A Special Day

Well, we are all down with Writer's Block this week (that's like Flu in our house!), so although we would like to write about the wonderful time (and we did indeed have a fabulous day) we had at the Aunties Michelle's wedding last week, we are struggling to find the snappy sentences that would do it justice.

All we can offer you in these desperate times (after all, WB in our household is a very serious malady, sending us up walls and round the bend, hunting for those elusive magic words) is a cliche- that pictures speak a thousand words (and can sometimes take the load off a worried wordsmith's weary shoulders).

So, we've bunged on a tome of a slideshow (teeming with toddlers:-)), to share with you all the fun we had that day. There are captions though, don't forget to read those (best we could do in the midst of our phonetics famine).

Hope you enjoy the photos, and if you do, please leave a comment because when we are a little bit blue, we like to hear from you...

Syon & Ayana's Excellent Adventure (aka 2011)!

It's been a while since we talked, hasn't it? Too long. And with just a day to go before 2012, we have barely enough time to tell you what we did this marvellous year.

Our lives seem to have got jammed in fast forward mode since summer and busy toddler twosome that we are, we haven't had the time to sit back and reflect on the fun we've had, never mind write about it! We've had such a fabulous time and it's gone by so quickly, we really have struggled to keep you updated or even keep track for ourselves!

But now, we plan to do just that in the same joyous, breathless, full-on fashion in which we've lived the last few months.

The summer was devoted to great day trips with parents and grandparents. Grandad and Grandma took us to some amazing places like The Deep in Hull and the seaside at Bridlington. And then, Didou arrived and we were out and about having fun every weekend. Riding toy trains, fire engines and donkeys in Derbyshire, picnicking in Sherwood Forest, exploring Hampton Court, feeding the swans at Windsor and best of all, visiting Whipsnade Zoo!

But then it was time for Didou to leave and with cold,grey days just 'round the corner,we thought we'd had all the fun we could possibly have this year.

When suddenly, in mid-September, something happened that totally changed the way we lived from day to day- hanging out with Mommy, reading, playing, drawing, play-acting and nattering about everything under the sun- Syon started school! So while Syon was off having fun at school, packed full of woodland trips (which even Mommy and I got to join a couple of times), Halloween and Christmas parties, and a Christmas play in which he did a star turn as a Peekaboo Penguin (but that's another story we hope to get 'round to telling you some day)!

I made the most of the downtime by catching up on the sleep I'd lost all these months rushing around with Bro! While I slept, Mommy did some very important research on pre-WW I England by getting up to speed with Downton Abbey in the single kid-free hour she got in the afternoon.

When October came round, unbeknownst to us, there was more fun to be had! First, we got introduced to 'Dora Puja'. We went to Leicester one Sunday to see the 'Puja Fairy' and we saw not one but many beautiful sari-clad Puja fairies in the community halls and temples we visited. We also had some top-notch nosh at our last halt in a Leicester temple where the temple food was (as always) yummy, plentiful and absolutely free for everybody! We also danced to the Dhaki's beat (the Puja drummers) for the first time that day and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

And then it was Halloween, with all the dressing up fun it brings (I was a trendy toddler witch this year and Syon, a very dapper skeleton). And the swags of sweets, Daddy carving the scariest pumpkin, and Grandad and Grandma joining us for dinner and chocolate muffins (which the two of us had baked) made Halloween a real treat!

Then, my big day dawned and my parents threw me a wonderful Diwali-birthday combo party for my second birthday. The first one (on my first birthday) had been so well-received that Mommy & Daddy sent out invites asking people to come dressed in their best Indian gear again. Everyone looked really nice. I wore a very pretty orange and cream ghagra outfit that Didou had brought from India for me and Syon wore a bright, stripey kurta. Amongst our guests, our friends Freya and Evan's mom looked marvellous in her mauve sari and gold accessories and received the best-dressed prize for her terrific effort.

Daddy, as always, cooked up a scrumptious storm, and to top it all, we had a cake with my (literally) good-enough-to-eat photo on it!:-)The evening ended on a high when we followed up two rounds of sparklers for the kids in our diya-lit garden with a twinkling sky lantern that we sent floating off into the Milky Way (or maybe the motorway) to mark my very special day. And what a day it was- full of fun and food and fireworks, gifts and good wishes. Most of all, all my friends and family were there to celebrate my milestone with me, either in person or in spirit (if they lived in India)!

And then it was Christmas, with the festivities, as usual, starting a month early! We shopped, tucked into yuletide treats and attended the Christmas lighting-up at Grandma and Grandad's village. We spent a day at the Lincoln Christmas market and met Santa in Nottingham. We drew, posed for (though Daddy will spin you a yarn about how we barely sat still!) and posted Christmas cards, and received them by the sackful. We decorated our tree with colourful baubles, some of which we'd made ourselves.

