Appu con mamma e papa'

I haven't been posting for a while, but we have been really busy. There has been some major renovation going on in the house and maybe one of this days I will post some pictures of our lovely new attic. We have also made some rushed last minute arrangements for the birth, thinking somehow that Rohan/Rowan would decide to appear early, but of course here we are still waiting for him. In any case, we are ready now (right...).

There are loads of things I can say about Appu, he has really amazed us in the last month. He has his favorite cartoons now ("Kippo", and sadly "Dora"), his favorite book characters ("Gossie") and he has his preferences on almost everything. He knows what jacket he wants to wear, if he wants one at all, and so on and so forth. He loves puppets and has a lot of fun impersonating various animals. He remembers some words from his favorite books and fills in the blanks when mamma is reading to him. He can can more or less count from one to ten in both English and Italian and he recognizes the numbers when he sees them written (this is making his dad suspect that there might be a brain inside, after all... :) ).He is very very cuddly, as if he knew that these are the last days he gets to spend as the only cuddly baby in the house.

So, since I happen to have a couple of pictures of Appu with his parents - even a very rare one with the mom, self-taken of course, because who would do it otherwise - I thought this would make a nice last post pre new baby (says the mom who keeps hoping for labor to start... now!).

Isn't he so so so cute? And very tanned - sorry achamma!

Bye bye ciuccio

By an unexpected turn of circumstances, our little Appu seems to have abandoned his soother, the famous green ciuccio that has appeared so many times on this blog.

We lost both the soothers we were carrying with us during the recent family trip and when we finally returned home little Appu refused to find comfort in the spare soother. So far, the first and only real ciuccio - me! - seems to be enough for Rajiv. Is this the end of an era?

Appu fa pratica con il cucchiaio

Little Appu practices eating his beloved plain pasta with olive oil using a spoon.

Ecco il piccolo Rajiv intento a mangiare la sua amata pasta in bianco usando un cuchiaio (!!!!).





And naturally he is proud of his accomplishments.

Felicita' e' un cucchiaio tutto per me...



Sometimes it's easier to go back to the old methods...

Ogni tanto si ritorna ai vecchi sistemi...



... and then we need a little bit of help.

... e allora serve un po' di aiuto.



But most importantly, our little Rajiv has learnt to pose for the camera. And he thinks this is his best pose:

Ma soprattutto, il piccolo Rajiv ha imparato ha mettersi in posa. E secondo lui, questa e' la sua posa migliore (mi ricorda un po' mia sorella devo dire...):

Riprendiamo le comunicazioni

We have been in India for about a month now. Unfortunately in this month there was never a moment when none of us was sick, and hence the lack of blogging energy. Right now I am feeling well though, so it is a good time to get started again.

A few quick updates:

Appu has a new word. He says "ca" for "car"... but also for "light", "cup", "I'm hungry", etc.. :)

He is now able to walk up and down the stairs on his own, with one hand on the wall or the railings, and he is very proud of this new skill, all he wants to do is going up and down the stairs. He had a lot of fun with this in Calicut after Christmas, at his grandparents' house.

The Calicut trip was also a lot of fun because of the cousin Jaydev, who is now one of Appu's favorite little people.

By the way, the only picture I can offer you at this point is from the first day in Calicut, early morning, just off the train. Someone was not tired...





Siamo in India da circa un mese ormai. Vari piccoli ma fastidiosi problemi di salute ci hanno perseguitati fino ad ora, ma adesso stiamo tutti bene e non ci sono piu' scuse per trascurare il blog.

La foto che vedete sopra risale alla prima mattina a Calicut, 27 Dicembre. Il piccolo Rajiv ha apprezzato moltissimo la casa dei nonni, con una lunga scalinata da percorrere avanti e indietro fino allo sfinimento (sa fare le scale da solo!), un sacco di giocattoli del cugino Jaydev, e soprattutto... il cugino Jaydev in persona! Il cuginetto ha quasi quattro anni, ma non disdegna la compagnia di un devoto ammiratore un po' piu' giovane. Si sono divertiti un sacco insieme, a parte qualche breve momento di disaccordo subito risolto. La presenza dello zio Vijay (fratello di S., detto "chicha" dai piu' piccoli, che lo adorano) e' stata la ciliegina sulla torta.

