Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Z Speaks

If I don't update the blog now, I will definitely lose track. So here goes...

I was speaking to my maid and Z comes out of the room and says:
"Mama please be quiet I'm reading a book Mama. Please be quiet O.K"

She's already demanding privacy and has over taken our bedroom. What next.

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I went for fruit shopping with Z, as I was paying at the cash counter my 3 year told me...can you give me 5 pounds, please. I said, I don't have pounds, she said alright can I have 10 dollars, please. I was shocked...

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For a 3 year old, knowing numbers and sounds is acceptable... but knowing the names of ALL THE CONTINENTS and place them on the world map is something I was blown away with. Love you my Z and thanks to her school!

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What is .... doing..
Where is .... going...
Why is .... angry/sad/happy...
Who is doing....
Before Z gets an answer she is ready with another question. And as im typing this .... she jumps on me with "What are you doing?"

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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Book Pick - Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Book: Good Night, Gorilla
Author: Peggy Rathmann


This is a wordless book (well almost) and it is a Beautiful Book for young children. Z has had this book for over 2 years now, she still loves it as much. It has lots of animals sneaking out after a Gorilla takes the keys out of the Zookeeper's pocket.

Why I picked it and what was my Reaction: I still remember, this was the first wordless book I picked and I remember as I browsed through the pages in Crosswords... there was a smile on my face throughout. I did not miss the words or the lack of it. 

The Toddler's take: When Z was little she loved the pictures, now she loves the antics of the animals. This is the first book she started reading (pretend reading) and she makes up her own stories when she browses through... all of them are lovely.

What it is about: It is bed time and like all of us animals need to sleep. The Zookeeper needs to make sure all the animals are in their cage and the cages are locked. The Gorilla takes the key out of the Zookeeper's pocket and then the fun begins as all animals follow the Zookeeper.

How We Read it: Since there are no words barring a few we make up our story and now I ask Z a lot of questions. If Z is in a mood she narrates the story to mom. 

Favorite Line: Has to be 'Good night, Gorilla'

Age Group:  2.5 years+ to enjoy the book

BZM Must Buy, you can pick it up from Flipkart

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Here is to fun in the Park and making new friends!

We love taking Z to the park, and she loves going to this one park not so close to home. Yesterday, when we were in the park she explored almost all the swings. For a little someone who was even scared to climb on the slide without mum and dad we have come a long way.

The best thing that happened in the park was Z make a new friend just like that. It so happened Z was sitting in one of those tunnels in the big slide and from the other side a girl (around 4) came and sat next to her. I was expecting Z would come and hug me, coz in the park she usually likes playing alone. Or she likes playing with the kids she is already friends with. I was in for a big surprise, Z started smiling and chatting with her new friend, she say with her for a good 20 minutes in the tunnel. Both the girls didn't let anyone else come in the tunnel till the time they were sitting.

Here are 'some' pictures I took.

 
 
 


Z and her new friend, whose name she forgot to ask :-P



Wednesday, January 8, 2014

And she made me go Teary Eyed ...

21st December 2013 was Z's 1st Parent's Day and we were all very excited about her big day. Z and her friends had been preparing for their big day for more than a month now. Whenever we asked to tell us what she was doing, she just changed the topic. She didn't even tell us which song was she dancing on... leave aside showing us her steps.

Faizan and me were sure Z wouldn't go on stage... and even if she did, she wouldn't dance. I was hoping against hope she does though. We stopped asking her about the dance. On the D-Day we reached the auditorium, 1st thing that shocked us was that she saw two of her friends and she went straight to them. She didn't want to come to us when we called her, when it was time to go on stage...Z did get a little apprehensive but didn't resist going on stage. The kids were kept backstage throughout the program and Z was happy to be there. When the 'Santa Dance Troupe' reached the stage, Fizz and me were ready that Z might not dance... like many small kids did when they reached on stage before Z's performance.

We were in for a surprise, Z completed the entire dance, enjoyed herself and my baby looked totally ADORABLE. Fizz and me were cheering up like we have never done ever before... I was all smiles and tears started rolling down my eyes. It was a moment I will never ever forget.  Thanks Z for giving me another #ProudMommyMoment

Z's on the extreme right in front.


And here is the Santa Claus song Z danced on.


Thursday, January 2, 2014

Done with the first School Break

 

School holidays can be really stressful for some moms, because most of us don't just know what to do with the kids and how to keep them happily engaged... especially when you're not traveling. Some parents just believe in turning to the idiot box, which was not an option for me. Though Z did get to see more than what we usually would have done, keeping the movie we went for.

Here are some of the things I did to keep L'll Z engaged (please understand, I was not on leave, Z was. So I had to plan the schedule accordingly).



Stories & more Stories: It is obvious by now that Z's days are incomplete without her books. We explored some lovely books this holiday season... Stick Man, Snowmen at Christmas, Snoring Shanmugam, Squash and a Squeeze.

Movies: Z went to watch Dhoom3 with us, she loved the movie to say the least. She shrieked in the chase sequences, danced on the songs and shouted when she saw 'Two-Two Aamin Khan' on the big screen. She has been wanting to go once more, but I can't give in :(. We rolled in the new year by watching one of my favorite animation movie Shrek. Z loved it and her new year started with a big big smile. She has recently started watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but Peppa still remains her favorite.

Colours:
Give Z some crayons and a big chart paper and you're sorted. She can spend a long time painting the paper.

Blocks: Another thing she loves doing is playing with legos. Though she loves breaking a lego tower more. This is another thing she can go on doing for a long time.

Pretend Play: Z loves being a doctor with her doctor set, a car racer with her new remote controlled sports car, if she doesn't have a set in place we make up some stuff with play-doh. She picked this new Hamleys tea set, which initially I was a little apprehensive about... but Z loves playing with it. Z got a doll but she isn't much into dolls right now (I'm happy actually). She prefers her dinosaur, Mickey-Minnie stuff toys. 


Traveling around Bangalore: Whatever time I could take out, I took Z out to parks, playdates, malls (which I only like during Christmas)

Decorating her Christmas Tree: Z loved decorating her little Christmas tree with mamma.

I missed out on baking with Z, but we will do that soon.

Here is hoping your 2014 is super.

P.S BTW Z came across this song while I was watching TV, and the only thing she said was 'Zoe's Song, Zoe Drama Queen' **Runs to hide face**


Wild Karnataka – Experience

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