My daddy and mommy always make it a point to highlight a young one when we are all staring at a flock of birds or a herd of cows. They prefix it with "Kutti" and suffix with "dee" (to address me, as the girl they probably wanted?).

So for a little cow, it would be "Kutti Cow dee"
For a flying or trying to fly bird, it would be "Kutti Birdie deee"
for a duck, "Kuttie Quak Quak dee"

I found it a bit redundant and hard to distinguish, so I interleaved an extra syllable to identify the young one...

So I'd respond to a "Kutti Cow dee" with a "CaCaCow"
"Kuti Birdie dee" with a "BirdieBirdie"
"Kutti Quak Quak dee" with a "QuakQuak QuakQuak"
"Kutti Ingaaan dee" (Elephant, which I identify with its sound) with an "Ingangangaaaan"
"Kutti Doggie dee" with a "Doggie Doggie"

and so on....

Quiz: What would I call a little cat (i.e. kitten in your parlance)?

Whoaaa! What a monstrous weekend! Arguably the most enjoyable one I've had! And it all began with a small private celebration at home on my actual birthday Jun 26th... (t626 ring a bell yet, you quizzers?) ;) Then the big event we all were waiting for, Jun 27th, the Grand Celebration for my 2nd birthday, the first big celebration in the US, where I was born and  live today!

To all those who came, thanks a lot for coming and making it a Grand Success! I really liked meeting and greeting each of you in my own way, be it a cry, be it a laugh, be it a pat on your back or just a run away. You see, my social skills are not as good as my writing skills on this blog so far, but rest assured, I am learning. Put yourselves in my Sherwani Sandals and you know what I am talking about.. if not, just ask your little kids or grown up kids or well.. upcoming kids ;)

I hope you guys enjoyed the "Lion" as much as I did.. initially I got freaked out, but then when I knew he was just an imposter, something I found out when he was not responding to my calls of "laaaaainnnn... laaiinnnnn"... "Kuaaa Kuaaaa"... (don't ignore these terms, as they may be coming to a quiz near you)..

The clown guy was fun too... only I was getting too hot inside the hall, especially due to all the pressure and attention on me. Plus it was way too irresistable for me to rush out to count the number of black cars that were parked in the parking lot... Just my own fun, isn't a birthday all about freaking out and having fun? Well.. that's what I did... several uncles and aunties took care of me when my daddy or mommy were too busy to take me out and I'd like to thank them all... the music was superb and all my favorites were there! I could not stop wondering where those songs came from! They were supposed to be coming from the car stereo, were we in a big car of some kind where 100 people could sit, stand or walk?

To all my kid cohorts, Truly amazing performance singing the A B Cs.. I would have loved to join in, but I thought, as a host, I should be neutral and not get prizes ;) Good excuse eh? How was that quiz??? So many of you guys were trying to ask me the answers! But daddy had instructed me to turn away or to distract you guys with something else when asked any of those 10 questions! Good effort from everyone. Although the winner seemed to be on steroids, everyone else did very well... I will treasure those messages in question 10 in my scrapbook for ever! Wonderful quiz, song, dance, game performances and truly sportive attitude from all you guys! Thanks for the enthusiasm, participation and energy! Hope you guys enjoyed your return gifts as much as I am enjoying your gifts to me! Sorry I was too tired and slept off before I could bid individual goodbyes to each of you.. but I hope you'll understand that it is tough to be a two year old! I was coming to grips with all the increased responsibilities! So many more toys to take care of! Hugsy is growling in jealousy at home! He's too angry that he wasn't invited to my party! But hey, he got to attend the home celebration!

To those that could not make it, I am sure your thoughts were all with me, after all I was coughing through some part of the morning, so we thought you were remembering me on my big day.. I am sure all your prayers and best wishes lead to the success of the event. I hope you received and have seen all the pics. I will try to get daddy to post a video or two soon, it would be the next best thing to having been there! I can't stand the other kid on the video who everyone is celebrating! He looks just like me! Did he also have an exactly same birthday party? Better stay away from that guy in the video, he scares me like anything!

