POST No #101

This is indeed a milestone for me ! When I started blogging 6 months ago in June, the thought was just to pen down things on-line instead of writing in a diary (as I was doing then) to keep track of what Jillu does, for me to read later.

But then, I didn't know of the blogging world then and I never imagined when I started that I would be updating on such a  regular basis and that 100 posts would be done by end of year. 

When I actually think about it,  the specialty is that this blog is only for her, of her and about her :)  and nothing else. So, the real credit goes to Jillu for being so active and giving me fodder to write so many things about her. However, this would not have been possible without you guys. I thank each and every one of you for reading, commenting and enjoying JilluYennaPan, and thus encouraging me to continue in my efforts.

A Note to Jillu:  You have done much much more than what has been covered in these pages! For what is in these pages is what I have filtered and been able to put down and give a proper shape to. There are many other things which I (we) equally enjoy but do not figure in here. That's either because of your mom's inability to write well and do justice to you properly or because of sheer laziness sometimes. However, I shall continue to try to capture all that you do to the best of my abilities :) 

Here's hoping that you continue to bring us joy, well being and laughter into 2010 and beyond!  Wish you a very very Happy New Year, Jillu :)

And here's a special wish from Jillu and her family to all her readers : 

Wishing each and every one of you a very Happy, Healthy and a Prosperous 2010!
May all your wishes and desires bear fruit and may you all have a fabulous New Year!

Birthday weekend that was !

Friday, Christmas Day : Amma was busy shopping for Jillu's small party. Amma had got a black one piece dress for Jillu which she liked very much. But Appa and paati felt that it was dull. As Appa put it, " I don't mind even if she wears a night gown and cuts the cake, I am only saying because you are so particular about all these and expect perfection". After hearing this, what else would happen but for Amma scouting around for another bright dress (Mind you, Amma still likes the black dress! Only, one cannot take a chance when 2 people think its not not good enuf ). So, other than scouting for another dress, Amma also had to arrange for all the other major and minor things for the making of a small party

Saturday : Last minute phone calls for confirming snacks, cake etc. Drop Jillu at Geetha paati's place so that Amma and Appa could re-arrange the stuff in the hall and  decorate the room. Happy Birthday banner, Jillu's name in Golden letters, Mickey, Minnie, Pussy cat and Winnie the Pooh, all were to grace the occasion and hence all of them were put up on the wall. 

In the meanwhile while we were busy with doing the decorations, Jillu, you had told Paati that "Amma, wall la aappy birthday otta poraa" (Amma is going to put Happy birthday banners on the wall) . Now I don't know how you knew that at all. Did you hear me say some such thing to your Paati? 

When we finally brought you over to home, you were so thrilled to see the decor. The moment you looked at it, you said without a single hesitation "Aappy Birthday ottirukkaa". Again, you don't know to read, but I guess you have attended enough birthday parties for you to recognize the patterns. I can never forget the joy that you had on seeing that banner and other stuff. You kept repeating "Amma appy birthday ottirukka" every few seconds. You identified each and every one of the characters stuck on the wall. We had to really cajole you to go to bed. You came to bed only after the assurance that it will remain there and that you can look at it in the morning as well

Sunday : The Party day. Again, the joy of the previous night continued. Everything had to be done in front of the decor. 

Me : Jillu, ee thaekalaam vaa (Jillu, come, lets brush your teeth)

Jillu : aappy birthday paathunde thaekalaam (lets do it in front of Aappy birthday)

Me : Jillu, paal saapidu (Jillu, drink your milk)

Jillu : aappy birthday paathunde (lets do it in front of Aappy birthday)

and on and on.And when balloons were added to the collection, your joy knew no bounds:). And then finally the time came, your little friends came home and the party was on :). It went on splendidly. And what was decor on the cake ? of course a drawing of Dora. What else could it be ?

Monday : YOUR BIRTHDAY :). Amma and Appa had taken the day off to spend the entire day with you

Me : Jillu Dec 28 vandaachu, Inniku dhaan Dec 28 (Today is Dec 28)

Jillu : Polaamaa? (Shall we go?)

Me : yenga? (Where?)

Jillu :(as is your usual reply) : Cake cut panna (We can cut the cake)

Me : Naethikke cake cut pannyaachu da. Inniku naamba taataa poga porom (We cut the cake yesterday naa. Instead, we will go taataa today)

You went to temple with thaatha and paati in the morning. After that, Amma and Appa took you to VGP Golden beach. And what fun you had ! We never imagined that you had grown up so much in these one or two months. For, you had overcome your fear of both the sea and the rides. The last time that we took you to the beach, you were bawling your eyes out on the small merry-go-round ride and also were none too comfortable with the waves and the sea. But that day, there were no such signs and you just freaked out.

You never gave us a second look once we put you on a ride and you were lapping it all up and in fact you were extremely busy in making friends with your fellow neighbor in the ride :). You went to the extent of saying "Polamma ?" to a sophisticated adult ride as well :)

And as if this was not enough of a shock for us, we were further dumbfounded when we saw your glee in reaching the sea. There was absolutely no sign of inhibition in you and the only words that came out of your mouth were  "Wowwww.." and "Jammunu irukku" and by the time we came out of the water, you were totally drenched after playing in the water. No wonder as we had spent more than 1/2 an hour in the water.

