2011-The year that was and HOLIDAYS!!

This year has been one HE$$ of a roller coaster for us.

The High-s
1) Little Aghoo turned one year old- became a toddler ( boo hoo) :)
2) She started to walk / talk and order us around.
3) My dad's visit and him spending time with my aghoo baby.
4) Learning to manage family/ work/ baby all by ourselves...
5) Our bitter sweet India trip- Aghoo's first trip to India . She had a blast with various chithis/chitappas/thathas and pattis
6)Aghoo's chitha( chitappa) got engaged!
7)HD's dad's visit.
8) Friends and family- as always..


The Low-s
Well -there was a huge low that basically was the biggest of them all. Aghoo lost her beloved patti. :( No words..


Now, coming to our Vacation..

Aghoo / Dada and amma are all set to go to- ME-HI-CO!! o yeah baby.. Cabos , here we come. We are going to a beach resort for 5 days . I know Aghoo will have a blast- because she loves water and anything to do with this.CANT. WAIT.


Here is to hoping that next year will be a little less taxing on our family and filled with more happy memories ( chitha's kalyanam to start with !!).

I wanted to write a few words for Aghoo's patti in heaven..

Dear aunty,
I know that you are somewhere out there watching out for us. I just want you to know that we all love and miss you.Aghoo papa prays to you everyday ( of course you know this) before she goes to sleep.Please watch over us.
I wish you did not have to leave so early- but I am sure God had his own reasons for his actions.
Your legacy lives on through little Aghoo- for she is a splitting image of you !


Happy 2012 folks!

Aghoo's OCD

1) when she puts her lovey-violet the doggie- to sleep, the little hand towel she uses as a sheet CANNOT have any creases. If it does,she will not just straighten the crease, but she will first odharify it( don't know word in English) a couple of times and place it carefully on the floor.

2) When she goes to sleep, the bed room door HAS to be closed.

3)when she goes to sleep, she should switch the fan on.Also both the green and red lights on the fan should be ON. The red light indicates speed and the green light indicates timer. So , if we switch off the timer and she sees that the green light is off- even in the middle of the night- she will get off the bed and go switch it on.

- we have a remote for the fan and we evil parents switch off the green light all the time to watch her irritation;)

4) there is a pink sheet under her high chair to catch all the mess- she won't eat if the sheet is folded even slightly. It has to be perfectly crease free!

5)Any spills or "ya ya "s need to be cleaned immediately by Amma. She won't leave me alone until I clean whatever mess is bothering her. Most times she herself will try to clean it with a dish rag:)

Aghooisms

Aghoo is so into books right now *preen*. She loves bringing her oob (LOL- thats what she calls books :)).
So, this morning, she got frightened by the cooker's whistle . I was trying to distract her and asked her to bring a book. She brought this one.we get to the last page, where the books says the baby bird lives with its family. Here is how the conversation goes.

Amma:- In the baby bird's home, it lives with its amma bird and dada bird.

Aghoo- yeah  which is her favorite word right now :)

Amma:- So who lives in Aghoo's home?

Aghoo:- Ava, Amma, Dada and Cuckerrrrrrrrrrrrr ( cooker ) LOL!


Aghoo's language

oob- book
pa mum- banana
Pashta- pasta
ooooof- juice :)
appai- apple/ or any fruit that looks like it - pear etc
gape- grapes
ssheeeesh- cheese
jojo- take a bath
bardie- birdie
mleow- meow/ cat
vow vow- row row row a boat :)
all thu town- wheels on the bus song

There are many many more things and songs and Aghooisms- which I cant seem to recall right now :(.
Aghoo's dada is India on business ( grrrrrrrrrrrrr) and we are both missing him a lot. We can DEFINITELY be pacified with material gifts though- just saying :)
Aghoo papa woke up screaming for dada this morning :(:(..

For you UD

Dear most UD

It is not fair that I live so many many miles away from you.Where did that promise of "moving to the US at least for a short while" go ?
I hate the fact that I haven't seen you since May 2008 ( thank God for official India trip :)).I soooooooooooooooo hate the fact that I wont be seeing you this year when I come down to India either ( don't burn me- I will explain over phone).

You know what I hate most? That my Aghoo hasn't met her aunt UD yet and I wont be meeting your little panda anytime soon. Not fair at all!

