Bojjandi is really my last baby and while on the one hand I grieve that he’s already one year old, on the other hand, I can’t help enjoying each and every minute of his growing up. Much more than either of the other two, perhaps because he is the last or because I have chosen to take a break from a much-hated workplace, I am able to enjoy each and every antic, each stage of his growing up and my sense of marvel at the human brain only grows.
Two weeks before his first birthday, Bojji took his first staggering steps, about two of them, in between my mum and me, and then fell about, flailing arms and legs. Just ten days back, he walked like a high-wire artist strung miles above the ground, arms akimbo and body swaying from side to side perilously. Now he’s not just walking but trying to run all over the house on his stumpy bow-legs and flat little feet. The only time he crawls is when he knows speed is of the essence, i.e. the nano-second that the door to the staircase or front door is open so he can practice his Houdini act. He’s walking splay-legged all the way from the backyard through the kitchen and into the living room, even pausing mid-stride to stoop and pick up something he’s not supposed to and pop it into his mouth, and then carry on with his perambulations!
The other day, when he was walking out of the dining room, I thought I’d surprise him and shout out a Boo! I did and for a split second his face froze in surprise and then he broke into a delighted chuckle. What astonished me a minute later was that he went back into the dining room, waited for me to walk in and boo-ed me in turn! I just find it amazing how their tiny little brains churn and process the amazing world around them and then figure out what they should do and when and how.
He’s also made progress in talking, and can call out A’s name in the sweetest voice possible. He also learned to say mama three days ago and it never fails to get him a hug from me. He knows his thatha very well and any time he spots him, starts saying thatha, at first softly and then more and more loudly until thatha turns and picks him up and plays with him. He is extremely interactive and now is good company for anyone, between his crazy antics, his habit of dancing to The Wheels of the Bus and the various games he likes to play.
All in all, every time I look at him, I can’t help but be glad for the accident and God’s grand design which gave us this wonderful gift.
Showing posts with label baby growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby growth. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, January 17, 2008
What are they thinking...
Puddi is at a very interesting stage of development right now. All her gears and wheels and cogs are constantly turning as she explores the world around her and tries to figure out how it works. These days, you only have to use a phrase once for it to stick in her mind, and I find myself amazed at the way she can call it to mind at apt moments. She recently learned to say 'Pata nahi' (I don't know). Yesterday the lady who's looking after her temporarily while our regular one is away on vacation asked her, "Where is Anuroopa?" Promptly, the little tyke says, "Pata nai". Puddi was visiting our downstairs neighbour when I got back from work last evening. While turning to leave, I said "Theek hai" about something. Immediately the little one pipes up, "Theek hai, bye, cheeeyuuu".
She's always up to something because she really wants to test her limits( and our nerves) - climbing on and off the sofa, the arm of the futon, the glass table in the drawing room, trying to jump while perched on a swing or on my parents' rather high bed...She loves water - maane, as she calls it - and one of her favourite games, after drinking as much as she wants, it to take some in her mouth and experiment as to what sounds she can emit. She also picks up whatever water glasses she can find ( all steel tumblers, thank god ) and carefully props them one on top of another, trying to check in which position they will stay upright and which way they'll fall down.
She loves books and runs around digging out books from Chubbocks' bookshelf all day. She carefully opens them - by now she knows not to tear the pages - and looks at first one page then the other to figure out what's written. She'll let out a laugh at an illustration, as if she finds something really funny about it. At night, when Chubbocks is having his 3 stories read out to him, madam cuddles up to me, having duly picked out a book or whacked one from his selection, and asks to be read to. I don't know how much of the story she understands or even how many of the words, and whether she is only mirroring Chubbocks, but it's fascinating to watch.