More treat was in store for you, for we went to another birthday party from there and you again had a good time with the kutties there, not to mention the cake that you got to have as well :)

All in all, it was a fabulous day and we enjoyed it thoroughly as much as you did :)

A start of another wonderful year !!!

Jillu, you turned 2 yesterday :). Happy Birthday, sweet heart. I know, we have all told you nothing else but "Happy Birthday" for the whole of the long weekend that just passed away. And what a weekend it was!  Especially Sunday and Monday. But more about that later.

The year has gone by so fast. It seems as though it were only a few months before that we celebrated your first birthday, why the day I held you for the first time in my arms seems as though it was only yesterday and now the second year is also gone.  You have been such a wonderful delight to all of us. You have won all of our hearts over and all of our every waking moment is somehow or other filled of your thoughts. Your naughty smile, your mischievous look, your cheeky retorts (yeah, you have started that as well, recently), every single thing that you do amazes us and gives us so much pleasure. Now, I cannot even imagine how life was before you came in to my life. 

You have turned my whole life upside down, made me weep with joy & anxiety. You have made me want to enjoy every moment of life, made me want to record all that you do. You gave life to this blog. You have made me look at myself hard and evaluate myself all over again. Now, everything I do or say, is looked at from your perspective first, for you learn and imitate all, the talking and the action,  from us directly. You have made me take the alternate path in life, taking care of you full time, for which I am looking forward to with much pleasure. 

Though I still wish that time would stand still and we can all enjoy you the way you are now, a cherubic little sweet angel that you are, we still look forward to the future.Your every progress & mile stone is much celebrated and shared with your grand parents on a day to day basis.  No one conversation ends without speaking about you. You have made us all run behind you with a slightest twist of your little finger.

Life has indeed blessed us with you and I am grateful for it.

Happy Birthday da Kannaa (I am allowed to say this again for this is the "BIRTHDAY WEEK").

I Love You and God Bless You !

We all Love You :)

My secret game with Jillu

Anthakshari is when Jillu gets the better of me even though she does not know it herself  :). But then I too play a game with her during the Anthakshari session known only to me, for she does not understand what I am up to yet and I take great delight in the secret game. I am in fact even glee-ful about it :)

Jillu : Amma, Baba black sheep paadu (Ammma sing Baba black sheep)

Me : Jillu Paaduvaa (Jillu will sing)

Jillu : aaaahhhh...(protest) Ammaa paaduvaa (Amma should sing)

Me : Jillu dhaan Paaduvaa 

Jillu : (decibel level of the protest increases to the max ). Amma dhaan paaduvaa..aaaiiihhhhhhhhh

Me : Baabaa black sheep and then a pause..

Jillu : Have u any wool, paadu ma

Me : Have you any wool and then a pause...

Jillu : Yes sir, Yes sir, tee bags sull, paadu ma

Me : Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full and then a pause..

Jillu :(waits for a few seconds to see if i will continue and then ) one sor my master, one sor the dame, paadu ma

Me : One for my master, one for the dame 

Jillu: one sor the little boy oos down the laame..(now doesn't bother to say paadu ma)

Me: And one for the little boy, who lives down the lane..

The day will soon come when she will realize what I am up to :). Till then, I plan to completely enjoy it! 

Make hay while the sun shines !!!

Anthakshari

We, Jillu and I, sing songs before Jillu goes to sleep. Songs are from all categories - Carnatic, Rhymes and Cinema songs. We don't leave anything :) Depending on her tiredness, the session would last from 10 mins to 30 mins or would never end and would go on and on.

For me, even the though the syllabus is well known, I still have to be very alert and  up-to-date as Jillu, without knowing it, plays the very complex round of anthakshari with me. Here is an excerpt out of it..

Jillu : Amma "chubby cheeks"paadu (Amma, Sing "chubby cheeks")

Me : chubby cheeks

Jillu : dimple chin..., she will continue and finish it.. Then

Amma, little lamb paadu

Me : Mary had a little lamb, little la

Jillu : Amma, "Go" paadu

Me : mb, little lamb, Mary had a 

Jillu : Amma, "Go" paadu

Me : little lamb and its face was

Jillu : Amma, "Go" paadu (Its a shout now)

Me : Everywhere that Mary went, Mary went, the lamb was sure to go (and the remaining of the first line remains un-sung)

Jillu : vera yenna paadalaam ? mm?? (What else can we sing ?) Amma, Alai paayaudhe paadu

Me : Alai paayud

Jillu : Mootamathe paadu

Me : (pause..rewind.. think.. now which is this song? Ok.. here it goes..)

"Baja govindham, Baja govindham, govindham bhaja, moodamathe"

Jillu : Amma "Mohana venu gaanam paadu"

Me : (stop, think, ok,) "Yen Ananda Mohana venugaanam adhil, Alai Paayudhe"

Jillu : Broche vaa paadu

Me : (ok..  this is the beginning of the song.. this is straight forward..I can manage)

Broche vaa .... continue and finish the couple of lines..

then it goes on to cine songs and then gain alternates between all 3 and the game/singing continues and then suddenly, comes a out of syllabus request like this

Jillu :Amma, "Docomo" paadu

Me : ?????

