop playing the video. He did not mind reading about the train and his adventures through the scores of library books that passed through the house. I think today he wouldn’t mind watching the show though I haven’t had a chance to rent/buy the videos for a long time now.

Manjadi – A wonderful delight of songs, quite nicely rendered in 3D animation, though not comparable to any Hollywood production, it is still a decent attempt. We first found them on You Tube (no longer showing the full songs) and it was an instant hit with the little guy and singing the short songs became part of long car rides. The latter half of the CD contains stories from the Panchatantra that seem a little tedious to watch. But the songs from all three volumes are still some hot favorites in our household.

There you have the current favorites of the Kochunni household. I can already see signs of Kochunni getting distracted with Clifford and Sagwa, which might soon have to be replaced. So what about you, what are the favorites at your house these days?

The Story Hour

For a long time now, I have loved to read, be it a magazine or a good book I could read into the wee hours of the night. I still remember the Wednesday afternoon in 4th Standard that my mom came with me and talked to the school librarian to let me pick out a book. In those days, the school library was mainly available to students in secondary classes – I guess, it was there way of making sure that kids took care of the books they took home. The librarian, a nice lady was getting ready to close up, but seeing my enthusiasm as I eyed all the books locked up in the shelves she gave me an Enid Blyton telling me firmly to return it next week in good condition. That day in school all I could think of was about reading this book – something that was not part of the curriculum, not science, not history, not anything I had read before! I soon became a regular on Wednesdays

The choice of books varied over time, from Enid Blyton to Nancy Drew, to Gokulam to Femina, to Shakespeare to Austen, to Perry Mason to Agatha Christie. Though I think my favorite genre of writing remained mysteries – it was always fun to see if I could solve the puzzle before the end of the book or not.

When I got pregnant with Kochunni, I was a gifted a few books from friends to read to him – Eric Carle, Sandra Boynton etc. During his first year I got him a few more. Soon an entire shelf space had to be dedicated to his books. I was thrilled when around 18 months he would ask for a “booka” even though he did not seem to care for it much, as most found its way into his mouth. Finally the first book that caught his attention was “My little book of trucks, trains and tractors” with loads of pictures of the said things. He started calling the green cement mixer an "apple", and always wanted to open the book to this page.

Over time we taught him to say ‘cement mixer’ and he started to recognize the vehicle on the street. This realization brought about a renewed interest in his books and he picked out the “The baby’s first words” with more love and attention. We started making weekly trips to the library and always picked out a few books for him. I remember my mom even commenting, that he had more books than any toddler she had seen, but to me it was just a part of my love that I was passing down to him.

Just after he turned 2, one of the first books were he was able to accompany my reading was this little circus book that I found at the second hand book shop in Mountain View. Not really a famous ‘kid book’, but it was still an instant hit with him and he had the words memorized
- A few lines:
Hear the horn on the clown car as it honks
“Toot – toot”
Funny bears on skates like to
"dance and play"
Silly elephant tricks make me shout
“Hooray!”
We would end the session with a smiles and claps, and lil’Kochunni’s feeble “Einiyum” (Again).

Now, there is one thing that I did not expect to happen. His love and interest in books is often limited to trucks, trains, airplanes - essentially anything vehicular. Of course occasionally he would pick up the A to Z book, but he always preferred story books that would have a dump truck or a fire engine in them, and so now the library visit is a bit more challenging – first find a book that’s age appropriate, second find a book that has a vehicle in it and third it was to my satisfaction as well (You know, has a good moral, teaches numbers, letter or something). I have to say I have found a few that have become instant hits with him –

Little Blue Truck – Alice Schertle
It s a little tale of a Blue truck that goes ‘Beep’ around the country side, making friends with the animals he meets along the way. Along comes a big (read mean) Dump Truck who would rather “honk” at the animals blocking his way, in a mad rush to get to his ‘big important work’. Unfortunately the Dump Truck gets stuck and no one is ready to help him until the little Blue Truck jumps in. A lesson in chivalry, friendship and common curtsy, the book is full of barnyard animal sounds in a sing-song manner and pretty clean images – an instant hit with Kochunni.

