School activties

Every year Betu's school organises "Open Day" where the kids do various activities such as enact stories in the form of skits, sing songs and rhymes, do some word building activities and basically have fun. Last year betu was the giraffe in the "Little blue elephant" story. This year he was the troll from the "Three Billy Goats".

The school organises this open day for pre-primary kids in the open grounds, under the sun during the light wintry days. Each class takes a corner and show their activities there. Its good fun for the kids as well as for the parents.

Here are some pictures from the day -

With his entire class and the class teacher - Sharbani Ma'm

His play "Three Billy Goats"

Singing the song "B I N G O"

Working on a word puzzle

Rainbow

His love for rainbows started about 7-8 months ago and it still contniues. In almost all the drawings he will draw a rainbow. If you remember, he drew that even in the birthday card he drew for me 2 months ago.

Here are the three paintings he did today and all of them have different kinds of rainbows :)

Finger painting

This is an interesting one..he first dabbed some paints on the sheet and then folded it thrice so that the paints would merge with each other.

This one he painted using an icecream stick

I loved all of these Betu! You are 'amazing'! :)

My cute little Giraffe

The play titled "Blue Elephant" was staged on feb 14, 2009 where he was supposed to say the lines "I've never seen an elephant which is blue in color". After initial hiccups of making him learn the lines since he wouldn't accept as he had seen a blue elephant. So when the final show day came, he was very excited since the morning.

I sent him off in the same brown dress which I used for the goat activity. I just didn't have any other dress at home which could be brown or yellow in color from top to bottom. Betu did question me saying "Yeh to goat ki dress hai" but I somehow managed to convince him that lot of animals can have the same color.

They were to perform twice and the parents were given time slots to come and watch the show. Ours was the second slot.

I did a mistake here. I forgot to tell Betu about the slot business and when he didn't see us but saw the parents of all his friends he started bawling away loudly. He didn't say his lines at all and was crying in the top of his voice. So was I told from a mother of his classmate, called me to ask where was I when she saw him crying, with whom I'm pally with.

So when I reached he was in a really off mood and it took a lot of cajoling to agree him to speak his lines again. But when the second replay happened he spoke only half of his line "I've never seen a blue elephant which.." and he broke off. It was obvious that he was still not OK.

I didn't say anything to him but just said a "good job" when he came back to us. here are some of the pictures from the show

Goat says...

I'm sure all of you would have already read about the whole goat mask making exercise and the activity at his school.

So when I asked him what did he say when his turn came.

Betu:
"Thank you teachers.
Thank you children.
I'm a Goat.
I say woof-woof.
I give milk"

Me : Goat says what??
Betu: Woof woof

Me: *slapping my forehead* woh to Dog bolta hai. Goat kya bolti hai?
Betu: After thinking for a few seconds "baaa"

Me: Fir aapne woof woof kyun bola?
Betu: *looks blankly at me*

Me: Fir Ma'm ne kya bola?
Betu: Sab hasne lage

Me: *in a disappointed voice* koi nahi..next time theek se bolna

And I left it at that. I know I should have at least praised him for speaking up in front of all but I was quite disappointed. He was saying it so well at home.

Today he had to go and say these lines as a part of a small skit "I've never see an Elephant which is blue in color".

So over the weekend I practiced it with him. But he rehearsed these lines with a lot of reluctance. Every now and then he would say "Par maine to blue elephant dekha hai. Dumbo!! cartoon network mein aata hai." :D

Now I wonder what will he say during the skit. Will he be able to say the lines properly or will he add these lines of seeing a blue elephant? :D

School Activities

Yesterday, Anirudh had to go dressed as any of the people who help us in our day to day lives. For e.g. Doctors, Postman etc.. I actually forgot totally about it till 8:30 PM the previous night. And then I just couldn't think of what to send him in as. I went to nearby shop, which was just about to close down, and bought the only available doctor set. It was pathetic quality-wise but did I have a choice?

Even though I bought it somehow I was not too game for using those stupid looking things which were to be called as a stethoscope, thermometer etc. Suddenly a bulb lit up in my head and I smacked myself for not thinking of such an easy yet a good option earlier. Why did I have to first waste those 100 rupees before this idea struck me. I decided I will send him as a "tailor". All I needed was a measuring tape, a scissor and a piece of cloth. And I surely had all of this.

So when I told him he shall be going as a tailor and not as a doctor, a lot of bawling and throwing tantrums happened. But somehow I managed to convince him about the uniqueness of it and he agreed. Now I had to make him remember few lines to speak. this is what I taught him - "I'm a tailor. I stitch clothes. This is the scissor and this is a measuring tape."

Although at home he recited them very well but I was quite doubtful if he would remember as I had taught him these sentences in the morning only.

