Avni

Anikutty, Okay....mama got lazy and busy. Hence a combined post for your 7th and 8th year.Now am drawing a blank when I try to think of your 7th year. So what do I do? Like any good mom  I turn to photos and FB posts for help! The major thing in the 7th year was you agreeing to cut your long hair for a worthy cause. I must have noted in my previous birthday post how you adored your long hair and wanted to keep it long. I was growing my hair too to donate for cancer patients but was very disappointed to find out that they dont accept bleached hair. So ammamma agreed to donate hers on my behalf and in a heartbeat you wanted to donate too. It was a very bold decision for a 7 year old who adored her long hair. We were so proud of you! Thats when I knew for sure that you have a very kind heart my little princess. And the best part is you looked so cute in short hair. You looked like a rockstar! School was exciting for you and you grew very close with Mrs.Silva and Emerson. Mrs.Si...

6 is a big number especially when it marks the number of years you have been a mother. Yes my motherhood has turned 6 and so did my first born. When did she grow up so fast. In a blink I think. Sometime in the last year I heard the phrase "I know,I know mama" several times from my baby and I knew she is not my baby anymore. I'm very proud of her growth but the mother in me wants to cling on to the pure innocent baby in her. She is smart,witty, quick to learn and ahead of her peers and all that makes us proud but I can slowly see the world penetrating into her and the baby fading away. Well that's how it is supposed to be, I guess. Major achievement this year was starting official education. White Oaks is a great school and she loves it. The bus ride is a source of major excitement. She still struggles with making the right friends.  Kumon has come a long way. She is on honor roll and reading like a pro. We dont need to push her too much to get the homework done. It ...

5.....That's a big number! When did our lil girl grow so fast? I can still hear you saying "sive" for "five"....When did you grow out of that? I think it all happened in a blink! I'm still in denial and hence the delayed yearly post. Its been 2.5 months since you turned 5 and since then it has been on my mind always that I should write this post but the denial part of me kept postponing. If I had to use a single word to describe your fifth year I would choose the word "adventurous". You were introduced to several new things this past year and you came out doing well in all of them.We started you off with Kumon and it did you good. You can read very well now and it is such a joy to see you read. Same goes with your math skills. We pretty much knew you were going to do well in those areas but what shocked us the most is how you took up swimming. It was a pain taking you to swim lessons every saturday morning and then almost everyday in summer for f...

Brat comes home yesterday with all the valentine gifts she got from her classmates and teachers. A bag full of goodies ,mostly tattoos,3D stickers and a few candies. We   go through all the gifts and I tell her who gave her what. She is super excited about everything and collects all of them in a pile. Then she pulls out an art work mainly consisting of various hearts in different colors and sizes glued together and with magnets behind it so that it can be put on the fridge. It was her art project from class for V-Day. She hands it to me saying “This is for you mama”. I’m so moved and I put it very safely on the fridge. I ask her to put the rest of the gifts in her room and walks away. She comes back asking if she can gift the same magnet to Neeru and I agree. She runs to her brother with her artwork and says “See Neeru this is my valentine gift for you” and hugs him. Then she skips off to her room happily to put away the gifts. I felt so touched and proud of my little girl. T...

Anikutta, You,my lil girl is all of four years now! To put it in your words "a very big girl...". This year mama went all out to celebrate your birthday. I made plans month in advance.,the menu and cake was decided weeks in advance and everything went just right and just as planned. I couldnt have done it better. I felt this need to make this birthday special as your 3rd birthday was a low-key affair and this year was important as you are no more a toddler but a pre-schooler. So on your birthday which was conveniently on a Saturday, you woke up early all excited and happy. You went downstairs and saw all your gifts (which ammamma,buwa and mama wrapped up neatly the previous night) and couldnt wait to open them. Buwa asked you to wait for mama and dada to wake up ,which you did very impatiently. Mama made pancakes and sausage for breakfast which you enjoyed. You opened all your gifts with so much excitement and mama recorded it but soon the recorder stopped working :( Your...

Mama was reading a book to the brat about numbers and counting. The book illustrated how to count the duckies who sat in a row. Mama thought of an even better idea to teach the pintsize a few math lessons. So this is how it went. Mama:So Avni mama give you 2 candies. Brat (with gleaming eyes): OK Mama: Now I give you two more candies. How many candies you have. Brat: 4! Mama (feeling proud):Good job!Now I take two candies.How many you have. Brat (almost crying):No mama you cant take my candies....Its my's (she means mine) Mama:Ok.I dont take...so you have 4 candies.I give you two more.How many you have? Brat:6! Mama (overwhelmed with maternal pride):Good job!I'm so proud of you.Now lets sleep. Brat:So when will you give me the candies???? Mama:Huh! Reminded me of the scene from Punjabi house movie involving Janardhanan and Cochin Haneefa!!!