Altre novita':

Pian piano Appu comincia a dire un paio di parole comprensibili in mezzo ai lunghi discorsi in una strana lingua aliena che non abbiamo ancora decifrato. Oltre a "ba" o "pa" per "ball" (o "palla"?) adesso dice "ca" per "car". Naturalmente gli stessi suoni sono anche riservati ad un sacco di altri oggetti, come lampada ("ca"!), cereali ("ca"!), e cosi' via.
A Calicut c'era una fotografia di S. e i suoi fratelli e Appu indicava la foto e poi indicava S. e diceva "pa!". Poi pero' indicava gli zii, mostrava di riconoscerli nella foto e diceva "pa!". Anche il tavolino su cui c'e' la foto e tutti gli altri soprammobili sembrano essere "pa"...

Saremo in India fino ai primi di Marzo e cercheremo di mantenere il blog attivo senza altre interruzioni. Buon anno a tutti!

First words

Little Rajiv is beginning to form his first real words and it is a fascinating process.
It is a bit difficult to keep track of his vocabulary, because sometimes he will use one word one day and then never again. For example he said his name - "Appu" - a few times, with a strong American accent by the way, but just when we were getting all excited about it he dropped it. Sometimes he makes vague "m" sounds that could be interpreted as mommy requests, and occasionally he will say "mamma", but now he hasn't said it for a while.

The one word we are sure he understands and speaks himself is "ball" ("palla" in Italian). He has a toddler sized soccer ball and if I ask him for the "palla" he goes around and looks for it. He also looks for it immediately if he sees a picture of the ball in a book or on his alphabet blocks. For a while he was saying "ba" or "pa" for it, but now he seems to have settled for "bai" or occasionally "pai". If he sees the picture of the ball he screams "bai!" and then we go to find it.

He probably thinks there are many other things he says, in his cute tonal babbling, but unfortunately his his parents don't get it. Sorry Appu, please don't give up on us... :)

Haircut!

Ieri Rajiv ha ricevuto il suo primo taglio di capelli. La prima foto e' stata scattata in uficio poche ore prima dell'ora X e i riccioli sono ancora visibili. Il salone dove siamo andati e' specializzato in bambini e Appu si e' divertito un sacco: per il taglio e' stato seduto in una sedia-macchinina con un bel volante da far girare e davanti a lui c'era uno schermo con dei cartoni animati.

E' andato tutto liscio quasi fino all'ultimo, quando Appu ha cominciato a voler scendere dalla sedia. Ma ormai era quasi fatta ed e' bastato un po' di intrattenimento da parte dei genitori per permettere alla parrucchiera di completare l'opera! Alla fine Appu ha anche ricevuto un palloncino blu, del quale si e' completamente innamorato. Verso il fondo potete vedere il risultato finale, la sera a casa. Niente piu' riccioli... :( ...per un po'!

L'ultima foto non c'entra ma non potevo resistere al piccolo Appu nella scatola di plastica...




Appu with mom, already mourning the upcoming loss of the beloved curls...



We went to a place called "Cookie Cutters". They have chairs shaped like various vehicles - Appu got a green car - and they show videos while cutting the hair. It was much smoother than we had anticipated.


At the end Appu also got a blue balloon, that has been his joy ever since!


Here you can admire the final result, but no fear, the curls will be back! (mommy hopes...)



And for added cuteness, little Rajiv decided to sit in a plastic box. How could we not take this picture? :)

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...
  

Peek-a-boo!

Bits

We are insanely busy with the new house these days, plus there was a conference this whole week at our institute, so this should explain the lack of blogging. The most I can do at the moment is giving you a list of small things possibly worthy of note:

• Many thanks to everybody who sent a gift or a card or good wishes for Appu's birthday. We are happy to know that so many people think of him with affection, it is a good beginning.
• As for us, our birthday present for him was a wooden pull-toy, a cute snail with funny eyes. We bought this in Italy a few days before he was born and surprisingly managed to keep it wrapped until the night before his birthday. Almost as surprisingly, he is actually able to pull it. Ha, we laugh at the 18 month + recommendation on the box!
  
