Happy 8th, my sweetheart!

You have been calling 6th November as Manya Day since forever now. Works for us except that every day other than 6th has also become Manya Day for us ;).

I love how excited you get about your birthdays - I still do at my age. A party or not - we have the complete paraphernalia - balloons, flowers, decorations, cake, wrapped presents, handwritten cards - May you always find it in your heart to celebrate yourself and may you always be surrounded by people who love you and want to celebrate you for the amazing person you are. May you be worthy of their adulation and pride, always.

This time around your enthusiasm for your birthday was matched with the election fever that has caught you strong. When I look at you today, I cannot see the tiny baby we were blessed with 8 years ago - even though you did take over our lives like a storm even back then - there's so much more force and vitality to you. You are confident, strong, brave, and you move with a whirlwind pace. As you flit from one interest to another, one conversation to another, hurrying about - I want to just hold you and let time stand still. But that's the nature of time - it doesn't stop - it keeps flowing. 

I admire that you are a person who embraces varied interests and pursuits. You play with your dolls but also run amuck and go digging in the dirt and mud. You enjoy your girly giggles and gossips and can also talk politics and business when you need to. You pick a sewing needle with as much ease as a bleybade or a drone. You like your electronic gadgets but find time for your sketching pencils and paints and colors and paper and books too. Always remain like this - embrace all that you see and want - don't shut out worlds without experiencing them. There's always a fun adventure on the other side of everything. And most importantly - balance - it seems like an impossible concept to explain but I know you can feel it. Always remain connected to that voice. 

"Halfway to Sweet 16, Mom!" That is what you exclaimed today (after ofcourse asking who did Nevada go to!). It took me a while to even respond to that. How can that be right? 

My, you are 8! So do we say goodbye to the Sassy Sevens now? I asked you, in the spirit of alliteration, what would go with 8. "That's easy mom", you said. "Electrifying 8!" "Exquisite 8!" - Umm not exactly what I had in mind but well okay - that then till I find something more appropriate :p

We love you!!!

Sunny days!

(A very agitated) Manya: Oh no! The sun is out again!
Me: That maybe a good thing - we can go out in the morning and evening.
Manya: No, the sun is so strong it hurts me. I dont want to go anywhere. I want the sun to get lost.
Me: Umm. It is not so bad. I mean it can get uncomfortable but the sun is very important for us.
Manya: No, it is not. 
Me: Manya you are just like mommy. I don't like the sun too.
Manya: Then can you please shout at the sun and ask it to go back.
Me: I have tried. It doesn't work.
Manya: Nobody listens to mommy. Only Manya listens to mommy.
Me (with a sigh): That maybe true.

P.S. So many complaints about the sun when we are in a place that gets barely 150 days of sunshine in a year out of which half are just partly sunny days. Oh, and if you are wondering what the temp is: 70F/21C currently!

Love, Hugs, and Kisses

At present, M's world is divided into two clear categories: people, animals, insects, plants, things, places etc. that love her and those that don't. Or that she loves and doesn't.

 Ever had conversations with a pint sized know-it-all? This is how they go:

"Mommy bubbles love me." 

"I love spiders, spiders love me?"

"Birds love Manya"

"Does the man (some random guy on the road) love Manya?"

"Waters love Manya"

"Manya loves ducks"

"I love airplanes"

"Dogs love me"

...You get the drift.

What a loving, lovable child, you say. Wait till you see how this love translates to the physical:

"Mommy, I want to hug the bubbles - I don't want the bubbles to get popped" (Often succeeded by loud whining from M, and exasperated sighs from me. WTF.)

"There's a spider in the garage, I am going to kiss it" (Succeeded by panic stricken - yuck, don't do it outburts from me)

"I want to hug the bird when it is flying" (Succeeded by frustrated attempts from me at explaining that human beings cannot fly)

"I want to hug the man" (really, WTF!)

"Water hugged and kissed Manya" (followed by a screaming session on why it is not okay to pour water on yourself at whatever pretext!)

"I want to hug the duck" (Succeeded by desperate running behind a maniac rushing into the pond)

"I want to kiss the whole airplane" (whatever f*&^ that means)

"Mommy, I just hugged and kissed the dog. It kissed me on my mouth and nose and face. (Followed by a cardiac arrest seeing M's wet face and lips and just hoping that the wetness of the lips is not because of ummn "kissing")

The list just goes on. There's too much love and PDA going around. 

(More about obsession with the canines in another post!)

HUG!

[Warning: This post is loaded with the "awwww" factor" :D.]

So Manya has really been picking up words - she's still ofcourse on the one word at a time communication stage - no phrases yet (and I believe that is a long way to go) but she sure has mastered the skill of getting her point across. For example, "Out", "Walk", "Play", "Book" (which means I should read to her), "See" (This is when I exasperatedly ask her what do you want to do - the cheeky brat says "See".), and so on. 

The cutest of these is of course is HUG, which basically means she is asking, nay, demanding to be hugged that very moment. This happens several times a day, and please note the smart pants' timing:

• She needs a hug when she wants to abandon her meal midway. (See this post on what other things she does for this.)

• She wants a hug when I am putting her to sleep - now try hugging a baby when she is already in your lap and you are walking with her. I explain (rather scream) to her that I am already hugging her but no - looks like there is a difference.

• She definitely wants a hug if her sleep gets disturbed at some god forsaken hour in the night.

• Just when I begin to eat or drink something, her highness comes demanding a hug.

• If I am at the laptop, hugs shall be needed every 3 minutes.

• Hug is also a topic changing strategy. If I start telling her a story that she doesn't want to hear or engage her in some activity that doesn't interest her, she cuts me midway and says hug.

• If I am talking on a phone, there is no way she can stay without the hug.

• Hug is also apparently a symbol of peace - a white flag that she hoists. If she is upto something that she isn't supposed and I happen to catch her, she quickly, in the cutest of tones, will say, hug. Ditto if I raise my volume or say NO.

If that is not all, the hug is said in the most endearing manner that try as much as I to convince myself that she is faking all the cuteness to get her way, I still cannot resist hugging her. What a drama queen we have, I tell you!

Everything's a Chase Game!

That Manya is the epitome of naughtiness would be an understatement. The mischievous twinkle in her eyes 24/7 and the squeals of delight when she has accomplished what she is not supposed to give her away. 

I have so many updates to make that one post wouldn't just be enough. So, will stick to her chase games in this one.

Everything, I repeat, everything is a chase game. There is not a single activity that I can do without having to chase her around the house. It starts the minute she wakes up. The moment her highness opens her eyes (which is usually at about 5:30/6 AM), she wants me to be up and about - asap. No snooze time at all - she is ruthless. Any resistance from me is met with a high decibel scream, followed by her exit from the bed and out of the bedroom door. I have to run after her, bring her back to bed, place her with daddy - bring her some toys and then finish my morning routine first. 

After that, at the first and every diaper change, the same game follows. I plonk her on her changing pad, put the straps on - she wiggles, and wriggles, and in the nano second that I turn around to either pull out a new diaper, wipe or her cream, she is off!!! Her joyful screams are met with Vish's paranoid ones as he is scared about what if she does something on the carpet!

We go to the kitchen and dining area for the morning milk. She will snuggle and cuddle till I fix the lid of her sipper. That's her clue - she knows I am ready - so she takes off. After a chase around the living room, we settle down for milk. This is again repeated religiously at all meal times.

Cut to nap times. "Manya, let's go to sleep." And there she goes running to the other end. I am telling you if I do not shed all my extra weight because of this, it would only be due to the fact that I am a certified glutton!

Wondering if the game is never reversed? If M doesn't chase us. She does. When Vish and I are changing our clothes, or if we are just out of a bath, or if she spots some bare parts when we are sleeping or lazying on the couch - she rushes to us to pinch all the bare skin she can lay her hands on - she claws at it and giggles till no end. Oh how it hurts. We have tried to say no in a hundred ways but somehow she doesn't get it. (And please, don't you dare say children do what they see because I swear Vish and I don't go around pinching each other!!!) 

Oh god, the games these children play :(!

Furry love

I have been wanting to do this quick post for a while now. For the last couple of months, M has been showing great affection to her furry friends - her soft toys. 

I have named each one and most of the times she also recognizes/identifies them by that name. For example, 'please get me Bruno', is followed by her hunting down her brown doggie.

That is not all, you have to actually see her "play" with them. She nestles the "head" of the toy in the crook of her neck or sometimes her chest and pats it, just like we pat her when she is in our arms. It doesn't end there, after her cuddling session, she promptly hands over the toy to Vish and me, and while gesturing, eggs us to pat it in a similar fashion. She makes sure we do that by standing on our heads with her arms folded in front of her, and if we slack of, she instantly shouts at us.

