It’s The Book Of My Days, It’s The Book Of My Life

Caught Thaïs staring at one of her story books yesterday. After about half a minute I asked her what she was doing.

“I’m reading. Don’t ‘sturv my ‘con-ser-pay-ten’ Tana. Don’t ‘sturv me, K?”

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Part of our daily routine, when I give Thaïs her calcium and cod liver oil. As she takes her pills:

Thaïs: “I’m not well. Feeling so sick. Have to go to ‘os-ti-pal’.”

Me: OK. But they’ll also give you ‘jections.

Thaïs: Why?

Me: Because you’re not well.

Thaïs: No. I’m taking my pills. You take the ‘jection.

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We’re getting ready to go out. I’ve dressed Thaïs and she’s standing at the door waiting for me to get my bag and keys. “Come on, Tana. Let’s go. Don’t waste my time!!”

The monsoons are here. It’s been raining almost non-stop for the past week. Thunderstorms and all. Thaïs got to try out her new umbrella and raincoat a couple of days ago. In the rain, this time. She used to open the umbrella and walk around the house and make me do the same. I did — until I got caught by the neighbor.

She put on her shorts all by herself for the first time today. There were two mistrials before she finally succeeded on the third try. The first time she got both legs through the same opening. Then she called out to me, “Ooh… ooh… Mummy look this… I’m ‘tuck. Please come here.”

On the second try she got the shorts on back to front, and realized it only when she wanted to stuff something down her front pockets. That got her quite upset, “Mummy, they gone… they gone.”

“What’s gone?”

“My pockets!”

“No, darling. You’ve got them on back to front. Let me help you.”

After I got her shorts back on she said, “Thank you, Tana. Now put on my shoes and let’s go out…”

And Jack and Jill
Went up an ‘ill
To setch a pail of water down
Jack fell down
And byoke his gyound
And Jill came kyumbling after

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Baa baa black sleep
Have you any wool
Yes sir, yes sir
Twee bags full
One’s a my master
One’s a my dame
One’s a the likkle boy Thaïs
Lives down the lake

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I ear tunder, I ear tunder
‘Ark don’t you, ‘ark don’t you
Pitter patter yaindyops, pitter patter yaindyops
I’m wet tyoo, I’m wet tyoo

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Can you imagine having to listen to this all through the day? Ok…. it was cute for the first 2-3 days. But after that I had to plead with her to keep quiet for a while. Her nursery rhymes, together with the regular screaming and shouting had given me a headache. Whether she took pity on me or just needed to give her mouth a rest, I’ll never know, but when I finally got a few minutes of peace and quiet, I lay down and shut my eyes. Imagine my shock when she came to me and yelled, “Tana, open your damn eyes!”

Thaïs: What’s your name? My Thaïs…

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The other day Thaïs called out to me from the kitchen. I was in the bedroom, so I didn’t hear her. I went into the kitchen and said, “What did you say, darling?”

“I wanna eat something. Are you deaf?”

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I needed the Vaseline yesterday and was looking for it in its usual place, unaware that it had been moved to the top of the TV.

Thaïs: Mummy, what you looking for?
Me: The Vaseline. Have you seen it?
Thaïs: It’s here… on the TV… Blind bat!

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Thaïs asks to be taken out for a walk every evening. After about 5 minutes of walking:

Thaïs: Please carry me. I can’t walk. My legs are broken…!

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Mario: What’s mummy doing?
Thaïs: She’s giving all dishes a bath…!

Thaïs has come back home now after spending about a week with Mario’s parents. She hasn’t stopped talking since she got back In fact, her vocabulary has increased and her speech is a lot clearer now. During the week that she stayed with them, they’d bring her over for a ‘visit’ every other day. Twenty minutes at a time was all she wanted with us. She’d chat with us for a bit, and then walk around inspecting the place, looking for any changes. That done, she’d be ready to go back and wouldn’t hesitate to tell us so.

She’s with Tammy now, and the two of them are busy tickling and worrying each other. And when Tammy’s not tickling Thaïs, she’s clicking pictures of her. And how she loves it! The way she poses, you’d think she was a professional model.

I was combing her hair yesterday and had brought it down over her face in order to part it in the center. She started grumbling immediately.

“Hair gone in eyes, hair gone in eyes,” she said.

So I told her to close her eyes and continued combing. After I finished, I told her she could open her eyes.

“Yes. My eyes are on, mummy!”

