The lil 'Big' girl

The lil one has her hands full all the time.She handles so much at home....She helps mommy clean.She's a lil cleanliness freak herself.She wears her tiny socks on her hands, to look like the gloves I wear for housework, rubs across the doors and tells me with a twinkle in her eyes,"Mummy, I'm cleaning door,what ar doin??"I melt into a lump right there.
When she spills water on the floor, she reaches for some paper and tries to spread it on the water, and says,"Mummy, water pappaindi".
The angel that she is, always cares for her friends Teddy, Doggie, Puppy and Monkey."Mummy, Doggie hungry", she says, and fetches a cup and a spoon and feeds him some cornflakes."Want more cornflakes?", she asks him and then assumes the answer to be a 'yes'and goes ahead and tries to fill his tummy.Once the food done, she gives him some water to drink and then lets him on the carpet, covers him with a blanket,says "sleep, doggies, sleep"and sings 'laaali ....laaaaliii". Didn't that invoke a 'wow'?It did....to me.... a hundred times.
While I try to get some stuff out of the cupboard, she sneaks in from behind me,grabs an onion, and if I prevent her from grabbing one, she asks me for one,"Mummy, papu want one onion", starts peeling it, and with great pride, she tells me,"Mummy, papu peeling onion......what ar doing?".
Lovely things she learns from television....Everytime she sees someone touching his/her elders' feet, she runs up to mama and dada,touches our feet and also says"namaste mummy, namaste dada".As long as she learns these good things, I'm all praise for the idiot box.But I'm aware and I better be, that it is a double edged sword.

The croon queen's first songs......

The croon queen now actually sings lyrics."Shaka laka boom ", she repeats after her dad.Then, she sings "disturb cheyyaku"(a telugu song).These, apart from the rhymes and the jingles.Her 'oh my God's,'one two thee phor's 'hicky dock's have added to her cute and funny vocabulary.
When the li'l one grows up to be a rock star(if that is what is destined for her), 'shaka laka boom boom ' will occupy a place of pride in her bio data.

Very busy this past month!!!

Doing what?We've been 'army crawling' like crazy, playing the keyboard while sitting on it,following mommy everywhere, pulling and tugging at the venetian blinds,trying to pull out the cupboard drawers,climbing onto elevated surfaces,and picking up tiny objects on the floor.We've forced mommy and daddy into dismantling the cradle, by doing dangerous stuff like getting underneath,rocking it at full speed and then lifting up the head to watch it.So, there disappears the cradle from the house!So, that cozy nook where we used to have delightful times,is no more!Mom and Dad are planning to buy me some safer cozy place, though!

Our new favourite!

Our new favourite is 'crawling'!!!!Ananya has been creeping on her belly for over 3 weeks now and gradually, this new mode of movement seems to be replacing her 'rolling'.While earlier, she used to move over the place, rolling, now, she makes sure she creeps and crawls. What's amazing is, she knows the most appropriate mode of movement for different occasions.
She is also very close to sitting up now. She pulls herself up from a lying position, though not to being fully upright, but far enough to rest herself on her elbows, and get a different view of things.Last night, I sat her on the floor, surrounded by pillows, and she balanced herself well for a couple of minutes, then lost interest and brought herself down on her tummy.
Her new 'hang out'is, under the cradle!Yes, under the cradle.She crawls and reaches under the cradle, lying on her back,rests her feet on it and swings it with great speed.And she has great control too..She can bring the cradle to a stop when she wants to.And all the while talking to the cradle and singing.....Absolutely love this!!!What ideas for newer forms of entertainment..Babies have so much to teach us.
Meanwhile, taking it slow on the food front.Very, very difficult to get her to eat something.Have started trying out new tastes, to see what interests her.May be, there will be something that she will happily eat.Seems to have liked Heinz oatmeal porridge.So, just sticking to that, for the moment.
It's getting colder here.Though the thermal insulation in this house has kept us warm so far, we are increasingly feeling the need to have the heaters on at night.Ananya's is now snugly sleeping in her cute lil sleeping bag and seems to be liking it's soft feel.
She also has a small new teddy that she likes cuddling.The other day, I rubbed this teddy against her cheeks and made the noise'kshhh' and she was roaring with laughter and me and Murali just went crazy.It was not just a smile or a simple laugh.She was laughing with her belly, mouth, hands, legs and it went on for like fifteen minutes.Finally Murali got me to stop doing it because he was scared she would choke or gasp(like I do, when I laugh a lot), having laughed so much.
Real happiness...can be experienced,not explained.