She loves music too. These days, Chubbocks is into watching the Krishna cartoon on cartoon network, whenever he's up that late. Puddi, if not otherwise occupied - i.e. gargling with water, running around the house like a loon, tumbling off the bed - also watches alongside, and loves the song which comes on afterwards. She can't not dance if there is any music coming from anywhere, and now tries to sing along to the show's tune while swaying her tiny body. Chubbocks has picked up the words of Bum Bum Bhole from TZP, and Puddi has learnt some of them from listening to him, so whenever he's singing, she also says, "ba ba doday", swinging her chubby little butt from side to side. It's fascinating to see, if we put on a music CD, that for each song she varies the steps and the way she moves her body - for some she'll just swing her hips, for some she'll try to jump, for others she'll raise her pink index fingers in the Bhangra gesture, and for others she'll move her arms up and down. All the more intriguing because I haven't started teaching her the typical song and action stuff yet.
She's been watching my parents do their daily puja and prayers and has learnt to do a beautiful namaskaara, where she lays her whole body down on the floor. She loves ringing the small bell at prayertime. Yesterday, she picked up the bell in one hand and the brass plate for aarti in the other, and rang one and made circular motions with the other in perfect imitation of dad, while singing her own prayer - a chant composed of la la la ye yo do da...
I know I went through this period of intense curiosity even when Chubbocks was small and I'm going through it with Puddi. I wish there was some way in which I could get inside her head, to understand how she's learning and processing everything she sees and hears, what she's making of it all, what she's thinking, what her emotions are as she goes through her action-packed day. There are so many books on the human brain and on adults and the way they think and feel - fiction and non-fiction. But I guess, limited by their ability to communicate, we have no such resources on toddler minds, and all we can do is stand back and marvel at what God has gifted to us.
She's always up to something because she really wants to test her limits( and our nerves) - climbing on and off the sofa, the arm of the futon, the glass table in the drawing room, trying to jump while perched on a swing or on my parents' rather high bed...She loves water - maane, as she calls it - and one of her favourite games, after drinking as much as she wants, it to take some in her mouth and experiment as to what sounds she can emit. She also picks up whatever water glasses she can find ( all steel tumblers, thank god ) and carefully props them one on top of another, trying to check in which position they will stay upright and which way they'll fall down.
She loves books and runs around digging out books from Chubbocks' bookshelf all day. She carefully opens them - by now she knows not to tear the pages - and looks at first one page then the other to figure out what's written. She'll let out a laugh at an illustration, as if she finds something really funny about it. At night, when Chubbocks is having his 3 stories read out to him, madam cuddles up to me, having duly picked out a book or whacked one from his selection, and asks to be read to. I don't know how much of the story she understands or even how many of the words, and whether she is only mirroring Chubbocks, but it's fascinating to watch.
She loves music too. These days, Chubbocks is into watching the Krishna cartoon on cartoon network, whenever he's up that late. Puddi, if not otherwise occupied - i.e. gargling with water, running around the house like a loon, tumbling off the bed - also watches alongside, and loves the song which comes on afterwards. She can't not dance if there is any music coming from anywhere, and now tries to sing along to the show's tune while swaying her tiny body. Chubbocks has picked up the words of Bum Bum Bhole from TZP, and Puddi has learnt some of them from listening to him, so whenever he's singing, she also says, "ba ba doday", swinging her chubby little butt from side to side. It's fascinating to see, if we put on a music CD, that for each song she varies the steps and the way she moves her body - for some she'll just swing her hips, for some she'll try to jump, for others she'll raise her pink index fingers in the Bhangra gesture, and for others she'll move her arms up and down. All the more intriguing because I haven't started teaching her the typical song and action stuff yet.
She's been watching my parents do their daily puja and prayers and has learnt to do a beautiful namaskaara, where she lays her whole body down on the floor. She loves ringing the small bell at prayertime. Yesterday, she picked up the bell in one hand and the brass plate for aarti in the other, and rang one and made circular motions with the other in perfect imitation of dad, while singing her own prayer - a chant composed of la la la ye yo do da...
I know I went through this period of intense curiosity even when Chubbocks was small and I'm going through it with Puddi. I wish there was some way in which I could get inside her head, to understand how she's learning and processing everything she sees and hears, what she's making of it all, what she's thinking, what her emotions are as she goes through her action-packed day. There are so many books on the human brain and on adults and the way they think and feel - fiction and non-fiction. But I guess, limited by their ability to communicate, we have no such resources on toddler minds, and all we can do is stand back and marvel at what God has gifted to us.
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