Paper laces

Yesterday Betu and me sat down to make these paper laces. Remember we used to make them as kids?

In the beginning he was a little confused when I was making the first one. But when I opened it and he saw the cut work he was mighty excited.

Then he wanted to do it too. I folded the papers and drew the lines where the paper needed to be cut. And he cut the paper on those lines. The amusement and excitement each time we opened the folds of the cut up paper was writ large on his face. And there was no stopping. So one after the another, we kept going. Here are some of the ones that we did -

Capturing Mumma-Papa's room

He captured our room by putting his toon stickers on the bedroom door. So now he says, its his room now and he is being nice to us by 'sharing' the room with us.

What can we say about losing the battle when we were not even given a chance to fight the battle. *sigh*

Writing his own name

After helping him spell his name whenever he would play with the pre-school activities where he would need to input his name, I was surprised to see today he had written it all by himself without any help whatsoever. He has finally learnt it by heart.

This is picture of the envelop which he asked me to make for him an hour ago, to keep his 'important' papers in with his name written on it by His Highness himself :)

Don't know why but I'm feeling quite happy seeing this :)

Drawing

This is what he drew yesterday morning. A rabbit with 'delishioush' (delicious) carrots and two trees. This coloring set he had received from his previous daycare supervisor on his birthday this year. These are water color crayons. Yup..water color crayons. First you draw using them and with just water and brush spread it to give an effect of water color painting :) Interesting isn't it? Even I was quite amused with it when I saw them first.

Coming back to the drawing, I found the rabbit quite cute and the overall drawing very nice. Well..this could be a Mom's partial heart speaking here but then I really find it pretty good :)

Questions that leave me speechless..

Few days ago, Betu asked me a question that left me speechless. This is what our conversation was -

Betu: Hanuman kaun hain?
Me: Hamare Bhagwan ji hain.

Betu: Ram kaun hain?
Me: Woh bhi hamare Bhagwan ji hain.

Betu: *looking a bit confused* Ganesha kaun hain?
Me: Woh bhi hamare bhagwan ji hain.

*Betu looked totally bewildered and went silent for few seconds*

Betu: *finally speaking up* But Surabhi Ma'm be to bola ki ek hi bhagwan hote hain?
Me: *totally blank and speechless*

Do you have any answer to this? I definitely didn't know. But I with a big question mark on his face and waiting for me to answer I had to reply soemthing. After thinking for a while all I could say was "Bhagwan to ek hi hote hain. Unko alag alag naam se sab bulate hain." Before he could question me again, I simply distracted him and switched to some other conversation.

But off late I had had to resort to the 'distraction' method quite a few times. And I feel its not good. And may not work for long. What should I do or say when I myself don't know the answers of?

There are times when I'v even said that I do not know but he keeps on insisting "Aap to itne bade ho. Aapko pata hoga." With so much faith and trust in us parents, I don't think we are doing justice to the role.

Any suggestions here?

School Activities

Yesterday, Anirudh had to go dressed as any of the people who help us in our day to day lives. For e.g. Doctors, Postman etc.. I actually forgot totally about it till 8:30 PM the previous night. And then I just couldn't think of what to send him in as. I went to nearby shop, which was just about to close down, and bought the only available doctor set. It was pathetic quality-wise but did I have a choice?

Even though I bought it somehow I was not too game for using those stupid looking things which were to be called as a stethoscope, thermometer etc. Suddenly a bulb lit up in my head and I smacked myself for not thinking of such an easy yet a good option earlier. Why did I have to first waste those 100 rupees before this idea struck me. I decided I will send him as a "tailor". All I needed was a measuring tape, a scissor and a piece of cloth. And I surely had all of this.

So when I told him he shall be going as a tailor and not as a doctor, a lot of bawling and throwing tantrums happened. But somehow I managed to convince him about the uniqueness of it and he agreed. Now I had to make him remember few lines to speak. this is what I taught him - "I'm a tailor. I stitch clothes. This is the scissor and this is a measuring tape."

Although at home he recited them very well but I was quite doubtful if he would remember as I had taught him these sentences in the morning only.

Anyhow, when I picked him from daycare I asked him
Me: Did you do your tailor act in the class?
Betu: Yes

Me: How did it go?
Betu: Bahut achha

Me: What did you do?
Betu: Maine bola "I'm a tailor." Uske baad main bhool gaya isliye maine bola "Main phate huye kapde silta hoon".

Me: *trying to control laughter* Very good. What did Ma'm say?
Betu: Unhone bola "Good".

I was infact amazed at how he got this idea of "phate kapde silta hoon". And I think it was quite creative and spontaneous of him to come up with soemthing like this.

Later on asking who all had come as what, I figured only 60% of the kids came dressed as various helpers. Out of those 60% of the children, 90% came as doctors, one came as a teacher, one as a barber, one as a postman and he as a tailor.

So I used this to tell him "See. I told you everyone will come as doctors. No one else came as a tailor. You were special." A big grin came on his face hearing the word "special". :D

Making fridge magnets

Anirudh had received this box of "Create your own fridge magnets" as a return gift from a birthday party. Last week we finally got down to making them. The kit contained POP sachet, paints, brushes, moulds and magnets. Basically everything you needed to get to the job of making them. And so we did.

He wanted to take them out within minutes of pouring the paste in the moulds when the POP was still wet! It was such a task for me to keep him away from it. But I somehow managed that.

Here are the ones that we made and it was a combined painting effort of Betu and me which are beautifying what else but our fridge door :)

A true fan of Shahrukh Khan

I've been writing about how he is a big fan of Shahrukh Khan and loves to not only wear clothes like him but dance like him as well!

