Celebrating Ayaan 4.0
~ 2 weeks to my ‘Tees’ (30th) ~
(21–27 Sept 2020)
This week, we celebrated our little wonder turning four! We tried to get innovative with celebrating our kid’s birthday, with the social distancing rules etc. (We had a 5-close-friend only Uno themed simple party at home with a Draw 4 card topped cake; and then a 4-direction experience gift, starting with a beach party with the uncle&aunt in the east, bird park (which is in the west) visit with our friends’ kids; the north was represented by the horse stable visit while a Sentosa (south) aquarium visit was planned to complete the itinerary; in addition we sneaked in a kid’s special glamping staycation as well at the Fullerton hotel) – and I’d love to share all about it… but I want to encapsulate instead what the past year has been with Ayaan, our love.
Prantik beautifully captured the nostalgia in his annual birthday poem and true to my usual style, I shall go down the A to Z route.
Ayu, hope you enjoy reading these many years down the lane:
A: Ayaan Kamath Mazumdar – This year you learnt your full name. You also thus learnt how you were part Kamath part Mazumdar… Initially, you’d call all of your family members including your nanny with the same surname but soon you figured it all out.
B: Baking – You found so much thrill and joy in assisting me in my baking adventures. You’d enjoy adding the dry ingredients and holding the hand-beater while it whisked away. You even baked a banana-cake on Mothers’ Day all by yourself, under adult supervision of course. Your favourite part was of course topping cookies with M&M and choco chips and sneaking some right into your mouth ;)
C: CoronaVirus – The virus pretty much defined this year for the entire world but you didn’t let it define this past year for you and us! You were so resilient and upbeat and perhaps made it easier for us to survive the lockdown amidst all the uncertainties and fears. Even though playschool was closed and your father had to work from home, you reinvented your morning routine and were so understanding when your Baba had his work conference calls – Such a gem! Getting home to you after my stint at the COVID ward while was nerve racking at some level (for the fear of carrying the virus home), it was something I most certainly looked forward to (even though it also meant we had to curb our instincts to just run and hug each other the minute I stepped in). So thank you for holding fort when the whole world seemed to be crumbling away.
D: Delivery — The pandemic saw us staying home and ordering in groceries etc. Soon, like in one of your previous fav shows, “Super Wings”, you’d know when the door bell rang and run to let them in, squeaking in excitement “Package Delivery!”
E: ECP — On your birthday, we headed to the East Coast Park, to chill by the beachside, with your favourites (“Pishi” and “Pisho”, your paternal aunt and uncle). You are a beach baby indeed and from the minute go, you were in your element and playing non-stop with sand, water and balloons, not even stopping long enough to pose for some cake-cutting (which the grandparents and uncle were partaking in, virtually!) To see you so happy and excited, filled our hearts with overwhelming joy.
F: Face mask/shield — Whilst you still aren’t too happy to wear a mask and now, you aren’t legally required to (which we haven’t told you as yet :P), you have now kind of made your peace — so you wear a mask to school, and if you are headed to the condo playground, then you don a face shield. There have been meltdowns when you’d refuse to wear a mask; once, you spotted a policemen trio and were very scared thinking that they’ll catch you if you didn’t wear a mask (you had worn a shield instead) and didn’t move forward until your aunty changed you into a mask!
G: Gallop stable — Of the experience gifts this year, whilst you had been to the bird park and aquarium when you were younger, the horse stable visit was definitely new and novel. You were so brave and kind as you fed the horses, combed their hair and even took the white pony for a ride. You were insistent on not wearing a helmet and giving the pony ride a skip, but hey, you had a great time, beaming as you took the pony for a walk instead! In hindsight, the pony probably liked that better and your kind heart shone bright :)
H: Happy b’day - party — You were uber excited for your birthday weekend and the countdown started much in advance. Infact, I had not planned for a birthday party at home at all, but 2 nights before your birthday, you asked if you could invite your friends over! I gave you a 5-person limit (as dictated by law) and voila! Before we knew it, you had picked your top 5 friends, had decided on the theme including cake design, flavour and colour by yourself, and also the lunch menu! You sure had a ball, playing with your close friends, until their respective caregivers came to fetch them back :D
I: “I love you” — What once began as a response to our ‘I Love You’s’, now you own the phrase with such panache. Not a day goes by without you uttering the most pleasing words to my heart, all on your own… are we blessed or what? We’re so glad, you are ours. Just listening to you expressing your love and affection in such an endearing way, sure fills our day with sunshine.
J:Joking — You started to learn to kid and joke this year, much to our amusement. Even simple questions, like what you learnt in school etc would have a silly answer like “I just chilled” in a matter-of-fact tone. You also learnt to manipulate me over your father and vice versa; you’d even tell Piya aunty, that we had approved iPad time, when we clearly had not! When we would confront you and your dishonesty, you’d laugh out loud and sneer “I was just joking!”
K: Kolkata & Koh Samui— This year, before the lockdowns and travel restrictions hit the world, we had managed a short trip to Kolkata, to your paternal grandparents’ homeland, where you met so, so many relatives for the first time. Your grandfather, carried you on his shoulders and took you to the planetarium. You still remember running around the glorious floors of the Victoria Memorial, that crispy January morning. We also quickly sneaked in a beach holiday with your aunt and uncle to the picturesque Koh Samui island, where you first learnt to float, enjoyed the views from the hilltop pool villa, enjoyed Thai food, loved the sans restriction beach time and just chilled with the rest of us.
