Daycare arrangements

In case you were wondering, these are our present daycare arrangements:

Monday - No daycare, Rajiv spends all day with mom
Tuesday - Rajiv goes to daycare: I try and drop him around 10:00 AM, I send some time there with him and reach the office by 11:00 for the weekly string theory seminar. I go back and pick him up at around 2:00 PM and then we spend some more time in the office together before going home.
Wednesday - We spend the morning at home and go to the institute for lunch (free buffet on wednesdays!), then we return home and wait for Kelly who arrives at 1:30. She stays until 4:30 and I try and spend some productive (almost too funny...) time in the office.
Thursday - Rajiv goes to daycare again for three or four hours. There is nothing scheduled for me on Thursdays, so I just drop him when we feel like it.
Friday - Kelly comes again in the afternoon to look after Rajiv while I attend the strings group meeting. She comes at 1:30 and stays until 3:30, more or less. Then I pick up Rajiv from home and we go back to the institute where we socialize a bit at the weekly wine and cheese event (neither wine nor cheese for us though, we just go there to hang around and look cute).

Weekend with mom, of course.

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Per chi se lo stesse chiedendo, la settimana di Rajiv al momento e' organizzata cosi':

Lunedi' - Tutto il giorno con la mamma, a casa o in ufficio.
Martedi' - Al nido dalle 10:00 alle 14:00 circa, cosi' la mamma puo' andare al seminario di stringhe e anche lavorare un po'. Dopo il nido si sta ancora un po' in ufficio e poi si va a casa.
Mercoledi' - La mattina a casa, il pranzo in istituto (c'e' un buffet ogni mercoledi') e poi di nuovo a casa ad aspettare la babysitter Kelly. Rajiv sta con Kelly dalle 13:30 alle 16:30, mentre la mamma e' in ufficio.
Giovedi' - Nido, per tre o quattro ore, poi un po' di tempo in ufficio.
Venerdi' - Kelly sta con Rajiv dalle 13:30 alle 15:30 mentre la mamma partecipa al meeting settimanale del gruppo di stringhe. Poi vado a prendere Rajiv e lo porto con me in istituto dove socializziamo un po' al rinfresco di fine settimana.

Sabato e domenica con la mamma, un po' a casa e un po' in ufficio.

Ci siamo quasi!

E' quasi spuntato un dentino: questa mattina un angolino del dente era fuori dalla gengiva, poi si e' un po' ritratto ma credo che non riuscira' a rientrare del tutto. Che suspense... Comunque sovremmo esserci questa volta! E' l'incisivo inferiore sinistro, per la cronaca. Il vicino e' anche lui in procinto di uscire, ad occhio.

Denti a parte, la salute di Rajiv e' migliorata anche se non sta ancora completamente bene ed e' piu' stanco del solito. Ha una tosse abbastanza fastidiosa, ma il dottore ieri l'ha visitato e non ha trovato nulla di preoccupante. Non ha ne' cofermato ne' smentito l'ipotesi della sesta malattia, ma non ha importanza a questo punto.

A tooth is almost out. Right now only a corner of the tooth has emerged from the flesh, but it can't take long at this point, I suppose. It's one of the lower middle teeth and the neighbour is also about to appear.

In other news, Rajiv health has improved a lot. He is still very tired, but he is recovering his energy and good mood. He has a nasty cough, but the doctor saw him yesterday and didn't find anything that requires treatment, so we just wait for all the symptoms to disappear on their own.

Not doing so good right now

Little Rajiv has been quite sick, with some high fever and pain of some kind. He stop drinking milk for almost a day and I had to give it to him with a syringe bulb to keep him hydrated. After a few very unsatisfactory contacts with the medical community and a sequence of wrong diagnoses, today a rash has appeared on his chest and the fever is gone, so mommy thinks it is roseola and he should get better soon without interventions, hopefully.

At the same time mommy has a bad cold so is not doing great either. Of course it has to all happen at the same time - and little one's high fever came suddenly on a Friday night, of course - but we are already feeling a bit better than the day before and things keep improving, kind of.

