November: Songs, movies, and the potty

SONGS stick in my head. Just like Amma. My favorite this month was Ding dong the witch is dead (which old witch? the wicked witch! Ding dong the wicked witch is dead). But you could also catch me going around the house singing Do you know the muffin man? The Mulberry bush song was a fun one because you can dance around in a circle at the same time and then it has an exciting ending (Pop goes the weasel!) One of my stories this month was about the house coming down in the wind and the dog.

Amma made up a very pragmatic song - "Every morning and every night, Kavi brushes his teeeeth." I guess it helps because I protest the chore a little less when we are singing.

Amma and Appa were pretty good at avoiding TV and movies with me when I was little (even if the occasional Wheels-on-the-bus YouTube did sneak in). Their goal was to avoid movies for at least my first two years. So having met that milestone a while back, they thought it would be okay to introduce the occasional movie (especially during strategic times). Soooo, this means I got to see a few fun movies! My first movies were Planes (zooooom), then Turbo (a story about a snail that wanted to go zoom), then Cars Too, all of which were animated.

For the past few months I was introduced to my little potty, sat on it regularly, and even pee'd a few times. But in November I did something that caused Appa and Don and Barbara to do a little dance and clap - the thing, of course, was my first few poos in the little toilet. I still use diapers, but this marks the beginning of the end.

As my language continues to expand, I'm using longer sentences. Example: man sitting (in the) chair.

Thambi continues to get bigger and more fun to play with.

Unfortunately, I've had some trouble sleeping. Especially when Appa travels occasionally for work. But we will soldier on.

I wore a few nice outfits this month - the first was for when it snows! I've got an integrated snow suit that zips from my feet to my neck and keeps me nice and cozy warm. Amma and I made tracks through the snow (kinda like a train). Another one was a beautiful Indian outfit that I wore on Thanksgiving (check out the middle top picture below, thanks Tonje!). Thanksgiving itself was a nice gathering of family at Eryn and Steve's house (I also got to hang out a little with my cousin Jayce who is my age).

Finally, a lot of fun was had at the McGregor's: drawing and drums, fire and seeds, Thanksgiving stories, always music and singing, sledding and running, exploring ice and melting snow, and the Wizard of Oz (this is where that song came from initially). "Get your shoes on and let's go see the world" is Don's call to arms.

Thank you God for snow suits, for Thambi, for books, and for friends.

Sleep, games, and words

The big thing this month was sleep. As in getting me to sleep more regularly. As I mentioned last time, we got a lot more regular about my sleep routine. When I sleep the whole night in my bed I get a sticker. For the most part, it has gone well (don't ask Amma or Appa about last night though). We will continue to work on it so it goes more smoothly.

Games are wonderful. I have a lot of fun playing 'choose which hand it is in' - like when Amma has something to give me and she puts her hands behind her and then I get to choose one. I prefer the left hand, but occasionally will go for the right. Then I try playing this with Amma or Appa and they think it is cute. I also like to hide. For example, I like to hide in the hall closet and surprise Amma or Appa, or get wrapped up in the shower curtain and surprise Amma. With thambi, for now our games consist of me saying googoo gaagaa to him, but I am sure they will get more elaborate over time.

I still love telling stories, and they are getting more involved daily. Especially ones that involve cars, trucks, and crashes. Or of course ones that involve trains and cabooses (one of my newer words). Some of my favorite words and phrases this month were: PUMPKINS! (both the kind on the ground and when you make them into bread, which I call cake), come in!, faster, and "no please" (Amma thinks this variation on 'no thank you' is cute), sorry, and hug (these last two sometimes go together). I'm becoming more expressive with sentences, such as "get it" (say, referring to a book on the ground or an apple), or "Va (come), sit down bed" (which I say when Amma is trying to sneak away before I am asleep). Appa keeps teaching me more Tamil words (like counting, through enje-5-up to batey-10), pointing out the nayees (dogs), etc. I expect to learn a lot more Tamil when Appa and I visit India over Christmas break.

Time spent at the McGregor's is really great. I now walk there on my own (most days), instead of being carried by Amma. I have good friends there. I love our excursions and singing and adventure modules (like space!). Of course we play a bunch of fun games. And there always seem to be freshly picked apples.
 
As a family, we went hiking (in the snow and in the mountains without snow), visited two pumpkin patches (and carved pumpkins), and visited the TRAIN museum again (which I don't have to tell you was great). We rounded out the month with visits from friends, dinner parties, birthday parties (I love singing the happy birthday song no matter the day), and a fun trip to the mountains with friends from Appa's high school.