When I need you most, when I want to talk to you ( like the last couple of days)- mundane things like time difference and work come in between us and I let the moment pass. When I finally wrap up my chores for the day and think about calling you, your work day has already begun. Its not fair you know!

I just wanted to write this for you - because I feel terribly guilty that I wont be visiting you and more importantly - your panda this time :(

There is always hope for a next time- illa?

Love,
me


PS:- my other blog is dead - so writing in this one..

Miss Aghoo at 18 months

18 months and she is still a teensie weensie one :).
Her vocabulary and her cognition is definitely growing by leaps and bounds.

Some words in aghoo-nese

baba- bubbles or baba black sheep
open- obvious:)
pie-pie- spy spy as in" itsy bitsy spider :)"
tap tap- clap clap as in " if you are happy and you know it clap your hands"
tha tha- give it to me

akkkkkkkkkka-  ukkaru as in I want to sit.
standddddddddddd- obvious
shan- fan or socks
fuuuuuuuuuu- shoes... her most favorite thing to wear..
change- diaper change :)
aaaaaga- egg

gaaaaaah- yogurt
ashaaaaaaaa- her day care provider
athaaaaaaaaap- Prathap, one of our friends..

Sahaaaaaana- one of our friend's daughter.. so any little kid is Sahana :)
come come- to walk or to go out..
aaaaaaachi- thachi as in sleep :)


Aghoo and I were both sick this week with stomach flu and stayed home . We had a blast despite the sickness- as I did not have to cook or rush to work. We went to the park twice a day and sang songs all morning.

We also had a scare where she pulled her elbow and we have to rush to urgent care. Thankfully, it was nothing.

A peek into the Aghoo household

Taking a page form MK's book, here is our daily schedule

6.30 am- Amma wakes up. Prays that Aghoo stays asleep with Dada, because Aghoo will not let amma do any work if she is awake.

6.30-6.45- Amma gets Aghoo's egg ready and puts it on the stove.Keeps cooker for rice and dal

6.45- 6.55- Amma brushes/ morning duties ( ahem) , while the egg and cooker are getting cooked and doing its job respectively.

6.55- 7.25 Amma makes vegetable/dal/sabzi or kozhambu/ snack for day care etc.

7.25- Aghoo comes down with dada and brushes her teeth

7.35-8.00 ish - Dada feeds Aghoo her breakfast ( Egg/ cheese/ rice with veggies) with Amma/chithi making appearances when dada is about to give up.Amma packs lunches for Aghoo and amma/ snack and milk for day care ready.

8.00- 8.10 ish- Amma sits down for 10 min to check email and drink coffee.. Dada and Aghoo are lounging about / playing respectively.

8.15- 8.35- Dada gives Aghoo her bath. Amma showers and gets ready. Amma gets Aghoo ready while dada showers.

8.45- Aghoo and Amma come downstairs and amma has her hurried breakfast while Aghoo again plays .. :)

8.50 - Amma and Aghoo leave the house.

9.00- Amma drops Aghoo at day care and goes to work.

5.45-6.00- Dada or Amma pick  Aghoo up.

6.15- 6.40- reach home/ Aghoo is given a face wash and changed. Aghoo gets a small snack.

6.40 - 7.15- Amma prepares dinner , while Aghoo plays with Chithi or goes to the park with dada. Dada goes to the treadmill if possible.

7.15- 7.45- Aghoo gets dinner from chithi/amma depending on the day..Amma finishes up dinner.

7.45- 8.15- Dada/amma/chithi eat. Aghoo walks around playing

8.15- 8.45- Amma cleans kitchen/loads dishes. Dada gives Aghoo her medicine and milk.

8.45- 9.00ish- bed time for Aghoo with dada. Amma starts cutting veggies/ fruits for the next day.

9.00-9.30 - Amma finishes cutting veggies/ fruits. Dada puts Aghoo down to sleep and comes down.

9.30- 10.30 ish- Amma and dada get some time to watch TV / catch up etc.

As you can see- every minute of our day is packed and one slight delay causes our whole schedule to go haywire like a stack of cards.

Life with Aghoo is fun and tiring :)

I have no clue how people with 2 babies manage time.

Tag time

So I picked this up from some random blog- going to do this in Aghoo's perspective.

I am
Very vocal about things I need.
Cute and at the same time a dictator!
impatient because I cant seem to order people around with my limited vocabulary of 10 or so words.