Today we went to see the movie "Rab ne bana di jodi". After 10 mins of the movie had elapsed he asked in a very innocent way "Shahrukh Khan mooch hata ke kab dance karega?" (When will Shahrukh Khan remove his moustache and dance?) Not only us, but all the people sitting nearby had a good laugh.

When we were walkng down to the car after the movie had ended I asked him "Aapko movie kaisee lagi?" He again answered very earnestly "Thodi achhi lagi. Zyaada nahi. Shahrukh Khan 'Om Shanti Om' mein zyaada achha tha." See..he is not only a true fan but a good critique as well.


Shahrukh Khan..are you listening? :)

He's growing up

As usual on our way back home after picking betu from daycare, we had stopped at the grocer to buy milk, bread etc. Today the shop was unusually crowded. As I was giving the order I suddenly heard Betu "aap excuse me to bol sakte ho!" in a bit of irritated and slightly loud voice. I got confused as to with whom he is talking. When I turned around I saw him looking at a lady with his brows knitted.



That lady smiled and said sorry. Its then that I could imagine what would have happened. Since the shop was crowded, she might have pushed past him.



Frankly I was quite amused. And happy. For he spoke up for himself. But at the same time I realised he was a bit rude. So I then itself told him that what he did was right but it would be good to say it softly.



It may actually be a very small incident but it made me quite happy that my lil boy is growing up good.



~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

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Sports Day Celebrations

Before the Sports Day Celebrations and Prize Distribution Ceremony at Betu's school fades away from my memory, I finally decided to write it out here.

The said event took place on December 5, 2008 at the Saket DDA Sports Complex. We were to be seated by 10 AM and I reached well in time by 9:45 and half the podium was empty. I found a friend and his wife who's child also is in the same school. I was glad I had company in case the event turns out to be boring. But there was no scope of any boredom thanks to some weird set of parents about whom you shall read in detail later in the post :)

So as we took seats, and settled down by 10:00, there was a lady sitting right in front of us who had 'reserved' 4 seats for her acquaintances by placing the program schedule over the seats. Despite protest from a few parents, she just wouldn't let go of those seats. The funny part is that her acquaintances didn't turn up till 1 hour after the start of the program. And during that 1 hour one parent actually ignored this lady's protests of these seats being reserved and settled down. I was glad that someone did that finally. And then one of the organizers also came and told her she can;t do that and let other parents take those seats which left this lady fuming :D

Even though the podium was 60% vacant, the program started right on schedule. Or rather 5 minutes before scheduled time of 10:00 AM. We were surprised but glad too.

It was an International Sports Meet and schools from other countries had also come for the event. A team from an Iraqi School had flown down especially for this event. And teams from Russian school and Japanese School which were located in Delhi itself came down as well.

Soon the formal march past started and after that the casual march past of younger kids. The parents went totally berserk...as if their kid has broken a world record trying to capture their kids in the digicam/handycam. They didn't even bother if they were being an obstruction to the people sitting behind them. Within seconds, I had a wall of people standing in front of me. But I kept calm till this point. A organiser came and asked them to all settle down.

Then the cultural activities started and again all the parents went hysterical. And again the organiser had to come and settle the parents down. I still kept calm till this point. Surprised? Even I was with myself :P

The third time this happened I just couldn't keep my cool anymore and in my loudest of voices told them to please all sit down as we can't see a thing. I told them "We all are educated, literate people and lets behave like one and not like untamed animals." Lot of eyebrows and nasty faces were made while looking at me but that didn't make any difference to me because they did sit down after my statement.

When the fourth time they again stood up, I again shouted "Can you all please sit down? We have also come to watch the program. And why don't you go to the back if you want to click pictures?" This time again everyone turned to glare at me and some sat down while some didn't. I could hear some snide remarks like "Trying to show attitude!" and "What a snob" etc. But I just couldn't resist answering back to the lady who said "Peeche waale log co-operate bhi nahi kar rahe". I told her "Pahle co-operate ka matlab dictionary mein dekh kar ayo before using the word. Cooperation is not one sided. It has to be mutual." But then as you all know, such people are just incorrigible, shameless and insensitive. Whatever you say or do doesn't make any difference to them. I have wondered time and again why are we becoming so selfsih natured and I still have no answer. It really bogs me down but I really don't know what should I do.

The friend couple who I was sitting with told me that there is no point telling them anything and we moved away to find a better place and we actually did. We sat on the stair styled seats and managed to click some good pics as well. Sharing some pics from the event:

In his costume!


Kids running in colorful costumes!


Iraqi School


Russian School


Japanese School


here's my little champ!


Japanese students playing their special drums.

Mumma doesn't know a thing

Today morning after hubby gave Betu the bath, I was trying to get him to wear clothes pretty quickly as it has started to get really chilly now. As usual, he was not standing properly and making it so tough to make him wear his clothes. And then I yelled saying "Anirudh!! Seedhey khadey ho! Tum thand kha jayoge nahi to!". He looked at me with such a bewildered expression and asked me "Thand koi khane ki cheez hai? Koi usko khata hai kya?".

I, as usual, just cracked up laughing and didn't know how to explain that there are phrases that one doesn't need to take by their literal meaning!

After we both were done laughing he didn't forget to add "Mumma ko to kuchh nahi pata!" and he went off to watch his Little Einstein :D

Thank you my Betu!

Yesterday I was down with migraine (yes again!) and when I reached home I changed and went to lie down. He soon came to me and put his soft little hands on my head and caressed me. Then he said "Main aapko ek story sunayunga, fir aap so jana." (I'll tell you a story and then you sleep.) He proceeded to press my forehead with his hands and started to tell a story of butterfly and a ladybird. And when he finished after a minute or two, he patted me softly on my forehead, tucked my blanket, switched off the lights, in a very soft voice said "Good Night. Ab aap so jayo" and closed the door gently.

