@ 7 Months

http://picasaweb.google.com/paaduka.rangarajan/PAdukASept

Babies beware !

Here are a few pointers for babies who are new to solid food feeding.

• It's best for babies having solid food to know the taste of the food that they do not enjoy very distinctly. Parents invariably mix your less favorite food with the ones that you love. Be firm in rejecting such mixtures so that you get to enjoy your favorite food unpolluted :)
• Often we (babies) open our mouth in excitement (smiling) to funny sounds people make. When you hear funny sounds with bib around your neck, a spoonful of food will be thrust into your mouth. So beware..
• If you do not like the food you are given, show an expression of dislike ( it should not be an expression which will make your parents go "how cute!")
• The next line of defence against food that you do not like is bringing your lips tightly together. If the spoon is still forced, bring your gums together. This technique is a sure success :)
• If you are done eating, make sure you let your parents know it clearly. Here are a few ways which let them know that they cannot force anymore food into your mouth :)

Spit the food (do brr.. brr..)

Look away in another direction everytime you see a spoon coming near you

Grab the spoon and make a mess with the food

Grab the food bowl or playfully knock it off from your amma/appa's hands

For best results, smile sweetly and innocently at your amma/appa after using any of the techniques. You are sure to enjoy more of cuddling and pampering soon after :)

My Research Lab Findings

Equipment:

- wires

- rubber balls

- cloth

- bottle caps

- paper

- any colorful item I can hold on to, or I can pull

- human fingers, hands, face, etc.

Experiments:

- licking and biting on different surfaces

- hitting things on each other or the ground

- looking at shining objects in various gymnastic postures

- grabbing and pulling on objects

Full Disclosure: 

No animal or human adults were harmed in these experiments. No items were broken or burnt. No other children participated in these experiments. :-(

This research is continuously funded and supported by The Rangarajan Family Foundation. 

Report card

Name : Paaduka Shri Rangarajan

Class : Baby Feb 2008

Core Subjects	Grade	Comments
Babbling	A+	Has graduated from soft babbling to shouting; Squeals in excitement and screams in frustration
Sleeping	B+	Has improved to sleeping at around 10:30 p.m. Has to work towards waking up less number of times at night
Smiling	Distinction	Loves people and smiles sweetly without being prompted. Her signature loud laugh charms everyone :)
Rolling Over	A+	Can roll over from her back to tummy and vice versa (started this course on June 3rd). Always flips over making diaper changes very hard :)
Playfulness	A+	Very curious, loves to grab things especially ammA's hair. Likes to poke into ammA/appA's nose and mouth :)

Electives	Grade	Comments
Licking, Drooling & Spraying eacchai :)	Distinction	Has spent many hours mastering the art of spraying eacchai (saliva)
Thumb sucking	A	Does well on this subject even though her mother is not happy about her choice of this elective
Commando crawling	B	Moves an inch or two with great effort. Shows promise of gaining speed in movement

Upon review of progress at PPA ( Pediatrician Parent Association :) meeting, Paaduka has been certified as a healthy and active baby doing well in the first six months since birth and has been promoted to big babyhood.

Signed,

Dr. Nancy Barnett

Here are a few pics of our good baby student, Paaduka http://picasaweb.google.com/paaduka.rangarajan/PAdukAAugust

Where are these people?

Hello everyone,

Here are the details of the dear people I have been searching for more than 2 weeks now. Please help me find them.

PAtti -

• Calls me "pattu rajathi"
• Gives nice oil massages and great bath everyday
• Expert in changing diapers and entertaining me with "yaanai yaanai"
• Gives me "vorai marundu" when I do not expect it coming
• Smothers me with kisses and hugs
• Takes me around to see ducks and swans

Kesavan -

• My 4 year old cousin brother
• Calls me "paaduks" and "yound-u"
• High energy, always active and bouncing around
• Great entertainer - I love to watch him play
• Enthusiastic to sing and drum

ThAthA -

• Calls me "KuchikA"
• Talks to me non stop
• Rocks me to sleep on his lap
• My companion who I scare by screaming when ammA and pAtti are out shopping
• Likes to say "dho vardhu vaatthu, pidichindu pordhu" when I throw tantrums

Athimber -

• Loves to play with kids
• I enjoy when he massages my legs
• He has a lot of fun seeing me stretch my legs straight when he lifts me
• His favourite game- "put paaduka on Lakshya's lap and see Lakshya rush away"
• Says that I lift my legs up like a radar when I lie down

Atthai -

• Calls me "round-u" or "paaduks"
• Gets excited whenever I smile at her
• Proud that she has 100% success in making me smile whenever I look at her
• Loves and pampers me a lot

Lakshya -

• My 10 month old cousin, someone closer to my size
• Explores my head and face when she gets a chance
• Always smiles; she is a happy baby
• Searches for wires to chew on
• Cries whenever I squeal or make a loud noise

If you find any of these above people, please ask them to return to our house and spend time with me. I love them all and am waiting to see them soon.

