You have reached the toddlerhood, so that means, I get to hear new words like "no!" and mood swings. Mealtime is a mess! Also I get those wet, sloppy kisses and get to see you rock for those nursery rhymes. Nobody can resist this dancing baby! Your weight gain has slowed down. All those rolls of pudge is disappearing from your arms, legs and chest!
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Your curiosity has doubled my work. The drawers get emptied every now and then. You want to see what is there in cupboards and inside boxes. You stand on your toes to peep at things that you can't reach! You love to empty each and everything - boxes, bags, dustbins, purses. Removing batteries from a torch, pretend eating with spoons and bowls, pretend feeding amma, pull down the piles of neatly folded clothes, empty boxes, put key into a lock, wear elders' sandals and walk, pull the zip and open a purse - these are some of your favorite pastime activities.
Meanwhile, you have started eating less both because you are lost in playing and discovering and because of the hot weather in India. You only keep drinking milk (jaayi), tender coconut (bombi) juice (joochu) and water (jeeji). It has become difficult to feed you solid food now. You are losing all that baby fat as well. And the mosquitoes here are taking away all your fat and also making you get a million rashes all over you. We have tried all the possible medicines starting from Ayurveda to Allopathy. None of the leaves are taking away the rashes, nor the ointments are removing those scars! The other day, when you roamed around, you recognized "sambrani" leaf, pulled out one, squeezed it and rubbed on your legs and even on your eyes and then screamed that it burns! Another reason for the rashes is that you sit on the ground all the time, love to play with mud and never come inside the house. When it is very hot outside, you forcefully shut the doors to keep you inside the house. You understand that it is "ujji" outside, but still you cry to go out. The minute you see sandals (Chappi), you want to wear them, then you want me to wear my sandals and then you cry to take you out for walk! The walk is supposedly to see 'umbe', 'peepi' and 'bus'.
Now a days you communicate a lot and understand so many things. Sometimes you give me a shock with your new vocabulary. I keep trying to introduce you a new word and you seem to ignore. But after a few days, from nowhere you use that word in the right situation!
You cry if you don't get what you ask for or if mom doesn't let you do what you want, but the next minute if we divert your attention, you start smiling or singing. You love to experiment and when I say not to do something, you don't stop it unless you test it by yourself. Things like throwing a cup or climbing stairs without holding. Your memory is not well developed, so sometimes even after getting hurt from something, you repeat the action. You banged a door keeping your finger in between and after you are done with crying, you went to do that again!
But after you touched "oodu batthi" at Bekur and got a boil on your tiny finger, you didn't go to repeat it. You learnt that it is hot and learn't the word "ujji". There after every time I said "it is ujji", you didn't go to touch it.
You sometimes show separation anxiety and throw temper tantrums. Especially when I carry your little brother and walk inside to feed him and somebody takes you out to divert your attention, you cry for me and if you get very angry, you even roll on the floor. And as soon as you see me, you come running for me and ask me to carry you. This makes me feel terribly guilty and walking away from you carrying your brother is the most difficult thing I get to do several times a day.
Sometimes you demand for things you are not supposed to ask and get angry when I don't give it to you. You throw temper tantrums, so that you get what you want. Another favorite play of yours is now crawl and walk backwards. You don't stop it when we tell you to stop. Even when I show my serious face and say "no", you still continue to walk backwards laughing aloud!
I am trying to stop bottle feeding, even you like to drink in a tumbler or from a water bottle. But when you are really thirsty, you cry for only your bottle. Tumbler is just for you to play and when you are done playing, all of a sudden you pour the remaining milk on the floor.
When your brother was 1 month old, you had just began to walk steadily. Sometimes you held some random objects and walked for balance. One day when I changed his diaper, you grabbed the used diaper and started walking. Your granny held your hand, directed you to the bathroom and made you throw that diaper into the dustbin. When you did that, we all clapped and you liked it. The next time, once again it repeated and there after, the minute I changed your brother's diaper, you came running to take the dirty diaper and throw it in the dustbin and get claps and give a smile of achievement.
On the 17th February 2014, you climbed stairs on your own for the first time at my Puttumava's house. You liked it so much that you kept climbing the stairs and getting down for 2 hours and I had to stay right behind you the entire time with my arms stretched to catch you when you fall down.
