Dil mein do laddoo phoote

Yesterday Betu came to me and said "Mumma, dil mein do laddoo phoote!"

I looked at him blankly and he giggled. He again repeated it and with a confused look on my face I asked him "Kya?" And he handed me this in my hand - a pack of Cadbury dairy milk shots -


And then proceeded to tell me that this is the byline shown in the ads for this chocolate and that the chocolate is shaped like a 'laddoo' and there are two bits of it in a pack and that is why he said "dil mein do laddoo phoote"  :)

Mera cutie pie!

His first experience with a 2 month baby

We went to meet a relative who had a baby boy 2 months ago. It was Betu's first rendezvous with a baby so young. He was quite small himself when Aryan was born so he doesn't remember that bit.

So when we were going I was telling him how young the baby is and what he should not do since the baby is so small. It was really hard for him to believe that there can be a child who is not even 1 year old. He was asking me what all can he play with the baby and I was telling him the baby doesn't even sit right now. He cannot talk or walk or run. He was really amused and laughing as if I was telling all the wrong things. Or as if I was joking. But when he saw the baby he understood. He was trying to do things to make the baby smile. Clapping his hands. Brushing his hand on the baby''s forehead. Cooing with him. It was really cute to see him like this.

Later on the way he told me "Mumma, Baby kitna cute tha na?" and I just smiled and nodded. Here is the pic of him holding the baby in the lap. Sorry the quality isn't great since its from phone and the lighting wasn't proper in the room and I was trying to take without flash.

Aap meri step mom ho?

This is the question I was asked couple of days ago by my dear little son Anirudh. Surprised? Even I was. So I asked him why do you ask this? He had a very simple answer to it "Kyunki aap mere se itna kaam karati ho. Aur step moms bachhon se bahut kaam karwati hain."

I was initially a little aghast at this statement but the moment I realized why he asked me this question I was really laughing away. It so happened that I was making him clear the mess of his toys when he made this statement in full seriousness.

But I didn't leave it there (but obvious..isn't it? :D) and I asked him who told him about step moms.

It seems in the school that day the story of Cinderella was narrated to them. And that story has a step mom who is very cruel to Cinderella and makes her work really really hard. And because of THAT story, I was asked THIS question.

Sigh..what do you say to this question and more so to this logic!!!!

Questions that leave me speechless..

Few days ago, Betu asked me a question that left me speechless. This is what our conversation was -

Betu: Hanuman kaun hain?
Me: Hamare Bhagwan ji hain.

Betu: Ram kaun hain?
Me: Woh bhi hamare Bhagwan ji hain.

Betu: *looking a bit confused* Ganesha kaun hain?
Me: Woh bhi hamare bhagwan ji hain.

*Betu looked totally bewildered and went silent for few seconds*

Betu: *finally speaking up* But Surabhi Ma'm be to bola ki ek hi bhagwan hote hain?
Me: *totally blank and speechless*

Do you have any answer to this? I definitely didn't know. But I with a big question mark on his face and waiting for me to answer I had to reply soemthing. After thinking for a while all I could say was "Bhagwan to ek hi hote hain. Unko alag alag naam se sab bulate hain." Before he could question me again, I simply distracted him and switched to some other conversation.

But off late I had had to resort to the 'distraction' method quite a few times. And I feel its not good. And may not work for long. What should I do or say when I myself don't know the answers of?

There are times when I'v even said that I do not know but he keeps on insisting "Aap to itne bade ho. Aapko pata hoga." With so much faith and trust in us parents, I don't think we are doing justice to the role.

Any suggestions here?

Mumma doesn't know a thing

Today morning after hubby gave Betu the bath, I was trying to get him to wear clothes pretty quickly as it has started to get really chilly now. As usual, he was not standing properly and making it so tough to make him wear his clothes. And then I yelled saying "Anirudh!! Seedhey khadey ho! Tum thand kha jayoge nahi to!". He looked at me with such a bewildered expression and asked me "Thand koi khane ki cheez hai? Koi usko khata hai kya?".

I, as usual, just cracked up laughing and didn't know how to explain that there are phrases that one doesn't need to take by their literal meaning!

After we both were done laughing he didn't forget to add "Mumma ko to kuchh nahi pata!" and he went off to watch his Little Einstein :D

He surely knows how to return a compliment.

He never hesitates in saying "Aap to bahut achhe lag rahe ho!" whenever any of us dresses up for a party/wedding or any get-together.

But recently because of all his tantrums and anger fits, I started calling him "Nautanki No. 1". The day I first said this to him, without blinking for a second he said "Aur aap Nautanki No. 2!"

And now, the compliment has extended to "Aap Nautanki No 2 se 10 tak ho!"