Thank you God for this month, for family, and for pumpkins.

Throwing balls, dancing like Travolta, and creating stories

So lately I have been getting into playing with all kinds of balls. I definitely love kicking soccer balls around the house or outside on the ball field. I can even dribble! But my favorite ball to play with right now is a tennis ball. First off, they fit well in my hand. We can play inside with them, either kicking, throwing, or using the racquet (which sometimes I call a bat). Or outside on the tennis courts or just on the grass. Sometimes Appa throws the ball waaaaay up high which I love. I am pretty good at throwing the ball, and Amma says I've improved a lot with the racquet - I connect sometimes with a 'serve'. Most of the time I throw the ball overhand, but I've got a good underhand too (see the pic below).

Singing and dancing makes me happy. Sometimes I'll request a song, and my requests have moved beyond just the Wheels on the bus to ones like Baa baa black sheep, Monkey chased the weasel, Twinkle twinkle little star, or the ABC's. (And by the way I am able to sing more parts of more songs now, which is fun.) And associated with singing is dancing! This is encouraged by Amma and people like Kristin who comes weekly to the McGregor's for music class, or friend Nii Armah who teaches me (and Amma and tambi) African singing and dancing (a dondo pweep a dondo pweep pweep, you no go put you no go chop, tu man ge ley). I can throw in a somersault in the middle of a circle, and I dance like (and I quote) "Travolta in Grease with some withering moves" (per Don).

I try to connect to people through stories. The good news is that it is slightly easier for Amma and Appa to figure out what I am saying this month (maybe up to 15 percent of the intent gets across?). A few of my recent new or favorite words and phrases are spicy, catch it, dark, cool, careful (especially cute when said to Amma carrying tambi down the Sanitas trail), camping, shovel. I love to say moon and to point out the full bright moon. I am working on my numbers and months. I will repeat anything you say to me. And I am especially good at finishing the parts to Goodnight Moon when you pause and wait for me (like saying moon, house, mouse, brush, mush, Hush!, socks, etc.). I will also point out that the fire is hot even if you don't talk about it. My Tamil also continues to expand, like working on numbers up to batey (sp?, aka ten).


Thambi, my little brother, is pretty cute. I get excited to see him, especially in the morning when he is playing on the floor in his 'play gym'. I try to fist bump him, but he doesn't yet get the exploding bit yet. I guess I will have to teach it to him when he gets older. For now, I hold onto his hand or foot or kiss his head or pat his belly. Amma and Appa have to say 'gentle' or 'careful' less frequently now. And I like our morning walks to the McGregors where Amma carries me on her back and tambi on her front.

The main issue I had over the past few months was sleep (in that I wasn't going to sleep at a reasonable time in the evening). But over the past few weeks Amma instituted a more specific routine and talked to me about it (I even have my own sleep plan book complete with pictures). As a result, my sleep has improved dramatically! (It still isn't perfect, but is moving in the right direction). Right before I fall asleep sometimes I say things which reveal my thoughts - for now they are on things like dosai, or tunnel, or tani (water). Amma loves hearing this.

I am interested in people (especially the young kind) more than playgrounds. I like to offer others food before eating it myself.

Recently I have gotten really good at moving on my scooter - inside though since I haven't learned to brake yet. I can push off with my left foot and then balance very well on my right as I cruise down Appa's hallway.

I love to sing happy birthday and blow out candles. When we celebrated grandma's birthday I kind of thought the candles were for me.

I continue to love spending weekdays at Don and Barbara McGregor's with my friends. There we do all kinds of fun things. Like hear great stories from Don, or pick apples from the trees, or build train tracks, or do science labs, or go on mini-expeditions to pick apples or plums or grapes, or dance with scarves, or eat yummy food that Don makes, or learn new songs from Barbara, or play soccer or with tennis balls, or cook vittles on the fire. Occasionally we even have a treasure hunt in the back yard. Amma says I am picking up a lot of great things.

Thank you God for friends and Amma and Appa, for scooters and balls, for tambi and hiking, for seasons and corn, and for music and dancing.

Thambi and the McGregors

The biggest two events in the past two months are that I have a thambi now (thambi is Tamil for little brother) and I spend many of my days at a new house - Barbara and Don McGregor's house. Both things have meant quite a lot of change for me, but they are both really cool.

My little brother Mano (check out his blog here) is pretty cute. I like to give him hugs and kisses and point to his head and eyes. Sometimes I play with his feet. I like to lay down next to him in his crib or on my bed. I like to say 'Baby drinking' when Amma is nursing. And I do a pretty good impression of him crying (the baby on the bus goes whaa whaa whaa). Though he does take up a lot of Amma's time and as a result I play more with Appa (who has been around a lot more, which has been awesome).

The McGregor's house is just down the street (so we walk there in the morning and back in the evening). There are kids of a range of ages there - my age (two!), plus three- and four-year olds. This means that I get to learn a lot, have fun and hear all kinds of words and sentences. We play a ton and get to explore the creek and look for birds and snakes and fish. Some of the older kids help me learn how to help out and put things away. Some mornings we build huge train tracks with bridges and TUNNELS! I've taken some of my habits home, like wanting to sit at the big table now for food (and not much in the high chair anymore), or telling stories by sitting across the room and then holding up the book for Amma to see, or dancing zooming through the room holding clothes on hangers (a substitute for the scarves at the McGregor's).

Then there were also some medium-size events over the past two months: I no longer use a pacifier for naps or sleeping (no more 'frog'), I no longer have a bottle (as a result, my milk consumption has plummeted since I don't really like milk from a sippy or normal cup, either hot or cold), and I am working on sleeping only in my own bed in my own room ('working on' because it is still quite the long time and routine to get me to sleep and I still wake up a few time in the night).

You should hear me tell a story. They are pretty long and involved, complete with expressive hand movements, though they mostly consist of words that are hard to understand. But you might hear words thrown in there like tree or pear or wash and get the idea of that story. You might hear words like car or truck and crash and ouch and get the idea. You might hear words like baby and amma and drinking and 'whaa whaa' and get the idea. Everyone finds these stories really cute.

My vocabulary continues to expand. I can say quite a few things in Tamil now (apologies for the misspellings), such as: venum (more), kanne (where is ...), vannakam (welcome - this one is complete with hands together in prayer position), tani (water), va (come), mooke (nose), palum (plum), mambalum (mango), and of course dosai! (dosa). And in English I am connecting up a bunch of things too, like asking for the pear to go in my bowl, or saying I had an ouchie on my foot, or I want the bath water to be hotter. I can say a bunch of people's names too.

I found out that I love to shovel. Dirt in pickup trucks or mulch in piles. It is best when the shovel is my size, but I will go for bigger ones if needed. I got my first black eye - but no it didn't have anything to do with the shovel (I was just running through Appa's house and didn't see the cabinet approaching).

Fruit trees are pretty cool - I really enjoy picking the fruit from it and then eating it (after washing of course). Amma's apple tree went wild in July with apples galore. Then Appa's plum tree went crazy producing a bunch of plums. Right now Amma's pear tree just finished making a bunch of yummy yummy pears (which we eat about 6 of daily. Luckily Appa got a fruit picker to harvest all of these (which, by the way, is a fun contraption to play with).

We rounded out the time with some hiking with out of town visitors up in Rocky Mountain National Park, hiking around town, a family reunion on the Adams side (amma's mom's dad's family), a carousel ride in Nederland, a trolley ride in Denver, and a visit to the aquarium. We concluded the summer with another trip on the Georgetown train (yay!)

So as you can see, it has been a really big few months of my life!

Two years old!

Yep, it's official. I am two years old. And if you ask me how old I am I will tell you "two."

I can devour an entire mango, no need to cut it up (but you might want to take my shirt off beforehand). I like apples, especially picking them from out back and then crunching into one. Pomegranates, nectarines, and peaches are awesome. Basically any fruit you put in front of me I will enjoy.

I am starting to enjoy hiking on my own (like coming down from Sanitas), though Appa usually still carries me on his back. I love motions to songs, including the new one Amma made up for the song with the toy plane that I received for my birthday ('taking off for places we've never been, we'll be home for dinner then we'll fly again, zoom!'). Jumping is still super fun - including off of the living room table into Grandpa's arms (like tonight). I can do new things too, like hang from the bar above a slide before heading down it. I have been working on my skills on wheels - some on my scooter, some on my tricycle, and a little less on my new strider (balance bike). I have also been working on my skills with balls - like kicking big ones and throwing smaller ones, or swinging for medium size ones with a bat or croquet mallet - and I am getting better (today I even made a hoop).

