Who I am, What I do and answers to Qs like that

Just in case you were wondering what the title meant... this is a fish that I drew. It doesn't look like any fish you saw? That's probably because it is missing its fins - or something else. Let me draw that too - and complete this. It still doesn't look like a fish? Get your eyes checked.

There are some nice festivals towards the end of summer. Vinayaka Chaviti and Krishna Janmashtami. Amma insists I call these festivals by these names. Left to me, I would call Vinayaka as "Elephant Jeji". But you know how Amma is. " No name-calling " - is what she says. " Let me shorten the names at least " - is what I said. Anyway, this is my blog. And I win! We had a good time for VC. We could not buy a Ganesha idol. So Amma decided to make one herself. And how did she do that? She took MY play-dough. Mine!!! And made an idol. Not bad, I would say. At least, she used the play-dough better than I do :-) I participated in the Puja with a lot of enthusiasm. I guess all kids love VC - because all that you need to do is throw flowers and leaves at the idol. I surely liked it. This is how the same idol looked after the puja. Good fun, isn't it? A few days before VC was KJ. That was good fun too. Amma tried to dress me up as a small Krishna. I look adorab...

Summer has its advantages. Going out is one of them. A couple of months back, Amma bought me a video of my favorite character. You wondering who it is? Clue # 1 - It is purple. Clue # 2 - It is a dinosaur. Clue # 3 - No more clues. If you haven't figured out who it is even by now, you need a crash course in kids videos. It is Barney - the purple dinosaur. "I love you, you love me. We're a happy family. With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too!". You never heard that? Oh poor you... never mind. See it here . Anyway, where was I? Yes, the zoo. And animals. Well, I was telling you about a DVD that Amma bought for me - Barney Animal ABC's . It is a pretty good one with songs and videos about a lot of animals. After seeing me watch the same DVD day-after-day-after-day, Amma and Nanna decided that I was interested in animals. And that it would be a good idea to take me to a zoo where I could watch those animals up, close and per...

I have always been curious (as you most definitely know). Amma started feeding my curiosity - and so I am now learning a lot of things - faster than before. We went to walmart one day - and bought a table mat. One with the US map with all states in it. It was a pretty colorful one - with each state in a different color. I did not pay much attention to it - until that wonderful day! And I got hooked onto geography since then :-) I started with the Western states - California first. That's where Nithya Akka lives - do you know? Anyway, I started with those easy Western states and slowly worked my way to the East. Why do they have so many states in the East? To confuse me? And why do they have so many New states? Seeing my "progress" with the US states table mat, Amma and Nanna decided to buy more such maps. A large US map from a dollar store (stingy Nanna!), a table mat with the world map on it and a table mat with the solar system on it. I might not be able to pronounce a...

Yes, yes, yes. I know my birthday happened a long ago. And that I haven't blogged since. That doesn't mean I have forgotten you! On the contrary - I have been busy learning a lot of things. Things you will like :-) My birthday was a large affair. 68.73% of the Indian population of Findlay visited me to wish me a Happy Birthday. I was joking about the percentage - but you get the idea. Findlay doesn't have a lot of Indians. That's all. Amma spent a lot of time decorating the house. Swirls, streamers and banners. Different colors. She did all that work for me. And I repaid her in kind. I did not pull the decorations apart. Hah, you caught me. I lied. But only a little bit. I left most of the decorations intact. The video here proves that, doesn't it? The party started the night before. Both sets of grand-parents called me just before midnight. Amma started streaming (wow, Amma is becoming tech-savvy!) the party. And (surprise, surpise!) my tech-savvier grand-parents w...

Every one realizes fashion - sooner or later. In Amma's case, she realized that pretty soon. Haircuts at home had some distinct advantages - and some disadvantages too. The advantages were obvious - convenience and zero-cost. The disadvantages aren't so obvious - and I won't mention them. Because, I cannot criticize my parents :-) Last weekend, we went to Toledo for our regular Indian groceries shopping. Are you asking "Why Toledo?" - that is another story for another post. Anyway, in Toledo we saw Cookie Cutters (kids salon). Amma and nanna wanted to take me there just to find some information. At first, I was very reluctant to get in. But once I stepped into the salon, I fell in love with that place. They had crayons, nice toys, lots and lots of videos (Barney, Dora, Sponge Bob, Mickey Mouse), lollipops and different kinds of chairs (doggie, aeroplane, car). And each chair had its own TV and portable DVD player! No prizes for what DVD I chose! It was Barney obv...

I know, I know. I haven't been updating my blog - as much as you would have liked. Or I would have liked, for that matter. Over the next few weeks, I will try to catch up - and try to update you with the latest happenings at my end. Day by day, I am getting more and more curious! Are you wondering how? You will know that by once you finish reading this blog. One day I was listening to the rhyme "Two little hands to clap clap clap...", I started staring at my hands and wondered which of them is bigger. So, I started measuring each finger of the two hands. Do you know what I finally discovered? This.... My left index finger is bigger than my right... hahahahahaha :). But, Amma says that fingers of both hands should be identical in size. So, I started biting my left hand thinking that I can eat the extra length and make it equal! I guess I succeeded. Find that out when you see me next.

