A house with kids

has Donald Duck and Kangaroo in their beds

has diapers and coloring books in their shelves

has plastic fish, duck and frog in the buckets in their bathroom

has stroller, skateboard, cycles in their car park.

and balls of all shapes and sizes all over.

D D and D D

Demanding Daughter is the one who wants her dad's specs and cries everytime it is hidden away from her.
Doting Dad is the one who gets the glasses removed from that frame and fitted into a new one but still wears the old frames without glasses so that the daughter can grab it and play safely with it.

Tunmun gets her favourite toy and Vibhu gets a bill of 3500/-
I did not know that such a big man could be wrung around such a tiny finger.

Conversation with 3.5 year old

Conversation as it happened between Venky and Vibhu, on the way to Venky's school bus pick up point at 7.30 am

Venky and Vibhu meet our next door neighbor who is walking his dog.
"Papa, I am not afraid of that dog"
"Wow, you are a very brave boy Venky!"
"Papa, do you know why I am not afraid of the dog?"
"Because you just ate your breakfast and you are strong now?"
"No, because uncle is holding the dog's leash. It cannot bite me!"

A few houses down the line
"Papa, I am not afraid of this dog too."
"Why?"
"Because it is behind the gate of that house, it cannot come out and bite me."

Okey.. Vibhu gets the pattern now. Still more houses down the line, they come across a house with a pet parrot. The parrot's cage is hanging in the balcony.
"Papa, I am not afraid of that parrot too!"
"Because it is inside the cage?"
"Noooooo Papa! Because it is HERBIVOROUS !!" 

Tunmun has her way

Grab, grab, grab

and Sitting up and grab, grab, grab again.

Highest on the hit list is Vibhu's specs. She gets angry if Vibhu takes it off before picking her up. Today, Vibhu was rocking her to sleep. After she had closed her eyes for a while, Vibhu put his specs back. Tunmun opened her eyes momentarily and in her half slumber state grabbed it!

My girl sure knows what she wants. Signs of tough time in store for us!

Bedtime Story

There was a poor but honest woodcuter. One day as he was cutting a branch of a tree, his axe slipped from his hand and fell into the river underneath. The woodcutter did not have money to buy another axe, so he started crying. The river god took pity on the woodcutter and appeared with a gold axe.

"Is this your axe?"

"No", said the woodcutter.

 The river god came back with a silver axe.

"Is this your axe?"

"No", said the woodcutter.

The river god now came back with the woodcutter's axe

"Yes. this is my axe", said the woodcutter.

The river god was impressed with the woodcutter's honesty and gave him the gold and silver axe too.

Vibhu - "Venky, what is the moral of this story?"

Venky - "That we should be careful when we cut trees"

Rock Star Indeed

A few days ago, we had a childrens' psychologist's lecture in Venky's school (Hi -Fi school, yeah!).  Vibhu attended the session as I had to stay with Tunmun. The counsellor talked about 3 main issues with kids of this age (3 - 4 years).

1. Eating problems - Nopes, not my kid.  He does fuss a little during dinner time, but that is more because he does not like eating rotis in particular. Venky is able to have a balanced diet over the day with cereals, veggies, apple and egg. Not to forget 3 glasses of milk :)

2. Hyperactivity - This means highly active destructive kids. Venky can probably be classified as super active but not destructive. He loves to run and jump around but is never on a breaking spree. He also cleans up after the play

3. Possesiveness - Big NO for Venky. Venky is always ready to give away even his last piece of chocolate. If anything, I am worried about his excess philanthrophy :)

So Vibhu just sat silent through the whole session while other parents put forth their problems. Later, he narrated the experience to me with a lot of pride. We have a rock star indeed! :-)

Chatterbox

is what Tunmun has become.
"Ba babub" "Dayedaye" "Nananah" "MammmMammm"
Yup. She can make all these sounds. That's a lot of vocabulary for a 6 months minus 10 days old. And mind you, you are supposed to respond back. She loves it especially if you talk back to her in her own language. So, in between those sounds, comes the gurguling laughter. Aaah .. the joys of motherhood.
Tunmun wants conversations. When she's in a playful mood and is blabbering away, I often take the opportunity to do my own stuff. But as soon as I turn away, the blabber turns into crying. "Look at me Momeee. I am talking to you!" The only time I can turn away from her is when she is napping (which lasts full 15 minutes).Aaah .. the joys of motherhood.
So, that's my roly poly gullu pullu cutooo chatterbox. At full 6 months minus 10 days. Who talks and is almost sitting up. But rolling over? Naaah.. too much effort. She'd rather just talk.

