That's Faith!

Amma : Nidhi, can u pls find me the remote? (TV-remote)
Nidhi : Saami reshikaname*, saami reshikaname, saami reshikaname... here it is! *hands me the remote*
Amma : u were praying saami reshikaname?
Nidhi : yeah, u can find things faster if u pray saami reshikaname.
Amma : Really?
Nidhi : yesterday when you were searching for my Roald Dahl book i was praying saami reshikaname silently. that's y u got it so fast...

That's Faith. i appreciate it!

In retaliation to the previous post, Aditi has taken to chewing the spoon and then throwing it down. i pick it up, wash it with water kept in a bowl nearby and proceed with the feeding. Good excercise for my back!

*saami reshikaname : Swami rakshikaname/God save me!

All i want is to do it myself!

Dear Aditi,

May i kindly request that until such time as u r able to accomplish the task from start to finish, i.e. take the food from the bowl and shove it into ur mouth with a spoon, plz allow me to assist u in the said activity. i can understand ur desire to be independant, but remember there r other things u can try to do urself - like play alone, amuse urself, read to urself, etc. But the very important activity of feeding is best left to ur mom, i.e. me. For one, the food is actually in the bowl and not in the spoon as u seem to think. u r content to chew the spoon for hours(ok, mins) together, but what abt replenishing the food
from ur baby-bowl?

For many days i wondered y u were crying. Was it that u did not like ur baby-food? Or was it the other extreme - u were not getting enuf of it? Aur dekha tho, u wanted to chew ur spoon! u kept fighting with me until u grabbed the spoon from me and shoved it into ur mouth and chewed on it firmly, giving me a look which said capiche? (or in other words, see?-that's-what-i-want!). i am mightily scared of ur look(and much more of ur wailing) and have let u chew the spoon all u want. Consequently, eating food, which shd take 15 mins at the most, is taking up the best part of an hour. well, whatever!

And while we r on this subject, i have one doubt. Is it an appreciation of my cooking-skills? Or is it rice in general? Why do u do - phoooooh? One minute u r fine, but the next, when i give u a little nicely-mashed-up-rice-with-dal-and-one-boiled-veg-with-salt, u go phoooooooooooh. Very entertaining at the moment, but pls remember ur attitude towards rice needs to change a bit. Especially when i have done the cooking! Ur Appa and Nidhika exchange sniggering looks, as if to say Aditi is our spokesperson. since i am too busy at the moment, i act as if i haven't noticed. Remember, though i forgive, i don't forget.

Also, i wanted to ask u howz ur research going on? Yeah, the one in which u r trying to find the rattle that is edible. i can see that ur field of research has expanded to include the TV-remote and transparent polythene-covers. Awaiting the conclusion of ur research, so that we can get on with mundane matters, like how abt starting on some fruits. Or juices, at least.

Alrite, that's all i have time to post coz u disdain to perform certain activities on ur own and mercifully leave it to me, like washing ur bum after potty.

So, bye!

Ur Mom.

PS : With regard to the habit of trying to feed urself and y i am against it for now, I thought of mentioning the fact that u r still a few days shy of 6 months-old. But of course, that is irrelevent. Self-help is the best help, no matter how early u start.

The Vendakaai Story

Although all my aunts advise me against this, sometimes (many a times) i do my cooking alongwith carrying my baby. Since she is prone to grabbing things, i generally hold her in my left hand, stand sideways and cook with my right.

One such day, i had a plate of vendakaai(bhendi/okra) cut into pieces. i was holding the plate in my left hand and carrying the baby as well.

Now, flashback 5 years ago:
The baby was little Nidhi. Undisturbed, i finished my cooking and returned to the drawing room to watch some television. i put Nidhi on my lap and what do i find - tiny fistful of vendakaais! Naughty Nidhi has managed to grab handful of vendakaais and is holding on to them as tightly as possible :-)

Return to present day:
Now, the baby is Aditi. I have just started cooking when i feel something is wrong. Although i haven't added any vendakaai from the plate to the kadai, the quantity in my plate is going down rapidly. What's happening - Aditi is grabbing fistfuls of vendaakai and showering them on the ground. Lo, all arnd me vendakaais r strewn on the floor like flowers! :-)

What do i do with my babies! And most importantly, when will i ever learn! :-)

Color, color, which color?

