Turning Two was Thrilling!

LG turned two yesterday. We had a fun day though the morning started off on a chaotic note. I woke up startled with the cellphone ringing first and when I cut the call out of drowsiness, the land line blared aloud within minutes waking up both LG and me this time. After I managed to get a few incoherent words to Dad something to the effect that I would call him later, I snuggled into bed with LG who had managed to drift into sleep by then. Five minutes later, the door bell rang - a neighbour who had stopped by to wish LG and present him with a gift. There you go - that's how our morning began. We didn't leave room for anymore interruptions and woke up. I walked LG to his toys room and he couldn't believe his eyes. He dashed all over the house for the day was full of surprises for him - balloons all over the place, his room decorated, momma singing Happy Birthday non-top and his dadu was back - with Potatotoes and Beans! It took a while for LG to gain his composure. In the morning frenzy, he forgot his morning milk, so I walked him back to his bed but he just couldn't gulp it down. There were gifts to be opened and some that were already open were lying on his bed...so how could he waste precious moments drinking some milk. I had gone to bed the previous night after decorating his room well after midnight after trying in vain to blow up balloons. I felt disgusted at not being able to blow up balloons - imagine Googling for "how to blow a balloon and watching wikihow videos at 11:54 p.m." Blowing balloons was a feat I had successfully achieved many times in the past - blame it on the superior quality this time. All I could manage in a span of 57 minutes was 1 balloon. Exhausted, I crashed deciding to worry about th balloon project next morning.

The whole morning was a race against time. I dropped him off to school; got caught by the traffic police and his dadu went to buy a balloon pump and got further delayed. The best cake in Bangalore is apparently from Sweet Chariot. But it didn't work out good for me as they didn't deliver before noon and I was against the idea of collecting a day before and storing it in the fridge for a day; we had arranged to cut the cake at school around 10:30 a.m. We reached by 10:40 a.m. and felt so bad for not making it in time. Damn traffic police! Anyways the kids had finished singing and dancing with LG by then. So we cut the cake. LG was super thrilled but was clingy at the same time uncomfortable with all the extra attention bestowed upon him. After a small party at school, we returned home well past 11:30 a.m. and boy was I surprised. The cook had managed to blow a dozen off balloons in the meantime ..she did it to surprise us. Just before I left for school, she saw me struggling to blow but the morning was way better than the previous night. I managed 5 in a matter of 15 minutes :) With more gifts, cake, ribbons, and balloons LG couldn't control his excitement. He had stuffed way too many pieces of cake at school and chips. Eventually, he skipped lunch and went to sleep well past his nap time at 1:00 p.m. woke up a fresh boy at 2:30 p.m. to have his lunch and got about methodically for the next round of toys.

He has been very fond of pizza these day..not that he has ever tasted it jut the ads on TV and the outlet near our place. So we went for a walk and surprised him by stopping by the Pizza place. Usually, we just walk past every evening so he couldn't believe it. H kept telling "Momma Pizza" and then announced the same over phone to his granny and Papa that he went to ate pizza. Bread makes him puke so he is off bread and cheese products..didn't matter to him. He was happy just being there, running around, and the thought of actually stepping into a place that we never went to. He was super thrilled to have just the vegetable toppings. Isn't it amazing how small things in life can make a child so happy? We spent the rest of the evening at home playing and having a good time. I also discovered that evening that his molars are surfacing now. No wonder he has been in so much pain and that should explain his reluctance to eat any food at all for the past week. On his first birthday, he had 16 teeth and four more on the way on his 2nd. And this kid was born with a calcium deficiency!

I don't have any more to say than I have said through the year on his milestones. Just that he talks a dozen now! So I leave you with some of his latest pictures...

An example of his resourcefulness: If it's 7:00 p.m., then it's time to have dinner. If I haven't made pi-pi (chapathi in LG's language), then he decides to make one himself. Caught in the act below...



The occasions he empties the pepper/chilli powder container far exceeds when he does something useful for me. Yesterday afternoon for instance, I had just got vegetables and had not put them away in the fridge. He got back from school, saw the bag, then sat down and took one of those vegetable bags from the platform
and meticulously stuffed 1 KG of tomatoes in it, opened the fridge with the intention of placing it in the tray. The tray was too heavy to be pulled out so he called out for me instructing me to keep it in. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. In this one, he is peeling onions for me.



When he gets hurt which is so very often through the day, I apply an ice pack if he is really hurt. Most times, he is just faking it. If his friends - car, dolchie (dolphin), po (polu), buco (buco kiddoo), stucha (stuart little), or holse (horse) get hurt, he tends to them himself by fetching the ice pack from fridge and then rubbing their eyes because they are supposed to be crying out of pain. And then soothes them with an ice pack.



The drama king in action...



Edited to add a picture of the birthday cake below: