3.5 yrs: Potty, rides for Thambi, and a gingerbread house

My big news this month is that I use the potty now ('mostly' regularly). Do you know what helped me make the leap? Underwear with Batman and Superman and other fun stars! And Lego underwear! (That bribing thing with the gummies was good in concept, but it didn't lead to action.)

I like giving Thambi a ride on my tricycle, and he has a lot of fun too.

December was the season to prepare for Christmas. When I came home and Amma had already put up the Christmas tree, I immediately wanted to make a gingerbread house! (I remembered this from last year). Amma and I spent a few days making my gingerbread house (see the pic below), though I suppose I did consume a few too many of the house accoutrements.

I love lights, especially in the dark; they are so crucial and beautiful and illuminating in many ways. There were many trees with lights: at home (one small, one big), around town, and at the Botanical Gardens in Denver.

The week before Christmas I hung out with Nicole for a few days. She brought paints so I painted!

Christmas day itself was fun. Thambi and I both got a tennis racquet; we play inside the house mostly with them. I received a lot of trains from my second cousins (Petey's old trains). But the best present was the motorcycle from Grandpa! It even has a back shock.

We finished up the month with ... hockey! We went down to see Takaji playing and it was fast-paced.  Now we play it at home in the kitchen with a magnet as a puck and big spoons as sticks.

Thank you God for hockey, motorcycles, gingerbread, and family.

3.4 yrs: Astronauts, hiking, and Thanksgiving

This month we settled back into life in Boulder and Colorado.

The museum of nature and science is a favorite place of mine - especially the space area! I like dressing up as a NASA Commander and piloting the ship. There are also all kinds of fun things to do in the discovery zone, like play with lights and move balls around by spinning wheels.

We went to Red Rocks with grandpa and went hiking with him in the flatirons. We visited grandma at her new memory care center.

I actually tried to ski at Brainard Lake - Appa and Amma were holding my hands though since the skis are slippery! Pretty quickly, Appa took me on his back. Truth be told it was a little chilly up there, even with my snow suit on. The mountains were beautiful though.

Over Thanksgiving break, Nicole came up and we played for a few days! She made playdough. We even hung out with Suzy one day and went to the Aquarium downtown Denver. On Thanksgiving itself, we had a good party at Eryn and Steve's house with lots of family. And I hung out with friends (including Kwayedza) at an alternative Thanksgiving party at Nii Armah's house the day after. 

Thank you God for good health, time to play, and family to love.

3.3 yrs: India!, Zurich, and a farm

This month we all had a big adventure - traveling to India! We primarily went for Thambi's mottai (head shaving) and so he could meet family. This was actually my fourth trip to India (first for my mottai, then two other times with Appa).

On the way to India we stopped in Zurich, Switzerland for a few days. This helped us get used to different time zones, have fun in and around the city (especially on all the fun trams), and even see snow leopards (in the zoo). I was sleeping for the fondue and the boat rides though, so I missed those.

In Mumbai, we took a fun boat ride in the harbor and I got to climb the stairs to the top. The wind was especially nice given that it was quite warm. For future reference, using Uber for rides was extremely convenient - Appa just looked them up on his phone and we were off!

Around Pune, the hills (and Appa) showed us interesting and literally cool caves way up on a hillside, crabs walking sideways (& one too baked by the sun!), one snail, butterflies, beautiful flowers, and very green hillsides. Though there were no waterfalls as the monsoon has just ended.

A trip to Shivaji's fort up on a hill showed us a beautiful view (there were also high cliffs in the olden days that were used to thwart enemies or punish wrong doers). Anna Paritosh and I had a lot of fun running around. For future reference on driving in India - the bus always has right of way no matter how crazy his actions (he is big, he wins). Unfortunately our fender hadn't quite learned that lesson (this was a little startling, though Amma was surprisingly relaxed about thambi and I with some freedom in the back seat.)

I really enjoyed a visit to Appa's friends' organic farm outside of Chennai. They had a huge well, banana trees, papaya trees, rice growing, a tool to open coconuts, interesting things to eat, a home they had mostly built themselves, and plenty of open space to play in. We also visited their friend next door (who was still working on his house).

Overnight train was how we traveled from Chennai to Madurai - awesome, non? I was pretty excited and played with kids the bunk over, but eventually had to calm down and slept with Appa on the bunk while Thambi slept with Amma.

My cousin in Madurai had a lot of fun toys to play with: toys that actually pump water, cricket bats (I would also point out when others were playing cricket as we were driving around), bubbles to pop (did you know that bubbles that last much longer in the humid air?), scooters with angular momentum propulsion, and many more. They also had a swing just like the one at Ayyamma's house (which is my favorite!). Plus auntie made my favorite cookies.

