Routine

The boy has been slowly settling into a routine. Wake up at 7, milk and biscuits, get ready, cycle to the gate, get into the van (after telling he does not want to school, asking me to follow him in my car many times), back home around lunch time, lunch, play, early dinner and in bed by 8.

Some days  are cheerful and some days are...well.

Nevertheless he loves school and has been slowly making new friends. The wife packs him 2 snacks. We have stopped his afternoon nap so that he can sleep early. I don't get to see him much nowadays, only during the weekend.

He has developed a keen eye for spotting the Maruti Vitara Brezza and in his words "I am a good at expert it!"

Ambulance is still a challenge to pronounce - "Ambulams" and recently he said "cerfi ticket" instead of certificate

For some reason he wanted our car decorated for his wedding and he was very upset that when we got married, we decorated our car and he was not around!

He has been slowly adding 1 Rs coins to his piggy bank and that has also give us parents blackmailing power - any tantrums / bad behavior, 1 Rs is taken out of that.

The boy's birthday is coming up and he has already started going around telling the parents in the apartment complex what he wants. 

Crayons for the different age groups

By Faber Castell

First plant

The boy planted  the seeds, was very excited to see the plants emerge and​ waters it everyday.

A return gift​ from a birthday party.

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.

Another trip

The boy's uniform for VNM has been bought and only the shoes from Bata were pending.

Since the wife had the month off too like the boy, we decided to make a trip to Chennai. There was also paperwork at the Thiruvanmiyur post office that was pending. The wife and the boy left early (the boy was excited to be in the day train) while I drove down for the weekend.

At the Besant Nagar beach

We went to our usual haunts, met friends and visited relatives. The shopkeeper in the neighborhood we stayed earlier, recognized us instantly - we were walking into his shop after years. There is that sense of friendliness I miss nowadays.

Vacation time

The summer camp in April was coming to an end and it was time for holidays to start.

As I look back, this holiday to Uttrakhand, turned out to be a list of firsts for the boy :

- For the first time he traveled in an overnight train. He loved it, eventually learned how to climb up to the side upper berth and also learnt to call out "Chai, chai, adrak ki chai"
- For the first time, he was out on a 11 day trip. He coped up with it considerably well. Missed afternoon naps, walked a lot (he had to be carried when he was tired), learnt to play games like "I spy with  my little eye",  "Treasure Hunt" (he sucked it as he immediately pointed  to where the treasure was hidden after hiding it), "Hopscotch" and did not fuss for food. There were bouts of  tantrum, bad words (his birthday party was canceled because the bad word count exceeded 10) and he threw up once

On one of the treks

- For the first time, he boarded an aircraft. He was excited! Couldn't take his eyes off  it and did not believe that it was faster than  a Bugatti Veyron on the runway. Thankfully there was no ear pain, the boy couldn't believe we were flying once we were in the air and slept as we were about to land

Couldn't take his eyes off the plane!

It was a good break. The sad part was the human effect on environment was showing. Places are getting hotter, tree cover was disappearing and the hills were strewn with empty packaged water bottles  and chips packet wrappers - neither of them are biodegradable.

The boy has a one month break now before his classes start at VNM.

Fever

The boy had a fever starting last Thursday. We asked him to drink a a lot of water.

His eyes were droopy and he was upset that we didn't let him to go Ah house. In the night his fever went up and in the morning came down. We pressed cold towel to his forehead and that helped to an extent. He also started talking a lot in  his sleep. I got kicked twice.

On Saturday I took him to see my mother and he ate some solid food. He was thrilled briefly as he got a new toy car. Back home and his fever was up.

We took him to Dr S the next day. He prescribed Crocin in case the fever came up again.

Today morning he was back to normal and reluctantly went to the summer camp.

The boy has taken an active interest in the Ramayana.