Anyhow, when I picked him from daycare I asked him
Me: Did you do your tailor act in the class?
Betu: Yes

Me: How did it go?
Betu: Bahut achha

Me: What did you do?
Betu: Maine bola "I'm a tailor." Uske baad main bhool gaya isliye maine bola "Main phate huye kapde silta hoon".

Me: *trying to control laughter* Very good. What did Ma'm say?
Betu: Unhone bola "Good".

I was infact amazed at how he got this idea of "phate kapde silta hoon". And I think it was quite creative and spontaneous of him to come up with soemthing like this.

Later on asking who all had come as what, I figured only 60% of the kids came dressed as various helpers. Out of those 60% of the children, 90% came as doctors, one came as a teacher, one as a barber, one as a postman and he as a tailor.

So I used this to tell him "See. I told you everyone will come as doctors. No one else came as a tailor. You were special." A big grin came on his face hearing the word "special". :D

An interesting game

This is the toy we got for Betu this Diwali. It is called "OUCH". I know the name is funny but its really a good game even for adults. It has a main tower like thing. On which we need to put a bowl like thing which has a big hole in the center and mini holes on the sides. There as colored sticks which are quite flexible and we have to put them through the holes on the sides to make a mish-mash net. Then we have to drop the marbles that come along with the game. And then we close it with a bowl on the top.

There can be 4 players and each one has to take out sticks with the aim that no/minimum beads shall spiral down. The one who collects the most beads loses.



But I changed the rule a bit since its usually 2 player game for us. So whatever beads I have let roll down, he collects and whatever come out because of his pulling out a stick, I collect. So when there are no more marbles left in the top of the tower, the game ends and the one who has the most wins.

We were a bit apprehensive when we bought it whether he will enjoy it or not. But since he enjoys it and so do we, it definitely was a good buy. It costed us Rs. 400 which again is not very expensive in my view for such an interesting game.

Celebrating the end of the summer camp..

I wonder if the celebration was because "Glad thats its over!" or was it because they felt "It went well!" :D

Anyhow, whatever be the reason, the function was pretty decent and all the kids were pretty excited. Anirudh and the gang of boys danced to song "Hare Ram Hare Ram" from the movie Bhool Bhullaiyya.

Here are some pics:

With his gang of boys! He is about 4-5 months older than the rest.

Dancing to the song!

The cutest part was when all these kiddies started to do twist during the bit of the pop portion of the song. It was so cute to see these little kiddies shaking their bums :)

Learning to skate

Betu has been learning to skate at his daycare for the past 2-3 weeks and he is actually enjoying it good. Earlier I had enrolled him into self defense activities but since for 10 days he was the only student, they discontinued and I had the choice of sending him to either Skating or Dance. I preferred skating since its an outdoor activity.

About 2 weeks ago I met him coach and he said he is the best amongst the lot and has lot of control and balance. But..yes..there the but butts in here...when he sees a particular boy fall down, he will come to the same spot where that boy fell and would intentionally fall down there! *rolling my eyes*

I told this thing to his Nanu one day, he said, "Toh badhiya hai. Pata chalta hai ki kitna control hai. It shows what precision he has on the balance and control" (Its good. It shows how much control he has). I had nothing to say in response to his Nanu's logic :)

These grandparents I tell you...they always find good things in whatever their grand kids do!!

Budding photographer?

Anirudh has been fond of clicking since very long but because of his age and our tiny pockets we didn't even dare let him use it unless we made sure he cannot drop it and that we are around. But couple of days ago when I hooked the camera to download some pictures I saw so many pics that he had taken which I was not aware about. And some of them are quite funny. Have a look:












Can you guess what these pics are? The lower ones? Well..they are closeups of his own face.. :D

Main bahut busy hoon!

Whenever Betu is engrossed in either drawing or writing something on the paper, this is how his moodha is. Always! Slightly tilted, with the back portion in the air! :D

And while I thought that he must be busy with his painting, a little while later a strict command with his finger pointing to the fridge door "Yeh mera zaroori kaam hai. Aap isko touch nahi karna" (This is my important work. Do not touch this) made it clear what he was busy with in reality - writing gibberish...err...his important work on the sticky notes!

OK boss! We won't touch it! :D

Sent on my BlackBerry® from Hutch

Electric trampoline jumping!

I'm sure all of you would have seen these electric trampolines in the malls where they put a kind of a belt around the child and the kids are swinging up and high, to and fro and just having fun.

I used to be quite amused with that and last year when he was about 2.5 yrs young I tried to get him into it but he started crying within seconds. So we took him out immediately. And every time we would go to a mall, he will eye that trampoline and kids jumping interestingly but was never keen to do it himself. He would always say no when we would ask him if he wants to do it.