My vocabulary continues to expand, and I repeat a lot of what I hear nowadays. Today one new one was "Percy" (as in Thomas the train and his friend Percy). On my birthday I was heard to have been saying "Happy" quite a lot. Ayyamma taught me the Tamil names for things like head and eyes and ears and teeth and nose - so I can point to them (if not quite say them yet). But I am starting to say some Tamil words like the word for flower or fruit, which is pretty cool.

I continue to love big machines of many sorts: Trains of course (including the new ones Appa got me for my birthday that run on their own and go through tunnels!). But planes too (which I used to call 'copters' for helicopters, but then moved into planes and now airplanes) - and I can spot them up high in the sky when I hear one. Trucks of all sorts (and I love my new truck books that help me name the different ones).


Appa took a quick trip to India this past month (where there are lots of cool trains), and Amma took a quick trip to Portugal too, so I got to see them on small screens when they were gone. This month included lots of fun times with Wendy, Leo, and Sebastian during the weekdays, and other fun with friends on the weekends. And of course at the end there were a few birthday parties with cake (happy happy!).

Finally, as I mentioned last month, coming up pretty soon are some big changes around here - my new little brother. Right now I can say baby and kiss Amma's belly (which she thinks is very cute). But when the little guy gets here I bet it will be an adjustment. I will have a new little friend!

Thank you God for my family, for life, for my two years, for trees to climb in, for wheels to glide on, for bright books to read, for monkeys and elephants, for friends with sound makers, and for mangoes.

 

My 5th passport stamps: Japan! and ... almost two! (23 months)

Japan has absolutely the coolest trains. Shinkansen! Bullet train! Choo choo! Mom and Appa and I spent two weeks taking a bunch of trains and exploring a cool new country - Japan. It was a pretty awesome trip (though I definitely had a hard time adjusting to the time zones in Colorado, even a week after being back).

One of the neat things about trains is that if you are little you can explore, climb on the seats, make friends, and move around on them as you make your way from place to place (mom definitely recommends travel with toddlers on trains). The window shades go up and down and the seats go back. There is even a nice lady who comes by to sell things to eat and drink. Most of the trains we took were really fast - so much so that when another one came zipping by going the other way I usually missed it. But sometimes we took slower trains through the mountains (of an island mom says is called Kyushu). I remember it because it had beautiful green hills and neat houses with tile roofs. And then there were lots of other smaller trains (subways) when we were checking out the crazy and busy Tokyo or taking a tram with the businessmen in the morning to get around Kumamoto or Hiroshima.

Of course the main thing I loved about Kyushu was the strawberries. Sweet and moist and vibrant red and so so good. The ones near Aso are pretty much the best in the world. Mmmmmmmmm. I would eat the whole fruit again and again. And then repeat. And repeat. Then pair with a little bit of creamy vanilla ice cream for an indulgent treat and you can't get much better.

Around Aso (actually up on Aso-san) we saw a cool and somewhat active volcano (it was kind of like being on another world), and then were able to go on a cool hike up to Nakadake. Parts of it were steep and rocky, but Appa carried me up and I slept for most of the way, waking up just in time to see the view from the top (and have some cheese as a snack).

Another thing I really liked a lot were the fish. Appa says they are called koi. They are big and pretty much everywhere in Japan. In the quiet ponds in the garden next to the Himeji castle, in front of the big statue of Buddha in Kyoto, in the moat surrounding the Kumamoto castle, even in the canals in the middle of a busy town.

We visited lots of cool castles and gardens and shrines and temples, including really big and really old and really tall wooden ones. In one of them you had to take your shoes off but there were a bunch of slippers to put on, so I put on some that were way too big for me and tried to shuffle around a bit. Generally the wood was smooth and cool. And sometimes people were chanting, which sounded beautiful.

Most of the time we had good weather. But it does rain in Japan a lot (they actually have a pretty well organized system when you go into any place where you can either leave your umbrella or wrap it neatly in a little plastic bag). So we did have a few days of rain around Kyoto, but that led to something else it turns out I like to play with - umbrellas! It is fun to see them pop open, and then when they aren't in use I like to use them like big canes.

I learned how to bow my head to say hello (though I didn't quite pick up konnichiwa). I made new friends-sometimes meeting them when I was playing with trains in a store, or checking out a cool aquarium (to avoid the falling ash outside from the more active volcano near Kagoshima), on trains, or just meeting them in a garden. I tasted a bunch of yummy bread. I took showers in tiny bathrooms. I even saw statues that looked like they were eating because they had bibs on!

