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Friday, September 25, 2009

Week thirteen

Rohan is three months old! And apparently today Appu entered his daycare place with a smile and just said byebye to dad before going to play! Lots to celebrate... Mom, however, is feeling very blog lazy, so this will be a random pictures post. The view from the new flat, plus a couple of pictures of Appu engaged in his favorite activities - doing puzzles and eating idlis. Rohan's pictures will come later, separately, as soon as mom finds the energy.

Mi devo scusare con i miei due lettori, questa settimana proprio non riuscivo a trovare le forze per scrivere sul blog. Vi mostro almeno qualche foto pero', tanto per non perdere l'abitudine.

Ancora nel vecchio appartamento: Appu fa la sua colazione preferita a base di Idli!



La vista dall'appartamento nuovo, in una giornata nuvolosa.





Appu fa i suoi puzzle sul pavimento del soggiorno. Bravo Appu che ha preso dalla mamma almeno nella scelta dei suoi passatempi piu' tranquilli :)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Week twelve

We are moving (or "shifting" like they say here) tomorrow morning, but if you could see our house now you wouldn't be able to tell. That is not good. However, I trust that everything is going to be fine and by tomorrow night everything is going to be magically arranged in our new flat - the team of movers being the essential ingredient of the magic :) . Too bad my optimism only extends to such small daily matters, but that would be the topic for a different and much darker post.

Instead, let's talk about children. I am typing with one hand while trying to nurse Rohan to sleep. He is not a newborn anymore and putting him to sleep is harder now, but then he stays asleep longer, so no complaints. He is almost three months old, we are almost through the dreaded "fourth trimester". We no longer swaddle him to sleep and the uncontrollable crying doesn't happen so much anymore. To be honest though, he really has been no trouble. As I was telling him earlier, he is a baby for beginners, no previous experience required. Somehow other parents have confirmed to me that you never seem to get one of these the first time around. Go figure.

Rajiv has started daycare again and is having a little bit of trouble adjusting, but at least he seems to remember having been there before. All this changes must be hard on him and he makes it clear by kicking a screaming furiously, until the desperate parents manage to find a suitable distraction. It would drive us insane, if he wasn't so sweet at the same time. Earlier we were on the bed trying to create a sleepy mood and he would just lie down next to me, looking at me with the smile of the toddler who is not fooled by his parents tricks, and then he would say "mamma?" and give me a kiss on my mouth. This went on over and over again, then he realized that dad wasn't there and we went looking for him for more hugs. And of course he didn't sleep, but so what?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Un po' di foto

A few recent pictures, all taken in Chennai.

Foto recenti in ordine casuale, tutte scattate in suolo indiano.



Shirt courtesy of our friends Bob and Kelly.

Per gli italiani, la maglietta dice "fratellino".



This picture is not great, but it made it to the blog because it signifies we have found a new place. That's our new flat! Please behold the white floor and the hints of sunlight from the window: nothing to be taken for granted.

Papa' e Appu si guardano intorno mentre mamma prende le misure di un possibile appartamento dove trasferirci. Ieri abbiamo accettato e traslocheremo entro una decina di giorni.



I love this picture and now you can see who Appu gets his big eyes from. This was taken by Kuttamama at dinner a couple of days ago. S is holding Appu's drawing board where aunt Anu has made this charming portrait of the "happy family" using the geometric shapes that come with the board. Rohan was added minutes later, so he shouldn't feel left out - but fortunately he doesn't care about this stuff yet.

Sulla lavagnetta un disegno di zia Anu. Dovremmo essere io, S e Appu. Niente male, no?


Same night, same photograher, Appu trying to eat a raw carrot. He doesn't like them raw, but he always tries. And how can he look so beautiful in the process? Sorry, mommy speaking :)

Appu prova a mangiare una carota cruda - che tanto non gli piace, ma lui ci prova sempre.


My best nursing picture so far. Mamma with Rohan, self-portrait.

Mamma con Rohan, autoritratto.


Here I have succeeded in wiggling out of the sling without waking up the little one. A crucial talent to cultivate.

Rohan addormentato e ancora avvolto nella sua fascia porta-Rohan.


Appu takes a bath Indian style - with dad's help. He used to hate it, but not anymore, thankfully.

Appu fa il bagno alla maniera Indiana, con l'aiuto di papa'.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Week eleven

We are in India! It is hot hot hot, but not as Hot as I remember it to be when we came here with newborn Appu in June 2007. So far so good...

I skipped the week ten update, sorry about that, but it has been a busy couple of weeks. We have traveled a lot and met friends and family, and we have only had the benefit of a slow and expensive internet connection during our stay in Italy.

Highlights of the trip:
  • Appu was looking forward to seeing his nonna again and he was delighted to be reminded that she lives with three feline friends ("Nonna! Gatti!")
  • Nonno was good company too and tried to impress Appu with his famous magic tricks, like the disappearance and reappearance of the ashtray.
  • There is a nice playground next to our place in Torino. It used to be a bit too advanced for little Appu, but not anymore, now Appu can climb like a little monkey!
  • We met Emiliano's father and his family, who as usual showered us with gifts and treated us to a delicious dinner too. Their dog Babette was interesting but a bit scary for our little hero. She has a few rubber toys in animal shapes and Appu would try and rescue them from her teeth, saying "stay there!" or "do that gaguga!" (meaning 'don't do that to the turtle (tartaruga in Italian)').
  • We met Emiliano in Brussels and it was still love between him and Appu. I really wish we could live nearby, we will have to convince "Miano" to take a job in Chennai :) .
  • In India we were welcomed by Achamma, who is now a favorite of Appu and Rohan had lots of smiles for her too. Appu also got to spend some time with Achachan, who is now known as "Chacha" or "UV" (from the alphabet song, I am guessing).
  • Our first dinner in Chennai was at Fortune, for excellent Chinese food. I really wanted to go there, because last time we went I was expecting Rohan and I was feeling to sick to even try anything. Appu cheered "nunels! nunels!" for a while and when they finally came it was complete happiness. Go Singapore Noodles!
Throughout all this we have been missing our friends in Canada. S. says Appu is like a Bollywood hero going around the house and chanting the name of his loved one. "Koena, Koena...". We sent her a postcard from Torino and he scribbled something very sweet looking on it. It was also hard to say byebye to the people in Italy, but we are looking forward to some steadiness now, after we move to a new flat that is.