Happy Birthday Tiny!

Tiny turned a year old yesterday! And, first signs of becoming a big boy - he stood up without any support and I missed capturing the moment 'cos I was too shocked to see him stand!

And am noting this piece 'because I don't want to forget' - This morning, while on the potty, he was practicing all the signs he knew....its like a ritual for him. Almost like he has to do something to keep him busy while doing the job. So I asked him in kannada ' Bayi yelli baby du?' (where's baby's mouth) and he waved out to me. I repeated again -- baby bayi - mouth - yelli? and again, he waved. I assumed he'd lost interest and let him do his thing. After a while, I again prompted - chicku, bayi yelli? and again he waved. Only then it struck me...I was asking for Kannada bayi (mouth) and he was showing me the English 'bye'. So much for being grown up!

Other things he's learnt:
- he climbs - everything from a whole flight of 22 stairs, the bed, the side tables, the clothes stand, cupboard shelves, the book shelf, window grill...anything!
- He knows that the spoon is used to eat food and picks the spoon the right way and tries to put it into his mouth.
- Knows how to use the actions he's learnt in the correct context. Like when he wakes up and I ask him 'Where's appa?' He first looks around, then calls out 'appa' and then looks at me and shows a cute 'gothilla' (I don't know) with his little hand.
- Says the words appa, amma, akka, thatha, ajji, yedda (get up), baba (come) , geebugeebuphhrrr (I have no idea what it means..but it sounds irresistably adorable!)
- everytime a song plays or anyone hums a tune, Tiny has to join in. He goes 'oooooooooooo' and even tries to imitate the tune.
- If he wants to get out of the house for a stroll, he just crawls to the verandah and gets one of his little kitos back with him.The little rascal knows that he wears shoes only while going out.
- He loves his books...and they are the only things that can keep him sitting in one place for hours at a stretch..quite literally. So when I have to take a shower, I put him on the mat and give him a few of his favourite books and go. He turns the pages, pretends to read aloud, feels the text...and keeps himself entertained for as long as am gone.


Here's his very first picture...about 30 minutes after he was born and one of his latest pictures...

There's actually so much more that he does that has to be blogged about...and am lagging so far behind. So I hope to make at least 1 entry a day to catch up. Lets see. 

Resemblance!

a 6-month old Me with my g'mom (L) and a 3-month old Tiny with my g'mom

Two men and a baby

Tiny's first trip to Mysore

A day after he turned 6 months, Tiny made his first trip to Mysore. To the place where I was born. To the house where my grandparents lived, and then my mom, till she got married and then me for the first few years of my life. My earliest memories are of this home and the the people I lived with there. He also met one of my favourite aunts..in fact my favouritest aunt!

Some pics of the house:

The original Home

Same place as above, about 25 years ago (that's me!)

With a bit of the lovely garden

And the Bougainvillea  

The lovely driveway 

The driveway and me with my one of my first pets, 25 years ago 

All the loving from my fav. aunt

Look forward to many many more such fun trips to Mysore!

Tiny is now fun size!

Tiny has crossed the 6-month mark..yaaayyyyy!!!! He's all grown up now and is just so much fun to be with. The fact that he's big enough to carry comfortably and yet small enough to fit into your arms makes him absolutely fun-sized. Precious precious days.

Tiny is now a real person, not just a little baby who will do as you make him do. He has a mind of his own and will do only what he wants, when he wants to. Hmmm.

Among latest developments, he now offers his hand (the correct one, mind you) when you stretch out a hand and say 'shake hands, Tiny'! Manages to pull his toes to his mouth.

 When you hold out your hands to him, he grabs your fingers tightly and pulls himself up to sit and then even STAND! Yes, he's able to stand, when supported. And he loves it :).

He also imitates actions..like if you are playing music and you happen to dance, he'll watch for a few minutes and start jumping up and down. He's trying to sit down, but still isn't strong enough to sit steadily. Maybe a few more weeks..desperate attempts to crawl are still on but not much progress yet.

Hes started rolling...tummy to back, back to tummy and just doesn't stop..and I have to share this... First time he rolled from his tummy onto his back, he was on a play mat on the floor and hit his head quite hard on the ground. He was startled for a bit and then realized it hurt and started crying. No one fussed around him much and he tried it again after a few minutes. It hurt again. He stopped. Then, that night while putting him to sleep, he tried rolling back and forth on the bed and figured it don't hurt at all..and that it was in fact a lot of fun and a easy way to reach out to toys. So now what he does is rolls only when put on the bed and doesn't even attempt it if he's on the floor! Smart cookie this one.

Tiny can now clearly distinguish between familiar people and others. Living in a joint family, he's used to having people around him and isn't usually very cranky when he sees new people. But one strange thing...every time I take him to my aunts house to meet my grandma, something triggers off a bad mood and he starts crying inconsolably. I've taken him there about 7-8 times in 2 months and this has happened EVERY single time!!! He also behaves himself when we have guests at home...smiles back at just about anyone who smiles at him and if the mood is good he even gurgles and greets them with an aaaa..ooo...etc.

Tiny, with a t-shirt stuck on his head, playing with the bedspread

In the 2 months that he's been in Bangalore now, Tiny has changed a lot. He's traveled to 2 new places, both road trips; started eating semi-solid foods and has developed a keen sense of taste, has started playing with toys and already has quite a collection, visited a dirt bike track and watched, with his jaw open and drooling all over, his dad and mama ride one of those bulky MTV's; been to a restaurant; celebrated his very first Ugadi and not to forget...watched the World Cup for the very first time in his life and watched us bring home the cup!! More about this soon..

Back in Bangalore!

Yes...after 7 months of Bombaying, am back in Bangalore. It has been a hectic one month. The last month in Bombay just whizzed past and it was already time to get back. It's been a totally different story from the moment I set foot at home in Bangalore. Having to do all my chores myself, look after Tiny and S, tend to common chores around the house, run errands etc etc. What helped was mom's company till I settled down.

With all this going on, I haven't had the time to even switch on my laptop. So today I sacrificed my afternoon siesta with Tiny to catch up on blogging and emailing.

Quick updates: Tiny got his ears pierced and also got introduced to solid food. He completes 5 months (!!) today. He's already tasted sweet lime juice, litchi juice, rice porridge, and bits of rava idli and dosa. He has started rolling over regularly and is making desperate attempts to crawl. He's got a small collection of soft toys of which he even has his favourites -  a small tiger and a squeaky red hippo with silver horns! He enjoys a bath with the hand shower. The rougher the games, the more he enjoys them. He laughs out loud when he hears my voice or sees me after a gap.

Hope to continue blogging more regularly now that my schedule with Tiny is more or less set..or so I'd like to think! Till then, some of his recent snaps.