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! :)

One bole toh FUN!

Facebook killed the blogging star said one friend's status and it is so true! :( I write one post a month in a good month! It is not just writing, but even reading and commenting that has hit an all time low and as much as I hate it, I just don't see the situation changing too soon. Trying to work on it though. There was a time i spend hours surfing through all the blogs I loved. A lot of them have gone the same way and are not really active now. A lot of them also changed to real life friendships and personal connections were made.


But that does not change the fact that a whole lot of my memories are now just getting lost somewhere out there instead of being captured here forever. Yes, there is the instant gratification on facebook, but it is not something I can go back to and suddenly smile thinking "Oh! This had happened too?!"


The Bub turns ONE today and I think I have written a total of one post for her till date. That is when I am at home and seeing her do everything so much more than I did with Cub. Feeling terrible would be an understatement. So what has she been upto all these months?! :)


Bub is a charmer with her big eyes and even bigger smile. Now with seven teeth peeking out, she looks completely different and all grown up, but no less cheeky than before! A little more maybe.


Because she seems to give out her smiles freely, folks tend to try and pick her up or carry her in their arms. They are sure to be in for a surprise and not a pleasant one that. The smiling girls turns in to a wailing banshee within seconds. Man! She is LOUD! It is difficult to ignore her when she starts bawling her eyes out, though thankfully till now she does not do it as often!


You know the Eat to Live and Live to Eat funda?! Well Bub belongs completely and totally to the latter. Touchwood and all that jazz. She just LOVES to eat just about everything. Except the healthy stuff. The carrots and cucumbers and thrown out within moments. Oh well! Cannot have everything going right, can we?! But still, she is not fussy in general. If she likes something, she will eat it even if it is spicy with her eyes watering and tongue hanging out! :p It does not matter if she has just had her meal or has just woken up from her sleep, she sees food and she wants it! Its actually really cute and funny to watch her demand khaana.


She picks up little games pretty quick and KNOWS that she has mastered something new. The whole wicked and proud expression in her eyes is something to be experienced.


She loves shaking her cute l'il butt and waving her tiny hands in air when she listens to music - the item number variety! Sigh! But it is way too cute to be upset about it.


She is quite capable of taking care of herself already. She is quite prompt in voicing her disapproval and always ready to grab things she wants. She has a maha strong grip and does not let go of things easily. The dirty looks that follow are quite scary already!


In physical milestones, she can obviously sit comfortably. Stands and cruises with support. Crawls super fast. Can throw a ball. Pick up even smallest of things easily and ensure that they go in to her mouth irrespective of whether they are edible or no. Pulling random stuff out of her mouth means getting your fingers bitten. Hard!


She LOVES to bother Cub. At all times. She has to try and take the toy he is playing with, scratch his eyes out under the guise of showing her love, pull his hair when is sleeping and snatching his books when he is writing or colouring! Cub is thankfully as accommodating and sweet as a four year old can be.


She is a complete outdoor girl. The moment you utter the word "ghummi" she is all yours. Once she is in the arms of whoever is going out she will refuse to go to anyone else. She says her no with the cutest and funniest movement of her head and neck and a naughty smile to go with it. I ask her to come to me everyday when she does down with her nanny L just to watch that action and reaction and still laugh every single time! :)


She hates getting her face washed or clothes changed. Cries every single day. Every single time. That said she totally is a water baby. Loves her bath time. And on rare occasion we managed to take her to the pool she took to it like a little fish. It was so much fun to just watch her!


All in all, Bub is a whole lot of fun right now. The cute smiles, the bright eyes, the naughty twinkle, the wicked look, the curly unruly mop of hair, the big and small teeth, the funny expressions, the pride of having learnt something new, the husky voice that says Muuummmmaa and Paappa, the "main apni favourite hoon" kind of self adoration in front of the mirror, those little waves saying Bye or the one that looks almost similar but comes with the sound of Hiii, the absolute and unconditional love for food, the tinkle of her l'il payals all over the house, the pretty clothes, hair clips that don't stay for more than 5minutes and so many other intangibles that make her so special. She obviously has her father wrapped around her little finger, btw! :)


Happy Birthday darling Bub! Love you so much you gorgeous, clever and brave little girl.

