Amazing April 2014

Dear little Ceyone,

Time was passing by in blinks with you. I made weekly plans and our days and weeks vanished before us. You were growing taller, healthier and wiser. You turned 16 months old in April 2014 and had major leaps in growth and development.

Your vocabulary added new complex words and you displayed preferences and demands. When we celebrated Tita's birthday, you grasped the concept of singing the Happy Birthday song and cutting the cake. You said 'habada' for happy birthday and 'kek' for cake. Whenever we mentioned one of those words you immediately spoke the other in correlation.

You understood the concept of heavy and often said 'hebi' when you lifted up filled water bottles, bags and baskets. You called yourself 'kone' and sometimes called me 'Paala' with love. Other words that you spoke with crystal clarity were banana, papaya, shoe, kukuna (coconut), yogo (yogurt), akan (uncle), aunta (aunty).
What amazed me the most was that you were able to distinguish between an uncle and an aunty or a boy and a girl.
You learned to give flying kisses and most of them were meant for your friend baby Tiya.

As you adored cars very much, I often sang - 'Ceyone ki car chali pam pam pam' for you and you happily repeated pammmm pammmm after me.

We started the month with a dinner at our place for Papa's colleague and friend Shunjie and Dan. Dan was expecting a baby and we had lots of interesting parenting talks. You enjoyed their presence around.

It was also Tita's birthday in April and we celebrated with a cake and the happy birthday song. It was a huge milestone for you as from that day onwards you picked up the concept of the happy birthday song and cutting a cake. You could easily correlate 'habada' (your version of happy birthday) and kek (cake). You often asked us to play the happy birthday song on your tablet. 

We had another birthday celebration and dinner with Papa's colleague and friend Sandy, Jagjit and Harman and Sohail chachu at Skinny Pizza, Plaza Singapura. You seemed to adore Harman and called him 'Hamman'. 

Play dates with Samar

You had 3 of your weekly playdates with Samar in April. We had to miss one as your molars were cutting through and you were a bit under the weather. Samar's grandma played a lot with both of you.

Play dates with Vivaan

You enjoyed playdates with Vivaan on Tuesday evenings. Vivaan who used to live two condos away, used to bring his favourite engines and cars with him and then you used to adopt them. It was a great toys exchange time and you both started liking each other. 

Play date with Tiya chan

You started liking Tiya a lot. It was evident from the fact that you remembered her name and mentioned it a few times in a day. Your lips curled up a bit when we mentioned Tiya in our conversation. We never knew but your tiny ears were always listening. 

A game of golf with Tiya and Austin

Snack time after the play date. Home made cake by me and watermelon juice with walnuts.

First river cruise

One of the weekends, Papa took us to the river cruise from Clarke Quay to Marina. It was a great experience and first for you. You enjoyed the boat more from outside versus sitting inside. 

It was very tough to pull you out of the water play area. You had the most fun there. 

One year completed in Singapore
In April 2014 we completed our first year in Singapore. We went out for a small celebration dinner with Sohail chachu at Cuppage terrace, Orchard. Chachu used his photography skills and clicked a few shots for us.

Trips to IKEA

Mumma absolutely loved shopping from IKEA and I figured out the way you could enjoy too experiencing the trolly while I was busy picking up boxes, jars and fabrics. Trips to IKEA were never enough and Papa used to say jokingly that it was our 500th trip to IKEA!

 the Tent

You loved your new tent dearly and once dragged Papa inside it. Not to mention that Papa absolutely loved it and then he told us that the famous businesswoman Marissa Mayer sits inside her closet to destress and the tent reminded him of it. 

Mumma's favourite shots of the month

Clicked at Muthu's curry restaurant at Suntec Mall during one of our Sunday evening dinners. 

Mucky Pups Activity Class
Our Friday mornings were occupied with attending the Mucky Pups activity class. Your favourite part was the bubbles time!

Ceyone  Ceyone

One of the evenings we went for shopping at Plaza Singapura and I noticed you admiring yourself in the mirror. You went ahead and kissed your own reflection which was most amusing for me. 

Ceyone's culinary pleasures

One of the days I made methi ki poorie and you seemed to like it. Mealtimes were mostly fun. When you would get hungry you'd peep on the table and try to see what was being served that day. You had a few favourite foods. You'd have an easy peaceful meal with YouTube. You could tell us your choice of rhymes and we'd keep setting it up for you. You would not be so pleased if the videos took time to load and ads that could not be skipped annoyed you.  Example - baa for baa baa black sheep, habada for happy birthday, dack for five little ducks, ba for wheels on the bus and so on. Of course you'd say 'staap' loudly if the choice selection was incorrect.

Methi ki poorie time!

Ceyone eating rubber duckie

Post baking fun

One hand had to be held at times to make way for the spoon

With your choice of fruits, you'd happily self feed. Typically strawberries, avocados and grapes.

Greek yogurt was another of your favourites

Your Rendezvous with Romeo the tom cat
Unlike growing up in India where we saw several farm animals everyday, life in Singapore was restricted to pets at home. While it was easy to spot dogs during walks, cats were a rarity. One of our Italian neighbours Maria invited us to her home to meet her tom cat Romeo and you had an amazing time chasing Romeo. (Not the best for poor Romeo who was trying to escape :)

A few random shots

                                    

Sleeping like a log

Story time at night with Garfield (whom you called Garfalla)

While cleaning the closet, I found your tiny white fur vest. When we laughed you understood it was not the smartest thing to wear. 

                                                

Just outside Marina Bay Sands

Mumma and Ceyone on a summer afternoon

Days, weeks and months were crossing me like poles to a bullet train. In the mid of all the mad rush, midnight wakings, activities, socialising and cuddles, I found a few gems that made me realise how precious those passing eons were!

Head, shoulder, knees and toes full of love, 
Mumma