"Baby talk"

I didn't realize bringing up a kid requires so much energy ...well for a typical, laid back(some would call it lazy:)) Libran like I am, the amount of energy "virtually" seems three fold...

But one adapts and learns to give up those lazy, lounging, napping, tea drinking, book reading, day dreaming, staring at the woods, "thinking of nothing" afternoons and evenings to do more real things like chasing a little one crawling up and down the stairs, indulging in "Uh oh"s, "Eh"s,"MaMa"s,"Dada"s,"Baba"s, "Mimi"s and all forms of baby talk, reading a board book in a sing song tone for the nth time in a day and looking at the little munchkin staring up at you in awe, as if you were creating magic with the words coming out of your mouth....yes, one adapts to the point where while seemingly longing for some alone time, as soon as the little one is out of the home for a stroll with the grandparents, hubby dear out golfing ,15 minutes alone, the quietness and emptiness of the home gets to me and begins to haunt me...and I thought I could do with some quiet time at home, doing yoga and trying to lose all those extra post partum pounds that I have been struggling to shed:)...well looks like the lazy, laid back Libran has gotten too used to all the action at home, after all....

Anyways that's that...little Raya is growing up real fast...she took her first steps across the room all by herself a couple of days back ... her own excitement at the milestone seemed to know no bounds , as she grinned from ear to ear while trying to clap her hands:)....we transitioned her to her own room...that was a particularly difficult step for me....spent quite a few sleepless nights in the process,wanting to make doubly/triply sure that she would be fine....but realized, that step would only get tougher as she grew older....she is already beginning to have a mind of her own, which could be good or bad...it's funny and sometimes awkward, the way this manifests itself... the other day, we were in an elevator at the mall with 5 other people...Ms Raya turns her head all around checking out each of the other 5 people, staring at each of them for at least a second...one round of checking out having been completed, she turns back to person 2, and smiles at her alone, almost as if she was giving that lady alone the endorsement of approval from among all the 5 strangers "oooh, ahhing" at her....a moment of awkwardness for me turned funny, as all 5 of the folks in the elevator burst into laughter at her reaction...other than working on keeping 'D' wrapped around her liitle finger, forming her own likes and dislikes and keeping me on my toes, she is getting royally spoilt by her grandparents, who are visiting :)

As for us, the parents, we are constantly struggling to strike the correct balance of helping Raya follow a routine, while still trying to keep her adaptable...helping her form her likes and dislikes without letting her get into the habit of throwing tantrums...let me tell you those parental skills are tough to master :)...Other than that,I am on "mission weight loss" before we go on our beach vacation...don't know what the fruit of that effort will be...fingers crossed :)

Leaving you with Raya's attempts at letting her hair down and shaking a leg ( or more appropriately, should I say head and hands) to the beats of 'Senorita' ...

Till my next break from hibernation from blogosphere, enjoy the rest of the summer...