a dry month! almost!

Good friend WIAN commented on the last post and reminded me that I haven't written a single post! I might have gone slow on posts in the past months, but a complete dry run does not seem like a good idea. Especially at the end of the year when everyone seems to be taking a stock of the year gone and how life changed for them.


I don't really have any earth shattering discoveries - self or the other kind. If i were to look back on the last year, I can say it was a year filled with friends, family and travel. From April when best bud G dropped in from Goa we have had a total of maybe coupla weekends when we were not meeting people, either in our home or theirs! And I am thankful for that! :) I always wanted Cubby to know a house full of people is a good thing... that there is life beyond his parents and amma.


By travel, i don't really mean exotic travel to strange lands. But small trips that kept happening every now then. Starting with Masinagudi trip in Jan, to lucknow in April for Ooi Bua's shaadi, then to Pune for Cubby's 2nd in July. A whole lot of family came to Bangalore and we made weekend trips to Yercaud and Chikmagalur. There were day trips to Nandi Hills and Innovative Film City thrown in every now and then! And how can I forget the last trip of the year to Rajasthan and Delhi which I am yet to write an update on! Next year defi! ;)


Cubby started his play school and is having a good time. Ofcos thanks to missing his school for over three weeks in December he was crying again to go there, but I am hoping when the school reopens in Jan he will get used to it again in a few days! :)

Thre's Cub 2nd from left. A part of the Dragon! :D

Lost, but still standing tall! :)

He also had his first stage appearance for his annual day in Dec. Considering he had only 3 days practice, I was happy to see him not start crying on the stage. He was lost ofcos, but then he stayed there. And then he saw his crazy parents waving to him and a brilliant smile lit up his face! He clapped for himself and waved to us and then the curtains came down. We were maha proud of him! So what if he didn't dance a single step! ;)

That said I have to say that he has an innate rhythm in his dance and we love watching him shake it every now and then. Last time he did that for "Move it, Move it" while watching Madagascar and we were so thrilled that we forgot to take a video! bah!

While everything else is good I have been thinking about renaming Cub as "His Whiness". The child really can whine. There are tears for anything and everything and each request comes with its corresponding whine. Knowing my non-existent patience level it is really annoying me to no end and we spend most of our time fighting with each other! Experienced mothers, pls help! There is rebellion for just about anything. If we say Yes, he HAS to say NO and vice versa. I mean tell him to change wet pajama he will say No just because he has to do it. He is pushing my buttons ALL the time and I am at my wit's end about what I should be doing / not doing! :( I hate myself for hollering so much, but the amount of misbehaviour we are subjected to every single day for every little thing, I am just not able to make any sense of it! gah!


Thank God for his maha cute smile and funny talk othawise I would have died and gone to Mommy Hell!


He also has gone into the K phase! Thankfully not Ekta kapoor variety, but equally annoying! Kaunsa, Kiska, Kahan, Kisne are the questions asked constantly and for everything. Tell him "Mumy ko chahiye" the answer is "Kiski Mummy?" Huh??!!


Tell him "Cubby Moonh yahan karo" the answer is "Kiska Moonh?!" I will say Tumhaara. He will say "kaunsa moonh". I will say "Kitne moonh hai tumhaare?" he will follow it with "Kiske kitne hai... Moonh?!" Gah!!!!


You can imagine the madness, innit? It's so bad that yesterday M said "Remote de do." and I asked him "kaunsa" in Cubby's tone!! :P


He also makes a whole lotta nonsensical rhymes through out the day. Sometimes is superman is fighting sang in ABCD tune (actually everything is sung in the alphabet song tune!) at others its something completely random almost none of which we understand!

Have to make a note of Cubby's new creation in Hindi "Tumka" said instead of Tumhaara! Yeh tumkaa purse hai ka types! We keep telling him it is Aapka or Tumhaara, but he is happy with Tumka! :p


Other than this hotch potch of stuff I have mentioned, life has been good and I really cannot complain!

