Dreaming...Twirling!

Shriya has finally started ballet lessons. She has been waiting, pleading to start classes. It was I who delayed things. As a bharatnatyam dancer myself, I knew the right age to start Indian classical was around 7-8. But ballet apparently can be started around 4. Much to her delight, I finally relented and let her start lessons.

So, every Thursday, she dons her tutu and ballet shoes and dances all the way to class.  Its cute…oh so cute! And deep inside I attributed all this interest in ballet simply to the chiffony tutu. I assumed she felt like a princess ballerina (after her favourite tv character, Angelina Ballerina) and did not want to break that pretty little bubble. But the other day, the instructor told me that Shriya is extremely determined and being the youngest in her class,  tries doubly hard.

I can see that Shriya is genuinely keen to learn and her seriousness touches me. Twirl on, little one!

Summer's here!!!

3 ponytails and counting!

Oversized Googgles on Undersized Googlies

Coca Juice (as they call it!)

One cool Spidey Baby

Our Beijing Break

We just got back from Beijing! I can now safely say that we had a whale of a time! I was not too sure about this trip right from the word GO. Would the kids be keen on a serious sightseeing trip? Are they old enough to understand it all? Will Shriya be ok with the local food? Will we all be ok with exactly 10 words and 2 sentences in Mandarin?

We were more than fine and manage we did quite well. The kids were on a high, right from the minute we got to the airport. Separate seats, the entertainment systems, the movies, the kid’s meal..everything was regarded with super excitement. I felt a tad guilty for taking them on Tiger Airways a little too many times to India so much so  they had forgotten what it was like to travel Singapore Airlines!

Beijing is a HUGE city and I had no clue about the amount of walking we’d have to do. The Forbidden City and Summer Palace, however gloriously beautiful are also painfully strenuous! Not a whimper or whine... …atleast not from the kids. They covered it all except that they never walked once. They ran and skipped, hopped  and imagined they were trains and dinosaurs!I tried their way but realized that walking at a steady pace was safer at my age!

I must say that our trip was made extra special because of the Beijingers. So much warmth and love, they were completely charmed with V&S. And of course my little ones played to the gallery! They sang the Mandarin rhymes they knew and happily posed for photo after photo with strangers. They were hugged and kissed and petted! And to my glee they were even given discounts at the markets, that I used very well to my advantage :-)

A wonderful trip in all! But when I look at the photographs and think back, it's not the Great Wall or the Tianamen that bring back memories. It's that afternoon at a little pizza joint where the kids laughed through mouthfuls of stringy cheese watching their father enact something. It’s the hour long steaming bath that they took together while blowing soap bubbles in the hotel bathtub. It’s the bumpy ride that we all took on a trishaw to nowhere. It’s the smiles and giggles, cuddles and kisses, questions and observations that make me smile and bask in the aftermath of a lovely vacation.

Veggies Vs Birthdays

Me: Finish up those vegetable on the side, please
Shriya: :-( ( Grumpy face)
Me: But if you don't eat your vegetables, how will you grow?
Shriya:  Vegetables don't help me grow, birthdays help me grow!
Me: What?
Shriya: Amma, just because I eat more vegetables, am I going to be five sooner than October? No, right? So I actually grow older and become 5 only in October and not because of some vegetable that I eat today.

Shriya has an answer and most times a more logical one than mine for every question!A friend who was at the table cheered Shriya for her 'thought provoking' statement and added to that said, he was quitting on his veggies!Grrrrrrrr

Siiigh, if only I said eat and they ate!!

Emergency Drill

I heard a loud sound and then a bang. Rushed from my room to the kids' room. Everything seemed ok except that there were lots of lego bits near Shriya. I was reminded very clearly that the brother had purposely thrown lego bits near but not on Shriya. Aaaaaaalright! Nothing new happening here. Vaibhav, like most older brothers I know, gets a kick out of annoying, bothering and teasing his little sister.

I just looked at him. No words. Everything had been said several times before. He looked at me gauging my mood ( I presume). I waited wondering if he was going to deny it all, claim that it was an accident or simply say a sorry. But Vaibhav, after some very quick thinking and a solemn face, came up with "Amma, I didn't mean to hurt her or anything. I threw it only on the side and do you know why?? Imagine there is a bomb blast or an earthquake happening very suddenly. Shriya would not even know what to do. I was just giving her some practice and that's why I threw the lego to make the noise like a bomb to just see how Shriya would react. And you know what? She doesn't run fast enough"!


Wow, Vaibhav...not bad at all! I was trying very hard to hide a smile till I heard a menacing "Amma....are you just going to smile and not say anything?? Give him a blackmark, cut a treat, do something. Ammaaaaaaa"!!

To worry or not?

Shriya was sitting on the pot. She usually has a book that she's flipping through. But that day, she had this glazed look and was staring into space. So I asked her what was up and she said that she was very, very worried.

Alright, she had more than my attention now. More probing and she told me in her cute lisp "Amma, I'm so worried about the time when I become a mummy. When I have children, who will clean their poopo?"

Aah, big worry indeed. And here I am worrying about the insane property market and the next assignment to finish on time!I told her that as a mummy she will love her child so much that she wouldn't mind cleaning them.And to that, I got " I will love my kids, but I just can't touch their bums, ma".

Before I could think of the next thing to say that will comfort her-  "Amma, will a meteor hit earth again just like it did many years back and killed all the dinosaurs"?

Shriya was onto worry #2 even before I had addressed worry # 1. I stopped her and asked her about the baby bum issue. She coolly said that maybe either her parents or grandparents will take care of it as they are already used to doing it!!!So, every worry did get sorted out with an answer from within.

There's so much going on inside that pretty little head- worries about the future, worries about motherhood, worries about the planet and god knows what else!

Reading we are!

Vaibhav started reading around 5 and picked up very quickly from there. The Dad and I read to them ALL the time- bedtime (of course), early morning, after school, maybe during snack time and they sneak a book in during potty time :-) I started him off with a very basic Peter and Jane 1a, primarliy because it brought back a million memories and also because I thoroughly benefitted from the series. Vaibhav started late (as per S'pore standards) but picked up very quickly and now loves impressing grandparents and friends with "Ask me a word, and I'll spell it for you".

Shriya on the other hand never did complete her round of kiddy books that V went through and directly advanced to the books her brother was listening to. She wanted Arthur and Berenstain, Curious George and Dr. Seuss and the cute little SPOT books were disregarded as 'baaaaby books'. I should have known, especially when the little missy has always been a little ahead of her age. She's 4 and reads beautifully. I love listening to her and watching her diligently go through every word. Of course her school has played a huge role in supporting her.

I'm glad that the kids get excited about  weekly trip to the Library and even more glad that they dont consider a Book present any inferior.  I've been waiting for the day, when the four of us can peacefully just sit around and read our own books! We're nearly there and I can't stop smiling :-))