My darling, My Sunshine!

          This is an open letter addressed to my daughter on her 3rd birthday. She is so small to understand what I want to let her know so I'm writing for her which she can read when she grows up.

Dearest Swara,
          Hello my darling. It's your birthday today. I can't believe three years ago, you entered my world and made me a mommy. The term which is given a godly status - I am experiencing it to the fullest. 'Children are most dependent on mothers' is an apt saying. But here, I wish to tell you that even I'm dependent on you. Do you want to know how?

• I'm dependent on you to witness all those magical milestones which you have achieved till now and will continue to achieve.
• I'm dependent on you for laughter which is so contagious that one giggle from you when I'm in a foul mood melts my heart away.
• I'm dependent on you to enjoy childhood again with you. It gives me immense joy when I'm spending time with you - through reading, laughing, having silly conversations, watching movies etc. Of course, there are hair-raising moments or moments when I just don't want you to be near me. But, again, remember that this is because I may not want to hurt you or pour someone's anger on you.
• I'm dependent on you for that ray of sunshine which you have brought in my life.

Thank you for filling my life with joy and teaching me that happiness can be found in the most mundane of things.
Have a very happy birthday and looking forward to many many more with you!
God bless you my angel!

Happy 1st birthday!

          Time just flies!....    And now, it's time to rejoice!.......   

          Cause I complete one whole year of blogging here. Yes, I'm experiencing that feeling. How it feels that I have been blogging for the last one year! OK, so what if I have been a bit irregular in it. But still, looking back, it seems that I managed to achieve so much and sail through it.

          Now for the part where I couldn't be regular. Given my just-born professional venture, Reading Rabbits Library, parenting, family, etc., blogging took a backseat! Let me rectify myself here - this blog took a backseat, since I already have a blog dedicated to my venture and I post there often.

          When I started my blog, I was so raw, inexperienced, confused about what to write. I learnt so many things about blogging and continue to learn everyday. I made so many new friendships with awesome bloggers and asked their opinions and sought answers to my queries. I follow so many blogs and am amazed to read their wonderful posts secretly wishing why I couldn't think of that to write or when will I be able to write so well!

          For now, I'm being content and hope to improve myself in the coming year in terms of quality, quantity and my blog design.

          And now, folks, it's time to cut the cake. See you soon!

Image Courtesy : Google Images

 

Day 22 : What I wear?

          Why do toddlers fuss so much about their clothes? In the initial stages, they just do not wish to wear anything whatsoever. A little later, getting them dressed is always a struggle between their moms and them. I face this situation not everyday but every time when there is a 'change of clothes' episode! Hope I'm not the only one in this!

          Long back, BubbleInk Writes and I were having a conversation when she recommended Hippo has a Hat by Julia Donaldson. She said that Swara will love the book. I bought it and when I read it, it was so much fun reading along with the added vocabulary of clothes and their description. The book is so vividly described and full of colours that Swara first listed all the colours on each page and then demanded me to tell the story. Then, we had an impromptu Ramp-walk kind of thing where Swara was draping all sorts of clothes and accessories on herself. Hmm.... I just pray that our battles on clothes have come to an end!

          And this was the prompt for today! Books about clothes! And I'm sure mommies too would have had fun reading these to their kids -

