Older picture: the little elf

This is from before we moved, one of the last days in the old house. I forgot to post it earlier, but it is S's favorite and so here it is...

Questa e una vecchia foto, scattata uno degli ultimi giorni nell'altra casa. L'avevo dimenticata, ma e' la preferita del papa' di Appu e quindi eccola qua...

La nuova cuginetta e' arrivata!

La bimba di Nandu e Niddhi e' nata oggi a Calicut. Il nome non e' stato ancora scelto, ma le diamo il nostro benvenuto e facciamo le nostre congratulazioni alla mamma, che purtroppo ha dovuto subire un parto cesareo. Auguri a Niddhi e speriamo che possa andare a casa presto con la sua bambina!

Appu's Wonderland - The Movie

Appu's Wonderland

Family time at the park at the end of the day.

Niente di meglio di un'oretta al parco per concludere la giornata!

Bits

Sorry, there doesn't seem to be time for proper posts these days, so bullets will have to do:

• Rajiv has learned to clap his hands. Now if we clap, most of the times he claps back. I know it's a basic skill, but mommy is amazed!
  
  Rajiv ha imparato a battere le mani, dopo vari mesi passati a cercare di insegnarglielo. Adesso se uno di noi batte le mani lui ci imita felice.
  
  
• We think he might be getting some words, apart from "mamamama". Yesterday we noticed he was saying "bukbukbuk" while holding a book and his babysitter Kristen confirmed that she also heard suspicious "b" sounds in presence of books. So it seems that little one is starting with English. What a disappointment... I mean, great!
  
  Il piccolino sta iniziando a dire qualche pezzetto di parola. In particolare ci sembra che stia cercando di dire "book" ("libro"). Vai Rajiv!
  
  
• By the way, Rajiv is happy with the new babysitter and so are we. She helps us out for a few hours three times a week and will stay with us until the first week of August. After that we have a very promising home daycare lined up, with a lady called Sally who was recommended to us by our neighbours.
  
  Rajiv ha subito fatto amicizia con la nuova babysitter Kristen. Lei ci dara' una mano fino alla prima settimana di Agosto e poi Rajiv iniziera' pian piano ad andare ad un nuovo nido che promette molto bene. Speriamo!
  
  
• In the meantime the work on the house goes on. We painted our bedroom, a major effort that involved working late at night while little one slept and camping in the living room for about a week to avoid the fumes. The color turned out to be quite different from what we expected, but we like it (and even if we didn't we would repaint).
  
  Next big project: dishwasher installation. We managed to remove the old one yesterday night. Now all we have to do is remove the small dead mouse from behind the cabinet and install the new dishwasher. That should be fun...
  
  Intanto il lavoro nella casa nuova procede. Abbiamo ridipinto la notra camera da letto - dormendo nel soggiorno per una settimana - e adesso ci prendiamo una meritata pausa dalla pittura. La prossima impresa invece e' installare la lavastoviglie. Ieri sera abbiamo rimosso quella vecchia e domani da bravi idraulici tenteremo di installare quella nuova. Le risate...
  

And now, for something completely different...

...sunset on Mars! (courtesy of NASA - and Appu's dad who insisted on posting it)

Appu nella casa nuova

Che cosa ne pensa il piccolino della casa nuova? Il trasloco ha portato grosse novita': il bagnetto nella vasca grande invece che in quella da neonati, le scale - in pochi giorni Appu ha imparato a salire, ma non ancora a scendere purtroppo, e molto altro. Ma la novita' piu' grande e' il mondo al di la' della porta d'ingresso. Quando vivevamo in un appartamento oltre la porta c'era solo un lungo corridoio, ora invece Appu sa che a pochi metri c'e' un mondo da esplorare. Come risultato, quando e' in casa raspa alla porta costantemente per essere portato fuori e si dispera quando e' ora di rientrare. Nelle foto potete vedere il nostro piccolo eroe in strada di fronte a casa.

Does Appu like his new house? I would say, yes. He is learning to climb the stairs, he is taking his baths in the big clawfoot tub instead of the small baby tub, but what he like the most is having a whole world to explore just outside the door. When we were in the flat he never seemed to be specially attracted to the front door, probably because there was just a boring corridor outside, but now he would spend most of his time outdoors and when we are inside he moans by the door to be let out. In the photos you can see our little Rajiv exploring the neighborhood!

Woo - hoooo !!!

Yesterday we handed over the keys of the flat. No more going there every day to pick up "the few small things it was not worth asking the movers to take"... No more sorting through infinite junk and finding ways to fit it all in the car! From today on we can focus entirely on the new place.

Now, however, Appu is with the new babysitter, Kristen, and we are in the office trying to work. So enough with blogging and let's try to get something done!