And it just didn't end there. When I woke up he asked me "Aapka sir dard kaisa hai? Theek ho gaya?" (How is your headache? Is it ok now?)

Betu, I can't describe what I feel when you take care of me like this. I feel so so thankful to God for giving you as my loving child. Be like this always my lil boy! Mumma loves you a lot!

It begins early...

A recent conversation with Betu after I picked him from Daycare:

Me: Aapne kya kya kiya school mein aur daycare mein?
Betu: Kuchh Nahi (in quite a low/sad tone)

Me: Kyun? Kuchh to kiya hoga. masti kari hogi. Aapko mazaa aaya?
Betu: Nahi

Me: Kyun?
Betu: Mujhe Vrinda ne maara! (Vrinda is a 6 year old girl in his daycare)

Me: Aapne usko pareshaan kara kya?
Betu: Nahi. Main to usko bas kiss kar raha tha.

(His kisses are limited to cheek ones so far *wink*)

I had to really really control myself from laughing out hard. But I did laugh even though it was a suppressed laughter. And I was glad that Betu sits at the back seat and couldn't see me laughing else it would have hurt him more.

And at the same time I felt such a twinge of pain seeing how hurt he felt. There was this innocence and genuineness in his statement.

I gathered myself and told him that he should ask his friends if he can kiss them before doing so. I just didn't know what to tell him I definitely didn't want to tell him not to kiss because it would have meant its a bad thing which its not.

So again everybody. Any ideas on how to tackle this?

An interesting game

This is the toy we got for Betu this Diwali. It is called "OUCH". I know the name is funny but its really a good game even for adults. It has a main tower like thing. On which we need to put a bowl like thing which has a big hole in the center and mini holes on the sides. There as colored sticks which are quite flexible and we have to put them through the holes on the sides to make a mish-mash net. Then we have to drop the marbles that come along with the game. And then we close it with a bowl on the top.

There can be 4 players and each one has to take out sticks with the aim that no/minimum beads shall spiral down. The one who collects the most beads loses.



But I changed the rule a bit since its usually 2 player game for us. So whatever beads I have let roll down, he collects and whatever come out because of his pulling out a stick, I collect. So when there are no more marbles left in the top of the tower, the game ends and the one who has the most wins.

We were a bit apprehensive when we bought it whether he will enjoy it or not. But since he enjoys it and so do we, it definitely was a good buy. It costed us Rs. 400 which again is not very expensive in my view for such an interesting game.

One of my "What-the-hell?!" moments

Yup..it was one of those moments. You get busy in the kitchen for 15 min and suddenly you realise you have not heard him in a long while, so you just come out of the kitchen just to check and this is the sight that hits me right on the face! I almost shriek; totally confused if this is the place which was completely in order just 15 mins ago; I pray that this may just be a dream and that someone comes soon and pinches me hard so that I wake up from this horrid horrid dream!!

But alas..it wasn't a dream after all! I just sat down with my both hands on my head and no clue what to say, what to do or where to start from. And then as if understanding my pain and seeing the horror in my eyes he comes to me, pats me on the shoulder and says "Mumma..koi baat nahi. Main aapki help karunga!"

My Sweet Little Don!

This incident dates to 2 weeks ago. On Nov 29th, was the wedding of Hubby's cousin and we were out shopping for an outfit for Betu. We saw many suits and after making him try 3-4 we finalised on one. So as we were trying someone in the shop said "Aisa suit to Shahrukh Khan ne Don mein pahna tha." Betu heard that and looked at himself agian in the mirror and asked "Main Shahrukh Khan jaisa lag raha hoon?" and everyone around had a good laugh at his question.

So when he wore it on the wedding, he was telling his cousins "Yeh Shahrukh Khan wala suit hai!"

The Sharukh Khan mania had come over him after we saw Om Shanti Om last year and it still continues. The cousin who was getting married shall be moving to Mumbai. So once he came to know that Shahrukh Khan also lives in the same city, he instructed me to pack 5 of his dresses and send him with his Bua (Hubby's cousin sister).

So here is my Lil Don aka Sharukh Khan eating aloo stuffed golgappas!

And the moment we entered the marriage venue, right at the entrance was the paan stall. And he straight away went to the paan-wala and ate his gulkand wala paan! And if I remember correctly in the movie Don, even Shahrukh Khan ate pan and did the jig on "Khayike paan banaras wala..". Betu has not seen the movie Don so it surely was quite an interesting coincidence.

We even managed to find good comfortable long toed formal black shoes for him to go with his dress. I so wanted to take a nice good pic of him alone which I could have printed and framed but it was just impossible to make him stand still!! This picture is the best one I could manage of him.

He surely knows how to return a compliment.

He never hesitates in saying "Aap to bahut achhe lag rahe ho!" whenever any of us dresses up for a party/wedding or any get-together.

But recently because of all his tantrums and anger fits, I started calling him "Nautanki No. 1". The day I first said this to him, without blinking for a second he said "Aur aap Nautanki No. 2!"

And now, the compliment has extended to "Aap Nautanki No 2 se 10 tak ho!"

So be it positive or a negative, he surely knows how to return a compliment! :D

Mumma troubles so much!

I usually wake Betu up in the night, twice, to make him go pee.



Today was one of those regular days except for thr funny statement that Anirudh made when I woke him up around 4 AM.



Me: Betu, utho. Pee-pee kar ke aayo.



Betu: (cribing and fussing goes and comes back to the bed when he is done and says...) Koi bache ko sone bhi nahi deta. Mujhe itni zor se neend aa rahi hai.



Me: ab aap so jayo na.



And I try to pull him towards me to cuddle with him. But Betu goes towards his papa and snuggles with him leaving me smiling at his statement and emphasis on the using the word "bachha" for himself.