This Sunday as we went to a mall with his Nanu, he himself told us that he wants to do it and he added "Main nahi darunga" (I will not get scared). I was surprised and happy at the same time. But just to confirm I asked him again 2-3 times if he is sure he wants to di it and every time he would reply back "Sure!". Ok then...we went ahead and he waited anxiously for his turn. And he had such a wonderful time and was so happy. Although when he started to go a bit faster and to quite a height he did get uncomfortable a bit so we asked the operator to slow it down. And then the operator changed the mode from going up and down to the swing motion. And Anirudh loved it even more! I asked him "So who is this flying here? A Spiderman or a Superman?" He immediately answered "Spiderman!" :D

Here are some pics that I clicked from my phone ..ahemm..new phone! :D

Waiting for his turn!

Getting all set!

I'm ready!!

Trying to jump on his own!

Here comes the Spiderman!

Yippee!! Catch me if you can!

And he loved it so much that everyday morning he asks me if we can go 'jumping' again and waving his hands up and down. And I have to tell him that we will go on a holiday or Sunday and he would then insist that today is Sunday! :D

Anirudh solving Sudoku

Anirudh observes me solving the Sudoku puzzle every day. And when he sees me writing on the paper he wants to do the same. And he gets really annoyed when I stop him from. I'm sure he must be thinking "She writes herself and doesn't let me write!" :D

Today day I very generally told him that we fill in numbers in the boxes from 1 to 9 in this game. He was so elated hearing it and said "Mujhe numbers aate hain!" I nodded and said yes to him.

So as I'm thinking what to fill in, he just took way the paper and pen from me and started solving it on his own. And his logic for solving the puzzle was that if there is a number 5 written in a box, the next empty box has to be 6. Why? Because what number comes after 5? Number 6!! hahahaha...

But well..his logic was correct in his own way..right? I was so amused that I let him solve it the way he wants to. So look at him solving the Sudoku puzzle - probably the youngest progeny in the world to be solving one!!

Pulling my cheeks!

My cheeks are hurting from his "Mumma Cheekoo" antics! He has been pulling them so often and so hard saying "Mumma Cheeko" that even if I touch them from outside they hurt.

And when I try to do the same to him and quite softly, he will start crying. Uff...kya karoon is ladke ka...

But then he's such a cutie too. When he comes home in the evenings, I can hear him calling out to me "Mumma! Mumma!" when he's still not entered our house gate and he comes running over to me and I get smothered with his sloppy wet kisses and cuddly hugs! By the time its my turn to do give my share of kisses to him, he's already trying to wriggle out of my arms to do his own things!

So basically he decides when he has to kiss/hug/cuddle with me and ALSO when I can do the same to him. Uff...kya karoon is ladke ka....

Anirudh's favourite corner!

Anirudh has found his favourite corner in the house. Of all the places it is the space under the clothes hanger that we use to hang clothes inside the house. He will just put a cushion there underneath, lie down with a book or two and just talk to himself or pretend to read a story. Why I say pretend is because he mostly makes his own stories using the articles and people and things that he sees around himself. It sure is quite funny hearing his self made stories.

So here I leave you with some pictures of his favourite spot in the house!

Wild love and play!

Anirudh has recently started to show his love and affection in the wildest possible way! Really really WILD way. He will press my cheeks, pull them, pinch me, bite me, jump over me and do just about anything. And it hurts, If you remember my earlier post on how he pulls my cheeks and say "Mumma Cheekoo". I then used to think that was quite wild enough. But what I didn't know was that he had much more wilder things in store for me. The only funny part when he does all this to me is when he keeps saying in between "Aur Mittal!"(And Mittal!) (our surname).

And its not just about showing love in this wild manner but while playing also he behaves so wildly. He would climb over my tummy, jump on it *ouch*..it hurts really bad then and so many times land on my tummy on his knees. He wants to box and today he boxed me right on my lips and GOD! That hurt so much. For about 10 mins they were quite swollen. I wanted to whack him right there and then but I just held on and told him with a frown on my face that it hurts Mumma. And when he knows he has hurt the other person, he behaves in such a funny way. He gets so defiant and will start shouting "No" every few seconds till the time I keep looking at him with a glare. And then he himself will way "No talking to you!" (trying to copy my sentence - I'm not talking to you!)

But today there was a bit of a change soon after he said this sentence after punching me on my face. He came to me and asked me in such a sad voice "Mumma, aap mere se baat nahi karoge?" (Mumma, you won't talk to me?). This is when I hadn't said anything to him besides that his punch hurt me. So I told him again "You hurt Mumma! Mumma ko bhi dardee hoti hai"(Mumma also feels the pain). So with an even sadder face he goes "Nahi, Mumma baat karegi!" (No, Mumma will talk to me) and he came over, hugged me and clung to me like a little monkey! And then he kissed me on that part of the lip where he had punched me and clung to me again.