Before you knew it, Christmas Eve was upon us. We had a wonderful day, just the four of us, playing, eating (delicious prawn cocktail and lovely spiced roast pork courtesy of Daddy), singing and doing Christmassy (and non-Christmassy) things that both toddlers and grown-ups with well-developed inner-children enjoy!

We left treats out for Santa and his reindeers that night in the hope that a suitably appeased Saint Nick would leave us a gift or two (we hadn't been as angelic as we'd meant to, this year)! To our delight and amazement, we woke up to stockings stuffed with presents and a veritable mountain of gifts underneath our tree. The list of things we got from everyone is so long and wonderful that we won't go into it here (hopefully, our TY cards will find their way to you soon enough).

Christmas and Boxing Day with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandad and the rest of our English clan were splendid. We played with the new toys we'd received (and with some old favourites), chatted, sang, and sampled Grandma's brilliant baking. Then on 27th evening, we travelled to Uncle George's for the last of the family Christmas parties and ended the night having so much fun with our cousins that we didn't want to come away (the cocktail of olives and pickled onions we quaffed kept us going long after our bedtime)!

And now, it's bedtime again (a boring, recurring theme in our lives, unfortunately), and as we mean to squeeze as many fun things into the last day of the year as we possibly can, we must get some shut-eye. So, thank you for being our friend through 2011 and though it's goodbye for this year, we know we have so much to look forward to, with you, in 2012!

G'night folks and farewell 2011!

P.S. Do check out the new slideshow of all the fun we've had this winter, its summer counterpart should be up and running soon too!

Monkey in the Middle

Three weeks into Pre-school, Syon was given his first school project- a report on the weekend he spent with a toy monkey he brought home from school. Part fact, part fiction, it's gone down really well at his school, so we thought we should share it with you!

Monkey had always prided himself on spreading cheer wherever he went. With an infectious grin that could melt the hardest heart, and a shock of tangerine hair that stood straight up and put smiles on the faces of everyone around him, Monkey was always a hit with the families he visited.

What he hadn’t anticipated, when he asked to spend the weekend with 3 and a bit year old Syon and his 22 month old sister, was how BIG a hit he would be with them! So, he packed his little suitcase like always, without any inkling of the hair-raising experiences in store for him, and got ready to go on another one of his mini-holidays.

When Mommy and Ayana came to pick Syon up from school that day, Monkey shook hands politely (he was a very suave monkey), hopped on the buggy board with Syon whom he already knew well from the time they spent together in school, and rolled home with them.


And that’s when everyone’s world turned upside down!

Ayana had grown in leaps and bounds over the previous year and was able to join her big brother in any activity. Syon considered her his very best friend. So, Ayana was a little taken aback when Syon chose to play with Monkey that afternoon and not her!

Her own feelings about this interloper in their midst were rather mixed. She wanted him to go home so she could have Syon back, but she also wanted to play with Monkey all by herself. She was surprised at how sorry she felt for herself because she was the happiest little girl in the world. Syon, who loved her to bits, was so immersed in playing with his new companion, he hadn’t even noticed how blue she was feeling.

The next day, Mommy and Daddy took Syon and Ayana to the Goose Fair. Monkey was their Guest of Honour on this, their first ever trip to the Goose Fair, and Syon made room for him in his much-loved Bob the Builder backpack. Ayana, not to be outdone, slipped on her own Peppa Pig rucksack, and they were on their way.

The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and despite the nip in the air, it was a lovely day to be at the Fair. Syon, Ayana, and Monkey rushed around happily, picking all the rides they wanted to try.

Syon got to pick first and he decided they would all ride on a lovely, red fire engine with real bells you could ring as you went ‘round. Tired, after the fun but frenetic ride in the fire engine, they took a candy-floss break before moving on to more thrills and spills. Then, it was Ayana’s turn to choose and she chose a giant, musical, green teacup for their next adventure. Another magical ride and many shared giggles later, the clouds had begun to roll in threateningly (almost out of nowhere) and it was nearly time to go.

But not before Monkey got to pick one last treat. With his keen eye for fun, Monkey plumped for a game of hook-a-duck with a turn each for Syon & Ayana (Monkey himself abstained as rubber ducks were amongst his best friends and he didn’t want to snare them with pointy hooks). The kids enjoyed it thoroughly though and each won a nice little toy to add to their growing collection at home.

Just then the heavens opened up! A flustered Mommy and Daddy rounded up the kids, their bags, their toys and were just about to herd them all to the tram stop when they realised that Monkey was missing!