Eagerly,

Paaduka

P.S. To help identify the people I have mentioned, I am providing the link to the pics that we took together http://picasaweb.google.com/paaduka.rangarajan/PAdukAJuly02

Getting a grip of the world..

All these shapes, they amaze me

when my fingers revel in autonomy

the magic of touch is a real blessing

the joy of licking is so caressing

with paper or fabric, more amusing

alas! a big hand is now aggressing

they dont let me grab what I want

holding and gnawing: wish I could flaunt

this nice little doll looks so close

can almost smell it with my nose

I wave my arm like tennis pros

I keep pushing hard with my toes

I keep hoping to see it come near

it is strange to see them all cheer

but this doll just seems to sneer

as if I am infringing on her career

It sure is still very frustrating when objects are so close but not reachable! I used to wonder why all these people around me keep moving around. I can see how much joy they must be getting, in grabbing things and tasting them. Ever since I tumbled over, all objects seem upside down but I am slowly getting used to it, since I love to wander my eyes around when on my tummy.

I will soon make a "moving" post and until then, I have to just lie and watch.

vaya vaya vaya :)

A scene from my exciting life. None of the characters are fictional. Any similarity/resemblance to the babies/kid you know is intentional :) So enjoy reading the fun we are having.
For the readers convenience, I have translated dialogues from our (baby) language to the language adults speak :)


Kesavan : Lakshya vaya vaya vaya . .

Paaduka : wuaaa... Some royalty should be coming..

Lakshya : Drr.. grr... There is a doll moving there. I have to check it out

Paaduka : Aaaw.. I am no doll. You can't poke at my eye. Well now, you can't drum on my head

Lakshya : aaar.. this is so much fun

Paaduka : aaeee, innguu, aaa

Lakshya : drr.. brr.... brrr.. oh you talk !

Paaduka : hhhaa..ii.. I talk and respond but people around smile and think it is funny. Atlast someone understands me !

Lakshya : Oh.. I know. They don't understand us. So, you should be a baby like me. awwwoo..

Lakshya : aaa.. grbrr.. I did wait for a while for people to understand me but from the time I started moving, I have been doing fun things keeping my parents on their toes.

Lakshya : There are so many delicious electric wires hanging in your house. What are you doing lying on your back? brrr aaa

Paaduka : Aaooo.. I have been trying hard to roll over for the past week. But my head wouldn't stay in place without support.

Lakshya : aawwu... Then you are a "kutti papa". Call me "akka"

Paaduka : tchh tchhh..orr.. tchhh

Lakshya : What is this that you are doing?

Paaduka : hmmm.. hmm.. delicious.. my thumb... sweetest thing...

Lakshya : Better than wires brrbrrr... no way

Kesavan : Suddha brahma payaapaya yaam...

Paaduka : hmmm... ammm...

Kesavan : Maami paayu... Paaduka is trying to turn. Come on buddy!

Paaduka : hmm.. haaaww My head is not easy to lift and awww.. my hand is stuck. But wait... There it is. My thumb. tchh mchh mch.. tasty

Kesavan : Paaduka veyal chaapayaa. hahaha

After a few hours . . .

Lakshya : aaww brr.. My Amma has buckled me in the car seat so, Paaduka, we are going home. Hey, what are you doing?

Paaduka : hmmm.. amm.. aaa

(Cheering and excitement all around)

Paaduka : What did I do? Why are things looking different now? Why is everyone so excited?

Lakshya : Brr.. drrrr... yay ! You rolled over! Do it once more

Paaduka : That's hard work for the day hhhaai.. some one help me please inngaaa....

Lakshya : zzz....zzz... Don't worry you will be picked up.
Ok, good night. Bye Paaduks will see you soon.

Paaduka : uuwaa huyu.. I will keep practising to roll over and soon I will start to move around. It will be fun when Kesavan says "vaya vaya vaya" when I come near him :)

------Curtain------

Here are some visuals from the scene :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/paaduka.rangarajan/PAdukAJune?authkey=T8T_hNZblkg