Lately, I have been noticing her walking with a few of her favorite ones (though it looks like she loves all of them equally but Minnie, Polo, and Dolly do get more attention - I feel :D) just like we walk with her at nap times. The funniest was, when the other day, she was showing Dolly the mirror, exactly how we show her mirror image to her! 

Lights, Camera, Action!

I think I have mentioned this before, but I cannot emphasize enough how camera conscious or rather not conscious (take your pick) my daughter is. The minute the camera is out, she stops doing whatever she is, and flashes a big grin (nowadays with her mouth wide open too). She then loves checking herself out in the camera preview option and let's not even get to the point when the pictures are uploaded to the laptop - it's sheer joy to see oneself, apparently.

The other fascination that she has always had is with light and light sources - even as a baby, a switched on bulb was enough to catch her intention. Then much as she hates the sun in her eyes, she likes how the stray rays enter the room at various times of the day and the funnies part - she open her mouth so that the rays fall into her mouth. Remember dhoop from Koi Mil Gaya? Anyways, given her appetite, I guess "dhoop" might be her sustaining source!

The revenge of the angel!

I had just finished posting about how M uses books here, that her highness has come up with a new antic - and this is not an antic - it is an obsession. She has now decided she wants to have all the books read to her all the time. I am a borderline believer in karma - but this quick punishment for my apparently blasphemous post is scary, to be very frank.

To give you the complete picture, she gets up in the morning, and as I prepare her milk, she fetches a book for me to read. Milk is sipped only if I read at the same time. Ditto for breakfast, lunch and supper and all the time in between. Sometimes, we go over the same book atleast 10 times, before she fetches another one. What irritates me the most is that she only "pretends" to listen in rapt attention, all her focus is on when I turn to the last page so that she can go get another book!

This obsession has reached to the point that when Vish comes home from work, before he is able to remove his shoes, a book is flung at him to be read. She wakes up from her nap, and in that half slumber-half awake state, she crawls to the first book she can spot, and gives out that low-shrilled cry. 

Apart from the fact that I am tearing my hair out and losing my voice over this sudden "passion", I have realized that in the last one week, I must have read every book atleast 50 times. I swear I can rattle off those books word for word in my dreams!

Don't you dare say, "Awww, how cute." We found it very endearing for the first two days, slightly annoying the next day, very irritating the fourth day, completely frustrated on day five and now we are on the 7th day and have been reduced to a helpless state - we have resorted to hiding books under the couch and what not. Nothing distracts her. We are at our wits' end and are now planning on buying her a new, big, nice toy as a distraction. Wait a minute, is that what this is all about? We'll soon know.

Beginning to assert independence...

Look who has started taking the right to freedom to heart already! Our almost-11-month-old is quite the cheeky brat. And here are some instances to prove my accusation :).

1. She insists on popping her teething tablets into her mouth on her own. It doesn't matter that they are so tiny, that she takes a while to get a hold of them and then plonk it in. Most of the times, I'd rather not have her dirty them and hence lose their effectiveness before they even enter her system. So, I do the honors - but lately that has become an ordeal. She promptly pulls the tablets out from her hand and then puts them back on her own. Now, if I hold her hands so that she doesn't reach for them - she just sticks her tongue out and spits the tablets. What am I supposed to do?

2. If she wants a toy from her toy box, she wants to fetch it herself. If I see her struggling, and out of sheer maternal love, I hand the toy to her which is obviously not within her reach - her ego is massively offended. She immediately throws the toy back into the box and begins struggling for it all over again - getting all frustrated in the attempt. Oh well, so be it, I say. 

3. If I try to get her to eat a spoon or more after she has indicated that she is done (by clamping her mouth so firmly shut), she holds my spoon with such a strong grasp, pulls it from my hand and flings it to the farthest corner of the room. Maybe, I should take the shut mouth indication as the final "done".

4. Madame also wants to hold her own straw cup - doesn't matter if it takes her a while to figure out where to suck from - and doesn't matter at all if the juice/water/milk is sprayed all over the carpet.

Watch out this space for more harassment that I face :).

Play & Learn!

That's the name of M's classes. Yes, yes, first small step towards structured activity for M. 