You had been into the habit of holding my 'thaaLi' and 'Karimani' when you go to sleep even before you were one year old. But after your brother was born, you kept asking for it even more. Those two days when I stayed at the hospital, it gave you the sense of security. There after, every time you saw him with me, you immediately asked for my 'karimani'. Later on you wanted 'karimani' to sleep, to eat and every time I carried your brother. In India we had to visit so many places and it was dangerous to give you my golden karimani when you walk around. So your Jogibettu ajja got an artificial one for you with the same shaped 'thaaLi'. Because if the shape is slightly different, you throw it even in sleep and get angry. That's why you don't take Bekur ajji's 'karimani'. But when you saw my original one, you started throwing the artificial one and asked for mine. I stopped wearing it for some time and when I started wearing it again, you once again wanted only my original karimani. I tried so many things to stop this habit, but nothing works. Still whenever I carry your brother, you need my karimani, to eat, you need it, to sleep, you need it, when you get hurt, you need it, when you see strangers, you need it, when you are scared, you need it. And I don't know what to do!
You like to push toys, pull, drag things on the floor like - chairs, teapoy and other heavy things. You use all your energy for this hard work and even sweat! But you still want to do that to burn the calories!
You love to look at yourself in mirror and you give that shrunk nose smile at your reflection. You don't try to touch the mirror baby now, you know that it is you. And when we video chat with your dad if I maximize your picture, you start dancing and talking even more. More than you talk to others, you talk to yourself!
You are now 19 months old and these are the words in your vocabulary now -
Relations : appa, amma, thamma (thammeeeee - when you are in love with your brother), ajja, ajji, maama, etthe (atthe), anna (any small boy), baaba (baava).
Body Parts : thale, kannu, memme (moogu), kemi, baayi, kaayi (kai), kaalu.
Animals : taami (our dog - used to call taati till 17th month), bow bow, pucche, miyaav, ambe (loves cow the most), kaake, kaa kaa, kokkokko (koli), aange (aane), akki (hakki), fish.
Vehicles : bus, loli (lorry), kaa (car), baiku (bike), beeshi (JCB), shikka (rickshaw), jeepu (jeep), chuku chuku (train).
Other words : mum mum, jaayi, jeeji, joochu, bombi (bonda), oppa (kiss), peepi, ele, chaami (was chaachi till 17th month), aay (hi), biddudu (biddatthu), jaanji (jenu), dumma (fall), chappi (chappal), kanthu (current), baabe, paapu, baby, badhabadha (bada bada goni - song to turn around), tata, bye, thikuthe (brush), cheemcheem (rub her teeth with finger), aapan (open), kos (close), aku (haaku, thegi is also 'aku'), thaa, baa, leth (light), fan (was 'fa' till 17th month), office (was 'off; till 17th month), aan (on), aaf (off), penthu (pants), ka (karimani), ujji, thotha (scratch), paaapa (kondaata), daadi (sleep), donda (bath), daabi daabi (bath in tub - learnt after the rhyme - "every day when I make my way to the tubby, I see a little fellow who is cute yellow and chubby, rub-a-dub-a-dubby rub-a-dub-a-dubby"), thochi, thachi, chichichi (pee), oppattha (oppa idda?), ahaha (if something tastes good), be (beda), na na na (when we poke her tummy, this is after the mobile application Tom cat), aathu, kaali (empty), cap cap cap (clap), thukuthe (hatthutthe), thenku (thank you), boobi (boobu), baabu (medicine), tappi (hat), baLe (bangle), maLe (rain), biddatthu (fell down), hello, jump, keetha (key kotta), phone, balele/banana, bashaath (shahabas).
1. A-A-Apooo B-B-Baaal C-C-Kaat D-D-Dolll (Was only till ball till 16th month)
2. Baa baa baashee (Baa baa black sheep).
3. Udaaaa........the the the (high pitch), appa, ajji, ajja, aayda (Aadya), ethu (Keth - Aniket). mum mum... jaayi... daadi... ichi chi chi chi... (laugh) - (udda baaninda boochu bitthu).
4. Jaajaa ji (Jaala ketthi)
5.Ve-ve-ve (The wheels of the bus - baby cries ve ve ve).
6. Tinka tinka, avai wa, appe aai (Tinkle twinkle, how I winder, Ap above the world so high) - with action.
7. Kaachi kaachi (You can't catch me - 5 little monkeys swinging on a tree). - with action.
8. Daadi daadi ooooo (Daddy daddy, I love youuuu).
9. Wo wo wo yo bo.. Whaaaaay!!!! (Row row row your boat.. If you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream..) - with dance.
10. Beke beke (beke beke tharakaari) - walks around with something on her head - supposedly tharakaari.
11. Dance for kalla bekku bandithu, atta itta noditu, sutta mutta thirugitu, dubba bidditu - bend the knees and walk, turn around and fall down.
12. Baala ollevru nam missu (keep hands on your waist and shake it).
11. Dance for kalla bekku bandithu, atta itta noditu, sutta mutta thirugitu, dubba bidditu - bend the knees and walk, turn around and fall down.
