Her Bub-ness! :)

I keep saying that a Bub update is pending and ab toh paani sar ke upar se jaa chuka hai! The title is so because The Bub thinks she is some kinda princess / Queen Bee and expects to be treated so much to her disappointment most of the times! ;) But she also does get a lot of attention in general is quite happy with it as long as you don't try to pick her up or touch her in any way till She lets you! :)

What? I thought you wear new White clothes and then roll on the floor! No. you say?!



It will be almost 2 years since Bub came into our lives and one thing I can say without thinking twice - it has been interesting! (One of our friends' told me recently that Interesting can mean many things, when I pointed out that he uses the word way too often!;) So, going by that definition/s here folks.

Run baby, run! :)



We have not even been paying too much attention to her physical milestones. Call it the second born syndrome, if you will. She has been walking and running for a while now. She is also adept at going up and down the steps - both feet on the same step stage right now. She refuses to take our help if there is a railing / wall that she can hold on to and seems to be gaining mastery in getting on to escalators now!

Pretending to eat the Onam sadya! 



She is talking nineteen to a dozen and then some more. Tries to repeat pretty much everything we say. Is forming her own short sentences and is pretty much able to tell what she wants. Of course not everyone understands what she is saying (even though as proud parents we think she speaks quite clearly;), but we get it mostly.

The biker girl! ;)



Unlike Cub, who always spoke very clearly, Bub does not get quite a few sounds right - typically K and L etc. So her best friend Paakhi is Paathi! :D It is cute and am sure she will be crystal clear within no time, so might as well enjoy this phase.


Having been to fair amount of birthday parties already, she loves singing Happy Birthday in her own tune. She recognizes a birthday scene in any book she sees. She loves balloons though she was quite traumatized when she had to see three of them burst within a span of few minutes one of the days. For the longest time she would look at one - real / printed and go - "Baoon - Phoott gaya! Dhamm!" Need I say it was hilarious. She seems to have gotten over that bit now.


She has started recognizing fair number of animals from books she has and the zoo trip was fun. With Cub, we showed him stuff and sang rhymes to him etc ever so often. Poor Bub just does not get that kind of obsessive attention, but still keeps learning whatever she is told.


As she approaches the terrible twos, she is already doing practice runs. The worst bit is eating of course. She still LOVES junk and getting normal khaana in is a major task! Every time she sees my face, she says "Mumma Bitti de do, chottet de do" and when she gets none of these she says "Chyanpaash de do" which is Bub speak for Chyavanprash! Yes, it is quite a favourite with her. She has this horrid habit of stuffing her mouth and refusing to chew her food. The healthy variety obviously. She loves to ruminate like a cow. Sigh! It is very annoying to say the least.

Creating her own messy art out of rangoli! :p



She still has a delightfully wicked and naughty smile and it is difficult to stay angry with her - esp for the father who find pretty much everything she does very funny and amusing! :p She loves dancing and does hand and hip shaking routine at any fun music she gets to hear.

Rockstar - one shoe (brother's), no pajamas and cheap guitar! What else do you need?!



We have not even started potty training her. I have been seriously wondering what happens if you do not train them? They will figure it out once they reach a certain age, isn't it? Any theories? Yes, I am obviously feeling very lazy and bored with this whole business. But, when she does agree to sit on the pot, it is for a book and expects to be shown pictures for the entire duration.

The BFFs! :)


This update possibly cannot be complete without mentioning her absolute love for her BFF Paakhi! :) She lives right next door and is just 2 months older than Bub. Right now they want to spend every waking hour with each other. It starts from 8am and goes on till 8pm. They spend hours at each others' homes and still cry and throw tantrums when they are taken to their own homes. Every single day. It is crazy. They raise hell and wreak havoc with double the mischief and M thinks he has lost a few years since! ;) But seriously, knock on the wood! It is lovely to see them together and Bub starting to make friends at such young age. Cub has no avenues when he was at this age.

Turning the charm on!


She is also VERY loud! God! That girl can shout a house down. She is also a major drama queen and is extremely quick on take when you are doing something funny or silly. She gets the joke quickly and will try to turn it on you pretty much immediately.


Just yesterday she actually tried to have a proper conversation on phone with her grand parents and what a delight that was. Not that they could understand much, but it was priceless anyway.

eating a little bit of black poster colour is all you need to get a perfect Goth look!