From Ananya's dad...

It has been a really long time since we posted ananya's picture. the culprit is me. lalitha has been asking me to get the batteries replaced on our digicam.. And that is something i have been found fogetting :-)
Hopefully, my memory will stick and i will buy the battery cells to power the camera.
Our Diwali was very good, and our best wishes to you all for a wonderful new year ahead. This was Ananya's first diwali and therefore was all the more special to us. Ananya really enjoyed the view of the fireworks in the night sky from our building. Most of the residential houses in london date back to victorian days. Londoners are very proud of their past and like their heritage structures. And most of these houses are only two floors. If you get to any place on the third floor, you get an excellent view of the city.We stay on the fourth and we are lucky.
Ananya has started enjoying playing with me. Now she has beocme all the more proactive in inviting us to play with her. This usually happens when I am at the computer and lalitha is busy at work. Ananya first zeroes in on her playmate ( me or lalitha) and goes to them. She used to roll to her destination earlier, but she now nudges and pushes herself forward on her tummy. She hates to be on her back.
Once she reaches her play mate, she gently taps us to notify us of her need to play. We enjoy her tiny palms gently tapping us so much that we sometimes do not respond, lest she stops tapping.Then Annaya calls us Ah-so-sweetly with a melodious 'aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaa aaaaaaa'. Her voice modulation is remarkable. When we turn to her, she gives that gentle smile. Both me and lalitha melt at this point.In the rare cases that we dont, Ananya persists and bangs the computer keyboard, or lugs the laptop cable. Thats is a good signal for us to attend to her. She also likes the blinking light on the wireless adaptor. she keeps staring at that.
Ananya especially likes it when i lift her up and bring her down slowly.It is very hard for us to match her energy levels.. But she doesnt know it yet.. and we strive to meet
her expectations of a playmate.we know it gets more demanding with time..and it also gets more wonderful with time.
We just want to cherish all these moments.

New tastes and funny faces

Ananya has shown me a wide range of expressions she can possibly make, when I try to give her some new food.At the first contact with the food, she scrunches up her face, and says"ooooooyk".Such strong disapproval!!!! She then leaves her mouth open and tongue stetched, so the food doesn't get into her mouth.I thought that was very clever.I give her the second spoon and she has her lips tightly closed, almost airtight:-).I don't give up.I try and sing and dance and make funny faces and then, when she opens her mouth to laught, I try to pop the spoon of food into her mouth and she is fast to react!! "Phrrrrr"She blows the food back right onto my face and gives me the look'"You were trying to be smart, weren't you??".I apologetically look at her and get back to singing and dancing.I try another strategy, next.I eat a spoon of the baby food myself, and pretend like it's the yummiest food in the world.She then goes,"Ok mom!If that is so tasty, why don't you eat it yourself?".Hahahha.
I've heard babies like the food jars we buy from stores, even if not home made food.But Ananya says, I'm unique again!So, I've been experimenting with different combinations.She seems to be slowly getting ready to try."Ok mom, I'll give it a try, if you so wish!". But lemme tell you,nothing's ever gonna be as tasty as my toys and my fingers:-)

Ananya's Collection:-)

I am delighted to look at Ananya's wardrobe.Her grows, her dungarees, her skirt, her shorts, her vests, her pyjamas, her sleep suits,her fur boots, her leggings, her socks,her booties...I'm sure when she grows up and looks at pictures of her wardrobe, she's gonna be delighted too.

