She is one helluva girl!

Each day there are so many incidents that make me roll over in laughter and muse me with this girl. She is just too too...beyond words.

Incident 1

I called up the daycare a day ago to ask them to ensure that she doesn't sleep for more than one hour because she doesn't sleep until 10 in the night. So the daycare supervisor spoke to Nishka asking her "Tum raat ko time se soti kyun nahi ho?" (Why don't you sleep on time at night?).

And I was told that she thought for few seconds and responded "Papa Mummy kaam karte hain. Mainse kaise soyoon?" (Papa-Mummy work at night. How do I sleep?). All the people in the daycare were in splits laughing at her statement.

Incident 2

Nishka bosses around the house a lot on everyone. Especially on Anirudh. She fights with him on anything and everything try to get things her way. Poor Anirudh has such a tough time trying to peacefully play with his own toys or read his own books. So much so that Anirudh has to really ensure that she is nowhere around to cuddle with me. One day the anger at both sides (Anirudh and Nishka) became to much that Anirudh shouted at Nishka saying "Tere ko pata hai tu meri wajah se aayi hai is duniya mein. Agar main nahi bolta na papa-mummy se mujhe ek chhota bhai-bahen chahiye to tu nahi hoti." (You are in this work because of me. If I hadn't asked them for a baby sister-brother, you wouldn't have been here) And he walks off angrily.

Hearing this made me smile. I wanted to say something to Anirudh but then I stopped. Some things are better left unsaid.

Incident 3

Nishka has a big fascination with the fridge. The moment she figures out someone has opened the fridge she has to run and peep inside the fridge and try to even grab something out of it irrespective of whether its of use to her or not. It was like a treasure found and she would try and run away with it lest anyone takes it back from her. t

Few days ago our cook was putting something in the fridge and Nishka as always ran over and was observing her putting something in the fridge. Nishka pushed herself in between the cook and the fridge, re-adjusted the stuff that the cook had put and said "Isko aise nahi rakhte. Aise rakhte hain. OK?" (This is not how you put it. You put it this way.) And then closed the door herself. Our cook looked at me and we just smiled looking at this little dadi-amma giving out instructions.


 

She is one bossy girl!

Incident 1

Its a weekend and usually I first bathe Nishka and then I ask Anirudh to go and have his bath. So about two weeks back I had just come out with Nishka wrapped in towel after giving her a bath and she shouts out to Anirudh- "Anirudh!! Nahane ghuso!"

I think I can delegate more of my tasks to her that involve instructing others to do something. What say?

Incident 2

Its winter time and Nishka was having some cough. So I was giving her a bit of warm water added with a pinch of salt to help her with the cough on instructions from her Dadi. So one day it so happened that I did warm the water but forgot to add salt. And out little dadi-amma has such a flustered expression and tone, gesturing to the glass in her hand and says "Kya kal lai ho? Namak dalo!".

I was having such a laugh and it took me a while to gather myself and do as she had asked - Add salt in her water. And that was not only incident since then. If anyone is not doing anything as she wants it, be it me, Anirudh, our house help or the cook, we all get to hear "Kya kal lai ho?" so often.

Incident 3

This was from yesterday and is a gem. I was driving back home after picking the kids up in the evening from the daycare. So Anirudh told me that Nishka peed in her pants multiple times and did not tell that she had to go to the loo. As we were standing on a traffic signal for it to turn green, I turned back to look at Nishka and was scolding her "Aapne kyun kara? Aapne bataya kyun nahi ki aapko susu aayee hai? Aap big girl ho gayee ho na?"

And guess what she responded to me. I'm sure no one can. Even I couldn't imagine it ever. She points to the front and tells me "Aap drive karo."

My jaw almost dropped to the floor and I couldn't say anything to her. What could I?

How sweet are the words

How sweet do the words "  I wuv you!" sound from the mouth of your 1.5 yr child especially when you are thousands of miles away.

Yes! Was skyping with Nishka said she gave a flying kiss and said "I wuv you!". And I just can't describe the feeling. It was so so precious.

"I wuv you too my betu. I wuv you too."

My adorable bachhas

Anirudh had participated in National Science Olympiad and National Maths Olympiad this year. Although he didn't do well in the maths one but apparently he did pretty good in the science one and thus got selected for the Level 2 exam. He studied hard for the level 2 or rather I made him study hard for it and going by his word it was pretty easy. Now its a wait and watch for us to figure out how his scores are.

About 3-4 weeks back, there was a live Ben 10 show happening in Siri Fort Auditorium which Anirudh wanted to go to. So mommy betu duo went for the show. I used to watch this cartoon series with him earlier but haven't watched it since 2-3 years. So many characters have changed and been added.

During the show I kept asking him questions - Who is that? Is that character good or bad? What powers does this one have? etc etc. After the show got over on the way back he tells me thank god the show didn't have all the other characters also. Else you would have kept asking me "Who is that? What is that?" about each an every character.

On the way back home Anirudh noticed the sign "Use Dipper at Night" at the back of a truck, misreads Dipper as Diaper, and asks "Why are they asking us to use Diaper at night?" :D

It took me a few seconds to realise his folly and I had such a good laugh. I later explained to him what the word was and its meaning.