She is also very naughty and if you do not hear her for a while you can safely assume that something bad is happening in some corner of the house. She has been known to flood the kitchen, draw on walls and eat paint and crayons when not paid attention to for few minutes!

So that is the Bub for you! A little bit of everything and huge dollops of cuteness! And a very smart little mind of her own. 


God bless you our darling little girl. You are an absolute delight! :)

OMG! Almost 5 years! :)

There is a reason why Time flies is SUCH a cliched expression. You just cannot help marveling at the passage of time every now and then. It is always amazing to see how far one has come, how much life has changed and how everything around has made you a different person. Perhaps not in pure essence, but new roles and responsibilities bring out facets of your personality you have never known. The dynamics of relationships make you evaluate and reevaluate what you always believed to be right. You keep discovering the shades of grey in pretty much every situation.


Okay! I have no idea why I started getting philosophical here! :) I had decided to sleep on time for a change, but I guess I am on a blogging high right now and I might as well make the most of it! :)


Cub turns 5 in two weeks and it is so hard to believe it. I mean he is regular little boy now leaving behind pretty much every trace of babyness behind. I will write about the year gone by in another post. This is my attempt at getting our photos - His and Mine - in one post for a walk down the memory lane. For my sake.

This is when I could actually sit up and hold Cub two days after his birth! :)

Cub's first taste of chocolate at probably around 4months! :)

And first shaadi attended at around the same time!

This used to be our favourite position to enjoy each other's company! :)

And that is how he slept quite often! :)

Completely painless at that age. We would take him everywhere and he would eben sleep on tabletops! :) This is at one hole-in-the-wall kinda Subway! :)

His first taste of coffee at around 5months! :D

By month six there were smiles galore! :)

I had forgotten I used to this sometimes!

We had a maalishwaali and I would this occasionally as well! 

Making conversation that he had started understanding! 



I just realized that after spending over an hour, I have managed to scan just year one! :) I guess there are going to multiple parts of this kinda thing! :D


You were quite the cutiepie, my darling Cub! :)

Post 16

yeah I lost quite a few days. Some stuff came up and I was in no mood to write really. But I must make the most of the last few days of the month.


The Bub is now talking nineteen to a dozen and is repeating pretty much everything. Even in that, yesterday was realllly cute. Like I said before, she loves going out. Every evening the nanny takes her down to the park. I take a walk around that time and then once done - play with her and relieve the nanny.


So the moment she is dressed, she goes to the chair next to the shoerack and demands "Shooj!" Once done or even while in process of wearing shoes she starts her goodbyes. "Papa! Byyye! Mamma Byyye!" and even Cub who is not around get his "Bhaiyya Byyye". All this is followed by some more Byes and Taaata etc which goes on till she enters the lift. (*makes a note to take a video*)


So, last evening the Shooj done, Ms. Bub was ready to step out. As she did, I waved to her and said I Love You and gave a flying kiss. Pat comes the reply "I Uv You" and a flying kiss to boot! I was floored to say the least! :)

She has started recognizing fish and monkey quite consistently and today even pointed at the lion correctly, though it could be a complete fluke. Compared to Cub, the Bub has just got around to seeing books. Of course, that is purely the fault of lazy parents. But now it is time to take her to the zoo. Am sure she will enjoy it now. Cub did. I still cannot forget His wide eyes wonder at seeing those animals outside of the book. Much fun! :)

Thankfully Bannerghatta zoo is pretty decent and one can always drive down to Mysore for a better one. Soon hopefully. First mission is to take Cub to the HAL museum which we have been talking about forever.

And for all you women who have daughters / nieces or some little girl in your lives, these are two shops we discovered on facebook (where else?!;). They make lovely clothes and deliver all over India for zero or nominal shipping charge. Considering the petrol prices these days, shipping ends up being a cheaper option! ;)

Here's the link to first one called Petals. I love her stuff because it SO little girl. It is not like adult clothes made in smaller sizes which is what most shops sell these days. They are all cotton and supremely comfortable. The cuts are clean and the prints different from what you would get at an usual store. Bub owns three or four outfits from them and I am not buying more ONLY because she already has too many clothes.

https://www.facebook.com/preranapetals

That's Bub is a lovely Warli frock by Petals!