My Truck is Stuck – Kevin Lewis
Another tale of a stuck truck driven by dogs this time. One of the dogs starts to ask help from fellow passersby driving by. The illustrations also show that unknown to the drivers a group of dogs make away with the loot of bones that the truck was carrying. Kochunni does not realize this part yet, but what he enjoys is “who will help the truck next” questions as I turn the page on the book.

Needless to say, reading to the little fella is sometimes a challenge - you have to read and re-read the same thing to death. Now I ask him to tell me the story, which at times he enjoys. But one thing is certain, the library has become a lifesaver, I don't think I would have managed a 100+ books for him at our house. If only, the library had a section for toy cars and trains as well ....

16 Hours Done

Another 6 more to go before I we touch base with family. Currently at Dubai Airport, waiting for the next flight home. Its been a long 16 hours with Kochunni getting some uncomfortable sleep on my shoulder and on the seat. We barely got any sleep. The flight (Emirates) itself was a comfortable ride though since we got in late to the airport we did not get any time to eat lunch. Being on an empty stomach we gobbled up the dinner they served 3-4 hours later, barely realizing its flavour or taste. One drawback on the flight is its timing, due to which we got only two meals during the 16 hours of journey and very little snack items. On the other hand the Disney channel selection on board entertainment was a perfect thing for kids. Kochunni watched the movie Cars and spent some time being entertained by the idiot box. We barely needed the toy cars and coloring book that I carried for him. Also with a little puppet Jamal that the air hostess gave for the all the toddlers on the flight, Kochunni was a happy camper.

Hopefully with all the sleep he got he will not have much of a jetlag and reach home happy safe and sound. Though I cannot say the same for us!

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Posting a few back dated posts that I typed up, but never got around to post during our trip.

The Christmas that was …

Full of gifts for the little fella, two parties and one enjoyable train ride. This year too, Kochunni did not grasp the full meaning of Christmas, Santa Claus or the gifts – he seemed to just take everything in stride with a curious sense of joy and wonder, which after all is the true spirit of any festival. He picked up the plane and his truck as the first gifts to be opened but in a little while he took to the drawing board easel scribbling away the sun, the moon and the stars, much to my joy. (We still have to open the little doctor set which I will probably hideaway for the next rainy day).

In the evening we went to our friends Christmas party and enjoyed ourselves to some nice food and innovative party games that the hosts came up with. Isn’t it great when the host of the party really plans a party well – fun for the kids and adults. The next day being holiday I was hoping to sleep in but as usual Kochunni woke up and like the last few weekends he tried to wake us up by singing rather loudly and completely out of tune. The new thing that has also started the past weekend is to jump out of the bed and walk out into the living area – and of course being the most ultra-sensitive cautious parents one of us goes up right behind him to see if he is up to any mischief. Anyway the only good that came of getting our asses out of the bed was that I was able to get to some after-Christmas sales and bought some ornaments for the front yard for the next year. Of course hubby was cross since it meant another box in the already filled up garage.

Saturday we left early for a train trip to Sacramento along with our friends. Maybe it was the low expectations from the trip that it became all the more fun and memorable. We boarded the early morning Amtrax train and as we caught the seats in the upper level we were amazed at the clean and overall spacious little corner. We got the middle seats with tables so the kids enjoyed banging on them and driving their toy cars. The three hours were over pretty soon as we watched some beautiful coastline scenes along the way.

At Sacramento, we walked a few minutes to the little old town - Railroad museum. All of us expected (though no one admitted) it be a dud with possibly pictures of old trains, but to our real surprise they had the real trains parked inside for our viewing pleasure. From the guided tour we learned about the history and as we walked around these majestic trains we were amazed at how our forefathers would have welcomed this mode of transport – connecting people along some pretty impressive mountains and terrains that before then seemed impregnable. Of course you also hear about the wrongs of our forefathers ( the Chinese laborers were pretty much ill-treated, even though they put in equal if not more effort into building a fully functional train system), did which saddens our hearts. There is also a couple of compartments that you can board to see up close - the sleeper chair and the dinning cart along with the impressive chinaware. The upstairs part of the museum is dedicated to some wonderfully built toy cars, which was an instant hit among the boys. Kochunni loved the play area with Thomas and his friends toys and was not ready to leave until quite a bit of warning to leave him there alone. We had lunch a family style Pizza place and by the time we boarded the train for our trip back we were all exhausted. Luckily Kochunni slept for most of the ride back and we only had to entertain one kid who finally slept when it was almost time to get off the train.

