It is called Whining?

I think kids started knowing the magic of Whining in early years and there in no one needed to tell them what it is. They know how to change a "No" to "Yes". Thamizhini is no different and these days what ever she wants, she asks with a crying whining voice. She is not really ready to understand the difference between asking in a good / regular mood and crying mood.

We are very sure that we are not making her to whine for everything. We pay full attention to her before she starts whining and sometimes she might not understand what the word "No" means and why we say so. However, we make our house child safe, still some of dangerous things would be reachable for them, like electric plug points, shoes, back side of TV, fridge and mosquito killer bats. 

I could still remember that she was not at all touching those things, even if she tries, the one word "NO" was enough for her to control. But later if any one at home allow her to do that same naughty thing, then she will not be ready to listen others. And that is where whining starts, because If me or Nalin yell at her for her "Don't touch" things. This is how going on these days, One say No, the other says Yes and Thamizhini takes advantage of her choices.

The Real Perfectionist

Thamizhini likes to draw with her "Pink Magnetic Writing Slate Board" always. Sometimes she ask every one at home to draw something. And even we like to do some drawing, as it is very easy to use and very much easier to erase it. :-)

Check out the below video, how Thamizhini uses it. She knows where to keep the pen and how to use the eraser. My real perfectionist.

Love of Dance

I could still remember that when Thamizhini was three months old, she was paying full attention to sound / noise / music, whatever. Also her legs move very faster to the beats and it is totally depends on the sound. Thamizhni's love of music and dance have been improved and anytime she hears music, she started dancing from where she is standing.

Checkout the video for her performance. Lately she has begun dancing to every bit of music she hears, and tries to do same way how hero / heroins are dancing on TV. Sometimes she will break out into dance without any music too!  My sweet pie loves to dance and it is so adorable to watch it :-)

Who is Lion?

Check out the below video to know who is Lion? There are two parts, good and bad!

Thamizhini's most attracted and interested book is Animals & Birds, she likes to see the picture and used to ask about the animal / birds. And we would say her like, this is Dog and barks like "Bow Bow", this is Cow and makes "Mmmmaaaaaaaaaaaa" and so on. Likewise her Dad had told, "This is Lion" and told how it makes sound. I don't know how to write that sound, but I'm sure you would have heard from the video.  Also her Dad had told that, "This is Appa" and he used to ask her, "Appa Yaaru" and my sweetie points out the Lion picture and says "Lion... Singam". Before she started speaking she used to point out picture, but now as she could speak, she tells always "Appa Singam" and "Athu Lion, Appa", even though there is no book to point out. I'm sure she is used to for that question. And as you all know, there is no doubt that this is the good part!

Now coming to opposite side of the first part: While explaining the animals and their sounds, he came across "Monkey (orangutan)" and told "This is Amma". And ofcourse she is attached to it. Whenever the monkey page comes she points out orangutan and says "Amma... Amma..." :-( Nalin feels bad that he could not capture this funny moment. :-D

Mimicry: Updated

My talking toddler is too much talkative and she remembers what ever we say to her. She knows how dog barks, how crow and cow make sound and literally, she knows what she want and she can ask for that. Check out the video and you will know better.

We tried our level best to capture this! These days her legs are not standing in a place, always running here and there. As Nalin put her in crib, she was not able run. He captured it nicely!

Is it really a big thing?

This cute little pie is sixteen months old and I'm still not realizing how fast time run! I still remember the day she born and still I could feel the softness of her skin like rose petals. I remember her first months face, how it looked, but later I really don't get how she was, she was then changing, changing and changing... Overall height and weight changed, face changed and her little fingers have grown to few cms... :-)

Ammaa.....

When I think about nursing, it is an intimate feeling that fosters a strong bond between me and my daughter and I find it difficult to let that go. YES, Of course, even though I wanted to wean, yet still feel uneasy about it, may be kinda of guiltiness. But night waking for almost sixteen months would come to an end.

Hmm... Amma wants to break it.... But I'm not ready!!!

I wanted to register one thing here in high tone and VERY seriously. I wanted to fulfill the needs of my daughter ahead of what OTHER people might think. Everybody (mainly OLD ones) feels that feeding a baby more than 11 months is a sin. They simply tell me the reason as that it would be tough to make the baby wean once baby start realizing what happens with her mother. I felt tough to continue nursing, when every one else in the family frowns on my choice.

No one can come in between me and Amma!

But as I said earlier I felt it is more important to fulfill my baby's needs and moreover I wanted to build a stronger bond between me and my baby. That is the only time we spent together without anyone's interruptions. I know each and every inch of her body, even I could find any tiny marks on her. I feel that is the time for only mother and baby.

Her Happiness on her smile...

When coming to the moment of weaning, I prepared very well and my daughter seems not much interested in feeding, but wanted to feel my closeness. I gradually decreased the counts and it was only bed time I fed her and she started getting the habit of  waking up in the midnight and asking for "B". I don't know either it is "B" or "Bee". She has named like this for the nursing process. :-) I have to tell how Thamizhini named like this. I used to have pillow for support when I nurse her. And that pillow has nice flower design on it. Thamizhini is always fond of flowers and she initially called "Poovi" for Poo. Later it became a habit for Thamizhini to get that pillow for feeding and she says "Poovi".  If Nalin tells Thamizhini to go and have "ungaa", she first go and gets that pillow, then comes to me by saying, "Amma Poovi".  And somehow that Poovi turned in to B as short.

Yeah!I named it!

