Phuket etc.

We went with Raghav to Phuket recently, and it was seriously a great time to travel with him again. He used to be great when he was a small baby, and I sill remember our perfect Gran Canaria holiday where he slept in his pram right in the middle of the hotel's restaurant. But then it became more and more difficult as he was too excited to sleep in new surroundings, no matter how tired he was. Also, without a proper afternoon nap, he was a disaster to be around. But this time in Thailand, he was really great to be with. He was interested in what we were seeing -- he had had some exposure when we travelled to Bellur near Bangalore and he was touching and feeling all the statues in the temples and getting excited at identifying the Ganesh or Nandi or Shivji or Hanuman or Krishna etc. This time also he was great when we took the canoe and had to lie down to go inside caves etc. He was so excited and interested and enthusiastic about everything he saw. He was also great with the food, as his appetite has now quite stabilised -- he still loves his rice and soup, and will eat it everyday of every week.

Also, the actual travelling with him on a flight has become slightly more bearable as we now let him watch the iPad for a bit. Of course he always wants to do more than a bit and then gets into trouble with me because of that. When I took him on my own to Delhi-Fatehpur this time, he was literally fighting sleep and would force his eyes open as soon as they started closing. He finally slept for about 20 minutes on a 5.5 hour trip. But trains, thankfully, he thinks are for sleeping since the Delhi-Fatehpur train is an overnight one. He says there are beds inside and that we will all sleep there. Poor boy kept saying to me "excuse me mamma" all night this time on our way back to Fatehpur on the train since the berths are so thin and he and I have to share.

He's also become stricter with his habits now. Mornings are only for Daddy, as daddy goes to get him for the cot and then they spend some time together before I wake up. If I ever go to pick him from his cot, he tells me "you go!" and only wants his daddy. Same after his afternoon naps. (He's started waking up more and more often with a bad mood and it seems only TV can fix it.. or very seldom some sort of calculated distraction will work.) He stopped having his milk from a bottle when he was about 2.5 years, and now eats cereal when he wakes up, sometimes with milk -- which is a big step from his only milk breakfast all this while. Again, before sleeping at night only Mamma will do, and he also doesn't like it if sometimes Daddy lays him down in bed even though I'm around in the room. he makes me pick him up again, kiss and cuddle for a bit "like a baby" and then put him down in his cot. I then have to sit beside his bed and pat him for a few minutes before I can come out. It used to be tougher till a while ago and he would call me back again and again and want to be picked up etc. But now he seems to get it that this really is his time to sleep and that that's non-negotiable. I've had to have a talk with him about how he's now a big boy and that he must sleep on his own now and that Mamma will not come now when you call me. (He sleeps by 9pm now and wakes up anywhere between 7 and 8am.)

He likes going to school, but I think he's a bit lazy to get dressed and actually leave the house. He said that also once, "I'm lazy" when Nalin asked him what the matter was. He likes going to school, but I think he's a bit lazy to get dressed and actually leave the house. He said that also once, "I'm lazy" when Nalin asked him what the matter was. We dropped him at his class the other day and had to go right up to the class because of the HFMD screening, and all the naughty kids in the class came out to meet him. It was the cutest thing! They all said hi to us and were looking on curiously as Raghav was getting checked. Later, another girl Dawn came in wearing sunglasses and they were all very curious about those as well. Raghav talks more of his friends now and who's his friend in class and who isn't. He's also very excited when he meets a friend at the playground and tries to follow what the other is doing.

He's now got into the habit of brushing his teeth in the morning and night after shi-shi -- he doesn't struggle anymore when I give him one brush for himself which he uses just to eat the toothpaste, while I do the actual brushing with the other brush. He's become very opinionated about the water for his shower though, since we went to Ftp and he discovered very hot weather where once drank cold water and took baths with cold water. So now he demands cold water even though in Singapore one can have the water slightly warm.. So we always end up having an argument and he always ends up crying and me always telling him I'm never going to give him a shower again etc. He also briefly started demanding cold milk straight out of the fridge, and I didn't mind because the weather is usually quite warm and one can have a cold drink.. but he still continues to like only plain milk with no sugar and doesn't like me adding Milo or Roohafzah either.

Trying something different..

He's so great in the water now. He's going for swimming lessons and really enjoys them. He's so comfortable in the water and doesn't mind when his head is inside the water. At the beaches in Phuket, he would be singing a song and a wave would go over his face and he would come out of it finishing the song. He also loves the beach and playing with the sand... although he can be quite finicky about the sand sticking to his body and in his clothes. In fact he's really obsessive about his clothes being clean and dry and makes me change as soon as something drops on them. He got slightly better with it at the end of the Ftp trip this time, when we told him it will dry in the fresh air (of the fan or cooler) and sometimes he listened.