Adiv says...

Over the past couple of months, Adiv has been attempting conversation with the limited vocabulary that he's developed. His favorite word being KA - which would mean everything from water, a poopy diaper, a car, a bike, a tricycle and so on (Karnataka too perhaps - maybe he can read the registration number on our car ;-) ). Somewhere along the line, he also started words like mamamama or appachapapacha and we drew interpretations to what that meant. a couple of times he'd point to me and say mamma and I would vehemently correct him sayin... "I'm not mamma - that person there is mamma... I'm Dada".
Last week however, I'd tell him - "Go call Ammi" and he'd go stand near R and endearingly call her "Mi... Mi... Mi....Mi.." which is when i realized that i wanted him to call me "Dada" too. No matter how hard i tried getting him to say it, he didn't look in the least bit interested.
Over the past couple of weeks, Adiv has been on a new routine. We've been waking him up early so that he eats breakfast with me before I leave for work and I get to spend sometime with him. The routine works well, because he doesn't wake up at night for milk and is quite hungry when he is woken up at 7am.
Today however, we decided against waking him up and letting him sleep in as he had a late night. When I left home this morning, he was still asleep. However, as I was nearing my workplace, I received a text message from R which made my day - "Adiv got up and went around looking for you. Then he looked at me and said 'Dada?' "
Can't wait to get back home...

Adiv - Since Turning 1

After his birthday party, Adiv decided crawling was just too much of a hassle. Walking was definitely more fun. Then, even walking took a back seat. Running was way cooler, especially when you weren't holding Me's (That's moi) hand.

So that's my excuse for neglecting the blog. Now I spend my time running after Adiv, picking up after him, entertaining him, teaching him, and keeping him from getting hurt. The last one is a little tough though. A little bang here, a slip there, and a lot of wailing have become common now, and my mommy heart is finally getting tougher. If he isn't bleeding, vomitting or looking dizzy, he is probably okay! And to be absolutely sure, the doctor is just a phone call away!

Despite the fact that life is a lot busier now, it is also a lot more fun. He communicates rather well, though he doesn't say a lot. His first word was sadly neither Ammi/Mamma/Mummy or Dada. It was Car! He loves the car, and spends a lot of time behind the steering wheel pretending to drive. However, he never begins, unless he has worn Dada's sunglasses first. Then the music. You can't possibly drive without music (mostly Raffi when he is awake, and Radio Indigo after he has slept). After these few minutes of mimicing Dada, he is carried out amidst loud protests. Then one day, Dada decided to get a bike. Adiv wasn't sure he liked the bike as much as he liked the car. The car came with music and an airconditioner, didn't it?

At home,his cycles are his car and bike (the bigger cycle being the car, and the smaller one his bike). Like Dada who goes to work with his laptop, Adiv climbs on to his cycle with any bag that he can carry.

Yes, Dada is the big hero. What Dada eats, he'll eat, and what Dada does he'll do. ME takes care of his poopy diaper, his food, and his entertainment. Yeah, I sing, dance, and offlate, we've begun aerobics together. In an attempt to lose all my mommy weight (yeah yeah, I had him 14 months ago..but you need atleast a year before you lose the weight), I got myself a Jane Fonda video. I got the video months ago; and then told myself i'd taken the first step to losing weight (buying the video ofcourse). It took me several more months to start. With Adiv entertaining himself, it is a lot easier now. And when I need weights, I just pick him up!

Adiv is also proving to be quite a dancer. He has different moves for different beats. Now that gene he doesn't get from me. Dancing brings back distant memories of school, when I chose bharatnatyam classes over PT under the sun. I moved my fingers well, but not my body. So most often, I was just sitting around watching and applauding. Later in college, I danced only in discos (there was no threat of being mocked when surrounded by drunk people in places that had blinking lights). I did however enjoy music. I sang too, and spent a lot of time listening to music. I must take part credit for that gene of Adiv's. Since Ro is also musically inclined (he plays instruments by ear!!), I can't take full credit for the music gene.

So now, when we are in the midst of people, Adiv takes care of entertainment. Ro takes care of drinks, I pass around the eats, and Adiv dances, amusing everyone.

The little fellow is also quite the businessman in the making. On most evenings, you'll find us in the play area. Adiv sometimes takes his ball along, so he can play with his older friends (other one-year-olds bore him). I think he prefers older boys coz he thinks they are cooler, and they are also more indulgent. They usually let him have his way. But not this little fellow in the building. Two years older (though physically a LOT bigger), this innocent is a regular at the play area as well. He comes with his ball, his grandmother, and a live-in maid. In the beginning he was wary of Adiv. I'm assuming, the sight of a 1-year-old running excitedly towards you, saying gibberish is scary. Anyway, in time they were best friends. However, he still wasn't ready to share. Adiv had his own ball ofcourse, but he wanted his ball too. So he struck a deal. He gave him two pebbles in exchange for his ball. The other fellow agreed immediately. He happily pocketed the pebbles, and Adiv sat on the ground hugging two balls!

Adiv's world is fairly simple. He knows he can depend on his parents, despite all the disciplining that can be very annoying I'm sure. He loves Priyanka Chopra, prefers noodles over rice, and likes biting into an apple, enjoys bathtime, cuddles Pooh Bear and Elmo, drives his car, reads his books with as much fascination each time, messes up a well-made bed, loves shoes, knows he can melt his Me's heart with kisses, dances to Desi Girl, enjoys cooking, knows where dirty clothes should go, comes up with the most amazing games on his own, gets Dada and Me to play football.....................................................................................!

So yeah, life just become a lot more eventful! Adiv is a handful, but not a single day goes by when I don't think about what a miracle he is. Though we're teaching him about life, he has begun opening our mind to the simpler pleasures of life. In short, life is busy, but life is good!