Pranay - the life of our house...

After 10 years of having my first blessing in the form of a darling son, we were blessed for the second time with a son! We all were let down for a while about the fact that it was not a girl child which we really pined for. Then we came to terms and started focusing on this baby. We had not thought of a name for a boy. So, after searching the net and rounds and rounds of discussions (as though we were naming some important Government Operation), we finally liked and landed on the name 'Pranay' which means 'Love'. And lovable, he is...

Since then, the whole house revolves around this little soul...the way he is growing by the hour is just amazing. He is a darling for his "most-pampered-until-he-arrived" big brother. It is so nice to see the brothers cuddle, fight or play.

Until 5 months, he was such a dumb thing just coo-cooing and babbling. From his sixth month, his vocabulary and his actions and activities have taken a phenomenal leap. He talks and comprehends Mallu and Tamil. He communicates everything that happens around. He is just about 2 years now and he can converse so fluently and explain the happenings in his day. He takes us by total surprise when he shoots out the most apt word or phrase for the event that is unfolding in front of him.

He is so naughty that we had to pack up every possible thing that is on his reach in the house and keep it in the loft. I sometimes comment saying, "only left overs on the floor would be us!"
He sings almost all the recent filmi hits in Hindi, Mallu and Tamil, about 20 nursery rhymes and all the old Tamil numbers which I (try to) sing to put him to sleep. In fact, he recognizes personalities just after one introduction. He knows almost the entire male stars of the Mallu filmdom; Vijay, Surya are his Tamil bests; he identifies SRK and Aamir Khan; he also jumps when he sees the latest hero - Obama on screen/paper!

When he plays pranks and we try to give him a time-out, he tells us in turn to continue with our work whatever we are doing at that moment. That too, with a serious face!

If we shout at his elder brother for not studying, we are done! He quickly comes to his rescue. He also advises his elder brother politely by hugging him, "Abhi, paddi da, Abhi!" (meaning study well). That is a heart-rending scene to watch!

Overall, girl or boy, any baby is such a gift of the Almighty!