Overheard

Vibhu - "Venky, tell me a lie"
Venky (almost immideately) - "Papa, I don't suck thumb"
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Venky - "Papa, where are you going?"
Vibhu - "How do you know I am going out?"
Venky - "Papa, you are wearing jeans" (Vibhu is normally in Pajjus at home)
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Venky - "Mommy, do you know what Tunmun has in her mouth?"
I (panicking) - "What?"
Venky - "Rasgollas" (That's Tunmun's chubby cheeks)
I - "And what do you have?"
Venky - "Butter!"
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Since my Sleepyhead is not so sleepy anymore and is giving me a hard time napping and waking up many times at night. I am going to anti jinx her sleep pattern by changing the blog name. What is it going to be now - well, its there for you

Mostly Updates

1. Tunmun's Annaprashan - Madame decided to poop right when the pooja was about to begin. And while she was at it, she emptied her whole stomach. Result? Poop leaked out of diaper and went all the way up till her back soiling her beautiful new clothes. So, right before pooja, we had to clean her meticulously. Give her a bath again. And wash her soiled clothes

2. Tunmun's Rollover - Madame is 5 months now. No signs of rolling over. She would rather just lie still and talk - already saying "da-da" now. And by the way, she gets bored if left alone and gets cranky. You are expected to talk back to her. Madame likes discussions even though she is quite opinionated!

3. Venky's mood - is going great. After a hard monsoon which had left him sick, Venky's temprament had taken a serious hit. He had gotten short tempered and cranky. So much, that we had started worrying if it had become his nature. But now, my rock star is back. That's my loving, caring and responsible boy!

4. My office - I joined back. Half time. So far, its going good. I don't have to be away from Tunmun for too long and it gives me my much desired break :-)

The other day, Venky cuddled up to me in the morning and held my had half asleep. After a while, I felt his hand missing. I my slumber I tried to search for his hand. Venky realized this and held my hand again. Role reversal is happening already :-)

And now I become a metric

The parting words from my gynac after 6 week checkup were "Now go on, lose that weight". Yeah, I gained and gained during pregnancy and shedding seems no where in sight. The only exercise is taking the baby out on a stroller in the evening (which happened 2 times in the last two weeks thanks to the rainy rainy monsoon).

The whole Hyderabad has ongoing sales and I so want to buy new clothes. But what size should I buy? The one that I currently am or the one I hope to be in the next one year. Time and again I lament my lost shape and Vibhu gives me a patient ear and pep up speech "Its only been 3 months and you are feeding. You'll be back to pre pregnancy weight in an year. If anything you look good."

So, while I keep wondering about my weight .. just how fat am I? Should I trust the scales or the husband? We took Venky to see Ganesha idols across the city.  We saw some small ones and some big ones. Finally we landed on an idol which seemed the largest of all but was not clearly visible. Vibhu took Venky for a closer look at the idol while I waited in the car with Tunmun. When Venky came back, he was super excited and said "Mommeee.. the idol was soooo BIG, tumse bhi jayada huge tha".

Well, I HAVE to lose this flab now!

Traffic Rules

Vibhu and Venky were driving to his school. The road was fairly empty. They pass through a traffic signal.

Venky - "Papa, was the light green or red?"

Vibhu (irritated that Venky still does not know his colors) - "Don't you know colors yet? It was red!"

Venky - "Papa, then why did you not stop?"

Next time we were driving through an empty signal and the light was red, Vibhu applied the brakes right on time.

Colors

I was waiting for Venky to learn to color, for that is one activity that can keep kids sitting and busy. That time has come. Venky is now on his 2nd Jumbo coloring book. Like all kids, he loves coloring. Finally he's found one activity that he can enjoy that can keep him in one place. But there is a catch. I should color with him! While he is coloring one page of the book, I should color the other! So much for my wishful thinking for peaceful FREE time!

So, here I am. Coloring pages after pages. Much to my surprise, I enjoy it just as I used to when I was a kid myself. Its true that kids color your life - literally! :)

Baby Breath

After the feeds, I hold you propped up on my shoulders for five minutes, waiting for you to burp. Your face is so close to mine, barely inches away. I keep staring at you for I have never seen something so pretty. I revel in your baby scent for I have never known a smell so sweet. That moment is solely and completely mine. Those five minutes after every feed, they make the nausea, the labor, the sleepless nights, oh, so worth it!

