Denials - the No's and the Won'ts

have started

Jillu, Come here. lets brush your teeth
Response : Naa vara maatten (I will not come)

Special note : The "Naa vara maatten" is said so cutely and nicely with musical tones( if I knew music, I would be writing the exact music notes here of how she says that with a lenghthy "Naa", expanded "vara" and difficult to describe "maatten") that it is very difficult to take objection to it and only makes you smile. If only parenting is that simple. However, we cannot just heed to such talk, smile  and leave it. We need to move on, right ?

Jillu, Come, lets go to take your bath
Response : Naa vara maatten (I will not come)

Jillu, Give me the stove lighter. Its dangerous.
Response : Naa kudukka maatten (I will not give)

and so on and so forth....

"Naan vara maatten" seems to be the mantra for anything and everything these days

A Note to Dad

Yesterday, I did not sleep much in the afternoon during my usual nap time. And when I was feeling sleepy in the evening, Paati put me to sleep around 5:00 PM in the evening. But, you tell me, which fun loving, active kid would like to sleep at that time? So I chose to sleep only for 45 mins or so, just enough to recharge my batteries and get rearing to go

And thus it is that Amma thought that I would sleep without any delay once the usual bed time routine was over. Amma was very much mistaken. But how would Amma know that I was not at all feeling sleepy? How would Amma know that I was missing you, Appa? But I really, really tried hard to sleep. Made all the right moves upon and around her. Really! And just when Amma thought that I was asleep (I know she thought so, because she normally very gently and slowly disentangles her fingers from my grasp, after I am asleep. She thinks I don't know, but somewhere at the back of my mind, somehow, I know. But don't tell her hmm?) , I sat up and said

"Appa yenga? Appa nee seekiram vaa" (Where is Dad ? Come soon. Dad)

Poor Amma! It was dark so I could not make out her expression. But she reassured me that you will come home soon and cuddled me ever so nicely! After that, I don't know if Amma put me to sleep or I her, but of course you know that when you came home late, you found both of us sound asleep!

Bridge the gap

My uncle (my dad's bro - also known as "Konji thaatha" by Jillu ) and aunt has gone to U.S to be with their son and family (and that fmly is made of my cousin, his wife and 2 yr old son Anirudh)

Favorite past time of Jillu and her dad is to exclaim  "Baa" on to one's back or when one is not looking around. The idea is take people by surprise and Jillu has not yet caught on fully well to this idea. she will be standing right in front of you and you will be facing her and then she will still go ahead and exclaim "Baa".. Still, she is young and has a lot to learn.. poor thing...

Well, you might wonder why I am writing about two entirely unrelated topics. Now, read this conversation to know how Jillu, in her own unique way, seamlessly created the link between the two

Jillu : Konji thaathaa yenga? (Where is Konji thaathaa?)
Me : U.S la irukkaa (In the U.S)
Jillu : kausi paati yenga? (Where is Kausi Paati?)
Me : U.S la irukka (In the U.S)
Jillu : Anirudh yenga ? (Where is Anirudh?)
Me : Nee sollu yenga irukkaan? (Why dont u tell me ?)
Jillu : U.S la irukka (In the U.S)
Me : yes
Jillu : Konji thaathaa Anirudh paaaka poyirukkaa (Konji thathaa has gone to see Anirudh)
Me : (amazed) ammaan da thangam
Jillu : "Baa" Panna poyirukka.Poi "Baa" Pannuvaa (He will go there and do "Baa")
ME : ?????? what to say?

Could Only smile :)

A few extras

sometimes really don't matter and bring a smile to your face :)

We have been teaching Jillu to say "May I come in ?" before opening closed doors. She has caught on to the concept very well. Normally kids wont be able to say all the words and hence they might leave out words in a sentence or shorten the word, whereas Jillu in this case ends up saying extra words that bring a smile to my face every time that she says it :)

She says "May am I come in ?" and even when we correct her, she seems to relish saying "May am I come in?"