~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

In the news

Betu's blog was covered for an article in LiveMint on a parenting article. You can read the article here - http://www.livemint.com/2008/11/21223636/The-baby-bloggers.html

What do you say to that?

Today morning Betu was asking hubby about something again and again. Hubby as usual snapped at him. He came to me with a sullen face and told me "Hum doosre papa layenge. Yeh papa gande hain. Hamesha daante rahte hain." (We will get another papa. He is bad. He scolds all the time) But obviously I burst out into laughter and then added "Kaash itna easy hota Betu."(How I wish it was that easy.) loud enough for hubby to hear that who was sitting nearby.

Betu took that statement of mine quite seriously and in quite a heart broken voice said "Hum market jayenge. Mall mein. Wahan se layenge." (We will go to the market. In the mall. We will get from there). I just laughed a little more and hugged him.

But seriously what do you say to that? And where do they get all this in their heads? :D

My compassionate lil boy!

Sunday morning I woke up with a bad migraine. I was feeling very nauseated besides the killing headache. As I was standing by the basin throwing up, Betu immediately came running and started to gently rub my back. Just the way I do for him.

I can't describe how or what I felt at that moment. Words can never be enough for this wonderful, sweet gesture of his. The concern on his face was writ large.

And it did not end there. When I lied down he came and pressed my forehead with his soft supple hands. And then suddenly he said "Main abhi aata hoon" and ran off. Few seconds later he came with his wet hands and put them over my eyes. I was surprised and thought "How does he know I like that?". And then I remembered how he had asked me once long ago, when I was pressing a glass of cold water against my eyes in the summers, as to why I was doing so. It had been more than 3 months but he remembered!

And then I worry if this little compassionate child will be able to survive this self-centered, ruthless, uncaring world. Will there be people who will appreciate him for being so compassionate or will he be called a fool? Will he stay this way or will he change along as he grows and faces the harsh realities of the world and the people? I wonder...

I may not know about the future but what I certainly know is that I couldn't be thankful enough to God for giving me such an adorable, loving and a wonderful child. Betu, Mumma loves you from the deepest deeps of my heart!

~~ Keep Smiling! ~~
Sent on my BlackBerry®.

His first day-trip from School

They have gone to the School's farm. He was mighty excited. When I saw the note in his School Diary on Wednesday, I told him about the upcoming trip to the school's farm. The first thing he asked me was "Wahan par keechad mein pigs bhi honge?" (The pigs in the mud will also be there?). I just laughed and nodded.

Since then everyone he comes across, he HAS to tell them that he is going to the School's farm. And today morning when he was being fussy in waking up, we just had to mention the words "Today you will go to the farm!" and his eyes popped open and he went scurrying around to get ready :)

When I dropped him at the school in the morning, I asked one of the teacher's who is to go with them on the trip about the address and the contact number. I was quite surprised when she asked me why do I need to know. She said we have your numbers so if need be we will all you. I really had to explain really hard to her why I need to know, why a parent needs to know. And it took a lot of convincing to tell her that I'm not going to be pestering her with calls every now and then or land up at the place. Its just that WE NEED TO KNOW! And then she gave me her mobile number.

I think this is something very basic that the school should do - to give the details of the place they are going to and one contact number at least. Am surely going to be bringing this up in the next PTM and may write to the Principal also about it if I hear any resistance on the teacher's part in understanding the need.

His hinglish!

I have already written about his attempts at talking in English and everyday he says something that just cracks us up.

Today when he saw me sitting on his kiddy moodha chair he said - "Who's my chair baitha?" :D


~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

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His first rangoli.

While I was making rangoli on the Diwali, Betu wanted to make one too. So I made an outline of a star and he filled it in. So here is the picture of his first attempt at making rangoli:
Quite a good job for first time..isn't it? :)

Jhoola Jhooling!!

We were at my in-laws place for celebrating Diwali. It was an early morning and Betu was swinging with two of his cousins in the swing in the lawn of the house. All the kids were in full masti mood. And I was making a video of them having fun. So I asked "Whats up?!" and Betu thought for a while and said "Sun is up!" I couldn't help laughing at this answer even if it was correct from his point although I meant it otherwise. So I rephrased my question and asked "What are you doing?". He again thought for a while and replied "We are jhoola jhooling!" Everyone burst out into laughter and so did Betu!

These are his recent attempts to talk and respond in English. And I feel he is making good progress even if they are sometimes funny :D

Wordless at his questions

We are sitting at the dentist waiting for my turn. Me and Anirudh. He starts to flip the Femina and stops at a picture of an intimately hugging couple. From the picture that shows their bare shoulders he infers they are not wearing any clothes. He asks me why are they sitting like that? I told him they are hugging each other. Just like Mumma hugs him. He further asks me why they are not wearing clothes. I just didn't know what to say so I changed the topic. I caught another patient looking and smiling hearing his questions. And I just smiled back.



I know he is too young to understand the physical relationship so I didn't even try to explain him.



Any ideas anyone?





~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

"I can't hear you" mode

This is the mode that Anirudh has been in since the past month. Or is it "I don't want to listen to you" mode? Whatever it may be but it irritates the hell out of me and hubby. I guess more for me coz I'm the one who deals with him most of the time.

You keep telling him something and repeat it over and over again and he will just turn a deaf ear to you. And when you yell at him, the tears will start rolling and the most pleading and emotional "sorry mumma" is voiced. Trust me it takes lot of will to not melt down on hearing him saying such "sorry".

I know its a trick these kids play on us. The emotional fool trick. And we always almost fall for it.