And then, I learn the DOCOMO ad music next day and "Tuturu, Tuturu" (thats how the catchy tune goes for the ad) gets added to the syllabus :)

Want to play Anthakshari with Jillu? any takers? She could pick up any word from anywhere of the song and ask you to sing :)

Liberty at its peak..

My mom to me: Lavanya, give Idli to Jillu

Jillu : running to me says, Laaviyaa, Jillu ku idli..

                   ********

She has become too attached to her grand dads, which is not surprising at all. But,

The other day, she did not let my FIL out of her sight even for a minute. The minute he stepped out of a room  into another,

"Raghu, Nee Yenga Poiyutte ? Inga vaa..." (Raghu, where have you gone? come here)

The same with my dad...He gets a call and steps out into the balcony for better clarity and our little angel cries. "Mukund, Mukund. Mukund....."

                   ********

Grand mas taken for granted.. No questions about them at all. She has been calling them by names for ever now. With me and grand dads, its relatively new :). For grand mas, she treats them specially by coming up with new nick names - variations of their existing names basically.

"Geetha, Geethi, Geethu, inga vandhu ukkaaachi " (Come here and sit).Yes, she calls all 3 names in 1 go too :)

"Pangajaaa, Pangaji," . She also just calls them simply even while having nothing to say at all.

                   ********

Now, her dad is awaiting his turn :)

Beyond boundaries !

Jillu is reaching out and learning beyond her boundaries on her own.

A few days back, I was busy doing something in the kitchen and she was with her dad. She suddenly told him something which made me start and stare in surprise !

I looked at her dad and he had not understood. No wonder !!! Sometimes its difficult to understand even the known things of what she says but these are new words !

She had just said,

"IKKADA CHOODU" ("See here" in Telugu)

I thought my mom had taught her. I was amazed when I checked with her and she said that she had not ! So where did she get that from ?

A wonder !!!

Jillu completed all the 2 piece puzzles on Saturday!!!

Sorting, matching and fitting the pieces is not the wonder. Sitting in one place and focusing on one task completely till it got completed is the wonder :). This is the first time she has completed all in one shot :)

Good going, Jillu :)

The fly treatment

Fly and mosquitoes get special treatment from Jillu :) They are treated like human beings in the sense that she talks to them  or rather scolds them before swatting them away.

Here is how it goes...

She sees a fly or mosquito sitting on the bed from afar. The next second she is near that place and bangs her hands down right where it was and says

"Ammmmmmmmmmaaaaaa...naan adichuruven....ammmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaa.." (Ammmmmaa.. I shall beat you!)  and proceeds to bang that area around where-ever it may be.

The "Ammmaaaaa" is said in the exact way we say it when we scold or chide her :)

My caretaker

This morning we were doing our usual good bye routine when I was leaving for work.

Then Jillu immediately said "Ammma, kudai pidichukko" (Amma, hold the umbrella)

She had noticed that it was raining (I had not and I generally don't bother with an umbrella. :).Need an excuse for getting drenched, isn't it ? :) ) and hence I had to carry an umbrella when I was stepping out of home. 

Jillu, who taught you this? You have seen, observed, and deduced on your own :) Well done, my girl :)

And today, for Jillu, I did unfold and use the umbrella, even though, the rain was just a teeny bit drizzle

Thank you, my dear sweetie, for reminding me and taking care :)

Jillu talkies - Part II

Jillu has already started using some uncommon words (for the kids) and she is getting to know the nuances of tamil language. The bold ones below are examples of some.


Early morning, soon after she gets up, I start removing her sweater (its very cold now,esp in the nights) and she says "adhu paatukku irukkatum" (let it remain naa)
                   ------

Jillu's dad asks her to remove her toys from the floor as the servant maid is sweeping the floor and she says "paravaaa illai"
                   ------

Jillu, inga vaa potty la ukkaar,susu po (come here)
Jillu : Naa vara maatten ( I won't come - she is very busy with her puzzles)
After a couple of mins
Jillu vaa inga
Jillu : Naa vara maatten
After a couple of mins
Jillu inga vaa maa
Jillu : Naa vara maattennu sollitten (I already told I will not come)
                   ------

Yesterday, we had left a sleeping Jillu in my MIL's place  to take care of some bank work. Jillu after waking up, "Amma yenge" (Where is Amma?)
MIL : Bank poiyurukkaa, Vandhuruvaa. (She has gone to the bank. Will be here soon)
Jillu : Jillu ku dress vanngi tharuvaa (She will buy me dress then)

The chocie story...

The time has come too soon. Much earlier than I expected or wanted :)

Yes, it is the "I want chocie" routine.

Till couple of weeks back, I had not given chocolate at all to Jillu. Well, she knew of its existence as she was identifying them when some one gave her, but I always took it from her (Bad, ain't I ?) and never gave her. Well, she was not pestering me, so why would I ? My philosophy was, wait till the time comes (as it is bound to at some point in time), so why hurry?

And the time has come :(.  I was hoping to extend it to another 6 months if not a year (yeah, yeah, i can hear your cries of "you greedy woman"), but then my plans were foiled by my friend's hubby who simply popped in a chocie in her mouth at their son's b'day party :). So there went my plans in the air :)

After this unfortunate (for me) and fortunate (for her) incident, I think my mil had also given her the small mittais that we call arisi mittai to Jillu one day. 