Fast Forward

Venky - "I am growing so fast, I will become 11 years very soon."

I - "Yes, you will."

Venky starts counting and stops only at 40.

"I will become 40 years very soon."

"When you will be 40 years old, you will also have a baby like Tunmun."

I had promised myself that I will not nag my kids to become parents after being at the receiving end by all the ladies of the previous generation. But I see myself not letting a chance go already!

"Mommy, what will you name her?"

"You will name her Venky." Secretly, I am thrilled at the prospect of him letting me name his babies

"I will name her Aditi"

"That's a nice name."

"And Tunmun"

"Tunmun"?

"Yes, like you call her Tunmun" Venky points to his baby sister.

"You mean, ghar ka naam (pet name)"?

"Yes, ghar ka naam."

"Do you know, what is your ghar ka naam"?

"Yes, house no 47 ....." And Venky recites our full address :). That is where our discussions on his future end.

The Night Owl

is what Tunmun has become. For the past week she has been sleeping like a log during the day and been up all night. This has resulted into Vibhu and Venky shifting into another room so that Venky can be up in the morning to go to the school and me struggling with her alone till the wee hours of the morning. Sigh .. the joys of parenthood !

And Miss T, I am the one who rocks you throught the night, but you chose to give your first smile to Big B. That is fine. But that you smile ONLY at him is JUST NOT FAIR! I deserve at least that much for .. well, I don't want to cite the old hindi movie dialog "maine nau maheene tumhe apne kokh mein pala hai.", but heck, that's true! I've worked the hardest. Now c'mon, give me that heart melting smile of yours!

And please, please, please start sleeping during the nights again.

And the first smile goes to

The BiG B. Who else ? While Vibhu and I were making funny sounds at Tunmun, she looked away in a 3rd direction. Venky came there and cooed "Hi choti behena" and lo and behold! He gets a smile!

Chuha Billi ki kahani

Vibhu - "Venky, billi ko english mein kya bolte hai?"
Venky - "TOM".

No points for guessing what is chuha called in english.

The Realization of SELF

I have heard that babies initially think that they are just an extension of their parents. Mother mostly. As they grow older they learn that they are independent entities - that is called the "realization of self". It manifests itself in the form of ego.

Venky as a toddler has put me to shame many times through his selfless acts. I have blogged about it here and here. He has taught me the most important lessons of my life. To forgive. To demostrate love. That a hug can take the whole stress away.

Venky is 3 now. He is slowly changing. We can see that he is developing an ego. Its harder for him to say sorry.  If we schold him he sulks and walks away (as against coming and hugging us and saying sorry). Sometimes he shouts back. Its harder to pacify him when he sulks. Hugs and I love yous don't work easily anymore.

Today Venky was throwing a tantrum after bath. I asked him why he was angry. He said "Because papa is angry. I will not get ready till he remains upset." I told him that it was not the way to pacify someone who was angry and that he should go and hug papa and say sorry. Venky did go and hug Vibhu after that but did not say sorry.

Sigh. I have teach him now what he taught me. That love and affection should be prioritized above ego. That forgiving and letting go  makes a person happier than holding grudges. Its going to be a tough task ( aren't men all about their egos?). Hopefully he'll be able to learn some of the values that he demontrated in his toddler avataar from me.  That is, till his own toddler teaches him those!

Tunmun

Tunmun takes after her dad. She is a sleepyhead. Anytime, anywhere - bam! They can sleep. When she is not sleeping, she is feeding. Its amazing that genes show up at such an young age ;-)

Jokes apart, fatherhood for Vibhu is incredibly easy this time around. I had an easy pregnancy. The delivery was normal too and Vibhu was not a bundle of nerves like last time. In fact he was totally chilled. We already had all the baby supplies from Venky's time. So, no running around either. And oh! she's letting us sleep!! Venky was such a horrible sleeper that Vibhu wanted to stick to having a single child. Oh, God! I realize that I am alredy comparing my two kids!!!