OH NO, WHERE COULD HE BE?!!

As big fat raindrops tumbled down, there was a mad scramble to find Monkey before the next tram rolled in. Syon looked in his Bob bag, just in case Monkey had jumped in to keep dry. Ayana, the smallest in the family, looked under the Hook-a-Duck stall to ensure Monkey hadn’t taken cover there. Daddy did a circuit of the fairground and Mommy checked her capacious handbag to make sure Monkey wasn’t hiding in it.

Downhearted and deflated, they all piled into the tram wondering where poor Monkey had got to. No-one noticed the telltale bulge in Ayana’s Peppa Pig bag, because the occasional packet of raisins or a bangle or two aside, nothing was ever in there.

Monkey knew they were worried about him but couldn’t pop his head out to reassure them because he couldn’t find his way out of the bag. He wasn’t entirely sure how he’d got in there either. One minute he was perched on Syon’s shoulder, egging him on to hook a duck, the next minute, they were in the middle of a deluge and he was being bundled into Ayana’s little pink bag by unseen (tiny, little, soft) hands.

But who would put Monkey in the WRONG BAG?!!

It was only when a still-upset Mommy was shaking out all the bags and hats and things to dry before bedtime, that fateful night, that Monkey finally escaped from his Peppa Pig prison. Syon was elated to see Monkey, his parents were relieved but someone with tiny, little, soft hands looked a bit guilt-ridden and shifty.

The next morning, Monkey, being the gentleman he was, explained that it had all been his fault. In the confusion of being caught in that sudden shower, Monkey had dived into the pink bag thinking it was Syon’s blue and yellow Bob the Builder backpack. Mommy and Daddy told Monkey they were just glad he was safe (and dry) but they were concerned that Monkey was colour-blind (how else could you account for his confusing pink with blue and yellow?) and they suggested they all ride into town for an eye-test.

Gallant Monkey, who was fairly sure he knew what had happened, agreed to go through with it, to shield the little scallywag with the soft little hands whom he’d grown very fond of (as fond as he was of Syon).

So, the next day they all piled into the car to visit the optician. Monkey was nervous but determined not to rat on anyone. At the optician’s, a big man with great, big, misty glasses and cold hands placed Monkey into a huge, black chair that totally dwarfed him. The man asked Monkey in a booming voice to identify the colours he could see before him. Monkey was so very frightened he couldn’t get a single colour right but he was determined not to spill the beans, so he soldiered on, resigned to his fate.

But when the man brought his face inches from Monkey’s and cackled, “This monkey will definitely need glasses!”, big wet tears began rolling down Monkey’s face. Suddenly, little sobs could be heard from the other end of the room, as if there was an echo there.

Mommy, Daddy and Syon turned to see Little Ayana crying her eyes out. “Oh Monkey”, she sobbed,” I didn’t mean for this to happen! I just wanted to be the one who saved you from getting wet in the rain yesterday, that’s why I slipped you into MY BAG. I wanted you to love me best. I’m so sorry!”

As Mommy and Daddy drew her into a loving embrace to comfort her, Monkey (who now no longer needed glasses) hopped off the scary chair to give her a special Monkey squeeze. “Don’t worry Ayana”, he said, “I love you and Syon equally. You are amongst my favourite little people!”

But most importantly, Syon hugged Ayana and told her that there was nobody in the world more important to him than his little sister (not even a very special visiting monkey)! And they all went home happy, munching on chocolate chip cookies.

Snippets From This Summer

We've been so busy doing (and saying) entertaining things this summer, we've had no time to write. And now, Didou's here, we're out and about even more, with less time (can you have less than zero?!) to blog.

So finally, we've deputised Mommy to update you because it really has been ages since you heard from us. But Mommy hears everything we say and is the best person for the job (it's not like she's got anything else to do!), so she's agreed to put together some soundbites from this summer for your amusement (we hope)!

Take it away, Mommeeee...

Mommy: As the children asked me very nicely (they even threw in a 'please' or two!) to post an update of their activities on their blog (and because they do keep me very busy, whatever they might think!), I have patched together snatches of my conversations with them over the last 3 months.

Some of you would have read these on my Facebook page, others might have heard me relate them, and a select few amongst you would've been lucky enough to have heard them holding forth on life, the universe, and everything, with your own ears!

Here's some of their chatter and a new slideshow (which I agreed to throw in at water-gun point!) of their splendid summer (so far)...

