Time to wear a helmet

Richie is becoming stronger day by day. He throws his toys around, just for fun. And sometimes when he is angry he hurls them at us. And if this is not enough, Richie has a habit of sleeping on our bed and many a times he turns and his head lands on ours. Booom!! Oooouuccch!! It does hurt. I wonder how much it must be paining Richie. He scratches his head indicating the part of the head which is paining. Seeing all this, my hubby once jokingly said to me "It is time to wear a helmet".

1 Year old milestones - Richie's achievements

Richie completed 1 year a few days back. A very hearty congratulations to you Richie on reaching a major milestone in your life.

Here are some of the things Richie is doing:

• scribbles on his magic board, does some abstract drawings. :)
• walks efficiently holding onto furniture
• blabbers a lot.
• says da-da-da and ma-ma-ma and looks at us while saying.
• understands commands like "Go and get the car, where is the pencil?".
• crawls rapidly like a jumping horse "thud thud thud".
• tries to imitate the cartoon sounds like "waaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaah" and smiles.
• has become dextrous with the pincer grasp, picks up tiny things from the floor and puts them in his mouth.
• can match few shapes .
• eats finger foods and drinks from the sipper cup by himself , helps me to relax a bit ;)
• Standing and balancing himself for few seconds.
• plays with push and pull toys
• likes to drive his car – groom, grooooooooom
• touches things in department stores (when sitting his baby car) and tries to throw them down. ;)
• co-operates while dressing up by putting his hands in the t-shirt.
• tries to feed himself with the spoon
• can build towers out of blocks.
• loves to play pee-ka-boo and so-big
• loves to listen to “the very hungry caterpillar“ and hello kitty adventures.
• laughs spontaneously if we start laughing.
• shows stranger anxiety and affection.
• loves the outdoors.
• loves birds and animals, tries to imitate bow-wow.
• opens books and reads through.
• starts a conversation between 2 animals.
• tries to talk on the phone.
  

Richie joins nursery in Japan

Today was Richie's first day at the nursery. He completed 1 year just a few days back. And there he was, big boy, going to pre-school. I had to pack his bag with the necessary clothes and food items. Since it was the first time, it took a little while to arrange all his items. I was excited and looking forward to his days at the new place. My son was going to pre-school and going to be independent. Which mother won't feel proud? At the same time I was apprehensive thinking about how he will cope up with the separation. Last whole year, I was always there with him and he would be happy. But suddenly he will be among new people and above all people who speak a different language. But for kids, language doesn't matter. I was just hoping he will have a good time.

He was sleeping in the stroller on his way to the nursery. When we reached there he opened his eyes a little. The Sensei took him and asked me to carry on with my chores. It happened so fast that I didn't have much time to react. I felt emptiness inside me. Yeah, more than him, it was I who was sad of the separation. I felt like crying. But I knew I had to be strong. Because I have realised, whatever mood I am in, it effects him, distance doesn't matter. I tried to become cheerful and carry on with my chores.

In the evening, when I went to pick him up, he shouted with joy with tears in his eyes, "Mama, you left me and went. I am angry with you". "My sweetheart", I just hugged him. The Sensei told me he cried a little, and wanted someone to hold him. He din't eat much. My heart went out to him. My baby, I am so sorry. But you know what "You will soon love the new place and will want to go there again and again. You will become a strong individual too".

When we came home, we ate and played a lot. He seemed tired and after a warm bath, he slept away to glory.

Richie to mom's rescue, saves mom from the lion

It was mid-afternoon. Richie and dada were playing in the room. Dada took Richie's animal shape toys and started telling him jungle stories. The Lion says "I am the king of the jungle, the mighty one. I will eat you up". From the stories, Richie has gathered that the lion is strong and dangerous and all animals are afraid of him.

I was in the room arranging Richie's toys a little far from where they sat. Suddenly dada threw the lion on me. I shouted as if the lion is eating me up. Seeing this instead of laughing, Richie was concerned and he left dada and came crawling to me as fast as he could. He came and picked up the lion and hurled it on the floor, not once, but many times. It meant "gonna eat my mama, I will beat you up". All this happened so fast that I and dada were dumbfounded by his reaction.

First of all he understood mama was in danger. He reacted fast and reached near me whatever way possible. He even had the guts to fight the mighty lion and save his dear mama too.:)

Happy Birthday Richie!!

Its time for celebration. Richie has reached a new milestone. He has completed 1 year of his journey.

Congratulations Richie!!

Wish you a very very Happy Birthday!!

May you always have abundance of everything good in your life.

11.5 months old baby - trip to hometown

We had taken Richie to our hometown when he was 12 weeks old. He could not understand much that time but he was happy to get all the attention. Specially his 4 cousins who would sing nursery rhymes and play with you. He was cooing and making cute little sounds. He would talk to the poster of babies on the wall and smile at everyone.

This trip was different. He was aware of the surroundings and would react differently to different people. The first few days, Richie was observing everyone. He would not allow anybody near him and would coming running to me or his dada. He took a little while to adjust himself to the new place. After a week or so, he started playing with his cousins and was happy to be in the company of kids. He started interacting with the elders in the house too. After some days he was so comfortable that he started staying with mom while we were running errands. When we came back home he would shout with joy and come running (crawling fast) to the door.