Her lil collection, other than her wardrobe,now includes

Her friends from birth Winnie the Pooh and Teddy
The friends that waited along with mom and dad, for her arrival,Dabbu, Tabbu, Greenie, SnowWhite and Teddu
Her Fisher Price Aquarium cradle swing with music and lights and toys, to sit and rock in, when she's bored of rolling
Her Play gym that she uses only as a a lil stopover while rolling
A Jenny giraffe that rattles and squeaks and crinkles
A lady bug that rattles and has a mirror and teethers, for when she's bored of the giraffe
A billy that meows, when she wants something sober
A lil girl, with all her musical instruments,that recites"Twinkle Twinkle lil star' and dances
A few rattles, squeakers and teethers
A Graco stroller for her walks, when she's bored indoors, or for a lil fresh air outside, or for a brief stroll in the park. And yeah, she loves shopping too.
Some very cute and cosy blankets
A pink bathtub in which she has a gala bath time
A couple of cute baby bags for her stuff when going out
Her cute bowls and trainers cups and spoons and bibs
An air cooler that was bought especially for her to keep her cool and company in those harsh summer times of June and July
A vax steam cleaner that we bought to keep her play area super clean (a cleanliness freak that her mom is):-)
Loads of pictures and videos that will help her relive her infancy, when she grows up.

And, a Mom and Dad who dote on her, are crazy about her,talk to her, tell her stories and sing and dance to her and will do anything to make her happy.

Feels great to be back! 20th September

So, will have to make up for the hiatus in ours posts.

Determined efforts are on, to start crawling.Ananya brings her limbs together, with a gritty look on her face, to make that move.All set, she is. Just the final push pending, but she's gotta wait till it's time:-)The lil one doesn't know she's got to be a little older to be able to crawl.

As a part of baby proofing our home, we have created a furniture free play area for her in the living room, to prevent anything coming in the way of her rolling.

New sounds are making rounds in our home now.The 'aay' 'aay's have given way to 'pha' ,'phrrrr' and lots of new experiments.

It's not just the lights and music of her cradle swing that fascinate her now. Mom's recitation in a sing song fashion, of the colours of her soft toy friends on the swing mobile is what she looks forward to.I go...'Yelloooooow Oooorange Greeeeeen PPPink ' and she goes 'ahaaaaa', kicking her arms and legs.

From our balcony, we get an amazing view of London city and Ananya gets to watch it too.We've been able to take great pictures, with this skyline in the background. I show her the traffic on the road below and and tell her the names of vehicles that zoom past and she has that expression on her face, "Hmmm! so much traffic!".

Everytime we try to sit her in our laps or on the floor, Ananya quickly straightens her legs, just in time to land her feet and then stands up on the strength of her legs. She then bends her legs at her knees , comes down a little and then pushes herself up again, and repeats this several times in a row.

We are waiting for the big day when, she's gonna get her first taste of solid food.We are mighty excited about it.Just imagine the expression on her face with the first spoon of mashed fruit in her little mouth! Can't wait to see....Anyway, not too long away.

Lots of good wishes from friends, for the lil one, have really touched us! It indeed feels nice to know we have so many who care.