My 21 month old daughter came running to me the other day, "Look Mommy, there's a man at the window!" I turned to see the window cleaner and was about to reassure her when she laid a firm hand on my arm and said in a soothing voice, " He's not naughty Mommy, you do NOT have to hide." Our role reversal was complete, 30 years sooner than I expected! (August 2011)

Whatever my 3 year old son has to show me these days, whether it's one of his wonderful Lego creations or something far less attractive (slugs, scabs and worse!), is preceded by a Ringmaster’s sonorous “Ladies and Gentlemen”, then presented with a dramatic flourish, and a proud “Tadah!" (August 2011)

Embarrassingly for my husband, ANY loud, reverberating noise makes our 20 month old daughter exclaim, "Daddy's trumping again"! Poor Daddy, he's not that bad! (July 2011)

I asked my 19 month old daughter her name and she beamed and said proudly,"Ayana Hanky"! (July 2011)

In my quintessentially Bengali Mom way, I was telling my kids how I hoped they'd 'live down the road' from me when they grew up, when my little boy piped up anxiously, "We can't live down ON the road, Mom. We'd get run over!" (June 2011)

Even before my 19 month old daughter started speaking in sentences, she had mastered all the really essential phrases, like 'not me!' to defend herself against accusations of wrong-doing (when she was innocent and especially when she was NOT!). But sometimes, she gets her timing wrong, like the other day, when she yelled 'Not me!' BEFORE tipping her beaker of juice over in full view of everyone! (June 2011)

A line in my 3 year old son's favourite episode of 'Bob the Builder' about a cowboy who could ride anything, 'even a tornado', had my little boy rolling with laughter. When I asked him what was so funny, he looked at me as if I was slow and said incredulously, "Ride a tomato? A TOMATO?? No-one can ride a tomato!" (June 2011)

As I tidied my son, the table, and my daughter after another messy meal, my son kept pestering me to clean his little sister first, who, having insisted on feeding herself in her usual fiercely independent way, was looking like The Swamp Thing. I finally gave in and cleaned her to the delight of her brother who pronounced, with a broad 'I told you so' grin, "See Mommy, Sis is pretty when she's clean!" (June 2011)

My son looked me up and down yesterday and asked; "Are you a Little People (a child)?" on account of my height. When I explained that I was a small-sized 'Big People', he nodded sagely and said (in the same tone of voice I adopt when advising him), " You must eat more!" (May 2011)

My one year old daughter really minds her P's & Q's at the table. She always makes it a point to bid adieu to the bits she doesn't want before she drops them on the ground under her high chair. 'Bye bye Chicken', 'Bye bye Tomato' you can hear her chime in her pretty baby voice before the unequivocal SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT of her dinner hitting the floor! (May 2011)

My son informed me that the cream that we'd been applying for a skin complaint of his was turning him into a horse, and that we should be careful not to apply too much because while he didn't mind becoming 'a little neigh', he didn't want to grow too big to live in our house! (May 2011)


S&A: Mommy's had to go, to mess about with dirty dishes which she seems to enjoy doing lots of! But she's promised that if you write to us to say you enjoyed these snippets, she'll stick more on, every few months (alongside our own more literary efforts, of course)! Hope you like the slideshow too.

Cheerio, for now...

P.S. The slideshow will be on as soon as Mommy can string it together. Watch this space!

Shiver Me Timbers!

...Can you believe it (mommy says she can't), I'm 3 now?! It doesn't feel all that long ago that I was embarking on my blogging enterprise and welcoming you into my world. And yet three years have passed since then. Most of it has been marvellous, with a few sticky moments (e.g. landing up in A&E when dropped on my face on concrete by an older playmate, and the like).

You've been with me all the way, holding my hand and smiling your encouragement (I say 'smiling' because while quite a few of you drop in on my blog fairly regularly, very few of you say anything; but I can understand that, I'm shy myself:-))!

I'm certainly not complaining, it's been a wonderful adventure with my family and friends (both real and virtual). I wouldn't call it a roller coaster ride (everyone's favourite life-metaphor); I couldn't possibly call it that, as I've never been allowed on one, but it has been the merriest carousel round ever! So, thank you, thank you, for tagging along with me through my toddler years and adding that extra dollop of fun only a blogging baby can have.

To mark this milestone (my 3rd birthday, and not my long and heartwarming association with you my blog-buddies, though we shall celebrate that too, one day), I had the bounciest, jolliest pirate party ever! I've posted a slideshow so you can see for yourself, but there are things the pictures won't tell you (mostly because my parents missed some V.I.P's- Very Important Photos!)...

It was a lovely, sunny day for a shindig and when everyone had gathered and thrown on the pirate paraphernalia (skull and crossbones hat, eye patch and cutlass!) we'd got for them, we kicked off the festivities with an easy-peasy treasure hunt that even the tiniest tike (aka. Sis-sis) could enjoy. Grandma and Grandad had hidden the little packages of chocolate doubloons very cleverly 'round the garden so that it would keep us canny Corsairs busy just long enough for Mommy and Daddy to serve the first round of my buccaneer's banquet!