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Another incident that happened this morning also makes me smile :)

This morning, while I was cooking, I added tomatoes to the tawa and it made a "hoosh " noise. Immediately, Jillu said "Thakkaali yenna pannithu ?" (What did the tomatoes do?) 
and I laughed out loud :)

( To give a little background, (in case you did not know), Jillu always has always asked right from the beginning "Amma yenna Pan ?" (What is Amma doing? ) or "Appa yenna pan?" (What is dad doing?) and so on and so forth with grandma, grandpa, etc. And thus it is that she got to know everything, her vocabulary grew and hence the name of this blog as well)

Now Jillu has got around to asking such questions of objects and things as well :) hmmm...Tough/interesting times ahead for us.

CROCUS 2009

Saffron Tree is celebrating its 3rd birthday and has come up with the novel idea of CROCUS.

If you or your kids are book lovers and voracious readers, you would not want to miss this!

For more details, please visit this link

Sit back and enjoy the world tour from your seat :)

Bee-Be-B

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Whenever I sit in front of the PC, Jillu will come running and say  "Naan yezhudhanum. Naan Beeee, Bee, B yezhudhanum " (I want to write; Beee, Bee, B) and she will not relent until I open up a word doc or notepad for her to type. She knows the letter B (God only knows how she knows!) and types it (a constant deep press on the letter B).

Then, she knows the letter O and she has got to type that and hence the second line

Then, I would say, Saathvika S yezhudhu,, and there you see the third line. 

Her current lesson (in progress) is Jillu J. :)

Paavam ! Yenga veetu keyboard ku vaai irundhaa azhum :)

An early morning Rendezvous

with the unsuspecting pigeons and squirrels!

Jillu got up very early this morning and was not in the mood to go back to sleep.

So I decided to make the most of it and spend some quality time with her. Thus it is that both of us found ourselves in the terrace watching pigeons, squirrels and crows

When we entered the terrace, a flock of pigeons instantly flew away from us, into the sky. Immediately, Jillu said "Bayandhuttiyaa ? " (Were you scared?)

(to the pigeons, in case you were wondering!)

Then we saw a couple of squirrels running up and down a parapet wall. Once a squirrel stopped to eat some rice kept on the wall. Then it scurried away to the next scoop of rice on the same wall. Watching this, Jillu says "Innoru  mammam chaapardhu." (Eating the next course)

The early morning calm, with the chirrups and squeaks of myna and squirrel, the whole ambience was so nice that I was glad to have spared the time for this, especially because Jillu loved it :)

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P.S : 
Addendum : To add to Jillu's  list of co-relating things, today when my mom had casually commented that her body was slightly warm (warmer than usual) she had said "Marundhu kudu" (Give me medicine)

About turn

You could never have seen such an about turn anywhere. Only a month back, I had written this post about Jillu's aversion to medicine and the excuses she comes up with for not having them.

Now, its a complete turn around and you should see her now. I used to hide it behind my back then and take it out slowly after getting hold of her. Now, there is no need for any camouflage and when she sees me taking the medicine, she says

Amma Jillu ku miam (marundhu) tharaa (Amma is giving medicine to Jillu)
Thithi miam (Sweet medicine)
Ukkaachi saapidanum (Should sit and drink)
and she opens her mouth very willingly and with no protest
and the reversal is to such an extent that, after i finish giving her the needed 2 syrups, she asks

Amma innoru miam thaa (Amma, give me one more medicine) and once she actually said "Yummy miam" (Yummy medicine)

and I am still wondering about this miracle and what actually happened for this complete turn-around of events.

May be I should n't be too surprised if she takes another about turn the next time and goes back to the starting position once again?

Jillu's Second Diwali !!!

BOOM,BANG
HOOSH
PADA,PADA,PADA,DAPA,DAPA,DAPA
DOP,DAMAL

Sounds everywhere ! Relentless it was with us not even able to hear our own voice !

I would like to say that amongst all these noise, chaos and clutter, Jillu was totally unfazed and undaunted. She let us burst all the crackers and was watching from a distance from my mom's hips and even went far enough to hold a couple of sparklers in her hands.

But alas, this did not happen:( If you did not notice my choice of words earlier - "I would LIKE to say that" and chose to misinterpret the meaning, then I am not to blame, am I?

