Our first picnic

Super Sunday

23 Dec is a day i'd like to remember for a lot of reasons. After a break of almost 8 unbelievably long months, we took a day off, our style. Totally Unplanned, get on the road and see where it takes us types. So, after a lot of ideas and discussions about where to go and what to do, we decided to just get out of home. 

Excited about the unplanned journey, I quickly packed a basic bag with snacks, water and a change of clothes for Tiny. And we set off on a sunny December afternoon. This car too, like our previous one, knows us only too well. It was almost like it had figured we needed a day of fun, something new, something we hadn't done before and drove us towards Mysore. This particular route has several options to choose from... WonderLa, Innovative film city, golf resorts, and places like chennapatna and srirangapatnam, closer to Mysore. We then started making a short list like A-grade parents (!!) of our options considering time, a place that'll be fun for Tiny and the stuff in my bag. We'd already been to the film city and we weren't keen on wonderla.. So it had to be the Eagleton golf resort. 

I'd never been to any of these resorts before so I had absolutely no idea of what one could expect. S was keen on trying his hand at golf, while I was pretty sure I'd be running behind Tiny, like everyday. Somehow the idea didn't quite excite me initially. It was almost 2 when we reached so we headed straight for lunch. And it was quite a disappointment. Rude & uninterested staff, boring buffet, and a noisy restaurant. Hmph..mood spoilers, i thought. But, I kept an open mind and decided to get it done with and move on to figuring out ways to entertain the kid and myself. 

Out of curiosity of what one does on a day out in a resort, we set out to explore. We found the park. I am the one that takes Tiny to the park every evening and it had been a while since S had watched Tiny play. He was as excited as the little one. Hand in hand,the boys set out to explore. Tiny played while S watched in watched in awe how easily and carefully he climbs the big slides, loves the swing and the merry go round and, left to himself, will sit in the sandpit all day! After an hour in the hot sun, we had to drag him out to go back indoors. 

Once back inside, we found a kids play room which was basically a HUGE ball pit. When he started school 7months ago, the ball pit at the entrance was the only motivating factor. It was familiar territory :) S jumped into the pit with him and they both played for a while. It was a first for S and he was a little boy all over again.  And then came the swimming pool!!!

The husband and the kid are water babies. Tiny needs to play in the water every day. It's his thing. And I don't even like to get my feet wet, let alone get into the pool. Despite Rules written on a big board insisting that people should wear swimwear to get into the pool, a group of ladies were splashing around in the baby pool fully clothed, with dupattas and all! One was in a burkha with the veil  covering her face!! S went off to buy swimming shorts for himself and Tiny. Thankfully the ladies had finished their jalakrida and got out of the pool in their heavy, wet clothes. Drying their hair, squeezing water out of their clothes back into the pool YUCK! They walked to the rest rooms, dripping water all they way! I was not sure I wanted Tiny to get into that water...but he was ready..he'd taken his shoes off and was struggling with his shorts while I stared at the women. The trunks came, boys changed, and jumped into the water. For about 2 hours....they were in there, splashing around, wading and just having soooooo much fun. I forgot about the dirty water and just sat and watched. Took pictures, recorded videos, worried myself sick that the kid will slip and break another tooth or hurt his head or break his nose (like S had done when he was young). I kept telling S not to go too deep into the water and he asked, " please tell me how much deeper can I go on a 2 feet deep baby pool?!" yes, I am scared of water and have been scared since I was about 7 years old! But I decided to let them be while I was safe on the bench under a tree. 

It was almost 5 when they got out of the pool. We headed straight to the cafe as Tiny hadn't had a  proper lunch and after all this play he must be hungry. I also needed some caffeine. We sat and before we could order, the little fellow put his chair next to mine, pulled out his jata ( a whole post will be dedicated to that) placed his head on my lap and fell asleep. Just like that. Within seconds. He was exhausted! 

We quickly finished our coffee and headed home. Feeling satisfied. Happy. 

My very own question bank

Honestly, I'd thought this particular phase was still at least a year away. But it's already been here for a while now..and I've been thinking.. God, give me some patience or give me some patience! The questions are in a hurry to jump out at me...nineteen to a dozen would be an understatement. 'Maa, tell me what am doing', 'Maa what are you doing' 'Maa what does the JCB do?' 'Maa what does the pink nano car do"! 'Maa why does appa go to office?!!' 'ma where is  Ashoka Pillar?' 'ma  can i sit here, or here or here or here or here...? All the while pointing out to different places and not stopping to look at me for s response! Phew!! the questions just never stop!

It's interesting that he repeats his questions randomly and expects a consistent answer...almost like he's checking to see if I remember :) so the other day, we were out for a drive and he he saw a JCB in action. Immediately,  'Maa what does the JCB do?' so I replied without paying attention that it just moves debris and helps in constructing a building. He went quiet for a few minutes and then said,'Maaaa, JCB Manuu, kallu tegiyathe!' (it moves mud and stones). I forget that he remembers and I have to be consistent!!

