******* 4! *******

Today is Appu's birthday. In case you missed the dragon reminder on the sidebar, I just thought I'd put it here too. He is four! He is a big big boy who can talk and argue, has his own ideas and can correct his mamma's English pronunciation. He likes numbers - yesterday I could lure him away from the tv by saying "Hey, I'm going to read a new math book, anybody interested?. He likes seeds and flowers and can recognize daffodils, tulips and dandelions.

He loves maps. He knows where to find North and South America on a map, where Canada and India are and he can find Australia too. He knows some places are very far away and you need to take two planes to go from India to Canada: the first is a "sleeping" plane and everybody is quiet - this was my stroke of genius, I admit - the next is a "waking" plane, where we have fun (you can imagine how much fun..). He also knows that when here it is night in India it is morning time. Now how many four year old kids can grasp that?!?

(Did I mention that bragging is not only allowed but required in birthday posts?)

He likes new clothes, as in clothes he hasn't seen before, they don't really have to be new. He likes to choose what pajamas he is going to wear and we now have a pretty large collection for him to mix and match. Some favorites are the very soft one, which is still too big but he can wear it if he doesn't run in it (or he'll trip), the Thomas one, the monster pajamas and his purple ones that say "Little Brothers Are Awesome" - not really for what it says, but because purple is his favorite color.
He used to love his super dog pajamas and the spiderman ones, but now they have become short and it's ok for Rohan to wear them because Appu is growing. He is four!

He is learning to read all by himself, by which I mean that I don't even try to teach him, but he is the one who asks how to read a word or stops while speaking to see if he can figure out what sounds are in a certain word. He likes to have books read to him too and is now ready for some longer stories, but sometimes what he thinks the book is about would leave you speechless.

He is not afraid of being in a dark room, but he doesn't like to enter the room if the light is not on. Smart, I say.

He can get dressed by himself, but he still has some trouble with zippers and buttons and sometimes socks can get tricky, but he always has the tag on the back. He also can help Rohan and he does a remarkably good job, if Rohan lets him.

He can pee standing up! And he loves to pee outside on the grass, by the way, laughing like a silly appu while I tell him "Careful! Not on the shooooooes!".

He can climb like a monkey and go fast on his tricycle.

He likes all sort of music and makes up his own songs too. If I show him a video of some musicians he wants to know their names. He told me that the CD we played last week in the car has the same song (one of Bach's cello suites) that we heard from a video in the computer. He likes to play music but is not a very disciplined student.. :) He has a nice bow hold and likes his cello but we don't practice much - my fault. However, maybe that's why he still likes it, because there is no pressure whatsoever - see? How to turn any parenting shortcomings into great insights.

You probably already know that he likes trains and the only reason why I didn't make this the first item in my list is that there is going to be a special train post soon. But I like how he plays with his little Thomas trains making up stories as he goes. I also must be the only mom (or not?) who has to sleep with several trains in my bed: the little puppies are allowed to bring two trains or cars each to bed and sometimes we still have yesterday's trains too.

He can fit inside his new carry-on luggage.

He can eat without making too big a mess, unless he wants too :) And he can carry a bowl without spilling the content. Sometimes he likes to blow on his own pasta, sometimes he doesn't and he needs mamma's help. He prefers English words and really would like to know how you say "rotini" in  English, but apparently mamma is part of a big Italian conspiracy and just won't tell him.

He likes to do work, like mamma and papa', with paper and pencil. When he grows up - like, now? - he would like to work at mamma's "ufficio".

I'm sure I left out some really important stuff, but I am also sure that by now you couldn't care less and your eyes are already crossing, so let's just conclude with a picture. Not the best or my favorite, just the most recent mostly in focus photo in my hard drive.

Happy birthday Big Piccolo Rajiv!

Spring Concert - Caution: Very Long

As promised, more about the concert.

This is *very* long, but if you want you can jump to the end of the post for some videos.

Concerto di Primavera

May 8th: Edited to add: read more and watch videos here.

Yesterday was the Big Day. It was a bittersweet experience, at least for me and maybe for Rajiv too, but I plan to tell you more in another post. Right now I am at the office and I really can't write for too long, so I'll just show you a few pictures.

The two brothers entering the building. Rajiv was a big help in keeping Rohan safe in the parking lot and inside while my hands were busy lugging around the cello, the bench, the food for the potluck and so on.

We were a bit late but we still made it in time for the tuning. Phew!

This is Genevieve, by the way, Rajiv's teacher.

This was during the concert. Genevieve sat in front of the smallest kids to help them out.