He has been demanding us to buy him a new toy almost every other day. And out come major tantrums if we say "no" or say "We just bought you a toy on so and so day". We have started ignoring him and sometimes it works and he quietens down and sometimes it goes on for hours and at times he gets a whack from me.

Someone please tell me its a phase!!

Doing Prayanayams

Since the past week when I do Pranayam in the mornings I make Anirudh also sit with me and do 2 of them - Kapal Bharti and Omkar.

Got him started specifically after he got down with viral 5 times in the past 2 months. Initially he would cry and make a fuss for not doing but after 2 days he has probably realised that Mumma is not going to relent so I better do it :D

This is the picture of him doing the Omkar. Its quite funny to actually see him doing them. His entire body moves up and done with every breath.

And nowadays he himself sits down to do them on his own. In fact today I didn't do but he did his. So its my turn to learn from him to be regular :D

Castle

Betu gave me this drawing saying "Yeh aapke liye castle hai!" :D

Thank you my adorable Betu!

Its time to update your dictionary

As me and Betu were sitting at Barista at GK2 with Betu gorging on the chocolate excess, he saw a lady ordering the same. He turned to me and said "woh mere jaise wale cake ke peeche kyun padi hai?".

I looked around embarrassingly wondering if anyone had heard him. Thankfully no one had. I told him that he is not supposed to talk like that about anyone in the restaurants and that too so loudly. And especially about the people we do not know.

He came closer to me and whispered "hum jinko nahi jaante unko him 'aliens' bolte hain na?". I tried hard but couldn't control my laughter when he said that. :D

Later I told him that those are called 'strangers' and not aliens. He continued his barrage of questions as to who aliens are and we talked on. And later he surmised "Par hum aliens ko bhi to nahi jaante?" I just nodded and we got back to eating our chocolate excess!


~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

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Mr. Bossy!

I forgot to note down a very funny incident that happened last Saturday when I had taken him along to my office.



It had so happened that while I was going around reviewing the work of the colleagues, he would keep following me around. As I was telling one of them "Yeh theek nahi hai. Yeh aise hona chahiye" by pointing to the screen. Without missing a best, Betu quipped "thas not correct" to that same colleague. I just smiled and did not say anything to him that time then coz he gets embarassed very quickly these days. But later we all had such a laugh when I told the hubby about the incident.



And am also glad that my colleague didn't take offense too but just smiled looking at Betu.

~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

He is so funny!

Betu was watching Pink Panther cartoon. In the cartoon they were showing how pink panther was trying to help others but actually ended up worsening things.



So after watching 2-3 such fiasco's Betu: "woh karna kya chahta hai?"



(I had to control my laughter coz he had asked this in such a genuine tone)

Me: woh sabki help karna chahta hai.



Betu: fir woh sab gadbad kyun karta ja raha hai?



Me: Because he is not thinking before doing anything.



Betu: woh think kyun nahi kar raha?



Me: I don't know. Yeh to usi se poochhna padega.



Betu: (with his eyes wide open and questioning) us se? Usse kaise poochenge? Hum TV mein kaise jayenge?



Me: I don't know. Shayad woh budhhu hai isliye.



Betu: (very flustered now) budhhu?? aapko kuchh nahi pata.



And turned back to watch TV :)





~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

Main aapka wait karunga!

Hubby picked up Betu from the daycare today and I called up to speak to him . After hearing the whole day's account from him, he says, "Aap jaldi ghar aana. Main aapka interaaj karunga." He wanted to say "main aapka intezaar karunga" :D

When I corrected him he promptly rephrased his statement to "Main aapka wait karunga!". Smart fellow, aint he? :)

So as you can see he still jumbles up the last letter with the middle one .

His first visit to my office

Today I had to come to work for a few hours. Yeah on a Saturday :( and since his daycare is not open on Saturdays I had to bring him along. He was mighty excited and said "yeh idea to bahut achha hai!" :) and then he added in a solemn voice that I have not shown him my new office till now.



So here he is, along with the laptops and his DVDs thoroughly enjoying his visit. All the people are coming up to meet him and he got so flustered and asked "sab log milne kyun aa rahe hain baar baar?" right in front of one person who had come to say hello to him. :D





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He got me a necklace!

This is the prettiest necklace I have ever received :)



Its a colorful pasta necklace if you haven't got it yet!



Thank you my baby! I love you!





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A new style for the blog of a style bhai!

So how do you like it?

Since Ben 10 seems to be his current fav, themed it on this character itself!

I've had the old one ever since I started this blog. So a makeover was due since long! Just waiting to show it to him tomorrow and to see his reaction. :)

Before:
After:

Beauty conscious

I can already imagine what trouble we are going to face when he is in teens looking at him being so beauty conscious at this age of 4!

Other day we went to Spencer's mart to pick up some general grocery stuff. As we were browsing through some soaps, he picks up a Nivea vitamin creme soap and says "Yeh 'silk skin' wala le lo mere liye". In the beginning I was not able to understand what he is trying to say and only after I kept putting away the one he was handing me over, he got angry and said "Aap mera 'silk skin' wala soap kyun nahi le rahe ho?" that I understood the words 'silk skin'.

Me and hubby both had such a laugh and so did the other customers who were standing nearby.

On another day he combed his hair in a certain style using his hand only and turns to me and asks "Yeh style kaisa lag raha hai?"

Although I find all this very cute right now there are days when his such style/beauty consciousness scares me. Abhi se yeh haal hai to bade ho kar kya hoga?

Charging his phone

His toy phone was kept on the cradle of our cordless phone saying "Iski battery finish go gayee hai. Isko charge karna padega" :)

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Hair cut!

Although this post is about a hair cut which usually is a regular affair unlike this time when Anirudh decided to take matters in his own hands.