WE have no plans for the new years eve, and hopefully the new year itself will be full of fun things, lots of love, unending supply of hope, some stability, some new things, a little giving back to the society in some form and overall sense of well being and peace!


And yes, I wish the same for all of you too! :)


happy 2010 Folks!


cheers!

ps: here's some Cute Cub moments!! :D

At S Buas shaadi! before!

At S Bua's shaadi after! Thanks Starry for the Kurta! :D

At Umaid Bhavan Palace, Jodhpur.

The sukhi Jain parivaar! :)

he IS a dude! :)

Cubby has this series of what kind of a boy he is. So if we say Cubby is a.... it is followed by

Good Boy
Strong Boy (stong Boy)
Smart Boy
Big Boy
Brave Boy (bave boy)
and sometimes SootyPie (sweety pie) or Sooty Papaya!

And he is really not wrong on all these counts. Ofcos, when in a foul mood, he does terrible things and says "Cubby bad boy hai" and that is not untrue either. But just acceptance really doesn't help, does it?! We have all been inflicters and sufferers of "I am like that only" attitude.


But this post is talk about all the nice stuff that makes people want to have babies and it's only when they have had them they realize they have REALLY been Had! ;)


Here's the adjective post that's obviously subjective and defi not objective considering it's written by a biased mother! :)

Some memories and BIDWF moments!


The Good Boy!


Cubby by nature is a quiet child. By that I don't mean he sits in a corner quietly. He makes enough noise for a whole class full of kids put together. But he is someone who listens and obeys. If you tell him something 95 / 100 times he will do as told. How bad the other 5 times are, we shall not discuss it here! It takes the sheen away from the other 95times you see! I have been told sarcastically "You have such a good boy!" as if its a bad thing to be. I mean most can talk very proudly about how well their child bullies, but a quiet child is considered to be a boring one! Bah!


He is helpful at home. He brings us our phones, takes things inside after khaana, puts his own glass in the sink once he is done drinking the milk, picks up his toys when requested and generally wants to be a part of everything you do.


The other day I was making egg curry and so peeling some boiled eggs. Cubby was in one of those destructive (attention hungry) modes where he was trying to mix the peel with already peeled eggs and generally creating a mess. I made him sit on the platform and asked him to help me instead. The kid sat propahly for like 10mins and peeled next 4 eggs for me! :)


The Strong Boy


He helps us carry heavy groceries from the door to the kitchen. Brings the plastic stool wherever needed, can pull bean bag and wooden stools wherever needed.


And hear this! We went to Chikmagalur couple of weeks ago. WE went to ShravanBelgola on our way back. Now the climb there is not maha difficult but it's still considerable with 600 plus steps till you actually get the darshan of the huge Baahubaali idol. Cubby climbed all the way up without being asked to be carried even once!! What more? He came down on his own steam too. Had a whole coconut water and then says "Phinse jaayenge bhagwaanji dekhne!" Phew. I had been similarly zapped when walked 3kms plus at mysore zoo!


So now when someone else tells me he has become so skinny, he looks weak, I tell em about his stamina! :p


The Smart Boy!


Oh well! I really don't know if he is exceptionally smart kid. But he is fairly quick on take. Remembers things pretty quickly and can place things quite correctly. Just yesterday when we were sifting through the paper there was a picture of Taj Hotel. He asked me "Yeh kaa hai?!" I said "Taj Hotel." Aapko yaad hai aapne kahan dekha tha?" I asked this question just like that not expecting him to say anything. He floored me by saying "Boat mein baithe the wahan dekha tha!"


He actually remembered it from his trip to Gateway of India few months ago! :)


He can now solve small jigsaw puzzles of upto 6 pieces. He needs a l'il help to start out with, but then gets the hang of it pretty quickly. The credit for this goes to Aaji Ajoba who sat with him everyday they were here and taught him how to work it. He remembers more than enough rhymes and his favourite is the ABCD song. He sings everything in that tune and he keeps adding his own Cubby speak lyrics to it which more often than not don't make much sense!