Nishka is growing up real fast. I was talking to her Preeti Mausi the other day and I told her how she has become a miniature adult conveying her likes and dislikes, her thoughts, her demands all in her own style. She is yet to turn 18 months and since a week she has been clearly showing he preferences for clothes she wants to wear. When I was dressing her up after her bath yesterday and was trying to put her clothes on, she did not even wait for me to pick the t-shirt I had intended to maker her wear and instead lurched for another one lying close by and tried to wear it on her own. I tried to take that tshirt from her hands but she just wouldn't allow. Finally I had to put on the t-shirt she wanted to wear. And showing her preference is not limited just to clothes. She choses which shoes to wear too.

We had introduced Nishka to crayons about two weeks back and she loves scribbling with it on paper. She has already scribbled on the walls with pencil. I have downloaded a coloring app for kids on iPad few days back and she just loves it. The moment she spots the iPad she says "De do.." and wants me to open her coloring app. She thoroughly enjoys how colored lines appear on the screen when she touches it.

Her vocabulary is increasing by the data. She tries to repeat what we say like a little parrot and is successful 80% of the times.

Things she says on her own are -
 - De do
 - Chee-ye for chahiye - when asking something to be given to her
 - Duddhu for milk
 - Khaya (when hungry)
 - koo for School when we tell her Bhaiiya School gaya
 - Hato - will push me around to go
 - Ch-O for Chalo
 - Soyee - for sorry
 - iPad chaiye
 - Ninna - when she is sleepy
 - Khicchi
 - Paantha for parantha
 - Chao - for chawal (rice)

She wished her Dadu "Happy to you" 2 days back making Dadu very elated. And more so when I told him that you are the first person she has ever wished on birthday.

She cannot pronounce R, L and N in certain words. For e.g. she says No, Nahai (for wanting to take bath) but when she has to say pani (water) she will say pa-yee. She recognises hot things and immediately says "Hot hai!" on touching warm or hot things. I was trying to teach her to say Ram-Ram and she always says it as kao-kao..it really makes me laugh and wonder how can ram-ram be same as kao-kao?

She can take bath n number of times in a day. And I'm sure I will also not worry even if she does when the summers are here. But as of now I've to ensure that the bathroom doors are closed rightly as I have found her few times in the bath area with her being half drenched in water.

She is becoming a handful but then seeing both my bachhas cuddling and doing masti together gives me such happiness that cannot be ever described in words.

Some anecdotes

I was trying to put Nishka to bed and patting her. She sits up after about a minute and starts patting me back saying "Ninni...ninni.."

Role reversal?? Abhi se?

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While Anirudh was working on his homework, Nishka took away one pencil and scribbled on the wall much to my shock. I scolded her for doing that. And in return got a big scolding back from Anirudh for scolding such a little baby saying "She is so small. How will she know she is not supposed to do that?" And took Nishka away carrying her in his arms and gave her a rough paper and sat with her while she scribbled.

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Nishka took apart the little cubes from Anirudh's Rubik Cube one night after Anirudh had gone to bed. Next day Anirudh noticed one cube piece lying near his bed and said "Koi baat nahi. Main isko jodh doonga." (Nothing to worry. I can fix this piece back.)

When I told him that all the other pieces have also been taken apart like this, he had a totally bewildered look on his face and asked me who did that? When I told him your lil sister and I didn't scold her as you don't like me to, his first reaction "Where did she get so much strength from?"

And the second reaction, "Nishka - this is coming out of your pocket money when you grow up!"

My reaction - Good that they can sort out issues like these between themselves :D
 

Bha-ee-ya is back & talking nineteen to the dozen

Two days ago Anirudh came back after spending good 17 days of his winter break at Dadi-Dadu's house and Nishka was sooo super happy to see him back. She kept following him everywhere calling out "bha-ee-ya". She would love it when he would carry her in his godi. She actually missed him a lot when he was gone. Every time the doorbell would ring she would ask "Bha-ee-ya?". She would look around for him calling out "bha-ee-ya" all over the house many times a day.

Anirudh too was so happy to see her. The moment he arrived, he ran straight to the washbasin to wash his hands so that he can pick her up and play with her. During his stay with his grandparents, they asked him if they can get his admission done in Jaipur itself so that he can stay there with them. His instant response was "Nishka ko bhi yahan bula lo fir main bhi yahin rah jayunga." (Bring Nishka also here and then I only I will stay here). Today morning when he woke up to get ready for school, Nishka was sleeping. Anirudh just wanted to wake her up and play with her before he left for school. I had such a tough time ensuring he doesn't do that because if he had woken her up all my morning chores would not get completed :)

Frankly, although I was happy that he was having a good time in Jaipur with his grandparents and his cousins but I had started missing him too after 10 days. I so wanted to cuddle with him, talk to him, hug him. Since two days of his arrival he is sleeping next to me with his arms wrapped around me. And I tell myself - "My baby is back!"