If you are guessing what has happened I am sure all of you are thinking what it is. Yes he snipped off a lock of his hair one afternoon when he was home with his Dadi and Ma-Pa were away at work.

Little did he know that saving these cut up lock of hair to show off as an achievement would actually backfire on him. Because when he showed me the cut up hair I got angry! And he in a very heartbroken tone and a crestfallen face said "Maine to socha tha ki aap bologe good boy. Maine apne aap hair cut kara". I could only smile and hug him then. On asking why did he do so we were answered simply "woh baal bahut udh rahe the na isliye maine cut kar diye". I just sighed and have told him no more such activities to be undertaken which he seems to have agreed but only time will tell.

And it was not so long ago when a friend was talking about a similar incident with her boy and I had heaved a sigh of relief that Anirudh has done nothing like that. I guess I did it a bit too soon!


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Sweet child of mine

It was 11 pm and I was trying to make him sleep while lying next to him and cuddling up. Suddenly I felt such a wave of emotions in me and I hugged him tight and gave him kisses on his cheeks and forehead. And soon he made me realise that better control this emotional display by saying "ab aap so jayo. Mujhe bhi neend aa rahi hai" :D

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Celebrating Rakshabandhan!

Rakshabandhan with Vaidehi Didi & Sowmya Didi.


The Noddy rakhi was sent by his Vaishali Bua from Mumbai. She always sends Rakhis that keep Betu so excited. Last year she had sent a Spiderman one.

Anamika Bua had sent one with a teddy bear sharpener on it. He plucked off the sharpener even before the Rakhi could be tied. You can see the yellowish round base behind Noddy's head in the picture above where he is showing off his rakhis.

Authoritative Love

Since the past week Betu's Dadi-Dadu are here to take care of him since he had a viral relapse. And he has heen happy as a hare (is that a phrase?) ever since their arrival. I say a hare becuase he keeps jumping and hopping here and there. Not resting at all. And during their visit the three of them had made a pact that Betu will also go with them when they return to Jaipur. Although he was a little confused earlier when they told him papa-mumma won't come with them but sooner than later he was convinced he would go minus papa-mumma.

When he woke up yesterday evening and went to their bedroom, he only found his Dadi resting there. So he came back to me and asked about Dadu's whereabouts. When I told him Dadu has left for Jaipur, he looked at me a little surprised and a little shocked. After a few seconds he asked me "Fir kya main Dadi ke saath Jaipur jayunga?" I knew I was lying but nodded in affirmation. He was fine after that.

Today morning as I was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, he came to me almost in tears asking "Dadi kahan hain?". I told him she has gone for her morning walk. But looking at his heartbroken and shattered face one could make out what he was thinking. He had thought Dadi has left to Jaipur too without him. :)

After his Dadi came back from her walk, he didn't even go to her to say good morning or give her a morning hug which he usually gives. As we were all sitting in the living room and I narrated the incident in the morning when he thought his Dadi has left to Jaipur. Then his Dadi she asked Betu "Tum mujhe yaad kar rahe the, par ab main bula rahi hoon to mere paas aa bhi nahi raha."

Without even looking towards her, in a very sarcastic tone he responded saying "Aapko walk zyaada achhi lagti hai na" and continued watching his Little Einstein.

Me and my MIL (his Dadi) had such a laugh and didn't know what to say after that :)

He expected them to be around when he wakes up and got angry when he didn't find them. It shows how much authority he feels he has on his grandparents and it also shows how much he adores them.

Touch wood for such bonding between Betu and his Dadi-Dadu!

Some incidents from yesterday:

Anirudh has been down with viral (3rd time in the past fortnight :( ) and was home with his grandparents yesterday. Here are some incidents that happened yesterday which I found quite funny. Funny enough to record them here.

Incident 1:
After I reached back home from work, Betu was running here and there and busy playing with things. Slowly his fever started to rise. So I told him. "Aap rest nahi kar rahe ho. Dekho ab aapka fever badh gaya." I guess I should have been accustomed to 'expect a whack' by now but the truth is I haven't. He retorts back "To aapko mujhe bolna chaihiye tha na ki Anirudh rest karo. Badmashi mat karo. Isme aapki galti huyee na!"

Yes my child..its always Mumma's faults! *rolling my eyes*

Incident 2:
Betu's Dadi was giving him milk in the morning. She gave him plain milk unawares that he takes it with bournvita. So when she extended the glass to him he frowned at the glass and looked at his Dadi and said "Yeh doodh achha nahi hai. Aapko doodh banana nahi aata!" My MIL was so shocked at his response and told me later in the evening that she couldn't help laughing at his statement and his expressions.

When he added later than "Main bournvita wala doodh peeta hoon", she went looking for the bottle but couldn't find it in the kitchen. So after few minutes he trots off to the kitchen and tells her where the bottle is but only after adding "Aapko kuchh nahi pata!"

Although my MIL was having a good laugh telling me this incident but I knew that I had to tell Betu that he has to be more courteous talking to elders. When I expressed this concern to my MIL, she just waved it off saying that he feels close to us and that's why he talks to us with such authority. And I felt this is what is called "Blind love of grandparents!" :D

Dancing a la Shahrukh Khan style!

Yesterday night when I was getting Betu changed into his night dress, I asked him to take his shirt off. After opening the buttons, he stood still for a few seconds and was eying me in a very naughty expression. I was wondering why and before I could think too much or ask him anything he broke into the "Dard-E-Disco" dance (from the movie Om Shanti Om) opening his shirt wide and shaking his body just like Shahrukh Khan does in that song.


I couldn't help laughing at this sudden act of his. He also started to laugh with me and kept at it for another minute. Later he asked me "Aap has kyun rahe the? Main to Sahrukh Khan jaise Om Santi Om wala dance kar raha tha" (He cannot pronounce 'Sh' as yet unless I made him say it slowly) I had no answer and just smiled but he wanted an answer and kept asking me so I simply told him "Mujhe mazaa aa raha tha aapko dekh kar" :D

Fascination with dentures.

