a MUST break from Goa chronicles!

Another month is already over! Cubby turned 15months old on 20th Oct! One year and three months. So time for first quarterly appraisal of second year! :p

I only LOOK sweet and innocent!

This month has been full of new joys and discoveries and you, my darling son, have been on a cuteness overdrive, making your parents break into big proud grins or sending them into peels of laughter in turns.

Leme rruunn and get that phone!

You are becoming quite a little helper! Especially when it comes to our cell phones. As soon as any of our phone rings, you rush to it, take the phone in your l'il hands and rush to give it to us. You know which phone is mommy's and which one belongs to Papa and you always hand it over to the right person. I was so amazed when you did it the first time and your daddu toh refused to believe me! You also give the paper to us when requested! Thank you for being such a sweetie.

So much to do! So many places to go to!

Your vocabulary is increasing everyday. You try and repeat words after us and sometimes it is like talking at Echo Point where you hear some of your words back. When we ask you "Kabir kela khaayega?", you will say Keeellaa! It's totally sweet. Other words learnt have been Amma, Akka, Paper, Cow (said as Caauu!), bi bo (which is big ball), Bubbe (bubbles) and Hemme (helmet).

My beloved Hemme

Hemme is the chant these days. You are completely fascinated or should I say obsessed with Helmets of all things. When mommy comes back home on a rainy day, she carries hers home. You refuse to even acknowledge my presence and go chanting Hemme! Hemme! as if it's a long lost friend! Thankfully we have an extra one, and we went crazy seeing you lug around a "hemme" half your weight! You also stop by complete strangers who are holding one and just keep staring leaving them very confused. Usually at this point. mommy apologetically tells them about your Hemme fixation and they sweetly let you touch it, which you do, reverently!

Jahan Hemme, Wahin Cubby!

Yun hi chala chal rahi... Boriya bistar leke!

If its not Hemme you love walking around with one of your chaddars or any big pieace of cloth. Its so cute to see you drag it around, sometimes keeping it on your head and at others, stumbling because you are getting all entangled in it!

Jahaan thak jaaye, wahi chadaar faila ke baith jaana!

Kutte!! AA jao! :p on a Goa footpath!

Bhoo continues to be the flavour of this month too. Finding even stray puppies is equivalent to being in paradise! You just keep following them like a l'il pup yourself! :) Onlookers on the platform at Londha station (on our way back from Goa) were thoroughly amused seeing a l'il guy run after dogs calling out "Bhoo! Bhoo!' , so much so that the dogs just ran away after a point. Plus the fact that you were doing it on an unlit platform with just moonlight shining down, some people were even impressed with the courage bit! :p

Now you don't see me!!

You are much smarter than I give you credit. I was quite impressed that you remember stuff I have shown you quite some time ago. You recognise your toys by name. Be it red engine, motor cycle, Ziggy the Zebra or Lucky Mouse. You could also recognise and pick up Penguin, lemon, strawberry and all such boring stuff mommy insists on teaching you rarely. You also now know what is a curtain, a clock and the decorative stuff in our house. Most impressed, baby!

Now you do! Koooki!

You also have understood Shoes means going out. So if Amma gets you ready in the evening with diaper at all, you say Shu! Shu! and actually go and get them. You also pointed out Winnie the Pooh on your new floaters correctly. Perhaps, I should take l'il more effort to teach you more stuff when you are in this sponge state.

Books aren't our enemies now. Not bad enough to just run every time mommy took a book in her hands. If I call you saying "Come ubbi, let's read!", quite often you run, find a book and come to me. The transformation started with liking a book from Karadi Tales about three fishes - Bucki, Timsi and Moti. You say Bucki and Moti and get the book to me and listen to almost half the story in one shot! Not bad, I say!

This is the kinda face we make around feeding time! Sigh!

Eating is still a major task. I am sorry I lose my patience ever so often, but I just don't now why you are SO stubborn about this khaana business! I get totally stumped at your kicking and screaming fest at every meal time. Distractions work for a total of 7mins21secs if we are lucky, by when you haven't even have had half your goop. If too much force feeding happens, you just throw up. I am at my wits end and trying to see how can I be more understanding and patient. How about you returning the favour too, eh?!

You hate us going to bathroom. It's completely crazy. The moment we go, you start crying. Then sobbing and then waaillliiing as if we would never come back. This is inspite of talking to you from inside and reassuring you we will be out soon enough. When Papa is not traveling it's OK because one of us can manage you. But when he is traveling, I have no option, but let you stand outside and cry.

You now Roar as soon as you hear the word Lion. Since I do really bad imitation, you have picked the same. But then again, a roar is a roar, nahi?! You also love Hissing when we say snake goes Hisssssssssssss! You continue to do it till Papa is wondering about you being a descendant of Harry Potter speaking in Parsel Tongue et al. Cauu goes mooo is also said when in an exceptionally good mood or something like that.

You are quite a strong l'il guy. Just the way you moved over smoothly from lactogen to cauu milk, you had no trouble when you had buffalo milk in Goa. First day I added a little water and once I didn't see any trouble, you had regular bhains ka doodh quite easily. You also had simple tap water (with Zero-B attached to it) in Goa and didn't need bisleri or boiled water to stay healthy. You had fish and everything else at those shacks. Am glad your immune system is building itself up to get used to everything. Touchwood. Sometimes I am glad that we were careless enough to stop giving you boiled water when you were 4months old! :p

GaddaGadda = Fun times roll!