Motherhood is a lot easier too. I guess right expectations and experience helps. And like I said, she's letting us sleep (BIG KALA TIKA). Post natal recovery has been great. Vibhu was so impressed with my high spirits that he gave me a surprise gift. A diamond ring!! :-)

Venky is being extremely cooperative. It's great to see his natural affection for his sibling. He comes in an coos "Hi chotu baby", "Hi choti behna" once in a while in the midst of his play and gently strokes her hair and/or kisses her feet (we've told him that small babies can be kissed only on the feet).

The other day, some of our friends came over to see the baby. Their son who is Venky's age, touched Tunmun's cheeks. Venky was quick to tell him - "Don't disturb her, she is sleeping". Big bro keeping bad guys away from little sister!! She'll have a hard time as a teenager :-)

First Reactions

May 23, 2010. I am in labor. Everyone is in the hospital. Venky is at home with the nanny.

12.18 pm. The little one arrives. Grandpa calls up at home to let Venky know.

Grandpa - "Venky, you have a little sister!"

Venky - "Haila! Now who will play cricket with me!?!"

Venky later asked me when his brother was going to come. Fresh from the memory of labor I folded my hands and asked him to spare me.

The empty nest syndrome

Although it's a little early for the syndrome to hit us, we had a taste of it last night. We have been asking Venky to sleep with his grandparents for sometime now so that when the new baby arrives, he does not get disturbed at nights. Venky has been resisting it all this while.

After the arrival of his grandparents during this summer vacation, Venky is slowly warming up to the idea (thanks to the treats being promised to him if he does so). For the last one week, Venky has been promising his grandparents that he will sleep with them, but he does a flip flop once its bed time and sleeps with us. Yesterday, he took it one step further and said that he will finish his milk and story telling session with us and then join his grandparents to sleep with them. Well... we had no hopes that he will keep his promise.

So, Venky finished his milk as I read out two books to him and while I was on the third. He promptly snatched the book from my hands and kept it back - "We will finish the story tomorrow. Dadu is waiting for me!"

We were taken aback. One, he never lets a story go unfinished and two, he was actually going over to sleep with Dadu and Dadi. Before we could recover, Venky had already run away to their room. When I got up to switch the lights off, Vibhu said - "Don't lock the door. Venky will return soon." I too, had no doubts that he will.

We waited and waited and waited. No sign of Venky. Vibhu said - "I do not like sleeping without him." I  gave him a lecture on being pragmatic and "letting go!", but I was feeling pretty much the same - almost like being betrayed. How could he not come back?!

I wondered if we were going to turn into nagging, possesive, interfering parents once he grows up, who go into depression once their kids leave home (empty nest syndrome). Once again it made me glad that we decided to have another baby. Hopefully, it will take the attention off Venky and give him some breathing space.

An hour later, Vibhu was asleep and I was about to doze off when the bedroom door opened with a bang and Venky walked in. He climbed up onto our bed and snuggled into my arms. What a lovely feeling it was! "Why did you come back Venky?" I asked.
"I did not like it without you.", he replied.

Vibhu woke up too. The way they hugged and cuddled, you'd think they've met after years! :-)
Venky then climbed on to his bed and slept and we slept with a smile too. Today is another day and we will try to convince Venky (and ourselves) to sleep with his grandparents again :-)

The beauty or the beast?

No points for guessing what Venky prefers.

Vibhu, MIL and I are discussing  the possible names for the forthcoming baby. Name options for both the boy and the girl are suggested and rejected. No concensus is being reached. Venky is getting impatient, he wants us to read him a story book.

Vibhu to his mom - "Suggest some names of Durga. SS likes Durga"

Venky - "I like Mahishasur!"

If only he could name his sibling! :)


ETA 
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FYI fellow mommy bloggers-  Indusladies is coming up with an ebook with a listing of all the mommy blogs on the event of mother's day.

3 years

And where did they go? Three years ago, at this time I was such an overwhelmed mommy. Two hour feed cycle, nappy changing,  the burp sessions -how badly I wanted to run away. But before I could make up my mind on that, you grew up!

And now you little man, you are even helping me around the house. You willingly carry the load for me - to the washing machine, out of the car, up the stairs. Most of the times the load seems a bit much for your size but you do it easily. And your dad tells me  "he's a boy!"

Indeed you are! You play only cricket and football. You know when a ball is a spin or bouncer or wide. You know when you get LBW. You have never been even remotely interested in the soft toys. You started riding a cycle before you were one and broke your first cycle when you were 1.25. From then on, we only got you cycles that were made of steel. 3 years have seen 3 cycles. The latest one being a bicycle which you drive easily.

