100 days of Happiness - Day 3

Happiness is seeing the kidlet having a good time with his friends at the park.

100 days of Happiness - Day 2

Of Harvest festivals and New Years! Happy Vishu

100 days of happiness - Day 1

Many of us tend to focus on the big picture in life, especially once you become parents. One of the things that lil V has taught me is pause and enjoy the small little things in life. For a child, nothing is big or small or everything is big or small. Here is to him for inspiring me to start this documentation of those fleeting moments in life.

Day 1

Bliss is a 2 year old cuddling and sleeping on you like a new born!

Murphy and Us

Dear V,

On the days that I am full of energy and finish off all the chores so that I could really play with you - you always decide to take the longest of the naps and on the days where I can barely drag myself, you turn into the energizer bunny who wants to play.

If we ever decide to step out on a bad hair day (for me), you will leave my hair alone. If, for once, my hair behaves well, then you would spare no efforts in pulling it and eventually making it a bad hair day.

Murphy continues to bless us!

Love,
Amma

Of Homes With Toddlers

Dear V,

There was a time, not too long ago, where I would pick up stuff after you were done playing and put them back. Now, I have given up on it because that would mean picking up stuff the whole day. Now, I just do it once at night - after you sleep. Which means that the house is scattered with stuff through the day - not just toys, but things like batteries, pens, utensils (where are the spoons btw?), books and so on. While I often crib and complain that the house is never neat - your dad loves it, he says this is what a home looks like!

Love,
Amma

P.S - When I try to teach you to put your toys into the basket - it does not mean that you have to pull them out immediately. 

Wipe my hand!

Dear V,

You are going through one cute phase where you hate any mucky gooey stuff on your hand. In case, you happen to have something on your hand, you either look around and search for me and extend the hand to wipe the gunk off or you wipe it on the nearest furniture. Also, you bring out the wonderful expression which combines dighust and contempt and helplessness together. This also means that you are not very interested in self-feeding, something which we may work on in the coming times.

Loads of Love,
Amma

Utensils Chor

Darling V,

Most of the people check for the availability of grocery when the plan to cook something. In our house, we have to first check the availablity of utensils before we think of cooking something. For example, the day I plan to make batter for dosa or idli, I would not find the small lid that goes on the top of the mixer jar. You have become the little elf who takes away all the things and hides into unknown corners of the house. There are spoons in all the nooks and corners of the house. The wooden ladles are your favorite and God knows what joy you get in putting them all up behind the living room unit. In the process of searching, we have re-discovered some long lost objects which we had totally given up on as lost.

Love,
Amma

P.S - Learn to say it with words, do not hesitate. Do not assume that people understand without saying. Not everyone does.

Superhero Mom!

Dear V,

Sometimes you give me this feeling that I am your personal 'Superhero'. When your toy goes under the cabinet or under something where you cannot reach, your initial reaction was just to sit there and wail, unless one of us comes and helps. Now, you come running to me, pull my hand and tug me until I get up, come with you and pull out the said object. Also, when I do so, you look at me as if I have just jumped into space and bought the moon for you. As the ad says - some things are priceless. Won't be long until you figure out how to pick up your stuff, and meanwhile, let me get a cape and bask in some superhero glory.

Love,
Amma

Long days and short months!

Dear V,

Excuse me for a minute, so that I can finish fainting and recover on realizing that my wee baby has now metamorphosed into a toddler who wants his way about things. Everyone complains about kids growing up so fast and I am no different. I wish I could pause time at each stage. That said, while time has flown, the days have not flown so much. Especially, the cranky clingy nights when you refused to be calmed unless we carried you. Especially, when you throw up your entire meal when we are on the last spoon - which means, cleaning and feeding again. Especially, when you resist your naps and you later put on your cranky pants.Still, do not grow up so fast my munchkin!

Love,
Amma

Injured Soldier.

Dear V,

Well, for a change, it is not you that we are going to talk about. It is me - I have become the injured soldier here, with all the random accidents and some purposeful biting that happens in the house these days.

Most of it happens when you get too excited - the other day you were too excited and you swayed your head in such a way that it hit my lip and I got a cut. You seem to be getting a cheap thrill in pulling my hair (what ever is left of it anyway) and then you check your hand to see if you have plucked any! Though you are yet to understand the concept of hitting, I am pretty sure that it is not very far away - at which point, I plan to read you this

Loads of Love,
Injured Amma.

Hairdressers

Dear V,

If someone told me a couple of years back that I would be cutting a toddler's hair, I would have sworn that it was impossible. Here we are, armed with a pair of scissors to get your unruly mop into some kind of presentable shape. Since you always sleep on your tummy and you get up at the slightest touch, it is impossible to cut off while you sleep. The moment you see the scissors, you put on your curious face and you try to grab it!

So, the haircut happens in phases - bits by bit - over a couple of days. In the meantime, we do not hesitate to take you out with half cropped hair. By the time I finish one round, I see that the strands which I cut first would have already grown. So, it is a cycle! Until you are ready to sit in a hairdresser's chair without wailing your lungs off, yours truly will be doing the honors.

Love,
Amma

Distraction!

