Blue Colored People and Red Colored Eyes!

So on 21st, Sunday, we took Adhya to the theatre for the very first time to watch 'Avatar'. For quite some time this film has been played in theaters as a special edition. I've been wanting to watch this 3D film. I was so exicted about the 3D galsses :P

Since Shankar had already watched the film, he had offered to take Adhya out if she started to get uncomfortable. But the sweet li'l one was first very surprised, then excited, a li'l grumpy and then slept off. She woke up only when the credits rolled. So altogether, it was a good first time experience :) :) :)

As for the film... it was excellent and left me in awe about how a person can think so much. What must be running in his head? Hats off to Cameron. Wish I had 5% of his creativity. And yes, the rest of the technicians and the cast have all done a great job. A very neat film and I thoroughly enjoyed the 3D effect.

My favorite was ofcourse Neytiri. She reminded me so much of Adhya's actvities. Running around, climbing everywhere with complete ease and speaking a language that we could hardly follow :) They even resemble in the ever brimming energy levels that they posses. :)

Waiting to see her performances in the sequel.....

And yes, there is a downside to the whole experience. The 3D glasses were very irritating :(. And in the evening, I had a mild tingling sensation in the eye and before I knew it developed into 'Madras Eye'. Whoever coined that term.... hmmmm!

Though I don't think it was mainly due to the glasses, next time I'll make sure that I wipe them with Adhya's wipes before I use them :P. See.... nothing has deterred me from watching the next 3D film. HP7 is next :)))

On a funnier note... check out the blue eyes :)

Surprised! And again surprised!

Adhya is my bundle of surprises... I'm sure every kid is so! She never fails to leave me with a question, 'is this possible?'

First surprise... Last thursday....

She has rolled of the cot a few times :( and so we are extra careful when we leave her to sleep alone. As far as possible I don't do anything when she sleeps and j

ust sit besides her with a book or laptop. Ok... so now you know how constructive I am ;)

But on thursday morning I

had work in kitchen. I had checked her sleeping just a few minutes before and then I could hear some voices. It was Adhya's but I was sure I couldn't hear it so clearly from the bedroom. I turned to check and there she was ... walking towards me with her favorite toy! She had got down from the bed on her own! Believe me every time I catch her at the edge of the cot I wished that she learnt soon to get down on her own. But then when it happened, I was so shocked to even respond properly. The moment is so clearly etched in my mind. I can still replay it.

And no... after that day she never attempted to get down on her own. Maybe my reaction shocked her too ;)

Second surprise....

Went to mylapore and wow...how colorful it was! The streets were all full of toys for navarathiri... clay, wodden, plastic... u name it and they have it in every color and size. Wanted to get some toy for Adhya before hitting saravanabhavan (that was the actual destination :)) ). And we stopped near a toy shop and she started pointing to a pink(???) ducky and getting very excited about it. It was a small toy and not something she would play with... at least thats what I thought. So bargained and got her a mickey mouse which was bigger and better(well... to me :( )than that horrendous pink ducky(again... pink duck?). But I soon realized how wrong I was. She gave the

mickey mouse a disapproving look and never bothered to touch it. All our attempts to make her like the mickey were in vain. Little did I know that she was ready to choose for herself. I was amazed that she is making decisions about her toys. I now feel sad about not getting her the pink duck but the plight of the mickey is sadder. Hope she takes a little liking towards him soon :)

Time does fly!

The fastest 12 months of my life has just sped by and Adhya is one. I’m already missing the tiny li’l one wrapped in a blanket and who just oohed and aahed to convey her needs. But its amazing to see what she is up to these days. My little colombus is exploring and learning new things. Though expected it still leaves us in awe most of the times. All the milestones were so awesome. The first smile, the first direct eye contact, shaking hands and legs, turning over, crawling on tummy, crawling on fours, sitting, standing and now walking n trying to run – all the transitions were amazing.

And suddenly now she is one year old. Have been conceptualizing her first birthday in my mind and talking about it since the beginning of my second trimester. Then I didn’t even know if it was going to be a boy or girl. Her first birthday turned out better than what we had expected.

The D Day: Wished her happy birthday at 12 though she was sleeping J and could hardly find any sleep for myself. The excitement was just too much. And in the morning, prepared all her things for the day before she woke up and made some payasam for her or should I say for us on her bday ;). And how did it turn out? Well that’s another story. It would suffice if I say that it did taste like payasam and she liked it. Yay!