And after :) It was a long tiring loud day, which by the way had started at about 4:30 AM for both me and Rajiv - long story - and even though he did have a nap in the afternoon, at this point he was touchy and ready to collapse somewhere. I just had to make sure it was the bed :)

May is a Big month

Little Rajiv will be four in two weeks! Birthday party preparations are underway. He said he would like a party with trains and laughing cars - these would be the giggling troublesome cargo cars of Thomas, I think. I have thought about the possibilities of this party more than I like to admit, but in the end I feel that I will be incompetent as usual, and it won't matter one bit :)

And papa' is coming to Canada, just in time for the birthday! These days you can't say "May" in this house without a little voice squeaking "Papa comin'". I wonder what Rohan thinks May really means - a place maybe? I doubt he understands months yet.

And this Wednesday is the day of the Spring Concert! For which we haven't practiced and we even missed the dress rehearsal last week, because I'm that kind of mom.. I'm a little apprehensive, especially because I just found out that it's a potluck event and I need to sign up to bring something. It is tempting to tick "napkins and paper cups", but that seems lame, no? No? Uhm...

It's so exciting!

Appu is taking part in his first concert in two weeks. His group will get to play a simple rhythm on a single string to open the spring concert of the Suzuki school. It will be him with the cello and his two little friends from class - another cello and a violin.

To be honest, so far every attempt to get them to play this thing *together* has failed miserably, but it doesn't matter because they are going to be so cute that nobody will mind :)

I just went to buy a pair of black sweatpants and a white t-shirt for next week's dress rehearsal, so I thought I would share..

One day - soon - people will be asking for his autograph :)

Rajiv improvvisa una canzone alla chitarra.

Rajiv improvises a song on the guitar.. The best part was before I started filming it but, alas, isn't that always the case?

Bach

Long plane trips can do strange things. We just came back and my older son decided to put some music on. He picked a CD (at random I'd say, but who knows) and seemed to struggled with the player, so I helped him. When the music started he said "Ah, a violin!" and very satisfied he brought a book to the couch to "read" while listening to the music. After fifteen minutes, he is still there.

Photos You Have Missed - Part 5

Un po' di foto della settimana prima di Natale.

These are photos from just before Christmas.

The first is a typical sight this days: Appu in his "nest". Other times it might be a "house" or a "cage" (which for some reason he thinks would be very cozy) or a "bedroom" or just a "bed". Occasionally we make "boat".




Cello practice.






Christmas decorations. The poor tree will never forgive us for leaving him alone with the two little disasters.



"Oh no, the flash is hurting my eyes!"



"Uhm... Maybe if I come closer... AAAAAAAAAH!"



"Much better!"




And to finish, a little bit of Appu cuteness.




Coming soon, the actual Christmas Holidays. Stay tuned.

Sunday morning with papa' - (and not)

Queste sono foto - e un video - di domenica scorsa. I bimbi parlano con il loro papa' su skype e poi tornano a giocare. Abbiamo messo un po'di musica e come al solita Rajiv ha cominciato a ballare e cantare. Ho cercato di immortalare il tutto in un video, ma naturalmente a quel punto lui si e'subito messo seduto; se avete un po' di pazienza pero', e aspettate una trentina o quarantina di secondi, con una piccola spintina da parte di mamma, Rajiv ci mostra almeno qualche passo (e parecchi salti).

These are actually from last Sunday, just to be precise. You can see the kids talking to their dad on Skype and then a rare shot of both brothers looking at the camera without grimacing or closing their eyes. There is also a nice photo of Rajiv, in which I think he looks a little like his cousin Jayadev.

The video was taken while Rajiv was dancing and singing along with the "little monkeys jumping on the bed song". As soon as I started the video he stopped moving and talking right away, so the first part is quite boring, but if you are patient he will eventually start jumping around.

That's how Yo-Yo Ma started too...

This photo was sent to me by the organizer of the music group that Rajiv and Rohan attend together on Fridays. It was taken last Sunday at the holiday party, where we had a lot of fun singing and dancing with the other kids and parents. I just had to post this picture, just look at him!



In other music related news, Rajiv took his first cello lesson this week. He was so excited that he sat through the entire half hour of lesson without fussing and following the teacher's instructions to the letter. I was amazed, although of course I don't expect it to last, once the novelty wears off.

We decided to give this a try because Appu's fascination with musical instruments is second only to his passion for trains, he knows the names of most instruments in the orchestra and can recognize them when he hears them play. When I asked him what he would like to play himself, he always answered "cello", so I looked it up and I found a group of Suzuki teachers in the area. The Suzuki method for teaching music to young children seemed to me playful enough that it would be ok to try for Appu and we are happy so far.

You should see him sitting on his little bench (on the spot marked by a little ladybug sticker) and hugging his cello. We are supposed to practice for five to ten minutes every day, so it is really a minimal change in our daily life so far. Appu is supposed to name his cello before the next lesson, but so far we have only established that he thinks the cello is a girl (and the little guitar that we store next to the cello is clearly a boy, he says). Any suggestions for the name?