Me being a typical Mom, all anger vanished into thin air and I also kissed him back.

But all things apart, is this wild thing a phase too? I know I try to restrict his cartoon watching where there is fighting and lot of action. But I do let him watch Tom & Jerry and Popeye quite a bit. Do you think I should restrict it too? Because there's lot of whacking and hitting in Tom & Jerry and in Popeye where lot of fights between Popeye and Brutus are shown.
But then its only because of Popeye that he started to have spinach :P because spinach makes him a strong boy just like Popeye!

*Sigh*...karoon to kya karoon?

Laptop baby!

Anirudh has always been quite an observer even as a few months young baby. So he would pick up things/actions/words and would often leave us surprised! Proudly surprised that is! :D If you know what I mean :)

But when he learned to use the laptop - not the laptop as in whole but he figured out how to switch it on and insert his DVDs (and they would play automatically) we were quite surprised, awed and worried all at the same time. I'm sure some of you will say being surprised and awed is fine but why worry? Well, we worried for the laptop :P Lest he damages it in his moments of curiosities and trying to do things with it.

How he learnt it seemed obvious to us. By observing our actions. And he learnt how to minimise, pause, stop and select the options in the DVD menu using the touch pad in the laptop yet again by observing us. I somehow managed to click a pic of him working at the laptop (somehow because he doesn't allow us to click him without his permission :P)

In this picture he's coloring up 'James', a character from Thomas and his friends.

So now the time has come when all he needs us to place the laptop at his desired place and this too because he's been strictly told not to pick up the laptop on his own at all! Rest he manages to do it on his own. And he doesn't like any interference in anything! He HAS to do all by himself!

Its amazing to see the ease with which he works with the laptop. Really really amazing. Whenever I tell such feats about him to his Nanu, his Nanu says "Yeh ikkiswee sadi ke bachhe hain!" (These are the children of the 21st century!) :D

Play-Doh and his clay models!

Anirudh has been fond of clay models ever since we introduced them to him. He got his first set of 'play-dohs' and the activity table along with from his Nanu as his first b'day gift. However, it was only when he was quarter to 2 that I assembled it and let him play with the doughs. He just loved them.

We however would keep an eye to ensure he doesn't eat them them. He never did eat them though. Nor even showed any tendencies to do so anyways. But who knew he would make a small ball of it and put it inside his nostrils! *rolling my eyes*. Yes he did that. And when he felt uneasy after putting it inside his nose, he came to me pointing to his nose. I as usual thought he is pointing at the booger inside the nose, so I just wiped it and sent him away. He came again after few seconds and pointed to his nose again. I again wiped it and sent him away. However, this time I happened to see something pinkish in the tissue that I had used to wipe it. Its a habit that I usually look at the tissue after I wipe his nosey :P But this habit turned up useful that eventful day. So I called him back to see what made that pink thing appear. And when I looked inside his nose, I could see the small piece of bright pink stuck way inside his nostril.

We, myself and DH, got nervous and tried hard for him to blow his nose. He tried but it didn't help. I tried to put pressure in the top of his nose thinking maybe it will push that piece down but it wasn't helping. I wanted to try pulling it out with the hairpin but he was squirming so much that we decided not to lest we hurt him. So with nothing working we called his pead (it was a Sunday) apologised for calling him on a Sunday and told him the whole situation. He told us to take him to the emergency at the nursing home. Hearing the word 'emergency' made us even more nervous despite us knowing what the meaning of emergency section is. Parents that we are! :D

So we got ready and just before going out I just made him try to blow his nopes once again! And when he did, it came out "plop" in the tissue. *Whew*..what a relief it was. That day itself all the doughs were packed up and kept away for a few days. Yes only for few days because he would insist so much for them that we gave in but made sure someone would play with him whenever it was 'play doh' time. However, soon we noticed that his bronchitis allergy would get aggravated every time he would play with them continuously day after day. So eventually they were all packed or given away.

Recently my sister who lives in Germany sent some other kinds and much smaller in quantity. So we let him play with them after a long lone time. He LOVED them again! And he made these cute (err...maybe not cute) little models from them:

The Monster!

The Dinosaur

The monster he made totally on his own. But with Dino I had to help him out in making the legs and the trimmings on the back.

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Edited to add : The 'Monster' was not supposed to be a monster in the first place. He was trying to copy a goat from one of his books. But when he completed it he said "Mumma, yeh to goat nahi hai. Yeh to monster hai!" :D