Stomping Song

A video from September 2012. Appu sings for us a song he learned at school. I think it is in German, but nobody knows for sure.

Various updates: school, earrings, cello

Qualche aggiornamento qua e la': Rajiv iniziera' la prima elementare a ottobre, abbiamo rimandato i buchi per gli orecchini a quando Lila avra' sei mesi, e abbiamo finalmente trovato un insegnate di violoncello per Rajiv

In recent developments:

An old video from Appu's babyhood

This is from when Rajiv was little, maybe about five months old. We were still staying in a flat in Waterloo - we didn't move into the house until after his first birthday.
I had not posted this video earlier because I took the first part with the camera tilted by 90 degrees ("portrait"), which is a silly thing I often do without thinking. Now that I have found that editing movies is fun, I am correcting a lot of these mistakes, so that history will not have to do without my masterpieces.

Here you go:

******* 4! *******

Today is Appu's birthday. In case you missed the dragon reminder on the sidebar, I just thought I'd put it here too. He is four! He is a big big boy who can talk and argue, has his own ideas and can correct his mamma's English pronunciation. He likes numbers - yesterday I could lure him away from the tv by saying "Hey, I'm going to read a new math book, anybody interested?. He likes seeds and flowers and can recognize daffodils, tulips and dandelions.

He loves maps. He knows where to find North and South America on a map, where Canada and India are and he can find Australia too. He knows some places are very far away and you need to take two planes to go from India to Canada: the first is a "sleeping" plane and everybody is quiet - this was my stroke of genius, I admit - the next is a "waking" plane, where we have fun (you can imagine how much fun..). He also knows that when here it is night in India it is morning time. Now how many four year old kids can grasp that?!?

(Did I mention that bragging is not only allowed but required in birthday posts?)

He likes new clothes, as in clothes he hasn't seen before, they don't really have to be new. He likes to choose what pajamas he is going to wear and we now have a pretty large collection for him to mix and match. Some favorites are the very soft one, which is still too big but he can wear it if he doesn't run in it (or he'll trip), the Thomas one, the monster pajamas and his purple ones that say "Little Brothers Are Awesome" - not really for what it says, but because purple is his favorite color.
He used to love his super dog pajamas and the spiderman ones, but now they have become short and it's ok for Rohan to wear them because Appu is growing. He is four!

He is learning to read all by himself, by which I mean that I don't even try to teach him, but he is the one who asks how to read a word or stops while speaking to see if he can figure out what sounds are in a certain word. He likes to have books read to him too and is now ready for some longer stories, but sometimes what he thinks the book is about would leave you speechless.

He is not afraid of being in a dark room, but he doesn't like to enter the room if the light is not on. Smart, I say.

He can get dressed by himself, but he still has some trouble with zippers and buttons and sometimes socks can get tricky, but he always has the tag on the back. He also can help Rohan and he does a remarkably good job, if Rohan lets him.

He can pee standing up! And he loves to pee outside on the grass, by the way, laughing like a silly appu while I tell him "Careful! Not on the shooooooes!".

He can climb like a monkey and go fast on his tricycle.

He likes all sort of music and makes up his own songs too. If I show him a video of some musicians he wants to know their names. He told me that the CD we played last week in the car has the same song (one of Bach's cello suites) that we heard from a video in the computer. He likes to play music but is not a very disciplined student.. :) He has a nice bow hold and likes his cello but we don't practice much - my fault. However, maybe that's why he still likes it, because there is no pressure whatsoever - see? How to turn any parenting shortcomings into great insights.

You probably already know that he likes trains and the only reason why I didn't make this the first item in my list is that there is going to be a special train post soon. But I like how he plays with his little Thomas trains making up stories as he goes. I also must be the only mom (or not?) who has to sleep with several trains in my bed: the little puppies are allowed to bring two trains or cars each to bed and sometimes we still have yesterday's trains too.

He can fit inside his new carry-on luggage.

He can eat without making too big a mess, unless he wants too :) And he can carry a bowl without spilling the content. Sometimes he likes to blow on his own pasta, sometimes he doesn't and he needs mamma's help. He prefers English words and really would like to know how you say "rotini" in  English, but apparently mamma is part of a big Italian conspiracy and just won't tell him.

He likes to do work, like mamma and papa', with paper and pencil. When he grows up - like, now? - he would like to work at mamma's "ufficio".

I'm sure I left out some really important stuff, but I am also sure that by now you couldn't care less and your eyes are already crossing, so let's just conclude with a picture. Not the best or my favorite, just the most recent mostly in focus photo in my hard drive.

Happy birthday Big Piccolo Rajiv!

Spring Concert - Caution: Very Long

As promised, more about the concert.

This is *very* long, but if you want you can jump to the end of the post for some videos.


The Spring Concert was held at a local church, where we normally go for the group classes (for the individual lessons instead we go to the teacher's home). I was a little worried about how I was going to handle the kids, but Genevieve had reassured me that I wouldn't be the only one with small children and that there would be a room for playing and be noisy without disturbing anyone.