We had the chance to visit Kotaikanal up in the mountains. The drive up was beautiful and a little crazy (picture the road to Hana on Maui, but now go up a mountain as well, and then add Indian drivers and the usual mix of buses, cars, and motorbikes). There was a huge waterfall on the way up, the temperatures were 'cool', I went on my first paddle boat trip, got scared by a cow, saw many monkeys, ate freshly roasted corn, 'rode' (or was pushed) on a bike, and even had some local chocolate. Luckily I slept on the way down (while Amma observed our crazy fast driver passing as many people as he could, avoiding the occasional cow on the road when needed).

I thought I would mention the story behind the flute. One time we were out shopping, and periappa Sam bought me a little wooden flute. This turned out to be quite useful because I went off down one aisle by myself and amma and periappa Sam and cousin Mirun found me by my playing the flute. Thereafter, Sam would ask me - where is my flute? And I would tell him 'In the room!' (as I had left it in the room).

The main event (Thambi's mottai and celebration) went quite well. We look alike when you compare us at the same age - check out my photos from my mottai two years ago. I was glad I didn't need to get my head shaved though.

Travel was hard sometimes though. There were times when I missed home (and would let Amma and Appa know that 'I want to go home'). I would act out a bit if tired or hungry. My 'tackle hugs' of thambi weren't always well received. And sometimes Appa and Amma would resort to biscuits, chocolate, or new lightning McQueen sandals for bribes. But we all made it through.

We finished the trip back in Chennai (after another overnight train). I got to visit crocodiles and alligators and even the ocean. There was a LOT of swinging on Ayyamma's swing in her house. And we visited with more of Appa's friends.

Finally, a few of my new or frequent phrases this month are: 'Shoooot!' 'Tam tam' (as I hit a ball with a bat - or at least pretend to). 'Turn left!' 'Green means Go!' ... and "Appa -- mottai! Thambi -- mottai! Kavi? No mottai!" (Check out Thambi's blog for a picture of his freshly-shaven look).

Thank you God for family, trains, scooters, bananas, headphones, running shoes, and brothers.

3.25 yrs: Lake Michigan, many likes, and boats

We kicked the month off with an airplane ride (one of my favorite things) to Michigan to visit Appa's friends from school. I had fun meeting some new people, hanging out with some friends I had met before, eating yummy food, and getting my face painted (first time). The best part was hiking along Lake Michigan with its clear blue waters, warming up to the idea that you could go in it, throwing rocks into the water, and playing (and climbing and hiking) on the nearby sand dunes. I also enjoyed reading maps and trying to figure out where we were hiking.

I like trees. Don likes trees. Barbara likes trees. Corbin likes trees. Isla likes trees. ... Batman likes trees! (you might hear me opine about something along these lines any given day) Or it might be I like hummus! or I like chairs. And one of the cute things I say (per Amma) is No please. Oh and my new word this month is eclipse, for the Blood Moon eclipse that was near the end of the month - it was beautiful and amazing!

Grandpa took me out on a boat in a big big lake (Dillon) up in the mountains one weekend and I had a blast. The weather was perfect, the sky blue, and the wind wasn't too strong. I even got to drive the boat! Plus Grandpa started showing me some knots for the rope, and then we did some pretend fishing with the line.

I really figured out the pedals on my tricycle this month and my cruising on the balance bike increased substantially. Amma even has to run to keep up with me on our way to the McGregor's in the morning.

The McGregor's house is as fun as ever, especially the last week because there were a lot of trucks right out front putting in new pipes in the street!

I started a dance class with my friends Isla and Ara too - it took a while for some of us to warm up, but we stuck together in solidarity until everyone was ready to join the group. We do all kinds of fun world dances.

We are all off to India for most of October - I am so excited!

Thank you God for boats, bicycles, grandparents, fishing, sand, friends, my Thambi, and jumping.

3.2 yrs: Biking, Pike's peak (AND a train), and climbing

I am learning to love the freedom of riding a bike! It is my first one, so it is actually a 'balance' bike (Strider), so it doesn't have pedals. This month things finally clicked for me (I have actually been pushing it around the living room for a year or so) - anyway, now I get it! It was one fine summer evening in North Boulder park where I sat down on the seat and cruised. Now I can't get enough of it. I like to ride it to school pretty much every day. Though coming home I sometimes get tired after picking up Thambi (and Amma carries it the rest of the way home). If I am having a rough morning, Amma just mentions the bike, and I head to the door, grab my helmet, put on my shoes, and sometimes even grab my backpack. Every day I get a little faster, or figure out how to go over bigger bumps in the sidewalk, or figure out how to cruise and go around a corner. It is just awesome. And I started to figure out how to use pedals on my tricycle too! Some more time perfecting these two skills and eventually I can combine them.

