If ...

Diya has recently joined a Tae Kwon Do class. Today was supposed be her "White Belt" test day! However, I goofed up the class time (on Thu the class starts at 5:15 pm instead of 6:00 pm) and by the time we arrived, the beginners' class was already over :( .

We were both unhappy since we were practicing for the last 1 hr ... watching Youtube! (Neither of us really paid any attention to what happened in the previous classes.) Anyway, the only uplifting news was that the teacher said that he rescheduled her test for tomorrow.

We were driving back and I asked her if she really wants to go tomorrow. Her answer was an emphatic "yes"!
 
Suvo: Well, if you want to go tomorrow then you need to practice - I dont want to go there tomorrow tagging Aadi along and find out that you forgot everything. Ankur is travelling tomorrow (and it's a Friday).

Diya: Okaaaay ...

Suvo: And if you have to practice, then you need to wake up early and do it in the morning ...

Diya: [silence] 

Suvo: And if you want to get up early tomorrow, then you have to be in bed early ... lights off by 8:30pm ...


[pause]


Diya: And if I have to sleep early then I need to listen the very first time!

Suvo: Yes ...

Diya: And if I have to listen the first time, then I have to concentrate. And if I have to concentrate, then I have to listen carefully. And if I have to listen carefully, then I cannot talk and interrupt you.

We decided to try "relish" the fact that we can communicate so well with each other. The rhythm of if was blowing in the wind.

Dolphin Song

Here is a song about dolphins. Diya came up with the lyrics - on the fly - while trying to make Aadi sleep. The tune is the same as her "Chhoto Aadi" song created by Diya and Ankur (adapted from the Bengali "Chhoto Paakhi" song).

Enjoy! :)

Little dolphin, little dolphin

Playing in the ocean blue

I wish I were a dolphin

So that I could play with you.

Playful dolphins are good swimmers

And they love to splash and leap

They can talk with clicks and whistles

And they swim when they are asleep.

Pneumonia

I recently resurrected our old fish tank and got a Betta fish for Diya and Aadi. Diya has named the fish Splash.

It's working out well so far.

Diya helps me with feeding the fish, and keeping the tank clean (and gets some free Chemistry lessons as a part of the deal). And Aadi is satisfied with banging the fish tank a few times every day, scaring the hell out of the Splash, and then consoles it with some "gentle touch".

Unlike the previous times, a Betta forces us to keep only one fish in a relatively big tank. So, the water remains clean for a longer time.

Anyway, here's the story ....

Diya got up this morning, and as soon as she came downstairs, she exclaimed, "Baba, let's do the 'pneumonia test' ".

It was totally out of context, and I had no clue what she was talking about. Well, she has been coughing for a few days, so I thought maybe she was thinking of a previous clinic visit. But, it still didn't quite fit.

When I asked her what she meant, she explained, "Well, yesterday we were testing the aquarium water. The pH was too high and so we put some chemicals. So, today we should test again."

Suvo: Ok, so what does that got to with pneumonia?

Diya: Actually, we don't have to do that as it was fine. Also, the nitrite was fine ... so we only need to do the pH test.

I got it finally ... it all makes sense if you replace the word 'pneumonia' with 'ammonia'!

I am yet to decided whether I should correct her, or get another kick out of that (ok, I know that's a mean thing to do) ... that is ... if she makes the same mistake again. She has already started avoiding the 'pneumonia' word, when I bring up the context of testing the aquarium water!

Que sera sera … episode II

Diya: 3 and ¼ yrs old, we are enroute to Disney world after we announced that we were expecting Aadi (ofcourse he did not have a name yet, or a gender, not known to us anyway …)

Diya: (during a pensive moment on the plane ride) Mamma, when I grow up I will be a butterfly.

Me: hmmmm…. (dozing off… Zzzzzz)

Diya: Mamma … mamma … MAMMMAAAA !!!

Me: What… WHAT …

Diya: when I grow up I want to be a butterfly.

Me: oh… okay. (Zzzzzzz …)

Diya: I will be a butterfly and fly away ….

Me: (little brain waking up and registering this to me a mildly consequential exchange) … okay you can fly away and come back home

Diya: NO ! … I will fly FAR away …

Me: okay, you can fly far away during winter (considering Minnesota winters, I would do the same if I could) and come back for summers …(it is safe to start drilling these things in their tender brains as early as possible)

Diya: Mamma, you don’t understand. I will be all grown up and then fly away forever. I won’t come back.

Me: (wide awake by now and realizing that this is serious … time to introduce age old tactics of manipulation and guilt) Honey, if you fly away forever, what will your mamma do??? I will cry and cry and cry …..

Diya: You have another baby in your tummy. You play with that.


(Check and mate …..)

Que sera sera … What ever will be… My bee?

Since Diya was 3 yrs old, we have been having discussion along the lines of “what will you be when you grow up?” Amazingly, we did not initiate these discussions, she did. I hope to capture as many of these incidences as I remember in the “Que sera sera” series.

Diya: (3 yrs old) – Mamma, when I grow up, I want to be a bee.

Me: Why? (where did this come from?????)

Diya: So I can drink honey from the flowers all day long.

Me: Ofcourse … you do, sweet tooth.

(Go be a bee my little stinger !)

Little Chefs

It was a hot and humid Sunday evening. We were all laying around, feeling fatigued from the heat. The evening was dragging.

Suddenly, Ankur came up with an irresistible proposition - why not have a cold glass of sangria?! 

The mood changed instantly.

An equally intoxicating follow-up idea of hers was to make bruschetta to go along with the sangria. Now she could do real justice to her home grown tomato and basil!

Our little chefs joined Ankur in the kitchen. They soon started brushing olive oil on the baguette as if they do it everyday. 

A perfect occasion for taking zillions of pictures!

Pretty in Pink

"I look Pretty in Pink,

But I still love my Red Car!"

That's Aadi in Diya's dress on the day Nana-Nani arrived. It still surprises me that Diya smilingly gave Aadi all of her gifts to play with. (I am not so sure if I could have done so if I was in her place).