Back to story, She wakes up and simply lies down and would be counting the stars on the sky. And sometimes she simply will not sleep for couple of hours and asking me to get up and play with her. After all these kinda disturbance, I thought, it would be better to stop feeding, so that she would get full stretch of sleep in the night and even me too!

Amma feels bad that I'm not letting her to sleep :-(

To start the process of weaning, I called my mother from native for help. I thought my husband cannot be of much help in this. I have got some experts (??? yeah, my friends) help on this. They told me that it is just when baby sees me, she may get remained of  feeding. As we do co sleeping, I thought it would be tough if  she wake up in the night. So I make myself hid in the bed room and we put her in Thuli which is in hall, to make her sleep and this was continued for a week. Yes, she cried much when she got up in the middle of night and literally she was searching for me in the house. I felt really bad. :-(

Amma, I'm sad and I need you always.

And we also had a plan to go for a relative's marriage in our native. I would say that helped a lot, becoz' in the new environment, she totally forgot about nursing. Sometimes I used to say her that  "B" was stolen by Kakka when she asks me about it. It took totally of two weeks to wean from me and I would say that first five days were tough. The remaining days left unknowingly as we were in our native and even Thamizhini did not get any clue about nursing. I was extremely happy that I passed another big mile stone in parenting.

We are done!

Do you think that it is all over? Nah... We came back from native on a fine day morning and as it was early morning, we thought of sleeping for some time and we all were sleeping on the bed. Me, Thamizhini and my hubby. Around eight in the morning she got up and she was waking me like this "Amma... B, Amma Bee Bee..... and pillow in her hand" :-O

Eppuudiiiiiii

I was totally shocked and did not know what to do. I woke nalin up and told him to take Thamizhini out to show two helicopters.  Yes, there were two helicopters flying on the sky. I have known that nothing will work out, except helicopters, since she was bored of Kakka, Pura and all! Somehow she forgot about "B" and started playing. 

Grr.. All are cheating me....

After thinking for a whole day, I came to know that Thamizhini is fond of B, gets reminded about nursing by seeing the pillow and not by seeing ME. :-D Great Insult.. Grrr.... Hmm... so, on that day night I simply hid all the pillows, (yes, not only hers! I tried this some time back. If i hid her pillow, she gets other pillow and comes to me :P) and we slept without having pillow.

At last I forgot everything and sleeping nicely!

And to my surprise, she did not get up in the middle of night and we continued this setup for one more week. Even sometimes she somehow gets reminded about B and asks me. I started telling that "B Kakka thookitu poyiduchu", I hope she was  satisfied with the answer as there were no pillows on the bed.

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17th Month

My little darling is seventeen months old and I'm happy that my little one is growing up with lots of activities. Bringing up a child is one of the most difficult responsibilities in parenting. And I'm sure all parents must have crossed this line.  We always think about our kids and have lots and lots (or loads) plans to bring up them and most important in the list is, discipline. As Thamizhini is nearing 1.5 years, I'm sure she knew some of things that what she can do and what she can't. She hears not only the words (mainly "NO") I say, but I'm sure the tone of my voice. She reacts to it, but most of times, she makes me to laugh.  :P

Amma, Trust me, I will not repeat it!

Children are like wet clay, we can mold them in any shape and they learn everything by seeing and absorb everything around them. Thamizhini is no different and she tries to mimic what elders do, either good or bad! Generally it is parents responsibility that how we insist values to them and I make sure that I don't miss this in parenting. But sometimes as I said earlier, she makes us smile by seeing her naughtiness, but may be after seeing repeatedly, we get irritated and of course, there is no use of yelling her at that time!

Hey Anna!!!

And I have to make a note that this was an important month to me in parenting. Yes! I have successfully weaned her from feeding. I would say that I was feeling guilty about wanting to wean, but my cutie is not very serious on the business but wanted my nearness. The process took a week for me, and end of the week, we had traveled to our native, so she totally forgot about it in the new environment. Yeah! An important milestone for my baby and I'm happy that she passed this too!

I don't need amma, I can standalone!!

Her understanding ability is going high, so we have to consider her while talking. Also she talks nicely and started telling what she wants not only her toys or food! And these days, her usual word is "Ammatte"  meaning that she wants to go to Amma. And these days she asks us by saying "Kuva Kuva Vaathu", "Ala Ala" (means Nila Nila, and I love to see her hands action to call Nila), 'Kaakka paattu" and "Anna Paattu" (this is a song "veyilodu vilayadi" from Veyil movie). More interesting thing is that  she does not know how to ask for the next song, so she would ask "Appa ithu vena" meaning that "I don't want this". But she will not say what she want next! I would be extremely happy for her Daddy by thinking that bad time started for him!

Howz my outfit? All matching.. matching...!!!

We had been to native for our cousin's marriage and I hope now, Thamizhini would remember everyone in native and whatever she had seen there. She walks around all day with her head in the clouds, because she saw many dogs, cows and buffalo. Her Appuchi was astonished by seeing her mimicry and even me. She mimicked by hearing a buffalo sound as it is. Trust me, no different.

Chitiiiiiiiiiiiiii.... (I'm very sure that she did not see Chiti serial but still she got it in that way!!!)

As I said earlier, her grasping power is going high and she remembers if we tell something to her. Her mama has brought Ball house / tent from Ireland and she knows the colors of the balls. We were simply telling her like "Its blue ball, pink ball, yellow and green ball by showing balls whenever she was playing. So now she knows about the colors not only from balls, even she identifies the colors of her toys.

I could see her changes, month by month and I'm sure she is on the right path. Even though she is adamant on somethings, she is quite good on doing her own things, only thing we have to let her to do that. But as she is supported with her grandparents, she enjoys lot of naughty things.