15 months: India!, Mottai, and Uh-Oh

This was quite the eventful month! Two passport stamps obtained: India and Switzerland. Head shaved (first hair cut). Lots of family and friends met. And many firsts had (including rickshaw rides).

So first, it takes quite a while on planes to get to India. We stopped off in Zurich for a few days on the way there, which was good because I was really sleepy around 3pm the first day. Luckily I can sleep easily on Amma (in her cool Ergo carrier), so I was pretty portable (Anna was heavier for Appa to carry around if he fell asleep while out and about). I liked the town and trams and the boat rides and the zoo.

We had a busy itinerary throughout southern India: Mumbai, car through the Ghats to Pune, flight to Chennai, overnight train to Madurai, side trip to Kotaikanal in the hills, Mottai (head shaving) just north of Madurai, overnight train back to Chennai, fly home. We stayed with friends and family mostly, managed some time to play, and ate a bunch of new and yummy food, including many dosai, sambas, chutneys, fresh guava (yum!), and small cucumbers (fun to eat, though sometimes I would spit them out after chewing on them), though I admit some of my tasting the variety was through Amma's milk. I really loved kamala oranges with the mostly green skin (just like amma and appa and anna). Mutton biriani and white beans are quite good as well.

Mumbai showed me that India can be hot! And humid. With my long hair, I would sweat pretty much instantly upon going outside. The Gateway to India welcomed me. I enjoyed the boat ride into the harbor as well as the special rich local ice cream. 

I enjoyed the hills surrounding Pune quite a lot. We went to a set of cool caves (Bedse) carved into the rock upon a mountainside from 2000 years ago. We also went up to a fort that had gate upon gate upon gate as we wound our way up to the top, with bright beautiful pink bougainvillea in between some areas. Pune was also where I had my very first ride in an auto-rickshaw! I loved it (and held on pretty tightly).

Throughout the trip I was just taking it all in. It was quite a lot to observe. They say I am a little more mellow than my brother. Though with the heat and the travel I had my times of crankiness (luckily amma figured out how to nurse me when carrying me in the Ergo).

They say I looked like Krishna with my long hair on top (see the picture with Amma below in front of silver falls near Kotaikanal).

The main event of the trip occurred on October 26. Family and friends had assembled from around the world. In fact, some of the family members tend to be always '10 minutes late', but they were on time for me! We had breakfast in Madurai, then a bus full of family took us about 20 km north of the city to Alagarkoil (beautiful temple). And that is where my Mottai (head shaving) occurred - while the shaving itself was a little unexpected (and I admit I did cry a little), it felt quite nice when complete - check out the picture with Appa below! Then I put on new clothes, a necklace of jasmine flowers, and they put sandalwood paste on my head. We then toured Alagarkoil, the temple at the top of the hill with the never ending spring, and the one in between. And we capped it all off with lunch back in Madurai. The weather even cooperated (it wasn't quite so hot). All in all, a beautiful time. I also got my ears pierced back in Chennai, another tradition.

Finally, I wanted to mention that 'Uh oh!' is my new favorite expression, and used for a lot of things. It is quite cute I must say.

Thank you God for shiny spoons and bowls, loving family, fast rickshaws, smooth haircuts, fragrant flowers, advanced airplanes, tasty food, and shoes that light up.

14 months: Walking!, first flight, and signing

Big news, I am walking now! It took me a while to warm up to walking, and for a while I preferred to hold on to Amma or Appa or Anna's hand, but just this week I really took off on my own! I must say it is pretty cool. When Amma comes to pick me up at the end of the day, sometimes I don't know if it is faster to crawl or walk, but I am moving on to just walking.

I had a fun 'first' this month - my first trip on an airplane! We all went to Michigan (mostly the western part) for Labor Day weekend. I did pretty well, though both flights were in the evening so I was a little sleepy (or rather asleep) at the end. The trip itself was fun and I met a lot of Appa's friends. I especially liked the ice cream treat after a long hike among sand dunes.

I just love being outside. I love sand (throwing it up, digging in it), and dirt, feeling grass, plucking flowers, throwing rocks, getting wet (especially in the pond). There is this tree at Homestar that has really cool bark and I like to play with it and put it back together like a puzzle.

I like being able to communicate more with signs, gestures, and the beginnings of words. I am very good at saying 'more' (in signs) and all done. I love clapping my hands, as I've mentioned before, especially when Amma is singing "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands!" And I've started the inklings of saying a few words, like 'mo' for more, beh for bye-bye, and almost saying "Amma".