Once we'd each found our share of hidden treasure, we trooped into the dining room for a mouth-watering Mediterranean morsel or two (a morsel is a misnomer because at our house, it's never a 'nibble' but a 'gobble' with the vast quantities of food we dish up) courtesy of Daddy!

This was followed by a sumptuous spread of sweet treats; wibbly-wobbly jellies with our names on 'em, chocolate crunchies with nautical stars sprinkled across, ice cream and strawberry gateau, gingerbread pirates with chocolate chip eye patches Mommy and Daddy had painstakingly iced on the previous night, but best of all was my favourite chocolate cake sitting in the middle of the Corsair-cloth draped table with a huddle of ol' sea dogs atop it, caught in the act of discovering hidden treasure!

The birthday candles were pirates too ( with a couple of wax galleons as backdrop). It looked splendid lit up for that split-second before I blew it all out and carved up a very big chunk (for myself, I'd hoped, but alas)! Despite the amazing amount of chocolate cake I quaffed I managed to keep my beautiful, blue pirate top and shorts (a much loved gift from Ma-sheep) in tip-top condition which my Great-great Aunty Nellie was quick to notice and commend!

Then, all the kids and some of the adults tumbled back out into the sunshine again to set sail on my bouncy galleon. As the adults sedately sipped their drinks, we weathered mighty storms, routed rival gangs of rovers (armed with water guns and looking suspiciously like Aunty Michelle), quelled a perilous mutiny (engineered by my sister, no less) and more!

When we'd had enough (or rather the adults had had enough, because we kids can never get enough of the bouncy castle!), we sat down to look at the treasure-trove of gifts my friends and family had lavished on me for my birthday.

I snagged skittles, and a golf set, sweets and smart clothes (Wu-wu underpants give me wings! Wings, I said, not wi..!). I also got some great reads,a fun board game and cracking creative toys like Lego cars (perfect in every detail, G&G will know what I mean!), engrossing jigsaw puzzles and spacescapes (and my favourite 'naughty' toy- a water gun!)

Mommy & Daddy gave me an awesome castle with knights, dragon, Trebuchet et al, a hobby horse I've named 'Button' (Sis-sis got one too), and much more! I loved it all so much, I've even persuaded Mommy to keep some of the ripped-up pirate wrapping paper that G.G. Aunty Nellie thoughtfully bought me!

And before you knew it, it was going-home time. As I handed out the buccaneer balloons that had decked the hulls (hoho) and the loot bags, I thought to myself- what a wonderful, wonderful party, I could do with having another one very soon!

P.S. Thanks also to those who couldn't be there for my party, their wishes and long-distance kisses made my actual birthday (a couple of days later) very, very special!

Eggsiting Events!

Who doesn't love a good milestone, especially when there's a chocolate Easter egg or two tucked away behind it? Well, Sis-sis celebrated one such milestone a couple of days ago when she participated in her first ever Easter egg hunt (she was about four months old last time so she had to 'sit' it out)!

All the 'big people' in our family hid scrummy chocolate eggs in Grandad & Grandma's garden, and then us, 'little people', sniffed them all out! Sis-sis found just as many as us bigger kids (Cousin Eleanor is over four and I'm almost three) with a tiny bit of help from the grown-ups. The chocolate eggs we amassed on the hunt was on top of the delicious array we'd already received from all the family. My favourite is the chocolate dog I got from Grandma & Grandad. Sis-sis got a chocolate 'meow' from them but she likes it such a lot, I don't think she means to eat it! We gave Eleanor and Alex yummy eggs too with their names on it. We didn't just get eggs either, we got two cute tops from G&G, and we got a big box of Lego and a JUMBO dinosaur puzzle from Mommy and Daddy (instead of eggs which they know we'll get plenty of without their help)!

We had also taken along our new bouncy castle and all four of us had a hopping good time on it! The rest of the day we spent stuffing our faces with all the good food Grandma had made for us. In fact, Sis-sis set a record for the most olives ever eaten by a one year old!

The next big event is Daddy's birthday. That's tomorrow and we can't wait to give him the card we've made for him. We've got him little gifts too but we really couldn't think of anything really exciting because he always says he's got everything he needs (in us)! Anyway, Mommy says it's the thought that counts and that she might chuck in a nice meal to make it a good day for him. After all, someone as old as Daddy- thirty six(!!)- deserves a great birthday!