At the beginning of the month we all went down to Colorado Springs for a fun triumvirate: hiking around the stunning Garden of the Gods (and getting to crawl through a crack in the rocks), exploring the literally cool (55F) Cave of the Winds with its small chambers and neat stalactites, and the highlight: taking the cog railway waaay up to the tippy top of Pike's Peak (my first 14er!). Rachel and family joined us, and we all had a great time.

As I previewed last month, Nastja (from Germany) visited again for a week after her tour of the west coast. The only downside was that I wanted to get on an airplane when we picked her up and dropped her off at the airport. We had fun around Boulder, checked out ducks in the ponds, enjoyed Meadow Music at Chautauqua, ate yummy food that Ayyamma made, ventured up into the mountains around Brainard Lake, and finished off the week with a trip to the zoo with Grandpa.

A few other highlights from this month include climbing trees at Don and Barbara's house (not too high just yet, but I love it), climbing the ladder at home with my saw to 'trim' the tree, commenting on all of the cranes! and trucks! that are helping build buildings and roads around Boulder, celebrating Grandpa's birthday with Amma and Thambi and Grandma, and going hiking up in the mountains.

Thank you God for cog railways, caves, trees, saws, bicycles, and sunglasses.
 

3.1 years: Tetons, Rockies, and Georgetown

On my birthday proper I was actually up in the Tetons in Wyoming! (I was there for my first birthday as well). We were there for a wedding celebration of Amma's coworker; I enjoyed the music and parties. We also had a great trip taking the Jackson Hole tram to the top of a cool mountain. We saw some para-gliders taking off from the top (and saw them land at the bottom too). Plus there was yummy ice cream on the Fourth of July and other kids with which to play.

For birthday presents, my favorite was a baseball mitt, bat, and a few balls! Appa, Amma, Thambi and I also took the bus to Denver for my first Baseball game (Rockies!). I brought my mitt and watched some of the game, though my favorite part was seeing people swing and hit balls in the batting cages. I received a lot of other neat things as well, including a basketball, a cool book on trains, a rocket that you operate with water (and it shoots waaay up in the sky), magnets, other books, legos, and of course some trains and cars.

Playing with Thambi is lots of fun. We play at home, on the slide in our room, on a pretend train, on Mopy my big stuffed dog, or with big legos. I like to make him laugh.

My first au pair Nastja visited from Germany. It was great to see her again - I hadn't seen her since I was 15 months old, and even that was a short visit in Frankfurt (she took care of me from 3 months to 7 months). She was here for one week in July and we got to do a lot of fun things together. The first of which was to go on the Georgetown train, a favorite of mine! (I think she enjoyed the beautiful scenery in the mountains, the fun train trip, as well the mac-n-cheese for lunch.) She comes back for one week in August too.

We had a big birthday party for me and Thambi. Everyone was there. We celebrated in Martin Park with the playground right there. Appa, Ayyamma, and Chittappa cooked food for us. And Saori made cakes for me and Thambi. There were water guns to play with, and I only lost one balloon. Pretty awesome.

Check out the photo below with my helmet and spacepack on - I am all ready for takeoff! We visited the Museum of Nature and Science and I liked the space section a lot. My rocket that I mentioned earlier contributes to this fun exploration, as does Don when he tells us about space.

Thank you God for baseball, trams, friends, trains, Amma, Appa, and Thambi.

3 years! Vocations, camping, and crayfish

I tried out a few different callings this month. For example: handyman or builder. I like to take apart a new airplane I received and try to put it back together. Or build men or animals with my new legos. They are building a house near to Don and Barbara's house - I love watching it go up and it inspires me. I put a screwdriver in my pocket, grab a saw, and complete my ensemble with work goggles. In a similar vein, I also enjoy tree trimming (and climbing ladders to get to the trees).

Another combination I tried out was chef and waiter. I try to be creative with foods (cracker? cracker and cheese? cookie? dosai?) and warn the eater if it might be too hot. One evening when we were camping, I kept Appa and Amma up for quite a while going back to the car (kitchen) for the food and delivering the air food to their hands.

I might just be a Star Wars fighter though, because I enjoy sparring.

As I previewed above, we went camping twice this month. Tents are just awesome. We also went with other families so I could play a bunch. Some people brought fun things like bubbles to play with. And then there was hiking near a cool river, petting llamas, getting sprayed from a lovely waterfall, enjoying fires and even more the Smores. We even saw a real live moose (though it was a little far away)!

Don showed me how to catch a crayfish from the stream (Bear Creek). You can use nets and get them from the area near the bridge (near the playground). It is important to watch out for their little snappers though!

A few other highlights from this month included getting to drive a big huge truck and sit in a helicopter at "Touch a truck" day, racing little boats with Grandpa on his stream, playing with Thambi at home, and wearing my backpack to school.

My 3-year stats were as follows: 30.5 lbs (30%) and just over 3 feet tall (36.75").

Thank you God for goggles, light sabers, backpacks, tents, friends, trucks, boats, and brothers.