Its so tough to make you sit. Thankfully, you do like being read stories. So, whenever mommy wants to make you sit, she can read you one. Poor dad cannot even do that. Being with dad for you means jumping all over him. Climbing on him and treating him like a horse. God! Seeing you two play makes me tired!

You are amazingly sharing. And that is something that we have not made any effort to teach you. You are ready to share even the tiniest bit of your choclates. Including your favorite ones. I have already blogged about how you are ready to give away your stuff to your expected sibling.

I can go on and on. How you give a logical answer to every question. How you behave responsibly when you understand the gravity of the situation (like someone is hurt). How tolerant you are and that you have never cried while vaccination or while giving blood samples such that even the doctors are amazed. Even in sickness and pain you cooperate in taking treatment and medicines. You excude independence and pretty much bathe, dress and do your potty yourself. You never like assistance and get annoyed when it is forced upon you.

My baby is growing into a big boy way too fast. Before I became a mother I never wanted to have kids. You showed me a whole new beautiful world. The sheer happiness quotient of my life has increased many folds. The moment I meet you, all my stress is gone! Thanks to all your stories and witty answers I have a hearty laugh multiple times a day. Your dad says I've taken a 180 degrees turn. So much so that I changed my mind about having only one kid and now your sibling is all set to arrive!

Happy 3rd Venkoo. Looking forward to many more happy and fun filled times with you. And don't grow up so fast! :-)

Venky the Menace

Mommy went shopping and bought expensive cosmetics.Once back, she put the shopping bag on the dining table and went into the bedroom to do something. Venky promptly examined its contents and then came smiling and hiding his hands behind his back. Mommy examined Venky's hands which smelt GOOD. Venky proudly said "Let me show you". Mommy panicked. She got visions of her Shehnaz Hussain creme's bottle shattered into pieces. Venky proudly showed how he had spread her hair conditioner all over the floor. The Shehnaz Hussain creme had been attempted to be opened but thankfully they pack it well. Mommy was just glad that her creme has been saved.

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Mommy shouted at Venky for cleaning up his scattered toys. Venky cried (but he cleaned up the mess). Papa felt bad for the "small baby". Papa took Venky in his arms and sweet talked him. Venky pulled Papa's new Reebok T Shirt and blew his nose into it.

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Dadi left her dupatta on the bed while she was having her lunch. Venky finished his lunch and en-route to the washroom spotted the dupatta. He promptly picked it up and flushed it in the loo! Thankfully one corner of the dupatta was visible and it was pulled out, else we would have had a broken bathroom.

An Obvious Answer

I have to write the conversation in this post in hindi, else it will miss the impact

Hyderabad is getting hotter everyday. With temperatures soaring, we have been taking a quick bath right before bed time to cool ourselves. So, this is the conversation that happened yesterday between Vibhu and Venky

Vibhu - "Venky, nahaoge?"

Venky - "Haan."

Vibhu decides to tease Venky a bit - "Chodo na! Kya karoge naha ke?"

Venky (matter of factly) - "Pochenge."

We laughed for full 10 minutes :)

The Big B

Venky is already one. In mind that is. He has to wait till June to be Big B for real. Yup guys, there's "good news". Venky will have a sibling come June :)

We started "preparing" Venky as soon as we learnt that I had concieved. Venky took the "news" like, well.... a "news". 'You are going to have another baby. Fine. Big deal !" No, that was not what he said. That is what his attitude was.

Now, Venky has pretty much internalized the fact that he is going to be a big brother. He thinks that my huge tummy is going to burst open like a baloon from my naval and the baby is going to jump out.

Venky - "Mommy. My slippers have become small. You can keep them for the small baby. Buy me a new pair."

He made us buy him a new pair. When we got home, Venky brought a plastic bag, kept his old slippers neatly into it and put it nicely into the shelf that is now designated for the new baby.

Oh, my non-possesive, sharing little rock star is ready to give all his stuff to the new baby. Only, he wants the new replacements! :)

Venky's toy bucket was overflowing. So, one weekend I sat down to sort out the stuff he was not playing with. Venky wanted to know what I was doing with his toys. I told him that I was keeping away the toys he does not play with for the small baby. Venky jumped in to help, and even gave away those toys that he still plays with. I was impressed, but I am still skeptical about his "sharing" attitude once he faces the reality. Lets see...