But all is not lost as the above said thing did happen; but during last year's Diwali and since I was not blogging last year, it had to be written and recorded somewhere, right? And what better chance than right here in this post? And I would be failing in my duty towards Jillu's admirers if I did not take it upon myself to update regarding Jillu's brave front last year

OK, to get back to the matter in hand about this year's Diwali, it was a very low-key affair as Jillu was not in the pink of the health. She (and ofcourse, include me as well here) had not slept well the night before due to severe cold and cough and was obviously feeling the repurcussions of lack of sleep the next morning, in addition to the continuing cold and cough. In the evening, it was a case of "Bayam kalandha aacharyam" (fear in combination with fascination) with respect to the crackers. When she was inside, she would say "Pataasu paakanum" (I want to see the crackers bursting) and when we took her to the terrace to show her the splendind night sky lit with every colour that could be imagined she would say "bheymma ikku" (Note: Bheyem, not bayam;  bayam means being scared) and start crying. Not wanting to aggravate her health, (the smoke and pollution adding to the wheezing bit) we would come back home, only to the repeat request of ""Pataasu paakanum".

I would like to tell myself that she was scared of the crackers only because she was not well, for
- I, for one, was never afraid of them myself and
- She exhibited the same attributes last year :)

Well, only time will tell and till then I can do nothing, but wait

Warm Wishes

Wish you all a very Happy and Safe Deepavali!!!

An award for observation, memory power, or comprehension ?

Which one is most suitable ? Or is it all?

I know kids could be observant and the living proof is Jillu. But she really surpassed herself a couple of days back and absolutely stunned us all ! I didn't know she could be this observing, understand, relate so fast, remember and reproduce at the right time as well!

That morning, we were hunting around in her cupboard for a new dress for her and she was obviously watching the proceedings (she abounds with a lot of new dresses and she gets to wear a new dress on any and all occasion and the occasion was my dad's birthday) . I gave it to my dad so that he could help her into it.

And what does she do? Even before he approaches her, she says

"Kongamam thadavu" (applu kumkum onto the new dress).

There is this traditional habit of applying a small tinge of kumkum or turmeric to a corner of the new dress before wearing them. This little girl who is not even 2 yet, has observed this being followed on previous occasions, understood it and now here she is, telling us what to do! 

I am simply amazed!

Open the Door!!

OMG !!!

Right now, I am locked up inside a bedroom in my home and attending a conference call.  I am glued to the phone and concentrating on the call.

And what does Jillu do in the hall in the background? She keeps asking my mom for me and my mom is telling her that "Amma is working and you should not disturb". All these I hear through the closed door.

This is a normal happening. But what did actually prompt this post of mine?

A few seconds back (or the time it took me to type this post) she repeatedly screamed

"OPEN THE DOOR !!"

while POUNDING on the door!

I never imagined I would be doing a live post, but then life is full of surprises! :)

And yes, she screamed the exact words and in English !!!

Changu, Chakkaram,

Kavasam & Kundalam

for the past 2 weeks has been

one small ponds powder unopened case,

one shampoo bottle which has served its purpose,

one chocalate wrapper shaped pencil box and

one snack box and

not necessarily in the same order...

Warning sign to be heeded

Jillu has started understanding, comprehending conversations and deriving conclusions out of it !

Last week, me and Jillu were staring from our mom's place when it started to drizzle. We went under the shade and I was pondering if I could reach home before it started to pour (distance being just 5 mins away)

Just then my dad came. I requested him, "Appa, why dont you help as it is just going to be 2 mins?". My dad acquiesced.

Then my daughter immediately says to a neighbour standing nearby

"Naan thathaa oda bike la tata poga poren" (I am going tata in bike !!!)

The point here, if you had not already noticed, is that there was no mention of bike in our conversation :)

A director in the making

Scene 1:

My Mom is entering the room with coffee cup in her hand and about to hand over to my Dad

Jillu's Directions:

"Thaathaa coffee vaangikko" (Grandad, take the coffee )

and while my dad is half way through his coffee, " Innu Konjam irukku paar. Baaki. Saapidu" (There is still some left. Drink)

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Scene 2:

Jillu, me and her dad are in the car and her dad is driving

Jillu's Direction from back seat

slow a ottu, na? (Go slow, OK?)

