Seriously, boy!

So in an effort to sneak some nutrition into my son's almost non-existent diet, I mixed a mashed up banana into a scoop of vanilla ice cream and served it up with walnuts and a dash of chocolate sauce as an ice cream sundae. He had almost the whole thing but without the enthusiasm he normally displays for ice cream.

I thought I had won this round till he walked up to me today and said, "Mereko ek ice cream sundae chahiye, banana ice cream ke saath...lekin usme kela nahin daalna aur akhrot nahin daalna." (I want an ice cream sundae with banana ice cream, but don't put any bananas or walnuts in it.)

Summer days with the gramps

Running first thing in the morning to nani's mandir and blowing out the diyas. Grabbing the keys to the black car and green car and running out to get his early morning look at the cars. Being chased in and then running up to nani for a morning hug and chat. Waking up Tara by kissing her endlessly on her face and head. Tracking down the orange box filled with a hundred cars from wherever we've hidden it and making nani open it for him. Playing "takkar takkar" with nani for as long as it takes her to find a way out and escape. Begging for a calcium toffee and always getting it. Then begging for a black imli toffee and again getting it. Running up to nani as soon as she opens her cupboard hoping for something interesting for himself...and again always getting it. Running off to the inverter and switching it off and then giving chase to me to get it on again. Waiting for nana to arrive from his game of golf and then attempting to repeat a dose of the calcium toffee but failing. Torturing Powder no matter where he hides himself. Running out the door again to scatter some mud on the verandah floor and possibly sneak a look at the cars again. Going off with nani in the green car to buy vegetables and coming back armed with a box of juice, a big bag of chips, and a packet of gems. Creating a fuss when said goodies are stolen away by mom but easily distracted because of number of cars scattered on the floor. Parking cars up and down nana's legs as he tries to sleep after his game of golf. Stating his breakfast preference and then changing it about 5 times. Running into the kitchen for a lick of peanut butter as mom makes breakfast and for a chat with Mamta didi, mostly about the green car. Being chased for breakfast and throwing a few tantrums. Having a brilliant bath in his blue tub with nani standing by and trying to save herself from being completely drenched. Giving loving baths to the chosen cars of the day. Coming back and waking up Tara again, just for the entertainment value. Spending the entire afternoon running between nana nani's room and mom's room with handfuls of cars and spinning stories about cars, fire engines, tractors, and airplanes. Waking up anyone who has managed to take a nap in all this chaos. Splashing in his little swimming pool in the lawn. Drenching everyone and everything with the hose pipe. Washing the cars with Ramu bhaiya. Watering the plants. Throwing a tantrum when it's time to come in. Getting in the car with nana or nani and driving off to the Sugar Box for a purple pastry. More car talk in the evening. Another round of takkar takkar with nani if he's lucky. Jumping games with nana and nani that always start with "mein aapki chutney bana doon?." Lots of chasing and tantrums to get cleaned up and changed for bed. And finally, to everyone's relief and exhausted sighs, after a day that's been everything that it can be, my little Mr. Mischief goes off to sleep.

I just wish Vir would remember forever the carefree fun he's had this summer because I can't think of anything more priceless than these memories he's creating for himself and for all of us.

Now I know my ABC

I had absolutely no intention of teaching Vir the alphabet at this age because it's hardly the most important thing for a 2-year old. It's way behind all the other things he needs to work on right now, such as not spitting out food that he doesn't like and handing it over to the nearest person, not running around naked in front of guests screaming "nanguuuuu nanguuuuu" (nakeeeeed...nakeeeed), not peeing first and informing me later, not eating ice cream with his hands, and other important life skills.

I did end up buying him one of those wooden alphabet puzzles in my never ending quest to keep him productively occupied and out of trouble. If the speed with which he has picked up the entire alphabet is any indication of ease with which he will navigate the Indian school system, I'm quite relieved. We now know that he is good with rote memory, which is all you really need, right? Now if only we can figure out how to make him sit in one place...hmm.

Anyway, he still doesn't know the actual letters...for him, everything is a B. But he does know words that start with each letter and never misses a single one. This is how he sees things:

B for Aita (his grandmom)
B for Baggdu (our dog)
B for Car (could there be anything else?)
B for Dehradun (the place of eternal fun and freedom)
B for E (not that we know why, having never actually tasted one)
B for F (again, no clue what it must be like)
B for Gogoi (took him forever to get the pronunciation right causing much anguish to Vijay)
B for Huggie (he really does get those perfectly)
I for Icecream (can't go wrong on something so important)
B for Juice (which he makes nana buy from the shop at our gate every single day)
B for Kite (just by rote...he has never actually seen one of those)
L for Lion (don't ask me why he gets this right)
B for Mamma (sigh)
B for Nana, Nani, Powder, and Pirate (he clubs them together as a family unit - the last two being my parents' pet dogs)
O (for nothing...he just knows what it is)
B for Papa (also known as Vijaaaay when he's not responding to the politer version)
B for Queen (doesn't have a clue what a queen is but could fool you with his confidence)
B for Rabbit
B for.... (he hasn't learnt this one yet!)
B for Teta (his grand dad who has a police car that goes waaaaaooooon)
B for Udit mama (my brother)
V for Vir (this one is important for his school admission interviews, I'm sure!)
B for Water
Axe (that's what he calls it!)
B for....(still working on this one too)
B for Zebra

There you have it...his first piece of formal learning wrapped up around the people and things in his world. I'm just happy that B is for Mamma:-)