So, it's toodloo-pip-pip for now whilst we enjoy ourselves and I'll catch up with you again after my big day- my 3rd birthday party- on Sunday!

'Spring'ing About!

Spring's not just in the air, it has landed! In fact, Summer seems to have come early, with the beautiful, bright, warm weekend we have just experienced.

To celebrate the onset of gorgeous, golden days, we decided to bring out that very special joint Christmas gift from Mommy and Daddy which we hadn't been able to use till now because of the cold and clammy Winter weather- our very own bouncy castle!!

Daddy blew it up whilst Mommy kept us curious kittens out of his hair. And then we were off, springing like spring chickens (which is what we are!) on our tremendous new toy! Hope you enjoy this film of the two of us having the boisterous, bouncy time of our lives (and if you're under five, come and have a go yourself)!

Note: Watch this full-screen, by clicking on the button on the lower, extreme right of the clip.

Just to say...

...we are back. We are bursting with tales to tell. And we shall tell ALL, we just haven't found the time yet. But we have put together a nice little slideshow of our wonderful, sunny holiday in Kolkata a week or so ago. Hope you like it!

Three, Three, Love a Parteee!

This is the last post I shall write this year and that makes me feel a little bit blue because it has been the most wonderful year- our first together as a foursome! But we won’t discuss fours just yet because first I must tell you about the magic number three!

Yes, I can count a little bit (at least up to three!).

Bro can count loads more and read some numbers too but then I’ve only just turned one, and being able to count at all, and walk wonderfully well (even up the stairs) and talk with such clarity is really advanced (according to many who are not Mom and Dad)! So I thought, as I can count up to three, let me write about the tremendous threes Syon and I have enjoyed this year, while he digs up some good photos for everyone to enjoy.

Let me start by telling you about the three perfect parties we’ve had this year.

First, there was my Annaprashan or First Rice ceremony (to read about Syon’s, please click here) in Kolkata which everyone helped make an enormous success! Didou did most of the organising with Mommy and Daddy doing their bit from across the seas. Ma-sheep flew in from Bangalore early to help with the prep. She blew up balloons, decorated the cake, and kept the guests entertained. Mommy says that blowing up balloons and entertaining guests might make Ma-sheep sound like a children’s party entertainer but she feels it her duty to point out to interested parents that she’s just a fun aunt!

Daddy did a lot of the decorating, whilst the cook served up a banquet. And Mommy, who had planned everything down to the last detail, was satisfied that she had thrown a party fit for a princess- their little princess, me!

Our long-time cook in Kolkata is excellent and the food was simply scrumptious, and the guests, our closest friends and family in India were as warm and wonderful and generous as ever, which meant that not only did I get the most beautiful array of traditional gifts of silver any tiny tot can hope for on their Annaprashan, but Syon wasn’t forgotten either and received lots of lovely loot too.

My parents and grandparents had also arranged for a big, yummy, chocolate cake with both our names on it and when this was brought out the guests simultaneously and without any pre-planning burst into song for Syon (though his birthday was months away) to very thoughtfully ensure that he didn’t feel left out and he told me later that it had worked a treat!

Of course, it was my party and I had my moment in the sun when, first, a pretty little silver bowl and spoon with which I was to taste my first rice was brought out, and then, a tray of significant objects from which I had to choose items that would foretell my future. None of this is, of course, taken seriously and applause and amusement in equal measure greeted my refusal to have even a spoonful of the milky rice from Dadu (I was only 3 months old after all)! I was far more obliging with the tray and picked out the objects which symbolised health and wealth.

In the summer, we had another splendid party, this time in England.

We don’t really do themed parties but we gave Bro’s very special second birthday a little bit of a secret agent spin with Connery-era James Bond posters for invites (with Syon’s face where Sean’s should have been)! His cake also carried on the theme with 002 candles and flashy, miniature cars sitting atop it. But most of all, my big brother was every bit as handsome as the dashing spy in his dapper, salmon and grey outfit.

He had a whale of a time, running about like a madcap with his English cousins and friends, stopping only to quaff cake and check out his great gifts- garages with swirly ramps for car-cars to whizz down and things to build with!

As always, Mommy and Daddy made sure that I wasn’t forgotten either, and so staged a mini Annaprashan for our English family and friends who couldn't (naturally) attend the main one in Kolkata. This time, I actually ate the rice that was spooned up for me by my Grandma and Great, Great Aunty Nellie, but I was quite a bit older by then- all of five and a half months!

The last but by no means the least important (nor the least fun!) party was just over a month ago- my very first birthday! We celebrated it alongside Diwali and had a rocketing time!