I was still doubtful, so I really dreaded the event. The only reason why we went at all is that I thought it would be good for Appu and I wanted him to have this experience. I think it was, in the end, a good experience.

Rajiv was a great big brother on this occasion. He held Rohan's hand - and quite surprisingly Rohan held his, without complaining. We navigated the parking lot and made it into the church without a problem, with Appu and his little brother walking by themselves and Following. My. Instructions. Can I say that again??

Inside it was quite overwhelming. There were lots of kids trying to get ready and getting their instruments - mostly violins - tuned. Parents and teachers were arranging their dishes for the dinner and I couldn't even get hold of someone who could tell me where to put my pies (store bought, of course, I wouldn't want you to think I can make a pie.)

I looked at the program and I wasn't quite able to tell when Rajiv's turn was going to be, but I knew it was some time near the end. We had to listen to almost an hour of music before that.

We sat for about a minute and a half before I had to hastily remove us from the room. The first pieces were all played by just a few kids at a time and every noise in the room could be heard. But Rohan didn't seem to care, he was so happy to have so many people to chat with :)

Rajiv didn't want to sit, but he did want to listen. He walked around, sat on the steps near the musicians, sat on another chair, and kept changing position after each piece. I felt this was ok, because while they were playing he was very quiet, so I thought he wouldn't really bother anyone with his manoeuvres.

I stayed outside but near the door so that I could watch Rohan outside and still keep an eye on Rajiv. At some point the mother of the other kid who plays the cello with Rajiv caught hold of him and made him sit with them. He did for the remaining time, but I was not able to see him from outside and he could not see me, so I could only wondered whether he was ok by himself.

Rohan had fun outside, but to keep him quiet I had to allow him to steal a few crackers from the buffet ahead of time. I know some people disapproved, but I can't bring myself to feel bad about this kind of stuff.

We had an interesting moment when we spotted some ants on the floor trying to take a bit heavy crumb away. I told Rohan to watch and not touch, but then a big kid came to sit there too and after watching for a few seconds he dropped a big piece of lint from the carpet on top of the ants. I said "That's not nice!" and Rohan immediately said "not nice!" and removed the lint - a little too roughly maybe.. - to help the ants. I was sooo proud of him.. :)

Anyway, my main thought was: how am I going to be able to go near enough to take a video of Appu while he is playing and not have Rohan become the main performer?

Fortunately the second part of the concert involved more instruments playing together, so the noise made by a toddler happily playing with his toy car was completely covered by the loud music. Relieved, I went back inside, first on the back and then a bit farther in, just in time to see Rajiv play.

Rohan decided to hang from a chair in the back and play with his car. I left him there, keeping an eye on him, but I did notice some parents who were again disapproving of the fact that I left him "alone".

Anyway, here is the video I managed to take. I was a little surprised, because I expected Appu and his little friends to be playing only for one minute. Instead, when the older kids started after the little ones had finished their introduction, the teacher asked Rajiv and friends to keep playing. I think Rajiv was surprised too and felt lost.

My camera kept shutting off for reason, so the video is in three parts. I think in the first part Rajiv is doing well, but later he gets discouraged.



Here he even stops playing..



And even worse, here Genevieve is essentially playing for him.

As a result, he wasn't as proud of himself as he should have been. I asked him if it was difficult and he said yes. I asked him if he had to play something he didn't know and he said yes. Then he added sadly and cutely "It was Twinkle Twinkle on the D string.."

The fact that my son can say things like that is amazing enough to me, maybe because of my complete ignorance in matters of music.

After the dinner Appu quickly recovered his cheerfulness by joining a bunch of older kids in a game of tag. I wish I could have let him play. Instead I was exhausted and tired of being criticized - not in words, but some stares are enough - for how I was handling my kids.

Now I know what single mothers must feel like all the time. Hello? It is not my fault that I have two kids and my husband cannot be here to help. If I am ok staying with one kid while the other is in the next room, maybe I know what I am doing.

So I had to drag Rajiv away from the fun and go home, where I made it a point to tell him again and again how proud I was of him and how it was ok that he couldn't play the part that he didn't know.

I think it worked, because yesterday he said that maybe he would like to do another concert :D

Concerto di Primavera

May 8th: Edited to add: read more and watch videos here.

Yesterday was the Big Day. It was a bittersweet experience, at least for me and maybe for Rajiv too, but I plan to tell you more in another post. Right now I am at the office and I really can't write for too long, so I'll just show you a few pictures.

The two brothers entering the building. Rajiv was a big help in keeping Rohan safe in the parking lot and inside while my hands were busy lugging around the cello, the bench, the food for the potluck and so on.

We were a bit late but we still made it in time for the tuning. Phew!

This is Genevieve, by the way, Rajiv's teacher.

This was during the concert. Genevieve sat in front of the smallest kids to help them out.

