Preschool thus far…
Riana started preschool two months ago and she absolutely loves the activities involved in her class as they are a lot more interesting than the ones in Toddler classroom. She likes arts and crafts very much. From Lions and Elephants to Jelly Fishes and Sharks, she has brought them all into the house. Oh, and snakes too!
One of my favorites is a lantern she made using color paper, thread, crayons, stickers and party decorations. It was beautiful. The loveliest of all were the gifts she made for Ashwin and I for Father’s day and Mother’s Day using her thumb and finger prints.
Arts and crafts sure sound like fun but all her clothes are nicely stained yellow, blue, green and red! I am glad she is having fun but there is one thing I wish she didn’t do and that is play in the sand box until she is covered from head to toe.
She participated in the annual Sports day at her preschool and won a ‘fake’ gold medal for the egg relay competition. Apparently she had very good control! Shocking… Good control from a kid who is otherwise very clumsy.
Yesterday the school had their end of the year celebration and all the kids put out a very good show. They sang some wonderful songs. Riana was very shy and didn’t know why her mummy and other parents were sitting, watching them sing and taking pictures and videos. It was hilarious to see her expression when her turn to sing came. It was almost like we caught her doing something naughty!
They concluded the show with an award ceremony and every child got a certificate for successfully completing the year. Lunch was served at Noon and Riana devoured the hot dogs and Chips!
All in all, it’s been a wonderful experience to see her learn and grow. I would call this a successful transition to preschool…
Good job Riana. Mummy and Daddy are very proud of you! Cheers…
ABCs and 123s
Riana started at her new daycare just over two weeks ago and in that time we’ve seen great strides in her speech and vocabulary. Mostly this is due to the fact that she’s been placed with preschool kids as opposed to the much younger toddlers.
She truly began speaking only a few months ago, but since then she’s mastering the alphabet song and counting up to 11 or 12, depending on her mood, with the greatest of ease.
The funny and interesting thing is that she will count the numbers and recite the alphabets without provocation and while involved in some other activity. The moment we ask her to do it so that we can capture a video of it, she purposefully miscounts or screams the alphabets while repeating a few of them just for fun. Her favorite letter to repeat being “W”, just just likes saying “dubble-YOU” over and over again.
Cheers
The Dancing Baby
April 14th, 2009 by Ashwin § 0
What is it about music that causes one kind of person to get up and feel the urge to dance while another is perfectly happy sitting still while equally enjoying the music? Having one of each in our family with Geeta and I (I’ll let you figure out who is which kind), it’s always interesting to see what traits Riana develops and explores.
As witnessed at recent parties that Riana has attended she clearly is the kind of child that enjoys dancing a lot. With her growing vocabulary she insists on wanting dancing music played whenver we are on the computer so that she can jump around like a maniac. This also has put an end to my listening to NPR on the drive to work and home and need for constant channel surfing on the radio to ensure that there’s always some music playing.
Children, in general, I’ve found enjoy dancing but I think Riana is going to be more like her mother in that regard.
Cheers
Darling, You’re Two
How the time has flown. It seems like it was just yesterday that is a cold March night as we were whisking you away from the hospital to welcome you into our home and hearts.
Riana's Birthday Frock
And now nearly two years into that journey has been filled with moments and memories that will be remembered for a lifetime.
Here’s looking forward to many more moments..
Love,
Daddy & Mommy
A Natural Affection
January 9th, 2009 by Ashwin § 0
We visited India this past November and Riana got a chance to reacquaint herself with her grandparents and her cousin. The initial trepidation of meeting new faces dissolved quickly when she got the chance to do as she pleases, most of which was to go outside and play with the other kids.
After spending a wonderful week in Pune, we traveled to Bangalore to visit with Riana’s aunt and cousin. From the first moment she laid her eyes on her cousin Adi, Riana behaved like the bigger sibling that she is. It was quite touching to see the care that she took of her cousin, from calming him when he was crying, feeding him, or pushing him around in his stroller.
Now that we’ve returned to the States, she asks to look at the pictures and the videos we made during our stay all the while calling out the names of the people in those pictures.