~lalitha

"Can you beat me? "challenges our cuckoo

Ananya's up to challenging me now. She enjoys squealing"Aaaaaaaaa" and I pitch in, to give her company(U gotta be a baby when u play with a baby:-).The next step is, she squeals louder than I do and gives me a look, to say "Now You!".I answer and she is thrilled.She repeats, this time, even louder, and looks,"Can you beat that,mom?".I am amazed by her spirit, and floored by her determination to beat me.I take my turn.She raises her voice even more, this time around, and nods her head with a big grin,and sends me the message,"Heeeeey I won!Didn't I??"I am overwhelmed with motherly pride and kiss her on her tummy.She enjoys it soooo much,she laughs and giggles,"aheee".
Whenever she is in a mood to play with me, she calls out,"aaay".If she doesn't find me near her, she rolls over,lifts her head, looks around searchingly,and calls,"aay aay" and waits for me to go to her.The glitter in her eyes, at that point, is inexplicable and has to be seen to be fathomed.
So our current hot favourite is the 'Squeal game'. But something that Ananya doesn't know is,shopping malls are not for play. She starts off on the game when waiting in the queues at shopping malls.Obviously, I can't play with her then(not that I mind, but people around would certainly min!!!). So I just say 'hush hush' and smile back to her.
She will take a while before she knows that different places are meant for different things.But right now she very well knows one thing......to smile...and the smile is so infectious.....she makes everyone smile with her.....and everywhere.

Those rosy lips!!!!

Ananya's rosy lips are now endlessly attempting to make different sounds.She tightly tucks her lower lip under her upper lip and while bringing it out, tries to speak something, and ends up saying "brrrrrrrr",with a whole lot of bubble round her mouth.The list of sounds she's already made to date, is exciting!!
Seems she's now aware that her dad comes home in the evening.When Murali opens the door and climbs up the stairs and I,as a way of greeting him,say smilingly,"who's there?",Ananya stops whatever she's been doing and turns her eyes towards the stairs and waits for him to appear in front of her and say,"Good evening papu!".She then welcomes him with a wiiiiiiide grin,to say,"Good evening dad!I was waiting for you".
She then speaks to him, as if trying to narrate all that we did during the day, and Murali's floored by all that her lips say and her eyes speak. On his way home from work,he runs like a sprinter, sometimes spraining his leg or bumping into something, just to bring down the minutes he has to wait before he sees his darling daughter.
We spend our time in the evenings, listening to her animated conversation, and mesmerized by the sparkle in her eyes as we speak to her.
She now clasps her feet with her hand and tries to play with them.
And then, it's time for bed, to prepare ourselves for a new morning.
Each morning, we wake up and wait for the time together in the evening, and each night, we sleep to wake up together the next morn.

Oh Oh lotsa new things

Ananya's got a long to- do list these days...... munching on her fists all day, while rolling over , while talking, while attempting to crawl, while blowing bubbles........oh my god isn't that a long list now!
She spends most of her time on the tummy, the newer development being, she puts both her hands forward together and rests her chin on them and looks around the room .I adore this pose of hers.And something even more interesting is, the way she looks around for a while and then suddenly, she covers her face in her hands and moves her legs up and down,while lying on her tummy(like we do when we are in deep deep thought), as if saying,"oh god!i've got so many things to do ..what do i do next?"
While on her back, she holds both her hands in a fist,close to her mouth and in an animated conversation with us,blows bubbles and says,"ageeee ageee buuuuu khreeeee aaay aay".How I wish we could speak like her too, to be understood by her.We do try our best, though.And when I talk to her (mostly in her language),and make faces,her face lightens with joy, her mouth widens in a big grin, and she puts a lil of her tongue out and nods her head sideways and waves her arms and legs! and that makes me proud of my achievement....to have got her nod of approval and acceptance.

She's been showing symptoms of teething for more than two weeks now.I spent days trying to find a Stage 1 teething ring for her but most stores here, including Mothercare,carry only Stage 2 onwards.I've been looking out for the jelly filled rings which would be soft on her tender gums but what i find are thr slightly harder, water filled rings.Will have to wait a few more days before I can get them.

We are moving to a new, modern,spacious apartment(so uncommon in London,you can count modern developments on your fingertips) in a coupla weeks.....just to give her a luxurious start.Looking forward to having a great time there.

~Lalitha

Our new activity Aug 9th

Both Ananya and me have got new set of activities now.Ananya is busy rolling and rolling and rolling.She rolls on her tummy and is mostly successful in rolling back too , but when she can't do it, she cries out 'aay aay aay'and I got to run and roll her back.She does this until she is tired and wants to sleep.Then, as usual, i play her some music and rock her to sleep. It's some work-raising a happy baby,isn't it?