I also had fun this month riding on a boat in the mountains (with Grandpa), going to Grandma's birthday party, playing with Anna Kavi, riding my first ski lift (in Michigan), hiking, and playing with my friends.

In October we are all going to India - there we will explore new places, meet family and friends, and the big deal: I will get my head shaved! (oh and my ears pierced). Tune in next month for all of the details!

Thank you God for warm wind, gritty sand, bright sun, happy friends, fast boats, old trees, and my loving family.

13 months: Pointing, standing, and olives

I find that communications are important. This month mine increased in a variety of ways. I definitely point to what I want, be it more blueberries or the soap container I just dropped into the bathtub. I can make a few signs, but primarily more and all-done. I tend to get more vocal about food that I am interested in (such as one of my favorites - more almond butter!), though at school they are encouraging me to use my signs more.

This month I worked on standing. It tends to just happen when I am holding onto a bed or chair but then find a really interesting toy that I must look at with both hands. This balance has helped my mobility as well, and I am now up to about five steps in a row.

One of my new-found loves is olives. I had a few earlier in my life, but at dinner at Jay and Saori's was when I really showed my colors. Oh and I have eight teeth now! Four up top and four down low.

Amma was happy that we made it nursing the whole year (but she also enjoys the extra time freed up by not pumping at work)! Now that I am one-year old, I can drink cow's milk. I still nurse in the evening and the morning (and in the night...), but during the day now I take a bottle or sippy cup with milk.

I do enjoy clapping. Sometimes I clap to music. Sometimes I clap for myself when I am standing alone without holding onto anything. I can almost blow a kiss to Amma when she drops me off.

I also like to climb things that aren't too high, rocking on the rocking zebra that Uncle Chris gave me, and shaking the house (the little play one in the living room)!

Anna Kavi's first au pair Nastja visited again and I got along with her swimmingly. We hung out at Meadow Music ("we're hiking, we're hiking"), walked along Boulder Creek path, went up to the mountains, and went to the zoo.

We also took a cool trip on a train that took us to the top of a mountain - my first time over 14,000 feet on Pike's Peak!

Thank you god for hugs, warm baths (and bath toys), good views (from Appa's shoulders especially), trains, and cool streams.

1 year! First steps, black beans, and clapping

It is official! I am one year old. No longer an infant or baby, now 'technically' a toddler. And I've started to toddle just a bit, in that I can go about two steps on my own (before kinda crashing into someone's arms or onto Mopy the stuffed dog). Big news, though I'm not yet walking around. 

I had a few more teeth come in - I have five right now (two up top and three down low)! Some of the things I love using these for are strawberries and black beans.

This month I picked up clapping, which is a hit with everyone. Of course when singing the song 'If you're happy and you know it ..." At Homestar there are three of us around the same age and we clap for each other to encourage our explorations. And I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I am good at waving now too (hello or goodbye).

We had a few fun trips this month: one to the Tetons in Wyoming (where we hiked a little in Teton National Park, went to a wedding celebration, and took a tram up to the tippy top of a mountain) and one a little closer to home on the Georgetown train (it was a beautiful day up there!).

For my first birthday party, we had a whole bunch of family and friends at the park. Anna Kavi and I celebrated our birthdays together. I did pretty well going to different people, though I must admit I was a little overwhelmed when everyone was singing happy birthday!

My one-year stats were as follows: 19 lbs (~15%) weight and 29" (~20%) height.

Thank you God for laughter, grandparents, nice clothes, friends, and ice cream.

11 months: Cruising, Homestar, and teeth

I like to get around. This month, that meant cruising all over the place, holding onto furniture if it was the right height. I also like to shake my little house (see the colorful playhouse in the photo below) - I stand next to it and shake shake shake it! I can even stand alone for a few seconds, though I prefer holding onto something.

The biggest news this month was that I started at a new daycare place called Homestar. It took me probably three weeks to get used to it and the new people, but now I love it. Particularly checking out the mirrors, playing in the sandbox outside (see the pic below), and testing new boundaries (such as how to crawl out of a sandbox and not land on your face). Amma also really likes that she can walk now to drop off both Anna Kavi and me (and then go for a walk in the hills).

My two upper middle teeth came in, so I have four now in total! This makes it easier to eat things, though I still get a lot of my calories from Amma.