I guess at one point or the other each kid gets fascinated with dentures. It amuses them that teeth can be taken out and kept in a box. And they try to pull out their teeth too. Betu was no different. He would look at his grandparents taking out dentures, brushing them holding in their hands and then putting it in a box full of water. The expressions on his face are a mix of bewilderment and being awed. It was about an year ago when he first saw dentures and was amused with it. The fascination still continues.

Today morning when he was all set to go for a morning walk with Dadi-Dadu, he came up to me super excited and said "Aapko pata hai Dau ke daant nikal jaate hain!" And he rushed back to see his Dadu putting on the dentures without even waiting for me to respond. :)

His creations!

Isn't this beautiful? I just loved the strokes and the combination of colors he used!

He really loves painting!

Back in action!

Up and about! Running here and there! Making a complete mess of the living room! Playing with his toys and leaving them scattered! Yes. So as you can see regular functioning has been resumed much to the agony of Mumma dear! But then Mumma dear is read y to bear this agony rather than Betu being sick :)

Here is one pic of Betu playing with his new Thomas train set -

I should've...

...listened to him when he told me that he is not feeling well.

...listened to him when he asked me to take 'chhutti'.

...not thought that he is making excuses to avoid going to school.

...not been lazy to get his refill of medicines from his homeopath last weekend.

Just got a call from Betu's school saying he is not well and needs to be picked up. Hubby has gone to pick him up and will let me know how his health is. I just hope he gets well soon. I don't like him being so quiet because of ill health. Just not at all!

He is such an adorable child!

After picking him from his daycare, as we were driving back, the car was stopping abruptly. And it happened 3-4 times. Since it was rush hour, the vehicles behind me would honk on continuously.

He asked me each time the car stopped as to what happened. I would just tell him "Car kharab ho gayee hai". After a few minutes of silence, as we are waiting at a traffic signal, he says in a very compassionate tone "Maine socha ki jab main bada ho jayunga na, tab main aapko new car dilayunga!". I can't describe what I felt at that moment. If I had not been driving I would have just scooped him up in my arms and smothered him with kisses and cuddles! So I just managed to give him a peck on his head as the signal just then turned green. I'm sure with envy :D

I can't thank GOD enough for giving me such an adorable loving child! I love you my baby!

Library books from school

His second library book from his school.


I managed to reap the benefits from the moral of the story immediately after I was done reading it to him.

He quickly cleared the clutter of the toys that he had made in the living room. What more do I want :D

Tattoo love

I've posted many a times the love for tattoos that Anirudh has.

Couple of weekends ago he took out the Fevicryl paints that I had bought to make his school's holiday homework where we did some vegetable painting on a paper sheet and on a handkerchief. He shoved them in my hands along with a brush and asked me to make a tattoo on his hand. And of all the things he asked me to make Ben 10 as the tattoo! When I tried to tell him I don't know how to paint tattoos he would not listen and kept insisting "aapko aata hai" (you know it). I tried by all means ato make him understand that I cannot make a Ben 10 tattoo at all!

He finally agreed but only that I make some other tattoo saying "Aap try to karo" (you try at least). The same reasoning which I give him when I'm trying to get him to do different things. Very smart..nahi? :D

So I told him I can paint a flower, a butterfly, a sun and a tree and he can chose from these. He agreed for the butterfly on one hand but then asked me to make Spiderman on the other! I again tried to tell him I don't know how to make one and again I was given the same response "Aap try to karo". After I was done with the Spiderman it looked anything but a Spiderman. But then who cares as long as your child is happy! :D

So here are my first attempts at painting tattoos.

In Lajpat Nagar there is a small park where there are about 6-7 ducks. And whenever I got to Sabhyata (my one stop shop for 90% of my suits and all) or a store to buy house stuff, he invariably stops to gaze at the ducks.

This time he wanted to touch them and see them up close. But they kept running here and there away from him all the time. Sadly I didn't have any eats that I could give to Betu to lure these ducks. Hopefully next time I will remember to carry some bread crumbs.

Here are some pics of Betu running after the ducks and they running away from him :)

His first library book

Betu has always been fond of books and I've tried to keep a good stock of books all the time. In fact if someone would ask me what to get for him I would say "books!" without even thinking for a second.

He has a huge collection now. And I plan to buy some more that go with his current age and interests.

Yesterday he came back with this book from his school library and he was mighty excited about it. So I read it to him at bedtime. It was about a girl who ventured out of the house, without telling her parents, to her friends house. So when the friend's mommy came to know about this she took the girl back to her house saying her parents would be looking for you. So the moral of the story was to teach the kids to never go out alone and without asking parents permission.

In the end they had an exercise where I was to try and make Betu remember the phone number along with telling them what to do in case they get lost. Betu knows both of our cell numbers since long so first part I had already dealt with. But not the second part. So I tried to explain to him what he should do in case he gets lost (which I sincerely hope he doesn't ever!). He nodded as if he understood and I am hoping he did and shall remember it too. I will try and keep reminding him of it from time to time as well.

So I quite liked the book and the concept and now both of us are looking forward to the next book.

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Happy Birthday Aryan!

Hello Aryan. Wishing you a very happy birthday. Khoob saari masti karna. Aur papa-mumma ko bolna balloon dilane ko. Aur cake bhi khana.

Mumma ne bola tha mujhe card paint karne ke liye par mera mann nahi ho raha tha. Main thodi der mein banayunga ok?