As I had mentioned in my earlier post, Nishka is talking nineteen to the dozen. Sometimes you can figure out what she is trying to say and sometimes you have to guess. She is at a stage when she is able to copy the sound of the words and repeat them after us.

Our cook always says "Namaste!" with folded hands to Nishka whenever she comes. Nishka would give a big smile to her every time and after couple of days Nishka would also fold her hands and say "atte" to the cook the moment she saw her.

Bhaiyya would be pronounced as bheeya earlier but now its very clear bha-ee-ya.

She is super fond of "Chiya". The moment she hears one she would look in the direction the sound came from and start saying "chiya". You can distract her from anything by just saying the word "Chiya".

Other words that she says on her own are:

• Aana - Chanda (Moon)
• Jhoo-aa - Jhula/Swing
• Paantha - Parantha
• Nahai-Nahai - for wanting to take bath
• Ko-hai - "Kaun hai" (Who is there) whenever the doorbell rings.
• Gi gaya - Gir gaya (It has fallen down)
• Duddhu - for asking for milk
• Tuttu - For saying something broke

Currently, the fascination with moon is so much that she wants us to show it to her even during day time. And we have to tell her "Chanda ninni karne gaya" (Moon has gone to sleep),

"Paantha" is always the response we hear if we ask her if she is hungry and wants to eat anything.

"Gir gaya" is used even if something fell down by chance or if she has thrown it deliberately. She uses it even when she means "Kho gaya" (something is lost).

She has now observed and learned the names me and hubby call out to each other. So she will call out to me as "Nidhi" and to hubby as "Anu" :)

Whenever her Papa comes home he has this habit of saying "How do you do?" to her. And now like a little parrot she has started saying "How do do?" to her Papa dear the moment she lays her eyes on him. On weekends its good 30-40 times in a day when she asks him that. It sounds so super adorable!!

She loves music and starts swaying/dancing to the music she likes. One of her favourite songs these days is "Disco deewane". The cutest part is when she says "ahaa" at the right junctures.

Her favourite games are not the toys we give her but opening the drawers of the kitchen and taking out the various bottles of spices, plates or spoons...anything she can lay her hand on and leaving them in places which we figure out only after a day or two of them being missing.

Totally badmash but totally adorable bachha she is!

 

A long overdue post

Its been 2 months since the last update I wrote here on what all the kids are up to. And when I think back its LOADS. It will probably take 2 posts to encapsulate all.

Since Nishka had started walking before her first birthday, I had been indulging in making her wear ethnic wear. On Dussera she wore a pretty salwar kurta which she got as a gift on her birthday. I treated the Diwali as it was first one for her. She was just 20 days young on her actual first Diwali. I very enthusiastically bought a lahenga-choli for her and matching bangles to wear on Diwali. She looked super cute walking around in it. She had such fun shaking her wrists to hear the sound of bangles clinking. Soon after the bangles were all over the house.

She loves to see Bhaiyya and Papa play Wii. Whenever they are playing she will go and sit in Papa's lap. And if Papa dear has started playing without her in his lap, she will go and stand next to him continuously making "Uuun..uunn.." sound till Papa pauses the game and picks her up to sit her in the lap. She loves it so much so that once Anirudh was playing a solo game she still went ahead and sat in Papa's gogi with her eyes on the TV screen :)

In December 3rd week I went to Houston, TX on a office trip for a week. I was a little apprehensive as this was the first time I would be leaving her for so many days. I had never left her even for one night and here I had to for good 7 days. But thankfully she was a total angel. She would get a little sad and quiet sometimes but overall she did just fine. Her Dadi-Dadu had come over to help out in taking care of kids in my absence. Anirudh also behaved quite responsibly. He would not fuss when waking up or getting ready to school. He would do skype with me often. And they would secretly show me Nishka in the skype so that she doesn't see me as a possible outburst could have happened on seeing Mumma.

But as much as an angel she was then, she has become a total pain since past two weeks when it comes to night time sleep. Earlier she would easily sleep by 8 PM or max by 8:30 without any fuss. And now she would be super sleepy but continue fussing and whining and doesn't sleep before 9:30-10 PM. And even then she doesn't sleep peacefully. After every 2 hours or so she will start getting uneasy, tossing, turning and whining. Will want milk and then want to poop. So since two weeks both mine and Anurag's sleep has totally gone for a toss.

My guess is that she probably thinks Mumma will go away again if she sleeps. I may be wrong. I really hope I'm wrong and that its just a phase.

The one good thing that came out of this trip was that she was weaned off without any trouble :)

Nishka is also about 75-80% potty trained. I had bought a potty ring and had started seating her on the pot since mid November. Since I observed her morning routine of doing the big job after her morning milk, I tried it. We were successful in using the potty in the mornings. It took about another two weeks before she started telling herself after doing it in the diaper and another week to start saying "potty aayee". And recently she even tells us "potty aayee" when she needs to pee. But this week I feel she is going back to not being trained when she is telling us "potty aayee" only after doing the job and sometimes not even telling. I just hope this is just a phase and she progresses on her potty training.

She has now started talking nineteen to the dozen these days but that calls for another post!