Of course people behind the scenes made it possible... the aunties at the cake shop, the aunties at the party stores, the uncles at gift shops and the thatha at the party hall. You were all great and made it possible! The cake was a big hit and although I did not have much cake, I heard everyone liking it a lot! Thanks to mommy for all the advanced planning for months! and the diligent execution and thanks to everyone who helped organize and cover this memorable event for me. I will appreciate this much much more as I understand what's going on...

Thanks to all and hope I will see you all on your birthday parties and of course on my Big 3rd Birthday Bash! Keep watching this space for updates from me!

I don't care... I'll get going...

Who is my favorite cricketer?

Well.. I only know one.. "Aaaami... MS Aaaami"... as I see him say in the Chennai Super Kings' ad. He is their captain! Why do I like him? Well.. he is the one that encourages me to have Boost these days!

I had fun at the zoo... my favorite birds/animals were the Cranes, especially when they stood on one leg! The Giraffe and of course the Elephant! I had to make a choice and felt compelled to honor my favorite animal. After long deliberation, I chose the Elephant. I have always been amused since childhood on the elephant. But what do I give him? I gave him my priced possession, an Ingi bottle!! I loved it, just moments ago, I was savoring it, but now, it is for the elephant, to feed her young 'un when it arrives! Good Luck Elle!!!

Hey... look what's growing in my home, besides me that is... umm... how much would they fetch?? Never mind.. let me get started working on my spin.. if I can spin oranges, the cuckaboora should be piece of cake, eh?

What keeps a baby my age from getting into Twitter? Nothing... so from today, The Tarun Tweets Too! (TTTT)... you can follow me on Twitter or just check the sidebar on the right for my latest tweets... I kinda like keeping some updates short and tweet!

Remember that little kid that could appreciate but not call the beautiful moon? Turns out, just a couple of months later, the same kiddo can now say, "Moooom" and an added bonus, "staaash" (stars)!

I am also doing a commercial for Apple being shot by my dad!
It goes...

 " A for Apple....
   B for Apple...
   C for Apple...
   .....
    Z for Apple..."

Apple -- Your kids'll love it! ;)

Anyone from Apple listening? You heard it first from me, The Tarun! ;)

There have been so many birthdays this month that I have had to block my calendar for! Phew! I am half way through and each experience, like the age groups of those celebrating, could not be any more different! At the two extremes, my cousin, Shyam has his 6th birthday at one of my favorite locations, The Jungle, where daddy took me to a couple of weeks ago. I got to go again and it was fun.

Of course, fun for me at the Jungle, a kids indoor play place, is just playing in the puddle of balls in the toddler area. These elder bullies don't leave us tender toddlers alone in our exclusive zone! They've got so much more space that we can't go to, why on earth would they want to invade our teeny tiney area? Wait till I grow up to past the toddler stage, I will fight for toddler rights! Having been there, I know what it feels like and I am not a revengist. I will make life better for toddlers! So, patience...

I was not much interested in the cake cutting or the other festivities or foodies. Everytime mommy or daddy plucked me from the ball pool to the party room, I would find my way back. It was almost magnetic. Why? For starters, I throw up whenever the cake hits my tongue. I did so, even at my own birthday, so I did not want to inconvenience anyone else. Next, I prefer Veggie Pizza over Cheese Pizza and the adults were fighting for that one here. I don't stand a chance against kids, what would I do fighting with adults for just a bite of that crust?

The balloons were fun, but they kept going away from me far far away up to near the Mooom... (moon), so after losing a couple, I would not get any more :( What does the moon want with balloons anyways? So, I came off tired and sleepy to have ingi.. it was a fun day at the Jungle!

The next birthday was the first one that we got invited to, because of ME! It was my classmate, Abhinav's birthday. So, I was excited, even though I had my share of illnesses to fight with. I was so excited that we landed there perfectly on time as per the invitation, but were the only ones! Would you believe it? I was rushing my parents thinking we were late, but alas, we were the earliest! Then I got reminded that I always rush, as I did to get out into this world, over 3 weeks ahead of anyone's expectations. Hey, from where I come from, punctuality wins the prize. Maybe that's not the case everywhere. The birthday boy himself arrived after me! I had a sheepish thinking that if Abhinav did not show up, I could cut the cake and gobble it too, without of course letting it touch my tongue ;) Who cares about the eating anyways?