And the brunt was burnt by, not so surprisingly, by my mom :)

For 1 week, daily Jillu would say to my mom "Geetha Paati yenakku choket kuduthaa." (Geetha Paati gave me chocolates). Mom obviously just listened without responding

The next week, the same was repeated for a couple of days. Then when the indirect approach did not work, the third day, she resorted to the direct approach and told my mom "Paati, yenakku choket venum" .. hahaha.. LOL.. (Paati, I want chocolates)

My mom : Ok da.. Thathaa will get it for you when he comes home tonight

Then  in the evening, I come home first and she does not tell me anything about chocies. The moment my dad enters inside, she runs to him and says "Thathaa..vaa..choket vaangalaam..vaa" (Thatha, come lets get chocolates)

And then, as a typical mom of these days, I give hundreds of instructions to my dad about which to buy and which not to buy and caution him against getting her these daily and how it will become a bad practice and that it should be limited at the starting itself and so on and so so forth.. You get the drift, don't you?

Well, my dad gets so irritated by all this and he says "porum di...paavam kuzhandhai.oru choclate vaangarthukku ivalovaa" (Enough. She is paapam. Don't do so much for a simple thing)

and what does Jillu say ? any guesses?

She too says "Paavam Kuzhandhai"!

Doctor, Beach, Wedding,Cake etc

Can any one guess the link between these? No? Please read on...:)

Jillu : Jillu innuku yenga poga poradhu ? (Where is Jillu going today?)

This out of her own volition with no prompting or hints from us about going anywhere..and imagine her saying all these in a sing song voice with lilts, ups and downs :)

Me : Yeppo? (When?)

Jillu : Saayangaalam. Thoongi yezhundhuttu (Evening. After my nap)

Me : Yenga poga poradhu? (Where is Jillu going?)

Jillu : Pankaja paati aathukku (To Pankaja paati's house)

and then seeing my face

Jillu : No.. Balaji chlats...(hey, both are the same..Balaji flats is where Pankaja paati resides)

Me : No

Jillu : Namba Dr kitta poga porom..( We are going to the doc.. we had been to the doc twice in the previous week as she was down with fever, cold and wheezing. She is recovering now)

Me : No da..

Jillu : Beach

Me : No da 

Jillu : kalyaanam poga porom.(we are going to a wedding)

Me : (Totally surprised !) No da kanaa

Jillu : Cake cut panna porom (Meaning are we going to a birthday party ?)

Me : (Taken you to too many already?) No da, kanna..

Silence.....poor girl.. she was just looking at me post that with no other options coming to her mind..

Me : Naama Geetha paati aathukku poga porom :)

Now, you know about all Jillu's outings :)

Johny reborn ...

Johny Johny

Yes, Papa

Eating Sugar?

No Perippa, No V.... (her perippa's name)

Telling Lies ?

No Perippa

Open Your mouth,

Ha ha ha

This is Jillu's version of the Johny Johny rhymes! Perippa is Jillu's dad's elder brother. I have no idea how she latched on to her perippa in this context:)

Can this be a toddler speaking? Should n't this be happening much later?

My mom is washing some vessels in the kitchen.

Jillu : Paati, adha vechuru. Pannaadhe. (Grand mom. you keep it aside. don't do it)

My Mom : yenna pannaadhe?  (what should i not do?)

Jillu :paathiram thaekaadhe. vechuru (dont wash the dishes)

My mom : (thinking she is saying all this 'coz of the impending taataa /outing) yen di kannaa? (why?)

Jillu : amma thittuvaa. vechuru (amma will scold - which is very true and i do scold my mom if she does the house chores. I always tell her "you take care of her and i shall manage the rest")

My Mom : aparam yaaru di thaeppaa? (then who else will do?)

Jillu : Amma pannuvaa. nee vechuru. (amma will do na. you don't do)

Jillu talkies

Me : Come, lets go to the terrace before it gets dark

Jillu being busy with something else and generally not in the mood and creating trouble..So I leave it. Then after half an hour or so,

Jillu : Amma, maadi kku polaam (Amma, lets go to terrace)

Me: No da.. Its late..its getting dark. We shall go tomorrow

Jillu insists again and I repeat the same again.

Jillu then showing her thumb and fore finger in a formation of  an open O says "Konjoondu polaam ma" (Instead of saying for a short while, she says can we go for a very small amount?)

                            ********

Me: Jillu, where is your kerchief?

Jillu : in the cot

Me: Where in the cot?

Jillu: Yengeyaana irukkum. thedu. (It will be there somewhere. search.)

                            ********

Jillu does some naughty stuff and dad gets annoyed.

Dad : Jillu, it told you not to mess with those (in a slightly loud noise)

Jillu : Its okay, appa.. kathaadhe.. (kathaadhe means dont shout. she said it in the exact mix of the language-in english and tamil) 
Me and dad: ???!!!
Inspiration :she saw us saying the same thing to my cousin's pet dog

                            ********

Fear conquered

About the start of this year, 2009, when we took Jillu to the beach, I was totally not prepared for her reaction. She was so scared of the sea and the waves.Petrified is not the word for it !!! She cried even when she was not standing and I was carrying her. She did not let me or anyone stand in the water.