• Another toy he got recently from us is an easily grabbable ball and he is learning to throw it. We are able to play with him exchanging the ball at least a few times, before he gets impatient and throws the ball away.
• Other favorite games: peek-a-boo, hide and seek (I hide, he seeks), run-away-from-mommy-and-laugh-when-she-catches-me, and so on. As you might have noticed none of this involves sitting down and relaxing, I think we are going to get fit playing with him...
• He is getting a bit more clingy. Today for example I was unable to leave him at daycare, because he would cry desperately as soon as I tried to leave the room. I think he is teething again though, so maybe that's why he needs some extra comfort.
  
• Not that we would complain: we love his cuddly self!

Walking evidence

In the first video Rajiv is taking a few steps in the living room - you can hear S's voice because we were talking to him on Skype.



The second video was taken later at night and you can already see some progress!

Rajiv rocks!

I mean walks... All around the house, and he is so excited about it!

Aiuto, il piccolo Rajiv cammina per tutta la casa!

-1

11 month update:

Non mi sono dimenticata il complimese, sono solo in ritardo con il blog come al solito...
Cosa dire di questo bimbo che ormai ha quasi un anno? Le ultime novita':

• Appu loves drinking water from a glass. He always laughs when the water touches his mouth. Sometimes he drinks, sometimes he lets the water in and out of his mouth, sometimes he just bites the glass, but it's always great fun.
  
  A Rajiv piace moltissimo bere acqua da un bicchiere o se non ha sete, farsi rotolare l'acqua addosso. In entrambi i casi seguono sempre grosse risate!
  
  
• He loves sucking endlessly on pieces of frozen bread - baguette and similar, sliced and frozen for his use.
  
  Gli piace anche succhiare e mordicchiare pezzi di pane congelato, probabilmente per via delle gengive doloranti. Comunque anche non congelato il pane e' al momento uno dei suoi pochi cibi graditi.
  
  
• He walks a bit every now and then, but he hasn't really progressed past a couple of steps at a time yet. (Note: I wrote that this morning and of course he immediately started walking much more!) However, he is beginning to enjoy talking longer walks holding mommy's hand, both indoor and outdoor - in the late but wonderful Canadian spring!
  
  Il nostro piccolo Appu comincia a prendere gusto a camminare - da solo, pochi passi alla volta, o tenendomi la mano - e in questo caso non si limita a camminare, vuole correre!
  
  
• He has figured out that if the door of a cupboard is closed probably the stuff inside is very interesting - or at least potentially very dangerous, which is the same thing. More baby-proofing to be done soon.
  
  Uno dei suoi hobby piu' recenti e' aprire gi sportelli degli armadietti, specialmente se contengono detersivi, ma si accontenta anche di svuotare la dispensa all'occasione.
  
  
• He now knows what are the things he is not supposed to do, like going in the bathroom or touching some electric stuff and he seems to try and do this things only when mommy is nearby, to be chased. He finds it hilarious and if I don't run after him immediately he normally pauses to look mischievously at me before making a run for it. Lots of fun for both of us!
  
  Sa benissimo quali sono le cose che non puo' fare - tipo andare in bagno a mettere le mani nel water... - e tende a cercare di farle soprattutto quando sa che lo vedo. Gli piace moltissimo farsi rincorrere, anche perche' sa che quando lo acchiappo lo faccio piroettare un po' in aria, cosi' a volte se non lo seguo subito si ferma ad aspettarmi e mi guarda con occhi malandrini prima di riprendere la sua corsa. Questo e' uno dei nostri giochi preferiti prima di andare a dormire.
  
  
• He has learned to raise himself on the tip of his toes to empty shelves that would be a bit too high or reach for things on a table. Endless possibilities here...
  
  Non pago di tutto cio', ha anche imparato ad alzarsi in punta di piedi per raggiungere gli scaffali e i tavoli piu' alti. Qui le possibilita' sono infinite...
  