We came home exhausted, but still no one could stop talking about the benefits of traveling in the train, our memories of travels back in India and how wonderful it would be if more of America was connected via trains and if it was a little bit more cheap. As we promised ourselves to look into some other nearby places to go for our next weekend get-away, we hauled ourselves home. Sunday was spent relaxing, watching some movies and attending a birthday party. And so ended our Christmas break.

How about yours? Do anything fun?

Daycare updates

Its almost been a month at the new daycare of the little fella, of course with some vacations and his ill heath it hasn’t been as continuous, nevertheless. So some updates (just a fancy way of scrap booking the noticeable changes)

• For the last two weeks, when we drop him off he looks at us (reminding me of the cat from the movie Shrek) and reminds us “vegam varane” (come early). Of course, it’s the ‘drama gene’ that he has inherited but we fall for it every time.
• He loves to talk to his cars like his teacher and friends at school talk to him – so you can hear him admonishing the car “No! Go there”, “Come here”, "This is mine" etc. It’s almost as if he is practicing with his toy cars whatever new sentence he has learned in school. It’s a fun and easy way to let him play and watch the new things he is doing.
  
• This is the best part, if I jump in and explain or correct a sentence (usually correcting his grammatical errors or adding in the golden words) he looks at me in total wonder. Almost as if thinking “My amma knows this, so cool. I just thought she was a dumb girl that gave me food and rocked me to sleep” LOL!

He is talking a lot, knows his colors and recognize many alphabets. He is still weak in his number recognition and throws a fit for lot of things but (touch wood) the terrible twos are ‘almost’ under control. At least now he can somewhat explain what is bothering him. But still a long way to go, especially getting to the diaper-free zone or sleeping on his own - yes he hasn’t mastered that art yet and with his last episodes, he is back to sleeping with us so that we can monitor his breathing. Of course, its always easy to move him to our bed but the route back to his own is tougher. So with the last four-five days of sleeping with us, yesterday he was demanding that he sleep in the AC room. Needless to say, ‘miles to go before we sleep’!

A break

With a couple of PTOs that both of us needed to take we decided to take some time off work and of course being parents holiday have to be decided with kids enjoyment in mind, we decided to drive down to Lego land.

The first big car ride alone with the fella, to say we were apprehensive would be a minor statement. I packed along a few books, a little coloring notepad and some of his cars. Of course being two lazy people in the world, all packing was done on the day of travel and we started out after lunch. Realizing that we had left a few things like the camera, some slippers for the beach, we had to come back to house a couple of times before we officially started the trip at 2.30.

With no sleep in sight for the little fella (with all the running around that we did probably), we set off watching the cars and trucks driving by. After a couple of hours, he did some coloring and realizing that there is nothing to do at all, he fell off to sleep. By the time he woke up, it was time for dinner and then in an hour we were at our destination.

The next day was a nice sunny day and with a little backpack full of goodies we arrived at Legoland. Having been to Disney and Universal a while ago we were expecting long lines, throngs of kids and tired parents but were sorely disappointed. This time around, we were able to get on most rides that Kochunni loved multiple times. His favorite was the pirate ship that held a big squirt water gun that could spout water at other ships that passed us, his second favorite the car ride along lego jungle. He also did his first (mini) roller-coaster ride where he was laughing hysterically when the cart dipped a few meters downs. We finished most of the rides and areas by 4 and then went around his favorite rides some more, realizing that we had the time. All in all a great day indeed.

As it turns out Legoland is a great place for toddlers, especially boys (2+ to maybe around 3 1/2 ) where they could mostly ride all the rides except for a couple like the big dragon roller coaster and a joy car ride. Of course the next age group that would probably enjoy would be the 6-7 year olds who play a lot with lego and understand the intricately created pieces.The Miniland USA is really great place to walk around.