I think most of all, being a little older and better able to recognize and remember faces means that now she has a connection with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousin. Those connections will be further strengthened as she gets to communicate with her family in India on the phone and webcam.
Cheers
Speaker of the House
December 8th, 2008 by Geeta § 1
Riana not only understands a lot of what we say but she also tries to communicate using words. She knows a lot of words, some Hindi but mostly English, that compliment her wonderful gestures. She nods and says ‘Ya’ or points her finger and says ‘Over there’. Her enunciation is getting better too. Lately, she has been making attempts to form simple sentences such as ‘I want Cookie’ or ‘I want Duddu’. I am trying to get her to say ‘Love you mummy’. That’s a big expectation:)
Clearly, this communication is making things easier for us. She can ask for water when she is thirsty. She also tells us when she has ‘pooped’ and when she needs her diaper changed. Does this mean she is ready for potty training?! Now, THAT is something I am NOT looking forward to!!!
The Safety…Tag?
October 25th, 2008 by Ashwin § 0
The sight of a child clutching dearly to it’s favorite blanket or stuffed animal is very cute. The animal or blanket provides some level of comfort and safety to the child and accompanies the child on every excursion to the supermarket, the playground, the beach and any other place imaginable.
Riana, has something that comforts her equally when she seeks it out, but her thing is not a stuffed animal or a blanket, but rather a tag. Any tag. Tags on her burp clothes, tags on her onsies, tags on her pants, and anything else imaginable.
Up Above… Da Dy…
October 16th, 2008 by Geeta § 0
It’s amazing how toddlers pick up language so fast. In the last few weeks, Riana’s ability to form words has increased dramatically. Her vocabulary is growing exponentially and according to her pediatrician, that is to be expected. She likes to point our body parts such as nose and eyes. She has fun counting 1,2 and 3! She likes to interact with people. I am amazed to see that she even tries to make up short sentences such as “My duddu”, “Bye Bye Dadda”, “No Touch”, “Hi Baby”, “Over There”. This morning, I was reciting nursery rhymes to her. I was surprised when she sang along…
Me: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I wonder what you are…
Riana: Up Above da… Dy…
Me: Baba Black Sheep, Have you any wool…
Riana: Yes sa… Yes sa… tul…
How sweet. I believe she learnt this at her daycare.
Life is fun with Riana around… I am looking forward to having real conversations with her although I don’t think I am quite prepared for the “whys and hows”… Not just yet!
Coming Full Circle
October 15th, 2008 by Ashwin § 0
It was nearly two decades ago that I was first introduced to McDonald’s fast food having newly arrived into this country. I was, however, too old for the Happy Meals but my brother enjoyed the meals, as well as, the toys that accompanied the meals.
We took Riana to Wendy’s this past weekend where she enjoyed her first kids meal, consisting of nuggets, fries and the obligatory toy that will occupy her for a couple of days until she, inevitably, breaks it. To see myself go from being the child enjoying one of those meals with my parents to being the parent feeding my child is quite a circle indeed.
It is interesting the things that get put into perspective when you become a parent. Interesting indeed.
Cheers
I Call Me ‘Nana’
October 15th, 2008 by Ashwin § 1
It is a great milestone when a child recognizes that the name being called out is it’s own and responds to it. This began happening with Riana a short while back and it’s great that we can get her attention without having to use “yo” and “hey”.
In her growing vocabulary, both spoken and understood, she can now clearly look at me or her mother and say “dada” and “mama”. Looking at the numerous pictures in the bedrooms of her and us, she points to the picture and correctly identifies the person who’s carrying her.
We, however, noticed that sometimes she would say “nana” and then go on to say “dada” or “mama”. Naturally, we assumed she was mixing up the words or just outright clobbering some word. Then, we realized that Riana is actually repeating the words that we tell her, or at least she pronounces something that sounds like the word we said.
It is then we realized that she’s actually referring to herself as ‘nana’ since she can’t clearly enunciate Riana yet. 
Listening to her repeat the birds and animals she sees in her books are quite a thrill and very funny.
Cheers