Me - "Venky what will you teach the small baby?"

Venky - "I willl teach him to brush his/her teeth. To drink milk from sippy cup. To eat on his/her own (Venky still has to do that BTW)..."

Me - "You keep an eye on him/her, okey? When you take him/her to the park, make sure s/he plays safely. If s/he is naughty, schold him/her and let mommy know. Don't let him/her go on the slide (Slide is banned for Venky also). "

Venky - "OK. But I can take him/her on my lap and hold him/her and slide slowly. Then it should be okey. Right?"

I loved the picture of togetherness Venky painted for me. That is exactly why I am having another baby. The answer to Venky question had to be an "Yes." My smartie thereby extracted the premission to get on the slide :)

I get the feeling that Venky will be a responsible, protective big brother. If its a sister for him, I am sure he will irritate her big time with his "protectiveness" during teenage. Good for me as a parent. I can just watch from the sidelines and grin :) Its like my job getting done without me having to do it.

If its a brother, he is sure to get a lot of hand me downs (I am already feeling sorry for the poor guy).  I can see a lot of broken stuff in my house. The brats jumping all over the house. Me shouting 24*7 and going insane.

Either ways, I kinda like the feeling of being a mom of TWO :)

Pigs can fly too.

As kids we used to often play this game called "Chidiya Ud". Essentially, two or more people should have their one finger on the table. One of the players is supposed to call out
"Chidiya Ud"  (Bird fly)
"Tota Ud"      (Parrot fly)

The other players are supposed to lift their fingers up in air in response. If the caller says something like
"Table Ud" (Table fly) - meaning an object which basically cannot fly, then the other players are not supposed to lift their fingers. If a player ends up lifting his/her finger, then s/he gets out and has to face punishment.

We recently taught this game to Venky. Its a handy game to keep the kids busy if you have to make them sit at a place without any props. One day, Venky and his dad were playing this game. Vibhu was calling out.
"Tota Ud"
"Kabootar Ud"

Venky's finger kept going up in the air.

"Snail Ud"

Venky lifted his finger again.

"Out, out! Venky is out. You lifted your finger. Snail does not fly." Shouted Vibhu.

Venky thought for a while. He then looked at me and asked.

"Mommy. Can the snail not fly if it goes on the aeroplane?"

I arbitrated and Venky stayed on in the game. How could I beat that logic? :-)

Perspective

I've introduced Venky to alphabets. Although his pre school which follows montessory style does not recommend it, I thought it was time. We are going to put him into a regular school starting June. Since Venky got admitted in PP1, I am worried that he should be at par with the rest of the class. So, I have started with standing line, sleeping line and simple letters like T, O, H etc.

Through Venky, I am learning that ability to read and write opens a whole new world to you. A world which was there right in front of you and you did not know that it existed. Its a complete new found power. A couple of days after we introduced Venky to the basic letters, we were driving on the road. Suddenly, Venky started shouting "T, T, T Mommmy TEeeee" with so much of excitement. I realized that he had identified the letter 'T' on a hoarding. He had suddenly discovered the meaning of something he had been seeing everyday.

From then on, everytime we are on road, we are identifying T, O, H, L, Q and the matrix is expanding. The excitement in Venky's voice when he spots a letter is palpable. And we cannot help being proud parents.

The other day, Vibhu bought a cricket set for Venky (he believes that if Venky starts early, he can be the future Sachin T). Before teaching Venky the game itself,  Vibhu decided to teach Venky the terminologies of the game.
"This is called a bat"
"This is the ball"
The Vibhu pointed to the stumps and said
"Do you know what is this?"

"Yes, Standing line. One, two, three standing lines!"

Venky then pointed to the bails and continued

"And this is a sleeping line!"

Heh. heh. Vibhu had his head in his hands but I was grinning ear to ear!

Reprimand of the day

My FIL calls up to talk with Venky. After having done his conversation with his grandpa, Venky hands over the phone to me. I talk to him addressing him as "Papa". After I hang up, Venky comes to me with a lifted finger and a stern expression on his face.

"You call Papa 'Jaaneman', you call Dadu 'Papa', what's wrong with you? You should call Papa as 'Papa', Dadu as 'Dadu' and Dadi as 'Dadi' ! "

Yesss Sir. Point taken!