She was dressed in a gaghra-choli which was very big for her. With 2 safety pins it was still loose on her. We then went to the temple and she was as usual folding her hands and praying with so much sincerity. But she didn’t like the garland that they made her wear. Came home and she slept off. We hoped to cut a cake at 11.20 am but she woke up only by one and she then cut her first cake. And she liked it too!

Couldn’t get her to sleep in the afternoon. L Was worried that she would become very cranky but later she slept in auto on the way to the hotel and for some more time in the hotel. She woke up and became happy on discovering balloons, her first time with balloons. They were so handful for her. She loved chasing them and was not scared even when they burst. She immediately went for the next one.

Somehow dressed her up though all she wanted to do was play with the balloons :)

She was ok with the cake and even let us give her the first bite. She also didn’t mind posing for the photos or trying to pick the tags from the gifts J but was very choosy about the people she went too. To sum it up, she was not very crankier and seemed to enjoy the day. She had all her favorite things in the hall – people she is familiar with, balloons, chairs and mirrors. And yes she ate a little food in between too. Such simple are a child’s needs. Wish we were all like them and wish I had her enthusiasm and energy. And I wish and pray that she remains the same.

And yes, to Shankar and me – it was our first party that we are throwing J We really enjoyed the planning, shopping, the numerous phone calls, mails etc etc. We are so happy that so many had actually made it and for all those wishes and greetings she received from people who couldn’t make it. Thanks to one and all!

Happy first birthday Adhya J

P. S. A mail from babycenter on Friday had the tag ‘Your toddler this week’ instead of the usual ‘Your baby this week’….. It just left me wondering ‘Why didn’t I notice this baby to toddler change? L ’

The messages!!

Adhya just loves my mobile . From the day she has learnt to hold things with her tiny hands, my mobile has been her favorite toy... needless to say, it is in a very pitiable state

She keeps fiddling with it and when we play a song, she can press the middle button to 'pause' n 'play' with so much of joy.

On wednesday she was playing with the mobile as usual and after sometime i realized that it wasn't locked and took it from her and locked it. Later I received a smiley from one of my previous colleague and I was like...'wat happened to him?' . The next day, I received a message from one of friends in b'lore asking why I had sent her a smiley? It then stuck me that nothing was wrong with my colleague (poor guy ) and it must have been one of adhya's shenanigans. After talking to my friend, i got the full picture. Adhya has first sent an empty message and then a smiley.... i guess she tried a few buttons and it worked . Then in the evening an other person called to ask why had i sent a smiley.

Now i've decided to configure my 'sent messages'(shankar says....."at last" ) and try to keep my phone away from her . The latter is a bit difficult... let me see!

Good luck to me.... for the days to come!

A very happy me :)))))))))))))))

July 24, 2010

Down on her knees, with her hands stretched out for me to lift her, almost on the verge of tears, in a pleading tone, adhya finally said 'amma' :) Sweet melody :)

Love before first sight!

When did I start loving you???

I wonder...

Is it....

When you started kicking inside me?

When I first set my eyes on you?

When you first gave me your sleepy shy smile?

When you stopped crying after I picked you up?

When you searched for me among the many faces?

When you threw your hands to come to me?

or

When I caught an 'amma' in between all your baby talk?

Well, none of them are true....

Those moments and many more remind me how blessed I'm to have you!

They make me skip a beat.

But I guess I was always meant to love you.... even before I knew anything about you :)

All of 6 months :)

All of 6 months!

Our little angel is already six months old. Time does fly fast. Though it sounds cliché, it just seems like yesterday that she was born. When they first showed her to me, I was like, “hey li’l pussycat… where you the one inside me?”. It was so very exciting. And now, I am a mother, 6 months old :)

People keep saying that she will smile at these many months, she will recognize faces very soon, and she will turn over at this stage and so on. So I’m very much prepared and know what to expect but it is surprising nevertheless when she achieves her little milestones. I soon realized that no camera can fully capture all these wonderful moments of her growing up. It is just for us to remember, cherish and to remind others of what to expect from their babies... ;) But still there is no stopping me. I just keep taking photos and only pause when Adhya gives a look that says, “enough amma!!”.

There is so much that I've learnt these 6 months.Many adventures, many experiences.

Like for instance, Shopping for a kid …. One should have oodles of patience otherwise it can be confusing. You have to hunt for the soft, cottony diapers; non-allergic tissues; soaps with the recommended ph value(remember, chemistry?); non-toxic toys that doesn’t scare her or have any sharp edges; feeding bottles designed to handle colic; dresses that don’t have anything sticking out and are soft and easy on the baby… the list is just endless. The amount of creativity that goes into designing their tiny dresses makes leaves you speechless. There are things that I’ve never heard about before and which makes the elders go…”things have changed so much… in our days….. “.