1. Green eggs and ham by Dr. Seuss
2. FunOkPlease's Alphabet dress-up
3. Cat's hat by Jillian Harker
4. Tania's Tutu from Stories for 5 year olds by Igloo Publishers
5. Granny's Sari
6. Hamilton's hats
7. My mother's sari by Sandhya Rao
8. I'm going to be the best super-hero ever by Moira Butterfield
9. Elliot's shoelace problem by Steve Griffiths
10. Mad about costume and fashion - a Ladybird mini series book
11. Where's the cat? by Manjula Padnabham
12. The very hungry caterpillar
13. The ugly duckling
14. Picture book on different types of clothes in different seasons
15. Clara Button and the magical hat
16. Naked rat mole gets dressed by Mo Willems  
17. Sloppy Joe by Dave Keane
18. The smartest giant in town by Julia Donaldson
19. Fanny by Holly Hobbie
20. Caillou's favourite T-shirt
21. Olivia by Ian Falconer
22. Chulbul's tail from Pratham
23. Water stories from Tulika
24. Hippo has a hat by Julia Donaldson
25. Pepper stays away
26. Beautiful bananas
27. Go dog go by P. D. Eastman
28. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish by Dr. Seuss
29. If you give a moose a muffin
30. Jim's dog muffins by Miriam Cohen
31. Three little pigs
32. A friend of Ella
33. How many sleeps till my birthday
34. Things to wear
35. Little red riding hood (the Grimm brothers)
36. The Queen's nickers by Nicholas Allan
37. Room on the broom
38. Patch's coat
39. Thomas and Bertie from Thomas and the tank engine
40. The moon and the cap from Pratham
41. The smartest giant in town by Carolina Almeida
42. You look funny by Jim Kom
43. Dr. Seuss' Fox in socks
44. Under the ground from Usborne reading
45. Goldilocks and three bears
46. Llama llama shopping drama by Anna Dewdney
47. The shiny red shoes from Stories for 3 year olds by Igloo
48. Help Mia get ready for bed
49. Seasons by Sesame Street
50. Splish splash baby bundt
51. Norbus' new shoes

Happy reading!

Day 17: Colors!

          Ever wondered what if our life was just a shade of black and white? The coolness of the ocean, the liveliness of daffodil fields, the greenery surrounding the mountains would become so lifeless and seem like a movie of the black and white era!

          Colors give us myriad forms of emotions and break the monotony of life! Hence, after the prompt of emotions, it was rightly decided by Bubbleink Writes to have a prompt on colors. Today, being Holi, It couldn't have been more apt! Here is the list of colorful books read in the challenge -

1. Brown bear brown bear, what do you see? by Eric Carle
2. The mixed-up chameleon by Eric Carle
3. Babe and the bunny
4. Ranganna
5. The boy who loved color
6. Pranav's picture
7. My colorful pencils by Massoumeh Ansarian from Pratham
8. Colors in my world by Devika Rangachari
9. Casper the chameleon
10. The color kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
11. Amma tell me about Holi
12. The mountain that loved the bird
13. I love colors by Hans Wilhelm - Scholastic reader 1
14. Mouse paint by Ellenstoll Walsh
15. A rainbow of my own by Don Freeman
16. The artist who painted a blue horse by Eric Carle
17. Color zoo by Louis Elhert
18. Run pumpkin run
19. Patrick by Quentin Blake
20. Elmer and the big bird
21. New tricks I can do from Cat in the Hat series
22. Three friends by Indu Harikumar
23. Head to toe by Eric Carle
24. Bubbles finds a red ball
25. First concepts - colors
26. Wise and otherwise by Sudha Murty
27. Purple Jojo
28. Brahma's butterfly
29. Elmer's colors by David McKee
30. Tom Thumb - read-aloud book from Sterling
31. I see colors
32. Blue chameleon
33. Prahlad - the story of Holi
34. Little honey
35. The very quiet cricket by Eric Carle
36. The king and his wish
37. Who is the prettiest? by Janaki Sooriyachchi
38. One hundred feet
39. Lazy Lenny
40. I'll teach my dog a lot of words!
41. Hamilton's hat
42. Color color kamini from Tulika
43. Llama llama red pyjama by Anna Dewdney
44. Brown paper bear by Neil Reed
45. The blue jackal from Panchatantra tales
46. The rainbow monster by Ul de Rico
47. Rhinoceros bathtime (let's go to zoo series)

         There were a lot of repetitions so the books read are less today. The repetitions include Ranganna, Amma tell me about Holi, The color kittens, brown bear brown bear what do you see? and the mixed-up chameleon.

Happy reading!  

