Jumbo the elephant

Cross legged

Just outside our cottage at Masinagudi (5hrs drive from Bangalore at the foothills of the Nilgiris).

Perched atop for a birds eye view

Modern Art

Ths is Ria's stunning representation of God knows what. Her interpretation is that it is a cat and something else.Well..here is my interpretation. It shows a field where animals are grazing. In the horizon you can see the brilliant red of the setting sun. On the right side is the paddy fields.There are some objects you cannot relate to as well..they are the UFO's streaking across the sky :-)
Comments are welcome on other interpretations of this modern art painting.

The classic passport photo pose

The geek@work

Rock on

Ria (supporting vocalist) with her cousins, Aasha (lead vocalist) and Aashish (lead guitarist)

3 and growing

We celebrated Ria's 3rd birthday at home. For the first time, we had a formal birthday party at home. Called a few kids from the neighbourhood too. One of her favorite dolls is Dora. So we decided to have the cake in the shape of Dora. Ria loved every bit of it especially the blowing of the candle, the cake, the new birthday dress and the many 'gif's' she got :-)

Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin

Policeman ready for the parade

Ria ready in the fancy dress for the Annual day celebrations in her play school.

Harmonica player

Fresh catch

Wish you all a very Merry Christmas

Hold on..the super cop is on her way

Desi girl

Ria in the typical Indian attire - The saree !

Vignettes of Goa

The sun, sand, beaches and feni. Need I say more. A totally intoxicating experience !

The top 5 to-do things in Goa:-

1. Goan Cuisine
2. Beaches
3. River cruise
4. Train journey to Goa
5. South Goa Tour

The Rabbi

Happy 60th Birthday Appacha

Seeing the picture you might think it is Ria's Bday ! It actually is Appacha's 60th Birthday. She was so excited seeing the cake and candle.Most of the Bday cake went to Ria's stomach that she hardly had anything else after that.

Ice Ice baby

All of us love ice-creams, don't we? Children are no exception as we discovered. This was the first or second time we were giving her an ice-cream. You can see how much they love it! Somehow they are very averse to anything hot but the other extreme is no problem for them.They literally bite into it, to get more of it and then realise that they are left with less of it! (something like the salary hikes we get).The classic grape/orange stick is still available.When I was a child, I really loved them. Apart from the sweet taste, it made our tongue turn maroon or orange. Looking into the mirror after that, gave a different kind of thrill :-)
One note of caution to parents though. Like the stock markets, you gotta know when to give them ice-cream. Never give them ice-creams:-

• During the onset of monsoon/winter
• When they just start going to playschool
• When they are just beginning to develop immunity (2-3 years)

It acts as a strong catalyst for them to get cold/cough/fever. Once they get them ,every parent will wish that they never got them in the first place! Better to avoid one ice-cream than live through a month of their crankiness.
The caption was inspired by this group called "Vanilla Ice".The only song I remember was a rap song of theirs, with the above title.

The cycle of life

Yes... as promised in one of my earlier posts....what you see in the picture is indeed the "red hot item" that we gifted Ria on her Birthday. When this photo was taken (about a month back), the front wheel was already shuddering, like I used to, before my vice-princi in school. As I post this on the blog, the horn has made a blaring exit as well (am I glad that it did!). The pillion is none other that the oh_so_adorable Joanna (Papa's cousin sister's daughter). This tricycle has performed many duties thus far. Some of the noteworthy examples are :-

• As a mobile Pharmacy. It has a ready stock of all the available medicines that she turns to whenever you say you have a small bruise or wound.
• As a touring vehicle inside the house whenever her legs get weary.
• As a mode of transport for all her dolls (they are the pillion)
• As a mobile house at times when she gets fed up of her lil' house that I make for her with her mat.
• As a seat to have her food/milk etc.

But when you see it from a parents perspective, I see it as a tool to build camaraderie (with her dolls, with other kids and with things close to her). The tricycle should be and will be part of the arsenal of any growing child.It is one of those things that anybody would associate with their childhood. Am sure all of us have fond memories of our own version of the tricycle from our growing years. It is an asset that is, as Mastercard says "Priceless".

Twin sisters

Because our children are watching

http://www.walkthetalk.com/video/BOCAW/bocaw.htm

Nice video that talks about how our behaviour as parents, has a profound impact on our chidren. They tend to catch on things very fast as I have noticed. They notice even small things that we do or say. We realise it later only when we see them do or say the same.

Be good!

Taking mama for a ride

Been to Chikmagalur a month back and stayed at a home stay there. Their kids had a couple of tricycles to which Ria took a liking. Every time we passed them, she wanted to warm the cycle seats a bit ! Though the caption is every bit a pun, won't be surprised if it becomes reality soon :-)
[P.S - Yes..you guessed it right..our Birthday gift to her was a tricycle. A post on the red hot item will follow soon]

Haute Couture

Two and going strong

Ria turned two today. The last one year saw her graduate from taking a few steps to walking confidently, climbing stairs and slowly developing a personality. It was more of mental development over the last year and she now has a vocabulary of atleast two dozen words. She is able to understand most of what we tell her and is able to communicate according to the context too in words (some which we understand and some which we don't).As she is able to interact more it is much more enjoyable to engage in child talk with her. She enjoyed getting gifts and opening them. The higlight was the blowing of the candle and cutting the Bday cake (that is shown above).

Begum Ria

The Fashion Diva

The Tennis Ace

Ria toasting the victory of Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open in her Tennis attire

Jack in the box

Ria has converted the oven box into her new home. She spends time inside feeding and entertaining her friends (her numerous dolls). Sometimes she closes the top of the box and plays hide and seek with us. Its really surprising to see how kids keep themselves occupied with the most mundane of things.

Satellite image of a cyclonic depression

One size too big

These days her favorite activity is to walk around the house in slippers..not hers though but that of others !

Supper is ready

Diwali Dhamaka

Ria in her resplendent Diwali attire given by her g'parents.

You don't know what it's like to love somebody

Sprite Commercial - For more amazing video clips, click here

Boy's Scouts motto : Be Prepared

H-A-P-P-Y C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N-S D-A-Y

School Time

Don't get deceived by the caption..just that these days when Papa get back from office, the first thing Ria wants is his bag and and then walks around with it like a big girl. On a lighter note, maybe the software companies might even recruit her soon, give her a 3 month training course and start billing her to beat the appreciating rupee !!

With my crash test dummy

Ria sitting on her car seat (inside the house) cradling her crash test dummy aka Boots in her hands.

Gypsy Queen

With Mama's scarf

Casper the friendly ghost

In Papa's shirt, she reminded us of Casper, of the animated cartoon series fame.

Happy Teachers Day

Making a sweeping statement

Well..we have decided to introduce her to the basic chores (wrapped in a different form) of life at an early age. Introducing the latest fad called sweepercise. How does one do it ?

1. Wear comfortable clothing
2. Take a fluffy broom
3. Pump up the music (any dance or techno number should do)
4. Start sweeping (every nook and corner)
5. Do the above for about 10 minutes and watch those inches magically vanish !
   

With my favorite cousins

Posing with her cousins Aasha "The Chef-par-excellence" and Aashish "Mr. Cartwheel Man". Thanks for all the fun we had, when you were in India. Miss you a lot.