It was definitely a cool trip. And while it did take nine days until I slept through the night as I adjusted back to Colorado's time zone, this meant that there is a new part of my bedtime routine which includes shadow puppets singing! I love it.

Back at home I have a lot of fun hanging out with friends, enjoying my time with little B and L and S and I and A. Sometimes we play at the playground, or in the sandbox, or with trucks. Sometimes at my neighbor's house they get out water balloons and that is great fun. Sometimes we sing and get to play with drums (boom boom boom). I especially like the songs where there are motions involved (you know, wheels on the bus, five little monkeys, or the aforementioned shadow puppet motions to the nature-inspired hush little baby song), and I do more of the motions everyday. Speaking of which, when we were in Japan I also saw a lot of buses, which would prompt me to start the wheels on the bus motion and them mom and Appa would sing it for me, making up verses sometimes that fit the surroundings.
 
Since I am really into trains nowadays, we had a fun long weekend with a train theme. This included visiting the train museum in Golden where there is a cool train you can actually ride on (the galloping goose), lots of trains to get into and explore, and even miniature ones that go around in long loops (a medium-speed one, a slow and long one, and Thomas the train who is the fastest). We got to spend some time in the mountains and go on a hike near a cool lake, though the rain kept us from doing more. We also went on the Georgetown loop train on Memorial day - this was my second time on it, and it was even more fun this time. Though the loud whistle is still a little scary.

I am picking up more words - like 'copter' for helicopter (or airplanes since it is hard to tell the difference from so far away). I can say train now (instead of just choo choo). New words come daily (blue, cup, ...).

Ayyamma is back in town, so that is fun. She talks to me in Tamil like Appa, though I haven't really picked up a lot of it yet. 

I am getting better at finding creative ways to climb up on things. Like moving ottomans around to see what is on mom's dresser, or trying to climb the shelves in my closet to get to 'monkey' (or 'frog').

Just a little while ago I got a new bed (check it out in the upper right of the collage below)! I can climb up on this on my own, and I have some cool pillows, a bear, and a green blanket that is a crocodile. Though we are still working on me sleeping in it. It has been about a week and sometimes I fall asleep in in, sometimes not. Tonight I did fall asleep in it though, so that is good!

My final note this month is that pretty soon I am going to be a big brother! Mom keeps saying something about a baby boy in her belly -  I am not exactly sure what this means yet, but mom says I will find out in just over two months. I am pretty sure it will be a neat thing, if an adjustment.

Thank you God for mom and Appa, for grandpa and grandma, for Ayyamma and chitappa, for trains, for slides, for moving water, and for friends. Next time I write, I will be two years old!!

1 year and three quarters!

So, it happened. I started counting my age in years instead of months (though still with the 'three quarters' bit).  Can you believe it?! [Apologies for missing the last few months writing here - it was a busy time. In this post I am interspersing the monthly photo collages, so be sure to read to the end.]

Who am I today you ask? Well you know my age. But that doesn’t tell you much about me. It doesn’t tell you about the cute looks I do with my eyes when I tilt my head down and then look at you with a coy smile. Or about how I love, really love, to jump. On the big couch, the small couch, on the counter if mom will let me, on the bed. Or that one time when mom went to a party and gave me a few bites of cake and how I jumped and jumped in my crib.

Back in December I had fun getting dressed up nicely for some Christmas parties and Christmas mass (Redstoners especially liked my little tan suit). On the day itself I had fun opening presents, including my fun tricycle which I love a lot even if I can't quite reach the pedals. Another fun toy was the hammer and peg set, which I love hammering down and then flipping over to go again. After Christmas we all took a quick trip to visit some cool canyons in Colorado (something like Black Canyon and a national monument).

I got a new car seat in January (I guess I had outgrown my first one since I am now over 32" tall) - part of this transition was to lose my beloved pacifier in the car. But I guess we all need to grow up little by little.

Snow is pretty cool. You can eat it (well if it is clean). You can play in it. You can watch it fall. You can try to listen to its sound. Sometimes you slip in it when you don't want to. But sometimes you purposefully hop on a plastic thing and slip on purpose down a hill - this is fun!

I like to help out a lot. For example, I can put clothes in the dirty laundry, use the sponge to clean up my tray (especially after making a mess eating), turn lights on and off as requested, or put my high chair back in its corner after eating. Oh and I almost forgot sweeping with a broom - pretty much an awesome thing to do.
 