Day 13 : Wonder wheels

          Children are fascinated with whichever thing that moves be it a train, a toy or a bus. I remember whenever we used to go on long journeys to my native place by bus or train, I would be dozing off to sleep by occupying the most-prized possession - the window seat! And then, when my sister came along, I cannot the forget the silly fights we used to have over who will take the window first. Ultimately, my mother decided that she will be tossing a coin for us. So, we used to ask her the duration of the journey and calculate accordingly how much time will one get at the window!

          Coming back to our challenge, we received a prompt - wonder wheels! We had to read books on modes of transport! This topic is not covered extensively with Swara simply because we have travelled only by plane and car till now. Guess, it's time to take her on a train journey!

          So, mommies, fasten your seat belts and get ready to experience the exciting reading journey! Bon Voyage!

1. The magic school bus
2. Bears on wheels by Stan & Jan Berenstain
3. Hello kitty, play I spy
4. Mrs. Armitage on wheels
5. Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel
6. Usborne Internet-linked Ancient World
7. The adventures of Toto the auto
8. Jack and the beanstalk
9. The runaway wheel by Asha Nehemiah
10. The little red caboose by Marian Potter
11. The salt merchant and his ass from Mango
12. Rambling Ted's brilliant invasion by Lindsay Camp
13. Richard Scarry's Cars and trucks and things that go
14. The great race from Tara
15. Thomas and the tank engine
16. When Titus took the train by Ann Cottringer
17. Bears on the moon by Satn & Jan Berenstain
18. Thomas' busy day     
19. Snoring Shanmugham from Tulika
20. Thomas' big book of beginner books
21. The train to Timbuctoo by Margaret Wise Brown
22. Dan the fireman
23. Peter steals the jeep
24. Autocar magazine
25. Vehicles board book
26. Siri's smile by Tulika
27. A silly story of Bonadapalli
28. Bell the cat from My best moral stories
29. The fossil girl
30. My truck is stuck by Kevin Lewis
31. Wheels on the bus rhymes
32. transportation picture book
33. The princess and the pea - read aloud treasure tales by Sterling
34. Little blue truck by Alice Schertle
35. Thomas, Bertie and the bumpy line
36. The railway children
37. The fat controller
38. Thomas and friends series
39. Roaring rockets
40. The little red bus from Stories for 1 year olds by Igloo
41. The little blue train from Stories for 1 year olds by Igloo
42. Curious George and the firefighters
43. Disney cars - racing colours
44. The very hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
45. The timid train from Pratham books
46. Satya's boat from Tulika
47. The flying train by Janaki Sooriyachchi
48. Mr. Twiddle and the tooth-paste by Enid Blyton
49. On the way to Sesame Street
50. Bus for Miss Moss from Usborne
51. Thomas the train
52. Disney's jungle junction
53. Noddy and the naughty paint truck
54. Billy the bulldozer
55. When I care about others by Cornelia Spelman
56. Baby's first library words

         You can now unfasten your seat-belts as we have arrived at our destination!  The most read books fro this prompt were The Adventures of Toto the auto series, the runaway wheel and Thomas Series!

          We too read the adventures of Toto the auto, Runaway wheel and two short stories featuring a train and a bus from Stories for 1 year olds by Igloo Publishers.

Happy reading! 

Day 7 : Barnyard

          Day 7's prompt reminded me of my summer vacations spent in a small village at my maternal grand-father's beautiful home. Since he had an aversion to pets and was hearing impaired, no pets were allowed in the home. Hence, our curious minds used to wander off to our neighbour's home where there was a cow-shed, and all sorts of animals used to reside very happily. The friendly neighbours didn't mind our poking noses nor our silly questions! We were ever ready to give a helping hand to them though from a safer distance lest the cow's tail will flutter and land on us! Thanks, Bubble Ink Writes for such a beautiful prompt.