First step

Just one single step - to the side, sliding first with a foot and then bringing the second foot to meet the first - like a ballerina. He is always quite graceful with his movements.

Another progress is that now he is able to stand up from squatting without holding on to anything. Yesterday he repeated the exercise a few times - up, down, up, down,... - in front of his speechless parents.

Ten months and three teeth

I haven't had much time for blogging since we reached Italy, but I couldn't let little one's birthday pass without notice. He is now ten months old and the most recent milestone is biting: yesterday morning he left his first little - but deep - mark on mommy's finger. Lots of fun ahead...

He still seems to have some teething pain every now and then, but three teeth are out, or at least part of them. In fact if you could magnify one of the pictures below you could see them.

These photos were taken yesterday afternoon by dad while mom was browsing the children section of a bookstore (one of my favorite activities of late). For those who know the city, the marble floor is the one of Galleria S. Federico.

New Firsts

Un po' di prime volte di questa settimana:

A few firsts of the past week:

• Rajiv ha aperto e sfogliato un libro da solo e di sua iniziativa per la prima volta. I genitori, famosi topi di biblioteca, sono orgogliosissimi! Il libro in questione era un libro cartonato con fotografie di bimbi e dettagli di varie parti del corpo.
  
  Rajiv has opened a book and turned the pages himself for the first time. The parents, world-famous bookworms, are extremely proud. The book was the DK My First Body Board Book, with photos of babies and details of various body parts.
  
  
• Direi che possiamo ufficialmente dichiarare spuntato il primo dentino. Toccando la gengive si sente chiaramente che la punta e' uscita (si sente anche quando mi mordicchia le mani...).
  
  I think this time we can safely say that the first tooth has come out. I have been able to feel the tip with my fingers for a couple of days now.
  
  
• Rajiv ha indossato tutti i suoi vestiti, compreso il cappotto da inpiedi invece che sdraiato per la prima volta. Con l'aiuto della mamma, ovviamente...
  
  Rajiv had all his clothes, including the coat, put on while standing instead of on his back for the first time.
  
  
• Dopo averle fatto la posta per parecchie settimane Rajiv e' fnalmente riuscito a trascinare per terra la macchina fotografica della mamma. Speriamo che funzioni ancora, per il momento non ho avuto il coraggio di controllare...
  
  After weeks of failed attempts Rajiv has finally managed to drag mommy's camera to the floor. Let's hope it still works, I haven't found the courage to check yet...
  
  

Ci sono sicuramente altre cose, se mi vengono in mente le aggiungo dopo.

There are certainly more things, if they come to my mind I will add them later.

Ok, so maybe I was too optimistic...

Rajiv is only now really getting better, although he still has a nasty cough that sometimes keeps him up at night. The tooth has gone back in (!!), but at daycare the "experts" response is "it's normal". Uhm... Anyway, the gums are really swollen, so they'll have to come out soon, there is no choice.

Rajiv ci ha messo un po' piu' del previsto a riprendersi. Ha ancora la tosse che a volte non lo lascia dormire, ma direi che finalmente si nota un miglioramento. Il dentino sembrerebbe essere rientrato (e' normale, a quanto pare, boh...), ma non potra' stare nascosto a lungo ormai.

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.

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.

Getting there!

Grandi progressi! Poco fa Rajiv e' riuscit a stare in piedi da solo per la prima volta. Era in piedi appoggiato al divano con una mano e con un giocattolo nel'altra. Le gambe erano molto divaricate, quindi era una posizione molto stabile. Ad un certo punto ha deciso che il giocattolo era troppo interessante e ha voluto afferrarlo con entrambe le mani. Un attimo di panico per i genitori, ma non e' caduto, non ha neanche traballato. Invece dopo un secondo o due ha poggiato di nuovo la mano sul divano, senza problemi. Oggi un paio di secondi, ma domani chissa'...

Rajiv has managed to stand alone for the first time. He was supporting himself with one hand on the couch and suddenly he decided he needed to hold his toy with both hand, so he let go. We panicked for a moment, but he didn't seem to have any problems and after a couple of seconds he just put his hand back on the couch. I hope it doesn't sound like a small achievement, because I think it's awesome!