And you turned 4!

Just like that…
I blinked my eyes and you turned 4.
I ruffled your silky long hair and you turned 4.
I kissed the boo-boo on your knees and you turned 4.
I gently touched your scraped knees and you turned 4.
I wiped the tears rolling down your cheeks and you turned 4.
I pressed my nose to your button nose and you turned 4.
I tickled your tummy and you turned 4.
I smiled at your silly antics and you turned 4.
I laughed to your sillier jokes and you turned 4.
I saw you become daddy’s boy and you turned 4.
I picked up pieces of my broken heart and you turned 4.
I blinked back the tears and you turned 4.
I heard you calling me from far and you turned 4.
I saw you running towards me with open arms and you turned 4.
I picked you up in the air and you turned 4.
I swirled around holding you close to my heart and you turned 4.
I danced with you to our special music and you turned 4.
I saw you smile down at me with delight and you turned 4.
I felt you planting a deep kiss on my lips and you turned 4.
I felt the joy of being a mother to such kindred spirit and you turned 4.
Puff… no it’s not a dream… I am not dreaming… You really turned 4!
… Just like that, you turned 4!!!

Dearest Little Dumpling, 

FOUR! My little baby, you are now 4 years old! Wasn’t it just yesterday when you were the gurgling and giggling baby giving me the most beautiful gummy smile? When did that baby turn into this bundle of energy that I am finding difficult to match with?!

Unlike last 3 years, this year your birthday celebration turned into week-long celebration. It’s the first time we celebrated it with our entire family. There were streamers, balloons, familiar faces and lots of gifts too! This year we cut more than one cake, one at your grandparents’ home and one at our new home! May be that’s the reason you demanded for another cake this week thinking it’s your birthday again! :)

When we ask your age, you show three little fingers and then slowly lift the fourth finger in the end as if you’re suddenly reminded by someone that you are in fact 4 years old now! How I wish I could stop the time in its track and bury my nose deep into your soft neck that still smells of your baby-ness! Oh, I how I wish…

You have turned into a fine little young boy in the last couple of months! You have seen your parents running around like two headless chickens, trying to fit the decade old life into brown cardboard boxes and suitcases and yet you remained calm and collected! You have travelled across the oceans, from one culture into entirely different culture and yet you didn’t moan or complain! You have met some familiar faces and many unfamiliar ones, walked beside a complete strangers and yet you were as accommodating as ever! You have even started to go to a new school that is very far from the comfort of home school that you loved and yet you continue to smile and be happy! You got adjusted to the new place, new people, new city like a find in the water unlike your parents who still have to come up in the air to fill our lungs with air before diving deep into water! My darling boy, you make us so proud that we walk around like two puffed up toads!

You have started a school this year, a huge step! I thought you will never be ready for this milestone. But I was wrong! I was wrong all the way as I figured out finally it was me who was never ready for this stage of motherhood! The day we dropped you near your school gate, you walked away holding a completely stranger’s hand, without even turning once! I stood there, paralysed for a long time, with huge drops of tears threatening to drop any moment! I walked away, afraid I will embarrass you in front of your friends and teachers, with dropping arms and heavy heart. Do you think your mamma will ever grow up?! I am not so sure…

At 4 your list of favourite things have grown taller than the tall stories you love to tell us every day. :) Your love for animals is quite endearing. Your current favourite animal is cow and you have to stop every time you spot a cow to say a big hello and ask about their health! The dogs follow closely behind that, followed by elephants and hundred and one other animals!

You love music. No, correct that… You live and breathe music! From the moment you wake up bright and early to the moment you fall into deep slumber with a smile on your face, you demand us to play your favourite songs. Your little fingers and feet keep tap dancing all the time to the tunes playing in your mind! Indian classical and semi classical music is what you like these days. Sitar and Tabla are your favourite instruments which you keep begging us to buy every single day! One of these days we may end up buying one, just to see your eyes get bigger and rounder and happier!

