catch up on Akshaya

and now for Akshaya - my little precious angel!
she must say bye bye to me every morning with a hug and a kiss - and a wish 'good luck! don't get into any trouble! if you do get into any trouble, come back home straight away!"

If I leave without letting her bid me fond farewell she gets so upset

we went to a musical the other day - The Cat in the Hat - I won the tics in a contest, lost the tics and then appealed for them to give it to me again and we loved the show.

then yesterday, I accompanied her on a field trip to the Children's kampong where we did longkang fishing and fed koi fish with our bare hands - smoochy smoochy! and she held up a mouse in her fingers!

this weekend we are off to bintan!

she loves homework - homework means pleaseure for her - the pure pleasure of learning, unaccompanied by the baggage adults have towards the subject - it's just the right amount I guess to challenge her without overwhelming her

she speaks so well but says that in school, her mouth never opens at all!

my princess!

Catch up on Ashwin! - His first step and first words

Hi, been ages so here're the updates:

Ashwin baby is crawling at super speed - still shuffles on his bottom occasionally doing his 360 degrees turn but very occasionally.

creeping is now a thing of the past:-) used to creep at top speed before he picked up on crawling

then of course, he can hold and walk well

now for the big news - Ashwin's first steps!

They happened!

Just two baby steps he took on his own were at the Sembawang Splash park on 22nd August 2012, aged 13 months and 3 days.

Since then, he occasionally takes 2 steps on his own, or 4 steps but suddenly now prefers to be carried!

he clings on to me like a cute and naughtly koala bear
he hugs me at night now when I ask him for a hug and a kiss
he speaks his own language with such earnest he makes us feel the poorer for not understanding it!

some 'words'

• Jiga - usually said out loud excitedly, often after his milk, even in the middle of the night
• Ba (for ball)
• car car car car car car - always said in multiples!
• akka
• aa aa (for aaya)
• ae ae (for apple)

lots of other words I just can't spell!

he calls out loudly to Run aunty and speaks in earnest with grandpa - Saro's father

with my parents - he does the koala thing!

He has this adorable practice of looking in your face when you look down or look away - it's unbelievably endearing - where's he's saying, I notice you, please notice me too! he does it especially with Kanna Maama

If akshaya is immediately drawn to ladies, this little boy gravitates towards other men - among his favourites are both his grandpas, my brother, sath mama and sendhil chithappa - he goes to these people with arms outstretched - and they love him for this!

he likes to turn things upside down to see how they work

he loves to climb into your lap if he's scared or feeling particularly lovey

he has been trying out the potty for some days now but seriously I think it's just exciting the grandparents - I don't think he knows to control his bladder etc - he just lets loose! but for us it's like jackpot if we 'catch' things in the potty! oh well, as long as it does not distress him!

we went for long evening out with him last weekend and he loved it - He crawled the length and breadth of the sky park!
I loved it too - we went without our helper Run, so I was taking care of him a lot and I loved it

he's growing and growing - twinge of the heart here, you know why!

He gets so jealous of seeing his sister on my lap - he comes, squeezes his way onto my lap, pushes her and then when she goes off, he goes on his way again! what do you say to that?!

and then, he likes to have his favourites seated - namely, me, Run for example. when we are seated, he will explore merrily, but if we get up, he'll come to us and clamour for us to either pick him or sit down again - he understands that if we sit down, we are not going anywhere!

have you seen his tantrums! deny him the slightest things and lips turn down, his eyes become sad, he falls on the ground crying, crawls away backwards - it's heartbreaking!