And after :) It was a long tiring loud day, which by the way had started at about 4:30 AM for both me and Rajiv - long story - and even though he did have a nap in the afternoon, at this point he was touchy and ready to collapse somewhere. I just had to make sure it was the bed :)

May is a Big month

Little Rajiv will be four in two weeks! Birthday party preparations are underway. He said he would like a party with trains and laughing cars - these would be the giggling troublesome cargo cars of Thomas, I think. I have thought about the possibilities of this party more than I like to admit, but in the end I feel that I will be incompetent as usual, and it won't matter one bit :)

And papa' is coming to Canada, just in time for the birthday! These days you can't say "May" in this house without a little voice squeaking "Papa comin'". I wonder what Rohan thinks May really means - a place maybe? I doubt he understands months yet.

And this Wednesday is the day of the Spring Concert! For which we haven't practiced and we even missed the dress rehearsal last week, because I'm that kind of mom.. I'm a little apprehensive, especially because I just found out that it's a potluck event and I need to sign up to bring something. It is tempting to tick "napkins and paper cups", but that seems lame, no? No? Uhm...

It's so exciting!

Appu is taking part in his first concert in two weeks. His group will get to play a simple rhythm on a single string to open the spring concert of the Suzuki school. It will be him with the cello and his two little friends from class - another cello and a violin.

To be honest, so far every attempt to get them to play this thing *together* has failed miserably, but it doesn't matter because they are going to be so cute that nobody will mind :)

I just went to buy a pair of black sweatpants and a white t-shirt for next week's dress rehearsal, so I thought I would share..

One day - soon - people will be asking for his autograph :)

Rajiv improvvisa una canzone alla chitarra.

Rajiv improvises a song on the guitar.. The best part was before I started filming it but, alas, isn't that always the case?

Bach

Long plane trips can do strange things. We just came back and my older son decided to put some music on. He picked a CD (at random I'd say, but who knows) and seemed to struggled with the player, so I helped him. When the music started he said "Ah, a violin!" and very satisfied he brought a book to the couch to "read" while listening to the music. After fifteen minutes, he is still there.

Photos You Have Missed - Part 5

Un po' di foto della settimana prima di Natale.

These are photos from just before Christmas.

The first is a typical sight this days: Appu in his "nest". Other times it might be a "house" or a "cage" (which for some reason he thinks would be very cozy) or a "bedroom" or just a "bed". Occasionally we make "boat".




Cello practice.






Christmas decorations. The poor tree will never forgive us for leaving him alone with the two little disasters.



"Oh no, the flash is hurting my eyes!"



"Uhm... Maybe if I come closer... AAAAAAAAAH!"



"Much better!"




And to finish, a little bit of Appu cuteness.




Coming soon, the actual Christmas Holidays. Stay tuned.

Sunday morning with papa' - (and not)

Queste sono foto - e un video - di domenica scorsa. I bimbi parlano con il loro papa' su skype e poi tornano a giocare. Abbiamo messo un po'di musica e come al solita Rajiv ha cominciato a ballare e cantare. Ho cercato di immortalare il tutto in un video, ma naturalmente a quel punto lui si e'subito messo seduto; se avete un po' di pazienza pero', e aspettate una trentina o quarantina di secondi, con una piccola spintina da parte di mamma, Rajiv ci mostra almeno qualche passo (e parecchi salti).

These are actually from last Sunday, just to be precise. You can see the kids talking to their dad on Skype and then a rare shot of both brothers looking at the camera without grimacing or closing their eyes. There is also a nice photo of Rajiv, in which I think he looks a little like his cousin Jayadev.

The video was taken while Rajiv was dancing and singing along with the "little monkeys jumping on the bed song". As soon as I started the video he stopped moving and talking right away, so the first part is quite boring, but if you are patient he will eventually start jumping around.

That's how Yo-Yo Ma started too...

This photo was sent to me by the organizer of the music group that Rajiv and Rohan attend together on Fridays. It was taken last Sunday at the holiday party, where we had a lot of fun singing and dancing with the other kids and parents. I just had to post this picture, just look at him!



In other music related news, Rajiv took his first cello lesson this week. He was so excited that he sat through the entire half hour of lesson without fussing and following the teacher's instructions to the letter. I was amazed, although of course I don't expect it to last, once the novelty wears off.

We decided to give this a try because Appu's fascination with musical instruments is second only to his passion for trains, he knows the names of most instruments in the orchestra and can recognize them when he hears them play. When I asked him what he would like to play himself, he always answered "cello", so I looked it up and I found a group of Suzuki teachers in the area. The Suzuki method for teaching music to young children seemed to me playful enough that it would be ok to try for Appu and we are happy so far.

You should see him sitting on his little bench (on the spot marked by a little ladybug sticker) and hugging his cello. We are supposed to practice for five to ten minutes every day, so it is really a minimal change in our daily life so far. Appu is supposed to name his cello before the next lesson, but so far we have only established that he thinks the cello is a girl (and the little guitar that we store next to the cello is clearly a boy, he says). Any suggestions for the name?