Some Summer Fun

Summer's on, and so are the holidays. Lots of time, lots of things to do, and yet, nothing much to do! That's how it is with San.

Last weekend, we finally enjoyed our much awaited camping trip - our very first camping trip! Thankfully, the rain and thunderstorm forecast could not spoil the spirit of it. It was fun. The very interesting lecture on alligators, watching a baby alligator gobble up a turtle, the two-hour long hike (which had San quite bored), the sounds of birds that is music during the hike, setting up the tent (the most important part of a camping trip), the outdoor cooking (not to forget the roasted marshmallows), the bugs that bug, the sight of a start-studded sky, the endlessly tall trees, sounds of the night, the post-dinner games and chit-chat, the early morning sights and sounds and smell, the outdoor breakfast, the wind-up, the clean-up... all of it was a great experience. Some great time away from the routine, the gadgets, and the monotony.

  

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San's swimming classes are on, finally, and she's loving it! After a long, long gap, she's gotten into the pool, and she's being a fish. :) It's fun to watch her learn, although, she's mostly hunting for toads and centipedes in the pool during her class, thanks to the frequent showers!

And yesterday, on Father's Day, Papa dear and San enjoyed some daddy-dotty time in the pool after long!

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Our birdhouse is finally up and very busy all through the day. Sparrows, blackbirds, crows, pigeons... we have them all! And that means more cleaning work for us. The birdseed peels and bird poop make a real mess! But then, we love to watch the birds!

Gearing up for a trip to home

And I'm writing again after almost a month... sigh! Now that we've finally moved in to an apartment, I can easily devote some of my precious time to my very precious blog. But no. It's time to pack the bags again and go for yet another trip, home this time. Am I excited? Don't even ask!

I'm sick of travelling. The thought of getting on another flight makes me nauseous. But this is that one trip that people are looking forward to. San's grandparents are eager to meet her and we're ready to celebrate yet another Diwali with family, and that's the good part.

The best part about being in India at this time of the year is that we're getting to enjoy the fun celebrations, especially the Garba/Dandiya nights. San got to dance her heart out on the Garba night. Watching her that night was a treat!

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San has become fiercely independent these days. She wants to do everything herself, and also forces us to take her help in whatever we do. That is obvious given that she's a four-year old now. I miss helping her!

We haven't put her in a school yet and plan to do so after we come back from the home-trip. Seeing other kids go to school in their nice uniforms, San is more than eager to go. She's been doing a lot of writing (mostly A-Z and numbers) and gives herself stars for doing a good job. Her writing table is her little home school, which she proudly calls "Zero School". There's an imaginary teacher who gives her stars all the time. Cute, isn't it? :-D

Migrated

And we've finally migrated back to India... phew! The last two months have been no less than a roller-coaster ride, complete with uncertainties and anxiety. We might move back to US in half a year, or maybe not... you never know! I hate uncertainties.

So we've actually move to a city that is completely new to us and has us confused right now - the great Bangalore or Bengaluru. Everything seems so alien here. San's missing her friends, school, and home back in Houston and thinks that she's on a month-long vacation. We're letting her think that. :)

I might not post here for another month or so. A lot of travel is coming up!

To my blog friends - I'm sorry I haven't been able to read and comment on your posts lately. I've to catch up on a lot at other places right now. See you all soon! 

A getaway, some tan, and an ambition

The summer heat has made me lazier. How difficult it is to type a few words and write a new post? Very.

We spent the last weekend in and around Las Vegas. San was super-excited, in spite of the dry, hot weather that couldn't take a toll on us. The only things she wanted to avoid was the sun and food. Tough, isn't it? :-)

Yes, LV isn't the place to be with kids. A walk through the casinos can result in you explaining them why the place isn't meant for them and why they can't play the 'video games'. If you are with kids, you need to devote some time to the kid-friendly places. For us, it was the hotels with wonderful fountains, gardens, restaurants, and of course, the kids's favorite, M&M World. San could have spent her life there, among the loads of M&Ms and goodies.

We also spent a day at the Grand Canyon, which she called the Big Mountain. That's because we didn't explain her what a canyon is! Do not miss her green binoculars in the picture below. She picked them up (literally) from a souvenir shop, and almost walked away with it, until we told her that we need to 'buy' them first. Phew!