So be it positive or a negative, he surely knows how to return a compliment! :D

What do you say to that?

Today morning Betu was asking hubby about something again and again. Hubby as usual snapped at him. He came to me with a sullen face and told me "Hum doosre papa layenge. Yeh papa gande hain. Hamesha daante rahte hain." (We will get another papa. He is bad. He scolds all the time) But obviously I burst out into laughter and then added "Kaash itna easy hota Betu."(How I wish it was that easy.) loud enough for hubby to hear that who was sitting nearby.

Betu took that statement of mine quite seriously and in quite a heart broken voice said "Hum market jayenge. Mall mein. Wahan se layenge." (We will go to the market. In the mall. We will get from there). I just laughed a little more and hugged him.

But seriously what do you say to that? And where do they get all this in their heads? :D

His hinglish!

I have already written about his attempts at talking in English and everyday he says something that just cracks us up.

Today when he saw me sitting on his kiddy moodha chair he said - "Who's my chair baitha?" :D


~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

Jhoola Jhooling!!

We were at my in-laws place for celebrating Diwali. It was an early morning and Betu was swinging with two of his cousins in the swing in the lawn of the house. All the kids were in full masti mood. And I was making a video of them having fun. So I asked "Whats up?!" and Betu thought for a while and said "Sun is up!" I couldn't help laughing at this answer even if it was correct from his point although I meant it otherwise. So I rephrased my question and asked "What are you doing?". He again thought for a while and replied "We are jhoola jhooling!" Everyone burst out into laughter and so did Betu!

These are his recent attempts to talk and respond in English. And I feel he is making good progress even if they are sometimes funny :D

Main aapka wait karunga!

Hubby picked up Betu from the daycare today and I called up to speak to him . After hearing the whole day's account from him, he says, "Aap jaldi ghar aana. Main aapka interaaj karunga." He wanted to say "main aapka intezaar karunga" :D

When I corrected him he promptly rephrased his statement to "Main aapka wait karunga!". Smart fellow, aint he? :)

So as you can see he still jumbles up the last letter with the middle one .

Beauty conscious

I can already imagine what trouble we are going to face when he is in teens looking at him being so beauty conscious at this age of 4!

Other day we went to Spencer's mart to pick up some general grocery stuff. As we were browsing through some soaps, he picks up a Nivea vitamin creme soap and says "Yeh 'silk skin' wala le lo mere liye". In the begiinning I was not able to get it right and only after I kept putting away the one he was handing me over, that he got angry adn said "Aap mera 'silk skin' wala soap kyun nahi le rahe ho?" that I understood the words 'silk skin'.

Me and hubby both had such a laugh and so did the other customers who were standing nearby.

On another day he combed his hair in a certain style using his hand only and turns to me and asks "Yeh style kaisa lag raha hai?"

Although I find all this very cute right now there are days when his such style/beauty consciousness scares me. Abhi se yeh haal hai to bade ho kar kya hoga?

He is such an adorable child!

After picking him from his daycare, as we were driving back, the car was stopping abruptly. And it happened 3-4 times. Since it was rush hour, the vehicles behind me would honk on continuously.

He asked me each time the car stopped as to what happened. I would just tell him "Car kharab ho gayee hai". After a few minutes of silence, as we are waiting at a traffic signal, he says in a very compassionate tone "Maine socha ki jab main bada ho jayunga na, tab main aapko new car dilayunga!". I can't describe what I felt at that moment. If I had not been driving I would have just scooped him up in my arms and smothered him with kisses and cuddles! So I just managed to give him a peck on his head as the signal just then turned green. I'm sure with envy :D

I can't thank GOD enough for giving me such an adorable loving child! I love you my baby!

Talking about girlfriends..already??

Since I was home today I picked up Betu from school. As expected he was mighty pleased grinning from ear to ear. Thats exactly why I had decided to pick him up..to see that jubilation in his face and eyes.

So after we started to drive back home, I generally asked him what all he did in the school and who all he played with. He started telling the names Yukta, Ananya, Indraveer, Samar and he told me the name of one more boy which I have forgotten. As I went "hmm" he asked me said something which left me stumped. He said "Yukta meri girlfriend hai" After that he went mum and so did I as I was trying to gather myself up after hearing this piece of information! But he continued to leave me even more stumped by asking "Aapko Yukta achhi lagti hai ya fir Ananya?" I kind of figured where he was heading towards and was trying to see if I answer back what he wants to hear. He has always been talking about this friend 'Yukta' ever since he started going to this formal school. When I tired to tell him I've met Yukta but not Ananya how can I say who do I like better. But he kept insisting me to answer. So I replied "Both".

