I read this post by Tharini and was surprised that it sounded very similar to what is happening on home turf. I started on a comment, but as the comment was getting as big as a post, I decided to do a copycat and a little more post.

Infant used to wake up at 3.00AM, which was the time she picked out to poop. The room was so full of stink and I used to get up and change her fearing that I might suffocate to death by inhaling the vapour! This trend continued till she was 6 months. Now a days she has decide to poop at 5.30AM and when ever I am in a hurry to go out. The more pressed I am for time, the messier and bigger the poop. Couple of times I had to postpone my appointment to give her a bath.

Toddler and infant sleep together, infant in her crib and toddler on the bed. I lay them down and kiss them good night. They discuss world issues and parent torture techniques for some time and fall asleep. They both want the hall way light on when they sleep. Infant sings herself to sleep only in the afternoon.

Infant crawls to hubby, clutches his legs and as soon as he lifts her, she opens her mouth and bites his cheeks with her toothless mouth. Her way of kissing him. Hubby must start watching out for those four sharp teeth coming out. The two of the four are on her upper canine, she looks like countess dracula.

I stared infant on solids at four months. With toddler I waited till she was 5 months and struck to Gerber. Same way, once in a while I didn’t mind infant tasting regular milk(before the 12 month deadline) and candy. With toddler I was very very strict with what I put in to her tummy!

Infant was very fussy about sitting in car seat. My parents used to sit next to her and entertain her. My biggest fear was driving around town with a screaming child, but magically she decided to behave once my parents left. She clutches her feet and talk to her toes and keeps herself busy the whole time she is in the car seat. A week back, for some reason I put her in toddler’s front facing carseat instead of her rear facing carseat. She was quite thrilled by the change. Ever since she has been looking at toddler’s front facing carseat with lust.

Whenever I switch on upbeat music, infant bites her lower lips and starts shaking her head to the rhythm. Stage two is moving the whole upper body from side to side like a pendulum. It looks just like one of those Chettiar bommais you see in golu.

I make the kids say good morning Ganesha and few other Goddess’s names as soon as they wake up in the morning. Since toddler is named after a Goddess, she thinks there is a God/Goddess after every single person on earth. She asks me to show her, for example Goddess Rita or Goddess Molly. I am running out o Gods and Goddesses.

Toddler makes up lots of songs to the tune of her favorite nursery rhymes. Even simple statements like can we go sit in the car seat gets made up in to a song, “Can we sit in car seat? Can we sit in car seat? My dear amma, my dear amma. Can we go home now, can we go home now, my dear amma, my dear amma” (Tune: Are you thumbkin song/Are you sleeping song?) Sometimes I am speechless by her ability to fill a tune with words. Both self and her day care provider make up silly songs all the time. I really don’t know if she makes it all by herself or if she picked it up from me/ day care.

Toddler calls herself “Toddler shortcake” (after Strawberry shortcake) and infant “infant dumpling”(after Apple Dumpling, Strawberry shortcake’s sister). I am amma baby and hubby is appa dumpling.

When I read toddler a book, if she sees two of the same kind, say two elephants, she immediately says, “Amma this is toddler elephant, this is infant elephant”.