Being a lover of the beach, I was determined to get Jillu over her fear of water.

As a first step, I worked on getting her to get into the bath tub (the round one for the kids which can be inflated).There was a lot of resistance and it took over a week to make her stand in the tub. Post that, she would not sit in the tub. She would just keep standing. That is when, I got her a water resistant book which can be read in the bath tub. She took to the book like a duck to the water:). She was instantly floored and abruptly sat in the tub the moment I gave her the book. I was so gratified to see that :) From that day on, she is very eager to take bath and if she makes a fuss, all I have to say is "tub" and she will come running.

But that still did not improve the situation at the beach. She was still scared and would not come to the water, though she loved playing about in the sand. Then, the next couple of times I observed her behavior. She would be okay when the water touched her feet, but the moment the water started retreating, she would cry. I think the sensation of being dragged was what was making her scared and the fact that you had to dig your feet in to keep your balance. This status-quo was maintained for some months.

And then this month, Jillu has been asking my mom daily to go to the beach for consecutive 2 weeks. So, we took her to the beach last Sunday. Since,the trip is her making, I thought about it and kind of prepared her in advance. I have found that, with Jillu, prior warning and preparing her well in advance works well with her. Previously, she had stranger anxiety and used to cry whenever we went visiting to our relative's or friend's place. So we used to tell her, we are going to so & so's place and you should not cry after going there and that you should be a good girl. This kind of prep talk would happen before any visit and actually it seemed to work. It worked so well that she started saying "Anga poi....azha koodaadh" (Should not cry after going there) when we were about to leave. So, I thought, why not prepare her this time to the beach as well.

So, when we were traveling in the car to the beach, I told Jillu, "Jillu, we are headed to the beach.And you shall be standing in the water. You should be a good girl and should not cry. Anga poi.. azhaa koodaadh. okvaa?". There was total silence for a couple minutes and I could hardly hear her "okay"

And then, when we were actually standing in the water, she started crying saying "bheyama irukku" (I am scared). We calmed her down and reminded her about being a good girl. Initially she was okay when the waves came in and water touched her feet. She started saying "bheyamaa irukku" when the water was retreating. So, we are back to square 1, I thought. We did some small talk and I showed Jillu how the water was sliding backwards into the sea and comparing it to her slides in the park. She seemed intrigued by the idea and then, slowly things started changing. After some time, she actually said "vaa..vaa.. Jillu kitaa vaa" and it was music to my ears :). She had started enjoying the first bit, though she still cried when she felt that she was losing her balance when the water retreated. I was further delighted when she said "innoru vaati.."(Once more) when we were moving away from the water towards the sand. 

Though, it was clear that she was still scared of water and there would be hiccups still, I think the trip last Sunday was a turning point indeed!

Perfect Imitation

Jillu is very well known for understanding and repeating whatever we say and there have been enough instances to prove the same. However, in my eyes, this takes the cake

A couple of days back, when I was putting Jillu to bed , as usual we were singing the usual set of songs.

Carnatic includes songs like

1) Alai Paayudhe, Kannaa

2) Broche vaa revaru raa

3) Krishna nee Begane Baaro

4) Jo achutha nanda jo jo mukundaa

5) Raara venu gopaa paalaa

6) Bajagovindam, bajagovindam

Rhymes includes

1) Chubby cheeks

2) Baba baba black sheep

3) Twinkle twinkle little star

4) Ding dong bell

5) Pussy Pussy cat

etc.. the list will go on to include another 10 or so

Others

1) jai jai krishna (title song of krishna serial)

Usually, Jillu will be asleep before we cover everything in the list. That night, however, she was still wide awake even after we had gone over all. Then she said

"Amma, innum vera yenna padalaam maa? hmmmmmm? "(Amma, what else can we sing ma? hmmmmm?)

She actually did make the "hmmm" tone, the one that we use when we normally think aloud and it was so natural and convincing as well!!! And all I could do then was double up with laughter :)

Start of comparison

Jillu has this kind of whistle, only its orange in color.

She was playing with it for a while, whistling on and off and also playing with the rope. And then, she put on the rope over her neck (like a garland!) with the whistle hanging down near her midriff and she said, to  all our astonishment

"Kalyaanam maadhiri" (Like a wedding!)

We were all gaping at her! She has started comparing things already ??? and wedding ???

Hush...

There are several things in queue to be posted here, but they have to wait because of what happened tonight. What Jillu did tonight when I was putting her to bed now takes precedence over everything else that are still in the drafts :)

The bed time routine went on as usual and once we were in bed, we started singing songs (read that as I started singing and Jillu demanding song after song), after a short prayer. This is nothing unusual. After the usual plethora of Carnatic, lullaby and rhymes, there was the usual lull and she was only half awake. And then, after a while of silence, she said "Amma....". I kept quiet. I knew this was not the time to talk. If  I remain quiet and unresponsive, she would drift away into sleep.

"Amma..."

Still silence

"Amma...chubby cheeks paadu" (Mom, Sing Chubby Cheeks)

I maintained the silence and then she did this..