I got a haircut. So what? Big deal - you might say. This isn't the first time that I got a haircut, but this time I thought I would explain the dynamics behind it. All parents (of toddlers) worry about haircuts. "Where" and "How" are the two biggest questions. House or Hairdresser? Scissors or clippers? These are just some questions that parents have. My parents are no different. Nanna favored hairdressers while Amma favored a haircut at home. They were divided even on the 'How' question. Nanna preferred the clippers while Amma preferred the scissors. Notwithstanding their differences, there was one thing that both Amma and Nanna agreed upon. That I needed a haircut. However, before they gave me a haircut, they did some 'what-if' analysis. Option 1 - How does this look? Option 2 - How do these pigtails look? I don't know what you think about these 2 styles. But Amma thought these were awful - and decided to proceed with a haircut - at home, w...

You have seen, in my earlier posts, that I have started becoming more active - physically. I have started riding horses. Ok, ok. This is not a real horse. But, for me this horse (or guvvam in my language) is as real as the playpen behind. Or you can see me trying to remove my jacket by myself. So what if I was not successful in doing that? I atleast tried, didn't I? Well, if everything were so rosy... and if I were sooo responsible, the story would have been rather different. You wouldn't have Amma and Nanna complaining so frequently about my అల్లరి  - roughly translated into naughtiness. For example, when it led to the destruction of the aforementioned playpen. Or when I had to summon help (i.e., cry) to find my hand trapped in the diaper case.

Ok, Ok. I know you have been waiting for me to fulfill my promise. And here it is. You can see me singing below. My teacher, obviously, is Amma. However, even a teacher as good as Amma cannot do anything with a student as obstinate as me. Happy? Do you believe now that I can sing and act? Broadway, here I come.

After my last post, I could hear someone snickering. "Lasya can sing and act? I don't believe that!" Here is my response to all you nay-sayers. And I am bi-lingual too. So, you can see me singing for both English and Telugu rhymes. What did you say? That I was just acting... and not singing? Come on! You will not be happy until you see me sing too? Let me post my "songs" too. Wait for my next post. And please pray that I sing like Amma and not like Nanna!

I am growing up pretty fast. My vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds. I mean, you all know that my written vocabulary has always been quite good. But my spoken language, for obvious reasons, did not keep pace with my written language. Something to do with vocal cords and development. Enough of the background. My spoken vocabulary is increasing too. It is not just 'Amma', 'Nanna', 'Baby' anymore. Here are some of the words I can speak now. Maa-nin = Morning Jeji = kidspeak for God Baavu = ball Caayi = car Poovu = flower Sushi = kidspeak for fish Huggie = either a hug or a dog - depending on the context JoJo = kidspeak for sleep Mum-mum = kidspeak for food PeePee, PooPoo (do I have to explain that ???) Oppi = pain Paavu = milk Kakka = bad/ trash depending on the context Shoosie = shoes Hai-yu = How are you? Aasya = My name! Aghu = Nanna's name  Kaka = kidspeak for Tata/granpa Innu = my aunt Car-kit = Karthik Of course, I can understand much much much m...

I told you  here  and  here  how I am predestined to be a god-loving author. I have shown you enough to convince you about my preparation to become an author. Today, I want to show you how much I love God. Oh good God. Please give me lots of nice toys and dresses. And please give me lot of energy without having to eat food. And please help me get Amma and Nanna off my back, atleast once in a while. Oh, and please please please give me new ideas to give Amma a tough time.

I am predestined to be a ' god-loving author '. And to do that, I wanted to get a head start on my studying. You see, what good is an author who cannot read? So I started - by getting used to books. Here is some evidence... Ok Ok. I know what you are saying. That was 'drawing' and not 'studying'. Big deal. I know that. I was just trying to show off. Here is the actual photo. By the way, can you sit like me? I challenge you. But please do it only under child supervision. You don't want to damage anything!

For those of you from my ancestral land of Andhra - you know what Bhogi is. And how important it is to all Telugus. Living in the US, we have to rule out భోగి మంట. But we were not prepared to give up on the భోగి పళ్ళు part. A quick refresher on what this meant. Children in the house would be dressed up in their finest. And towards the evening, the elders would shower the children with a mix of regi pandlu, sugarcane pieces, small coins and akshatas. This is supposed to ensure that the children are not affected by dishti. Anyway, in the land of Lincoln, getting regi pandlu or sugarcane is usually tough. More so in our new 'town'. So, last year Amma substituted them with cranberries . But this year, as luck would have it, none of the stores in our great town had any cranberries. So, we had to find an substitute for the substitute. And what was that? Any guesses? Just in case you were wondering... I was NOT saying "Ayyo!", but was taking blessings from the Aarti. Also, ...

Property Rights. I believe in them. Absolutely. So much that I believe that everything in our house is mine. I can use them whenever I want to. Like using Nanna's shoes for instance. Like this. Or even Nanna's sandals like this. Or Nanna's gloves. Or Nanna's bluetooth.

Just as day follows night, New Year follows Christmas. We returned from our New Jersey trip and were ready for New Year. But, truth be told, I was pretty tired with all the travelling. And Amma was worried that my routine was quite disturbed. Translated, it means that she was worried that I wasn't eating on time, sleeping on time etc etc. In the meanwhile, Akhila Aunty called us and told us that they would be visiting us for New Year. She has 2 kids - slightly older than me. Saatvik and Aarush. I was happy that I would have some company. Girish uncle also was planning to join us for New Year. That would be even better! Akhila Aunty, Sarma Uncle, Girish Uncle and Radhika Aunty. And Saatvik and Aarush. That would be good company. I needed to be my best in front of such a big gathering. But as luck would have it... Girish Uncle had to change their plans. Which meant that they wouldn't be able to come. Akhila Aunty's decided to come visit us - and then go to Detroit to spend N...