The Big Boy


Being a big boy essentially means his wish to do everything on his own! He can now take off his own shoes / floaters etc and he picks it up maha cutely the way grown ups do and keeps them in place. He is trying to learn to wear them on his own. He can ofcos for ages now take off his own shorts / pajama and go to the loo. He is trying to learn how to work the tees and vests now! He wants a say in what should be on the TV for his viewing pleasure. Most wanted is Jungle Book, Tarzan, Horton Hears a Who, Finding Nemo and those terribly animated Buzzers type of CDs. He also randomly tells us what colour clothes he wants to wear but is not insistent about that stuff as yet.


The other day he did a genuinely "Big Boy" cute thing. Our friend S & G had come with their almost a year old son V to our place. Before leaving they were changing his diaper laying him on the mat. S put a sheet under his head for softness. Cubby went running inside and came out with His pillow and trying to keep it under V's head! :D I was very impressed seeing his understanding and touched by the sweetness of his gesture! :)


The Brave Boy


Brave is used with Cubby to try and see that he doesn't get scared or intimidated easily. He is not brazenly bindaas kinda kid and anything new flusters him initially. I hope he will get over these kinda fears eventually in a few years.


That said he is not scared of doing all kinda acrobatics over the furniture and his parents! :)


The SootyPie / SootyPapaya

Are the terms of endearment used with him. So he calls himself that! :D

But then how can you not call him that? Imagine you showing him some shopping "Dekho Cubby ka naya undies!" He will then try to wear it over his pajamas and I ask him if he is superman to wear his undies like this.

He then takes it and puts it on his head and says " Main Dokerman (jokerman) hoon!


*rolling eyes*


Or the kid who sits on the pot and makes his own rhyme by looking at the stickers in front of him and says,


Mickey ne bola
Donald ne bola
Tiger ne bola
Winnie the pooh ne bola
Cubby papa ka Gumpy Gola!


I will be off the blogosphere for a few days from next coupla days! Hope to catch up once I am back!! :)


I will share the photos in next posts 'coz I just dont seem to find the right ones now!


Cheers!

is it normal?? a BIDWF moment!

to start feeling teary eyed when you see your 2yr3mo walk in post an outing with his AAji-Ajoba AFTER you have come back from work and tells you "main aunty ke ghar jaake aaya" and then proceed to take off his "lace" shoes by expertly untying the laces and then picking them up and keeping them back in their own place?!


I kept telling M "He untied his own laces! When the heck did he learn that? When the hell did he grow up so quick?" And all the while i could feel tears pricking at my eyes ready to fall.


I mean WHAT?! WHEN? HOW?!

This was the first time I felt it because generally its M who keeps whining about how he is growing up! :)


You mean to say before I know it;

he will perhaps be a vet?!

or even a doc?!

or a cool RJ perhaps?!

What? He is only 2 years you say?! bah!

Have a great weekend you folks!!!! :)

we are same same but different!

was a terrible song from what I hear was a terrible film made by Nagesh Kukunoor of all people! But nopes, this post isn't about bad songs or bad movies or even the NK mentioned above whose previous movies I have loved!

G(a)R(l)AND welcome! The view and space just outside the balcony!

So we celebrated our 5th anniversary over last weekend and went to this gorgeous resort called Our Native Village which is pretty close to Nrityagram in an area called Hessarghatta. WE fell in love with the place the moment we saw smiling faces, were offered yummiest jal jeera I have had and stepped into our pretty sunlit room.

The Room! You can see how happy Cubby is! So were we! :D

The low bed on high stone block had Cubby happily jumping all over the place. The wall behind had a beautiful painting and the orange "curtains" made outta mats just added to the feel. The Balcony opened to vast amounts of green and the stone structure that was our room was naturally cool and didn't need AC which they anyway don't have. TV and AC are two modern amenities that this "eco resort" doesn't offer and you don't miss it at all.

