15 Months!

Dearest Athikutty,

Given that you have turned one, I thought I would write out only one post per year going forward, but so much has happened in the past 3 months that I think I should probably record it now else I am sure to forget all of them by the end of the year.

So, just like I mentioned in the earlier post, you started sitting up on your own just a few days before your birthday. There was no stopping you after that. Slowly in another week's time, you learnt to crawl. That promotion from swimming to crawling happened when we went to our friend's home to meet their little munchkin. You were very excited and were your absolute best self when we were there, not sure if it was the joy of seeing a baby who was younger than you or that you had so many new toys to play with. You had one hell of time rolling around their home, pulling out and playing with anything and everything. This was officially your first play date and it turned out really well.

In the next few weeks, you kept trying to crawl and when you fell you continued your old swimming, but slowly swimming vanished off and you started crawling like a pro. Fast forward to one more month, your Nadavandi came out of its hideout as you started walking with it around the house. These days you refuse to let go off and want to continuously walk around with it all the time. Paati has to literally hide it under some clothes or put in the closet to stop you from the non-stop walking. 

You remember quite a few things and names, and are able to point it out when asked for. Giraffe, Zebra and elephants are some that you know and recognise from the pictures. You recognize every one at home by their name and when asked for who is where, you point out them rightly. Slowly getting to understand questions and answer them too. Great job kid. You like watching the crows and pigeons fly by in the terrace, and you get super excited when you spot an airplane, and keep watching it until it disappears into the clouds. 

Your naughtiness has increased manifold. You crawl up to the water dispenser, stand up with the support of its stand and open it up and, when the water starts falling into the floor, you give a laugh like you have achieved something great. You love water, oh so much! Time and again you ask for a bowl of water and keep putting your hands into it and play. Bathing still continues to be your absolute favourite activity and you refuse to come out of the bathtub without a mini-tantrum. 

You seem to enjoy and get excited playing with dogs. We went out to one of my friend's home and she had a dog named Casper. Casper didn't really fancy playing with little kids, but you never let it go. You kept touching his feet, and constantly chased him around the house. Then, we met another dog named Milo at your cousin's apartment, whom you totally loved. You kept poking his nose or trying to touch his eyes, and Milo, instead of getting agitated, was very obliging to all your seshtais.

V got a baby cycle seat for you which he latched on to his cycle. You love your rides in it as your thatha and paati push you along in it for an evening walk around the nearby streets. You also went on a ride with V once to your cousin's home. V says you totally enjoyed the ride. Hopefully, we do more rides in it in the future.

Our first trip with just the 3 of us happened sometime in February this year. It was a 2 day-1 night trip to a resort at the mangrove backwaters near Chidambaram. We went on a stand up paddle ride and you loved it and enjoyed watching the birds on the mangroves, spotted fishes jumping in the water. I was initially a bit skeptical about taking you in for the ride, but you were so well behaved and enjoyed it throughout which came as a surprise to me. Looks like you enjoy nature and we'll make sure you get to spend a lot of time with it. 

Lastly, your love for cars and especially, the steering, has gotten so much that you refuse to let V drive in peace, you literally beg him to let you handle the steering. Also, whenever someone says the word 'car' at home, you start making a brrrrr....brrrr...brrr..... sound and act as if you are driving it trying to turn the steering. Its such a joy to see you observe and imitate whatever that is happening around you.

Thanks to Corona, work from home is still continuing and both V and I are able to spend a good amount of time with you. Even with this, its only the thatha and paati who majorly take care of you, and you don't mind it all. You are happy as long as there is someone around to play with you. But you are in that stage where someone should be watching you all time, both to stop your naughty activities and also to save you from bug mishaps, because you tend to slip / fall quite a few times everyday. Looking forward to more adventures with you. 

Love,

Amma