A Sea of Change

Last week, Sharon has come visiting us with her mom for a couple of weeks. Joyce was all happy to see an another toddler in the house and was all game for any game. I was happy the way my little girl had no problems sharing her toys or even with any of us carrying Sharon. Joyce is a lot quieter with Sharon around and so no more threatening Ammachy of throwing off her utensils off the balcony or window. Between then and now, that is a week, things have changed a whole 180 degree.

A small cry from Sharon now has Joyce looking downwards pouting her lips and quivering with tears ready to drop. The moment Sharon screams a little louder..mostly for her mom's attention, Joyce starts crying out real loud. That ofcourse freaks out Sharon and then there is a who-cries-louder-and-longer marathon. She has also got possessive with her toys and books. We saw her carry all her toys away from Sharon's reach even when she doesn't plan to play with them. If I or mom is spotted carrying Sharon, she would make sure she is carried as well. If it looked like Sharon might crawl into my mom's lap, she will make it there first. She doesn't mind Sharon being carried as far as she is catered too. When the toddlers see each other after a hour long nap or after one returns from an outdoor trip, they both smile showing off their little teeth and blabbering to each other but all changes with one little scream or an unpleasant noise.

Sharon is still very much crawling and Joyce after all the walk & run is imitating Sharon and crawling around the house on all fours. She has re-discovered crawling. I guess the knees hurt and so she is crawling with her hands and feet.

This last week she has become all the more clingy, holding on to my leg and me literally dragging my leg and her along while doing the chores.Take her below for a walk in the park and she is running off all in the wrong directions(towards the road). She has also been whinning a lot of late (even before Sharon arrived). She makes that whinning noise for no rhyme or reason. When I ask her to shut up, she does promptly, only to start again and check my reaction. Once to amuse her, I blew a strand of my hair on to her face. Now I have her pulling my hair and trying to blow them. While going through where the nose is and where the eyes are I pointed at my eyes(foolish mumma), now everytime I have her poking my eye and pulling my nose when I ask her where the nose or eyes is.

Where is my harmless little sweet innocent child ..I want her back.

My cousin Sharon

Hi Again!!!

Here is one more personality. My cousin Sharon. This is when I was 12 and she was 9 in perfect harmony.



Sharon with her Mom. Do you know, when I was born, I used to sit on my aunty's tummy(that is Sharon's head or leg whichever) and go to sleep. What does she know, possessive toddler ;)





She finally sat at 9 months.


I was just checking if she was sleeping or awake. And there she indeed is. Did I tell you of her 2 hobbies, 'Sleeping' & 'Crying for Mama' keeps her occupied for the whole day. I hear she has started crawling and getting up with support, waiting to see the lazy bum finally off her BUMS ..he he he :)

My Baby at Eleven

My daughter completed 11 months today. Its almost a year since she arrived into my arms. It feels like yesterday though. I remember, being in the hospital and looking at her sleep in the crib trying to remember her face. I was so scared, I might not be able to recognize her admist other new-borns, if at all she got lost or misplaced and someone asked me to identify her :).

At Eleven,

1) She has mastered her princer grip. She will sit and try to pick any tiny black dots, pieces of paper, dust particles on the floor. Initially she wasn't sure what to do after she has picked it up, now-a-days it goes straight to the mouth for all kinds of tasting/testing.

2) She loves tearing books into papers and then tear them again into more pieces untill she has freed the soul of that piece of paper.

3) She enjoys making all kinds of noise. She and Sharon (my sister's daughter) had a gala time snatching a plastic bag from each other and howling, trying to make the maximum noise.

4) Sharon is 3 months younger than her and when she visited us last she could just turn over and was trying to reach for different things kept a little away by her mother to motivate her to move ahead. My daughter would see Sharon struggling and howling and would go pick them and offer it to her.

5) She claps & tries to sing along with Ammachy & friends at prayer meetings. All that comes out is aaa...aaa..aaa..aaa (there are highs and lows) but she sings as if she is singing right along with them.

6) She will crawl into/over anything where she can reach, be it under the dinning table or the window sill or the side table of the bed, the sofa, under the bed ... everywhere.

7) She says Ma..ma..ma Yahooooooooooooooo!!!!

8) She can get into a standing position on her own, right in the centre of the room. She will look at me and sway either ways with clapping hands. She has been trying to stand on her own for over a month, she just couldn't take her hands off the floor.

9) She loves fish. She rather have her food from our plates than her own. She hasn't started showing any fuss over food yet.

10) She took her first small step early this month. Now she walks all around. Initially, if she sees you watching, she would just give up and start crawling but since last 2 days therez lot of walking.

11) She loves playing in & with water.

12) Earlier, she could only take things out, and never put them into the box or container or sort. Since last 2-3 days she has started putting them back. She keeps Ammachy on her toes with all the stuff she throws around in the house.

13) She understands ball ta (give me the ball), dolly ta, mama eyk ta (give it to mama), bow bow is the dog below.

14) She holds her hand to the ear whenever we say Hello!!!

15) She imitates anybody coughing, but if it is a hard/loud cough she will start crying immediately.

Its lots of fun, fills me & P with pride and overwhelms us at times to see our little child grow. Her little achievements, like when she managed to open a drawer, to walk continuously without having to sit down, to hold her balance when turning around while walking, to pick food from the table and to be able to put it into the mouth, to climb down from the bed, to be able to roll her toy and so many many more, we are the blessed witness to the divine events. We see her face beaming when she has done something she was having trouble with. We clap our hands and she claps along.