12. Baala ollevru nam missu (keep hands on your waist and shake it).
We went to Kaniyooru and got your ears pierced at Udaya doctor's clinic on the 3rd February 2014, you look beautiful.
You have got many gifts from everyone in India. Almost everyone gave you money and I had to take their blessings instead of you. Your sodara mava gave you clothes, masks and other things. You liked slate the most and you scribble a lot. Now a days you say that you are writing "Aadya" and draw circles and lines. Your sodara atthe gave you clothes, cars, a soft toy and a music toy. Ajja-ajjis have given golden chain, ear rings, clothes, toys and their gifts are never ending. Your Shaila atthe's sisters gave you a soft toy too. Your Pavithra-Chaithra-Amritha atthes have given you toy phone, doll and bangles. Your Pilya ajji has given you clothes and clips. Roopa doddamma has given you clothes. Your great grand parents have given you clothes. Your Savithri ajji has given silver anklets. And the list goes on. When your Chaitra atthe's mom (Shaku ajji) gave you money, you beautifully said "thank you" to her. For now, you love the 3 wheeled cycle your grandpa got for you and your brother sits happily in the seat behind yours.
You said "chaachi" for chaami in the beginning and now you say it right. What made me get surprised is that you recognized that it is chaami wherever you saw a photo or a statue. You started doing Namaskara with hands in USA itself and took your hand around the Deepa and touched your forehead. Later on you noticed us and started doing Namaskara standing on your knees and touch your head to the floor. You like to hear Shankha. And the other day when the power went off, your granny got "Chimini deepa" and you took your hand around the fire and did chaami! In Bangalore, when you went to a temple with granny, you did "sashtanga namaskara" saying 'chaami' and then turned to your back and continued to lie down there saying "daaadi" in front of the huge crowd! You even put mud on your forehead (prasada) and say chaami.
Aniket looks very happy and starts smiling the minute he sees you. Doesn't take his eyes off you when you are around. You too love him so much and when he is in his cradle, you go and rock him even when he is already asleep. Sometimes that wakes him up. You love him, but when I take him, you don't like to share your mom with him, that's when he gets a few beatings on his head. The first place you hit him is his head or sometimes you pull his hair hard. Aniket grips everything he gets and sometimes even your hair when you go close to him. You get angry and pull his hair. If he hits you by mistake when he is playing, you hit him back.
If he grabs your toys, you first pull it off from his hand and then hit him several times on his head for taking it! Sometimes it makes me emotional to see you both smile at each other and to see that intimate bonding of sister and brother. You are a baby and yet you try to take care of your little brother sometimes.
When he wakes up from sleep crying and if I am yet to reach him, you go to him and talk to him or you touch him, rock him if he is in his cradle. Which mother can stop tears seeing this?!!
Now you have the habit of walking on the tip of your toes may be to increase the speed of walking. But your Jogibettu ajja says that you are practicing to wear high heeled shoes in the future. You like to sit on the aracanuts in the yard, throw them around and run behind kittens. You liked the sprinkler water at "thota" and wanted to get drenched. You show the door lock and tell me to open it and there is no way that I can fool you now. Whether you want to go out or not, you always want the doors to be open.
You have the habit of saying "purka" every time you make that sound! When we went to a 'pooje', you did it and said aloud. I was little embarrassed and didn't repeat the word. You thought that I didn't understand it and said aloud over and over again until I said "Yes, you did purka"!
You have the habit of saying "purka" every time you make that sound! When we went to a 'pooje', you did it and said aloud. I was little embarrassed and didn't repeat the word. You thought that I didn't understand it and said aloud over and over again until I said "Yes, you did purka"!
When you are not supposed to something, I say "aaga!". You know what are the "aaga" things, the minute you start doing the restricted things, you keep repeating "aaga" as you continue to do it. Things like drinking dirty water at bath time. If you don't like me take away things you are holding, you tell me "aaga!" with your firm voice.
You like to smell tulasi and peepi. And you like it when Bekuru ajji does "Ukkaachi" for you and you let her stop even when she is tired. For some time, you loved playing with big hands, especially Jogibettu ajja's. You kissed it, rubbed it on your face, put it on your legs and tried to put it to sleep and it was fun to watch, grandpa felt proud!
We had gone to Mumbai for 10 days and you enjoyed the trip. Your first train journey was to Bangalore, you were sleepy when we got in. You got scared and cried for an hour and even at night woke up several times and cried. Mumbai journey was not that bad since it was the second train journey. After this trip, you called me "Umatthe" for many days, because your baava called me so.