Ananya's typical day

What i find really wonderful about being with Ananya is that I grow myself!
There were so many things which we hardly noticed about ourselves... and now we get to see GOD's way unfolding right infront of our eyes.
Case in the point being Ananya's smile. What was a broad grin earlier now actually is giggles. And when she giggles we feel that she is really enjoying our joke, that she is sharing our happiness, that she feels very much part of us.Just about to turn three months, me and lalitha have kinda figured out her set pattern.She wakes up at 7.30 and then gives that good morning
smile from ear to ear. She then plays till around eight with me. A eight she has her bath. her bath time is like a major ritual and a family bonding experience. lalitha has mentioned abt her bath times in an earlier post. After her bath, it is time for me to rush to work.. which leaves her and lalitha to play. It is during that time that her animated conversation with her mom takes place. It is during these conversations that lalitha gets to experience her giggles.Ananya then has a brief siesta at around 10ish which lasts until noon. She then spends some time on the cradle observing her mom doing household chores/lunch etc.Coming to which, Annaya is always intrigued by our lunch.. something which she doesnt have in a plate and with a spoon! She gives that pristine puzzled look.. why dad why is what she seems to ask. Why do you put that thing on the plate onto your mouth!!.. hahaha
Evening is when I come back home.. We usually go out for a brief stroll.. weather permitting.She has started hating her stroller which gives her the 'exhaust pipe view' of the world around her. She wants to to be held in arms so she can view the same world as me and lalitha do. We often oblige.. but sometimes she gets a mild reprive from us.When it is time for her to sleep, her smiles stop.. she often gets restless and tries to push herself to the edge of the bed. And when there is
no more space to move. she shouts. It is then a signal for us to pick her up and pat her slowly. She then quietens up and focuses at the bright
coloured teddy thermometer on the wall. And she stares and smiles at the teddy. Appears as though she is wishing a good night to her friends.She bends herself in a reverse arch in a struggle to overcome sleep( lots to do.. why sleep!) and we have to hold her in a good grip lest she
slips. she dislikes being held.. and at the same time doesnt like being put on the bed either. This restlessness continues for a couple of
minutes.. by which time she is tired and her her slowly drift to the distant world.. the frowns on her face straigthen up... giving way to
those small smiles which reflect on her dreams. A Good night... and a very good morning ahead.. More to learn.. more to do.. and to grow!

Ananya's bath times

Ananya's bath times, at 8 o'clock every morning, before Murali leaves for work, are, more and more, turning into greater bonding times for us. The bath times have us see Ananya's relaxed smiles and yawns, her excited giggles, her action filled waving of hands and legs, her rewarding smiles, her humming,her swimming, her floating.And between me and Murali, we have each one telling the other that, the water is too hot/cold, that Ananya's hair is getting wet,so drain out some water, that Ananya is putting her soapy fingers into her mouth, that she's been soaking for a long time in the water so need to get her out,that she's got some water into her ears and a whole lot of other things.
All three of us look forward to these bath times as each one enjoys every moment of it.We start each morning with this fun filled, love filled experience. And we chose to make a note of it in this blog, because, to us, it is not just a bathtime, it is a celebration!

New developments July 20th

Ok, there've been quite some lovely developments over the past couple of days.
Ananya has been rolling over and back. She can hold her head steady for a longer time now! And her spontaneous laughs make us even crazier about her.She has, for quite some time now,been successful in popping the whole fist into her mouth!She sucks her fist and makes a smacking sound, runs her tongue over her lips, to show her fist is very tasty indeed!Hahaha. Me and Murali are having a greeeeeat time watching her do something new every day.

Ananya clasps stuff with both her hands

This is probably the start of manifestation of coordination between both her hands. We got a new toy for Ananya this morning. And we were pleasantly surprised when she held the toy with both her hands firmly for quite some time. Wanted to make a note of this development.
~Murali