We invited guests to come in Indian attire and to help them look the part, we had a collection of bindis and bangles at the ready, but it turned out they didn’t need our help after all! We were tickled pink to see our English friends and family in their eye-catching Eastern best. Aunty Louise and Cousin Eleanor glittered in festive Kameezes they’d bought specially for the occasion. Both Grandmas looked regal in peacock blues and greens. I myself was resplendent (and a veritable Bollywood Babe) in a gorgeous rose and sea-green Ghagra with spaghetti string straps. And the men were not to be left behind either! Syon, Alex, Felix and Daddy were in smart Kurta-pyjama combos and even Uncle David wore his ‘Hum Hindustani’ t-shirt!

Daddy cooked the yummiest Indian spread ever for my party and my star-spangled, chocolate cake had a solitary, sparkly diya burning atop it to mark the completion of my first year. There were also tasty, wobbly, fruit jellies with both our names on them (just like at Bro's party).

In return for the zippy, toy auto-rickshaws I awarded to the best-dressed (for the occasion), I received a heap of wonderful toys and books and gorgeous clothes! Syon got some fun gifts too which he was very pleased with.

My very special evening ended with a bang! We all trooped out into the (slightly nippy) lamp-lit garden to enjoy the bright sparklers and glow-in-the dark hoops Mommy and Daddy had got for all of us kids. I loved every moment of it and was sad it had to end, but I am reliably informed by someone in the know (someone who’s had quite a few parties organised by Mommy and Daddy) that they’ll do their best to make my second birthday extra-special too!

And because all good things, like parties and wonderful first years, must come to an end, so must this post, and I didn’t even get around to wrapping up the year like I promised Bro I would.

Oh well, he’s the eldest and I leave the ‘burden’ of writing that one last post for 2010, with stirring tales of travellers and a magical Christmas, upon his manly, broad shoulders...

P.S. For those of you who've missed my birthday slideshow, you'll be pleased to know that it will be coming soon to a blog near you (notably this one)!

One,Two, Visit the zoo...

I am counting better and better all the time! If there’s ever a number I can’t pronounce properly, I just say ‘more’ so I’m often to be heard counting objects like this- One, Two, Three, Four, More, Six, More...!

I not only know numbers and letters but can read a few too. This is really handy for a boy who likes to impose order on his (very elaborate) imaginary world (except when I’m asked to tidy up; I favour the bombed-out look when it comes to houses)! I do like order when I’m playing though which is why Sis-sis is not the best playmate at the moment as she likes wading into my organised toy world like a galumphing Godzilla!

My burgeoning counting and reading skills really come in handy everyday when I build and animate whole towns and cities made up of the many different but unrelated toys I have amassed.

Lots of interesting things happen in my toy cities- planes take off from the top of the petrol station (as I don’t have an airport and the garage has the flattest roof), the train chugs into town to pick up the day-tripping animals of the wooden ark. The crocodile drives the fire engine to the burning barn and puts it out. Postman Pat and his Doppelganger zip around town in their red van having complex conversations about the parcels they can’t find.

All this does have a rationale of its own (My parents agree that the last scenario is particularly realistic)! But when my sister joins in, the really bizarre take over- Toy Town is suddenly afflicted by hail storms of large plastic fruit or houses levitating- or worse still everything gets crushed under her mighty Godzilla feet (Mommy says that actually Sis has the tiniest of feet as they could not find walking shoes small enough to fit her and had to settle for cruising shoes although she’s been walking six weeks or more now).

Anyway, I digress! I wanted to demonstrate my excellent numerical skills and so I shall, by counting all the fun Sis-sis and I have had this year.

One: One is for how old my baby sister is now and for the number of wonderful years we’ve been together!

One is also the number of trips we’ve made to the zoo together.

We had an absolutely fabulous time at Twycross Zoo with our cousins Alex and Eleanor; running from cage to cage to look at the monkeys, being hoisted up on my Da’s shoulders to see the giraffes close-up, watching the zoo’s new baby elephant have a mud bath (wish I could have baths like that!) and pretending to go on a safari with my cousin Eleanor on the sturdy stone shoulders of a Silverback Gorilla!

Two: Two is for how old I am and for the huge number of fun things that came in twos that I’ve experienced this year!

I’ve been on two trips to the seaside.

The first one with Grandma and Grandad and Cousin Eleanor (therefore, two is also the number of high-spirited kids my grandparents had to manage on that trip)!

I absolutely love the beach, building sand castles, splashing about and collecting rocks and seaweed and such (funny that Mommy doesn’t seem too keen on some of the collections I bring home).

Two is also the number of donkeys that my grandparents got for us to ride on the beach. That was very exciting, I’ve had piggyback rides on Mommy, Daddy and my grandparents before but they can't compare to the real thing!

