'How many dollars are you?'

Hooty has a bit of a problem when it comes to any form of measurement. When she was two, when ever someone asked her age, she would say, ‘Two dollars.” Now, she would correctly say that she is three years old.

Last week she was playing ‘Doctor’ with Hubby and me. She poked the plastic toy ear-thermometer in my ear and claimed that my temperature is “Seventy five dollars!” (I guess I am surviving by some miracle if that’s the case!) Hubby was told that his temperature was “Five dollars.” (Pretty cold case ha?)

I think she associates any measurement with dollars, because even when checking her weight on the bathroom scales, she would announce an arbitrary number as her weight coupled with the word ‘dollars.’ This applies to her height chart as well.

Then there is the question of time. Anything that happened from yesterday to 3 years back would be termed as –yep—yesterday! So, she would go, “Yesterday, when I was a little baby, I couldn't talk!”

When it’s time for her to go to bed, she would sometimes ask, “Is it past 8’o clock?”—as in the nursery rhyme ‘Wee willy winky.’

I wonder when children actually start comprehending time. Does it suddenly occur to them that the day is divided into these small units called hours? Or do they just think that morning follows afternoon and then night until they start school and actually learn these things for a fact?

Poop Stories

Last week my Mom-in-law recounted this story about Hooty ’s cousin, who is about 6 months older than her. He had come up to my Mom-in-law and had said, “Athamma, I put an umbrella!”. Being extremely puzzled by this declaration, she had asked, “What do you mean darling?” and he had replied, “I did an umbrella, a ‘ooh’, a ‘ooh’.”
So, to solve the big mystery, she had followed the little fellow, who had proudly shown her the newly…um...laid poop in the shape of the letter U!! Of course, we all know 'U is for Umbrella' ;o)

Now, Hooty too takes huge pride in the shape and size of her excrement!!
She would scream at the top her voice asking Hubby and me to come and take a look at her you-know-what. She would say:
“Thaaththi! Ammi! I did a BIG one! Come and see,” and she wouldn’t stop until we would (with wrinkled up faces) go take a peak into the toilet bowl! (Yeah! Yeah! One of the many perks of being a parent! —You are treated to visual and other sensory delights!!)

So, yesterday, while sitting on the throne, Hooty suddenly screeched, “Ammi! Thaaththi! Look! I put a bird!” and poor Hubby and I had to go take a look. My daughter sure has a lot of imagination I must say! It certainly looked like a bird. I mean there it was, one piece lying vertically while the other horizontally, forming the ‘wings’ of the ‘bird’!

Then, a few minutes after, she goes, “Look everybody! I put a crocodile!”
I refused to go this time saying, “Call me once you’ve done a whole zoo!” but poor Hubby had to go take a look and he claimed that it did indeed look like a crock with its mouth open wide!

And Here Comes Muththa

Well, it was time to welcome ‘Muththa’ (Grandpa – Hubby’s dad) last Friday. He arrived around 7.00 p.m. and Hubby went to pick him up from the airport after work. In the morning, before going off to school, Hooty had asked Hubby if he was going to pick Muththa up, and Hubby had said, “Yes,” to which Hooty had said, “Don’t forget to take Hooty , Thaaththi!”

Hubby phoned me beforehand to let me know that they were on their way. Hooty got so exited, that I had to take her up to the lift to welcome Muththa. The moment the lift doors opened she ran to Muththa and gave him a big hug. Muththa was so (pleasantly) surprised that he dropped the duty free liquor bottle he was carrying! ;o)

From baby-hood, Muththa has been a firm favourite of Hooty’s and nothing seems to have changed even after a year of last seeing him. Hooty resumed their relationship from where they left off with such ease.

It’s been a busy weekend for all of us, going sightseeing with Aththamma and Muththa, with Hooty enjoying every second of it (well, almost, apart from all those every other second where she fuzzes, frets and becomes a pain in the you-know-what!)

That reminds me of a new ‘Aththamma Story’: Hooty dislikes sharing her food, specially sweets or snacks with Aththamma. You have to coax her to give up some of her goodies. Last Thursday, she was eating some sweets and Aththamma asked for some. Hooty was not too happy about it of course! So, she thought for a bit and came up with a very good excuse. She very solemnly declared, “Aththamma, you have a tummy-ache. You can’t eat sweets!”
How’s that for a little cunning rascal!