You make life that much more fun, funny and complete! Have a brilliant year ahead!

Mmmmuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaah!

The classic scary Bub expression. She looks so sure already! Sigh!

Because she know she is going ghummi! :)

always ready to bug the Cub! :)

I prefer playing with cars! :p

Don't know why but feel like calling this L'il Miss Muffet! ;)

The L'il Krishna! :)

L'il Fish, didn't i tell you?! :)

Randomness! :)

The festive season is on and I am loving it. There is a slight nip in the air, people are smiling, there are kandeels in the balconies and lights put up in every other home. M is traveling and not around for either Diwali or our anniversary. 7th to be precise. That kind of sucks, but other than that it is difficult to mope when there is so much fun in the air. Today Cub and me made small paper lanterns... the ones i am sure most of us have made in school. We hope to make some more and then put them in our balcony as Diwali decor. Cub also made a Toran in school with the help of his teachers. Since we did not have one in any case, we immediately put it up on our door. It quite lovely really.

That said I was just reading this blog post the other day and started to wonder. It is indeed true that we are very kanjoos with our praise and appreciation. How many of us ask for a feedback form, when we get excellent service? Yet, we are the first ones to look for the complaint book when we have even the slightest trouble.

While it is great to expect and demand good service, isn't positive feedback a part of this? I read somewhere that truly successful don't just learn from their failures, but also the success. WE all crave appreciation - from our boss, colleagues, friends and family. Then what makes us forget that other people want it too?

I Love M for this. He is always very respectful in his dealings with folks at every level. We go buy something, he always makes sure he finds out the name of the person and uses it to thank him / her. He shakes hands and smiles without an iota of self consciousnesses or ego. And I have been learning from him.

These days if I enjoy the service at any place, I make sure I get their names. I mention it specifically if feedback form is given. If there is none offered voluntarily (like in retail industry), I ask for it and quickly fill it out mentioning the name of the person who delighted me with their efficiency and practical approach. Trust me, it is not an easy quality to find in lot of places.

It is amazing and saddening at the same time to see their happy and surprised expression. They are just not used to get even a polite thank you on most days. The last time i asked someone else for the name of a sales girl who helped  me find the right churidaar because that girl had gone out for lunch by the time i got to the billing counter. The manager came rushing and his question was "Is there a problem, Ma'am?!" Sigh!

So next time you are happy with some work someone has done for you will you say a heartfelt thank you and then take out two minutes and put it in writing too?

Toh iss Diwali, aap kisse khush karenge?! :)

happy diwali folks! have a great time!

another quick get-away!

and because the photos of this one are so darn cute, I need to get this post done before I get lazy yet again! :)

So it is Thursday night, more like midnight, and then suddenly M comes into the room after finishing his con-calls and asks me the ultimate question "Are you sleeping?!" Errrr...Now I am not! :) We are getting a great deal at Taj Kuteeram for this weekend, should I book it. And we do.

The day we are leaving our live-in nanny Lalita falls sick in the morning and Lalita and illness = PANIC! Anyway, doctor visit done, we waited till she felt better and finally left only a little behind our schedule.

Finally we reach there around lunch hour and kids go crazy.


In a good way!

They see all the open space and it is like a dam has broken. Cub is running all over and Bub is trying to catch up as fast as she can. We go to our room and kids are even more kicked. They love the bed. Bub is rubbing her cheek against the soft linen as often as she could! :) Then we open the back door. Yes! It is one of those cottages. There is beautiful little swing in there and all of us are trying to get a spot on it.

Rest of the day and half of next day goes in lazing around doing pretty much nothing. We watch a magic show arranged, get our hands a little dirty while pretending to work on the potter's wheel making small pots to bring home as souvenirs. Or memories actually.