Suhas took your artificial karimani and asked me if Aadya is going to marry Aniket in future and I said, siblings don't marry. He asked if cousins can get married and I said sometimes they do. He immediately took the 'ka' and told you, "Aadya baa, aanu ninna marry maadthe!"
Every day in Mumbai you waited till evening and ran to the play area with baavas and liked it so much that you didn't want to come back. I was getting amazed over and over again to see you get along with other kids, try all the rides and enjoy it totally even after a few falls. After the play time, you played with baavas in water while taking bath. You and your baavas and granny sleep together in a row. At Mumbai, you never asked for a cradle, slept when baavas slept and ate when baavas sang for you with action.
You had seen your Bekuru ajja shave and in Mumbai you got a piece of plastic that resembled razor and tried shaving. Got a few scratches all over your cheeks and chin. When I had dinner, you sat on my lap and Ashoka mava asked me to give you some pickle. You liked it so much that you wanted to keep licking it. You even like to eat raw mangoes, like the sour taste. Banana chips are your favorite and also ice cream.
Along with ajja and me or with ajja and ajji, you had bike rides to Uppala several times. But your first bike ride sitting in the front was with Ashoka mama on March 28th, 2014.
Your Jogibettu ajja had been asking for a kiss from you from a long time and one day finally you kissed him, that too was on his lips! He was all happy and said, "Uma your daughter is an American girl for sure!"
When you had a hair cut at Uppala, you cried from the beginning till the end, but the new hair cut looked nice on you. When you went to the press, you tried all the buttons on the printing machine and the photocopy machine.
The other day, I was reading a news paper and there was a picture of a bore-well truck that looked more like a bus. So I told you, "see, a bus!" and you corrected me, "loleee" (lorry, not bus)!
Your brother has started saying "ba bba bba bba..." and since may be he is teething, he folds his lips when he says that. You looked at him one day and there after every now and then when you see him, you fold your lips, imitate him and say "ba bba bba bbaaa..." and then laugh looking at my face! You take away the powder bottle every time I put some on your brother after his bath.
Peek-a-boo is still one of your favorite games. You never seem to get tired of it, but we do. In your nursery rhyme video collection, when you saw "Molly had a dolly" song, you pointed at the dolly and called it thamma. You were jumping few days ago saying "jump jump jump" and I brough milk for you to drink. And it became "jaay jaay jaay"!
You were roaming around the house at Bekuru in the evening and after some time, you brought all those treasures you collected to play with later, and kept them all in a corner. Your hand full of treasures had : a little shapeless stone, a dry leaf, a broken lid of a bottle, an old washer's outer ring and a chendupulle (dry baby coconut)!
We had gone to Mumbai for 10 days and you enjoyed the trip. Your first train journey was to Bangalore, you were sleepy when we got in. You got scared and cried for an hour and even at night woke up several times and cried. Mumbai journey was not that bad since it was the second train journey. After this trip, you called me "Umatthe" for many days, because your baava called me so.
You had seen your Bekuru ajja shave and in Mumbai you got a piece of plastic that resembled razor and tried shaving. Got a few scratches all over your cheeks and chin. When I had dinner, you sat on my lap and Ashoka mava asked me to give you some pickle. You liked it so much that you wanted to keep licking it. You even like to eat raw mangoes, like the sour taste. Banana chips are your favorite and also ice cream.
Along with ajja and me or with ajja and ajji, you had bike rides to Uppala several times. But your first bike ride sitting in the front was with Ashoka mama on March 28th, 2014.
When you had a hair cut at Uppala, you cried from the beginning till the end, but the new hair cut looked nice on you. When you went to the press, you tried all the buttons on the printing machine and the photocopy machine.
The other day, I was reading a news paper and there was a picture of a bore-well truck that looked more like a bus. So I told you, "see, a bus!" and you corrected me, "loleee" (lorry, not bus)!
Your brother has started saying "ba bba bba bba..." and since may be he is teething, he folds his lips when he says that. You looked at him one day and there after every now and then when you see him, you fold your lips, imitate him and say "ba bba bba bbaaa..." and then laugh looking at my face! You take away the powder bottle every time I put some on your brother after his bath.
You were roaming around the house at Bekuru in the evening and after some time, you brought all those treasures you collected to play with later, and kept them all in a corner. Your hand full of treasures had : a little shapeless stone, a dry leaf, a broken lid of a bottle, an old washer's outer ring and a chendupulle (dry baby coconut)!