You might notice that my hair is getting longer and longer. Now we put it back in a clip every day. In October our whole family is going to India (my first international trip!) and then I will get it shaved near the end of the month. I expect it will be a lot cooler.
 
This month Amma and Appa and Anna introduced me to camping with my first (and second) camping trips. The first trip was with a bunch of other families in Rocky Mountain National Park and the second was with just one other family in Rainbow Lakes. I liked crawling around in the tent and the sunsets were beautiful.

I also had a fun visit with Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa played with Anna and me in the stream near his house and we all raced boats!

Thank you God for sand, teeth, brothers, and laughing.

10 months: Crawling!, Mother's Day, and new rooms

Every day it seems I can do something new. And the great big news is this: I can CRAWL now! Woo hoo! I was just barely over 9 months when I started. I actually prefer to push up on my feet, so I push up on my right foot and then scoot my left knee (see the bottom left picture below and the video). Amma thinks it is pretty cute. And it turns out that Anna Kavi did the exact same thing! Yep, we are brothers. (Though I guess I am crawling around two months earlier than he did). Every day I get faster and more inquisitive. I even crawl down the hall to see what is going on if Amma or Appa or Anna are down there.

A week after I could crawl I figured out how to push up to sitting from my tummy (I basically push back on my arms until I am sitting). I can pull myself up to standing when I have something relatively low to hold onto (like my cube toy or music table or Anna's bed). Occasionally I do a normal crawl or try the other side. And now at the end of the month I am on the verge of cruising.

I started transitioning to more chunky solid foods. Blueberries, strawberries, Ghanaian banku (thanks Nii Armah!), salmon, and pudding are all quite good.

We celebrated Mother's Day with Amma and Grandma and Ayyamma (she is in town now). At school I made an art project with my hand print and pictures of me for Amma. Amma likes it a bunch. I even gave her a beautiful poem to go with it. (Thanks to Tacha who had the idea and helped me with it.)

Anna Kavi is a lot of fun. I observe him doing all kinds of crazy things (and normal things). He makes me laugh. Either he is being more gentle or I am getting more tough, but I basically never fall over anymore when he comes to give me a hug. Sometimes we all end up sleeping in the same bed and I like waking up and seeing him. Actually in general I wake up pretty happy (though I suppose I still wake up too often for Amma in the night).

At the beginning of the month I 'graduated' from the littlest infant room to the next one, which is bigger and full of slightly older kids who can crawl and walk a bit. This is pretty exciting. I get everywhere and into lots of things there. Sometimes they drum for me too which makes me move. I enjoy watching the other kids eat too, which has helped me be more adventurous and try more things.

Next month I am moving to a new school (Homestar) - I start June 1, but I already did my transition week. Transitions can be a little hard, but they are also good times for growth. Amma is excited because she likes the school, plus she gets to walk me there since it is so close to home. I am looking forward to spending some time outside, especially since the weather is getting nicer.

Thank you God for curls, for songs, for mobility, and for mothers.

9 months: Yogurt, baptism, and teeth

I started enjoying some new food this month. On the top of the list is yogurt, which is quite good. Especially if it is homemade yogurt from Appa. I also like tomato sauce and can tolerate spinach with pears. I am venturing out beyond that, though still like most of my food pureed (and to tell the truth still prefer getting most of my input from Amma).

We celebrated Easter in a very special way: with my baptism. There was beautiful singing, interesting incense, lots of family and friends and two special godparents (Jay and Cindy), a bit where I got some water on my head and a bit where I got some very nice smelling chrism on me as well. Then I was able to fall asleep in Amma's arms, warm and comforted by many things.

As you can see, my hair keeps growing and is getting just long enough so that I need some help with it. We tried out a few headbands and a few clips, but most of the month I went without anything. In the summertime for sure I will want something to hold it back. We are waiting until we go to Appa's home in Tamil Nadu in India in October before cutting it.

Bouncing is a pretty fun thing to do, and I am really good at bouncing in my bouncy chair.

Remember those two teeth I mentioned last month? Now you can see my two bottom teeth when I smile. It is pretty cute.

I love standing up (holding onto things). And I am juuuust on the verge of crawling (see next month's post for my activity!).

I rounded out the month with some fun trips (to the train museum with Anna Kavi and Grandpa, to Home Depot to pick up some flowers for planting, and to a goat farm) and visits with friends and family.

Thank you God for my life, for my family, for headbands, for my brother, for toys, and for hugs.