Nidhi is doing her Hindi h.w. I am sitting beside her.

She reads out :
Khaali jagao me rangon ke naam likhiye.
Kowwa dash hota hai.
Looks at me and says: Peela?

Me : Peela? Try again - Kowwa dash hota hai.

Nidhi *squinting eyes and wrinkling forehead* : what's the name for yellow???

Me : Yellow? *peering at her suspiciously* What do u think is 'Kowwa'?

Nidhi : Kowwa? Kowwa is Cow, of course! Cows r yellow? what's their color, o god?

:-))

Little Aditi is fascinated with curtains. Especially red color curtains. The minute you put her down she turns on her tummy, but if you place her near the window she'll remain on her back and gaze at wonder with the lightly blowing curtains, breaking into delightful smiles every now and then.

Nidhi's all-time fav color is pink. Mine WAS pink until i got tired of seeing pink bag, pink pencil-box, pink lunch-box, pink rubber-bands, pink chains, pink dresses... all on the same person at the same time all the time(no prizes for guessing whom we r talking abt!). Aditi likes red a lot, which is her father's fav color too. Will he be fed-up of all-red in our life in future? We'll wait and see...

Sisters

When Nidhi was a little girl of 4, she started asking for a 'baby in our house'. She even went up to a lady with a baby in a mall and asked her 'where can i find a baby?'. Yes, her first idea was to just buy one off the shelves. :-)

She grew up a little and we told her that we have to be blessed by God in order to get a baby. By age 5 she was praying earnestly for a little baby of our own. All arnd her her friends were getting new baby brothers and sisters and she kept saying how nice it would be to have a baby in our house too.

A year of praying later, Nidhi asked us why God didn't send us a baby? We pondered over the question and decided we were not praying earnestly enuf. A simple instruction of 'Innum shaktiya pray pannu' brought results within a month. At Nidhi's 6th b'day, i was 3 months pregnant.

when we learned the news in Jan 2011, our joy knew no bounds and inspite of the fact that my parents were present at home when i took to the home pregnancy test in the adjoining room, Nidhi was the first one to be given the 'good news'. She prayed the hardest after all!

A patient waiting of 9 months followed, after which Baby Aditi arrived. Even before she was born much talking to her thru my tummy happened. No wonder the minute she was born Aditi just looked all around her and peered into each of our faces, meeting our glances as if she was saying 'after hearing your voices past 9 months, it's a pleasure to see you all at last!'. Appa was the first person she looked at when she opened her eyes for the first time(not the nurse, not the doctor, not me) and Nidhi was the first person to touch her when she was placed in her cradle. And thus, 'sisters' were born.

A week or so after Baby Aditi came home, Nidhi informed us now that we r four of us, our family is complete. Just as mentioned in her EVS textbook.

We started calling Nidhi Nidhika(short for Nidhi-akka). From day 1 she has been taking her responsibility seriously and Aditi on her part adores her. In one way Aditi is luckier - Nidhi had to wait for a few years to have a sister, but Aditi has a sister from the day she was born!

Having no siblings myself, this sister-hood bond is especially fascinating for me. when i see the attachment my two children have for each other, i am amazed and i pray that they remain friends for life, for yet again Nidhi was the one who enlightened me - 'A sister is a friend who always stays in your house'.

Nidhi and Aditi

Nidhi and Aditi are my two daughters.

The first one Nidhi is (almost) 7 - a kind, sweet, gentle child.

Her sister Aditi - a baby of 5 months, with one of the sweetest smiles i have ever seen.

i am not new to blogging. but it's been a while since i updated my previous blog. so i am just gonna jump in and start this new blog with my usual Om Shree Ganeshaya Namah...