Kids get to look at ducks swimming in the pond nearby, try avoiding the sprinkler from getting them wet head to toe and just enjoy listening to little birds sing. Cub was more open to climbing trees this time and kept trying his hand at it every now and then. He actually went up to the magician when called up on and told his name clearly which in itself is an awesome improvement. He was being super helpful pushing Bub's stroller all around and playing with her, making sure she does not hurt herself. he is one rock star brother. Touchwood!


Bub on the other hand was just soaking up all the new experiences. It was so much fun seeing her play in the sand, feel little pebbles, then the rough stone and the soft green grass. And she achieve a milestone there! Learned to climb steps! :) Of course she kept giving us the scares by trying to get down head first. Oh well!


Anyhoo, here's the photos that say it so much better than my words can!

Bub and me posing on the swing!

The father and the kids! didn't i say we kept taking turns?!

I just LOVE this photo. For some reason it makes me smile every time i see it!

Bub and me again!

First you pin me down!

Then I will pin you down

Bub obviously does not want to be left out of all the fun!

Because Cub is looking soooooooooo handsome! :)

So this is how sand with little pebbles feels! :)

And crawling on red stones feels like this, eh?! :)

Ze bed in ze room!

Fooling around! :)

He finished that big glass of milk in a jiffy just because he was on a different chair! Kids!

Some TV watching when there is nothing else to do!

:) man! my son is good looking! :)

On the magician's table! :)

Finally and the only family photu! 

Cub waiting for his turn at the wheel!

While Bub watches on. She made use of this time by eating small pebbles and mud around her!

He was giving sermon to the ducks from a height! ;)

Tree huger! :)

day 2 and still crazy about the swing!

Saying our good-byes by posing with the gorgeous wall! :)

One with ze Mumma!

Getting her last feed before leaving on the steps!

which she promptly went up once the eating was done!

And waved Ta-Ta! :)


Ps. It obvious how much Cub was enjoying himself because we rarely had a "no-picture" moment and we got some gorgeous photos of him! :)

Have you checked out this blog, btw? Howlarious to say the least!

http://crappypictures.typepad.com/

Hope you guys are enjoying the festive season! Haffun all of ya!

a quick getaway with grandparents!

I was just sifting through old blog posts to find a post I had written on our Masinagudi trip for JLT. I obviously meandered and realized there are so many things I have forgotten and the only record is my blog posts. I instantly felt terrible about not being as regular. There are hardly any Bub posts in here. And so many new things Cub keeps doing too have found no mention and are now lost forever! :(


So here's a catch up post of a short getaway we did to Jungle Lodge's, Bannerghatta National Park. Yes, right within the city and yet once you enter, it is like you have left it far behind. Much fun was had and you can read my official guide HERE for the more practical aspects! Thank you Art for the recco!


We loved pretty much everything about the place - the accommodation in the tents, the hammocks strung around everywhere, deer walking in unexpectedly and the open space. The food and the service were a tad disappointing, but nothing you cannot live with for one night.


Here are the photos! The kids were especially thrilled to have their Aaji-Ajoba around! :)

Cub trying to save the Bub from falling into the gap! :)

Getting the hang of the hammock! No pun intended! ;)

The Girl with the Red Umbrella! :)

The brother in green joins her! :)

I LOVED the tyre swing! what is there not to like, eh?! 

With the bada baby at the zoo! :p

The brats with the grandies! :)

everyone trying to save the food from Bub the Bhukkad! :p

Cub at the front of the Safari bus. The driver let him change the gears later. Holding his hand ofcos!

Near the Butterfly park! :)

The entrance to the Butterfly park. While the number of butterflies were few, its a gorgeous place. And do NOT miss the museum.

In the Butterfly park!

The Bub relaxing in the hammock!

Just sitting around enjoying the place! :)

i LOVE this photo! Just like that! :)

Hanging out together! :)

And we found some friends to kick the ball with! :)


We were back by next day lunch time. It was a short and sweet break and Cub was quite upset that we did not stay another night. All in all, much fun was had. Thank god for such mini-breaks, eh?! :)