Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Thank you my parenting guardian angel.

While my weekday mornings are generally rushed, wednesdays are even more so because I have a regular meeting in office at 8am. This means that I have to get Ashwin ready for day care and leave home by 7:30.

This morning, after I had showered and dressed Ashwin, he lay back in bed with his wet towel. He was trying to drape the towel over him like a blanket. He put quite a bit of effort into this to ensure that he was covered from his toes all the way to his neck with that small towel. When I wanted to put his socks on, he obviously wouldn't let me because exposing his feet would make his previous effort null and void.

Hmm... I watched the clock.

7:30

He lay smugly in bed.

I was evaluating my options. Should I yank his towel off? Try and explain that you should adhere to timing of corporate meetings (even if it is a lie!)? Bribe him to get up by telling him he could wear a hair clip to school?

He continued to lie there as I watched the clock again.

7:35

Just as I was about to do *something*, he blurted out:

"Naa ippa very happy irukken" (I am very happy now)

THAT is totally worth the awkwardness of being late in a meeting and much more.

I'm so glad I didn't destroy the moment, given how close I came to it..

Vidiya Vidiya Ramayanam Keetu...

Last night, we had stormy conditions. Ashwin was intrigued by the thunder and lightening. I explained to him that lightening is caused by the clouds clashing and that thunder will follow lightening - see - there's the thunder now! All the while, he paid rapt attention. I might also have thrown in a bit about the speed of light being greater than that of sound. When I was done, here's what he had to ask:

"Yaar irukka outside-la?" (who is it outside?)

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Understanding gender - with apologies to Bodhu Chitti

Me: Ashwin girl-a? boy-a?
Him: Boy.

Me: Appa?
Him: Boy

Me: Amma?
Him: Girl

Me: Subadhra Aunty?
Him Girl

Me: Pavithra?
Him: Girl

Me: Subagan?
Him: Boy

Me: Kannan uncle?
Him: Boy

Me: Chitra Athai?
Him: Girl

Me: Prakash Athimber?
Him: Boy

Me: Raghul?
Him: Boy

Me: Madhu chitti?
Him: pause. Therialla.

Oops! Ooops! Ooooops! Going on anyway,

Me: Vijay Chittappa?
Him: Boy.

I was wondering what logic he applies to find out which class to sort all these people in and I decided to ask him why his appa was a boy.

Him: Pause. ponder. ponder hard. Appa innum girl aala. Annala appa boy. Appa apparam girl ayiduva.

Now this is worth translating: Appa has not yet become a girl so he is a boy. He will become a girl later. That's not how I remember learning it, but I much prefer this theory!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Oh yes, I'm a star!

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Thank you Perth


For giving me many such precious moments of father and son bonding!
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Watching Sunrise


Ashwin and I start our day either sipping our coffees (white for Ashwin) or having breakfast on the sofa watching the sun come up. It is like a movie - it begins with the sky being dull and suddenly turning crazy colours as the sky reflects the soon to come up sun. Then, slowly, very slowly but not so slowly that you can afford to look away for a few moments, the sun comes up.

This is a movie we both don't tire of however often we watch it.
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Thursday, July 10, 2008

He's a growing boy.

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog. A lot has been happening here, but being cute has become so much the norm with Ashwin that I forget to write about it so often.

I have just kept pasta on the stove to boil and I told Ashwin that we will go to bed once the pasta had boiled. He rolled out one finger with great difficulty and said "Ashwin ku one pasta", another stubby finger followed: "Amma ku one pasta", "Appa ku one pasta" with another finger, "Police uncle ku one pasta", "Boyeyo uncle ko one pasta", with the last two fingers unfurling with such intense concentration and difficulty.

Yup, my little boy is counting with his fingers! And how cute is that??!

Among other news, he has begun constructing complex sentences. A conjunction is a compulsary part of his conversation. If you ask him if he wants a jacket, he will tell you, "ne heater on pannikka la SO warma irukku. Annala jacket aana". No kidding.

He has begun to recite nursery rhymes too. I didn't realise he knew any nursery rhymes at all despite singing them to him every so often. The other day, in the bath, I sang ABCD to him and finished it with "Wont you come and sing with me". His reaction? "Appi iyya. Next time wont you sing with me, appi sing pannun." His repertoire of songs consists of "Baa baa black sheep", "Row row row your boat" (which he sings as yo yo yo boat gently down the stream, meyyi meyyi meyyi meyyi yife is but a dream!), itsy bitsy spider (I'm thinking of charging money to let people watch as he mimes the spider climbing up with his fingers, it is impossibly cute) and many more, even I'm not sure how many.