The second one is Little Women. They make cute clothes as well for little girls. Smart cuts is their USP. Their stuff is more girly in the sense of frills, bows and sashes! Best part is they will customize pretty much any design you have liked or even create completely out of your vision. Extremely affordable and comfortable stuff. The Bub owns a super smart outfit from here. You can find them here;

https://www.facebook.com/littlewomenshop

and thats Bub in a very hep creation by Little Women!

There are many more, but have tried these two and have been happy. Some of my friends have too and there have been no complaints on that front either! :)

Happy Shopping guys!

Here's a super cute photu of the bacchas having a great time at Boca Grande in Bangalore! Great food and service and supremely child friendly! :)

Post 13

So, what has the Bub been upto?! Honestly i just read the last post I wrote for her and she is still all of it many times over! :) She is still very cute, super naughty and has become a little hell raiser!


She talks endlessly! Not a lot of it makes sense but when awake she rarely takes a break from making sounds of every kind. I always thought this whole women talk too much was just one of them stereotypes, but when I see the Bub, I am not so sure! ;)


Her vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds and she tries to repeat every word we say. Her diction is not very clear unlike Cub and that makes it even cuter. She is still refusing to acknowledge any animal except Doddie (doggie) and the bhow bhow sound for most part. There is an occasional cat / cow moment, but that is rare as of now.

Finally we are seeing a slight reduction in the clinginess factor. Now the maid can clean potty and even feed every now and then. I can actually say bye and go out without her bawling her eyes out the entire time. Antijinx and Touchwood! :)


She walks like a Goonda and even her doctor called her Rowdy the last time she walked into her clinic. She is pricey when it comes to making friends and I hear many a comments about her attitude already! She LOVES other children and calls everyone Baby or Paapu as if she is 30years old.


She still adores going out and that includes her daily evenings out in the colony itself. She goes absolutely crazy running, shouting, smiling and laughing! She is an absolute delight to watch during these times. Of course it also involves running behind her these days - one moment your attention is diverted and you will spend next 10mins trying to trace her.


She is junk food errr... junkie! She wakes up in the morning and her first words are Bitti (meaning biscuit) and Cheeeps (chips). I do not how she has a radar for these things. Thankfully she also enjoys her fruits, but mostly she is demanding Bitti, Chote (chocolate) or cheeeps! gah!


The potty training is going slooowww. Make that super slloowww! Now she atleast agrees to sit on the goddamn potty with Booksh as the bait. Booksh obviously being Books! Right now we have a hit rate of zero percent and frankly we are being lazy too. Soon hopefully. I am dreaming that she will just figure it out on her own one of these days and save us the trouble! What?! A woman can hope, can't she?


But the love for Booksh is endearing and she keeps getting them to us. Funniest is when she insists on getting a separate book for herself every single time I read to Cub and gets mighty upset when I do not oblige.


She has learnt to throw tantrums the kind I had seen only kids on TV throw. The lying flat on the floor, the kicking of hands and legs and holding of breath. Sometimes all of it together. It would have been extremely frustrating if it wasn't so funny most of the times.


She also has this new found obsession with lying down on the floor just like that wherever she is. Be it home, the complex or some public place. I have no idea what the kick is.


Inspite of getting ridiculous amount of attention from everyone she still throws a hissy-fit every time I take Cub on my lap or cuddle with him. She tries to push him away and shouts till I tell her either she shares or scoots. Weird this girl is!


All in all she is a bundle of sunshine and joy! And we are truly blessed to have her as the one to complete our foursome! :)

So what if I am wearing my new chikan suit? I will still roll on the floor! gah!

Making funny faces! :p

Lookit that expression! 

Sometimes there are quiet moments of solitude as well...

Extremely happy with her glass of Joosh! :)

Junkie - i told ya!

Classifieds are very interesting indeed! :p

Doing tel maalish for herself! ;)

because she deserves a LOT of posts for herself

but since that does not happen as often as I would like, I MUST sit and finish this post in one go and give up on Facebook's instant gratification for a bit. Sigh!


