Rule #1: Parents name their babies and not the other way round

Yet their strength and their speed are still based in a world that is built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.

(Morpheus, in "The Matrix")

In general we the parents name their babies and tell them their and our names. Aarush started speaking and remembering words a few months back (Mumma is the first word) and I was happy that he learnt to pronounce my name quite clearly. But these are just the rules or mere guidelines. And rules are meant to be bent. A couple of weeks back, Aarush suddenly started calling me with a different name. And from that day onwards I did not hear "Neerav" from him. The new name is "Neennu". For past four years my wife was looking for a nick name for me, I think now she has found one.

The day when mankind discovered wheels

The battery driven scooter which my son got on his first birthday still continues to be a passion for him even after 7 months..
Every morning the first thing he wants to do is take a ride on it...He has figured out that the more the pressure used to press the pedal, the more the desired speed..
Though besides driving the scooter on all its wheels, Aarush has figured out different ways of driving it...
Out of the three wheels, one is battery operated and two are manual, till few days back he used put the scooter on its one side and manually rotate the wheel.....and if the side too had to be according to his wish...
These days, he choses the side which has automatic wheel up, pushes the pedal and enjoys the scooter in motion.....SIDEWAYS!!!

Father's Day

I was in Washington, DC for a week on an official trip so was away from Aarush for about 10 days or so. When I met him after returning, he was a bit shy and was not able to contain his joy. 06/15 was Father's day but we celebrated Father's Week. Aarush being 18 months old can not buy any materialistic gift for me but had certain things up his sleeve.

The best gift for a dad would be that his kids learn new skills. I'll give you guys a glimpse of what he learnt in past couple of weeks:

1. Acupressure: As per dictionary acupressure means "treatment of symptoms by applying pressure with the fingers to specific pressure points on the body". I have 5 moles on my face. Aarush recently learned acupressure (I don't know how) and applies his skills on all of them.
2. Self Defense: Aarush goes to a nearby town park every evening. These days that park is full of kids of all shapes, sizes and age. Usually, there is a group of (older) kids who practice judo (or any other for of martial arts, they all look the same). Aarush observes them daily for about 10-15 minutes and tries to imbibe whatever he can. We got to know about his newly acquired skill a couple of days back when he demonstrated it at home and was looking damn cute when he uttered those "hooo-haaa" while waving his hands.
3. Responsible These days Aarush's mom is in Maryland and would be returning in first week of July. But while she's not here, Aarush takes care that I do not forget her. He reminds me daily about her side of bed and doesn't let me sleep on that side.

Dance with me!

Last week was my cousin's wedding, and as it is with other weddings in India, there was lots of music and dance.
We all cousins prepared a small musical skit with lots of practice sessions.

Aarush enjoyed himself immensely and thats not all participated in all this actively..
And now his love for music and dance has increased many folds..

Whenever he listens a dancing beat, up go his hands and and he starts moving them. Thats not all whomsoever is present in the vicinity has to dance with him...

He doesn't speak but he expresses it all...The expressions, his movements, the tone of his voice.......

Even more fun are the ring tones, specially my sisters. Whenever he meets here Mausi, the only thing he wants her to do is play that ringtone , get on the floor and dance with him!!

A pure joyful moment!!!