Now it was his turn to be stumped and he asked me further "Par meri ek hi to girlfriend ho sakti hai na. Isliye aap batayo ki Yukta ki Ananya." Since I knew he wanted me to take the name of Yukta I deliberately answered back "Ananya".

How I wish I had the words to describe his face expressions then. It was a mix of disappointment and that of pondering and of confusion. He in a very flat tone said "Achha..to theek hai." And after a silence of few seconds he said "Meri dono girlfriends hain" leaving me grinning. Finally I asked him "Girlfriend kya hoti hai aapkot pata hai?" He proceeded to tell me "Jaise papa aapke girlfriend hain aur aap Papa ki, waise Yukta meri girlfriend hai." I literally felt earth moving beneath my feet wondering who the hell told him this. And when I posed this same question to him he replied back in a matter-of-fact tone "Kisi ne nahi. Mujhe pata hai".

After that we got talking about something different and I was glad about it. Because I didn't know what to talk to him about the subject further. I had drawn a blank thinking how can a 4 year old possibly know about the fundamentals revolving around a 'girlfriend' and a 'boyfriend'. And I'm still wondering with no clue of how this piece of information has reached his teeny weeny brain.

But at the same time its telling me I need to gather up my act and know each and everything that he knows about and talk to him more and more. Coz I should know what all he has stored up there in his head.

My little preacher!

As I was getting ready to leave for work, Anirudh comes up to me, with the pointing finger tells me "Aap office mein acche se kaam karna. Fir jaldi ghar aa jaana." I had to really hold back my laughter and with the most obedient face had to say "Ok betu!" :D

These days since he is at home with Dadi-Dadu, he is the one who sees us off when we leave for work and welcomes us when we come back.

This clever little boy..

...he knows which door to know in what situation. As I was talking a to a friend I remembered an incident from the trip to Jaipur that we recently took to meet his grandparents.

We had booked tickets for a 6 AM Volvo on Saturday, May 24. And we had a dinner to go to on Friday night. I was trying to pack up quickly after coming back from dinner as I wanted to sleep early as I had to wake up at 4 AM. Anirudh was so excited about the trip that he just wouldn't sleep. He, by his own words, was trying to help me but was as such being more of a pain than any help. So I kept shouting at him to go to bed and so did Hubby.

So when we reached Jaipur, Betu's Dadu was waiting at the bus stop to pick us up. When I told Hubby tell to papa that there is no need to come to pick us up and we will come by auto, hubby said "Woh humein thode hi lene aatey hain. Woh to apne pote ke liye aate hain"(He doesn't come to pick us up. But to pick his grandchild) :D

Coming back to the incident, the moment Betu saw his Dadu, he ran towards him and was promptly picked up by his dadu and given tight hugs. Once through with the hugs and all, Betu poured out all his woes that how he got scolded yesterday night by Papa-Mumma and that he (Dadu) should scold us back! :)

Now what do you call this little imp of a boy!!??

Chaddi 'pahen' kar phool khila hai..

Today morning while I was getting him dressed after his bath..I know I know..lot of cour converstaions are from the getting-dressed-after-bath times but what to do. Its either the mornings or evenings after I pick him up from the daycare that our converstaions happen.

So coming back to the beginning, so as I was getting him dressed I told him "betu ne to aaj Beyblades vest and beyblades underwear pahna hai!" Pointing to his vest he replied "Yeh beyblades baniyaan hai!". So I told him "Baniyan to English mein Vest kahte hain". And then I continued to tell him "Aur underwear to hindi mein kachha kahte hain!". He immediately piped in "Nahi..usko chaddi kahte hain!"

I just couldn't control my laughter hearing hte word chaddi and started to giggle. He was quite amused at my reaction and kept saying "Chaddi" just to make me laugh. And then I remembered the title song of "Jungle Book" in hindi which went something like this:

जंगल जंगल बात चली है, पता चला है
अरे, चड्डी 'पहन' के फूल खिला है, फूल खिला है!

एक परिंदा है शर्मिंदा - था - वो - नंगा !
अरे, इससे तो अंडे के अन्दर - था - वो -चंगा !
सोच रहा है , बाहर आखिर क्यों निकला है ( अरे, रे रे रे रे !)

अरे चड्डी ’पहन’ के फूल खिला है फूल खिला है.....

He's a growing boy!