So the Bub is now little over 15months old and since she has crossed the one year mark, there have been milestones galore and so much more that I cannot even remember now. She is on a complete cuteness overdrive and has a flock of people going crazy about her wherever we go. If nothing else, I will ten different folks telling me how adorable she is. Yes Yes! We shall share photos as well! :)


She took her first steps exactly at the age Cub did - 14months - to the last day even. But that was just the trailer and the actual walking started about 2 weeks later on 1st Jan. So the new year started with new found independence for her and trouble for us. She was ofcourse crawling at super speeds before that and kept resorting back to it when in need for speed like almost every other child.


She is now saying a few words. Mumma, Papa, Bye, Heyo (hello), Dog (along with bhoo bhoo sound), water, bottle amd most recent Bathoo (bathroom). The lack of verbal skills does not stop her from telling us what exactly she wants or does not want. Oh! How can I forget that she has learned to say the magic word No which she uses liberally especially when being food normal healthy khaana. So now not just her whole body twist around and hands come up, but there is also a resounding NO! to go with all of it.


She is quite naughty and loves ripping books, throwing things and putting everything possible in her mouth. She plays with everything except her toys which she plays with only when she sees someone else using them!


She is a quick learner and wants to do everything her brother and we do. So if he jumps on to the beanbag, she has to try and join him too. She pretends to take body lotion from the bottle and applies it on her own hands or sometimes ours as well. Tell her "Maalish karo" and she might indulge you with some rubs as well. She thinks pulling off her own socks 75times a day is funny, goes and sits on the small chair next to the shoe rack when you say "Shoes pehnenge" and pretend talks on the phone every now and then.


She absolutely LOVES going out. Even if we just take her down to pick Cub up when he comes back from school, she does not want to come back home. Say Park in the evening and she has a big smile on her face. The moment we get into the car she goes ballistic! :)


We have finally started pointing to nose correctly and are supremely excited to recognize a dog and say Bhu-Bhu to everyone who would listen.


True to her genes she is a lazy bum. She is not the kid who you will say "She does not sit in one place for even a minute!" for. This does not make her any less destructive or dangerous, but she is more than happy sitting in one place and wrecking havoc in that limited area.


Unlike Cub who is an out and out his Papa's boy, the Bub is her Mamma's girl! I call her my Fevicol Ka Mazboot Jod for all the time she spends clinging to my pajama like an extra appendage. Thank god it is getting a little better now. She is a very friendly child - from a distance. Try and pick her up and she will scream murder. I always have people apologizing saying "She was smiling at me!" and I say it is OK. I know that is how she is.


That said she does not have major stranger anxiety as such and is quite happy basking in attention from everyone around as long as you do not want anything in return.


She adores Cub and the smiles he gets are something we can only dream of. Touchwood and anti-jinx. She loves being with kids her age and tries to make friends at times.


Considering she has an older brother, as of now she prefers cars and superheroes over dolls. She has a couple, but mostly she just throws them around. The other day she took Cub's small Superman action figure and was trying to make it fly the way Cub does with the requisite sounds. Cutest sight ever!


She LOVES eating... all the unhealthy stuff! I do not know how she recognizes healthy food and pushes it away without even giving it a chance. Even then she is much easier to deal with than Cub when it comes to eating. A BIG Anti-jinx. She enjoys biscuits, popcorn and icecream the most. Thankfully she will eat most fruits including banana, apple, papaya, chikoo and grapes.


Oh and must mention that the Bub is used to sleeping with a Turkish towel in her hand! Do not ask how and when we realized it, but just give her a towel when she is sleepy and she will doze off on her own without you having to take any effort. Of course, we have NO idea how we are going to get rid of the habit! Let's see.


All in all, she is at a super duper fun stage right now. Her smile can light up the whole room and absolute strangers keep coming up to tell us how cute and pretty she is. She gives the most gooey and wet kisses and it is a pleasure getting them. Her Bye is absolutely adorable and she really enjoys saying it for some reason. In short she is a true bundle of energy and joy to have around!



And here are the photus! :)

Didn't I say always happy to be out and about?! :)

:) Cub holding on to Bub carefully! :)

Please note she is picking up Mathri to eat! :D

Just one of those days! :)

Dancing queen!

Enjoying the train ride With Cub! :)

Yes! I can run around now! :)

Always ready to bother the Cub who is almost always indulgent! 

Dressed up for K Bua's shaadi! :)

The fevicol! :D

Dressed up for K Bua's sangeet!

Doesn't she look like a little girl already?! Sigh!