I'm now convinced that no amount of mental preparation can prepare one for this phase. And wondering what I'll do when he starts asking more complicated questions ..I guess itts time I introduced him to Google :P

Sports Day

The excitement began almost a month ago, when I received a circular announcing the school's annual sports meet in December. We blocked the date on our calendars instantly. The next circular was about practice sessions in school and how we should send the kids dressed in comfortable pants and sports shoes - with Velcro only and strictly no laces. :) I was more excited than anyone else. Of course Tiny had no clue what was going on. He just went about with his activities as usual. I made sure he didn't miss a single day of school and we played in the park every evening. 

One evening at the park I noticed him running neatly in a straight line on the tiled jogging path and figured that he'd actually been observing and absorbing things taught at school! He kept screaming 'school, Amma, school' as he ran. :)

The day came close. My parents came all the way from Bombay and made sure they stayed back for the event. The event originally to be held on a Saturday afternoon, was rescheduled for a weekday afternoon..which is really sad as most of the working parents would find it difficult to take time off. 

On the day of the event, Tiny fell asleep just an hour before we were to leave home. He woke up with a nasty temper and I wasn't sure if he would even want to participate. The moment we reached the venue, he saw some of his friends and just ran away..and got busy playing with them. This was the first time I was watching Tiny with his friends...he's such a big boy already. All the children were asked to assemble in some  room to get them ready for the events. The parents escorted the kids till the room and waited there...I got up to hold Tiny's hand and take him and he calmly said 'naan hothoni' (i'll go on my own) waved to me and scampered across the grounds to go to his teachers! I was really amazed at how independent he's growing up to be. And within minutes, the events started. 

Little children dressed in green walked out, led by a band. They were all over the place. Running towards any familiar faces they could see in tHe audience. Some refusing to walk. Some still sleepy.
 But they were all marching. Little green soldiers. All the parents eagerly searching for their little kids in the army. Mine was with his group right at the end. Doing his own thing. Looking everywhere. Walking only when he felt like it. :) I really couldn't stop cheering them.

The first event was the one with Tiny's group. They had to place blocks like a wall, place a roof and a solar panel on it. It was a relay of sorts and there were three groups of 3 kids each. Tiny was the second in his group and the first child in his group was in a bad mood and was crying and just didn't want to play. The teacher walked the kid to the blocks and helped him place a block but the child refused and ran away to his parents. Tiny took the cue and ran to the blocks, quickly placed them all in 2 rows, placed the roof and placed the solar panel also, all the while with the teacher telling him to stop and leave something for the next child to do! As he ran towards the finish line, he saw S sitting int he front row. He promptly changed course and ran into S's arms. His part in the sports day was
 over and he'd done it well. I. Was soooooo proud! The rest of the afternoon was fun and I was really amazed at how such young kids were following complex instructions so well. They even had a little
 race for the parents at the end and my son was cheering for me from the stands. He's such a sport. 

Then came the moment where he had to go up on the stage to collect his 'Gold Medal'! :D He thanked the chief guest politely and went on to receive his certificate and then said 'Amma a agoytu, hogona manège' (it's over Amma, shall we go home now?)! The day was over! Here's the certificate. More pics of the sports day coming up soon. 

The Tooth Fairy's unexpected visit

Yes, the terrible twos have struck. 3 months ago actually, but now, in the true sense of the phrase. He's just all over the place. And so are his moods. One moment he's happy an the next he's whiny an within minutes he'll be sitting by himself with a book or a truck. 

Last week, what started off as a perfectly ordinary day, turned into a nightmare with a trip to the ER. Thankfully, it ended at that. We were at a shopping mall waiting for our food at the food court. Tiny was behaving himself, much to my surprise, and sat on a chair an insisted that he eats his food himself. So I got up to get our tray from the counter and I heard a thud and people screaming. I looked back to see Tiny on the floor with blood flowing out of his mouth. I ran to get him and I noticed that he'd broken his tooth. The one in front had just come out from the root. God! How does he manage to do this so easily?! I rushed him to the ER (thank god for integrated living and the hospital closeby). He'd calmed down by then and even walked to the the hospital himself, refusing to be carried. The docs said it was nothing to worry. We got home and he even managed to eat some soft rice with curd.

Here's the important part. We took him to a pediatric dentist in the evening to rule put any other complications and this is what we were told. Since it was a tooth and gum injury, he should have been taken to a dentist instead of the ER. If it is a young child, immediately collect the broken tooth and keep it in some container of milk till you get to the dentist. They can fix it back. If the child is slightly older and can follow instructions well, it is best to keep the tooth on the floor of the mouth, below the tongue till you reach the dentist. This will rule out any risk of contamination. 

We, of course, were uninformed and the tooth had been everywhere from spectacle cases to jeans pockets. So if this happens to your kid, you know what to do. As of now, we've decided not to go in for any artificial fillers and plan to wait for the permanent tooth to grow. Let's see.

One year later

I can't believe it's been a whole year since the previous post on this blog. And now that Tiny is growing up really fast, I feel the need to put everything down so that I don't forget. So that I can come back, read these posts and relive his childhood whenever I want to. So that I can use this to blackmail him whenever I want to :) (I am kind of wicked!)

Now with new gadgets and, hopefully, some free time, I hope to keep this space updated.