My internet connection wasn’t working for a few days, hence the lack of activity on this blog… In any case, nothing interesting to blog about… just the usual… caught up with some housework… got some paperwork done… took Thaïs out cycling.. she fell down a couple of times and grazed her cheek and knees… took her out to play cricket with the boys…

Last night, however, she was in a rather naughty mood. Read on…

(It’s bedtime. Thaïs, as usual, is trying to stay awake as late as possible.)

Me: OK now… close your eyes and go to sleep.
Thaïs: Put on light. Can’t find ‘tebby’ bear.
Me: It’s right here. Now, close your eyes.
Thaïs: Baby finished milk. Get ‘thocolate’?
Me: No. You didn’t finish your dinner. Will you close your eyes and go to sleep?
Thaïs: OK. Goo-night Tana.
Me: Goodnight, darling.

(Thaïs starts tossing and turning and wriggling around on the bed. Finally ends up lying across my face)

Me: Will you take your bum off my face?
Thaïs (giggling): Smell it!
Me: OK… Enough now. close your eyes and go to sleep.
Thaïs: Ooh.. can’t do it. Can’t do it. Eyes not working…

(A little later)

Thaïs: Daddy flass asleep?
Me: Yes.
Thaïs: Tickle him???

Took Thaïs to the beach today. How she loves the water! She’s not afraid at all. In fact, she looks forward to the bigger waves. You should hear her giggle when she gets knocked down. When we got back home, I told Mario to wash his feet first, before doing anything else, and, as was to be expected, he goofed up. So I started grumbling at him for getting water all over the floor. Thaïs was standing behind us, listening to everything that was going on. Then, when I was almost done with my tirade, she looks at Mario and says ‘ass’. That was it. Both of us burst out laughing. She was happily grinning at us and decided to take advantage of the situation. She looked at Mario again and said ‘asshole’. But that was taking it too far, so she got a scolding, but only a half-hearted one ‘coz we were still in splits.

Found out recently that one of her current favorite songs is “Dhoom Mathale”!!!

We took Thaïs to her pediatrician yesterday. She just completed two, so was due her Typhoid shot. From the time we got to the clinic, she was very impatient to see the doctor. She kept trying to jump the queue, “Doctor, Doctor, see Doctor.”

While we were waiting outside, we happened to meet one of Mario’s friends who was also there with his son who was around Thaïs’ age and had some kind of viral infection. Suddenly this idiotic father tells his son to kiss Thaïs on her cheek. Can people really be so stupid? I should have stopped the kid before he got anywhere close to Thaïs.

Anyway, it was finally our turn to see the doc. Thaïs happily accepted the sweets the doctor gave her, little knowing what lay ahead. She stood up on the weighing scale and let the doctor check her with the stethoscope without any fuss — she was busy trying to unwrap one of the sweets. She did get a little uneasy when we made her lie down and tried her best to get up. But the doctor was ready with the injection and gave it to her in her left thigh. There was no reaction from Thaïs for about two seconds. Then, her eyes went as wide as saucers and there was such a look of shock and horror on her face, it was almost funny. She yelled, but only for a couple of seconds. The instant she got off the bed she was OK. She went over to the baby rocking chair in the corner and made herself comfortable there. So comfortable, that when it was time to go, she didn’t want to leave. She picked up the chair and was trying to walk out with it, tripping over the weighing scale in the process. So we had to go back in to disentangle her from the chair and the scale, with the doctor laughing away at the other end of the room.

Any other kid would have wanted to get out of there immediately after the injection, or, at the very least would have wanted to be carried. But not Thaïs. Pain doesn’t seem to bother her too much. She’ll make a good martial artist, much to Mario’s delight.

OK… so I finally plucked up the courage to trim Thaïs’ hair. She’s been complaining about it falling in her eyes, but just won’t let the hairdressers come anywhere near. So, I emailed a friend of mine who happens to be a professional beautician, and asked her for some pointers on how to cut a fringe. She replied, and thanks to her I was able to put Thaïs out of her misery. I’m not saying that I did a good job, but at least the little darling can walk around the house without bumping into the walls or furniture, or tripping over her own feet, which she’s been doing a lot of, lately. For pictures, log on to my Yahoo! Group.

Here’s a snippet of a ‘conversation’ we had today:

Thaïs: Mummy, I’m hungry.
Me: OK…. There’s fish, chicken, dal, rice, bread, chapatti. What would you like to eat?
Thaïs: Chocolate, ice-cream, sweets….