And the next favorite place she wanted to be, after she was done with her other favorites, was our hotel room. She loved her cozy bed there, and we had a hard time pulling her away from it the morning we had to leave!

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San and sun don't go well together. Her face gets redder and the skin darker. She already got a bad bad tan from our beach trip two weeks back. The LV trip enhanced it further. I showed her her shades in the mirror. She was amused!

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San has started her summer session in school after a week's break. She's moved on to the 4-year old's class and adores her new teacher. Also, she has developed a strange interest in the tools, the ones that Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and Daddy use. So her favorite place in her class is where the toolbox is.

And what does she want to be when she grows up? A Firefighter, like Fireman Sam, to rescue people, and an Animal Rescuer, just like Diego! And when she is not rescuing people and animals, she'd fix stuff for them!

Friendly or over-friendly?

We're back,  minus the bang! :-p The 7-week long trip to India was a refresher, minus the illnesses, the hectic travel, and the flight delays during our return. 

San had a great time with her grannies, grandpas, cousins, uncles and aunts! It was definitely a big change for her, people-wise and atmosphere-wise, but she embraced it happily, apart from the initial days when she used to find everything 'yucky' and refused to use the 'squat toilet' (also known as the Indian-style toilet) at one particular place, because she found it 'scary'! :) 

Her friendliness surprised us at times, and it was getting better with time. She mingled well with everyone in our family, like she's known them for years. But outside the family, San's friendly attitude scared us. She has this ability to walk up to anyone and make friends within seconds! In the shops, in the restaurants, at the airport, in the flight - she made friends everywhere. It felt like she's forgotten the world, her parents, and everything else for those 'friends'. It's scary, very scary, at times. And I wonder if it is time to talk to her about Stranger Danger!

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All's well that ends well, and it ended very well for San. Her Christmas gift was waiting in the garage (for a change) when we returned. And her happiness knew no bounds when she saw her 'kitchen'! :)

Signing off with my last post of this year! Wish you all a very happy 2013! :)

San says

Tired (and tanned) after a hectic, but an interesting trip to the East Coast, I almost ignored this poor blog and kept delaying this update... no excuses! I owe a big sorry to the blog! :)

San was happy with the trip cuz' she got to travel in almost all modes of transportation... plane, bus, train, boat, ship... yup, almost everything she wished to be on! :) She's been watching Caillou since a long time now, and she always use to beam at Caillou's experiences of train and plane journeys. Now she can boast of them herself! But then, she was even happier to come back home. She really missed it!

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San's been talking a lot (as usual) and entertaining us with her very meaningful sentences. Let me share some cute ones with you. :)

San: Help me with the puzzle, Mommy!
Me: I'm ironing Papa's shirts right now. I'll help you later.
San: Papa won't go to office again today. Do it tomorrow, Mommy.

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San: Dolly is my friend. Pinky is not my friend.
Me: Why is Pinky not your friend?
San: Pinky is not happy, Mommy.
Me: Are you happy?
San: I'm not happy, Mommy. I'm Saanvi!

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Of Easter, Blue Bonnets, and Miscellaneous

San enjoyed the Easter party at school, it being the first ever that she got to attend. She'd missed the Valentine's Day and Christmas parties, and I desperately wanted her to be able to attend this one! Class parties are fun - that's what I feel, and what makes me feel good about them is the colorful things and the yummy snacks that we get to buy for them, especially for that occasion. Obviously, I'm more excited than her about her class parties. :D

I took almost half an hour to decide which Easter basket to pick for her... I finally went with the one that San was roaming around with since that half an hour. And then the eggs, and the candies, and cookies... phew and fun! :-)

But then, I couldn't get her to say 'Cheese' for the Easter special picture of her friend and her. She stayed tight-lipped, but did show off one of her eggs.. haha! :-)

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This year, we finally got to enjoy the sight of the famous Texan Blue Bonnets! San only knew that we're going to see some blue flowers and obviously wasn't much excited about it. When we reached the patch where we could take pictures, San wasn't ready to walk through the pointy grass. And then, the mosquitoes and butterflies bothered her a bit too much! That's my delicate darling, who still managed to grin, standing tall among the Blue Bonnets. :-)

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She's been imitating her teacher in her pretend plays since quite some time now, and it's just getting better! I love the new words that she surprises me with... and the tones, the accents, the pitches... it's all fun to see and hear. :-) Also, I wonder if the Terrible Twos would get more terrible than what it is now...!

