First day at school!

The boy was excited! More so when he found that he will be eventually going to school in the school van. I guess he felt that it puts him in the league of big children - Aa and Ah.

He proudly showed his new uniform to whoever he met in the apartment complex before we boarded the car.

The initial days (6-7) were warm up days of one duration each for the boy to get used to the school, the teachers and the children. Everything was new for him.

On the first day, he played, painted but wanted the wife around. There was some sobbing. After the school, I dropped them back at the wife's office and went to work.

The children have to hang the school bags on this wall.

The next day the parents could only stay for 10 minutes and had to pick up the boy at 1030. This time there was some crying but he quietened down later. After school, the boy went with the wife to her office.

The 3rd day the crying started before entering the school but he settled down later.

On Friday, he was normal. The boy sprained his right leg at a birthday party and it did look serious. There was no swelling or redness but he was in pain, especially in the night. We took him to Dr S who advised to rest it and if necessary put on a crepe bandage.

Haircut time + tantrums

The boy had his haircut on Saturday. We asked the hairdresser to make a parting but he couldn't. He used a clipper mostly but the boy wanted his hair to be cut using scissors.

He has learnt to unlock my phone and play songs. He has a new water bottle.

There was a flea market in our apartment and the boy was running in between the stalls when he fell and hurt his elbow badly. I cleaned it and applied ointment but he reminded us once in a while that it is paining.

We are in the process of getting him off the diaper when he sleeps during the night and he took it a step ahead. Got up at midnight, woke us up and insisted on peeing in the loo. And when we asked him to do it in the diaper, threw a tantrum.

For his extended day care till 130, the wife packs lunch for him. He dutifully told his teacher "There is more sweet potato at home but Amma gives me only this much"

He has a cough but we are avoiding giving him medicines.

Nursery

The boy's nursery classes start today and he made a big fuss to go to school. Pulled my hair, dragged me inside the  school. A happy boy came back – although he fell and cut his lip.

He asked the wife - “Amma, why didn’t you bring my pram to school? I had to walk all the way back!”

Disturbed sleep

The last 2 nights have been bad with the boy getting up complaining of the pain in his leg. Most of it in his mind as after the complaining in the middle of the night, he wants to go Ah’s house.

As I was getting ready to go to work, today there was a twist in his rant - “I will go to office, you go to school”.”Don’t go to office, I will completely lose it.”

Words from the boy

“I am so bored at home”. “Don’t go to office…Don’t come back to my home if you go to office!”. 

The boy twisted his feet while playing in Ah’s house. We took him to the general physician (as he refused to go to Dr S for the fear of injection) who suspected tissue damage. She gave a tonic. He walks with a slight limp.

Silly girl

“Hey, silly girl”, the boy called out loudly to a slightly older girl when we were out. Good thing he did not get whacked.

At my parent’s place, the boy after eating lunch and ice cream, decided to gulp down salt to my horror. He drank water, retched and promptly threw up everything. Lesson learnt

During one of his talks he declared that he does not like the teachers in school, only his friends and aunties who help him.

Ambulums (Ambulance), aldeary (already) are some of the new words he has picked up. The boy managed to speak full sentences now. But more than the words, it is the action that he concentrates on while talking.

Dumbo!

“I want to go to in the bike” was an early morning statement. And when I offered to drop him to school on the motorcycle, he refused.

When his back itches he starts off, “Scratch my back, it is paining”. 

“So funny, no?”. “Dumbo”, “Dumbo Ah”, “Bad Amma”, “Bad Didi” are some of his current words. Not a good choice, he typically prefixes “Bad” to the person’s name he does not like.

The boy has learned to open the front door and let people in.

With an engagement in the family, it was full house with the MIL, SIL and the wife’s uncle dropping in. The boy had a good time and he was social. He did get bored at the engagement ceremony  and I had to carry him out. Once they left for their respective homes, he asked for them. Initially he cried and then forgot about it.

The boy loves eating pomegranates and papaya. When he went to our regular grocery shop, he insisted on buying a pomegranate and carrying it all the way home. On the walk back, while cupping it with both hands, the pomegranate fell down and rolled on the road. The boy ran after it, caught it and continued walking. The next time it fell down and he ran after it, he fell down and bruised his knees. Too proud to cry, he held back his tears, picked up the pomegranate and continued walking home, determined not to let go off it.

He got 2 bottles of bubble baths - Personal Care Raspberry Vanilla Revitalizing Bubble Bath, Childs Farm Bubble Bath and some fancy twisted straws, one of which he broke.

Kitchen love

One of his favorite activity is to sit on the kitchen ledge and watch tea, dosa and chapatis being made. “Amma make ball ball!”

The  boy opened the bathroom door, turned on the hot water tap and was fiddling it. After sometime, scooped a mug of water from the bucket, poured it on the floor, spilling some on his leg and came out crying. The water was hot. We had told him many times not to do it on his own. 

At school he did good without the diaper. Told the teachers “susu” when he wanted to pee.

Time

It is hard to get some time to your own. The moment the boy is up, he wants one of us around him all the time. The moment I head towards the door to leave home, he starts crying. I have resorted to sneaking out and jumping over the balcony if required.

The boy has a very bad cold and one of his eye is watering because of the cold. 