One day you were holding karimani and after sometime, I couldn't find it. When I took you to put you to sleep, you asked for it. I said, "you had it and now it is not there, see mom's neck, it is missing, where did you keep it?" She got down from the cot and walked around it to the cupboard. I followed her and she pointed under the cupboard, looked at my face and said "ka!" I bent down and found it there!
Your Jogibettu ajji has bought a doll for you and you do all that I do for your brother. You put it to sleep on your lap and since you don't know how to rock it on your legs, you put it on your lap and shake your hit. It is such a fun to watch it. You pour powder on the doll as well and hug it. You even put diaper rash cream to it. The other day, we even found you in the corner of the house facing the wall. When we peeped what you are doing, we found you with your shirt lifted and the doll's face on your chest! :P
You are just like your dad. You don't like ghee, buttermilk and curd. You had even vomited when I fed you with curd. You came and told me "mum mum maadthe" when I was drinking buttermilk, gave the glass to you. You took a sip and made a dirty face, gave the glass back to me and walked away. Not even one single person finds you resemble me. Each and every person has told me that you look like your dad.
I had been lightly hitting your head every time you coughed and now a days, you hit your head yourself when you cough. You love to imitate phone conversation. You pick land line phones at random as you walk and talk for a while with conversation starting "hello.. and in between you say "appu appu" a few times, laugh a little, talk and then say "bye" and keep the phone. Sometimes you just leave it hanging and the other day when somebody said that he could not reach us through the land line, we realized that it is hanging.
There is a ball at home that gives light when you hit it on the floor. Every time you want a light in it, you search for your brother and you hit his head to get the light! God knows how these older siblings get such ideas right from this age! But when your brother cries, you tell me, "thamma kootha" (kooguttha) for me to go and attend.
When your ajji left you at the yard and went to 'thota', you cried that you want to go with her. But she had left you at home to save you from mosquitoes. You wanted to go, stood in the yard, cried a little and then told to yourself "ajji office!" (ajji went to office, so I can not go).
The new thing now is asking the same 3 questions over and over again. The 3 questions are : thamma? (my answer is thamma - daadi), pucche? (my answer is pucche - hothu), kantu? (my answer is current ille). You asked that questions 50 times each few days ago. I was tired of answering. After you slept that I was finally saved. But the next day as soon as you woke up, you started with them again. And today is the 4th day, the questions seem never ending!
We went to a studio to take your passport photos for the visa extension. And you sat as he instructed. But the minute he lifted his camera to take a shot, you lifted your hands and did 'namaskara'. He came to you, put your hands down on your lap and again when he went and lifted the camera, you too lifted your hand and did 'namaskara'. He had to try 4 more times to get a shot with your hands down!
Whenever you do something good, you say "bashaath" (Shahbas!) to yourself and give a proud smile! You have two self discovered words : ashika (means keep brother down from my lap) and keethu (leave you in front of a tap and let you play in water).
I feel sad that I have left so many stories of yours while updating this diary, you are not giving me time to recall them. And even as I type, I got to keep an eye on the girl who is smiling at me, keeping her head between her legs and standing upside down right now!
I had been lightly hitting your head every time you coughed and now a days, you hit your head yourself when you cough. You love to imitate phone conversation. You pick land line phones at random as you walk and talk for a while with conversation starting "hello.. and in between you say "appu appu" a few times, laugh a little, talk and then say "bye" and keep the phone. Sometimes you just leave it hanging and the other day when somebody said that he could not reach us through the land line, we realized that it is hanging.
There is a ball at home that gives light when you hit it on the floor. Every time you want a light in it, you search for your brother and you hit his head to get the light! God knows how these older siblings get such ideas right from this age! But when your brother cries, you tell me, "thamma kootha" (kooguttha) for me to go and attend.
When your ajji left you at the yard and went to 'thota', you cried that you want to go with her. But she had left you at home to save you from mosquitoes. You wanted to go, stood in the yard, cried a little and then told to yourself "ajji office!" (ajji went to office, so I can not go).
The new thing now is asking the same 3 questions over and over again. The 3 questions are : thamma? (my answer is thamma - daadi), pucche? (my answer is pucche - hothu), kantu? (my answer is current ille). You asked that questions 50 times each few days ago. I was tired of answering. After you slept that I was finally saved. But the next day as soon as you woke up, you started with them again. And today is the 4th day, the questions seem never ending!
Whenever you do something good, you say "bashaath" (Shahbas!) to yourself and give a proud smile! You have two self discovered words : ashika (means keep brother down from my lap) and keethu (leave you in front of a tap and let you play in water).
I feel sad that I have left so many stories of yours while updating this diary, you are not giving me time to recall them. And even as I type, I got to keep an eye on the girl who is smiling at me, keeping her head between her legs and standing upside down right now!