The next day we were to come back, but we decided to stop at the beach in the morning and spend some time playing in the water and sand. This time around, Kochunni was more relaxed in the waters and enjoyed standing knee deep in it. He also loved to play in the sand with his little bucket and pail. The ride back was much tougher than the one in, with after a good nap, for the last 2 hours of the ride, he kept asking us to stop the car and pick him up. Yes, he is pretty demanding that way!

Anyway, a nice short much needed vacation.

Angels

Saturday, honey came back from a two week long trip to India and it was perfect. Kochunni got tons of books that my mom sent, a little wrist watch and even a wooden car that he played around for hours on end. Of course poor honey was tired from jet lag, but the little fella wanted to do everything with his “Acha” (daddy) – from sleeping on his shoulder to playing.

By Sunday he was in full swing with all his parental duties. When evening came, we decided to go out and get his car cleaned up for office today. Of course we ran late and the place that we usually go to closed up at 6 PM. Since the car was dirty we decided to stop at this new place. Five minutes into the thing made us realize that they were less efficient than the ones we normally go to – and this would take more than half hour to get the job done. It was cold and already getting dark, I was sure Kochunni would get bored within a few minutes and looked around on what could be done.

Right opposite to us was a pumpkin patch and I decided that might be the best thing for me to do with the little fella. We walked across the street, the little guy holding my hand and exclaiming at all the cars that were going past right beside us. When we reached the counter he was exited and when I finally let him loose in the little jumper his joy knew no bounds. He jumped, he tumbled and he flipped to his heart’s content. After a little while, I asked him to come out thinking that it might be best to start our walk back to the car.

As he came out, he saw the little stairs going up for the big kids to come down the slide. He asked me, could I go amma? I was skeptical and answered back, sweetheart I can’t come there with you, you will have to go on your own, can you do that? He immediately looked straight into my eyes and nodded his head in a yes. I was surprised and little worried. I knew he would not get hurt being an air jumper set but still he could tumble down and get frightened. I again tried to explain that you need to go alone, can you do it? He started to pull my hand towards it. I finally decided to let him go and helped him climb the first two steps. As I looked, he walked up the first few stairs and then as the little stairs started to curve at the top, he was on all fours. My heart beat a little faster but I noticed that the girl right behind him, instead of pushing past him, was beginning to help him. I smiled and realized that there was now a queue of kids behind, and as the girl did not go past him, everyone had slowed down to meet Kochunni’s pace. I walked over to the side of the slide and waited for the little guy to emerge. Right at the top, he looked down and smiled and when I asked him to come down (almost afraid that he might just sit there) he perfectly did what I had asked of him at every other slide he has been too – sit down and move up close to the slide and then come down smoothly. Due to the big slope he just whipped down in an instant and with a triumphant smile walked over. I was beaming with joy!

Of course, one time is never enough and he asked “Eeniyum” (again), I gently reminded him we need to leave and started to dial hubby’s number, they were already done with the cleanup and were on their way. Kochunni was still pulling me to the steps and trying to climb the first step, as I quickly hung up the phone and helped him on. This time right after the first few steps he fell and almost slid backwards. As I shouted to Kochunni to be careful and hold the edges, a little boy probably around 4-5 turned around and asked me “Should I help him?” Of course, please do. So this time the boy helped him all the way and even waited for Kochunni to finish his slide before plunging himself. I yelled a big thank you and asked Kochunni to do the same.

As I walked Kochunni back, I realized what great kids the two kids were, I probably forget their faces in a few days and only remember some varied details like the girls pink and white sweater and boy’s dark blue shirt and trousers and curly mop of hair. But what they showed me yesterday was that even without any adult supervision kids are intrinsically good, not bullies nor little terrors that we often imagine them to be!

Thank you, my two angels for helping my son to do the things he ought to be doing, to let him grow just a little today! I hope one day Kochunni repays our debt and helps some other hapless little 2 year old.

Paani Paani Re

Kochunni it seems is scared of water (paani), or so we have been led to believe…

This summer I made a lot of efforts in trying to get him to have some water fun … a little plastic pool for him to sit out, a little pichkari (watergun) to spray water with and of course the sprinkler mat for his birthday. But no, none of it made him like water any better. Every time a droplet of water was upon him he would cry his heart out and ask us to change his clothes.