Any guesses?

It was something totally unexpected and amazing that I could not believe it in the first place.

She very very very quietly hushed, as though whispering a very dark secret in the most secretive tone (the tone we use so as not to disturb a sleeping child), "pesa koodaadhu..shhh..." which was barely audible to me. Needless to say, more than the words, the manner and the tone stunned me.

P.S : I wish I could have recorded it, to go with this post :(

Well Prepared already!

Q : Jillu, un birthday anniku yenna pannanum? (What do we do on your birthday?)

A : Thopi potukanum (Have to wear a cap!)

Q : Vera Yenna pannanum? (What else?)

A : Choto yedukanum (Take photos!)

Q : mm..innum vera yenna pannanum? (What else?)

A : Cake cut pannanum (Have to cut the cake)

After effects of attending a couple of birthday parties. All these out of her own observation and assimilation with absolutely no coaching from us.

This is your's, please..

My mom's mobile phone rings. My mom is busy in the kitchen and hence my dad wants to pick up the call. Jillu runs to the phone and picks it up.

Dad : Jillu, give it to me.

Jillu does not listen, she runs away from my dad and proceeds to the kitchen."Paati, chone, indaa chone." (Grandmom, phone, take it)

My Dad : Jillu, come here, give it to me. Jillu, Jillu,

Jillu : (completely ignoring him and running to my mom) Paati, indaa and gives it to my Mom

                                *****************

The other day, my uncle had come to visit us and he had brought a pack of biscuits for Jillu. When he came in, he handed over the same to Jillu. He stayed for a short while and when he was about to leave, she came running forward with the cover holding the pack of biscuits and gave it to him "Indhaa, vechiko". (Here, you have it). He tried giving it back to her saying that he had got it for her. Every time he tried explaining, she repeatedly thrust the cover back to him. It was so endearing to watch her like this and both of us were laughing. Finally we convinced her and he did leave, minus the biscuit packets.

                                *****************

This morning, absentmindedly,  I had taken our toothpaste and was about to squeeze it on Jillu's toothbrush. I wasn't watching what I was doing. Immediately Jillu said "Adhu Appa paste. Naanaam" (That's dad's tooth paste. Not for me). And I looked down to see that she was right. Thank god she stopped me. Otherwise, if she had tasted our regular toothpaste, then she wouldn't have let go :). As it is, she relishes her very bland tooth paste and once she swallows her tooth paste, she proudly exclaims "yellaathaiyum chaatutten" (I have eaten all)

                                *****************

 I have seen this in many instances.  She perfectly maps and has a clear understanding of which is what and whose, which is really amazing

Inexplicably Misconstrued !!!

While we were coming home yesterday, we saw a Juju (Jillu talk for Dog) on the road eating something from a paper lying on the road. 

I casually asked her, "Jillu, what is juju doing?"

She immediately replied "Koppu pidikardhu" (Jillu talk for "Koppalikardhu" ) which is basically goggling/rinsing one's mouth.

I was completely taken aback and am still amazed by the answer because I still cannot understand how she misconstrued a dog eating something to goggling :) and even now when I think about it, it makes me laugh :)

Machiavellianism??

According to Oxford English Dictionary, Machiavellianism means "the employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct".  Too strong a word for a less than two years old toddler?  But I don't know what else to call it.

The victim here is my mom and this is her account of the incident.

Its time for her haircut again, but it has to wait till the weekend. So my mom had put on a  tiny pony to keep her hair from falling into her eyes. Immediately, Jillu, as usual, put her hand to the hair band to remove the pony. As my mom was feeding her mosambi, she said "No mosambi if you take away your pony". So what does Jillu do? Behave like a very good girl with no signs of mischief as though she is even unaware of its existence. 

And then, the moment she completes eating the fruit, before the blink of an eye, in a flash, the pony is undone.

First person reference

Its You & Her and NOT I & me.

Jillu still has not got the hang of referring to herself properly.

Initially she used to refer to herself by second person reference. If she wanted biscuit, she said "unakku biscuit venum", "unakku paal venum" etc (You want biscuit, You want milk instead of I). If she wanted to get hold of something, she used to say "adha unakku kudu" (Give that to you!)

Now these days, after she heard us referring to her in 3rd person she has started to do the same. Now its "avulukku biscuit venum", "avulukku phone kudu" etc (She wants biscuit, Give the phone to her)

Writing style

See the proper and precise hold of the pen

Hard at work. She could be at it continuously with no need for supervision for more than 5 minutes which is an achievement in itself :). So when i need 5 minutes, you now know what i will make her do :)

And the result.....

Yesterday's titbits

Yesterday, I showed my netted dhupatta that I was wearing and asked my daughter "Jillu, idhu yenna, sollu paapom" (Jillu, What is this called?). She knows the name (Dhupattaa) well and I was fully expecting her to say the same. But what did she say? She always manages to surprise me and what she said revealed a whole new perspective. She said "Tissue" and while my mind was busy thinking how she knew that word, let alone associate with my dhupatta, her dad agreed !