L: London — You also visited London a second time, during the winter of 2019, despite the visa fiasco as you were to be traveling with your maternal grandparents alone. Luckily, your father’s presence of mind to actually fly back and pick you, saved the day and you all could hence be present to witness my MRCEM graduation ceremony. You placing the grad-hat on me, is still etched in my mind, amidst all the wonderful christmassy memories from that lovely trip with my folks.
M: Memory — If someone forgot something, or was absent minded, you’d very cutely ask, “Is your memory full?!”; you picked this after listening to your nanny mentioning about how her phone memory is clogged up! Haha. We’d always laugh when you’d so genuinely ask so.
N: Nursery — This year in nursery, you explored many a realm. We were very proud to attend the parent-teacher meeting, where your class teacher shared about your developments. We were extremely thrilled to learn about how you’d help others and help the teachers tidy up the classroom; and were very communicative and conversant.
O: Off days — You learnt to think of the days and weeks depending on my work schedule. As I work shifts, and my off days vary, you’d look forward to the days that I’d get to spend more time with you, even to a point where sometimes you’d even remind the others, which shift I was working the next days! Gone are the days when I’d plan my off-days, now you plan what we’ll do/play together and it’s such a joy to listen to your most simple yet satisfying ideas that bring joy to both you and me.
P: Paw Patrol — This year you found repeated joy in watching reruns of the Paw Patrol show on Netflix Kids, on your dedicated TV days i.e. Fridays and Sundays. To honour your love for the doggie squad, we got you Paw Patrol gifts including a toothbrush, bedsheet, socks, clothes, toys, balloons and the fave this season, a PP mask.
Q: Quest — You learnt about your father’s Quest protein bar and whilst it was a brand alone; you correlated the term to also mean to protect; so if you or Prantik were heading out in the dark, say, you’d say, “Come! Baba — Let me quest you!” in a genuinely concerned tone.
R: Rose Rose Thorn Bud — We started this family bedtime ritual this year wherein we each share about 2 happy, 1 upsetting event and then something we are looking forward to in the day(s) to come. You have amazed us at the simultaneous innocence and maturity of your answers. We certainly intend to keep this tradition going; and well, even if one night we forget, you are sure to remind us (group hug)
S: Stay at home activities — Given that your playschool was closed for 2–3 months, we had to innovate and figure out ways to keep your eager, growing mind engaged. (I’ve blogged about these earlier as well) We thoroughly enjoyed activities such as gardening, art and craft, baking, yoga etc. We are touched by the resilience you showed while the world fumbled with a global pandemic; infact, we derived strength during the trying times from your constant state of wonder. You’d even utter mature statements such as “It’s ok, it happens…” if you’d sense that either of us had had a tough day! (Mindblown)
T: Temper — While you did grow in emotional maturity and slowly, steadily figured out how to deal with your varying emotions; you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have your phases of weakness and tantrums! You did have a fair share of vulnerable moments, frustrations and anger. We may not have been the most patient parents during all of these incidents, but we sure did experiment with varying techniques to help you through your emotional turmoil and growth spurts.
U: Uno — This year you picked up the game of Uno and soon, it became yet another bedtime family ritual, without which you wouldn’t hit the sack. You soon became addicted to the game, if I may say so; you even chose “Uno” as the theme for your birthday cake! While there were outbursts initially at losing (yes! we are parents who play fair and don’t just let you win just because…well! welcome to the real world, not-so-little one!), soon, you aced the game and even picked up a new version called “Flip Uno” and taught the rest.
V: Vocabulary — We saw you make a giant leap in your vocabulary this year and it’s been rather fascinating to listen to you pick up like a sponge. Not just English, you are able to speak some Sinhalese and Mandarin as well; and of course understand if not respond back in your mother and father tongues, Konkani and Bengali, respectively. You also use Hindi phrases on and off, and have found a liking for Hindi songs too (your current faves include “Teri Mitti” and “Lakshya”!)
W: Walk in the Park — You accompanied me on over half of the 30 nature trails that I set forth on, to commemorate my 30th b’day. We were astounded by the ease with which you blended in and found awe, as we did too, amidst the gorgeous flora and fauna. You’d adorably chase squirrels, gawk at monkeys, pick up large dried up leaves and use little branches as sticks to “act like an old man” while climbing up challenging steps. We’ve enjoyed many an evening “just chilling” as you’d say by a beautiful lake/reservoir and taking the sights in.
X: XOXO — You’ve grown rather generous this year in hugging and kissing us. The slurpy kisses are reserved for the dad (thank you very much!); your tight hugs (“GajjiBijji hug”) and cuddles ooze with love and affection. You and I also have a secret password (“Khul** Sim***”) to escape a tight hug ;) Even after you’ve crept under your quilt and entered the realm of dreams, your father and I often kiss you softly, and look at each other, knowingly, thanking our stars for the miraculous blessing that you are in our lives.
Y: Yoga — Taking after your yogi Mamama, like most babies, you have a natural flow at yoga. You can hit the asanas, seemingly effortlessly and you’d even compulsively join me on my workouts; your father has even caught you sitting quietly while I meditate… wow!
Z: Zoom — This year, like the rest of the world, you also learnt about Zoom. You actually ran your own webinar called “Sunday Funday with Ayaan” along with your father (we did have one session together too). You were spontaneous, funny and you most deservingly stole the limelight away from your very social dad (haha). We must record more of these videos in the future, methinks; what fun treasures these would be to revisit, years later, when you are all grown up (which won’t be too long after, given how fast time seems to be flying!)
We love you, our baby boy, Ayaan Kamath Mazumdar. Whilst both of us have demanding jobs, this year, we’ve really savoured our time with you and can’t wait to watch how you blossom as the winds of change go by.