The bookshelf in the dining hall! Cubby was fascinated with a lion and the Ferris wheel!

The airy dining hall has a book shelf full of well thumbed books and some broken wooden toys that kept Cubby occupied every time we were having a meal. And yes, the food was delicious enough for us to spend long time at our table! :) What followed such a hearty meal was what you see below;

a much needed siesta! :)

So that we wake up fresh to see, do and enjoy all that there is!



Gawking at the turkey! It was huge and strutted around making weird sounds!

There were turkeys, roosters and hens to run after or just gawk at because I for one had never seen an asli turkey! There were the owners' dogs and their absolutely adorable puppies! So totally cute that even Cubby who is usually guarded when around anything new was OK having them sniff at him and jump on him! :)

The gorgeous pond / pool! :)

They have a beautiful natural pool in form of a pond with lotus flowers and occasional toads to keep you company! Cubby had fun in the pool with his papa. Ofcos his ego kept coming up every now and then when he realized he isn't supposed to enjoy all this after having said "nahi jaana hai" pretty vehemently. So rona dhona in between laughter kept happening! :)

Getting our hands dirty! The guy Umesh did most of the work but we did get two pots back! :)

You can indulge in all that rustic life entails. Starting from milking a cow (we were quite content just watching, thank you!) to getting your hands dirty as you try your hand at pottery! They also offer kite flying and gilli danda if thats what fancies you! We did the bullock cart ride and though it was nice to know what it feels like by end of it it just didn't seem fair to use it as a joyride.

Mom and son by the small pond while Father got his massage!

There is a spa as well and though not as fancy or spic n span as some of the newer ones (this one has oil on its floor etc), the person offering the massage was awesome. M got a full body massage and came out maha refreshed! Since they didn't have a female masseuse that day, I had to make do with a foot massage the next day which was quite nice too!

The view that greeted us next day morning! A flock of cranes! :)



I dunno why but i LOVE this picture! :)

The room rents are a tad steep but it is totally worth it. Only slight discomfort is the number of flies flitting around because they dont use any chemicals etc, but somehow you dont notice it much! Almost not at all! :)

Anyhoo, we casually mentioned it to the owner that we have come to celebrate our anniversary. Imagine our surprise when we were told that they have arranged a candle light dinner for us by the pool side! When we went back to the room post dinner is when the post with this title started happening in my head! Have a look and tell me what you think! ;)

Our bed decorated with flowers at ONV! we giggled like l'il kids!

This is why! The bed on our honeymoon in Himachal Pradesh! :D

sitting on the khatiya around the bonfire with tired Cub!

The Bonfire!

Us in front of the fireplace in our room during honeymoon! :p

Us at the bonfire at a lovely hotel in Thanedar!

Us holding hands at restaurant in Parwanoo in Himachal!

Holding hands over a romantic candle light dinner at ONV! :p

Me, the new bride at the hotel table during honeymoon!

Me, 5 years later, with Cubby next to us as we are about to start the dinner! :)

Yup that's him on the khatiya in the passage! :D We were meant to have a peaceful dinner! We just made a request to the hotel guys and within minutes a comfy bed for the sleeping Cub was ready! :)

Me making funny faces at mall road in Shimla because M kept insisting on some pose!

Me making funny faces at Nrityagram because M kept insisting on some pose!

Us taking random picture in Shimla!

Us, getting a random picture taken at Taj Kuteeram!

Isn't it all too similar? That's why the title!

So does this qualify as second honeymoon?! hehe!

celebrating 5 years and going on 11th! :)

I am a firm believer of Karma and partly destiny too. No, I have never discounted hard work because many a chances get squandered because we keep waiting for things to happen on their own.


So for me the fact that I met M is Karma (good one at that) and the time it took me to convince him that we are good together is the hard work I put in! :)


And as we complete 5 years of being happily married and 11 years of knowing each other I must count my blessings and tell M just how much I love him and how lucky I feel to have HIM by my side.