All set for summer except desperate need for a haircut!

Keeping the hairband on till i could take a coupla pictures! :)

Naya saal! Naya baccha! :D

No No No!!!!!!! Of course I am NOT pregnant! Bub just turned one for chrissakes! :p


I am talking about Cub. He has grown up so suddenly that we are actually finding it difficult to come to terms with it. So many changes - mostly for better and yet heartbreaking in their own right. It is like we have a new kid in the house. If not for the consistently intermittent whining I would have believed in the paranormal as well to explain all this! :D


The big school for one has been good for him till now. His confidence is growing and he is learning a lot (too much if you ask us). He is still fairly quiet in the class and needs to believe in himself a little more perhaps, but according to his teachers he is among the smarter kids in the class. Very observant and a quick learner. Who are we to argue then?! ;)


At the sports day, Cub ran like the wind and came first in his class race. I have always been the participation is important kind of person, but it is difficult not to feel that extra flip of your heart to see your child stand at the podium. A lovely and proud moment. He was also right at the center and in the front for the dance their class performed (Waka-Waka) for the Annual Day. It is great to see him discover new facets to his personality.


Cub is also now talking more easily to new kids. The decision to move areas and colony has been a good one. He actually goes on and tries to make new friends now - albeit after a bit of prodding. He is learning to play with a bunch of people and still is clueless about how to deal with the playground politics. One day at a time I guess.


He is an amazing older brother. I mean, Bub has seriously lucked out in that department. He is caring, engaging and very naturally sensitive and affectionate. He is the only one who manages to take her off my hands when I get completely tired of her Fevicol ka majboot jod with my legs! Yes, there are times when he does not want to have anything to do with her, but those moments are few and far in between.


It has not been easy for him dealing with all the attention Bub gets because she is at such an adorable stage now! There is no way he can compete with that. Yet, he is trying to take it in his stride. We keep telling him how he as a kid got as much attention if not more and it is really just a matter of age.


I had told Cub that in the new year he has to start eating by himself. He nodded yes, but I was not sure if it was really going to work. One week down and things have been better than ever. Touchwood! We also noticed that eating at the dining table helps. Errr... yeah we generally sit on the bed and eat while watching TV! But since we have moved to the dining table, he has been eating by himself and well too. Guess he missed the attention he gets like this.


He is even dressing up on his own! Sigh! Now if we are going out etc, I just need to handover his clothes to him and he is ready in a jiffy. We are still learning to button correctly, but tees and pants is not a problem. He is becoming more and more independent and there are so many little milestones that he seems to be achieving everyday.

His writing and colouring is getting so much better. He still hates homework with vengeance though. There is finally some interest in learning to read by himself and it is so much fun to see  his thrilled jumping around saying "I read a whole sentence!" He is becoming more and more logical in his reasoning and keeps coming and telling us why he thinks certain things happen or do not happen. But like me, he is not very curious by nature really.


He hates structured play of any kind. It includes jigsaws, board games etc. Maybe it is because he does not like it when he cannot master things instantly. He is still much happier making up stories and letting his imagination run riot with whatever toy or object catches his fancy. That said he is a lot more interested in physical activities now. he loves climbing up and jumping down. Running. He is learning to play cricket and frisbee. These days if we go down on time, he gets one solid hour of exercise.


He is having actual conversation on the phone with his grandparents now. And whoever else agrees to listen. Finally! :)


All in all, things are definitely looking up in this new year. Cub is growing up to be a lovely kid. Yes, the kind who will get his heart broken perhaps, but his innate sweetness keeps showing up ever so often and I find myself tearing up and sending up a prayer for his happiness. As much happiness as he brings to others in the very least.



May you keep growing stronger and yet stay gentle at heart my love. You are a very special person!


Love ya lots!



I hope to blog more often this year. I hope you guys had a great last year and I wish you have an even year ahead! Cheers!

Dressed as shepherd for the Nativity scene in the colony! :D

All set for our trip to halebid and belur

Like i said, he prefers going wild with his imagination! :)

Actually agreeing to pose for a change! :)

Running - his latest love! Side-effect of coming first in that school race!

Jungle gyms are best friends these days! Even tiny ones! :D

And yes, we still make crazy faces for the camera most of the times! :p


Happy New Year folks! :)