Dear V,

At times, I spend more than half a day distracting you. Refusal to eat - distract and feed. Toddler tantrums - distract and make you stop crying. Refusal to come out of the bath tub - distract and take away. Mindless wailing to be carried around - distract with toys! I know that going along it will be tough because you won't be easily distracted and also I would try to make you understand in a 'reasonable manner'. Also, some days I am so knocked out that I often give in - let you have your way. Yes, I am lazy that way - but I do not intend to be so for a long time.

Love,
Amma

No!

Dear V,

Amma has been following so many parenting guides, websites, forums etc and one thing that is said again and again is not to overuse the word 'NO'. They talk about positive reinforcement and other better ways to say 'no'. Well, it just so happened that one of the first few words that you began to react to was 'No'. As soon as I say 'no', you being this crazy head bobbing/nodding. Well - I get your message - You can read as much as you want, but then eventually you just have to follow my cues.

Love you lil boy,
Amma

At some point during this parenting phase - we eventually figure out that our need for the bub to be a textbook baby does not work. They lead and we follow.

P.S - I doubt if there is anything called a textbook baby.

Gimme!

Dear V,

For a while, we tried to teach you what  'give me' means. For a while, you followed it to. Then what happened that you sort of misunderstood 'give me' for throw? It is so endearing to see you lob/drop the stuff in your hand the moment we say 'give me'. I know, that we should  be trying to correct to and teach you to bring stuff to us, but I am not letting this on go off easily. So, throw away all you want.

Love,
Amma

Fairy Tales

So, that was bit of gap from blogging - not intentional though. Laziness, a bit of blogger's block (if you may call it that) and also the toddler zapping me off of my energy (actually, you can use the child for any number of excuses and it works each time)!

Dear V,

I have been reading to you and telling you stories for a while - we do very simple stories and flip books as of now. While searching for what books to get you, I re-read some of the fairy tales and then the absurdity stuck me. At times, so much that even if I make extra efforts to suspend my disbelief it does not work. I am a big fan of fantasy, but then there is a difference between absurdity and fantasy, so instead of being fascinated, I found myself laughing. 

Take the Princess and the Pea for example - I mean, how did she feel those tiny three peas from under twenty mattresses, so much that it left her black and blue? Or how the Grandma was swallowed in one piece by the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood and how she came back alive! I can't wait for the time when I tell you some of these tales, and see your reaction. Such is the innocence!

Love,
Amma

Discovery for Mommy!

Dear V,

Among the scores of things that you teach me every now and then, I also discovered that it is so easy to go on a guilt trip and feel that one is a bad mom. It is also so difficult to feel that one is a good mom. Why? Because at times, you feel whatever you do is not enough. In actuality, it is enough, but being a mom gives you to this tendency to stretch beyond your means and be limitless. This takes a toll often, and it can even lead to PPD. When you have a small fall and cry, I too think that may be I should have watched him closely.

There is a thin line between trying hard within our capacity and trying really hard beyond our capacity - while I do not feel that I have discovered that line yet, but I am slowly making an attempt to get there.

Love,
Amma

100th Post. Yayy!

V,

This is my hundredth post on the blog. Okay, I can't believe that the lazy me has a blog with a hundred posts. Most of it is courtesy you!. Now, I have decided that the blog will not exclusively be about you - of course, I will write about you, but then I will also write about other things once in a while.

Thank you for inspiring me my darling!

Love,
Amma

P.S - Stop chewing that toy doggie's tail. I am too tired to come there and pull it out from your mouth.

The Prejudiced Me - Baby and Public Places

V,

I have been guilty of some things in the pre-baby era. The one that stands out is being prejudiced against parents who bring in public places. No, I was not the one who would give dirty looks to the parents when the baby howled in the plane or in the restaurant, but I would always think to myself as to why they are getting a cranky baby outside.

Now, that I am on this side, I have come to know about a few things through experience

1. You have no idea when the baby becomes cranky - The bub would be happily cooing away and in flat two seconds would be howling its lungs out.

2. Parents are not trying enough - This is not true in most cases. No parent wants their kid to be cranky or to be crying. Also, it does not reflect badly upon their parenting.

3. Why can't they sit at home? - Everyone needs a break and to step out. Parents need it more to maintain their sanity.

Though I still feel that little ones should not be bought to the movies because the sound and the lack of light may not be pleasant for them. Still, I now think who am I to judge?

Love,
Amma

Shoes are not scary things!

Dear V,

Shoes are not scary things! They protect your feet. They also make you look nice. So, please do not wail so much when I try to put it on for you. I know I should have tried it much earlier, but the few times I made you wear them, you were fine. Now what happened?

Love,
Amma

Don't Go ! Don't Go

Darling V,

I mentioned about your stranger anxiety in an earlier post. There is even weird behavior that happens occasionally. You bawl, cry and create a fuss when someone comes home. After a bit, you slowly become friendly with them. Now, when the said person wants to leave, you again begin the drama with your crying. In short - no one should come home and no one should leave.

The drama as aggravated when you see familiar people leave - when your dad leaves for work or when the house help goes after her work. At times, it is a lil heartbreaking as I see you keep looking at the door, searching for them.

Love,
Amma