Of course we have had fights. Some of them have been nasty too. But through it all what is comforting is that we have known how important both of us are to each other. WE have always known that the good times have been a constant rather than being an occasional thing. We know each others' strengths and try not to play on the weaknesses when we have a fight.


M is definitely the better half between the two of us. Both of us come from fairly different backgrounds and the fact that he accepted the change much faster and a lot more gracefully than I did says a lot about him. For that I can never been thankful enough.


Past 5 years have been a joyride and I have loved every moment. Be it the late dinners because we were both learning to cook or the bike rides in rain and sunshine. The movie watching spree when we watched just about any and every movie that released ( karam and Naina anyone?) or the trips to Majestic to buy pirated DVDs when we finally bought a TV after a year of shaadi. The discovering of new restaurants and your uncomplaining company to all the exhibitions that happened in the city. The small barsaati we lived in to the current house we should be getting out of but don't want to! The times when stuff was bought only after we needed it and had the dough for and the occasional faaltu kharcha we can afford to do now. The fact that we are genuinely fond of each others' parents and more often than not how my relatives call you and yours call me when they need something or just for a chat! :) The time we finally bought the second hand Maruti and went on our first long drive with Papa guiding you to now taking Cubby in it just about everywhere. The pregnancy where you were a rock solid support and to see you being the awesome father I always knew you would be. The lavish praise you heap on me even in public laughing away the Joru ka Gulaam tag and just how much faith you have in whatever I do. I feel lost without you even with my own friends and family.


For all this and many more intangibles I Love You! Don't ever leave my side! And don't lose that sense of humour and the smile! :)


happy 5th darling pati M! :)


and here's some random wedding day etc photos! :) I know I made a gorgeous bride (there are no NOT gorgeous brides according to me!) and M still whines about how he wants THAT biwi back! hehe! But me in lenses and make up is only a dream as of now! ;)

The ONLY shy dulhan pic of me! On wedding eve! :)

Maine jeevan ki dor se tujhe baandh liya hai! Corny? yes! True? YES! :)

Nope! No kissing the bride in Maharashtrian weddings! Just some Chinese whispers! :)

The wedding day. I never really stopped smiling since! :)

"Kaan pili" where the brother warns the groom to betta take care of his sister!


M acted the part well and yes, the brothers let go of the ear only after they are given a gift! :) Nothing like good ol' threat of corporal punishment! Hehe!

A photo op among many others! :)

The garlands being exchanged! :) Yeah, I was ANYTHING but shy and nervous! ;)

Find our faces between the flowers! hehe!

The homecoming! :)


I had to kiss all his thirteen cousins and give them a gift to be let in! :) And the fun was just beginning! Can you imagine I forgot to call my folks and tell them i reached ok! gah!

Lord Of the Rings! :)


I think we did like hazaar extra rounds to make M win, but i still won! Woohoo! :)

A LOT of dancing happened!

A LOT of smiling happened! :)

Till we were too tired to do either!

Uske baad kya hua is for me to know and you to guess! ;)


Here's to many more M! :)

Chin! Chin!

Much love and hugs and kisses!

and yes Thank You! :)

So Cubby is NOT so L'il Cubby now! :)

Its been over two years since I have this blog and have tried faithfully to keep a memoir (i love this word! makes our life sound very fancy!) of our life with Cubby. But even as I look back at old posts and can say this was the month Cubby first walked and this when he first talked, how much he has grown up still comes to us as a surprise every now and then. :)


I guess thats what makes this whole parenting gig so exciting. There are always bits and pieces apart from the big moments that make you think yet again what an amazing experience all this has been and continues to be! :)


So what makes me wonder about all this suddenly?! Our baby has grown up yet again and bowled us over with just how much! :)


M was supposed to go to Bombay for some work for 3 days. My brother and Cubby's Kuns Mama who had recently visited us was also going to be there and the said day was his birthday. Somewhere the idea took germ that perhaps M can take Cubby along with him. We mentioned it casually to my folks (more like thinking aloud), but then the grandparents wouldn't have anyway else. We kept getting calls every few days asking us whether we had booked his ticket already! (Terrible twos get worse when we have to pay the FULL fare to airlines because they allow, no, make it insist, on a separate seat for the diaper clad butt!)


