tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107698592024-03-07T02:25:27.953-05:00Chinuku (Raindrop)About Bringing up Baby.Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.comBlogger260125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-53830275583796881532015-08-16T22:02:00.001-05:002015-08-16T22:02:08.974-05:00Good VibesPranav asked me what vibrate meant. I tried to explain. He vibrated like my iPhone and said , "So this is what vibrate means?"<div><br></div><div>He sure is a thinker. At bedtime, he lay down in his bed with the lights off, thinking quietly while I checked news on my phone. A plane flew overhead, and he said, "Do planes vibrate?" I said I thought they did, as their engines run. "Like that time I felt sick on the plane?", he said, remembering the time of intense turbulence in a plane last month that made him nauseous. "No, that was turbulence.", I said.</div><div><br></div><div>Then he lay thinking quietly again and eventually fell asleep.</div><div><br></div><div>It is interesting to watch him go through his phases before he falls asleep. First he talks a lot and asks lots of questions. Then he grows quieter and more thoughtful. Finally, his breathing goes heavy and he drifts off.</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-26528439424860316032015-08-12T21:52:00.001-05:002015-08-12T21:54:40.182-05:00End of summerIt's down to the last week and a half of summer. Pranav will be a first grader, Summy will be in seventh. Summy has offered to blog about Pranav because obviously, I haven't been keeping up.<div><br></div><div><br></div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-75425506726105827602015-07-26T00:26:00.001-05:002015-07-26T00:26:48.258-05:00SummerKindergarten is done and Pranav has his first summer holidays. He is having fun with Summy.Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-82660633966175165572015-05-14T21:20:00.001-05:002015-05-14T21:20:03.726-05:00First swimPranav swam a few paces by himself for the first time today! He loves the water, just like Summy.Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-91300911895518252752015-05-14T21:18:00.001-05:002015-05-14T21:18:45.638-05:00Resolve to start blogging againThere are a lot of things about Summy that I have forgotten and remember fondly when I read old entries in my blog. I'm afraid might forget all of Pranav's things, so I decided to put something, anything, in my blog each day.<div><br></div><div>He is five, he is in kindergarten, and is growing up, even as far as we're concerned, though he's still our baby.</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-27945821973183484732014-07-22T02:24:00.001-05:002014-07-22T02:24:39.044-05:00Scrabble MasterHis new favorite game is scrabble, which he can play endlessly. He has even learned to strategize for higher scores. <div><br></div><div>The other day I found him playing scrabble online on my phone with somebody. I wondered if the other anonymous player could have imagined that he was playing with a four year old.</div><div><br></div><div>(And then I wondered how many times I might have played against a little kid without knowing about it.)</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-40486014146049971852014-07-22T02:19:00.001-05:002014-07-22T02:19:25.033-05:00Innocent VanityWe were walking by a nice lady who told Pranav, "Hello, don't you look handsome!" Pranav told Kiran happily in a nice loud voice, "Everyone is telling me I look handsome today!"<div><br></div><div><br></div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-56417742483857872372014-06-29T04:06:00.001-05:002014-06-29T04:07:03.260-05:00When he grows up...He wants to be a cop , Pranav said the other day. Then the four year old reminisced:<div><br></div><div>"When I was two, I wanted to be an astronaut. But now I changed my mind."</div><div><br></div><div>"Why, Dinky?", I asked.</div><div><br></div><div>"Because I don't want to land on Venus and get my toes burned."</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-89479827950538320522014-04-17T11:37:00.001-05:002014-04-17T11:37:35.815-05:00A disastropheI forgot to bring my phone while dropping off Pranav today. <div><br></div><div>He said, "This is a disaster".</div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I laughed and said, "No, it isn't."</span></div><div><br></div><div>He said, "Then it's a disastrophe!"</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-15299707316308586702014-01-16T23:11:00.001-05:002014-01-16T23:11:16.027-05:00Another poemIn the car, stopped at a red light, he came up with this.