Rajiv e' stato molto male, povero piccolo. Dopo una serie di ipotesi sbagliate da parte di mamma e medici oggi e' comparso una sorta di eritema sul tronco e la febbre e' scesa, quindi la diagnosi di oggi (mia solo, perche' il medico non siamo riusciti a incontrarlo) e' sesta malattia. Se e' effettivamente cosi' dovrebbe risolversi tutto spontaneamente in un paio di giorni al massimo, speriamo.

Intanto anche la mamma non sta molto bene, con laringite e un brutto raffreddore che non rendono le cose piu' facili... Speriamo di stare entrambi meglio presto.

Ready to go (almost)

Here we are in our trusted babywearing winter jacket. Almost ready to go, because normally mommy likes to wear a hat too, and has her backpack (which is also good for balance... no, not really).





Eccoci qui quasi pronti ad uscire con la nostra giacca per marsupiali. Mancano solo il berretto e lo zaino della mamma e poi si parte!

Nuove mirabolanti imprese del piccolo Rajiv

This is meant to be a post to celebrate little Rajiv first three quarters of a year of life. I have tried to capture on digital film the new accomplishments of our hero, but I am afraid I did a poor job of that. I still hope you can see how much he has grown up, though!

Buon complimese, piccolo Rajiv! Questo e' un complimese che vuol dire molto per la mamma. Forse perche' adesso hai passato la' fuori tanto tempo quanto ne avevi passato qui dentro, ma mi sembra proprio che a nove mesi tu sia un bimbo grande ormai...
Ho provato a catturare con la macchina fotografica i progressi di questo bimbo, ma il risultato purtroppo non rende giustizia all'originale.

I am just going to list a few things that Rajiv has learned since last month:
Un elenco di cose che Rajiv ha imparato dal mese scorso:

• He can stand, of course!
  
  Sta in piedi da solo!
  
  
• Not only that, but now he likes very much being on his feet and he wants his mom to help him walk around.
  
  E adesso a preso gusto a stare in piedi e vuole che la mamma o aiuti a camminare in giro.
  
  
• He walks well if I hold him with both hands and he can take a few steps if I hold him with only one hand. He also tries to walk parallel to the couch supporting himself with one hand.
  
  Cammina bene se lo tengo con due mani e fa qualche passo se lo tengo con una mano sola. Prova anche a camminare parallelo al divano appoggiandosi con una mano.
  
  
• He can squat from standing without support - but he can't get back up yet...
  
  Riesce ad accovacciarsi da in piedi senza supporto - ma non e' ancora capace di ritirarsi su...
  
  
• I think he is saying "mamma". I'm not really sure he knows it's a word yet, but I'm trying to repeat it back to him all the time to see if he gets it.
  
  Dice "mamma". Forse non sa che sia una parola, ma sto cercando di aiutarlo a capirlo ripetendoglielo ogni volta che lo dice.
  
  
• This is a bit of a private matter, but he has been dry for two nights since we came back here. He complains at night until I take him to the bathroom and twice we didn't use any diapers at all.
  
  Questa forse dovrebbe essere una cosa privata, ma per ben due notti da quando siamo arrivati qui non abbiamo avuto bisogno di usare pannolini. Lui si lamenta quando ha bisogno di andare in bagno e io lo porto. A volte qualche pannolino bagnato c'e' comunque, ma due volte si e' svegliato la mattina completamente asciutto.
  
  
• If I put an object in a box he knows the object is still there and he knows how to reach for it and take it out. He likes to bang objects. He likes to play with spoons, plates and food. He likes mango a lot, but only if it's cold. He drank some water and some apple juice (unsweetened). He is learning to use a sippy cup a bit more efficiently. He knows when I'm trying to remove his pants and he helps me lifting his feet one at a time. He also figured out that sleeves are ok and all you have to do is keep pushing and you will get your hand back. And much more, but I have to stop at some point...
  
  
• Se metto un oggetto in una scatola sa che l'oggetto esiste ancora ed e' capace a tirarlo fuori. Si diverte a sbattere oggetti uno contro l'altro. Gli piace giocare con cucchiai, piatti e cibo. Gli piace il sapore del mango, freddo. Ha bevuto un po' d'acqua e un po' di succo di mela (senza zucchero). Sta imparando ad utilizzare una di quelle tazze di allenamento per bambini piccoli, non so se sapete che cosa sono. Si rende conto di quando cerco di togliergli i pantaloni e mi aiuta alzando i piedi uno alla volta. Si e' anche abbastanza riconciliato con le maniche e ha capito che se continua a spingere prima puo' riavere la sua mano. E molto altro...
  