Let me also tell you that it's a delight to see your toilet-trained kid move around without a diaper, but it's no fun when they take you on restroom trips every half an hour, especially when you're enjoying a hearty meal... sigh! And then, San darling always hides behind me when the flush roars. :-)

Of the Fears

It was a sunny Sunday yesterday, and we decided to take San to the park. She's been a lover of the slides and the swings, and was obviously excited about it. When we reached there, she wanted to go on the slides first.

And then, there it was - a small flight of steps, waiting to take her to the slide, scaring the excitement out of San. "No, San! You've done it a million times. Why not now?" I thought and wondered why she's suddenly scared of climbing the steps, of the small heights, of all the fun it holds. San stood there, on the first step, letting her fear out in the form of silly whines, waiting for Mommy or Daddy to hold her hand and guide her through the steps. I helped her climb up a few times, showing her how the other kids are doing it, telling her how she can do a 1-2-3 on the steps, assuring her that she'd not fall because she's holding the bars... and also telling her that we'd take her back home if she continues to be scared of it.

And worst of all, she was afraid to slide down too for the first few times. I watched her with a mix of embarrassment, anger, sadness, curiosity, and some more emotions. I hated the people who were watching her with a funny smile on their faces.

Papa dear asked me to let her be and not bother her. We watched her from a distance and cheered her constantly. And she did it again - the lost act. She suddenly froze at one point, anxiously looking at a crying baby, ignoring all the background noises. At another one, she vaguely looked at the people, like she's seen people for the first time. She kept smiling at the boys who were playing with their water guns, oblivious of her surroundings. We kept yelling, "Go, San, go! There are kids behind you!" "Look in the front, San! You'll fall!" But obviously, she wasn't listening. And then I walked up to her to wake her up, feeling like an ugly noise that disturbed a beautiful dream. Sigh!

She was fine an hour later, and I wondered why San did this, simultaneously cursing myself for going through those silly emotions. And then, it hit me - maybe she got it from me; the fear of heights and the lost acts... I saw my reflection in her and it was I who was scared now. I don't want her to be like me. I want her to be strong, fearless, and outgoing... not the timid one, like I was.

San happily watched the ducks later. And like all Mommies, I forgot everything about it after seeing the lovely smile and hearing the magical laughter of San... She's perfect the way she is!

Innocent food and Curious Minds

I learned some lessons after experiencing some of San's 'throwing-up' sessions on some of our not-so-short drives. I learned that we must keep her cool all the time in the car (no sunshine for my sunshine), NOT give her any fluid other than water (no milk definitely), feed her the most innocent and the lightest stuff on long drives, ALWAYS keep a sickness bag ready, and ALWAYS keep a change of clothes handy.

So, on our latest trip to Austin this long weekend, I made sure that San stays fine all along that 3 hr long drive. After she woke up from an hour-long nap, I decided to give her an innocent apple. Healthy food! San happily ate her 'appoo' slices and I beamed with pride and happiness (too many emotions!). My sunshine looked happy until we hit Austin. Suddenly, the poor appoo pieces came flying out of her mouth in three bursts. She'd done IT again. The half-chewed appoo pieces were all over San's dress, wondering what went wrong. San made a puppy face and said, "Mommy!", pointing at the mess Thankfully, the mess wasn't very smelly and ewwwey! All I can do now is dread the next long drive and find the MOST innocent snack for her!

Anyway, here's San's latest antic! I took her to a public restroom for a diaper-change today. While I was busy disposing her diaper, she, behind my back,  was bending down and trying to doing a peek-a-boo act with the people who were peacefully doing their 'stuff' in the loos. I couldn't help my embarrassment-and-fun-induced giggles while telling her NOT to do that (as if she understands what 'NO' means). I'd die of shock if someone else's kid tries to do THAT with me in the restroom! Talk about curious minds!

All's well that ends well. No fever and no constipation as of now. And her curiosity hasn't killed anyone yet! :D