Going out with a kid… Even if it is a 2 hour trip to a restaurant, sit and plan like you do for a weekend picnic. Pack their own bag(its every baby’s birthright… maybe, you can stash your mobile and wallet in there) the day before and remember that you’ll definitely forget one thing or the other which as a parent of an infant/toddler is your birthright :) . And once there, keep the baby excited all the time or if you are successful, put the baby to sleep.

Playing with a kid… everything amuses a kid but only for a short time. Keep a plethora of toys around her that can be anything from the high end ones of fisher price to the spoons and cups from your kitchen :). As for Adhya, she is more interested in mobiles and newspapers than all her colorful toys.

Feeding a kid… time to unleash your creativity, to think out of the box and follow all other corporate slogans that desperately try to make you perform well. If with all your effort, you did feed them half the cup, pat yourselves on your back. Good job!

I’m still learning many other things. But how have the 6 months been for Adhya.For one thing, she has realized that she has to put with us ;) but she has other achievements to her credit too…

* Happy to tear the newspaper, leaves from the plant and if you are careless enough, hair from your head.
* She can roll over to the edge of the cot and give a victorious smile.
* Can put both her hands into her tiny mouth and try to eat it. Looks like self-cannibalism.
* Can look at her reflection in the mirror and go ga-ga about her look alike.
* Anything good enough to be held in her hands, can and will go into her mouth.
* She can recognize her name.
* Bears our singings with a “I pity you” smile.
* She can wake us up the mornings like an alarm clock.
* Smiles at the shopkeepers, nurses and waiters and make them say…”so sweet”.
* Wants to be with the person who is all decked up and ready to go out.
* And the biggest one is…she can give a smile that melts us right away. :)

And she has a mind of her own and makes her own decisions.. she has her set of likes and dislikes…

Likes – amma’s mobile
Dislikes – amma on the mobile

Likes – to play with the spoon
Dislikes – anything that is fed with the spoon for more than 5 minutes

Likes – traveling by bike, auto or car
Dislikes – staying for a long time(more than half an hour??) in the new place where the bike, auto or car takes her

Likes – anything sweet
Dislikes – water

There is only one beautiful kid in the world, and every mom has it. I read this recently... so true!

I know every 6 month old does all the above said and maybe even more and every parent feels the same way about their kid. Then why write such a big blog? I can’t think of any other reason except that I wanted to record the moments like every other parent. Just wanted to write it all out before I forget the tiny details and before she wakes up :). If I’m lucky she may give me a sleepy smile when she wakes up :) Waiting for many such wonderful moments with Adhya!

From my diary! - An ode to the city bus!

4th April, 2005, /chennai

It was a beautiful day today. It rained so heavily today. While I was in the bus (window seat) it was drizzling outside. It felt great! Any day, our city buses are a wonder by themselves. They behave like humans. It looks as though they too have emotions. Water takes the shape of the container in which it is poured but our buses reflect the moods of the people that it carries. It is hot and grumbling when the weather is so. It is tensed as the people in it during the peak hours (many breakdowns occur only when going to the college, hardly while coming back!). It is almost in a nap during afternoons just like the people in it. During the rainy season it gets so excited that it shares it with its commuters by splattering water on them(well, atleast most buses :)). It must be certainly painful when the budding musicians from various city colleges use its steel body as their drums. But finally it looks as if the bus has also joined the symphony when it moves with their rhythm. By night, it is tired like the souls inside it. Still, it moves fast enough, the wind gushing in, preparing us for a deep slumber.

It was really very nice today. Thanks to 47G, 13 and 23M for the day!

This was written while i was in college. Given a chance i would rewrite many things differently today. But i'm just leaving it as it was :) for the sake of old times!

My first blog :)

have always loved to write... in one form or the other :)

In school...

Letter writing, essays, comprehensions... i just loved them all! Needless to say, languages were my favorite subjects ;-)

In college...

Assignments were dreadful... but the pure white A4 paper, the gliding smooth jetter pens, the neat plastic folders... all encouraged me and helped me through the task of finishing the assignments... though always not on time :)

At work...

I didn't mind document work to an extent... but like everyone i used to say... "this is unnecessary work...we should be coding!!" :)

In general...

I like writing addresses on the invitation cards, writing out long mails to friends as to how i forgot to wish them on their birthdays :), filling out forms, maintaining a memoir for my daughter and hoping that she reads it someday :)


I've tried maintaining a dairy... but lost the interest in between. Hope the same doesn't happen with this blog!