                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Last evening, after I came home, she was demanding to go out and already started to put on her shoes. I managed to distract her somehow and took her into the bedroom. After some time, it started again and I told her truthfully in tamil, "Lets go tomorrow, We shall go in train and enjoy ourselves" to which she said "Train la venaam. Car la polaam" (No Train. lets go in the car). Well, Well, Well. A lesson for us ! I think we should start taking her in train (and other modes of transport) more often.

                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

There are a couple of birthday parties that we have to attend this weekend and I was wondering how to fit in all. While my mind was busy with all the logistics, I asked Jillu "Tomorrow is your friend's birthday. Shall we go?" and pat came the reply "Happy Birthday polaam. Cake chaapidalaam" (Lets go to Happy Birthday. Lets eat cake!!!) Me : ???!!!***

                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Colour hopping

Some months back
everything you touched was aed (red in color)

One month back
everything you touched was bloo (blue in color)

One fortnight back
anything could be any (aed, bloo, yello, geen)

One week back, 

Sometimes,
aeds are indeed reds
bloos are indeed blues
yellos are yellows and
geens are greens
At other times,
aeds are bloos and

bloos are aeds

but its not too far

when 

aeds will always be reds and

bloos will always be blues

The Moon Connection

Obviously, this has to start with "Nila Nila Odi vaa, Nillaamal Odi vaa...." (Famous Tamil Poem/Rhyme). Needless to say, she knows this by heart.

When we travel in the car, she stands on the back seat and looks out into the sky in all directions for the moon. When she sees the moon, she says  "Nila, inga vaa " (Come here, Moon) with a beckoning gesture. My MIL will then say, "Jillu, Nila nambaloda namba koodaye varum ". (The moon will come along with us to our home)

MIL "Nilaa ku namma saapida yenna kudukalaam?" (what shall we feed the moon?")

Jillu "Thachi mamam, Paal" (curd rice, milk)

Me : "Nee yenna kai kuduppe?" (which veggie will you give)

Jillu : "Urla kazhang" (potato)

Me: Apram? (what else will you give?)

Jillu: Vendekkai (ladys finger)

We all (excepting the dad who is driving of course) closely watch the moon , follow its direction to see if it is actually following us and Jillu will be alternating between my lap and MIL's lap depending on the moon's orientation.And then after we reach our home, we don't forget to check again to ensure that the moon has indeed followed us to our home. And then we say "Bye Nila, Naalaikku Paakalaam" (Bye Moon, see you tomorrow)

The moon is part of our everyday life now. I have to draw the moon for her in a paper, computer anywhere. She looks out for moon in all her books :). And then we follow the moon daily when I bring her back to our home from my mom's place.

And then on those days when its cloudy and the moon alternates between being seen and partially obscured by the clouds,

Jillu : " Nila Yenga Pochu? Megam Marachuthu" (Where did the moon go? The clouds have made the moon to disappear) and then we (Jillu and me) patiently stand there till the passing clouds go away and we can see the moon again "Adho, nila vandhuduthe.. megam pochu"(See, its back) 
When I take her in bike (only within the 4 streets surrounding my place), she always looks for the moon and keeps talking about it. "Adho Nila","Nila Kaanum","Nila va megam marchurthu","Nila va building marachuthu" and so on and so forth

The last time we saw the moon (1 week back, I think), we were singing "Vennilave Vennilave, Vinnai Thaandi varuvaayaa" song (Famous tamil movie song) to the moon. Now, we are waiting for the weather to improve to catch up with the moon

Pretend Play

Jillu has never been over attached to dolls or soft toys (one of the reasons could be that I never gave her soft toys with fur as she in the habit of biting everything ). However, there are a few dolls (without fur obviously) lying around but she never plays with them much.

Lately, she has been wanting us to pet/flatter the doll as we do her. This was surprising because she used to cry if we did that before and she used to want all our attention. But recently, she comes to us, hands over the doll and says "Konju", "Appu ponnu sollu" and  keeps silently watching us pampering the doll. Only we feel awkward after some time (how long can we do this and there is a limit right?) and I switch back to pampering Jillu.

And, last week, after she had her dinner, she was playing with the doll and was talking to the doll. At first I didn't give my attention, but then immediately, I caught a phrase and I started listening to what she was saying. She was asking the doll her preference for dinner

"Nee thachi mammu chaapidriyaa, illa yummy pasta chaapidriyaa?" ("Do u want curd rice or yummy pasta?")

"yummy pasta chaapidriyaa illa thachi mammu chaapidriyaa?" ("Do u want yummy pasta or curd rice?")

"chollu paapaaa" ("Say naa baby")

(that night she did have Yummy Pasta for dinner !)

I laughed out loud and just could not stop. She had really noticed and realized that we always asked her the reverse way as well. You remember this right? She always chooses the second part of an option. She is yet to grasp the concept of options. So we ask her both ways to guage her needs and wants.

Counter arguments

From the Denials, now its on to counter arguments

Whenever anything is against her wish, she has started to argue her case in her own way, albeit the reason being the same always

Before,When she put her thumb in the mouth, we say "Baaaaad", she takes her hand out and says "good". Now,we say "Baaad" and she says (still with her hand in the mouth mind you) " Ippo dhaan pottundu irukken" (I put it in just now!)