Then we hung out at a nearby dosa diner, while waiting for others to arrive, where the perusunga had dosas and offered me a few bites. By this time, I got sleepy and cranky, plus I was not at my 100% fitness. Then we headed back and there was a decent crowd in place... I met some known faces, my caretaker, Neenaaaa (Seema), her two sons, Happy (her husband) and Sarvajeet (asst caretaker). Was this day care in disguise? Why are there so many people here today? Before those answers came, guess who came? Tigger and the clown! Tigger looked authentic, but the clown, I didn't care much for. Hey, even I can pronounce the name of the b'day boy correctly, Naninaav (Abhinav), right? This guy struggled before blurting out, Abnav or something of that kind. Maybe he did not have enough time to practice. Anyways, they had a lot of games, but I decidedly stayed away from any of those. My daddy was very unhappy and called me a "Tiger at home, but moose outside". I did not care about the abuse. He seemed to be missing the fact that I was unwell and did not want other kids to take ill. They were all so joyous, so I made the supreme sacrifice and did the right thing for my community. If my big man does not like it, well he'll understand when he grows up! Then I slept off and woke up only when we got home.

Today is another birthday, mine!! I am 1.75 years old today!!! We had a Happy Birthday song at home followed by a round of applause for me being a fighter and spirited through my illness. I guess I gotta live with just songs instead of all those colorful delicacies with a number that marked how many months old I was. I must be getting old already! 21 months! It seems like a lot!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hey my loyal fans! Sorry, I've not been speaking to you for a while. Have not been feeling well lately. Suffering from severe cough, cold and stomach flu. Typical baby stuff you say? Well, it is not easy being a baby. I can tell you that first hand!

Here's why...

   -- I have my first meal in days after days, it stinks.. wait a minute, it is due to the bitterness in my mouth!
   -- Okay, I manage to gobble something to feel stronger to throw the ball around, but lo and behold, Mr. Cough decides it is time to make an announcement!
   -- Mr. Stomach that is trying to concentrate and do his is not happy that Mr. Cough is stealing his limelight, so he retorts!
   -- Out comes Mr.Food after a half "baked" digestion.

   -- More work for my mommy and more worries!
   -- A quarrel ensues between mommy and daddy with the latter saying that Mommy's worries are half the cause for Mr.Stomach getting upset!
   -- Between us, Mr.Stomach does not think so complex, but he does like some encouragement and some warm up for sure!

   -- Then Mommy is less confident than ever on Mr.Stomach and brings out a glass of Jeera Water and...
   -- Mr.Stomach is disappointed and furious! He retorts yet again! Now Mommy is confused. After all she encouraged Mr.Stomach all she could!
   -- Daddy's theory goes out the window and Mr.Stomach regrets his actions, coz he's lost his one time for spotlight.
   -- To ring in the cheers, Mr.Cough is all too happy to celebrate loudly, throwing Mr.Stomach in absolute desperation, only he has nothing to throw out!

      -- Why are these guys fighting all of a sudden? Everything was okay until 2 days ago! It is like someone reminded them that it is time to fight.
   -- Does anyone of these careless entities care for poor little T, that's me?
   -- Yes, of course my parents and well wishers do. Mommy does not fail to try harder.
   -- She is in no mood to fight with Mr.Stomach, so she humors him with some Baby Einstein DVDs, so he could listen and it'd help him be more rhythmic!
   -- It works to a good extent and Mommy does not know it, but mainly because the melody has put Mr.Cough to sleep!
   -- This time Mr.Stomach does not blow his opportunity and pleases everyone!
   -- He does the hard work and I get the cheers, the high fives and the thank you shake hands!

Mr. Cough and Mr. Stomach have unknowingly made our day in times of trouble!!!