Peppa's Busy Day and Dora's Puppys Big Surprise are the latest additions to his list of books.

Bite and fizzy drink

We were called to the school urgently because the boy was bitten by a classmate on his cheek. The  teachers gave him first aid - washed with Savlon and applied Soframycin Cream. After that we took him to the general physician who prescribed Mupi cream.  She suggested Rabies(!) shots but we declined. His tetanus shots were holding good. He is fine. Once in a while he does point to it ruefully. The next day we checked with Dr S and he said the Mupi is good.

The boy had his first taste of fizzy drink thanks to Ah.

Ah turns 6

The boy is not very enthusiastic about the park nowadays.  Yesterday he fell down from the tricycle as he reversed it down the slope and couldn’t control the speed. Grazed his elbow.

I took out the wife’s old mini piano today and he enjoyed pressing the keys. 
On the bright side, he insists on the potty seat when he wants to go and does not go in the diaper anymore. The boy talks a lot more now. And he is fine with brushing in the morning and in the evening.  We still have not been able to get him out of the bouncer. With the boy growing the bouncer sags and touches the floor when rocked hard.

Today was Ah's birthday party in the community hall. He has turned 6. A bad idea to give whistles to the boys. They were shrill. There were games and the boy had his fill of cake.

Tractor sighting

The boy was so excited to see the tractor in the apartment complex that he didn’t move till it left. There is a rhymes recitation in school and we signed him up for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.

Today he had a Nursery visit. I saw the photos and he didn’t look interested at all. 

It rained heavily and the boy was playing in the corridor when he fell down on his face struck by a ball on his legs, which was kicked by an older boy. His lips were swollen.

Throwing up

The boy threw up in the stroller on the way back from school. It was not that bad. I was able to clean it up.

The IL’s (grandparents) are here visiting and the boy was thrilled to see them.

Bless you & gas

Bless you – When the boy sneezes or he hears anybody sneeze, he has learnt to say “Bless you”. And when he farts, he utters “gas”!

We got him a new potty seat - MeeMee Baby Cushion Potty Seat - with Handles. He is not comfortable sitting in the old one and has been going potty in the diaper.

The boy threw up last night in his sleep. The sheets, blanket, pillow covers had to be changed in the middle of the night. He refused to let us brush his teeth and his mouth reeked of the digested banana. He had a mild fever today and we did not send him to school.

His tantrums are increasing and he cries at the drop of a hat. After each crying session, he wants to sleep.  The bouncer is back now. It is hard to rock him to sleep and he repeatedly asks for the bouncer.

Earlier he was willing to let us change his diaper in the morning but refuses now. It takes a lot of cajoling, comparison with the other “good” children before he relents. Looks like the case of terrible 2’s.

Enfagrow and the equation with Ah

We have started on Enfagrow A+ Nutritional Milk Powder (2 years and above) for the boy.



The boy had Friendship day at school today. He had a take a fruit for his friend. We don’t know to whom he gave his Apple but he got 2 fruits in return.

His equation with Ah is strange. In his house, the boy does not play with the toys that Ah asks him not to, even when he is not around. And once he is done playing, he puts all the toys back and informs Ah's mother B and asks for the next set of toys. Nothing of that sort in our house. When we ask him to put the toys back after playing, most of the time his retort is "No". Ah patiently puts up with him most of the time and at other times, he gets a wack on his head. 

The boy was running with Ah, when he tripped, feel and bumped his forehead. He cried, with "no ice no ice" in between.

In the oral assessment on Water Animals, the boy got 2 stars.

No school

The boy banged his head yesterday. The wife was playing with him using a sheet, he tripped and feel hitting his forehead. Cried and during the day he reminded himself about it and cried again. He didn’t sleep well last night and insisted on sleeping in the bouncer at 5 am. Needless to say, he got up late and did not go to school today.

In the oral assessment on Farm Animals the boy got 2 stars. Hmm...his performance is slipping. Time for tuition's ;-)

Fever

The boy is down with fever and cold today and we did not send him to school. He did remind us specifically in the morning twice – ‘no skool’. He refused to take Crocin and we had to force it down his throat.

Nose bleed

The boy fell today and had a nose bleed. He cried but is ok.

Thank you

One of the older boys carried him, tripped over a stone and both fell. Luckily, the boy hit only the side of his face and not the head. Small bruise but he cried for a long time.

He has learned to say thangu! (Thank you)

The Nanny returns

A the Nanny is back. The boy is taking time adjusting to her. He was whining throughout the day. 

Gone are the day when the boy used to eat a lot of vegetables. He is becoming very choosy. On Saturday we went to meet our parents. The boy did not eat much.

We attended a birthday party of one of the children in the apartment yesterday. The boy was thrilled playing with balloons and running along with the boys. 

For dinner we went to this wonderful place called Aioli BBQ & Grill Smoke House
They claim to be the only restaurant in India dedicated to the Indian Armed Forces. The cuisine was Mediterranean Fusion. We found the service very quick. The pita bread was soft, tasty and went well with the hummus. The boy ate most of the pita bread and loved it. The Love Valley mocktail was very sugary. The place was empty and we had a lovely time. 

He fell off the bed today morning in his sleep. I lifted him, felt him all over, he was ok. Rocked him and he went back to sleep.