So it was decided that Cubby would indeed go with his Papa and stay with his grandparents while M went out for his work during the day. This was the first time Cubby was going to travel supervised by just one parent and would have lots of time without even that parent being around him.


Aaji - Ajoba were all gung-ho and enthu and told us they will manage fine. If they say so who are we to question it?! :p

carrying his own bag with airline tag! :)

carrying a bag of candies bought at the airport!

D Day arrived and the father and the child left for airport by 730 in the morning. The kid was carrying his own small school bag which had an extra set of clothes, diapers and books! :) Terrible mother that I am, I totally forgot to pack any food for him. Not even cheese slice and bananas which are a standard fixtures. Not even something he can suck on during take off and landing to avoid ear pain. That is why the mehenga candies were bought at airport and I haven't heard the end of it from M esp 'coz Cubby ate just ate ONE of them! :p From what M told me he chattered non-stop on his way to the airport and through the flight and then the cab ride home in Bombay! :)

With Gauri Tai and Atho Dada on the etrrace where his Mom played! :)

He did cling to M a bit on day they reached but familiarity with Mama helped and by evening when he had met the adorable Gauri Tai and Atharva Dada it was like he has lived in that house forever! :)

Getting the first piece of Mama's birthday cake as guest of honour! :p

Next day, M left home by 9am. As is our habit he told Cubby that he will be going to office and that he is to have fun with folks at home and that his Papa will be back in the evening. So he said bye to M and got busy with his day! :) When i called him prompted by his Aaji he told me "Maine gulabjam khaaya, teeth saaf kiya, potty kiya" and then ran off to do whatever it is he was doing. He did recognize my voice easily and had a smile on his face he spoke to me! :)

Considering I don't eat anything I even fit in a bucket! :p

The father who rushed back to an empty house (Cubby had gone to gateway of India with folks) and was missing him terribly. His already broken heart was to be shattered when after coming back home Cubby just said a casual Heylo and ran off to play with his friends! :)

With Kuns mama at Gateway of India! :)

In the boat! :)

With the awesome aaji - ajoba who don't look like grandparents! :)

The only thing M had to do for him then was feed him and make him wear his night suit. Today is his day 3 there and my mom called me in the morning saying 3 kids were trying to dress Cubby up post bath and the Cub was enjoying the attention and pampering! :)


It is needless to mention that I (his mother) was not mentioned or asked for even once! Even when I called he was too busy to talk to me! Somehow I never thought this whole gig would be so easy! :)


Hats off to my folks. Am sure it was their pure and unadulterated love and child like excitement on having him over that made it so comfy for the Cub.


And ofcos big hugs to the Husband M who agreed to this sudden and whimsical idea and made sure it was a complete success! :)


I look forward to packing off Cubby to his grandparents for longer duration during summer vacays! :p

Yes, I am not very maternal that way! ;)


But that does not mean I am not terribly proud! :)


Edited to add - M's comment because its from the Horse's Caretaker's mouth and its too cute to not be added!

"I really can't remember the last time I saw him so happy. Since the moment we walked up the stairs in Dadar, he was at home. Once he saw the neighbor kids, he was obsessed. Soon he realized easy access to chocolates and gubabjamuns under nana-nani, and he was pampered!

Kuns called him "baby teenager" once. Now he is more so. He comes home late, wants to go back before his foot's in the door and hates it when we object to some of his more rowdy friends.

He's just too bleddy comfortable here. Considering it's his first time, it's just not right..."