Mostly about Anjali

I have not actively updated this blog for close to a month. There are several reasons for this, including an overload at work just prior to a scheduled two weeks leave. And one of my resolutions for this year is to go home as early as possible and to spend as much quality time as possible with the girls.

There are many things to record here, and it was a shock to me to see how much the girls were growing. Over the past couple of weeks at home, i have come to learn much about Anjali, which showed her morphing from a baby to a child.

There comes a time in the life of a parent when she realizes that her baby is not a baby anymore. Over the past two weeks I have come to realize that with Anjali. Here are some of the events that triggered this.

1. Transition to chapter books: I have been trying, time and again, to introduce Anjali to chapter books and she has never shown much interest, although she liked to hear and watch harry potter. But Harry Potter is so commercialized and the movies are se dumb, that I didnt want to encourage her love for the movies, although I used to tell her snippets from the book as conversation fillers. Then I started to tell the girls about the faraway tree and Anjali was very interested. She even began to make up lands and wanted to know more and when I read to her the faraway tree, she got through the whole book in about five sittings and now she asks for chapter books every evening and mostly at every meal. Sophia tries her best to sit and listen, but she still wants pictures in her books and finds the lack thereof quite disconceting

2. A sort of quietness. Anjali has always been quieter than Sophia but lately I find her getting more quieter. I know that her introvertedness comes from husband, and I am not quite sure if introvertedness is cause for concern. She is sociable enough, but still likes to keep her thoughts to herself. This seems to be a phase of her life when her character has gotten more defined. A high preference for sports, a much lower preference for crafts (imagine my disappointment as I like crafts so much), a very large love for animals (should we get a dog), including orangutans.

3. A sense of modesty, arising from wanting a towel at the pool, wanting to close the bathroom door when there are friends around

4. A sense of privacy, with her closing the toyroom door when she wants to play by herself.

5. Improved observation and arguments. She tends to argue more about things, especially stuff that I mentioned to her and says things like a Promise is a Promise. When she doesnt like a game, she moves back to observe (this sometimes causes me concern), and when she likes a game, she takes the lead.