When finally, at a friend’s birthday party, seeing other kids having a ball sitting inside the pool he at least was ready to stand in knee length water & I was overjoyed – but he would not sit down or splash waters like the other kids and instead would wail if water fell upon him. He would much rather play on the jumper that they had.

We tried again two weeks ago on our trip to Santa Cruz boardwalk. And even with his big sister sitting down on the side of the beach, letting the water run all over her, he was too scared to even let his feet get wet. The only thing that worked was for us to carry him around and pretend to dip him in water and let his hands touch the icy cold waters.

My husband of course was very happy to see all this … claiming he has more of “his DNA” than mine. For me, I love water – the beaches, the rain. I could get wet and do a “Main Teri Rani to Raja Mera” number in one gusto. (ok maybe not, just remembered the song when I found it in my old music collection :D)

Finally yesterday we got to see some of his true colors. We were at the local nursery to buy some plants for our front yard. Now this nursery had a some fountains around for display with the water running. Of course, for whatever reason, the plumbing seemed not well done, and there were little rivulets of water running from these fountains. The water mixed with the soil from the other plants was completely mucky. The first time we ran across one of them in the store, Kochunni looked at and walked away. In a little while as I was busy picking flowers, he started to walk over to the water and examine it more closely. Within a few seconds, he figured out the fun it might be to actually jump in the water to make a nice little splash!!!

Where did the innate boyishness come from I wonder? And why did you not tell me my little prince that it was mucky waters that appealed to your senses than the fresh waters from the tap?

The long weekend

For the past several years we have routinely made a trip someplace for the Labor Day long weekend – it was our annual anniversary celebration, plus the end of summer getaway – sort of the last hurrah. This year though we had no plans, but it turned out to be one roller coaster ride after all.

On Saturday we decided to make a trip to the Palo Alto Junior Zoo & Museum. It’s really a small place, but packed with lot of fun for toddlers. There are rabbits, turtles, fishes and a small pond for the ducks, and a little “bridge” for Kochunni to walk up and down as if some sort of a king! A miniature cage for the rats, while a darkened corner for the bats and the owl. (Kochunni really got scared of the sleeping owl – it was so huge and was sitting with his eyes closed, reminded me of Dumbledore for some weird reason).

The museum area was fun for the little guy as he tried his hands at every toy around. It’s definitely a place to be, when you have nowhere else to be. I am sure Kochunni will outgrow the place quickly, since it is really a mini zoo cum museum but for the opportunity it provides with its clean surroundings and close to the heart of the bay area and light on the purse (they only ask for a merger $3 donation) it is well worth it. (recommended to all bay area moms and dads)

The next day we decided to make a trip down further to the Oakland Fairyland. Now this is definitely a privatized version of Palo Alto Zoo, and no I am not even comparing it to Disneyland with its acres of attractions and fun.Its definitely not a place to be if you have a kid who is over 3 (max 4) once past that age it’s a sheer waste of time and money. But for a two/three year old it can be fun. For a two year old its more about the slides, the whale (Kochunni was so happy trying to get to the little fishes on the slippery slope) and the little carousal. For a three old who knows all the rhymes and nursery stories, it can probably be a wonderland – with the puppet shows, different set ups based on the stories. As for us, (the grey haired oldies) you can be happy if you see a happy child right! Ah well! Of course, you cannot get in without a child (there is a board at the front desk – No child without adult and no adult without a child) so I guess they are fair. One tip: If you are taking a boy – don’t bother with the Magic key – he is not going to have the patience of inserting it into the boom box and listening to the song, when he can rather run in circles trying to make his mama lose some weight. So if you still have a toddler at your house, do make a trip – don’t compare it to Disneyland and you shall have a day of fun.

By Monday I was down with a cold and woke with my eyes burning hot and heavy (I think it was my husband who brought it home last weekend from office, I just hope the buck stops with me). We decided to call it a movie day and ended up watching one of my favorite police detectives John McClane see what he does best – beat up bad guys at their own game in Live Free and Die Hard. So what if the story had holes in it like the size of the watermelon, if he can still say his famous line “Yippee ki yay …” with a sly smile on his face I am down for another movie all about McClane! :D

So that was our weekend, and I am now looking forward to a short week and of course high hopes for a special day tomorrow! ;) How about you, how was your last weeks of summer?