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Scene 3:

I am serving lunch to my dad

Jillu's Directions:

Pisinju Pisinju saapidu ( Mash well and eat)

and when he is done with the first course,

Innum konjam saapidu (Eat more)

Gada gada nu saapidu (Eat fast)

Baaki kai irukku paar (See? There is still some veggies left)

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Scene 4:

I request my dad to switch off the fan before he plays with Jillu in the other room. He forgets, but however puts on the fan in the other room.

Jillu : Fan anachituu vaa (Switch off the van and come)

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Scene 5:

Morning, coffee/milk time

Jillu's direction to my mom:

Inga vandhu thaachi (Come and lie down here )

paper padi (Read Paper)

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Current Highlights !

Jillu had a new hair cut yesterday and she is looking fabulous, even if I say so myself :)

It’s only the second time hair cut and all 3 of us (Jillu, if she had known where she was headed to, her mom and dad, who very well knew it of course!) were not very keen on a repeat performance after the last one. However, in the best interest of all, what has to be done has to be done and we headed to the Naturals saloon! (me desperately praying that the brand name lives up to its reputation and some professionalism would magically wind down her wails)

We went there and I put-forth my basic request - "Trim her hair. Nothing fancy. Cut in the front so that it does not fall in her eyes and trim at the back as well." He went somewhere, came back and started with his job and said "Shall we do a Dora cut?"
                                                                    

Apparently my prayers were answered and the magic was about to happen!  I never knew she knew Dora! I don't know how (she does not watch Dora stuff in TV or CDs or whatever), but she knew and an arrested look came to her eyes the moment she heard the name! And that is all the sign I needed to boost her up and encourage her!

So, I don’t think it needs to be said that she didn’t bring the whole place down like she did last time. This time, it was all very dignified, only with small whimpering and protests here and there!

And it is thus that Jillu is now sporting a wonderful and magnificent Dora cut. All of us, including Jillu, love it.

Broken, Yet unbroken

I wear this type of adjustable toe rings. Jillu noticed the gap.

She said "Metti Udanjirukku" (Metti is broken) pointing to the gap.

Tick, Tock :Tick,Tock : Could you please stop ticking ?

Time and Tide waits for none !

If I am asked for one single wish to be granted today, I would wish for time to stand still until further notice :)

Yesterday evening outing with you was such fun and so poignant, Jillu. You looked so grown up and a big girl last evening even though you are only 21 months old!

I had made you wear full pants and full sleeve T-shirt yesterday (to avoid mosquito bites) as it was pretty late when we headed out for the near by park. And my, you looked so tall and to prove that fact, the pants were an inch or so short. You were able to stand in the front of my bike for the ride to the park, a 1/2 Km away. The way you sat in the swing (for whole 10 minutes) alone, holding on to the ropes on both sides while I pushed the swing reinforced that you have indeed grown. I still remember the times when you needed 2 people, one to hold you in the seat and the other to push the swing! And, we (My mom and I ) were so amazed when you climbed the couple of stairs alone without holding on to anything and entered the grocery store. You talk so much these days using words that we never knew you knew! You are so inquisitive and want to know everything!

And yet, at the same time, you are a baby still. You still need to grow up to play on the slides on your own. I helped you on the slides yesterday. You still continue to babble things like "Minima Minima", "Gaaya Baayaa Gukki" for which only you know the meaning. You cannot pronounce "f" still and say chone and choto. You still believe that "Kaakaa" or the crow is capable of taking things away from you. You are such a baby when you climb on top of me before your sleep time. You have got a long way to go, learn a lot and you are only a baby still.

But yesterday, the feeling of the ever passing time was much more significant and I just wanted (and still want) the time to stand still.  I am reminded of all these words like Maasum (Hindi), Sisu, Mazhalai, (Tamil), cherubic, innocence, etc when I think of babies and especially when I look at you. I am not in any hurry to see you growing up fast and losing all that innocence that is unique only to kids and babies.

There's so much more to tell you about how I feel but I can't describe or express everything. I never imagined motherhood would be like this! And whatever happens and how much ever you grow up, I think you will always be my baby and I love you so much!

Tick, Tock :Tick,Tock : Could you please stop ticking ?