I want
to watch " baba"all day long.
to eat cheerios for all my meals
to play in the park 24/7. Who needs to eat/rest/sleep?

I have
the most beautiful smile ?( according to my mom :P)
more toys than a toy store..
8 little teeth

I wish
that my amma did not leave me at day care.
that I could play with water all day long.
that I could have a bow bow( dog).

I hate
EATING.
taking a bath
changing my dress


I fear
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I search
for amma's tummy in my sleep
for my Violet as soon as I wake up/ get back home from day care.

I wonder
why I have to eat ?( see a pattern?)
why I have to sleep?
why amma has to go to work?( amma wonders about this too sweetie).

I regret
Hopefully nothing :)

I love
my Violet
the park
any bowbow..
water!!!

I always
give umma and say "bye" when anyone leaves the house.
cry every morning when I am put in the car seat :(
try to take away VC thatha's glasses- even through the webcam :)


I ache

hopefully for nothing here too..

I usually
wake up as soon as amma wakes up!
ask for "pahpah"(milk) as soon as I wake up..
pray to patti before I leave the house.

I am not
 as chubby as my parents would like me to be.


I dance
on demand
when "sheela ki jawani " is played.
when amma dances :)

I sing
on demand :)

I never

finish my meal!


I cry
when I dont get my way..
when "pahpah" isnt brought to me 1 second after I ask for it- seriously, why do amma/dada take about 2 minutes to get pahpah , warm it and bring it to my in my cup?

I need
to touch anyone with long hair..
to touch amma/dada's tummy when I am sleepy..

I dream
dont know.. hopefully happy things?

SK and MK- take it up if you want..

Raising from the ashes..

Many many things happened in the past few months - that I have had no time or the mood to pen anything.
Aghoo's dear dear patti ( my mother in law) passed away on May 14th. To say that it was a shocker is an understatement. We are trying to get back to normal( what ever that means) - Aghoo is a great distraction.
Aghoo's dada was really close to his mom - it helps a lot to have a walking talking 24 hr entertainment channel in the house.
My Prayer to her - Please watch over Aghoo and all of us aunty. We love and miss you :(


Since this is supposed to be a happy blog, I will not dwell too much on the sadness and move on...

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Aghoo can pretty much communicate very well with us these days. Words she says
Amma- Mom
Dada- Daddy
Ava- chithi ( my sister)
Thatha-both the grand fathers
mummummmmmmm- food
pahpaaah- Milk
popaaaah- thoppai.my stomach :P .. this is a tricky one as it is really similar to pahpaah ( milk ) lol!
puuuuuuuuuah- poo, as in flowers as in garden - so to go out :)
nah nah- No/I dont want it.
bummm- self evident :)
Iya- In answer to the " whats your name" question.
when asked " ***( her real name) pappa yaaru?" ( who is *** pappa?), She says " naan naan" 
baaaaaaaaa- carry me :)
vavava- come
bow bow- dogs/ cats/ horses /elephants- anything with 4 legs.

She can also show her head/nose/ eyes and thoppai ( stomach).She can imitate a dog( bow bow), a cat ( meow), a cow( maaaaaaaaaaaaa) and a duck (kack kack- her version of quack quack).

She also pretends to carry on a conversation on the phone- says " haaaaooo( hello), hmm , mummmumm, pah paaah.. :)".It doesnt have to be a phone- anything with keys- TV remote controller/ AC remote controller etc.

She can also show emotions- imitating how Aghoo pappa cries/ becomes angry or is happy :P

Aghoonoosh has such a strong personality and everyone in house tries not to be in her path when she is " angry"!

Aghoo went to India for the first time and had a ball with grandparents/ chitappa and various other thatha-pattis chithis etc.

I am hoping to be more regular in chronicling Miss Aghoo's tales from on- fingers crossed.

Day care and other things

Aghoonoosh has been going to the day care for 3 weeks now and has had the cold for 2 weeks :(. She seems to be having a lot of fun at the DC. She has a new habot- giving "ubbbbbbbbbbbbbba" ( flying kiss) to anyone she deems worthy.

Dada and amma beg her for "ubbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbba" all the time- sometimes she does them spontaneously and those times are the bestest!

She still wails when I drop her off at the day care- but apparently she calms down in a few minutes.When I pick her up in the evenings, she lets out this war cry and has a huge grin on her face :).She starts waving "tata" to Asha auntie as soon as she sees me LOL !

