Saturday, February 26, 2011

Sleeping babies

Saturday Feb 26 11:30PM

Friday, February 25, 2011

The race starts now

Kabir's playschool - Sishu Vihar -had organized various events this month to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It turns out that Kabir won the first prize in two of the sporting events. One was a running race and the other was a "walking backward race" (no surprises here - I expect him to win any race that requires him to do things backward)!
Kabir getting his prize from Sutapa madam

What struck me most about this was how early competition starts in India. Kabir has already learnt that it is good to come "first" in any race. A few days ago when he told me that he had stood first I did not understand the context and just told him that it was alright to not be first as long as he had enjoyed what he was doing. In hindsight, I wonder how practical this advice is for kids here these days. But I do hope that we can shield him from the pressure that comes with competition for as long as possible.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

playtime

It is fun to see the boys play together. I have a feeling that "sharing" is soon going to be the biggest issue in our house :-)



Anurag stands with support

For a couple of weeks now Anurag has been pulling himself up to standing and trying to bend down and pick up things from the floor. His little alphabet books are just perfect for this game!
He has also started taking one or two steps by holding on to the couch.



Saturday, February 19, 2011

Kabir's dance moves

This video was taken about a month ago in nani's house. Kabir wanted to show some dance moves. It didn't bother him that there was no music playing. I have no idea where he picked these up from!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Birthday Quiz

Last year I posted this on Kabir's birthday. On similar lines, here's a birthday quiz for this year. We played this during Kabu's birthday party at home. Here goes:

A. Which of the following did Kabir NOT do in the last year?
1- Empty a tube of toothpaste and paint himself with it
2- Try to roll Anurag off his bed
3- Stealthily nibble on freshly baked muffins in someone else’s kitchen
4- Stay with his grandparents for an evening in our absence

B. Which of the following did Kabir finally start doing this year
1. Sleeping through the night
2. Playing by himself
3. Gladly sharing his toys
4. Eating his meals without a fuss

C. You can tell that Kabir is a great “big brother” figure because
1. He fights with other kids to reclaim Siddhant’s toys
2. He monitors Advait in restaurants and sincerely announces his concerns
3. He cries when Anurag gets his vaccines
4. All of the above

D. What are Kabir's favourite haunts on the campus
1. Coffee shack
2. Sishu Vihar
3. Guest House
4. Sarovar Udyan

E. To go from from Staff hostel to Main gate, Kabir’s most preferred mode of transport would be:
1. His red scooter
2. Nanaji’s car
3. Tum-tum
4. Papa’s bicycle

F. What does Kabir want to be when he grows up
1. Astronaut
2. Chef
3. Doctor
4. Train driver

G. Which of the following has Kabir NOT been obsessed about at any point in the last year?
1. Big yellow dumper truck
2. Mixer trucks
3. The moon
4. Red scooter
5. Cleaning up after himself

Answers:
A-4 :We're still waiting for the day when the two kids will happily stay behind with grandparents to give us an occasional break.
B-1,2,4 :Kabir finally started sleeping through the night this year. I had sincerely started doubting if this would ever happen. He has stopped needing constant attention and spends considerable time playing alone with his toys or "reading". He has also become reasonably good about mealtimes and I have finally stopped worrying about what to cook as he will eat almost anything that we cook for ourselves. For all these reasons, this past year has been a true milestone year!
C-4: Kabir happens to be the oldest kid in his circle of close friends and he certainly acts that way!
D-1: He loves to go to the coffee shack to eat Maggi noodles. Home-cooked Maggi does not cut it for him.
E-3: Tum-tums are small buses that runs on various routes inside the IIT campus. Kabir likes to sit on the back seat and loves it when the bus goes over speed-bumps. At home, he runs his own fleet of tum-tums all day and gladly offers ride to wherever you may wish to go.
F: At the time the quiz was prepared, Kabir wanted to be a train driver. But during his birthday party when someone asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up, his answer had changed to "Pilot".
G-5 He continues to be obsessed with trucks (any kind), planes, trains and rockets. He is simply in awe of the moon and its phases. His red scooter is his favorite ride-on toy and you will rarely spot him outdoors without it. And we have never had a problem of obsession with cleanliness in this house!

Friday, February 11, 2011

beep beep zoom zoom

Weekend activity: boys racing in our hallway


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Kabir turns 3!

It has been an exciting week in our household. It's Kabir's birthday week! He had three celebrations this time. One party thrown by nana-nani for their friends, one celebration at school and a small get together at our home for Kabir's little friends.

Kabu picked out a Thomas Train cake for the first party.

I used my favorite eggless chocolate-banana cake recipe to bake his cake for the party at home (since its impossible for any cake to not be a hit with kids!)

The kids played and created ruckus like they should.



Dadosa and dadisa also arrived yesterday from Udaipur in time for the celebration. Kabir certainly enjoyed all the attention that he got on his birthday!