  
• Oh, and two teeth are almost there, really.
  
  E stanno anche per spuntare due dentini - sono li' che stanno per uscire ma chissa' quanto ci vorra'?
  
  
  

Now I leave you at the pictures and videos. The videos are nothing special, but I thought you might still appreciate a bit of Rajiv "live".

Ora vi lascio alle foto e ai video. Non e' niente di speciale, ma ho pensato che avreste comunque apprezzato un po' di Rajiv "live".

Breaking news: standing!

Rajiv ha cominciato a stare in piedi senza appoggi. L'aveva gia' fatto un paio di volte in passato, ma quasi per caso. Oggi invece c'e' stata una transizione netta ed e' stato in piedi senza appoggi parecchie volte. Traballa ancora un po', ma sono sicura che adesso fara' progressi molto in fretta. Riesce anche a camminare per qualche passo tenendosi a me con una mano sola, e' proprio diventato grande!

Rajiv has learned to stand without support. He had done it a few times in the past almost by chance, but today he seems suddenly to be aware of this new possibility and is trying again and again, sometimes with success, sometimes not. He can also walk a few steps if I hold one of his hands.

More pictures from India: playtime!

Queste sono foto vecchie, risalgono a circa un mese fa in India, quando Appu aveva otto mesi. Eravamo nella camera da letto principale di casa, adibita per il momento a parco giochi.

These are again old pictures, from about a month ago in India, when Appu was eight months old. In the the pictures you also get a clear view of our favorite diaper cover, the jungle print Imse Vimse, which is about to be retired -- it's getting a bit small and it comes off too easily -- after five months of heroic service.

7:30 AM

Happy (or so we hope)

This photo is still from India and little one is about eight months old.

Questa e' ancora una foto dell'India, di quando Rajiv aveva circa otto mesi.

PS

Please notice the latest addition to the sidebar (Kuttamama's idea).

Update

Uhm, seems to be getting colder by the minute...
No walks today.

BRRRRRRRRR!

Here we are...

Don't worry, it's not always this cold, but it seems we have a few icy days ahead. We are well protected though, one of these days I might post a picture of how we go around in the great Canadian outdoors (ehm, I mean between here and the office...).

We reached Waterloo last Saturday after a very long journey, 22 hours of flight and many little airport adventures. The trip wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, but neither me nor the little one were in our best mood. Rajiv took a little while to adjust to the new environment, but very soon he was happily exploring all the most dangerous corners of the house.

Facts of notice in the past week:

• We seem to have overcome jet-lag at last! At first little one was going to bed "for the night" around lunch time, but yesterday evening he slept a little after seven.
• We went to the daycare center a couple of times and I left Rajiv there alone for a bit more than an hour. He loves the place, at lest now that it's still all new. There are lots of toys and the kids are mostly older than him (they keep together children up to 18 months), so they are quite interactive. There is a kid that likes pulling his hair though, and made him cry twice while I was there. It's horrible, but little one didn't allow this to keep him sad for more than a few seconds.
• Rajiv also met again his babysitter Kelly and seemed to recognize her. He is very happy when he sees her and they seem to be having a good time together.
• Yesterday we went to an "open house" social event at the institute and there were lots of activity for kids. We took part in a demonstrative music class for babies and children and we had fun. Little one liked a little drum very much and played it for a while (and chewed on the stick naturally). Overall it was a very nice afternoon.
  
• Even at home Rajiv is expanding his musical talents. He plays the xylophone by lifting is and letting it fall back on the ground. He seems to be very amused by the sounds he can produce this way. I am also showing him how to leave the xylophone on the floor and drop small blocks and plastic objects on it instead. He likes that, but not as much as dropping the instrument itself. (By the way, I really wonder what we did with the xylophone stick...)
  

That's all for now. I still have lots of pictures from India to show, so I might post those next.