Take care. Bye

Meet his kids

Yes you read that right. He called me to the bedroom where he was playing with these toys and said "aap mere ko pyaree karte ho na, isliye mere bachhon ko bhi karo" :D

And then I heard him telling them to be good children and to not go on the road without him.

Then he pretended that one kid went on the road alone and asked me to scold him. And when I did he shouted at me saying "aapne mere bachhe ko kyun daanta?" *rolling my eyes*



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Treasures from the pocket

A broken tazo piece and a paper corner!

P.S. I had also found 2 pieces of chalk in his shirt pocket and he was duly asked to return them back to the school.

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Talking about girlfriends..already??

Since I was home today I picked up Betu from school. As expected he was mighty pleased grinning from ear to ear. Thats exactly why I had decided to pick him up..to see that jubilation in his face and eyes.

So after we started to drive back home, I generally asked him what all he did in the school and who all he played with. He started telling the names Yukta, Ananya, Indraveer, Samar and he told me the name of one more boy which I have forgotten. As I went "hmm" he asked me said something which left me stumped. He said "Yukta meri girlfriend hai" After that he went mum and so did I as I was trying to gather myself up after hearing this piece of information! But he continued to leave me even more stumped by asking "Aapko Yukta achhi lagti hai ya fir Ananya?" I kind of figured where he was heading towards and was trying to see if I answer back what he wants to hear. He has always been talking about this friend 'Yukta' ever since he started going to this formal school. When I tired to tell him I've met Yukta but not Ananya how can I say who do I like better. But he kept insisting me to answer. So I replied "Both".

Now it was his turn to be stumped and he asked me further "Par meri ek hi to girlfriend ho sakti hai na. Isliye aap batayo ki Yukta ki Ananya." Since I knew he wanted me to take the name of Yukta I deliberately answered back "Ananya".

How I wish I had the words to describe his face expressions then. It was a mix of disappointment and that of pondering and of confusion. He in a very flat tone said "Achha..to theek hai." And after a silence of few seconds he said "Meri dono girlfriends hain" leaving me grinning. Finally I asked him "Girlfriend kya hoti hai aapkot pata hai?" He proceeded to tell me "Jaise papa aapke girlfriend hain aur aap Papa ki, waise Yukta meri girlfriend hai." I literally felt earth moving beneath my feet wondering who the hell told him this. And when I posed this same question to him he replied back in a matter-of-fact tone "Kisi ne nahi. Mujhe pata hai".

After that we got talking about something different and I was glad about it. Because I didn't know what to talk to him about the subject further. I had drawn a blank thinking how can a 4 year old possibly know about the fundamentals revolving around a 'girlfriend' and a 'boyfriend'. And I'm still wondering with no clue of how this piece of information has reached his teeny weeny brain.

But at the same time its telling me I need to gather up my act and know each and everything that he knows about and talk to him more and more. Coz I should know what all he has stored up there in his head.

Testing my patience

Lately Anirudh has been testing our patience every single day! And when I say lately I mean 2-3 weeks. Its not just me, its hubby who also has the same story to tell. We just do not know what has come over him or what has changed and why is he behaving like this!

Morning start with tantrum and wailing and crying and however hard I try to reason with him, it just does not work! And eventually I end up slapping him which results in both of us, betu an me, getting upset as to why I slapped him. I know I need to be more patient but when this same pattern is being repeated day after day, it just gets to me.

And when you pick him up from the daycare, the same thing repeats. Tantrums and wailing and crying ! One day it will be a demand for a toy, another day for a DVD or for not wanting to go home! And on the way back home, after picking him from his daycare, almost every alternate day I stop at the local grocer to buy milk. And that just gives him an opportunity to demand for those cheese balls or his chocolate biscuits! The moment you say no to him, he will start his nautanki right in the shop and won't stop till you buy him what he is demanding. There are days when I just don't listen to him and he will continue crying and hitting me for hours!

Sigh...so many times I've tried to distract him or tell him why I'm not buying but it JUST DOESN'T WORK!! I'm literally pulling my hair at such occasions!

Every evening when he goes to bed he agrees that he won't repeat this behavior again but then tomorrow is another day! All promises are forgotten and a fresh batch of tantrum start off!

I just hope and pray that this is also a phase and that I figure out soon how to handle him at times like these!

It was quite an enjoyable day!

Lot of you have been asking as to what we did on the day when Betu asked me to take chhutti as he wanted to be with me.

We did nothing as such but then we did a lot of things!

First he watched some cartoons on TV such as Oswald, Little Einstein. And then we both sat down and painted and painted and painted. Yes! It was like a paint day for us. I have written quite a bit of times that he loves to paint. You can read them here and here and here and here and here in case you missed them before. And it doesn't matter if its his face or a paper :D

I haven't taken pictures of what all we painted but we must have filled up about 20 sheets!

I had made different stamps using potato and he used to paint them as well. Here is one example from his summer homework that we did using these potato stamps!

We had long session of story time where in I completely made up various stories. I must have told him about 10-12 odd stories.

And then of course we snuggled into each other and dozed for good 2 hours as well :)

So a day well spent and thoroughly enjoyed by both of us!

Art work from school

Betu had got some art work to be done as summer holiday homework. Just about 8 activities. Some were mere coloring, some were tearing colored paper and sticking in the defined areas or alternating colors.

So here are 3 of these activities that I really liked :)

This is a handkerchief which we have painted using Fevicryl (fabric paints) from the sliced vegetables. And you can see the name in the bottom which he painted himself. I first wrote the name using a pencil and he painted over it. We used ladyfinger, bitter gourd and a leaf to make the patterns.

This one is supposedly a wiggly worm which he painted using finger painting and ear bud painting.

And this one is a sun, but obviously *wink*. We first painted the sky light blue and then we tore up yellow paper and red paper to give it a look of the sun!