The Smartest Giant in Town is your favourite book along with good old dog eared The Gruffalo and The Wocket in My Pocket which are read some zillion times! But the cow, moon and the stars stories your Appa and I weave are your most favourite ones! You demand us to create new stories every night about the orange cow named PunyakoTi and the black cow named Kapile who likes to go to school, supermarket, park and who share their toys without fighting. You like to hear the stories of the moon who drinks milk every day before rushing out to play with his friends’ stars who like to do ‘blinky-blinky’ dance! Oh the stories you come up with amazes us and makes us smile.

The meal times are becoming a war zones and we hope that this too shall pass! You have grown taller, leaner and it makes me little sadder to see my baby growing up so fast! You love running with abandon, racing with bigger kids on your scooter, playing hide and seek and calling me once in every 2 minutes! You are fascinated with wires, strings and my long hair which can keep you occupied for a long time! You lift them up and drop them suddenly to observe where they land up! This fascination of yours is a biggest mystery of our lives which we are finding quite difficult to solve! Instead of stopping you from playing, we decided to give you more wires and strings in different lengths and thickness and were rewarded with a beautiful smile. :)

You continue to be little shy, but there is a more emerging evidence of a social being who can charm the ladies of all ages. You have become a little talker, a singer and a great entertainer who loves to draw attention to your antics.

Your favourite food continues to be anything raw. Sweet corn still tops the list and then follows raw carrot, beetroot, cucumber, onion and ~horror~ raw garlic! Water melon is something you can eat every single day and at last you have finally starting to like mangoes. You dream about ice creams every day and also demand we buy you one for every meal! Thankfully, a big bowl of yogurt will make you forget about chocolates and ice creams as you relish every spoonful of it. Onion dosa, crispy paper dosa and chapatti are the only ones you will eat without me hovering on top your dinner plate, and yet you will eat all the vegetables to keep your parents happy. Dry fruits and nuts is what you demand for dessert and the only Indian sweet that gets a huge thumbs up from you is Kaju Katli!

You have an elephant’s memory but have a mind of your own! You can be stubborn at times which drives me crazy and be the sweet lovable boy the very next moment. You can be such a darling at moment and a complete brat the next moment. Life is never dull with you around us, always hopping, jumping and running around my legs.

At 4, you passionately dislike water on your head! Getting you into the bathroom is becoming more of a battle zone. You are also not fond of runny nose, teary eyes and sticky fingers. You love to run stark naked and lightly push me away when I try to squeeze you. You have begun show the sign of shrugging off my kisses, hugs, cuddles and tickles and the effect is shown when I see little cracks appearing in my heart! But then all of a sudden you stop on your track, in between your play, and say ‘I love you, Amma’ which makes me thank my lucky stars to have you in my life. You continue to break my heart and then mend it with your selfless love.

You did not demanded any present for your birthday this year and we didn’t buy anything either! Instead you asked us to take you see the cows and that’s what we did… 350 cows in one place! I made your day and the brilliant smile on your face made our too…

So that’s you at FOUR! I could go on, but I’ll stop now. I love you my darling Dumpling and so does your dad and everyone in your life. Happiest birthday, Dear Dumpling! Live very long and very, very happy… Stay blessed!

Love and Kisses

Amma

Here are some photographs taken from my trusty old mobile camera, trying to capture few sweet and memorable moments of your life…

Here you are, colouring the books, blocks, cardboard boxes, bath tub, pages and our lives…

Your ever growing tall tower of books…


Your love for book is growing strong as the days go by…



Pretending to read one of your favourite book which you have memorised every single word…


Wearing mask because you are reading a book on dentist :)


Helping dad…


And me…





And your grandparents…




My vegetable thief…


My camera thief…


Doing what you love to do… Like Climbing…


Inspecting…


Feeling…


Goofing around…


Playing outdoors…


Thinking…


Creating…


Watching…


Fixing…


Cooking…


Discovering…


Making happy little things…


Dreaming…


Listening to classical music… for hours…



Feeding your most favourite animals…

Loving unconditionally…


Watching the world go by…


And loving and living the simple pleasures of life….