<div>"Red means stop</div><div> Green means go</div><div> Yellow means slow down</div><div> Now you know"</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-39061328191639194182014-01-16T13:33:00.001-05:002014-01-16T13:33:25.565-05:00The Reluctant PoetPranav was telling me, <div>"When I am sad, I cry and pout</div><div> When I am happy, ummmm, I laugh about"</div><div><br></div><div>I was so thrilled to hear him thinking and making up a rhyme. I wrote down his poem right away, but then he changed the second line to "when I'm happy, I play and wait for my dinner". </div><div><br></div><div>He threw a little fit when he found out that I had kept his original line and not changed it to the new, much less poetic one. Poets can be so finicky!</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-24910556143463175132014-01-07T02:20:00.001-05:002014-01-07T02:20:32.775-05:00Almost fourDays are passing by fast. Pranav is going to preschool full time. He really is not a baby anymore. <div><br></div><div>He always seems to be going near the speed of light, yet time isn't slowing down. Was Einstein wrong?</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-81763941069392111402013-12-19T04:09:00.001-05:002013-12-19T04:09:03.500-05:00Yucky RiceWe were driving along in the car ( Isn't that where the best conversations happen?) and I was discussing with Summy about what would be good for dinner. <div><br></div><div>"We have yucky rice at home?" Said Pranav, out of the blue. </div><div><br></div><div>"Yucky rice? Why would we have yucky rice?"</div><div><br></div><div>Then I realized what we'd been talking about: Teri"yaki rice".</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-60874039826391460502013-12-13T01:07:00.001-05:002013-12-13T01:07:32.043-05:00All he wants for ChristmasAre maracas and fake snow. Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-64518490691110105832013-11-21T04:19:00.001-05:002013-11-21T04:20:31.674-05:00FantasticHe still seems like a baby to me, but he says things like "These cheez-its are fantastic." I guess preschool does that to him.Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-66926233847359605152013-11-21T04:16:00.001-05:002013-11-21T04:16:15.292-05:00Literal (and stubborn)If there is one thing in common between the two kids, it's that they are both exasperatingly "strong-willed". Even when authority figures like teachers tell them to do something, they won't if they don't like it. They both behave well in class, get along with friends, and usually make the teachers' life easier. But occasionally they are told, for example, to do an activity that they dislike, and will stand and stare (while I, who'd never have dared disobey a teacher, watch and wither)<div><br></div><div>Today I was talking to Pranav in the car, trying to teach him a new word. (Which I forgot, but let's just say it was "pigheaded") "Say pigheaded, Pranav!"</div><div><br></div><div>Silence from the backseat.</div><div><br></div><div>"Can you say pigheaded?", I said.</div><div><br></div><div>"Yes", he said. I waited for him to say it.</div><div><br></div><div>More silence from the back seat.</div><div><br></div><div>"Will you say it?"</div><div><br></div><div>"No!" (mischief in his voice)</div><div><br></div><div>Oh, so he <i>could</i> say it, if he's in the mood for it or wants to do me a favor, but he doesn't feel like it right now, so he won't.</div><div><br></div><div>Bringing up children is like having to make that proverbial horse drink water all day, every day.</div><div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-79746446005836066542013-11-21T03:52:00.001-05:002013-11-21T03:52:34.489-05:00Wide EyedPranav was talking to a friendly lady who we met while we were out. He told her everything about his preschool, friends, and family. <div><br></div><div>She asked, "And do you take naps at your preschool?"</div><div><br></div><div>Pranav said, "Yes!", then added, "but only with our eyes open."</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-38852575947466332662013-11-18T16:36:00.001-05:002013-11-18T16:36:46.908-05:00A Happy TailLast night I asked Pranav: "Would you like to hear a fairy tale tonight?"<div><br></div><div>"Yes!", he said innocently. "A fairy tail is the tail of a fairy, right?"</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-45073723126815002202013-10-03T02:07:00.001-05:002013-10-03T02:07:11.940-05:00Unfathomable LossOne morning four months ago, I talked to my parents on the phone. Then I got off the phone quickly because I had to take Pranav out for a class. I heard my dad say "Good Night" to me across the room from my mom, on the speakerphone.<br />
<br />
That night, I got another phone call, a dreaded one. We packed up and left for India. I would see my dad a final time, but he would not wake up to see me or his grandchildren again. I cannot come to terms with this yet.<br />
<br />
He was a loving dad, and such a loving grandfather. My best memories of childhood are of lying down next to him on the open terrace, looking at the stars while he told stories. This is what I'll always remember when I look at the stars, dad.<br />
<br />
<br />Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-57395746580088088012013-05-19T05:15:00.001-05:002013-05-19T05:15:59.613-05:00Short and SaltyWe still go to the movies with Pranav. Kid movies are easy. For movies that are either inappropriate or too boring for him, we have worked out a strategy. We go at his sleepy times, afternoon or night, and get into the theater early armed with popcorn. He stuffs himself with popcorn, drinks water, snuggles up and falls asleep by the time trailers are done.<div><br></div><div>Today, we went to the latest Star Trek movie. He ate popcorn, curled up and went to sleep as usual, and woke up after the two hour movie was done. He even commented that it was a short movie.</div><div><br></div><div>I guess his movie review would read: "Buttery, salty, crunchy, and delicious! Comfortable seats. Very refreshing, walked out of the movie feeling well rested."</div>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-69162417489899468782013-05-17T03:23:00.001-05:002013-05-17T03:23:50.487-05:00Cleaning Up QuietlyA few months ago, Pranav was in the bathroom brushing his teeth while I was outside the bathroom door. I heard splashes of water, followed by a short period of silence. Then I heard him muttering to himself, "I better wipe this up before Amma sees it." :)Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-66657264524090168092013-05-17T03:18:00.001-05:002013-05-17T03:18:02.923-05:00Getting Technical"I used six units of water for gargling.", Pranav told me today.Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-45548989597775085582012-10-17T03:31:00.001-05:002012-10-17T03:31:17.998-05:00A Picture<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfzo87maME4zK4Ix05X-YMwe3yO-_JZ1TtUh9Xp1JTFbEJsFUOs7K2YRMilO6-9qKgGzqj0b4_mTAXogadyXo36nhaukDCfnRWAONbXv0ziBN81tE28Y3x2xgdoOvqsVICgxhBQ/s1600/photo-777999.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfzo87maME4zK4Ix05X-YMwe3yO-_JZ1TtUh9Xp1JTFbEJsFUOs7K2YRMilO6-9qKgGzqj0b4_mTAXogadyXo36nhaukDCfnRWAONbXv0ziBN81tE28Y3x2xgdoOvqsVICgxhBQ/s320/photo-777999.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5800193039455327282" /></a></p>Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-30200450550406347882012-10-16T04:11:00.002-05:002012-10-16T04:11:45.594-05:00The Pick UpA few weeks ago, Summy, Pranav and I drove to the airport to pick up a cousin. I explained to Pranav that we were going to pick up "Atta" (Aunt) at the airport, and then go back home.<br />
<br />
He waited patiently and quietly while we found the terminal that she was waiting at, and while she got into the car. On the way back home, he broke his silence and said, "We forgot to pick up Atta.".<br />
<br />
"We did pick her up at the airport. She is right here", I pointed. "See?"<br />
<br />
"We did not pick her up.", he said. "She got into the car all by herself!"<br />
<br />
<br />Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10769859.post-16351771129701276712012-10-16T03:51:00.001-05:002012-10-16T03:51:59.920-05:00Counting in SpanishDinky has been watching "Go, Diego, Go" on TV everyday. Diego is a little boy who speaks Spanish and English, so Pranav has been learning to count in Spanish. <br />
<br />
"Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve", he said while I was driving with him in the backseat yesterday. "What comes next, Amma?"<br />
<br />
"Diez.", I said.<br />
<br />
"Diez. What comes next?"<br />
"Once."<br />
<br />
"Once. What comes next?"<br />
"Doce."<br />
<br />
"Doce. What comes next?"<br />
"Trece."<br />
<br />
"Trece. What comes next?"<br />
"Catorce."<br />
<br />
"Catorce. What comes next?"<br />
"Quince", I said, quietly, because I had reached the limits of my knowledge of Spanish numbers and I knew that I couldn't answer his next question.<br />
<br />
"Quince. What comes next?"<br />
"Um, I don't know."<br />
<br />
He smiled because he thought it was funny that Amma didn't know her numbers either. So I told him that I would find out the answer for him once we got home.<br />
<br />
Of course I forgot to find out once I got home. And Pranav is not the kind who forgets.<br />
<br />
So today we had another conversation in the car. He said, ,"Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco, Seis, Siete, Ocho, Nueve, what comes next, Amma?" I winced a little because I could see what was coming.<br />
<br />
"Diez."<br />
<br />
"Right. Diez, Once, Doce, Trece, Catorce, Quince (he really doesn't forget - he remembered the numbers from yesterday). What next?", he said with a mischievous smile.<br />
<br />
"I don't know.", I had to say again.<br />
<br />
So today, I had to get on the computer and learn some more Spanish numbers. At some point, I am going to be stumped by my children, but I don't want to be stumped before they turn three.Aparnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08385442089111646148noreply@blogger.com0