The other trip to the seaside was the wonderful week Mommy, Daddy, Sis-sis and I spent in a cottage in Cornwall.

We got to know the farm animals (two is the two horses or ‘neighs’ as I prefer to call ‘em, which grazed in the field next to our cottage), had loads of yummy creamy Cornish ice cream, swam in the wonderful pool in the cottage complex, built sand castles and rock pooled with Da on the beach (while Sis and Mom found a sunny spot to bask in).

I also enjoyed the bustling fishing towns we visited because they had lots of boats and birds and doggies too! Mommy enjoyed the sun (except one day when it was pelting down) and Daddy bought lots of great fresh food and cooked up a delicious storm for us.

We also visited some pointless ruins which I would’ve hated altogether but there was usually a dog or a bird or something to distract (or a toy pirate ship in one instance) so the rubble-rambles (as I like to think of them) which Mommy loves weren’t a complete washout for me and Sis-sis (and anyway, who can complain when you get as many compliments as we did from total strangers while out and about in Cornwall!).

The high point of our Cornwall trip tho’ was a morning spent at a toy train centre where we not only got to watch perfect little miniature trains (one of them looked just like my Thomas, only bigger!) chugging ‘round the tracks but actually got to ride a little steam engine right up front with the driver- TWICE!!

Two is also the number of terrific trips abroad we’ve made this year.

In the summer, we travelled to Switzerland where my Bilky Mashi lives.

This was a splendid sun-drenched holiday where despite having two old fogies along (Mommy and Daddy) we managed to see a lot of lovely places like the perfectly preserved medieval town of Stein am Rhein.

We also went on a big boat to Zurich where I sat in the sun and ate chips and ice cream! Two is also the number of times I’ve been on big boats (please click here if you’re interested in my first big boat ride).

But the best part of the Swiss trip for me and Sis-sis was getting to spend time with family, sampling Bilky-Mashi’s delicious cooking and most of all (for a little boy like me) splashing about in the kiddie pools and fountains of Horgen’s lakeside park!

Mommy and Daddy had been to Switzerland before but enjoyed it in a completely different way this time because they found it a really family-friendly country with total strangers taking a lot of interest in us and constant compliments on how cute we are (which always makes Mommy’s day)! One old man actually stopped us on the streets of Stein to shake Mommy and Daddy’s hand on a job well done in having such beautiful children (I think he should've shaken Sis-sis and me by the hand but who knows how grown-ups think)!!

The second foreign trip this year was in fact, the first in the year, the first ever with Sis-sis and also the first in importance because of all the family members we got to spend time with- Didou, Dadu, Budida, Ma-sheep and Pishi Dida to name a few.

I suppose it’s not a foreign trip at all because we are half-Indian and are just visiting our other home and we do this every year, but it is a heck of a long journey and a gruelling one. Mommy and Daddy seem to find it especially hard but I am a strong lad and I don’t mind all the walking, the piggyback riding and interesting hustle and bustle at the airports. I should make it clear that it's the 24 hour journey that's difficult and not the stay which is, in fact, just the opposite- usually the most relaxed 3 weeks in the whole year!

I had started writing about it in an earlier post and then realised that there was too much to write about at one go! I did mention all the wonderful people we met, all the shopping and non-stop chattering Mommy did, and all the fantastic food we have there.

What I didn’t get around to telling you about was Sis-sis’ magical Annaprashan and that really deserves more time than I have left today. It’s lunchtime and my tum's crying out for some Bob the Builder pasta (or is that Mommy calling me?)!

In the next post, however, I plan to recount the terrific threes we’ve experienced this year- especially the three tremendous parties we’ve had (including the Annaprashan), the three wise women who came to visit us from the East, and much more!

But that's another day, another blog post...

It’s bye for now and do watch this space for more counting fun!

Super Trooper

I just wanted to share our delight over my baby sister's walking prowess with our family and friends. Although she has been taking a few unassisted, wobbly steps from her 11th month, she has only started taking longer walks in the last two weeks since her 1st birthday and tonight she finally allowed the paparazzi (that's Daddy and Mommy when we're at home!) a chance to capture it on celluloid for the whole world to see!

Here she is walking across the room with the remote control firmly in her grasp in an attempt to stop Daddy from changing the channel. She's an intrepid little trooper who'll walk across the room and back with an incandescent smile on her face. Her confidence has grown in such leaps and bounds in the last fortnight that she's not just walking from room to room or across the expanse (vast, for a baby!) of our living room now but also trying to fetch and carry whilst on her jaunts! So, please put your hands together for Ayana's lovely toddle, I know she'll be happy to show you how well she does it come Christmas (or for those in India, 2011)!