Its a battleground

The game is on. Vibhu and me on one side and Venky on the other. And more often than not, the ball is in our court. After being duped and tricked, now we are being manipulated. Till now we have been able to save ourselves from the devil's traps (or so we think) but the day is not far when we helpless souls will be taken for a many rides.

You guys think I am panicking unnecessarily? And that my son is just a 2.5 year old innocent little kid? Well, listen to this story then... (you asked for it ;-)! )

Venky has to recite "Papa Chalisa" before he can get any favors from Vibhu. Now what is "Papa Chalisa"? Lets say Venky wants a chocolate.

Venky - "Mommy, I want a chocolate."
 Mommy - "Only one chocolate a day. You have had one today already!"

Venky knows now that Papa is his only hope

Venky - "Papa. I want one chocolate."
Papa - "What will you have to do for that."
Venky - "Papa, you are so nice. You love me so much. You make me cozy  and put me to sleep. You take me in your arms and feed me milk. You let me splash-splash water and bathe me. You take me out in the car. You also give me chocolates. I love youuuu papaaaaa."

This is followed by a hug and Venky gets a chocolate. Poor mom can only glare at the dad.

So, the other day we were planning to go out somewhere.

Venky - "Papa, I want to go out too."
Papa - "What will you have to do for that?"
Venky - "Papa you are so nice. You love me so much. You put me on the fornt seat of the car and take me out ....."

Like all the kids in the world, Venky is never allowed on the front seat. He is always belted in the rear seat. And like all the kids in the world he want to sit in the front of the car. Vibhu and I could only look at each other and shake our heads! Needless to say "Papa Chalisa" was followed by a tantrum to sit on the front seat.

Now what do you guys have to say? Little kid, eh? Should I run away before its too late?

And Venky got admitted to big school

We did not have too many choices. Our priority list looked like this
1. Chirec - Close by. Recommended by most. Has goot student - teacher ratio for small kids. Focus on acadamics for big kids. Starts taking exams from class 6
2. DPS - One of the traditional schools. Focuses a lot on academics. Starts taking exams from class 1
3. Oakridge International - Hi funda school. Focuses on "all round development." Doesn't have too much data on academics. Mostly good for small kids due to high teacher/child ratio. Good for kids who want to do higher studies abroad. For higher studies in India - not sure. Fees almost twice as much as the previous two schools.

Chirec was the first to give out admission forms and call for "observation." We were more nervous than we had been during our own 10th board exams. Once there, we met 4 other couples from the same office that Vibhu and I work in. All applying for nursary. Given that school had clearly said that they were looking for "diversity" - we were among the least diverse of the lot. Venky made himself comfortable but he refused to make any conversation with the teachers there and simply ignored all their questions. Our interview did not go very well too. They only asked "So, both of you work. Who takes care of him.?"

I find that question so irritating that the irritation must've shown on my face. Well, you know, I obviously do not leave him on streets and go to work. I just can't stand people who like to question parent's commitment to their kids. "Oh poor child, how does his stay without parents!". Excuse Me!!!! How dare you judge my parenting skills. I obviously have an arrangement that I and my child is satisfied with. How dare you suggest that I don't love and care for my child enough!

So that was the interview with Chirec.

And then we got to know that DPS planned to close its nursary and PP sections and begin schooling only from class 1 as they don't  have enough infrastructure. There goes our 2nd backup!

Next was Oakridge's "observation" day. Venky was in a good mood since morning. The waterfall outside the school's campus helped. Oakridge's had put some tri-cycles in their field next to the observation room for the kids to play with till they awaited their turn. So, by the time Venky went into the observation room he was in a great mood. He talked to the teacher. Identified all colors, animals and vegetables she asked him to. Put the beads in a string and had a discussion about "bournvita" health drink (which he has never tasted BTW). All in all, the observation routine went very well. The headmistress offered to take him in PP1 due to his rock-star performance and he was just within their age bar of 3 yrs for PP1 (for Chirec it is 3.5).

So, while we are still waiting for Chirec to respond back (interview happened more than a month ago), Oakridge's deadline came and we shelled out more money for Venky's PP1 admissions than what was required for our (mine and Vibhu's) entire education put together.

Venky is going to Oakridge starting this June. The bright side - he gained an year. Not so bright side - we are not sure about their focus on academics for older kids. We do want him to go to a good college in India and not abroad. Hmm.. so for now, we'll let him be there and take a call on changing the school when he gets older.

Thus begins Venky's 15 years of schooling.