Some days back, as is the norm, she was in my arms as soon as she woke up. However, I had to put her down for a few minutes for attending to something else. So I told her "Get down kanna, I will just be back". She immediately said "Ippo dhaan amma madila ukkachikaren" (Just now, I sat in amma's lap)

 She was wearing a new dress (trial for size) and we wanted to change it so that it can be put on for a better occasion. You don't need a prize to guess her reply to that. Yes,

"Ippo dhaan pottunden"

Roles Reversed II

You might have read this post where the roles were reversed earlier way as back as 5 months or so. This week, again the roles were reversed but in a totally different and in a so beautiful manner.

Normally, when we have some light dinner or breakfast in the form of fruits or vegetables, Jillu will come to us, peek into the bowl and take her pick. This was a good way to get her eating veggies and fruits, i thought, and let her do it. These days, I give her the same in a different bowl and she has it. 

But some days back, she had had her dinner already and I was having a bowl of fruits later. She came, saw what I was having and out of all assortments, was picking out papaya and guava for herself. I let her. 

After some time, she stopped eating and i didn't mind as she was already full. However, to my complete surprise, she started feeding me. 

"Amma, aa pottukko ma" (Amma, have one mothful !)

"Amma, avvu kadikkanum.. muzhungaadhe" (Amma, you must chew. Not swallow)

and one by one, she fed me the remaining bowl of fruits sitting on my lap:). Though I got my own instructions quoted back at me, I simply went with the flow and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

It would always be so lovely if and when our mom feeds us (sigh...i cant even remember this happening but surely must have happened though), but then being fed by your little toddler daughter ? mmmmm... lovely... amazing...a wonderful feeling and as beautiful as it can get.

Broken heart!!!

One day last week, I came home in the evening to find Jillu being non cooperative and generally creating problems for her grand ma by not eating. So fundoo, creative and innovative mama that I am, I pretended to cry by making wailing noise and squeezing my eyes and sobbed saying "Jillu saapida maatengaraa..mmmmm..hooooooooommmm....sob..sob..."(Jillu is not eating !!!)

and you know what? she said

"Azhaadhe amma.. naan samathaa irukken" (Dont cry mom. I will be a good girl). Wow !!! I was so touched and ecstatic that my girl was reacting in such a wonderful and caring manner. What more could I want?

My mom said  "Then come and have a mouthful and amma will not cry"

Jillu obliged. And I was so happy.

And then again the whole thing was repeated for the next mouthful. 

After some time, when I judged that the proceedings were okay and did not need my intervention, I was diverted and on to something else. Then guess what happened?

After a couple of mouthfuls, Jillu came to me and said

"Azhu maa, Azhu" (Cry mom !!!)

and there came my wonderful world crashing down to smithereens!

Fascinating Interests

Jillu, You are such an inquisitive child.You keep asking lots of questions and you have fascinating interests, ie your interests in such things fascinate me.  I have listed out all things that fascinate you currently. Though this may not be the complete list, I have tried to list all I can.

1) The kitchen sink tap has a filter and there is a fan mechanism for the water to flow out in a shower fashion. You noticed that minute detail and keep asking "chuthardhu paakanum "(Want to see the rotation!)

2) After you finish your meal, you insist that you need to put the empty bowl in the sink (however,more often than not, its a throw) and after that I will have to lift you so that you can see the bowl and the spoon in the sink for yourself.

3)You have a fascination for the spices and the pulses. By now, you know all the names of the spices that are kept at the front in all our shelves in the kitchen. You know salt, sugar, dal names, turmeric, Dhaniyaa (coriander seeds) and especially Dhaniyaa has a special hold on you.  There have been several days when you woke up with the request for "Dhaniyaa paakanum" (Want to see Dhaniyaa). You will bestow the responsibility of lifting you (so that you can list all the items to them) to whoever is standing in the kitchen.

May be you will become a great cook and take up hotel management?

4) I carry a stamp size photo of our family (you, me and appa) in my hand bag and you were only 6 months old when that photo was taken. Every day, when I take my bag, you demand to see "kutty paapu " (small baby - you call yourself kutty paapu). And as a very good girl, return it to me after taking a look at it. This has become our daily routine :)

5) Every time you visit the bathroom, you want to the see the WC flushing

6) And I am going to let out a secret with this one. What should anyone do to capture your interest or to keep you quiet? Its very simple. Any empty box or bottle will suffice. You have such a fascination for boxes and bottles. You can roam all day with just a box and a bottle. My !!!

7) And you also have a fascination for the broom/mop. You just wait for someone -either the servant maid or us to take it out (you would take it yourself if it was reachable for you, but knowing your penchant we leave it out of your reach always) and pounce on it. You say "naan thodaikanum" (I want to mop) and infact proceed to do so too and a you do a nice job as well. We cannot get our job done if we dont give it to you. Though you are very agreeable when I say that you can do it after Amma finishes. You then patiently wait and then after i finish you take it over from me 

8) And then, the balls. Right now there is a brillinat helicopter toy (gifted by your perima and perippa) which sings rhymes and make all sorts of sounds with colorful lights. But are you bothered by it? Not at all. You are just roaming around with the 4 balls that came along with the helicopter. You are suppoed to drop the balls into the helicopter, but no.. you just want the balls and no amount of persuasion has made you play by dropping the balls into the helicopter