Incident 1:
Betu, his Nanu (my father) and Nani-Amma (his great grandma and my Dadi) were eating fruits. My father offered some fruits to my daadi and she refused saying she has had enough. He tells her "Aap fruits nahi khayoge to aap bade nahi hoge!" (If you won't eat you will not grow up!) :D

Incident 2:
Two days ago, Betu, and my cousin's son, Dhruv, were playing together. After a while Dhruv started to be naughty. So his mum told him not to. Anirudh also joined the preaching bit by saying "Aaap aise karoge to main aapko ghumma le kar nahi jayunga" (If you will do this I won't take you along for the outing) :D

Incident 3:
While playing again with Dhruv, when Dhruv was not listening to what Betu was telling him, betu said "Bade bhaiya ki baat sunte hain. Main aapka bada bhaiyya hoon na? Meri baat suno." (You should listen to your elder brother. I'm your big brother. Right? So listen to me) :D

Incident 4:
Dhruv is aged 2 and lot of times we carry him in our laps. Looking at that Anirudh wanted us to carry him as well. I tried to carry him once in a while but kept telling him that you are a big boy and you should walk on your own. By end of the day he had enough of the declined "carry-me-please" requests so he said "Mujhe bada nahi hona!" (I don;t want to grow up.) I didn't understand why he said that so I asked him "Aap aise kyun bol rahe ho?" (Why are you saying like this?) He replied back "Kyunki fir aap mujhe godi nahi lete" (Because you do not carry me since I'm growing up). I didn't have anything to say to that. He was very right from his point of view. :D

His funny talks!

There are many a time when he doesn't pronounce the words correctly or sometimes distorts them enough to make anyone laugh. Remember how he used to say 'fatafat' as 'fata fata'? No? Read about it here.

These days whenever he has to say the word 'fatafat' he will say it as 'fatak fatak'. I will give you an example. Imagine the sentence "Maine kapde fatafat pahen liye hain". Now imagine the as to how he will say it "Maine kapde fatak fatak pahen liye hain!" hehehe..

Funny ain't it? :D

He is such a brat!!

But I guess you will laugh when you hear this. Anirudh's bathing routine is taken care of by his Papa. I just wipe him off and dress him up once he comes out of the bath. But since today his Papa was traveling and I had this additional task of bathing him, I was kind of hurrying him up. After asking him umpteenth time to take off his clothes, he was being fussy and trying to run away here and there. A look at the clock which showed its 7:20 got me on my toes and I started to hurry up more. We have to be out of the house by 8 AM and I still had to bathe and shampoo my hair too! And also had to pack his daycare bag.

I told him that this is the last time I'm asking him to take off his clothes on his own or I will do that and he still was not listening. So I started to take them off and he goes "Koi chhote bachhe ko pareshan karta hai?" (Is anyone supposed to trouble little kids?)

For a moment I was quiet and didn't know what to say. Then I said "Koi apni Mumma ko pareshan karta hai?" (Is the child supposed to trouble Mumma?). This little bugger didn't even blink and said "Haan!" (Yes!) and ran away in the bathroom.

Some funny conversations with Betu

Incident 1
This conversation happend on the way to home after I had picked up Betu from his daycare yesterday evening :

Me: Aapne school mein kya kara? Kya khaya? (What did you do in the your school and what did you eat?)
Betu: Kela (Banana)

Me: Kela khaya? (Ate banana?)
Betu: Nahi..Kela (No..banana)

Me: Haan Kela..banana? (
Betu: Visibly irritated now Ahhhhh..nahiii....Khela! (

Me: Ohh..Khela!!

And I continued to laugh for the next 15-20 seconds thinking on this f up between the words 'kela' and 'khela'. :D

While I was laughing, he kept looking at me totally amused and when I stopped he said "Main tabse to yahi kah raha tha. Aap ko samajh nahi aa raha tha" (I had been saying this it ever since. But you were not understanding)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Incident 2
Yesterday night around 9'O clock, hubby went to buy some battery water for the inverter. And I whispered to him to get some icecreams on the way back. I whispered lest Betu hears it and wants to have too. But he did hear it even when sitting on the other end of the room and starting to jump "Yay! yay! Icecream! Main bhi Khayunga!) (I will also eat). Hubby said "No ice cream" and went on his way. This conversation happened between Hubby and Betu yesterday night after he returned carrying a big 5 litre flask of the battery water. Hubby had not even stepped in the house when he ran towards the door and the moment hubby stepped in, he walked a circle around hubby.

Betu: Ice cream kahan hai? (Where is the ice cream?)
Hubby: Nahi laya. (I didn't get)

Betu: Yeh kya hai? (What is this?)
Hubby: Inverter ke liye battery water. (Batter water for the inverter)

Betu: Ice cream kyun nahi laye? (Why didn't you get ice cream?)
Hubby: Main battery water lene gaya tha. Yeh dekho...main woh le aaya. (I had gone to get battery water. Look..I got it)

Betu: Par aap ice cream to nahi laye na! (But you didn't get ice cream!)
Hubby: (laughed a little)

Betu: Main tabse kah raha tha ice cream khayenge. Aapne meri baat kyun nahi suni? (I had been saying since long that we will eat ice cream. Why didn't you listen to me?)