You love Gaddas! You run the moment we say "Let's put Gaddas" and just enjoy lolling over them and throwing yourself indiscriminately because you know GaddaGadda will cushion your fall. You will come and quickly sit under the chaddar when we are trying to put it on the gaddas and then come out with eyes shining and twinkling. This is followed up with Bhaago Cubby aaya game and we all keep falling over each other and laughing madly.

I want to wear them myself!!!

You are trying to do things on your own. While last month's love for socks continues, you now want to try and wear them on your own too and get quite frustrated when you are not able to. Sometimes you will eat just a l'il bit more if I keep the piece of roti or bread on my hand for you to take on your own, rather than me feeding you. All in good time sweets! :)

Just one of those moments...

I love the way you snuggle up to me to have that last bit of extended sleep in the morning. Of course the rest of the night you keep moving from one end of the gaddas to another and Papa and you are found in completely different positions than where you guys started! Papa complains about you hogging too much space too often! :D

becoming a big boy!! Step 1 - Glass se paani!

You are learning to have atleast few sips of water with a glass now. You love going Slluurrp and we have to accompany in making the sound. I am hoping you will be able to have doodh with glass in another coupla months. That would do away with the sipper bit too. Maybe.

who needs toys when there are spoons!

All in all you are a complete l'il packet of joy(bundle is for small babies, not l'il boys!). A single day doesn't go by when I don't thank God for sending YOU across to me. Your naughty eyes, your brilliant smile, your baby walk dying to break into a run, your little hands trying to hold on to bigger things, you shaking your head with a vigorous no, you walking all over the place wherever we go and winning hearts with your genial nature... it all fills me with happiness and joy I never knew was possible or even existed!

High five for being YOU, l'il guy!!

I am indeed Mama-mia - Proud Mommy of L'il CubbyR. High Five to that! :D

Love you lots and pots! MMuuaaaaaaaaah!

jab likhne ke liye kuch nahi toh tag hi sahi!

I have been in a bit of bad mood today. I am not patience personified in any case, and Cubby's khaana tantrums are just driving me up the wall all of a sudden! Add to that I tried telling trusted Rajamma (which reminds me I need to do a post on her!) to make sure Cubby is not fed anything beyond 6pm so that he is hungry at a respectable hour of 830-9pm. What does she do? She fought and argued with me making me go madder! She argued if she gives him Raagi at 3pm, how will he be hungry at 6pm to have apple and milk? When M asked her "Applying the same logic, how will he be hungry at 9, if you feed him milk so late at 7pm?", she refused to accept the logic! AAAAArrgghhh!! Anyway we shall see. Aage aage dekho hota hai kya!

So, since I really cannot think of anything to say right now, I just realised I have a tag to do given by Monika and Ansh (aren't you supposed to inform me woman?!;). Add to that you basically just need to do a summary of the posts you have done! So get ready for BEST of Abha! :p

Yeah Yeah! We are vain like that only!

The tag: What you have to do is simple: Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given : family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.

Family - since you can't choose em I have been lucky to have a really nice one! :D But generally my posts are so much about Cubby, I don't really have a decent post about my family as such. But there's one I did on rakhi for my brother.

Friends - You can choose em, but you may not always get lucky. I have a few who mean the world to me. I did one about two of my closest friends and how we have started on your journey to motherhood almost together. S is visiting us with her l'il daughter M (whom I haven't seen since birth) next month and I am already so so excited!

Yourself - oh well. since we have already agreed about being Vain, I have so many posts for this, but lemme try and pick ONE! Ok! I think THIS should be about what I am.

Your love - It's a pity I haven't done a full fledged post for M. This one says some of what I feel for him. I had a tough time not adding this to family because it covers a lot of our family in detail too! So THIS one is for M.

Anything you like - I just found an old post where I have put up funny comments I got on diaper review on another website. It makes for total fun read. The best part was, that I had lotsa Daddies telling me their stories showing husbands today defi make better fathers! :D So, THIS one is for you cool daddies out there!

Now to pass on the tag. This time let me just leave it open. Anyone who wants to do it, go on and do it. It's good fun to read all these old posts and have a silly smile on your face thinking you have indeed come a long way even in six months! :)

And since its been awards time galore, there's another one! A special one too. The one that says BFF on a gold card. It means Blogging Friends Forever.

I love lucy and Suma gave this to me.

I love lucy said "Abha - Her wonderfully warm and friendly smile says it all! Her passion and zest for life is reflected so well in her writing.I cannot wait to meet her and the little darling Cubby on my next trip to Bangalore!"

(I have a feeling that she just wants to meet Cubby!)

Suma has given it to all her blogger friends! But what she wrote about me while accepting the Brilliante Award made me float on Cloud Number 9! This is what her blog says about me "Mama mia's famous for her radiant 1000 watt smile, and her cubby who takes after her. esp in the beam and cuteness factor. Her optimism is contagious and i love the feel-good factor of her blog"

I would hate to pick and choose blogging friends too. It of course goes right back at two of you and thank you so much for thinking about me! It's also for some of these people I have met and known for some time. WIAN and JLT, please to come out of hibernation and entertain us! Other than that all of ya ladies and gents who take out time to read my blog and comment too, this is for all of you! :D