Actually, Vish and I were wary of the fact that Manya gets to see only the both of us on a daily basis. Even when we do take her out, there's no real interaction with other people, barring the friendly few who stop to chat. (I have to join a mommy's club too - have been postponing that - some day for sure :)) 

A friend was quite happy with the Gymboree classes, and these also seemed to be quite popular in the few mommy forums that I am a part of. 

So, last weekend we went for a preview Level 2 (6 to 10 months) class. I was a little apprehensive taking M to the Level 3 (10 - 16 months) class for fear that my tiny little babe might get squashed or bullied by bigger/older children. 

Haa! Looks like we have a much tougher nut in the making. She was quite obviously advanced for the Level 2 class. The activities weren't challenging enough and she was all over the place. Not to mention the fact, that she was taking other kids' toys, blissfully ignorant of the fact that she was leaving howling babies behind. The funniest was that a crying 9 month old baby was being hushed by his mom, and her highness crawls right to that corner and claps at the baby. She obviously does not know when to clap (or so we hope :)).

We were asked to preview the Level 3 class as her teacher very politely put it, "Manya will have more fun with older children." Hmm. So, this weekend we did preview that class, and most of my fears around "my poor little baby being lost" were quite unfounded. The games and activities were a little tough for her - she couldn't do quite a few - which is good because she was trying her best to and we'll see some progress in the weeks to come. 

Also, the class is fairly balanced - there were two more children at M's level and then two more who were already walking with little or no support. There was one big guy who most definitely was also the oldest, who our darling daughter took an instant fancy for. She crawled all the way to the entrance to welcome him. The boy did return the appreciation with equal fervor, and it was more than just a couple of times that I had to swoop M from in front of his determined charging onward :)

Another observation: M might just be an extrovert like her mom - the ease with which she mingled with the babies and their parents, without really clinging onto me or Vish, was something that managed to surprised (an outgoing) me too! She also was at her babbling best and showed a lot of curiosity in exploring all the equipment available.

We have now enrolled M on Level 3 weekly classes and if nothing else, my regular quota of entertainment is assured!

The first "real" outdoor outing!

Though Manya has been to the grocery stores, clinics, pharmacies, and even on a social visit and a long drive, she had her first "real" outdoor outing a couple of days back when we took her for a short visit to the East Potomac Park and the Tidal Basin in Washington DC to catch the last of the cherry blossoms.

We left the house at 6:15 AM. Yes, I got the AM bit right. Manya is the most active, cheerful and predictable in the mornings. So after a quick feed, we packed ourselves in the car to view the rising sun on the 267. We parked at the East Potomac Park - quite a prestigious spot :D. Though there were quite a few vacant lots, we were surprised at the number of early morning visitors. 

Her royal highness was very cooperative and supportive of our walk around the Tidal Basin, till the goddamn sun came out and hit her face. She lost all patience and howled. Oh, god, she must have really gone on me. I too so hate the sun on my face. So, we had to cut short our grand plans of the entire walk around and after soaking in the views for about 45 minutes, we were on our way back.

Most important lesson learnt:

• Expose Manya to bright light outings more often. We can't do without the sun now, can we?

All in all, I gave Manya a very high 9/10 for the trip, considering her sun-hating genes are not entirely her fault.

(P.S. Don't even ask about the pictures. No, don't you dare go there. The SD card ate them all up and I have still not gotten over the loss. Almost, as if Manya punished us for the sun :()

Good Morning, Sunshine!

This has been consistently happening for more than the last fortnight or so. Manya wakes up every morning anytime between 5:30 and 6:30. She looks at her left and then at her right to find mommy, then daddy. And then, she looks us in the eye and gives a smile, which changes into a huge grin and then a giggle, a loud chuckle and then extremely loud gurgles. 

It's almost like she is surprised to find us around the minute she opens her eyes and is expressing her joy at seeing us - it's very funny ofcourse, because the whole night she has been sleeping between us, and mommy has been waking up ever so frequently in the night to feed her! 

It also is the sweetest thing ever (even if I discount the fact that when you become a mom, everything your child does becomes undoubtedly the cutest thing ever :P) because whatever be the ordeals of the night or the weather that day, she fills our bedroom and hearts and lives with so much sunshine.

I sincerely believe (or want to believe) Manya is, by nature, very cheerful. Touch wood. I hope she maintains this personality trait forever. It will always be her biggest asset.