          Though, I didn't have a proper barnyard book, we somehow made it up with reading The country mouse and the town mouse, The little red hen and Ken the calf, a small animal board book. Others read these many -

1. Ru ru raag (hindi) Translation of Rooster Raga
2. Moo, baa, la, la, la by Sandra Boynton
3. My perfect pony
4. The mouse with seven tails by Bapsi Sidhwa
5. Animal stories
6. Bremen town musicians
7. The jolly barnyard by Annie North Bedford
8. The happy man and his dump truck by Miryam
9. The animal's Christmas Eve By Gale Wiersum
10. Goodnight moon by Margaret Wise Brown
11. Hic!
12. Rooster Raga by Natasha Sharma
13. Bulgy rides again from Thomas series
14. Atchoo by Mij Kelly
15. What the ladybird heard by Julia Donaldson
16. The gruffalo's child by Julia Donaldson
17. I don't want to go to bed by Julie Sykes
18. The naughty mole from Timelife
19. Snoring Shanmughaan from Tulika
20. Geronimo Stilton - The kingdom of fantasy
21. Chicken little from Illustrated Animal Stories by Usborne
22. Topsy And Tim go to the farm
23. Mr. Brown can moo, can you? by Dr. Seuss
24. Kannagi from ACK
25. Chocolate mousse for greedy goose by Julia Donaldson
26. Pepper meets his new neighbours
27. Gauri and the talking cow by Devdutta Patnaik
28. Love you forever by Robert Munsch
29. Who's in the bathroom? by Jeanne Willis
30. Guess how I much I love you by Sam Mcbratney
31. Farm animals picture book
32. The lion and the mouse
33. On the farm by Brown Watson publishers
34. The great goat chase by Tony Bonning
35. The story of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
36. The rabbit who liked to crunch (the clever factory)
37. Christmas Star
38. The little red hen
39. Ken the calf
40. The town mouse and the country mouse
41. Big red barn by Margaret Wise Brown
42. Little blue truck by Alice Schertle & Jill McElmurry
43. The three little pigs
44.  Barney's ABC animals from Scholastic
45. Clorinda by Robert Kinerck
46. The happy lion by Louise Fatio
47. Harry the dirty dog
48. Barney goes to the fair
49. Barney goes to the doctor
50. Picnic farm by Christine Morton & Sarah Barringer
51. Busy farm from Lego Duplo
52. Babloo helps bikki fly
53. Not Norman, a gold-fish story by Kelly Bennett
54. Rooster and the sun
55. Hello Oscar
56. Bubbles owns up
57. The elephant wears the trouser
58. My 'w' book by Jane Belk Manicure
59. Officer Buckle and Gloria - a Caldecott winner
60. Busy farm - 3D story magnets book

Till next time,
Happy reading!

7 precious gifts!

Hi my dear hubby, today it is our 7th wedding anniversary. Hence, on this occasion, I would like to thank you for the 7 gifts which you have given me -

        FRIENDSHIP - As the saying goes, Friendship can turn into love but love into friendship never. So, thank you for being my best friend in whom I could confide my dreams, inhibitions and fears!

        LOVE - Thank you for entering my life and filling it up with lots of love. I pray to God that our lamp of love may always be illuminated!

        TRUST - Thank you, once again, for showing me how to trust our instincts even if others are in disagreement. You remember na my parents were against our marriage!

        PATIENCE - Again, it was because of you, I learnt the value of patience. Waiting patiently for my parents' nod of approval was one of the toughest times of our life! Also, it was because of your love and care that I could sail through my pregnancy period patiently!

        COMPASSION - You knew that I was vey much afraid of dogs and didn't take to pets so fondly. When I married you and came to live with you, you showed me how to be compassionate with our pets - Roger and Mithu.

        RESPECT - After our initial honey-moon period ended and we settled into our marital life, you showed me how to respect each other's opinions and views.

        HOPE - When there were initial glitches in our pre-pregnancy period, you taught me to not lose hope during that stressful period. God showered his blessings upon us in form of our beautiful daughter, SWARA.

        And lastly, you taught me to fight for whatever we believe in! 
 

        So, here's wishing you a wonderful happy 7th anniversary!