In February I started getting many more teeth - incisors and molars, top and bottom. Now my mouth is almost full of teeth! They definitely help out with chomping down during meals.

I also got to go on a plane trip with mom and Karin to New Orleans for a week in February (mom says that's where we went). I liked staying on a high floor to look out the window and check out the buildings and the mighty Mississippi river, loved loved loved the penguins at the aquarium, and had a blast playing at the children's museum. Oh and there was this really fun jazz band that I got to hang out with and dance a little to their music. Overall a great trip (plus mom got to go on a cool trip with work to an off-shore oil rig).

There are all kinds of words I am trying out as I increase my communications. I like trains a whole bunch, and can say ‘choo choo’ (though not quite ‘train’ yet). The Little Engine That Could is a favorite book. As is, of course, the Little Blue Truck (in the country, but more recently in the city). And ‘truck’ is one of the words I can say (which gets said a lot, as well as ‘car’ – when reading books, when hearing a sound go by outside home, when driving around town). I love to try on all kinds of shoes (any left at the front door are fair game in my opinion), and can say shoes clearly.  I like to point out all kinds of things and say things as I can, like tree and cracker, cheese and ‘cado’ (for avocado, one of my faves!), socks and my standby ‘ball’! Some things are just sounds, like ‘kaaakaaa’ for bird, ‘maaaww’ for cow, ‘roooom’ for airplane, or ‘wooeee’ for the siren/police car. Sometimes signs are still easiest for things like more or apple. And of course pointing still has its place.


At the end of February my au pair Karin left to go join another family. I miss her, but do get to see her sometimes (like when we do Brazilian play dates). But, this big transition opened up a cool new thing that I do – I hang out with other little kids my age a lot now! I’ve got two little guy friends (L and S) plus sometimes girls too (I and A). The boys and I like to play and jump and run around and sometimes rough house together. It is a ton of fun. The first week was a transition and I was a little upset when mom would leave for the day, but now I know how fun the day is so I am happy and give mom a kiss as she heads to work.

Music is my thing – listening and playing things like flutes and drums and xylophones. And dancing is definitely my thing. Turning around, or shaking my hands, or doing a cute shoulder wiggle (Appa taught me this one). In the morning sometimes we will turn on nursery rhymes and dance around (you know, to classics like hokey pokey, five little monkeys jumping on the bed, shake-shake-shake your jiggles out, or if you’re happy and you know it). Weekly at day care there is a cool lady who comes and plays guitar for us and I get to play a drum, dance around, or work on the moves to wheels on the bus go round and round. And then occasionally I start to sing (like in the car. Mom can’t  quite figure out what exactly I am singing, but she loves it).

I like to explore the world and try things out (grandpa likes my curiosity). I like running around. You know I have liked tennis balls for a while – throwing them overhand or underhand. Recently I have really gotten into playing with bigger balls too – like soccer balls. Kicking them and picking them up and chasing after them in the street with my neighbors. Luckily I don’t get too phased when I accidentally fall on the pavement (who puts all those sidewalks around?). I like to climb a bunch too. Up onto chairs and tables. Up the stairs (and down a whole flight on my own!). Up the steps and down the slide in my room (heck even sometimes up the slide). Up the small rock at the playground. Even up the little climbing wall at the playground onto the slide.

I’ve got this one book that I like called My Very Own World Adventure. It is about me traveling around to countries around the world that start with K or A or V or I (you may notice that there are quite a few A’s in my name, so there is one repeat, but mostly they are new places). In the real world, I am working on keeping my adventurous travels going strong. You know about my first trip to India when I was 15 months old. In March (when I was 20 months old) I went on another trip to India with just Appa! We had a good time visiting Ayyamma and uncles and aunties and cousins in Chennai and Madurai. We even stopped in Abu Dhabi along the way. Mom missed us when we were gone (and I missed her too), but overall I grew in a lot of ways and had fun with Appa and family (and mom had some good girl time too).

My next adventure coming up in a few days is going to Japan with mom and Appa. It should be pretty cool. One of my other favorite books is about transportation (thanks Sky!): the first page starts in India, and the last page ends in Tokyo with the bullet train and Mount Fuji in the background. We are going to go there in a ‘roooom’ directly from Denver to Tokyo, then take quick ‘choo choo’s around the country (starting down in Kyushu, checking out volcanoes and castles and temples and the outdoors, and making our way back through Kyoto and Nara and the big busy tall city of Tokyo). I will let you know how it goes!