She now says "amamama" when she feels like it and calls her chithi " ava" :P
The other day , I was away on a business trip and came back home fater her bed time- when I went into her bedroom and picked her up,she smelled me for a minute and went "amamama" in this joyous/surprised tone, almost as if she was saying " hey- where did you go? and you are back!"


Dear baby,
Some words of wisdom from me
1)Always find joy in the small things in life- like you do now :)
2) Be generous with your love and give "ubbbbbbbbbbbba" to your loved ones often.
3) Drink lots of water and continue loving your fruits.
4) Everything happens for a reason - once you accept this, life gets easier.

5) There are always shades of grey- life isn't black and white

Love you loads babynoosh!

Day 3 of Daycare

This morning , Aghoo was cheerful in the car generally chattering and playing with her Violet.We went into the day care and Asha aunty was in the restroom. So , one of the other teachers tried to take Aghoo. She bawled her head off :(. I should have waited for Asha aunty .. Sorry baby..


I was told that she was doing just fine- 10 min later when I called. Aghoo ma- thank you being such a sweetheart and adapting to any change we throw in front of you..Love you loads!

The month that was

Dear Aghoo,
The last one month has been very very special to both you and me. My dad ( your VC thatha) finally made it to our home to spend some time with you.

It was so endearing to see him play funny little games with you.You started warming up to him , after a week and how! You learned to mimic his whistle and his signature look. You love to take his glasses from him- in fact thatha left his glasses here in hopes that it will remind you of him :).

Every morning , he will be waiting for princess " baboo" ( as he calls you) to make an appearance. He even synced his nap times with yours :P.

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see you two bond .Once again, I am left with this bitter feeling of guilt- of robbing your grandparents from spending time with you, because we live so far away!sigh!

In updates for this month,
1) You can now pray with your hands when asked to do "ummachi kapathu or vanakam"
2) You can walk! you keep making trips around the kitchen and dining area all day long :P
3) You oblige us with a wet kiss when asked- only if you are in the mood.
4) Similarly flying kissies are equally rare- but offered as deemed necessary by you :).
5) You sing - yes - when asked to " paatu padu".You go "aaaaaaaaaa". So cute!
6) You also do actions for the first two lines of "twinkle twinkle" :)


Another major development, you have started daycare since yesterday. In true Aghoo fashion you accepted this new change without much ado- while I, on the other hand, was a mess! You took to Asha aunty instantly and went to her ( without crying) this morning too.More updates to come in that department.Love you sweetheart and thank you for being so cheerful!

Publish Post

1 year old

Dear Aghoo,
You are going to be 1 year old tomorrow. As cliched as it may sound , time does fly.

Baby- I have dreamed about writing this letter to you, even before you were born- before I was even pregnant. I always knew I wanted a little girl. Even so- boy was I in for a surprise. You are a small dynamite.
I always thought that babies were scrawny little things when they are first born- but one look at you and I definitely thought that you are the cutest. I kept asking your dada " is she really pretty or are my eyes biased?". I am still not sure!

At 12 months,
1) You call everyone akka- me/ your dada/ your thatha/ chithi/patti/Padmakka/ the lady in the ad- you get the drift.It is really cute though. That high pitched little chirp "akka" :)

2) You can "clap clap" on demand :). You love to clap and "sing" with me when I sing " if you are happy and you know it clap your hands" first thing in the morning.

3) You also shake our hands vigorously when we say "nice to meet you"-thanks to your chithi.

4) You also know to kick a ball now- also thanks to your chithi.

5) You have been cruising since you were 9 months old- but you have started taking 3-4 independent steps in the last one week !

6) You love to converse with us and want to do everything we do- eat everything that we eat :)

Baby- you are truly a joy.. now if only you would sleep better, life would be perfect!hehe- I know we will get there some day.

Your VC thatha has come here to stay with us all the way form India- esp for your birthday. You made his day by going to him almost immediately ( it did help that he enticed you with chocolate- much to my chagrin!).
You have received so many gifts already from your KKL thatha/patti and VC thatha/P patti  for your birthday.Like your chithi remarked, you definitely have more fancy clothes and jewelry than we do for sure.

This time last year, I had no clue that my life was change so much- I was happily skipping around thinking I had at least 10 days to go for my due date.From the very beginning you had your own plans.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! May your life be filled with Strawberries and cheese :)